By a landslide margin, the Senate passed a package of three government funding bills that included money for the USDA and FDA on Wednesday. Senate Appropriations chair Patty Murray said it was time for House Republicans “to get serious about governing” and speedily wrap up work to fund the government for fiscal 2024, which began on Oct. 1.
“Let’s be clear: We have a lot more work to do,” said Murray, following the 82-15 vote on the “minibus” covering the USDA, Transportation, and Veterans Affairs departments. Congress may need to pass another short-term funding bill before it can finalize full-year funding for the government.
The USDA-FDA bill included $6.3 billion for the Women, Infants, and Children nutrition program, a $615 billion increase from last year. After the bill was drafted, the White House said it would pursue additional funding because of higher-than-expected enrollment and food costs for WIC.
A month ago, the House defeated a Republican-written USDA-FDA funding bill, 191-237, partly due to its proposed ban on mail-order and over-the-counter sales of an abortion drug to people holding a prescription for it. There is no ban on the drug, mifepristone, in the Senate bill. The $195.6 billion House bill would hold WIC spending at $6 billion.
During debate, senators agreed on voice vote to restore funding of $8.5 million for USDA’s urban agriculture program. “Urban agriculture is growing in cities and towns across the country, creating new economic opportunities and healthier communities,” said Senate Agriculture chairwoman Debbie Stabenow, who was the driving force in creating the program. It was zeroed out in the House and Senate bills for fiscal 2024.