Spending for USDA and FDA would be increased by 3% in fiscal 2025 under a bill advanced by the Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday, drawing a sharp contrast with the House GOP version of the measure.
The Senate bill notably rejects the House bill’s deep cut in the Food for Peace program that has drawn sharp criticism from Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.
The Senate bill is funded at $27.049 billion, which would be an $831 million increase from FY24.
The House version, which was approved by its appropriations committee late Wednesday, is funded at $25.873 billion, including $345 million for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. CFTC funding is not included in the Senate version.
There are similarly wide gaps in funding levels on other spending measures. Republicans on the Senate Appropriations Committee voted for the Agriculture spending bill and two other FY25 measures Thursday, but in a separate vote opposed the spending caps for those and the nine other appropriations bills.
“I think we’re all aware these are pretend votes today,” said Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., noting the differences between the House and Senate on spending caps, known as 302(b) allocations. “All of my Democratic colleagues are going to vote for the 302(b) allocations and all the Republicans are going to vote no, which means, of course, we don’t have an agreement.”
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The chairman of the Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee, Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, said the USDA-FDA bill “supports American farmers and ranchers, protects our food supply, increases market transparency, and promotes the health and well-being of the youngest and most vulnerable Americans by reducing poverty and food insecurity.”
The Senate bill would fund the Food for Peace program at $1.721 billion, a $101 million increase over the base funding level for FY24. The McGovern-Dole international school feeding program would get $250 million, a $10 million increase over FY24.
The House bill would cut Food for Peace by $619 million to $1 billion for FY25. Republicans justify the cut by citing the $1 billion that Vilsack is pulling from the Commodity Credit Corporation this year to supplement Food for Peace at the request of leaders of the Senate Agriculture Committee.
The Senate bill also would provide:
- $965.8 million for conservation operations at USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, up from $914.9 million for FY24.
- $1.87 billion for USDA’s Agricultural Research Service, a $29 million increase from FY24.
- $1.079 billion to the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, up from $1.076 billion in FY24. NIFA funds research at colleges and universities.
- $4 million to the National Agricultural Statistics Service to restore a series of reports cancelled because the agency said it didn't get enough funding for FY24.
- A $1 million increase over fiscal year 2024 to beef up enforcement of the Packers and Stockyards Act.
- $75 million to the ReConnect grant and loan program for rural broadband. The program, which has a separate stream of funding through the 2021 infrastructure law, was reduced to $90 million in FY24, down from the $348 million the program got in FY23.
- A $22 million increase for FDA, which would be funded at $3. billion.
The top Republican on the Ag Appropriations Subcommittee, John Hoeven of North Dakota, highlighted research funding in the bill.
"One of the key priorities for me is research We actually put $50 million more into research that pays huge dividends for everybody," he said.
The committee report that accompanies the bill includes direction to study the impact of SNAP benefits to be used for purchasing hot foods at retail food stores.
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