{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-sen-rand-paul-releases-special-thanksgiving-edition-waste-report/", "Sen. Rand Paul Releases Special Thanksgiving Edition of \u2018The Waste Report\u2019", "2015-11-23", "2015", "2015-11", "Republican", "Senate", "KY", "Rand Paul", "P000603", "www.paul.senate.gov", "paul", "https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/", "scraper", "Report Calls Attention to the U.S. Department of Agriculture\u2019s Specialty Crop Block Grant Program\n\nWASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 U.S. Senator Rand Paul today released a special Thanksgiving edition of \u2018The Waste Report,\u2019 which is an ongoing project cataloguing egregious examples of waste within the U.S. government.\n\nThe special edition of \u2018The Waste Report\u2019 calls attention to the U.S. Department of Agriculture\u2019s Specialty Crop Block Grant program. Over 300 specialty crops are eligible for federal support from the $72.5 million program. A sampling of the specialty crops eligible includes: apples, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, peaches, sweet corn, potatoes, green beans, peas, broccoli, grapes, almonds, pears, cherries, carrots, and brussels sprouts.\n\nThe special edition of \u2018The Waste Report\u2019 can be found HERE or below.\n\nOn Thursday, millions of Americans will sit down to Thanksgiving dinner. While you enjoy Thanksgiving staples of sweet potatoes and green beans, you might not realize that according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), except for the turkey and stuffing, just about everything else on your table is considered a \u201cspecialty crop\u201d and eligible for federal support from the $72.5 million Specialty Crop Block Grant program (SCBGP). [1]\n\nAccording to USDA, \u201cThe SCBGP focuses on projects that enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops\u2026the block grants are designed to increase the long-term success of producers and broaden the market for specialty crops.\u201d[2] Allowable activities under these grants include some types of marketing, travel, consultants, attending conferences, development of websites or mobile apps, and more.\n\nSo what exactly qualifies as a specialty crop? You may be envisioning some exotic herb or something new to the market. It would probably something rare, atypical, and thus in need of competitive enhancement. You will probably be surprised to learn that according to USDA, just about everything is \u201cspecial.\u201d\n\nIn fact, the USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack said in his April 18, 2014 blog post, \u201cSpecialty crops make up the bulk of what we eat\u2014all of our fruits and vegetables, tree nuts and dried fruits\u2014as well as things like cut flowers and nursery crops.\u201d[3] It seems when Congress created the program, the definition of \u201cspecialty\u201d was wide enough you could drive a truck through it\u2026 and it is a big truck.\n\nBut the bulk of what we eat? Yes, USDA lists over 300 special crops and only 36 non-qualified crops. So what exactly is on the list? Here is just a sampling:\n\n\u2022 apples \u2022 strawberries \u2022 raspberries \u2022 blueberries \u2022 blackberries \u2022 peaches \u2022 sweet corn \u2022 potatoes \u2022 green beans \u2022 peas (all varieties) \u2022 broccoli \u2022 grapes \u2022 almonds \u2022 pears \u2022 cherries \u2022 carrots \u2022 Brussels sprouts (yuck) \u2022[4]\n\nSeems these are hardly new and unheard of crops. In a USDA blog post a Deputy Administrator said of one specialty crop, \u201c[w]hether purchased fresh, frozen, or pureed, the blueberry has long been a staple in the diets of many people.\u201d A specialty-staple, who knew? Even more weird is quinoa is on the non-qualified list of crops.[5]\n\nOh, and it is not just food. Turf grass (sod) makes the cut and so do live Christmas trees. So even after Thanksgiving dinner is over your pocketbook is not safe \u2013 your tax dollars might have gone to support the football field you see on TV or the tree the family cuts down at the local u-cut place.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T20:30:58Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-sen-rand-paul-releases-special-thanksgiving-edition-waste-report/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.6786010712385178, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}