Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies

The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies is one of twelve specialized subcommittees within the larger Senate Committee on Appropriations. Like all appropriations subcommittees, it plays a crucial role in the federal budget process by drafting annual spending bills for its assigned agencies. While the full Appropriations Committee must ultimately approve and report bills to the Senate floor, this subcommittee does the detailed work of reviewing budget requests, holding hearings, and preparing legislation.

This subcommittee has jurisdiction over discretionary spending for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (excluding the Forest Service), food safety programs at the Food and Drug Administration, and rural development initiatives. Its purview includes agricultural research, rural housing loans, rural electrification programs, and foreign agriculture assistance. The subcommittee does not control mandatory spending like farm subsidies or food stamps, which are handled through the authorizing committees. The subcommittee's work directly affects farmers, ranchers, rural communities, and the safety of the nation's food supply.

The subcommittee is chaired by Senator John Hoeven (R-ND) and has Ranking Member Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) leading the minority. In recent activity, the subcommittee held hearings on the President's Fiscal Year 2026 budget request for both the Department of Agriculture and the FDA. The full Senate Committee on Appropriations approved the FY 2026 Agriculture appropriations bill in October 2025, which provided $27.1 billion in discretionary funding and included investments in agricultural research, rural housing, food safety, and nutrition programs.