On Tuesday, the House approved, 227-194, the second appropriations package, H.R. 3055. The five-bill minibus provides $383.3 billion in spending authority for the Commerce-Justice-Science, Agriculture, Interior-Environment, Military Construction-Veterans Affairs, and Transportation-HUD FY 2020 appropriations bills. The House adopted 31 of the total 35 amendments to the Ag Appropriations bill offered on the floor.

The Agriculture Appropriations bill supports egg producers with funding to carry out high-priority research programs, including research programs for improving the efficiency and sustainability of laying hen and turkey production through integrated, collaborative research and technology transfer. The bill emphasizes laying hen and turkey disease prevention, antimicrobial resistance, nutrition, gut health, and alternative housing systems under extreme seasonal weather conditions.

“Few people may recognize the far-reaching jurisdiction of the agriculture subcommittee. From food safety and agriculture research to rural development and nutrition assistance, the programs in this division touch the lives of every citizen on a daily basis,” said Chairman Sanford Bishop, Jr. of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies. “This is why we rejected the Administration’s draconian cuts to programs that assist our rural communities and vulnerable populations and allocated more than $5.1 billion above the budget request, totaling $24.31 billion.”