WASHINGTON –
U.S. Senator Benjamin L. Cardin (D-MD) today commended the Senate for passing the Agricultural Appropriations Conference Report with more than $6.4 million dollars for the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center (BARC), located in Beltsville, MD. The Conference Report has passed the House and will now go to the President for his signature.

“The Beltsville Agricultural Research Center is critical to ensuring the safety of our food supply,” said
Senator Cardin, a member of the Senate Budget Committee. “BARC is one of our nation’s top scientific, research facilities and I strongly support funding that will provide it with the resources needed to improve the health and nutrition of all Americans.”

The measure, which passed the Senate by a vote of 76-22, included two appropriations requests by Senator Cardin, including:

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$3 million for building and maintenance improvements to the more than 500 structures located on the 7,000-acre campus; and,

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$2.8 million for high-priority research projects, including bio-medicinal materials in plants, poultry disease and potato disease.

The bill also included $654,000 in funding for the National Center for Agricultural Law.