Bill brief/H.R.4121/119th Congress
House bill funds farms, food aid, rural projects, and FDA for 2026
Official title
Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2026
H.R. 4121 is the annual funding bill for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Food and Drug Administration, and several related agencies for fiscal year 2026. It sets spending levels for farm, rural development, food assistance, and food and drug safety programs and adds a number of policy conditions. As a House-reported appropriations bill, it must still pass both chambers and be signed to take effect.
Bill
H.R.4121
Introduced
Jun 25, 2025
Sponsor
Andy Harris
Chamber
House
What the bill does
What this bill does
This bill provides one year of funding (October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026) for major agriculture and food-related agencies. It funds core U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) activities, including farm research, conservation, crop insurance, farm loans, animal and plant health, marketing, and food safety inspection. It also funds rural housing and utilities, rural business and community facilities, and broadband, water, and waste systems in rural areas.
The bill funds domestic nutrition programs such as school meals, the WIC program for women, infants, and children, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). It continues and adjusts rules for how these programs operate, including specific funding for equipment grants, breastfeeding support, fruit and vegetable benefits, tribal demonstrations, and commodity assistance. It also sets some temporary rules for school meal pricing, vegetable substitution, and WIC food package contents.
Outside USDA, the bill funds the Food and Drug Administration’s work on human and animal drugs, medical devices, tobacco regulation, and food safety, largely through a mix of direct appropriations and user fees. It funds the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Farm Credit Administration, which oversee agricultural futures markets and the farm credit system. It also provides money for international food aid and export promotion, including Food for Peace and McGovern-Dole programs. The bill contains many general provisions that restrict or direct how agencies can use funds.
These include limits on reprogramming money without notifying Congress, “Buy American” rules for certain rural water projects, requirements for USDA’s role in foreign investment reviews involving agriculture, and specific directions on issues like hemp definitions, tobacco enforcement priorities, traceability rules, SNAP retailer standards, and diversity, equity, and inclusion activities. It also rescinds some previously appropriated funds from conservation and WIC accounts.
Key provisions
- The bill sets exact funding levels for many USDA offices and programs. These include farm research, land conservation, farm services, crop insurance, and animal and plant health work.
- Farmers could get large amounts of direct loans and loan guarantees through the Agricultural Credit Insurance Fund. The money covers farm ownership, operating costs, conservation, emergencies, and tribal land purchases.
- Rural housing programs would get funding. This includes Section 502 home loans, Section 515 rental housing, farm labor housing, rental aid, vouchers, and programs that keep USDA-backed rentals affordable.
- Rural communities could get loans and grants for water, sewer, solid waste, electric, phone, and internet systems. Broadband grants and a rural broadband loan and grant pilot would continue, with required speed levels and rules against building duplicate service where it already exists.
- Some rural development and utility money must be set aside for specific communities. These include tribal communities, counties with long-term high poverty, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian communities, and groups that provide technical help.
- The bill provides tens of billions of dollars for food aid. That includes school meals, SNAP food benefits, WIC for women, infants, and children, commodity food aid, breastfeeding peer counselors, fruit and vegetable benefits, farm-to-school grants, and seniors' farmers' markets.
- FDA money and industry-paid user fees would be directed across its main centers. These cover drugs, biologic medicines, medical devices, animal medicine, food, and tobacco, with minimum funding for foreign inspections and action against some e-cigarette products.
- USDA could not spend money to carry out some recent livestock and poultry market rules under the Packers and Stockyards Act. The bill also requires USDA to withdraw those rules and close related enforcement cases.
- The bill blocks funding for several activities. These include horse slaughter inspections, some FDA produce safety rules for named crops, some FDA tobacco manufacturing rules, and some food traceability rules until more steps are taken.
- Rural water and wastewater projects using federal funds would have to use U.S.-made iron and steel. Limited waivers would be allowed, and the public would have to be notified.
Impact
Why it matters—and who it affects
Why it matters
This bill affects how federal money flows to farms, rural communities, and low-income households for a full fiscal year. Farmers and ranchers rely on USDA credit, insurance, and conservation programs funded here to manage risk, improve land, and access markets. Rural towns depend on these funds for housing, water systems, broadband, and business development, which can influence local jobs and basic services. The bill also shapes food access and health for millions of people through SNAP, WIC, and school meal programs. Changes in benefit levels, eligible foods, and state flexibilities can influence what families can buy and what children are served at school. Food and drug safety provisions affect how FDA and USDA can oversee the safety of meat, poultry, produce, medicines, tobacco products, and emerging products like e-cigarettes and hemp-derived items. Because this is an appropriations bill, it is also used to set or limit policy without rewriting permanent law. The many riders and conditions—such as pauses on certain regulations, required studies, and new definitions—can temporarily redirect how agencies enforce existing laws. The final version, if enacted, will reflect negotiations between the House, Senate, and the Administration, so specific amounts and policy riders may change.
Who it affects
This bill mainly affects farmers, rural communities, families who use food benefits, schools, food and drug companies, and federal agencies. Farmers and lenders would see how much support is available for loans, crop insurance, research, and conservation. Rural towns could receive help for housing, water systems, broadband, and local businesses. Families, children, seniors, schools, and retailers would be affected by food aid funding and program rules.
The debate
The case for it—and the concerns
These are the main arguments surrounding the bill, not Modern Action’s position.
Arguments in support
- Provides predictable, detailed funding for core farm, conservation, research, and risk-management programs that producers and lenders plan around each year.
- Invests in rural infrastructure—water, wastewater, housing, broadband, and community facilities—that many small towns cannot finance on their own, with targeted support for persistent poverty counties, tribes, and very small systems.
- Maintains and funds major nutrition programs (SNAP, WIC, school meals) that reduce food insecurity and support school nutrition operations, while directing funds toward breastfeeding support, fruits and vegetables, and updated equipment.
- Strengthens oversight of emerging risks by directing substantial resources to FDA for drug and tobacco regulation and requiring focused enforcement against illegal e-cigarette and vape products.
- Uses appropriations riders to pause or narrow regulations that some producers and processors view as costly or unclear, giving Congress and agencies more time to review impacts.
- Tightens Buy American and domestic content rules in certain programs, which can support U.S. manufacturing of iron and steel and respond to concerns about food imports in school meals.
- Clarifies federal treatment of hemp and hemp-derived cannabinoid products, which can help law enforcement, regulators, and industry distinguish allowable agricultural products from higher-risk or synthetic items.
- Enhances national security awareness in agriculture by explicitly involving USDA in foreign investment reviews related to farmland and agricultural infrastructure.
Concerns and tradeoffs
- Some may argue the bill underfunds certain conservation, research, or rural development programs relative to identified needs, especially after rescinding previously approved conservation and WIC balances.
- Policy riders that block or delay regulations (such as competition rules in livestock and poultry markets, FDA produce safety rules, tobacco manufacturing standards, and traceability requirements) may be seen as weakening protections for farmers, workers, or consumers.
- Restrictions on diversity, equity, and inclusion activities, SNAP nutrition-related pilots, and some WIC changes could be viewed as limiting agencies’ ability to address disparities or follow evolving nutrition science.
- The redefinition of hemp and hemp-derived products, and new limits on certain cannabinoids, may disrupt existing hemp businesses and state regulatory schemes and could create uncertainty for producers and retailers.
- Limits on using funds for FDA’s traceability rule, new Listeria and sodium policies, and some food safety standards may slow progress on tracking outbreaks and reducing diet-related disease.
- Prohibitions on certain flags and protections for specific religious or moral views in spending decisions may be seen as stepping into contentious social policy areas within an appropriations bill.
- The bill relies on multiple rescissions, transfers, and complex conditions, which can make program management harder for agencies and for local partners that depend on stable, multi-year funding.
- Some may see added reporting, notice, and approval requirements as increasing administrative burden and slowing agency responses to emergencies or new challenges.
Check the details
Key facts
- Provides detailed funding levels for USDA offices and programs, including Agricultural Research Service, National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Farm Service Agency, Risk Management Agency, and Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
- Authorizes large volumes of direct and guaranteed loans for farmers through the Agricultural Credit Insurance Fund, including farm ownership, operating, conservation, emergency, and tribal land acquisition loans.
- Funds rural housing programs (Section 502 home loans, Section 515 rental housing, farm labor housing, rental assistance, vouchers, and preservation programs) and directs incentives to keep multifamily properties in USDA’s affordable housing portfolio.
- Supports rural utilities with loans and grants for water, wastewater, solid waste, and electric and telecommunications systems, and continues broadband grants and a rural broadband loan/grant pilot with specific speed and “no overbuild” rules.
- Sets aside portions of rural development and utilities funds for tribal communities, persistent poverty counties, Alaska and Native Hawaiian communities, and technical assistance organizations.
- Appropriates tens of billions of dollars for child nutrition programs, SNAP, WIC, and commodity assistance, including reserved funds for breastfeeding peer counselors, fruit and vegetable benefits, farm-to-school grants, and seniors’ farmers’ markets.
- Directs FDA user-fee collections and appropriations across its centers (drugs, biologics, devices, veterinary medicine, foods, tobacco) and specifies minimum amounts for activities such as foreign inspections and enforcement against certain e-cigarette products.
- Prohibits USDA from using funds to implement certain recent Packers and Stockyards Act competition and poultry grower rules, and requires withdrawal of those rules and closure of related enforcement actions.
Legislative record
How far the bill has moved
Awaiting House floor consideration
Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 138. · Jun 25, 2025
- Introduced
- House Committee
- 3House Floor Vote
- 4Passed House
- 5Senate Review
- 6Passed Both Chambers
- 7Signed into Law
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