House Appropriations Committee Approves FY26 USDA Appropriations Bill

On Monday, the House Appropriations Committee voted to advance the FY26 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies bill 35–27 in a party-line vote. The debate around the bill was contentious, requiring three separate committee meetings over the course of two weeks. Dozens of amendments offered by Democrats to supplement the bill went unadopted, with only three amendments added to the bill that advanced out of the subcommittee earlier this month.

The bill provides $25.23 billion for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) discretionary spending programs, $1.16 billion or 4.2 percent less than current FY25 funding levels and a $2 billion increase compared to the President’s Budget Request released earlier this year. Despite the decrease in overall funding for USDA, many rural housing programs funded under the bill would retain similar funding to current FY25 levels. Below is a breakdown of funding levels for key rural housing programs funded by the bill.

• The Section 502 Single-Family Housing Direct Loan Program would receive $880 million, equal to FY25 funding levels.
• The loan level for the Section 502 Single-Family Housing Guaranteed Loan Program would be $25 billion, the same as enacted in FY25. Loan authority would be available for two years to facilitate the program’s operation, including during continuing resolutions.
• The Section 515 Multifamily Housing Direct Loan Program would receive $60 million, equal to FY25 funding.
• The Section 538 Multifamily Housing Guaranteed Loan Program would receive $800 million, the same amount as in FY25.
• The Section 521 Rental Assistance Program would receive nearly $1.72 billion, an increase of seven percent, or more than $107 million. This amount would cover renewals of existing rental assistance contracts. The bill also authorizes USDA to continue, for another year and up to an additional 1,000 units, decoupling rental assistance from Section 515/516 properties with expiring mortgages, preserving the affordability of these units.
• The Section 542 Rural Voucher Assistance Program would receive $48 million, equal to funding levels in FY25.
• The Rental Preservation Demonstration Program (MPR) would receive $30 million, a $4 million, or nearly 12 percent, decrease in funding from FY25 levels.

The bill now advances to the House for a full floor vote, which has yet to be scheduled. The Senate Appropriations Committee has not yet released its proposed FY26 USDA funding bill.