Appropriations Committee Releases Fiscal Year 2023 Agriculture-Rural Development-FDA Funding Bill

he House Appropriations Committee today released the draft fiscal year 2023 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies funding bill. The legislation funds agencies and programs within the Department of Agriculture, the Food and Drug Administration, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and the Farm Credit Administration. For 2023, the bill provides funding of $27.2 billion– a critical increase of $2.075 billion, 8 percent– above 2022. In total, the bill includes $195 billion for both discretionary programs funded on an annual basis and mandatory programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. The legislation would grow opportunity and lift up rural communities with a critical increase for rural broadband, a new 1 percent loan program for water programs for rural areas, and a record investment of $1.5 billion in single family home loans. The bill provides over $4.2 billion for rural development programs. The bill invests over $560 million for the expansion of broadband service, including $450 million for the ReConnect Program.