Source: POLITICO'S MORNING AGRICULTURE, 6/28/21

The House Appropriations Agriculture-FDA Subcommittee on Friday advanced its $26.5 billion spending bill for farm, food and rural programs, reports our Ryan McCrimmon.

Key details: The brief markup didn’t include any debate on amendments. That’s expected when the full committee marks up the fiscal 2022 Agriculture-FDA bill on Wednesday.

While both parties approved the bill, some Republicans took issue with the $350 million price tag on climate science as well as the overall cost of the bill. The draft legislation would provide more than a 10 percent increase over current funding levels.

By the numbers: The bill includes $4.43 billion for rural development projects, including $907 million for broadband deployment; and $3.32 billion for agricultural research.

Some $3.47 billion in discretionary funding is allocated for the FDA, including an additional $65 million to address foodborne illness outbreaks and heavy metals in baby food.

The overall total includes $26.55 billion in discretionary spending, an increase of $2.85 billion compared with current levels, according to a summary of the legislation.

What’s next: Congress is not expected to pass a final appropriations bill before the Sept. 30 deadline. Lawmakers instead are likely to pass a continuing resolution that would maintain fiscal 2021 spending levels for most agencies.