Republican Agriculture-Rural Development-FDA Funding Bill Cuts Funding Back to 2006 Level

Cuts Rural Investments and Critical Food Programs

WASHINGTON — House Appropriations Committee Republicans today released the draft fiscal year 2024 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies funding bill, which will be considered in subcommittee tomorrow. This bill includes funding for agencies and programs within the Department of Agriculture, the Food and Drug Administration, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and the Farm Credit Administration.

For 2024, the bill provides funding of $17.2 billion – a level so low that it was last seen in 2006 – which is $9 billion below what was provided in 2023. The legislation:

• Reneges on investments in rural America such as loans to financially distressed farmers and funds for rural electric co-ops to help ratepayers.
• Reneges on critical nutrition assistance.
• Underfunds critical direct loans for the purchase of homes in rural areas and water and waste grants, which help the poorest communities get safer water services.
• Takes food out of the mouths of veterans, children, seniors, and people with disabilities.
• Reverses the FDA decision to allow mifepristone to be dispensed in certified pharmacies, instead of only by prescribers in hospitals, clinics, and medical offices.

“I am extremely disappointed that this bill will shortchange America’s rural and underserved communities, restricting their ability to access water and waste systems, nutritious food, and affordable electricity,” Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee Ranking Member Sanford Bishop, Jr. (D-GA-02) said. “The federal government should be a steadfast partner for smaller communities whose budgets cannot meet the large, upfront costs of critical quality-of-life projects. Unfortunately, these cuts will hurt the most vulnerable and blunt the forward progress being made to grow our economy for everyone.”

“If you thought cutting to 2022 levels was bad, House Republicans just introduced a bill that brings us all the way back to 2006,” Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03) said. “This is a sham proposal built on an $8 billion foundation that is completely detached from reality because most of these rescissions may not be available by next year. It is also a non-starter within the Republican conference. This bill exemplifies Republican values: taking food out of the mouths of hungry people, creating hurdles for women to access medication, raising energy costs for rural Americans, and making it harder for small farmers to make ends meet while at the same time tipping the scale in favor of big corporations and protecting big tobacco.”

Key provisions included in the draft 2024 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies bill are below. The text of the draft bill is here. The subcommittee markup will be webcast live and linked on the House Committee on Appropriations website.

The 2024 funding bill:

• Slashes Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) by $500 million.
• Cuts the Renewable Energy for American Program (REAP) by $500 million.
• Guts rural electric investments in clean energy and energy efficiency from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) by $3.25 billion.
• Eliminates a lifeline that has already helped more than 20,000 distressed farmers who have received assistance from the Inflation Reduction Act.
• Takes food out of the mouths of veterans, children, seniors, and people with disabilities who rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
• Blocks FDA from acting on important tobacco issues – banning menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars and limiting the nicotine in cigarettes.
• Hurts small poultry producers while protecting overreach by large corporations.
• Blocks three Biden executive orders on diversity, equality, inclusion, and support for underserved communities.
• Reverses the 2023 Food and Drug Administration (FDA) decision to allow mifepristone to be dispensed in certified pharmacies, instead of only by prescribers in hospitals, clinics, and medical offices.

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