Source: POLITICO'S MORNING AGRICULTURE, 7/18/22

The House Rules Committee will meet to consider a so-called “minibus” of six annual funding bills today, including the House bill to fund the Agriculture Department and Food and Drug Administration.

The meeting of the Rules Committee, which is the gatekeeper to the House floor, is set to tee up the package of bills for floor action.

Bill refresh: The Agriculture-FDA bill advanced from the House Appropriations Committee in June includes $27.2 billion in discretionary funding — including billions for agriculture, conservation and nutrition programs. It’s a $2 billion increase from last year’s spending, but falls slightly short of the White House’s proposal.

Including mandatory and discretionary funding, the price tag is $195 billion.

Specifically, the bill would fund the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) at $6 billion and allocate $28 billion to other child nutrition programs, including school meals.

It also includes over $1 billion for conservation operations, $560 million for rural broadband and $1.8 billion for the international assistance program Food for Peace.

What’s next: Once the Rules Committee clears the package, it will be set for a full vote on the House floor.
House Democrats are hoping to clear most of the 12 appropriations bills by the end of this month. The Senate has not yet released its companion bill.