A House Appropriations panel approved a $25.5 billion spending plan for agriculture Thursday that would slash climate-related programs while boosting efforts against animal and plant diseases.
“Times have changed at the Department of Agriculture,” said Agriculture Subcommittee Chair Andy Harris (R-Md.) as the panel took up the bill for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1.
The vote was 9 to 7, along partisan lines, with the full Appropriations Committee ranking Democrat, Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, participating and voting “no.”
The measure, which next moves to the full Appropriations Committee, represents an overall 4.2 percent reduction from this year’s discretionary spending level for the Department of Agriculture and related agencies, the Republican majority said.
