The House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee approved the fiscal year 2021 agriculture appropriations bill this week. Committee Chairman Sanford Bishop Jr, a Georgia Democrat, says the bill rejects the Trump administration’s drastic cuts and “instead builds on the four COVID-19 supplemental bills Congress passed this spring.” The bill includes total discretionary funding of $23.98 billion, representing a $487 million increase from 2020. Notable features include $4.2 billion for rural development programs, including $1 billion for rural broadband. The bill provides $68.2 billion in required mandatory spending for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, including $3 billion for the SNAP reserve fund. The bill also includes language to block the Able-Bodied Adults Without Dependents final rule and the Standard Utility Allowance proposed rule. The bill also blocks USDA from granting line-speed waivers at meat processing facilities during the public health emergency.
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