The FY2012 Agriculture Appropriations Act ( P.L. 112-55 ) was signed by the President on November 18, 2011, as the lead division of a three-bill "minibus" appropriation. The minibus passed both chambers by more than two-thirds majorities on November 17, 2011. It reduces regular discretionary Agriculture appropriations by $372 million to $19.8 billion, a cut of -1.8% below FY2011 levels after adjusting for disaster designations and certain jurisdiction issues. The act also includes $367 million of conservation-related disaster assistance that was not subject to the same budgetary caps; with this spending, the appropriation is $20.2 billion, a slight increase over unadjusted FY2011 levels. In December 2011, the Department of Agriculture implemented provisions concerning livestock marketing, and restricting payment limits and mohair support. The Agriculture appropriations bill—formally known as the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act—provides funding for the following agencies and departments: all of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (except the Forest Service, which is funded by the Interior appropriations bill), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the Department of Health and Human Services, and in the House, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). In the Senate, CFTC appropriations are handled by the Financial Services Appropriations Subcommittee. Jurisdiction for the appropriations bill rests with the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations, particularly each committee's Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies. These subcommittees are separate from the agriculture authorizing committees—the House Committee on Agriculture and the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) carries out widely varied responsibilities through about 30 separate internal agencies and offices staffed by about 100,000 employees. USDA spending is not synonymous with farm program spending. USDA also is responsible for many activities outside of the Agriculture budget function, such as conservation and nutrition. USDA divides its activities into "mission areas." Food and nutrition programs are the largest mission area, with more than two-thirds of the budget, to support the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly food stamps), the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program, and child nutrition programs. The second-largest USDA mission area, with about one-fifth of USDA's budget, is farm and foreign agricultural services. This broad mission area includes the farm commodity price and income support programs of the Commodity Credit Corporation, crop insurance, certain mandatory conservation and trade programs, farm loans, and foreign food aid programs. Five other mission areas with a combined one-sixth of USDA's budget include natural resource and environmental programs, rural development, research and education programs, marketing and regulatory programs, and food safety. About 60% of the budget for the natural resources mission area is for the Forest Service, which is funded through the Interior appropriations bill. The Forest Service is the only USDA agency not funded through the Agriculture appropriations bill. It also accounts for over one-third of USDA's personnel, with about 35,000 staff years in FY2011. Comparing USDA's organization and budget data to the Agriculture appropriations bill in Congress is not always easy. USDA's "mission areas" do not always correspond to the titles or categories in the Agriculture appropriations bill. Foreign agricultural assistance is a separate title in the appropriations bill (Title V, Figure 1 ), but is joined with domestic farm support in USDA's "farm and foreign agriculture" mission area. Title I in the agriculture appropriations bill (Agricultural Programs), covers four USDA's mission areas: agricultural research, marketing and regulatory programs, food safety, and the farm support portion of farm and foreign agriculture. The type of funding (mandatory vs. discretionary) also is an important difference between how the appropriations bill and USDA's mission areas are organized. Conservation in the appropriations bill (Title II) includes only discretionary programs. The mandatory funding for conservation programs is included in Title I of the appropriations bill as part of the Commodity Credit Corporation. Conversely, USDA's natural resources mission area includes both discretionary and mandatory conservation programs (and the Forest Service). In addition to the USDA agencies mentioned above, the Agriculture appropriations subcommittees have jurisdiction over appropriations for two related agencies: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC, an independent financial markets regulatory agency) —in the House only. The combined share of FDA and CFTC funding in the overall Agriculture and Related Agencies appropriations bill is about 2% (Title VI). Jurisdiction over CFTC appropriations is assigned differently in the House and Senate. Before FY2008, the agriculture subcommittees in both the House and Senate had jurisdiction over CFTC funding. In FY2008, Senate jurisdiction moved to the Financial Services Appropriations Subcommittee. Although jurisdiction may be different, CFTC must reside in one or the other in an enacted appropriation. Placement in the enacted version now alternates each year. In even-numbered fiscal years, CFTC has resided in the Agriculture appropriation act. In odd-numbered fiscal years, CFTC has resided in the enacted Financial Services appropriations act. These agencies are included in the Agriculture appropriations bill because of their historical connection to agricultural markets. However, the number and scope of non-agricultural issues has grown at these agencies in recent decades. Some may argue that these agencies no longer belong in the Agriculture appropriations bill. But despite the growing importance of non-agricultural issues, agriculture and food issues are still an important component of FDA's and CFTC's work. At FDA, medical and drug issues have grown in relative importance, but food safety responsibilities that are shared between USDA and FDA have been in the media during recent years and are the subject of legislation and hearings. At CFTC, the market for financial futures contracts has grown significantly compared with agricultural futures contracts, but volatility in agricultural commodity markets has been a subject of recent scrutiny at CFTC and in Congress. Discretionary and mandatory spending are treated differently in the budget process. Discretionary spending is controlled by annual appropriations acts and consumes most of the attention during the appropriations process. The subcommittees of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees originate bills each year that provide funding and direct activities among discretionary programs. Eligibility for participation in mandatory programs (sometimes referred to as entitlement programs) is usually written into authorizing laws, and any individual or entity that meets the eligibility requirements is entitled to the benefits authorized by the law. Congress generally controls spending on mandatory programs through authorizing committees that set rules for eligibility, benefit formulas, and other parameters, not through appropriations. In FY2011, about 16% of the Agriculture appropriations bill was for discretionary programs, and the remaining balance of 84% was classified as mandatory. Major discretionary programs include certain conservation programs, most rural development programs, research and education programs, agricultural credit programs, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), the Food for Peace international food aid program, meat and poultry inspection, and food marketing and regulatory programs. The discretionary accounts also include FDA and CFTC appropriations. The largest component of USDA's mandatory spending is for food and nutrition programs—primarily the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly food stamps) and child nutrition (school lunch and related programs)—along with the farm commodity price and income support programs, the federal crop insurance program, and various agricultural conservation and trade programs. Some mandatory spending, such as the farm commodity programs, is highly variable and driven by program participation rates, economic and price conditions, and weather patterns. Formulas are set in the 2008 farm bill ( P.L. 110-246 ). But in general, mandatory spending has tended to rise over time, particularly as food stamp participation and benefits have risen in recent years because of the recession, rise in unemployment, and food price inflation. (See " Historical Trends " in a later section on funding.) Although these programs have mandatory status, many of these accounts receive funding in the annual Agriculture appropriations act. For example, the food stamp and child nutrition programs are funded by an annual appropriation based on projected spending needs. Supplemental appropriations generally are made if these estimates fall short of required spending. The Commodity Credit Corporation operates on a line of credit with the Treasury, but receives an annual appropriation to reimburse the Treasury and to maintain its line of credit. In addition to the difference between mandatory and discretionary spending, four other terms are important to understanding differences in discussions about the federal spending: budget authority, obligations, outlays, and program levels. 1. Budget authority = How much money Congress allows a federal agency to commit to spend. It represents a limit on funding and is generally what Congress focuses on in making most budgetary decisions. It is the legal basis to incur obligations. Most of the amounts mentioned in this report are budget authority. 2. Obligations = How much money agencies commit to spend. Obligations represent activities such as employing personnel, entering into contracts, and submitting purchase orders. 3. Outlays = How much money actually flows out of an agency's account. Outlays may differ from appropriations (budget authority) because, for example, payments on a contract may not flow out until a later year. For construction or delivery of services, budget authority may be committed (contracted) in one fiscal year and outlays may be spread across several fiscal years. 4. Program level = Sum of the activities supported or undertaken by an agency.