WASHINGTON—U.S. Sen. Mike Johanns (R-Neb.) today expressed outrage with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) and the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) plan to use USDA to promote the health care law. In letters addressed to USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack and HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Johanns requests details of a “special contract” between USDA and HHS. So far, USDA has announced $795,455 in grants out of USDA’s Cooperative Extension Service resources to promote the health care law. Extension funds are supposed to fund programs to educate producers about the latest ag technology and to educate the next generation of farmers.
“USDA is not responsible for helping to promote HHS’s flawed health care law—especially when it means syphoning funds away from higher education programs to keep agriculture on the cutting edge, as well as 4-H youth development programs,” Johanns said. “Secretary Vilsack has made it abundantly clear that he does not believe Congress provides USDA with enough funds to fulfill its Congressionally-mandated obligations, yet all of a sudden they find almost a million dollars to throw at promoting the work of another federal agency? It’s wrong and should be reversed.”
In a speech to the National Rural Assembly on June 25, 2013, Secretary Sebelius referenced a “special contract” between HHS and USDA. The next day, USDA’s National Institute for Food and Agriculture (NIFA) posted a grants notice for up to $795,455 of cooperative extension resources to conduct outreach to promote the health care law, a purpose far outside any congressionally-authorized use.
Congress has denied HHS and Internal Revenue Service requests for increased or additional funding to implement the health care law.
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