The House on Thursday narrowly approved a $26.3 billion spending bill for agriculture programs in the coming fiscal year, overriding Democratic objections to an array of cuts.
The spending bill, H.R. 8646, represents a reduction of 1.4 percent from this year’s discretionary level across the Department of Agriculture and Food and Drug Administration, rejecting the Trump administration’s request for still-deeper cuts in the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1.
The vote was 213-210, as a few Democratic votes in favor offset a few Republicans in opposition in the GOP-led chamber.
Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.), the chair of the Agriculture-FDA Appropriations Subcommittee, cast the reductions as minimal, given overall government spending, and said the measure would help shrink the federal bureaucracy while preserving programs directly benefiting farmers.
