On March 11, 2009, President Obama signed the long-delayed FY2009 omnibus appropriations bill into law. It includes funding in 2009 for several cabinet departments and agencies, including USDA.

A key victory: This legislation added $5 million to the REAP program through a discretionary appropriation, increasing total REAP funding for 2009 to $60 million: $55 million in mandatory plus $5 million in discretionary funding. The bill neither added nor cut funding from any other Farm Bill Energy Title program.

For a complete summary of how Farm Bill Energy Title programs fared in 2009, and an update on the status of 2010 funding, please visit our Appropriations page.