After four stop-gap bills stretching over five months, U.S. representatives overwhelmingly passed and sent to the Senate on Wednesday a $467.5 billion package to fund the USDA and six other federal departments for the rest of the fiscal year. The so-called minibus includes a $1 billion increase for WIC and for USDA membership, on a case by case basis, on the powerful Treasury-led committee that decides if foreign investments in America pose a national security risk.
House leaders called a vote on the appropriations bill under rules that limited debate and prohibited amendments. It passed, 339-35, with Democrats, the minority party, providing more votes than Republicans. One in three Republicans, 83 in all, voted against the bill. “The fact of the matter is, all of this is a shell game,” said Rep. Chip Roy, Texas Republican, who said spending was higher than wanted by Republicans and who failed to secure changes in policy.
The Senate was expected to vote on the bill by the end of the week. Otherwise, funding for the USDA and the other departments would expire on Friday at midnight. Senate and House negotiators are working on legislation to fund the rest of the government this fiscal year.
Under the House-passed bill, the USDA would become a member of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States on transactions involving agricultural land, agricultural biotechnology, and the agriculture industry, with particular emphasis on land deals involving China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran. Foreign ownership of farmland is a sore topic in rural America, and USDA membership on CFIUS is a frequently mentioned remedy.
Funding for the Women, Infants and Children food program would rise to $7.03 billion this fiscal year, up by $1 billion from fiscal 2023, in response to rising food costs and increased enrollments. House Republicans unsuccessfully proposed $6 billion, the same as last year.