Sponsors
Introduced June 25, 2025 by Andy Harris
This bill provides USDA operational flexibility, directed rural support, and regulatory relief for food businesses while rescinding and restricting funds and agency rulemaking in ways that weaken some child nutrition, conservation, and public-health protections and reduce direct congressional control over certain spending.
USDA agencies and federal employees: maintain uninterrupted operations because agencies can acquire needed vehicles/equipment, fund IT/cloud improvements, and retain centralized NFC payroll/HR services, supporting day-to-day service delivery.
Residents of persistent poverty rural counties: receive directed resources because at least 10% of specified rural loan and grant funds are allocated to persistent poverty counties, increasing investment in high-poverty rural areas.
Multi-state food manufacturers and retailers (including small businesses and some farmers): face lower immediate compliance costs because the bill preserves existing 'healthy' claim rules during FDA's compliance period and preempts non-identical state labeling rules to create uniform federal standards.
Consumers, students, and public-health advocates: face reduced food-safety and public-health protections because the bill broadly prohibits or delays multiple USDA and FDA rulemakings (including SNAP retailer standards, poultry/livestock rules, produce safety, traceability, sodium reduction, and Listeria guidance), limiting agencies' ability to adopt new protections.
Low-income children and school nutrition programs: lose resources because the bill rescinds $100 million from a child nutrition supplemental program, reducing funds available for child nutrition services in affected communities.
Rural landowners and conservation projects: face reduced resources and potential delays because the bill rescinds $100 million of NRCS conservation unobligated balances, shrinking funds available for conservation operations and services.
Based on analysis of 16 sections of legislative text.
Allows certain USDA transfers to the Working Capital Fund and limited FY2026 vehicle purchases with congressional approvals; sets labeling, food-aid, procurement, and school meal pricing rules.
Authorizes the USDA to use certain appropriated funds to buy additional U.S.-based passenger vehicles (subject to limits tied to the Department’s 2018 fleet size) and to transfer unobligated discretionary balances into the Department’s Working Capital Fund (WCF) for equipment, IT, and administrative services, with agency approvals and prior notification/consent from House and Senate Appropriations Committees before obligations. Preserves manufacturers’ option to comply with prior or updated FDA “healthy” labeling rules during the FDA compliance period and preempts non-identical state rules then; conditions some food-aid funding on monitoring to prevent diversion; bans procurement of raw/processed poultry and seafood imported from the People’s Republic of China for several child nutrition programs; limits which school food authorities must set paid-lunch prices for school year 2026–2027; makes certain withheld USDA funds available for biotechnology risk-assessment research and restricts moving USDA offices between mission areas without specific legislation, and clarifies NRCS authority to use funds for watershed and emergency watershed technical services.