Illustration: Natalie Peeples / Axios
The House Appropriations Ag-FDA subcommittee approved the first FY26 health-related spending bill in a 9–7 party line vote on Thursday, with Democrats objecting to funding levels and language ordering a safety review of the abortion pill mifepristone.
Why it matters: Funding for the FDA would remain relatively flat, at $6.79 billion, which is in line with President Trump's budget request.
- $3.2 billion of agency's total budget would be from direct appropriations, with the remainder coming from increased industry user fees, according to Ag-FDA Chair Andy Harris.
What's inside: The total House Ag-FDA appropriations title is set at $25.5 billion, a 4% cut from FY25 that's mostly centered on agriculture programs.
- The FDA was essentially flat-funded during the last session through multiple continuing resolutions. But the Trump administration's reductions to staffing and funding have prompted concerns about essential functions and reduced facility inspections and product testing.
What they're saying: "We are holding this markup in a completely unprecedented time," said House Appropriations Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro. "Now is the time for appropriators to stand up and preserve constitutional authority over the power of the purse."
- Ag-FDA Ranking Member Sanford Bishop said that the bill would cut $320 million in discretionary funding from FDA, which would affect the agency's ability to share data and enact transparency efforts.
- Harris characterized the bill as a "clear conservative commitment to fiscal responsibility while ensuring that … all Americans have access to a safe food and drug supply."
Between the lines: Rep. Lauren Underwood objected to language she identified in the bill requiring the FDA to review the widely used abortion pill mifepristone, which the agency first approved in 2000 and has found safe and effective.
- That would differ from previous abortion pill riders that have been inserted in the House Ag-FDA bill had in recent years, which sought to reverse FDA rules around dispensing mifepristone through mail and at retail pharmacies and were later dropped.
- The new rider syncs with FDA Commissioner Marty Makary's commitment to review the latest data on the drug.
- Sen. Josh Hawley asked Makary in a recent letter to review the agency's current guidance on mifepristone, based on a new study Hawley cited that referenced adverse events and was not peer-reviewed.
What's next: The full House Appropriations Committee is set to mark up the Ag-FDA bill Wednesday.
- No amendments were offered in this markup, but Democrats are likely to offer numerous proposals in the full committee.
