A House subcommittee fight over fiscal year 2024 USDA and FDA spending touches on some of the same hurdles faced in last-minute talks to avoid a debt default and likely to spill over into the farm bill.
And in a GOP hunt for dollars likely to repeat in the farm bill pitting farm versus nutrition programs, the FY ’24 spending bill relies on unspent Biden pandemic funds. Republicans would cut another one billion in the USDA Secretary’s CCC spending authority and make other cuts in rural climate, electric coops and FSA loan forgiveness programs—also foreshadowing possible farm bill fights for scarce dollars.
And sends a clear signal the battle lines are drawn for a fight that started with the debt limit and will no doubt intensify with the farm bill.