Committee Approves FY25 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act

House Appropriations Committee Approves Fiscal Year 2025 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act

Washington, D.C. – Today, the House Appropriations Committee met to consider the Fiscal Year 2025 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act. The measure was approved by the Committee with a vote of 29 to 26.

Agriculture, Rural Development, and Food and Drug Administration Subcommittee Chairman Andy Harris (R-MD) said,

“This Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill is an important piece of legislation because it touches the lives of Americans daily as we all depend on a safe food and drug supply overseen by both the Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration. This legislation also recognizes that Americans are struggling with inflation, and we must rein in the reckless spending of the Biden Administration by targeting funding towards core programs that help America’s farmers, ranchers, and rural communities. I look forward to this bill’s final passage on the House Floor and thank my committee staff for their dedicated work to advance this critical legislation.”

Chairman Tom Cole (R-OK) said,

“We are reminded today that agriculture is not merely a commodity—it is a way of life. Through production, innovation, and pure grit, American farmers and producers feed the world. This FY25 bill prioritizes U.S. agriculture, food security, and a safe medical supply. It supports our rural communities by investing in broadband and vital nutrition programs. We also take important steps to address farmland acquired and owned by foreign adversaries. Each provision helps sustain, fuel, heal, and connect American families. Chairman Harris ensured taxpayer dollars are spent where they are needed most.”

Subcommittee Chairman Harris’ opening remarks are available here.
Chairman Cole’s opening remarks are available here.

Fiscal Year 2025 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act

The Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act provides a total discretionary allocation of $25.873 billion, which is $355 million (1.35%) below the Fiscal Year 2024 enacted level and $2.688 billion (9.4%) below the President’s Budget Request.
 
The bill prioritizes agencies and programs that protect our nation’s food and drug supply; support America’s farmers, ranchers, and rural communities; and ensure low-income Americans have access to nutrition programs. The bill also reins in harmful regulations that raise the cost of doing business and make it harder to live and work in rural communities.

Key Takeaways

• Supports our rural communities and strengthens our national security and food supply by:
  • Continuing critical investments in agriculture research, rural broadband, and animal and plant health programs.
  • Providing sufficient funds to ensure the safety of food, drugs, and medical devices.
  • Ensuring that low-income Americans have access to nutrition programs.
  • Addressing foreign ownership of U.S. agricultural land by:
    • Improving the tracking system of foreign-owned land; and
    • Ensuring the Secretary of Agriculture is included in the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) to review agricultural transactions and also requiring the notification of CFIUS of agricultural land transactions of national security concern, including purchases made by China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran.
  • Reining in harmful regulations that dictate how poultry and livestock producers raise and market their animals.
  • Blocking revised energy standards for newly constructed homes financed by the Department of Agriculture that would increase costs for rural, lower-income households in an already constrained housing market.
  • Prioritizing the nutrition needs of participants by allowing states to voluntarily participate in a pilot program to restrict unhealthy food purchases with SNAP benefits.
  • Providing a $33.8 million increase for the Food Safety and Inspection Service to fund frontline meat and poultry inspectors.
  • Continuing a program to increase inspection of foreign drug manufacturing facilities in China and India.
  • Providing adequate funding for land-grant universities to conduct agricultural research, ensuring American producers can compete with China.
  • Maintaining Buy American provisions that maximize the federal government’s use of services, goods, products, and materials produced and offered in the United States.
• Focuses the Executive Branch on its core responsibilities by:
  • Providing no funds for new programs requested by the Administration.
  • Refusing to include resources to cover President Biden’s bureaucratic pay increases, saving taxpayers $281 million.
  • Rejecting the funding request for climate hubs.
  • Requiring the Food and Drug Administration to properly regulate and tackle the illegal e-cigarette products flooding our country before imposing further regulations on legal tobacco products.
  • Reaffirming the political limits outlined in the Hatch Act, particularly those of lobbying Congress and using official resources for political purposes.
  • Directing the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) to reinstate the July Cattle report, the Cotton Objective Yield Survey, and all County Estimates for Crops and Livestock.
    • Limiting the agency’s funding flexibility to only core activities.
• Supports American values and principles by:
  • Retaining the gene editing provision, which prohibits the “editing” of heritable genes or altering of genes that can be passed on to offspring.
  • Prohibiting the Biden Administration’s executive orders on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).
  • Prohibiting funds for the USDA’s new DEI Office.
  • Prohibiting the use of funds to promote or advance critical race theory.

A summary of the bill is available here.

During the markup, Committee Republicans refused amendments offered by the Democrats that would have:

• Struck two provisions that would prohibit unnecessary rulemakings until the FDA further enforces efforts to remove illicit tobacco products from the market. 
• Promoted and advanced critical race theory.
• Allowed unapproved flags to be flown over federal facilities.
• Funded polarizing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
• Exposed Americans to religious discrimination.

Adopted Amendments

• Harris #1 (Manager’s Amendment) – Makes technical, bipartisan changes to the bill and report.
  • The amendment was adopted by voice vote.
• Bishop #1 – Prevents a SNAP pilot program. 
  • The amendment was adopted by voice vote.
• Cline #1 – Requires the inclusion of safe, peanut-containing foods in Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program, supporting the early introduction of allergenic foods.
  • The amendment was adopted by voice vote.
• Franklin #1 – Requires the USDA to test molasses imports, ensuring that such imports don’t circumvent U.S. law.
  • The amendment was adopted by voice vote.

Bill text, before adoption of amendments, is available here.
Bill report, before adoption of amendments, is available here.
A table of included Community Project Funding requests is available here.
 

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SDGs, Targets, and Indicators in the Article

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

• SDG 2: Zero Hunger
• SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
• SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
• SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
• SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
• SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
• SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals

The article discusses issues related to agriculture, rural development, food safety, nutrition programs, and regulations. These issues are connected to the SDGs mentioned above.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

• SDG 2.1: By 2030, end hunger and ensure access by all people, in particular the poor and people in vulnerable situations, including infants, to safe, nutritious, and sufficient food all year round.
• SDG 2.3: By 2030, double the agricultural productivity and incomes of small-scale food producers, in particular women, indigenous peoples, family farmers, pastoralists, and fishers.
• SDG 3.8: Achieve universal health coverage, including financial risk protection, access to quality essential health-care services, and access to safe, effective, quality, and affordable essential medicines and vaccines for all.
• SDG 8.3: Promote development-oriented policies that support productive activities, decent job creation, entrepreneurship, creativity, and innovation, and encourage the formalization and growth of micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises, including through access to financial services.
• SDG 9.1: Develop quality, reliable, sustainable, and resilient infrastructure, including regional and transborder infrastructure, to support economic development and human well-being, with a focus on affordable and equitable access for all.
• SDG 10.2: By 2030, empower and promote the social, economic, and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion, or economic or other status.
• SDG 12.2: By 2030, achieve the sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources.
• SDG 17.17: Encourage and promote effective public, public-private, and civil society partnerships, building on the experience and resourcing strategies of partnerships.

These targets are relevant to the issues discussed in the article, such as ensuring access to safe food, improving agricultural productivity, promoting health coverage, supporting economic development, reducing inequalities, promoting sustainable resource management, and fostering partnerships.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

• Indicator 2.1.1: Prevalence of undernourishment
• Indicator 2.3.1: Volume of production per labor unit by classes of farming/pastoral/forestry enterprise size
• Indicator 3.8.1: Coverage of essential health services (defined as the average coverage of essential services based on tracer interventions that include reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health, infectious diseases, non-communicable diseases, and service capacity and access)
• Indicator 8.3.1: Proportion of informal employment in non-agriculture employment, by sex
• Indicator 9.1.1: Proportion of the rural population who live within 2 km of an all-season road
• Indicator 10.2.1: Proportion of people living below 50 percent of median income, by age, sex, and disability
• Indicator 12.2.1: Material footprint, material footprint per capita, and material footprint per GDP
• Indicator 17.17.1: Amount of United States dollars committed to public-private partnerships and civil society partnerships

These indicators can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets, such as measuring the prevalence of undernourishment, agricultural productivity, health service coverage, employment informality, infrastructure accessibility, income inequality, resource consumption, and partnership commitments.

Table: SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Source: appropriations.house.gov