06.22.23

BILL SUMMARY: Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Fiscal Year 2024 Appropriations Bill

Legislation fully funds nutrition assistance programs with a significant funding boost for WIC, invests in agricultural research to support farmers and ranchers, and protects America’s food supply and families’ health

Committee to consider legislation at 10:30 AM ET – TUNE IN HERE

 

Washington, D.C. – The Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies fiscal year 2024 appropriations bill provides $25.993 billion in funding.

 

“We can do good work for the American people when we push partisan politics aside and focus on solutions for the real challenges facing families today,” said Senator Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Chair of the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Subcommittee. “From supporting American farmers and ranchers, protecting our food supply, and promoting the health and well-being of our children, this bill delivers. I am especially proud that we were able to fully fund WIC, which will ensure more women, infants, and children will receive the nutrition they need. Make no mistake—we had to make tough decisions to get this funding bill where it needed to be. But I am pleased to have found common ground on legislation that will grow our economy and put families in New Mexico and across the country first.”

 

“At the most basic level: we can’t have strong communities if families can’t put food on the table or kids go hungry—that’s as important as it is obvious. So we have put forward a serious, bipartisan bill that will help prevent families from going hungry and support farmers all across the country. I’m proud that—despite the constraints we are working with—here in the Senate, we are fully funding nutrition programs and boosting funding for WIC, critical agricultural research, and more,” said Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee. “This bill also recognizes the direct connection between FDA having the resources it needs and the health and safety of American families. Every time families back in Washington state go to the grocery store, fill a prescription, or rely on a medical device, they’re really putting their trust in FDA and their experts to uphold the gold standard of safety and effectiveness. This legislation will help ensure FDA can meet its mission on behalf of the American people and will for the first time ever fund FDA’s new ability to regulate cosmetics and protect consumers.”
 
Key Points & Highlights
 
Nutrition: The bill delivers critical new funding to ensure women, infants, and children can get the nutrition they need, and it protects vital nutrition assistance programs for families across the country with tight budgets.

  • WIC: The bill includes $6.3 billion for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)—a $615 million increase over FY 2023 that meets the President’s budget request. These new resources will ensure over 6 million women, infants, and children can get the nutrition they need.
  • SNAP: The bill fully funds the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to serve an estimated 42 million people per month—and does not include any new restrictions on eligibility.
  • Child Nutrition: The bill fully funds Child Nutrition Programs to ensure schools can continue to serve healthy meals. In 2024, this funding will help serve an estimated 5 billion lunches and 2.6 billion breakfasts to kids across the country.

 

Agriculture Research: Agricultural research plays a vital role in supporting farmers and ranchers, particularly as they continue to respond to a changing climate. The bill provides $1.792 billion—a $48.6 million increase—for the Agricultural Research Service, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) premiere in-house research agency.

 

Food and 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.

 

Rural Development: The bill provides $1.6 billion for rental assistance to ensure rural Americans have access to safe and affordable housing. It would also decouple rental assistance from Multifamily Direct Loans, which will prevent thousands of low-income families from losing rental assistance.

 

Food Safety: The bill provides $1.205 billion for the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), an increase of $46.7 million. 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.

 

International Food Aid: The bill provides $1.8 billion in funding for the Food for Peace program and $248.3 million for the McGovern-Dole Food for Education program. As the world experiences an unprecedented hunger crisis, this funding will continue to combat hunger abroad—and save lives.

 

Conservation: The bill protects funding for Conservation Technical Assistance, which supports voluntary conservation practices on private land.

 

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