Authority for many of the agricultural and food related programs of the Department of Agriculture are contained in the Food and Agriculture Act of 1977. Most provisions of the 1977 Act expire with the 1981 crop, including those used to develop and implement price and income support programs for grains, cotton, soybeans, sugar, wool, and dairy products. Authorities for the Food Stamp and P.L. 480 programs also expire in the fall of 1981. Should the 1977 Act not be extended or replaced by the Congress, some program authorities would continue but in substantially altered form. The authority for these programs would be to so-called permanent legislation. This paper develops a comparison of program authorities under the 1977 Act and those that would be used under permanent legislation.