Stimulus conference report cuts funds for USDA computers

The biggest chunk of USDA money in the economic stimulus conference report will go to boost nutrition programs, with $19.9 billion to provide a temporary increase in food stamps for 31 million families, $400 million for the Women, Infants and Children's Program, and $150 million for The Emergency Food Assistance Program, which buys commodities for food banks and institutions. Those provisions were largely unchanged from the House version in conference talks. But USDA got only a down payment of $50 million to upgrade the USDA Farm Service Agency computer system, down from the $245 million in the original House bill.

The bill provides a total of $7.2 billion for broadband expansion, with $2.5 billion going to the USDA Rural Utilities Service for grants, loans and loan guarantees and $4.7 billion to the Commerce Department National Telecommunications and Information Administration. Rural states are expected to benefit from the NTIA money, particularly from its plan to develop the first comprehensive mapping of broadband availability throughout the country.

USDA also got $1.38 billion for rural water and waste disposal, $200 million to support loans and loan guarantees for rural housing assistance, $130 million for community facilities, $150 million to support business loan guarantees, and $290 million for flood prevention efforts.