House Ag Approps passes FY27 bill without WIC cut, no amendments

The House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee today approved the fiscal year 2027 bill funding the Agriculture Department and the Food and Drug Administration. 

The vote was 10 to 7, along party lines. 

The full House Appropriations Committee is scheduled to consider the bill on Tuesday. 

The  provides a total discretionary allocation of $26.27 billion, which is $380 million (1.4%) below the fiscal year 2026 enacted level, House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla., said in a news release. 

House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Andy Harris, R-Md., said the bill increases the budget for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for Women, Infants and Children by 4%, but Democrats criticized the bill for cutting the fruit and vegetable benefit. 

The National WIC Association (NWA) had called on the House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee to reject the bill.

“The proposal would cut overall WIC funding by $200 million and falls short of the projected need for FY 2027, which is expected to exceed FY 2026 levels as food costs continue to rise,” NWA said.

“Additionally, the bill cuts WIC’s fruit and vegetable benefits by about 10%, a first step toward an up to 75% cut sought by the White House. Finally, the bill fails to ensure that WIC participants will continue to have access to flexible services, which could expire as soon as Sept. 30, 2026, if Congress fails to act.”

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities said, “We estimate the proposed cut would take away over $141 million in fruit and vegetable benefits from nearly 5.4 million toddlers, preschoolers, and pregnant and postpartum WIC participants.”

The Republican majority rejected President Trump’s proposed elimination of the Commodity Supplemental Food Program, the Food for Peace and McGovern-Dole international school feeding program, but Democrats criticized the bill for cutting Food for Peace by $300 million. 

In opening remarks, Harris emphasized that the bill increases the budget for the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, which addresses issues such as new world screwworm and moves money to allow USDA to implement its new system for farmers to file for benefits. 

Harris noted that the subcommittee received 10,000 requests from members and tried to accommodate as many as possible.  

Rep. Sanford Bishop, D-Ga., the subcommittee ranking member, said the bill is “not as robust or constructive as I would prefer, but nevertheless a good-faith effort.”

He thanked Republicans for rejecting the Trump administration’s “disastrous” cuts and in some cases elimination of programs. 

But Bishop noted that the bill cuts water and waste water grants for some of the nation’s smallest, poorest communities and cuts the rural broadband budget.

Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., the ranking member on the subcommittee, said she opposed the bill, which she described as raising costs while cutting off crucial support. 

DeLauro noted the Food for Peace cut and said that if Republicans don’t care about hungry children around the world, she “hopes” they care about American farmers who would sell products for the program as they attempt to “scratch out a living.”

She also said the bill eliminates protections for same-sex couples and “bangs … culture war drums.”

DeLauro said the government has a “revenue” problem, “not a spending problem.” 

Harris asked committee members for amendments, but none were offered.