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(Washington, DC) - U.S. Congressman Ed Case (HI-01), a member of the House Appropriations Committee, tonight voted against the proposed Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Related Agencies funding measure.  

The measure would provide $25.5 billion, a $1 billion decrease from the current year, for U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) agriculture and rural development programs, the Farm Credit Administration, Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the FDA.

It is the third of twelve separate bills developed and approved by the Appropriations Committee that would fund the federal government at some $1.6 trillion for FY 2026 commencing October 1^st of this year. 

“While the measure funds many critical Hawai‘i priorities, I regrettably had to vote against it because it would cut food assistance for vulnerable families and make it even harder for Hawai‘i farmers to make ends meet,” said Case, who is in his seventh year on Appropriations and previously served on the House Committee on Agriculture.  

“At a time when families around the country and our state are struggling with the high cost of living and rising food costs, and when Hawai‘i agriculture is struggling with high production costs and the consequences of the administration’s rash and chaotic tariff war, we should be maintaining our time-tested federal programs, not reducing or even eliminating them.” 

The bill:  

·        Cuts $100 from the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) and fails to support the cash benefit for fruits and vegetables that ensures women, infants and children get the nutrients they need.  

·        Reduces staffing for the Farm Service Agency (FSA), which operates offices across the country that assist farmers in getting needed federal assistance. The bill provides $110 million less for FSA staffing than what was provided in FY 2025.  

·        Cuts funding for the Natural Resources Conservation Service Conservation Operations by 5 percent below FY 2025 funding levels.

·        Cuts rural housing and water and waste-water grants.

In addition, the bill eliminates key programs for Hawai‘i, like the Reimbursement Transportation Cost Payment Program for Geographically Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers. This program helps our local farmers with the cost of getting their produce to the mainland markets. Additionally, the Micro-Grants for Food Security Program, which increases the quantity and quality of locally grown food through small-scale gardening, herding and livestock and apiary operations, was eliminated.  

Case especially objected to large cuts in critical foreign food assistance programs, including $900 million for Food for Peace, almost 50% down to its lowest level since 2002, and $220 million for the McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition program, $20 million below the FY 2025 level. 

“Cutting our international food assistance programs is contrary to our values and harms our national security. Global food insecurity leads to political instability, making countries more vulnerable to conflict and extremism, and helping other countries and peoples with their food needs knits together alliances and partnerships which are critical to our national defense,” said Case, a member of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee.  

Despite these and other significant problems with the bill, Case highlighted positive provisions he requested including important victories for Hawai‘i, including $216 million for the Specialty Crop Pests Program, which helps to protect our topical crops from invasive species. In addition, $15 million was included for Minor Crop Pest Management, which provides expert assistance for effective minor/specialty crop protection. The bill also provides research and education funds for Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian-Serving institutions, in addition to funding for our land-grant universities like the University of Hawai‘i.  

“Invasive species pose a significant ecological and economic threat to our Hawai‘i, with specially damaging impacts on local agriculture,” said Case.  

“This agriculture funding bill provides support for our local farmers, farmers markets and food promotion programs, which combined will help our Hawai‘i deal with the soaring cost of food, much of which is imported to our islands,” said Case.  

  Provisions in the bill of interest to Hawai‘i that Case worked to secure include:  

·        $5 million for Education Grants for Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian-Serving Institutions. This program addresses the educational needs of food and agricultural sciences-related disciplines and prepares low-income students for careers related to food, agricultural and natural resources.  

·        $123 million for the USDA Wildlife Damage Management Program, which helps to prevent the spread of the Brown Tree Snake to Hawai‘i.  

·        $3 million for Agricultural Canine Detection and Surveillance of invasive species and diseases, an increase of $500,000.  

·        $1.1 billion for the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, including $216 million for combating specialty crop pests.  

·        $36 million for Agriculture Quarantine Inspections to prevent infestations of pests and diseases.  

·        $15 million for the Minor Crop Pest Management Program to provide expert assistance to minor and specialty crop producers.  

·        $8 million for the Grassroots Source Water Protection Program that is designed to prevent water source pollution.  

·        $5 million for Aquaculture Centers and $2 million for aquaculture research programs.  

·        $1 million for Tropical and Subtropical Agricultural Research Grants for Insular Areas.  

   The measure also:  

·        Directs the Agricultural Research Service to continue research on tropical and subtropical crops, emphasizing the need to combat invasive pests.

·        Directs the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service to report on existing protocols protecting Hawai‘i from invasive species and evaluate options for enhancing this protocol.  

  A summary of the agriculture funding bill is available here.  

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