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It’s unclear, though, if Congress is at that juncture yet.

The same day of Davis’ subcommittee hearing, President Donald Trump released his “America
First” budget proposal for fiscal year 2018. Not a lot of details were included in the “blueprint”
document, but it did include a line promising to keep AFRI stable at $350 million, still just half
of the 2014 farm bill authorization.

Davis took a minute at the end of the hearing to address that, saying it was good news that the
program didn’t get the same kind of cuts as elsewhere in the president’s proposal. (Trump’s
budget is seeking an overall $4.7 billion reduction – a 21 percent cut – in USDA discretionary
funding.)

Still, it had to be a letdown for the scientists, their supporters and lobbyists in the hearing room.
Just a year ago the Obama administration released its budget plan, calling for a full funding of
$700 million for AFRI.

But after the gavel went down on the subcommittee hearing and the reporters gathered around
the chairman, Davis assured them that he would keep fighting for more research funding.

“That’s the reason why we had this hearing today – to talk about the importance of
agriculture research as we move into the next debate,” Davis said. “We’re going to use this
evidence to talk about why we need to invest more.”
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