07.11.24

BILL SUMMARY: Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Fiscal Year 2025 Appropriations Bill

 

Legislation fully funds WIC, supports rural communities, protects our food supply, keeps families safe, and invests in agricultural research

 

Washington, D.C. – The Fiscal Year 2025 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act provides $27.049 billion in total funding, an $821 million increase over fiscal year 2024.

 

“The Senate Appropriations Committee is proving, yet again, that it is possible to find common ground across party lines on funding bills that put the interests of working families first,” said Senator Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Chair of the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Subcommittee. “The investments we have included in this bipartisan bill will improve access to needed prescriptions, help American farmers produce healthy food, and grow economic opportunities in our rural communities. We maintained our full support for vital nutrition programs like WIC that ensure women, infants, and children can keep healthy food on the table. We also included continued funding for the Southwest Border Regional Commission, to further grow the region’s economy.”

 

“Last year, we fought tooth and nail to fully fund WIC, and I am proud that this bill once again does just that—ensuring millions of women and children can continue to count on this vital nutrition assistance. This bill sustains rental assistance to help families in rural communities keep a roof over their head, and it fully funds critical programs that help kids get healthy meals at school and over the summer, including through the Summer EBT program I helped establish,” said Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee. “This legislation will keep food safety inspectors on the job, help protect our food supply, and provide FDA more resources to protect consumers’ health and safety. This is a strong bipartisan bill that also delivers important support for our farmers and rural communities.”

 

Key Points & Highlights

 

Nutrition Assistance: The bill delivers critical new resources to fully fund WIC and ensure all eligible women, infants, and children can get the nutrition they need. It also protects vital nutrition assistance programs for families across the country.

  • WIC: As was the case in fiscal year 2024, the bill fully funds the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)—which serves 7 million women and kids nationwide—by providing $7.697 billion for the program, a $667 million increase over fiscal year 2024. This increase will ensure that all eligible participants can continue to rely on the essential nutrition assistance and support provided by WIC. The bill also continues full funding for additional fruit and vegetable benefits.
  • SNAP: The bill fully funds the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to serve an estimated 42 million people per month—and does not include restrictive new policy riders.
  • Child Nutrition: The bill fully funds Child Nutrition Programs—like the School Lunch program, school breakfast program, and Summer EBT program—to ensure schools can continue to serve healthy meals to all eligible children. In 2025, this funding will help serve an estimated 5 billion lunches and 2.7 billion breakfasts to kids across the country.

 

Agricultural Research: The bill provides $1.87 billion—a $29 million increase over fiscal year 2024—for the Agricultural Research Service, the Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) premiere in-house research agency.

 

Food and Drug Administration (FDA): The bill provides $6.87 billion in total funding for the FDA, which includes $3.544 billion in discretionary funding—a $22 million increase over fiscal year 2024. The bill provides an increase of $1 million to conduct oversight of cosmetics; an increase of $15 million for food safety; an increase of $3 million for the Neurology Drug Program; $2 million in new funding for the recently announced Tobacco Task Force; and $1 million more for antimicrobial research. It also includes $55 million for the 21st Century Cures Act.

 

Rental Assistance: The bill provides $1.691 billion for rental assistance—an increase of $83 million over fiscal year 2024—to help ensure Americans living in rural areas have access to safe and affordable housing. The bill also includes an increase of $120 million for Section 502 Single Family Direct housing.

 

Food Safety: The bill provides $1.233 billion for the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), an increase of $43 million over fiscal year 2024. This funding will help ensure FSIS can continue its vital work protecting America’s food supply without being forced to reduce its staffing levels, which would jeopardize food safety and exacerbate supply chain delays.

 

Promoting Competition: The bill provides an increase of $1 million over fiscal year 2024 for enforcement of the Packers and Stockyards Act to promote competition and prevent unfair or deceptive practices and monopolies.

 

International Food Aid: The bill provides $1.721 billion for the Food for Peace program, a $101 million increase to base funding over fiscal year 2024, and $250 million, a $10 million increase over fiscal year 2024, for the McGovern-Dole Food for Education program. This funding will continue to save lives as hunger is increasing around the world.

 

Conservation: The bill provides $1.019 billion, a $68 million increase over fiscal year 2024, for conservation programs. It also prioritizes multi-benefit projects in the Watershed and Flood Prevention Operations program.

 

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