Senate Appropriations Committee Advances Agriculture, Rural Development, & FDA Spending Bill With Illinois Priorities Secured By Durbin, Duckworth

Senate Appropriations Committee Advances Agriculture, Rural Development, & FDA Spending Bill With Illinois Priorities Secured By Durbin, Duckworth

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) announced that the Senate Appropriations Committee advanced a funding bill for Agriculture, Rural Development, and FDA for Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26). Durbin and Duckworth worked to secure various priorities for Illinois in this appropriations bill, both through Congressionally Directed Spending requests and through the programmatic appropriations process.

"Congress is tasked with the critical responsibility to fund our government programs and agencies. While Congress has fulfilled this responsibility by routinely passing continuing resolutions, I hope that we can have a true bipartisan effort to pass appropriations bills in a timely, thoughtful process," said Durbin. "And as the Trump Administration aims to gut our government, I will continue to push for the funding and resources for Illinoisans to thrive."

"Our state and our nation are stronger when we invest in our communities and families-and that's what these bipartisan funding bills do," Duckworth said."Appropriating federal funding is the primary role of Congress, and it's critical this responsibility remains in the legislative branch. I'm proud I was able to help secure critical support for projects throughout Illinois that support our rural communities."

The Agriculture, Rural Development, and FDA funding bill includes the following Illinois priorities secured by Congressionally Directed Spending requests:

· Health Clinic, LaHarpe: $1.38 million to Memorial Hospital Association to help construct an additional health clinic to expand access to health care in the Western Illinois community.

· Hospital Infrastructure Improvements, Watseka, Illinois: $645,000 to the Iroquois Memorial Hospital and Resident Home to update aged and outdated facilities, including HVAC systems and flooring.

· Intergenerational Center, Fairbury, Illinois: $1 million to the Boys and Girls Club of Livingston County to construct an intergenerational community center to provide programming and services to youth and seniors at the same site.

· Laboratory Renovation, Pittsfield, Illinois: $1 million to the Blessing Care Corporation to update the laboratory department at Illini Community Hospital in order to modernize facilities that are more than 80 years old.

· Medical Technology Upgrades, Lawrenceville, Illinois: $450,000 to provide essential technological upgrades at Lawrence County Memorial Hospital, including improvements in diagnostic imaging, patient monitoring systems, and life-saving equipment.

· Pre-K Expansion, Herrin: $263,000 to Herrin Community Unit School District No. 4 to help expand capacity at the district's pre-K center.

· Rural Health Clinic Expansion, West Frankfort, Illinois: $1 million to Southern Illinois Hospital Services to expand the Miners Memorial Rural Health Clinic to provide improvements in both patient rooms and provider workspace.

· Teledentistry Initiative, Mattoon, Illinois: $110,000 to Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center to expand rural telehealth efforts to include teledentistry with an emphasis on underserved children.

The Agriculture, Rural Development, and FDA funding bill includes additional Illinois priorities secured through the programmatic appropriations process:

USDA

· Bee Genome: $3 million, an increase of $750,000 from FY25, to continue sequencing the genome of more than 4,000 domestic bee species, including activities underway at the Peoria USDA National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research and the University of Illinois.

· Midwest Soybean Germplasm Lab: The President's Budget Request proposes closing research labs in three states, including two operations at the University of Illinois-the National Soybean Germplasm Collection and the Maize Genetics Cooperation Stock Center. The bill includes language to prohibit USDA laboratory and facility closures without USDA providing Congressional notification and approval.

· Agricultural Research: $3.2 billion for basic food and agricultural research nationwide, including activities underway at the Peoria USDA National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research and the University of Illinois.

· Tracking Farm Exports by State: Includes report language requiring USDA to track and publish the top five farm commodities exported, or imported, by State, and the country of destination, or origin.

· Plant Health, Tree and Wood Pests: $59 million to help identify and contain wood-boring pests threatening tree health across the country, 19 of which have been detected in the past decade, including the Emerald Ash Borer. This funding will allow for the identification and containment of Emerald Ash Borer infestations and increase public awareness of the threat posed by EAB in the 15 states that are battling this invasive species.

· Animal Welfare: $27 million to implement and enforce provisions of the Animal Welfare Act (AWA), including those governing facilities that previously have fallen out of compliance with the AWA.

· Rural e-Connectivity Pilot Program (ReConnect Program): $35 million to support loans and grants that facilitate broadband deployment in rural areas without sufficient broadband access.

· Agricultural Extension - Food Safety Outreach Program: $10 million to provide food safety training and tech assistance to owners and operators of small farms, small food processors, and small fruit and vegetable vendors affected by the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2011.

• Food for Peace: $1.5 billion to meet emergency food needs around the world, including due to the wars in Ukraine, Gaza, and Sudan, and conflict, displacement, poverty, and climate change exacerbating needs around the world, despite Trump's efforts to eliminate the program.

• McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program: $240 million to support school feeding and maternal and child nutrition projects around the world, particularly for girls, despite Trump's efforts to eliminate the program.

• Local and Regional Procurement: Continues support for the promotion of locally sourced agricultural products, which remain less costly and more accessible when compared to commodities sourced from the United States and shipped overseas.

FDA

• Tobacco: Includes substantial bill language pertaining to FDA's Tobacco Center to eliminate harmful provisions and ensure alignment with public health needs. The statutory language specifies $200 million for e-cigarette enforcement activities, out of the $712 million total for the FDA's Tobacco Center-which will increase resources to investigate and stop illegally sold products. The language also enhances reporting to Congress, dedicates $2 million to the interagency task force between FDA, DOJ, and DHS, and provides statutory authority requested by FDA Commissioner Makary to enable FDA to detain and destroy seized illegal e-cigarettes at ports of entry. There also is report language ensuring that the FDA's regulatory focus is on kid-friendly and flavored products, and balanced between unauthorized Chinese vapes and also-illegal, unauthorized domestic vapes (made by Altria, RJ Reynolds, JUUL).

• ALS: Provides no less than $2.5 million for FDA to continue implementation of the ACT for ALS law to enable FDA to fund early stage clinical trials for new ALS therapies.

• Food Safety: $1.17 billion for FDA's Human Foods Program to oversee food and nutrition in the United States. Includes report language encouraging coordination between FDA, USDA, and CDC in better ensuring the safety of our nation's foods.

• Dietary Supplements: Includes report language calling on FDA to strengthen its enforcement actions against adulterated and misbranded dietary supplements.

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