McCollum No Vote on H.R. 4368

Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to H.R. 4368, the Republican FY24 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Act.

Less than one week before the government is set to shut down, House Republicans brought forward a slate of funding bills that have no chance of passing the Senate or being signed into law by President Biden. With this bill, Republicans have doubled down on their cuts to the critical rural programs America’s farmers rely on. The bill was so extreme that nearly 30 Republicans voted against it when it failed to pass the House Thursday evening by a vote of 191-237.

In July, Republicans passed out of the Appropriations Committee an Agriculture appropriations bill that provides just $17.2 billion—a funding level so low, it was last seen in 2007—and $9 billion below what was provided in 2023. It slashes loans that provide support for distressed farmers and funds for rural electric cooperatives. It underfunds direct loans for water and waste removal, money that ensures rural Americans have access to clean drinking water, and cuts the cash value voucher in the Women, Infants, and Children Program (WIC), undermining more than 100,000 Minnesotans’ access to nutrition assistance.

But Mr. Speaker, it seems as though the bill passed out of the Appropriations Committee didn’t go far enough. With the passage of the rule on Tuesday, an additional 14.15%, across-the-board cut was implemented on every program contained within this bill. In addition, another $1.2 billion was cut from the vital Food for Peace Program, a program that ensures people around the world have access to nutritious surplus food grown by America’s farmers.

This bill also contains harmful and partisan policy riders meant to appease the most extreme right-wing members of the Republican Caucus. The bill reverses a decision by the FDA to allow mifepristone to be dispensed in certified pharmacies to patients with a certified prescriber, instead of only in hospitals, clinics, and medical offices. Mifepristone has been safely used by more than 5 million women over the last two decades for safe and effective medication abortion. Congress acting to overturn a science-based decision by the Food and Drug Administration is yet another attempt by the majority to limit women’s access to reproductive health care.

Mr. Speaker, this bill is dead on arrival in the Senate. Instead of using this final week of Fiscal Year 2023 passing bills that will never become law, House Republican leadership should have focused on keeping the government open for the American people.

Thank you, and I yield back.