Sponsor
John Hoeven
Senator · R-ND
Senator · R-ND
Official title: An original bill making appropriations for Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2026, and for other purposes.
Introduced July 10, 2025 by John Hoeven · Last progress July 10, 2025
The bill directs targeted new and pilot funding to persistent‑poverty rural counties, tribal child nutrition, conservation, and rural energy assistance while enabling some USDA IT modernization, but does so alongside multiple rescissions, new procurement/reporting constraints, and public‑health guidance limitations that could reduce agency flexibility, slow upgrades, and delay health and humanitarian programs.
Residents of persistent-poverty rural counties will receive at least 10% of specified direct loans and grants, channeling more federal resources to high-need communities.
Tribal governments and organizations can receive annual grants ($10k–$100k) to operate child nutrition programs in BIE or nearby schools, increasing access to school meals for children in tribal communities.
USDA can move unobligated appropriations into a Working Capital Fund to buy equipment and modernize IT (including cloud migration), enabling faster upgrades, shared services, and improved IT infrastructure.
The bill rescinds $200M from Food for Peace Title II Grants, directly reducing funding for international food aid and assistance to low‑income populations abroad.
Prohibits FDA from issuing new guidance on Listeria in low‑risk ready‑to‑eat foods and from advancing population‑wide sodium reduction guidelines until specified research milestones are met, delaying potential food‑safety and public‑health actions.
Requires detailed FDA financial reporting and withholds 50% of funds for the Commissioner's office until reports are filed, which could constrain FDA operations and delay regulatory or public‑health work during the reporting period.
Based on analysis of 16 sections of legislative text.
Limits USDA vehicle purchases, authorizes WCF transfers with approvals, provides modest appropriations for Water Bank Act and tribal child nutrition pilots, directs FDA fish‑consumption guidance update, and preserves REAP Zone funding temporarily.
Authorizes limited USDA administrative flexibilities, places limits and approval requirements on Department vehicle purchases and transfers into the Working Capital Fund, and sets conditions on changes to certain USDA financial systems. Provides discrete appropriations and program directives: $2 million for Water Bank Act implementation, $2 million for tribal pilot child nutrition grants, a temporary REAP zone set-aside, and a directed FDA revision of fish‑consumption advice by September 30, 2026. Many sections are organizational headings without substantive policy text.