House and Senate Complete Markups for Agriculture-Rural Development-FDA FY 24 Appropriations Bills
The full appropriations committees of both the House and Senate have now approved the Agriculture-RD-FDA appropriations bills via votes during markup hearings.
The ‘markup’ is the process by which a U.S. congressional committee debates, amends, and rewrites proposed legislation. It is a way a full committee can review a subcommittee’s work, conduct line-by-line assessments of existing provisions, recommend revisions, and prepare legislation for consideration by the full House or Senate.
In the House, the Committee approved its bill in a 34-27 vote on June 14. In the Senate, the Committee approved its version of the agriculture appropriations bill in a 28-0 vote on June 22. The only other subcommittee bills which have passed in both the House and Senate are the Military Construction & Veterans Affairs appropriations bills. Of course, the House and Senate proposals differ and will necessitate reconciliation and agreement before final passage.
Here are the topline funding totals, by chamber:
The overview of both the House and Senate proposals are not intended to be comprehensive, thorough reviews of the bills. Rather, Constitution Partners has highlighted core programs and priorities that readers should be aware are part of ongoing negotiations in the FY 2024 appropriations process.
As a reminder, the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 (the debt deal agreement) outlines that a 1% cut to discretionary spending will go into effect across the board if Congress is unable to pass all 12 appropriations bills by the end of CY 2023. With it unlikely that Congress will pass a major appropriations package before September 30, a continuing resolution is most likely to give lawmakers more time to avoid the mandatory cuts at the end of the year.
If there are any specific questions around process, individual programs, or unlisted provisions, please do not hesitate to reach out.
House Proposal
The House Appropriations Agriculture, Rural Development, FDA, and Related Agencies Subcommittee was appropriated $25.9 billion for programs under the Subcommittee’s jurisdiction. The House reached that funding level by including another $8.150 billion in measures offset by certain Republican-led funding cuts. The Department of Agriculture was provided $17.163 billion, the Food & Drug Administration was provided $6.579 billion, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission was provided $345 million, and 395 projects (totaling $483 million) were approved for community projects. Here’s a detailed spending breakdown, per entity:
Department of Agriculture ($17.163 billion)
Below is a broad overview of several key offices and programs within the USDA:
Agriculture and Food Research Initiative
Funding Level: $460 million
Key Provisions: The Committee directs NIFA to prioritize funding for projects addressing plant and animal health, emerging pest and disease issues, food safety, plant and animal breeding, improved productivity, precision agriculture, biosecurity, and workforce development. The Committee specifically expressed interest in researching advanced rock weathering.
Agricultural Marketing Services
Funding Level: $184.7 million
Key Provisions: The Committee encourages AMS and NIFA to work with institutions of higher education to conduct research on best practices on strengthening, maintaining, and securing supply chains related to agricultural products produced in the United States. The Committee does not support any federal policies that would impose unnecessary marketing, labeling, or distribution hurdles of bioengineered salmon.
Agricultural Research Service
Funding Level: $1.746 billion
Key Provisions: The Committee allocates an increase of $500,000 to expand research regarding the growth, health promotion, microbiome, disease prevention, diet, and immune function of the developing child, especially the rural child.
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
Funding Level: $1.169 billion
Key Provisions: The Committee directs APHIS to provide a plan within 60 days of enactment to update physical facilities and processes due to the increased volume of agricultural imports.
Economic Research Service
Funding Level: $90.6 million
Key Provisions: The Committee directs ERS to research and analyze the need for and benefits of USDA providing public financing to support new or significantly improved food and agricultural technologies, such as large-scale bio-fermentation facilities.
Food Safety and Inspection Service
Funding Level: $1.197 billion
Key Provisions: The Committee requests a briefing on the potential impacts EPA’s proposed rule entitled, PFAS National Primary Drinking Water Regulation Rulemaking’ may have on regulated food manufacturers and if it may trigger FSIS regulatory enforcement for water used in food manufacturing.
Foreign Agricultural Service
Funding Level: $2.2 billion
Key Provisions: The McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program is funded at $240 million. Additionally, the Committee directs FAS to provide a report within 180 days of enactment on the agricultural situation in Ukraine.
National Institute of Food & Agriculture
Funding Level: $1.692 billion
Key Provisions: The Committee instructs NIFA to continue efforts to explore utilization of blockchain technology to accurately trace food and mitigate the risks associated with food contaminated outbreaks. The Committee also encourages NIFA to prioritize the advancement of enteric fermentation solutions, such as cattle feed additives or innovative vaccines, to decrease livestock methane.
Natural Resources Conservation Service
Funding Level: $911.399 million
Key Provisions: The Committee encourages NRCS to review all conservation programs to ensure their funding timelines related to conservation planning and program delivery meet legislatively mandated timelines to support farmers in developing their practices and fulfilling the mission of the programs. The Committee directs NRCS to report back on its findings and efforts to improve program funding timelines within 180 days of enactment. The Committee also recognizes the large backlog of community infrastructure projects eligible for financial and technical assistance through the Watershed Rehabilitation Program to address safety concerns, public health, and environmental impacts of aging dams.
Rural Development
Funding Level: $4.039 billion
Key Provisions: Provides $260 million in USDA ReConnect funding. The Committee encourages the Department to continue investing in programs that improve air and water quality in rural and agricultural communities, including in programs that improve aging water infrastructure and protect water quality, help rural communities withstand severe storms and flooding, reduce air pollution, restore habitats, and preserve outdoor spaces and local farms. The Committee also encourages opportunities to provide technical and financial assistance to distressed rural and tribal communities to support weather resilience activities and protect rural economies from increased risk and vulnerabilities from weather variation.
USDA Food Programs, Child Nutrition Programs, SNAP, and WIC
Funding Level: $31.996 billion (Child Nutrition Programs: National School Lunch, School Breakfast, and Summer Food Service programs); $121.996 billion (SNAP); $6 billion (WIC)
Key Provisions: The Committee expressed concerns with fraud in the SNAP program, particularly card skimming, and instructs FNS to engage with state and local agencies to develop a more secure EBT card. The Committee also instructs FNS and NIFA to prioritize evidence-based interventions that include hands-on cooking paired with nutrition education when administering SNAP-Ed.
Food & Drug Administration ($6.579 billion)
The Committee provides $3.5 billion in discretionary budget authority and $3 billion in user fees.
The bill’s language also echoed findings from the Reagan-Udall Foundation’s independent evaluation of the FDA. Specifically, the appropriations bill requires FDA consolidate the foods program by appointing a Deputy Commissioner for Foods with direct authority over various entities, including the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN), the food and feed-related activities of the Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM), and all food-related components of the Office of Regulatory Affairs (ORA). These components encompass inspection and compliance, food-related laboratories, import oversight, state partnerships, training, and information technology.
Another major provision surrounded the traceability recordkeeping rule FDA recently promulgated, in accordance with the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act. Specifically, the provision states:
Traceability Rule: The Committee is aware that, in accordance with the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, FDA issued a final rule establishing additional traceability recordkeeping requirements for certain foods and that the agency was mandated by a federal court ruling to submit a final rule to the Federal Register by November 7, 2022. However, given the complexity of modern food supply chains, the Committee is concerned that implementing this rule may pose a number of challenges for industry. Understanding that the rule’s compliance date is January 20, 2026, the Committee directs FDA to use the interim time to ensure that the rule can be successfully implemented without creating an undue burden on the food industry. The Committee is aware that FDA has taken some steps already, such as creating a web-based tool to determine eligibility for full and partial exemptions, publishing a Small Entity Compliance Guide, and translating examples of different supply chains into multiple languages. However, the Committee directs FDA to conduct additional industry outreach and issue educational materials to further support industry, including by conducting regular stakeholder meetings, providing answers to specific questions about the rule through FDA’s Technical Assistance Network, and holding webinars. The Committee also directs FDA to consider input from industry in developing guidance documents that should clarify the agency’s expectations. FDA is further directed to brief the Committee within 90 days of enactment of this Act on its progress.
Below is a broad overview of several key offices within the FDA:
Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH)
Funding Level: $739.8 million
Key Provisions: The Committee requests FDA work closer with the Federal Trade Commission on informing the agency on the importance of protecting patient safety, such as prioritizing medical device retailer compliance over physician regulatory compliance, and instructs FDA to provide a briefing to Congress on actions related to protecting public health in the medical device space, such as contact lenses, within six months. The Committee also instructs FDA to review vulnerabilities in the medical device supply chain, particularly assessing gaps brought to light by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER)
Funding Level: $2.316 billion
Key Provisions: The Committee encourages FDA to continue its work establishing the Advanced Manufacturing Technologies Destination Program and requests a briefing within 90 days of publication of draft guidance for the Program. The purpose of the briefing is to inform Congress on FDA’s progress integrating the new program with the CDER Emerging Technologies Program and Advanced Technologies Team.
Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN)
Funding Level: $1.19 billion
Key Provisions: The Committee recommends FDA identify and develop processes for potential future food allergens that will require labeling on food packaging. It also prioritizes continuing the FDA’s work on New Era of Smarter Food Safety projects. In the cell cultured meat labeling space, the Committee requests a report to Congress outlining the pre-market consultation process for cell-cultured protein products within 90 days of the enactment of legislation. Congress also requests a briefing within 180 of enactment evaluating AI driven audit tools to assess food labeling accuracy.
Center for Tobacco Products (CTP)
Funding Level: $677.1 million
Key Provisions: The Committee requests FDA take ‘certain actions’ to clear the tens of thousands of pending applications for smoke-free products that are well beyond the 180-dsy statutory deadline for product evaluation.
Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM)
Funding Level: $283.6 million
Key Provisions: The Committee recommends FDA to collaborate with other agencies to better market food sales of wild caught, invasive species. The Committee also encourages FDA to explore regulatory options to reduce enteric methane emissions from ruminant animals through the use of certain animal products.
Senate Proposal
The Senate Appropriations Agriculture, Rural Development, FDA, and Related Agencies Subcommittee was allocated $25.9 billion for programs under the Subcommittee’s jurisdiction. The Department of Agriculture was provided $17.163 billion, the Food & Drug Administration was provided $6.579 billion, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission was provided $345 million, and 395 projects (totaling $483 million) were approved for community projects. Here’s a detailed spending breakdown, per entity:
Department of Agriculture
Below is a broad overview of several key offices and programs within the USDA:
Agriculture and Food Research Initiative
Funding Level: $455 million
Key Provisions: The Committee strongly supports providing farmers nationwide with greater access to cultivars that are locally and regionally adapted to their soils, climates, and farming systems. The Committee is concerned that insufficient progress is being made in prioritizing this effort. As such, the Committee directs the agency to make regionally adapted, publicly held cultivar development a distinct funding priority within AFRI for fiscal year 2024 and directs the agency to take steps to improve its tracking of public cultivar projects within AFRI and report its progress in meeting this goal. AFRI is also encouraged to support research and development of agricultural robotics, particularly to increase yields in vertically stacked farming production.
Agricultural Marketing Services
Funding Level: $229.8 million
Key Provisions: The Committee urges AMS to administer the Micro-Grants for Food Security program in a manner that will ensure that low-income, disadvantaged, and minority individuals are able to submit applications and receive funding for projects such as animal processing and slaughter facilities, including reindeer herders, greenhouses, and hydroponic growing facilities that would increase the amount and quality of locally produced foods.
Agricultural Research Service
Funding Level: $1.792 billion
Key Provisions: The Committee directs ARS to continue a Food Systems Center that addresses how local, regional, and global food systems can provide nutritious and culturally appropriate food, regardless of individual life circumstances. The Committee also provides $10,000,000 to establish a Center of Excellence for PFAS solutions throughout Agricultural and Food Systems in conjunction with a university partner. Algae, aquaculture, seafood fraud, nutrient efficacy in obesity treatment, protein functionality, and more are all identified as Committee priorities.
Farm Service Agency
Funding Level: $1.5 billion
Key Provisions: The Committee instructs FSA to provide a report to within 90 days of enactment on USDA’s efforts to ensure foreign investments in US agricultural land. On the matter of the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP), the Committee acknowledges that drought is the largest cause of U.S. farm production losses. The Committee directs the Secretary to revise the 2019 Draft Programmatic Environmental Assessment for CRP to allow dryland agriculture uses on land enrolled in CREP. The Committee further reminded USDA that a previous public law had instructed the Secretary to submit a report to the Committee detailing a full analysis of the new CREP dryland agricultural uses authority and what dryland farming best management practices could make advancements to protect ground water and surface water quality and control soil erosion while enhancing wildlife habitat.
Food Safety and Inspection Service
Funding Level: $1.2 billion
Key Provisions: The Committee instructs USDA to continue the reduced user fees for small and very small establishments as established by the American Rescue Plan act of 2023. The Committee is also concerned about the failure to decrease the Salmonella illness rate over the past 25 years and requests a report from FSIS within 90 days of enactment detailing the actions the agency has initiated for reducing poultry-originating Salmonella.
National Institute of Food & Agriculture
Funding Level: $1.08 billion
Key Provisions: The Committee encourages NIFA to prioritize investments that deliver hands-on technical education in diversified agriculture and food systems and to support technical colleges seeking to establish beginning farmer programs serving diversified agriculture and supporting farm viability. NIFA is also encouraged to continue supporting the work of the Artificial Intelligence Research Institutes – in collaboration with the National Science Foundation – in pursuit of advances in precision agriculture and food supply security.
Natural Resources Conservation Service
Funding Level: $922.1 million
Key Provisions: NRCS is instructed to report to the Committee within 180 days of enactment on progress made on implementing climate smart agriculture and forestry. The Committee also instructs NRCS to encourage and support farmers in participating in the Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQIP), which the Committee sees as underutilized. The Committee also instructs NRCS to dedicate more technical assistance funds to establish standard protocols for measuring and testing carbon levels to evaluate gains in soil health to help producers create positive economic, environmental, and social outcomes through ecosystem service markets.
USDA Food Programs, Child Nutrition Programs, SNAP, and WIC
Funding Level: $32 billion (Child Nutrition Programs: National School Lunch, School Breakfast, and Summer Food Service programs); $122 billion (SNAP); $6.3 billion (WIC)
Key Provisions: The Committee is pleased with the successes of Farm to School projects and has included language to allow maximum grant amounts to increase to $500,000. The Committee also encourages FNS to support school food authorities in sourcing and serving pulse crops. The Committee specifically highlighted the benefits of the fresh-only fruits and vegetable offerings provided by the Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program, while also providing $90 million in funding for transportation, storage, and program integrity of the Emergency Food Assistance Program.
Food & Drug Administration
The bill provides a $20 million increase in funding for the FDA to carry out its critical mission to keep families healthy and safe. More specifically, it provides an additional $7 million to conduct oversight of cosmetics for the first time ever, $3.75 million to strengthen FDA’s food safety programs, $3.75 million to address device shortages and supply chain issues, $3 million to advance neuroscience research, and $2.5 million for ALS research.
Below is a broad overview of several key offices within the FDA:
Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH)
Funding Level: $739.5 million
Key Provisions: The Committee instructs FDA to use its funding increase to meet objectives to reduce healthcare associated infections as described in the FDA CDRH Regulatory Science Priorities report, and support the domestic manufacture and use of medical devices, drugs, and biological products.
Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER)
Funding Level: $2.326 billion
Key Provisions: The Committee encourages the FDA to increase its efforts to encourage the pharmaceutical industry to expand and relocate drug manufacturing to the United States.
Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN)
Funding Level: $1.19 billion
Key Provisions: The Commissioner is directed to submit a report no later than 60 days following enactment to the Committee outlining the pre-market consultation process for cell-cultured protein products. The Committee noted its concern with delays in evaluating petitions for nutrition and menu labeling exemptions and requested a report on the number and timing of no later than 30 days after enactment.
Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM)
Funding Level: $286.6 million
Key Provisions: The Committee directs the CVM to improve animal food ingredient reviews to improve innovation and address challenges and opportunities in the animal food industry. The Committee also notes the shortage of veterans, particularly in rural areas, and provides an increase in program funding for both the Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program and the Veterinary Services Grant Program.
