SACRAMENTO, June 4, 2019 – The House Appropriations Committee on June 4 approved a bill that includes $1.5 million in research funding to address issues related to smoke exposed wine grapes. The committeeapproved the fiscal year 2020 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and RelatedAgencies bill on a 29 to 21 vote.
“We appreciate the committee’s decision to fund smoke exposure research and I want to commend, inparticular, the leadership of California Reps. Mike Thompson (D-St. Helena) and Jimmy Panetta (D-Carmel Valley) to obtain these funds,” said California Association of Wine grape Growers (CAWG) President John Aguirre.
CAWG and other industry organizations from California, Oregon and Washington originally requested $5 millionfor smoke exposure research. These groups will continue to push for the full $5 million as the U.S. Senate workson its bill to fund the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Food and Drug Administration and related agencies.
Additional information:
House Appropriations Committee approves funding bill (June 4)
https://appropriations.house.gov/news/press-releases/appropriations-committee-approves-fiscal-year-2020-agriculture-rural-development
House Appropriations Committee releases funding bill (May 22)
https://appropriations.house.gov/news/press-releases/appropriations-committee-releases-fiscal-year-2020-agriculture-rural-development
Media contacts:
·John Aguirre, (916) 379-8995, john@cawg.org
·Meredith Ritchie, (916) 984-4473, meredith@cawg.org