U.S. House narrowly passes bill to fund USDA, FDA in 2027

By Thérèse Boudreaux
The Center Square

Less than four months before fiscal year 2027 begins, the U.S. House passed the second of the 12 annual appropriations bills that will fund the federal government.

Lawmakers voted 212-210 Thursday to send the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act over to the Senate, weeks after passing an appropriations bill funding Veterans Affairs and military construction.

With a topline of roughly $26.3 billion, the Ag-Rural-FDA bill invests in agriculture research, food safety, crop insurance, federal nutrition programs like SNAP and WIC, rural housing assistance, drug regulation, international food aid and more.

“This legislation reflects a clear, necessary commitment to fiscal responsibility while ensuring that America’s farmers, ranchers, and rural communities remain a top priority and that all Americans have access to a safe food and drug supply,” Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md., who chairs the subcommittee heavily involved in crafting the bill, said.

While the bill boosts funding for school lunch and breakfast programs, agricultural research, and state and local food safety inspections, it reduces funding for the Farm Service Agency, rural wastewater and businesses development grants, and the Food for Peace Program.

It also resets WIC spending to pre-pandemic levels, which Republicans say will still meet the needs of all recipients due to decreased program participation.

Most Democrats opposed the bill due to its funding cuts and also because it does not repeal Republicans’ recently updated SNAP work requirements, which are expected to save roughly $186 billion over the next decade.

“We cannot shut the door on our rural communities at a time when we need to do the opposite – invest in research at our land-grant university and in rural development, preserve our farmland and forests, ensure the safety of our food, medicine, and medical devices,” House Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., said. “Unfortunately, the bill before us does not meet our country’s needs.”

Congress must pass all 12 appropriations bills before Oct. 1, when federal agencies run out of spending money. The annual appropriations process is generally undertaken in a spirit of bipartisanship, given the economically and politically expensive fallout of government shutdowns.

Yet the 119th Congress has already weathered two record-breaking shutdowns – the second of which is still ongoing – due to multiple breakdowns in funding negotiations.