Republican Agriculture-Rural Development-FDA Bill Cuts Food Assistance for Hungry Families and Increases Costs for Farmers

WASHINGTON — House Appropriations Committee Republicans released their fiscal year 2027 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies funding bill, which will be considered in subcommittee tomorrow. This bill 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 a $1.1 billion, or 4 percent, cut 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.

“At a time when farmers and rural families across America are struggling to afford food, rent, and fuel, with Medicaid cuts straining rural hospitals and the cost of health insurance skyrocketing, this bill represents a good faith effort to meet the moment. While it is far from perfect, there are critical things that warrant its support,” Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee Ranking Member Sanford Bishop, Jr. (D-GA-02) said. “For example, the bill continues 2026 funding levels for all rural housing programs and fully funds the school nutrition and SNAP programs. It gives flexibility to increase loans for electric services in rural areas, maintains funding for the Commodity Supplemental Food Program, keeps Food for Peace Funded under USDA, and continues McGovern-Dole at the 2026 level. On the other hand, it does not fully fund the WIC fruit and vegetable vouchers, reduces staff at the Farm Service Agency, Natural Resources Conservation Service, and Rural Development making it harder for farmers and rural communities to get the assistance they need. There is a 44% reduction in water and waste grants crucial to small, poorer communities getting safer water. But overall, the bill is better than the President’s Budget, better than the 2026 House Bill, and – for the most part – free of harmful culture riders. I look forward to working with Chairman Harris and the majority in the House and Senate to produce a final product with sufficient resources needed to survive this Trump economy.”

“This bill hurts American farmers, hungry families, and rural communities,” said House Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03). “This bill cuts grocery vouchers specifically for women, infants and children. It pares back assistance for rural communities, slashing water and waste grants and cutting resources to help provide broadband service in rural areas. And it eliminates many rural development staff who help farmers access the benefits they are entitled to. Under this bill, 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. Farmers and working families continue to struggle under this administration’s cost of living crisis. This bill would make it worse. 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, cut, cut. The American people deserve better.”

A summary of House Republicans’ 2027 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies bill is here. A fact sheet of the bill is here. The text of the bill is here. The subcommittee markup will be webcast live and linked on the House Committee on Appropriations website.

###