Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agency Appropriations Act, 2027
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This bill would fund the Department of Agriculture, the Food and Drug Administration, and related agencies for fiscal year 2027, setting spending levels for programs including SNAP, WIC, school meals, farm loans, rural development, and FDA drug and food safety oversight.
Beyond dollar figures, it would attach dozens of policy riders — blocking certain FDA and USDA rules, creating a new national framework for regulating pet and animal food that preempts state law, and setting new terms for the Arkansas Valley Conduit water project.
What this bill would do
What it would do
The bill would appropriate funding for USDA agencies (including the Farm Service Agency, Natural Resources Conservation Service, and Food Safety and Inspection Service), for nutrition programs (SNAP at about $101.2 billion, WIC at $8 billion, and child nutrition programs at $37.9 billion), for rural housing, utilities, and business loan programs, and for the FDA, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and Farm Credit Administration. It sets detailed conditions on how funds may be used, including reporting requirements, notification-before-reprogramming rules, and dozens of policy riders blocking specific federal rules on topics from produce safety to poultry-grower contracts to sodium-reduction guidance. It would also create a new Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act section establishing a national regulatory framework for animal and pet food, preempting conflicting state labeling laws, and would amend the Arkansas Valley Conduit's repayment terms. It does not alter the underlying eligibility rules for SNAP or WIC beyond specific provisions noted, such as WIC peanut-food inclusion and milk allowances.
Key provisions
- 1Would appropriate roughly $101.2 billion for SNAP, $8 billion for WIC, and $37.9 billion for child nutrition programs for fiscal year 2027
- 2Would fund Farm Service Agency, Natural Resources Conservation Service, and other USDA farm production and conservation programs, including billions in farm loan authority
- 3Would appropriate over $7.1 billion for FDA operations, largely funded by user fees, with directed enforcement funding for e-cigarette and vape products
- 4Would create a new national regulatory framework for animal and pet food labeling that preempts conflicting state laws, administered by the FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine
- 5Would require WIC food packages to include peanut-containing foods for early allergen introduction within 180 days of enactment
- 6Would block enforcement of several pending or existing USDA and FDA rules, including on poultry-grower contracting, produce safety, food traceability, and sodium reduction
- 7Would amend Arkansas Valley Conduit repayment terms, setting contract payment obligations at 35 percent of construction cost with extended repayment periods
Who would be affected
Farmers, ranchers, and rural communities that rely on USDA loans and grants; SNAP, WIC, and school meal recipients nationwide; food and drug manufacturers regulated by the FDA; pet food companies and state regulators affected by the new federal preemption; and USDA, FDA, CFTC, and Farm Credit Administration employees and grantees.
Why it matters
The funding levels determine whether nutrition assistance, rural infrastructure, food safety inspections, and agricultural research continue uninterrupted through fiscal year 2027. The riders blocking specific rules and the new pet-food preemption framework would reshape regulatory authority between federal and state governments in ways that affect manufacturers, consumers, and state agencies well beyond the funding year itself.
What would change
Changes to existing law
Amends Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (Sec. 772)
Adds a new Section 425 creating a national regulatory scheme for animal and pet food that preempts conflicting state labeling and advertising laws.
Amends Federal Crop Insurance Act (Sec. 761)
Adds a new frost/cold weather crop insurance research and development program covering specialty crops.
Amends Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (Secs. 714, 754)
Extends farm-to-school grant deadlines and applies certain meal program requirements to school breakfast as well as lunch.
Amends Public Law 87-590 (Fryingpan-Arkansas Project Act) (Sec. 779)
Revises Arkansas Valley Conduit repayment contract terms, setting a 35 percent local cost share and up to 75-year repayment.
Amends Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (Specialty Crop Block Grant Program) (Sec. 775)
Bars imposing cost-sharing or matching requirements on Specialty Crop Block Grant awards for fiscal year 2027.
Reauthorizes Livestock Mandatory Reporting Act of 1999 (Sec. 767)
Extends the reporting program's authorization from 2026 through 2027.
Agencies directed to act
Effective dates
- WIC peanut-containing food inclusion requirement
- Restriction on enforcing the food traceability rule
- The overall appropriations covered by this Act
Funding and costs
- $101,241,955,000
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) operations
- $8,000,000,000
Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)
- $37,900,930,000
Child Nutrition Programs, including school lunch and breakfast
- $7,109,336,000
Food and Drug Administration salaries and expenses, largely funded by user fees
- $200,000,000
FDA enforcement against illegal e-cigarettes and vapes, funded from tobacco user fees
- $95,000,000
Permanent cancellation of unobligated Inflation Reduction Act (Public Law 117-169) balances
- $1,500,000
Emergency and transitional pet shelter and housing assistance grant program
How implementation would work
Most funding flows through existing USDA, FDA, and related agency accounts under standard appropriations rules, with numerous riders requiring 15-30 day advance notification to the Appropriations Committees before agencies may reprogram funds, close offices, or launch new activities. The new animal food regulatory framework directs the FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine to review industry ingredient submissions within 180 days, issue guidance within 18 months, and propose and finalize implementing regulations within two and three years respectively. Numerous provisions bar specific existing or pending rules from being enforced with these funds, effectively pausing their implementation without formally repealing them, pending further action by agencies or future Congresses.
Legislative status & sources
Latest action
Received in the Senate.
Official CRS summary
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This bill provides FY2027 appropriations for the Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Food and Drug Administration, and related agencies.
The bill provides appropriations to USDA for agricultural programs, including
- the Office of the Secretary,
- Executive Operations,
- the Economic Research Service,
- the National Agricultural Statistics Service,
- the Agricultural Research Service,
- the National Institute of Food and Agriculture,
- the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service,
- the Agricultural Marketing Service, and
- the Food Safety and Inspection Service.
The bill also provides appropriations to USDA for farm production and conservation programs, including
- the Farm Production and Conservation Business Center,
- the Farm Service Agency,
- the Risk Management Agency, and
- the Natural Resources Conservation Service.
The bill provides appropriations to the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation Fund and the Commodity Credit Corporation Fund.
For USDA rural development programs, the bill includes appropriations for
- Salaries and Expenses,
- the Rural Housing Service,
- the Rural Business-Cooperative Service, and
- the Rural Utilities Service.
The bill provides appropriations to the Food and Nutrition Service for
- Child Nutrition Programs;
- the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC);
- the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP);
- the Commodity Assistance Program; and
- Nutrition Programs Administration.
The bill provides appropriations to the Foreign Agricultural Service for (1) Food for Peace Title II Grants, and (2) McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program Grants.
The bill also provides appropriations for
- the Food and Drug Administration,
- the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and
- the Farm Credit Administration.
Additionally, the bill sets forth requirements and restrictions for using funds provided by this and other appropriations acts.
It also includes provisions that address the regulation of animal food, liability for donations of pet-related products, and payments for the construction of the Arkansas Valley Conduit.
Legislative subjects
Administrative law and regulatory procedures; Aging; Agricultural conservation and pollution; Agricultural education; Agricultural marketing and promotion; Agricultural research; Agricultural trade; Alabama; Alternative and renewable resources; Animal and plant health; Appalachian Regional Commission; Appropriations; Arizona; Arkansas; Business investment and capital; California; Child health; Civil actions and liability; Commodities markets; Commodity Credit Corporation; Commodity Futures Trading Commission; Congressional oversight; Delta Regional Authority; Department of Agriculture; Economic development; Economics and Public Finance; Educational technology and distance education; Energy efficiency and conservation; Executive Office of the President; Farm Credit Administration; Federal Crop Insurance Corporation; Federal preemption; Floods and storm protection; Food and Drug Administration (FDA); Food assistance and relief; Food supply, safety, and labeling; Foreign aid and international relief; Georgia; Government buildings, facilities, and property; Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management; Government lending and loan guarantees; Grain; Hazardous wastes and toxic substances; Health care coverage and access; Health programs administration and funding; Health technology, devices, supplies; Hospital care; Housing and community development funding; Housing finance and home ownership; Illinois; Infrastructure development; Internet, web applications, social media; Kentucky; Louisiana; Low- and moderate-income housing; Maine; Marketing and advertising; Maryland; Medical tests and diagnostic methods; Mississippi; Missouri; New Hampshire; New Mexico; New York State; North Carolina; Nutrition and diet; Ohio; Pennsylvania; Poverty and welfare assistance; Prescription drugs; Public housing; Public utilities and utility rates; Research administration and funding; Research and development; Rural conditions and development; Small business; Solid waste and recycling; South Carolina; Technology transfer and commercialization; Telecommunication rates and fees; Tennessee; Texas; User charges and fees; Vermont; Veterinary medicine and animal diseases; Virginia; Water storage; Watersheds; West Virginia
Committee report
H. Rept. 119-632