The texas a & m university (tamu) congressionally mandated policy research center cooperative agreement with the office of the chief economist provides congress, particularly the house and senate…

The texas a & m university (tamu) congressionally mandated policy research center cooperative agreement with the office of the chief economist provides congress, particularly the house and senate agriculture committees, and USDA leadership with rapid-response economic analyses and data for policy development and the policy-making process to achieve optimal outcomes for agricultural producers. Deliverables include confidential written reports and in-person briefings to lawmakers, their staff, and USDA leadership upon request. This agreement also supports tamu's technical work used directly by agricultural producers. For example, tamu continues under this agreement to maintain and improve its farmer decision aid tool that guides producers towards choosing risk management programs (price loss coverage or agricultural risk coverage) to best protect their financial health. Tamu, with support from OCE, has also developed models to forecast the economic effects of proposed changes to food assistance programs (such as the supplemental nutrition assistance program) which can be used to assist lawmakers in their efforts to reduce waste, fraud, and abuse in food assistance programs under USDA's purview. Analytics produced from these models are delivered confidentially to policymakers and USDA leadership through written reports, presentations, and/or in-person briefings.