H.R. 8646

Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agency Appropriations Act, 2027

Sponsor: Andy Harris · 0 cosponsors

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Official summary

Written by the Congressional Research Service.

Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agency Appropriations Act, 2027

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. 

Text of the bill

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I AGRICULTURAL PROGRAMS

II

III RURAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS

IV

V FOREIGN ASSISTANCE AND RELATED PROGRAMS

VI

VII GENERAL PROVISIONS

Sec. 770. Since introduced

No funds appropriated by this Act may be used to administer or enforce the final rule on “Requirements for Additional Traceability Records for Certain Foods” published on November 21, 2022 (87 Fed. Reg. 70910), or any other rule promulgated in accordance with section 204 of the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (21 U.S.C. 2223), prior to July 20, 2028. Further, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration shall—

(1) continue identifying flexibilities for satisfying the rule’s lot-level tracking requirement that leverage existing traceability systems, including allowing covered entities to maintain and transmit traceability records that reflect a reasonable range of all possible traceability lot codes included in a shipment, when maintaining records for each individual traceability lot is not practicable such that complying would constitute a case-level tracking requirement, which is prohibited under section 204(d)(1)(L)(iii) of the Food Safety Modernization Act;

(2) clarify the circumstances under which activities conducted in warehouse and distribution environments constitute a transformation event under the rule;

(3) ensure each quarterly engagement with industry between enactment and July 20, 2028 be open to all covered entities outside of member-only organizations and include a hypothetical data intake exercise, the results of which should be made publicly available within 75 days; and

(4) establish a panel of experts to assess the agency’s foodborne illness traceback investigation process, for both foreign and domestic food suppliers, and to provide feedback for the data intake exercise. This panel shall include diverse stakeholders, such as growers, distributors, retailers, state and local officials, and public health officials. The FDA shall publish the panel outcomes and recommendations no later than one year from the date of enactment of this Act.