The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture rejected several of President Trump’s proposed budget cuts to the Department of Agriculture. The subcommittee held a markup of the bill on Tuesday, where it received bipartisan praise for funding critical programs for rural communities that were zeroed out by the President’s budget request. The bill will provide $2.6 billion for rural development programs, including $1.25 billion for rural water and waste program loans. 

 The spending bill includes $20 billion in discretionary funding, $876 million more than the current level but $4.64 billion more than President Trump’s proposal. The Agriculture appropriations bill provides $144.9 in total spending, $8.5 billion less than the previous year.

The Agriculture appropriations bill was released the same week as the Senate Agriculture’s hearing on Conservation and Forestry in the 2018 Farm Bill. During the hearing, Senators discussed the important role Farm Bill funded programs play in managing forest land and wildlife in America’s rural areas. Wildfires and drought threaten permanent damage to America’s forest land and Senator Michael Bennet (D-CO) and Senator Steve Daines (R-MT) used this opportunity to call for greater support for America’s forest land. Despite threats being posed to rural America’s natural resources, Farm Bill budget talks are drawing criticism from the right-wing of the Republican party. Heritage Action blames House Agriculture Chairman Mike Conaway (R-TX-11) for delaying the budget process by refusing to make cuts to mandatory spending for agriculture and rural development programs. Despite bipartisan support from Representatives and Senators from rural America, the Farm Bill is under intense scrutiny as right-wing conservatives pursue budget cuts across all agencies.