Democrats Fought to Lower Costs, Republicans Fought to Cut Assistance to Farmers and Families

House Republicans Voted Against Amendments to Prohibit Tariffs that Increase Food Costs, Restore Grants for Rural Communities, and Reverse Trump Staffing Cuts that Hurt Farmers

WASHINGTON — During today’s House Appropriations Committee markup of the 2027 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies funding bill, House Democrats fought against House Republicans’ bill that increases costs for rural communities and cuts funding for programs that support farmers and help hardworking people feed their families.

The bill provides discretionary funding of $26.3 billion, which is $1.1 billion, or 4 percent, below fiscal year 2026. The bill:

• Increases costs for farmers and rural communities by steeply cutting critical investments, including water and waste grants to help the poorest communities get safer water services, and slashing the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) loans in half.
• Hurts farmers by cutting the number of federal and local employees who help them access government resources they are promised.
• Threatens access to food for hardworking and vulnerable Americans, failing to ensure that every eligible recipient can access their benefits, by not providing the full fruit and vegetable benefit to USDA's Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).
• Slashes Food for Peace, which provides American farmers with additional revenue and helps feed hungry children around the globe, while USDA proceeds to start implementing the program after the administration gutted USAID.

“This bill is trying to get away with 20th Century funding to meet 21st Century needs and challenges. Though the bill is not as bad as last year’s bill, we can and must do better in providing resources so that America will be able to continue producing the highest quality, safest, most abundant, and most affordable food, fiber, and medicine,” Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee Ranking Member Sanford Bishop, Jr.’s (D-GA-02) said. “At a time when costs are skyrocketing for food, fuel, and other everyday items on which farmers and families rely, Congress needs to be a more reliable partner for hardworking Americans. Unfortunately, the USDA programs that help provide clean water, affordable utilities, and rural broadband are all woefully cut or underfunded. Our ag producers are reaching out to Farm Service Agency, Natural Resource Conservation Service, and Rural Development offices that are either understaffed or even closed, and this bill does not confront the Administration’s reckless cuts to USDA workers. Moreover, this bill will leave over 5 million women, infants, and children hungry and asking why this bill is making America less healthy. While this bill rejects some of the disastrous cuts and program eliminations proposed by the President, we can and must do better.” 

Congressman Sanford Bishop, Jr.’s full remarks are here.

“We are in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis that is directly hurting farmers. But Republicans are not focused on the cost-of-living crisis. They are making it worse,” Appropriations Committee Ranking Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03) said. “At a time when families around the country live paycheck to paycheck, have trouble buying food and finding housing and so many other essentials – House Republicans are cutting the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program and the vouchers for fruits and vegetables. Republicans’ funding bill pares back assistance for rural communities, slashing water and waste grants and cutting resources to help provide broadband service in rural areas. American farmers will lose out on the revenue they receive by growing food for the Food for Peace Program, while more children around the globe go hungry. President Trump and Republicans are willing to increase funding by hundreds of billions of dollars to fight foreign wars. But when it comes to supporting American farmers and hungry families, all they can do is cut. The American people deserve better.”

Congresswoman DeLauro’s full remarks as prepared for delivery are here.

During today’s markup, Democrats were successful in passing Ranking Member DeLauro’s amendment requiring FDA to conduct a study on infant formula safety and testing protocols for domestic and foreign formula manufacturers. They also passed Congresswoman Grace Meng’s (NY-06) amendment requiring the FDA to update Congress on the status of phasing out food dyes and other harmful additives. 

Democrats offered a number of amendments that were all rejected by Republicans, including amendments to:

• Prohibit President Trump’s trade war tariffs that increase food costs.
• Restore grants for rural communities, including Water and Waste grants, and resources to help farmers and rural communities deal with high energy prices.
• Restore funding for Food for Peace to the 2026 level and add a layer of oversight to ensure transparency in the Trump administration’s implementation of the program.
• Reinstate the Household Food Security survey.

A summary of the bill is here. A fact sheet of the bill is here. 

The text of the bill, before the adoption of amendments in full committee, is here. The bill report, before the adoption of amendments in full Committee, is here. Information on Community Project Funding in the bill is here.

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