The compromise USDA/FDA spending bill headed for House and Senate votes this week to avert the next partial shutdown cliff at midnight Friday pares the president's request but drops several GOP demands.
It’s less than Biden asked for, but more for some USDA agencies and feeding programs like WIC, less for others like SNAP, and no GOP abortion pill rider—the demise of the House version.
House Speaker Mike Johnson.
“It’s been a long road to get here…this is a bipartisan agreement in the end, but it sticks to the numbers—the agreement on spending—but it does not go above that. It will increase a bit defense spending, but there will be real cuts to non-defense discretionary spending.”
Almost three billion less than the president’s USDA/FDA ask, including small cuts from FY ’23 to FSA, NRCS, APHIS and the Ag Marketing Service, but more for FSIS meat inspections and emergency loans due to higher interest rates.
There’s 90 million for ReConnect broadband and more for child nutrition, but no USDA pay hikes or major new DC hires. While foreign buys of US farmland get better tracking and USDA Secretary involvement.
But after FY ’24 bills, it’s on to fiscal ’25.
“Turn the page on FY ’24 and get immediately into FY’25. And that process, to change the way that it’s done, to back it up on the calendar, to do everything we can to get that job done by the end of summer, so that we’re not coming up at the end of September, the end of the fiscal year, and having to talk about CRs and omnibuses and everything.”
But what about a farm bill? American Farm Bureau’s Emily Buckman ahead of this week’s spending bill votes.
“Our main priority this year is to get a farm bill across the finish line. And unless these funding bills are addressed, the government is funded in full, then that’ll just delay consideration.”