House to Consider HR 8646 – FY 2027 ARD Spending

Today, the House will take up HR 8646, the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agency Appropriations Act, (ARD) 2027. Yesterday, the House passed the rule (H Res 1333) for the consideration of this bill by an expected straight party-line vote of 211 to 207. That resolution provides a structured rule with 26 amendments (pgs 6-7) approved for consideration by the House. None of those amendments are of specific interest here. 

I expect that the bill will pass today on a near party-line vote. Consideration in the Senate will be delayed until the Senate Appropriations Committee introduces their version of the bill, which should receive mor bipartisan support. That language will then be substituted during the Senate consideration of HR 8646. 

Review - HR 8646 Introduced – FY 2027 ARD Spending

Earlier this month, Rep Harris (R,MD) introduced HR 8646, the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agency Appropriations Act, (ARD) 2027. The House Appropriations Committee has published their Report on the bill. The bill includes one cybersecurity mention. The Report has a cybersecurity discussion on a separate topic, as well as a discussion about chemical safety issues of potential interest here. 

It looks like HR 8646 will be similar to HR 4121, the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2026, that was introduced by Harris in June of 2025. No further action was taken on that bill. The spending provisions for these agencies were covered in the Senate version of HR 3944, the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, and Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2026. While that bill was passed in the Senate, and the House requested a conference to resolve the differences, no further action was taken on that minibus bill. 

Moving Forward  

The Committee approved the final version of the bill by a party-line vote of 35 to 25 after rejecting seven Democratic amendments by similar margins. Those seven amendments point out the major policy objections that Democrats have with the bill and are the major reasons that all but the most purple Democrats will oppose this bill on the floor of the House absent changes made during the amendment process. And Republicans will have the now standard difficulty in getting the Rule for its consideration passed with fiscal-fringe calling for even more spending cuts on this non-defense bill. Fortunately, the Appropriations Committee is getting an early start on this confusing spending season. 

For more details on the cybersecurity and chemical safety discussions, see my article at CFSN Detailed Analysis - https://patrickcoyle.substack.com/p/hr-8646-introduced-fy-2027-ard-spending - subscription required. 

Review – Bills Introduced – 5-1-26

 Yesterday, with neither the House nor Senate in session, there was one bill introduced: 

HR 8646 Making appropriations for Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies programs for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2027, and for other purposes. Rep. Harris, Andy [R-MD-1] 

For more information on these bills, including legislative history for similar bills in the 118th Congress, see my article at CFSN Detailed Analysis - https://patrickcoyle.substack.com/p/bills-introduced-5-1-26 - subscription required.