Senate appropriators Thursday unanimously approved a $27 billion annual agriculture spending bill, providing a contrast to cuts their House counterparts advanced a day earlier.
The Senate Appropriations Committee also released its fiscal 2025 Legislative Branch and Military Construction-Veterans Affairs legislation.
The Agriculture-Rural Development bill funds the Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration, with senators proposing an $821 million increase in discretionary spending compared to fiscal 2024.
Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), chair of the Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee, called the measure a “truly bipartisan bill” and cited a proposed $68 million increase in conservation, among other provisions.