The House passed a Republican spending bill on June 6, 2026, that would cut $200 million from fruit and vegetable vouchers for women, infants and children and trim money for rural aid programs. The fiscal year 2027 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies bill would provide $26.3 billion in discretionary funding, $1.1 billion less than fiscal year 2026 and 4 percent below the prior level.
That vote put Tom Cole and House Republicans in the middle of a fight over food aid and rural spending that is already landing in grocery carts, clinic visits and county budgets. Sanford Bishop, Jr. warned that the bill would leave 5 million women, infants and children hungry, while Rosa DeLauro said it cuts support at the same moment working families are facing higher costs for groceries, gasoline and utilities.
The bill is not just a cut to one nutrition program. Bishop said it would also slash funding for water and wastewater grants, gut rural energy programs, reduce rural broadband investments and take development grants away from rural businesses. DeLauro made the same case, saying Republicans were cutting money for rural energy, rural water and rural broadband programs while trimming fruit and vegetable vouchers for women, infants and children by $200 million.
House Republicans argued that WIC participation so far in 2026 is below 2025, but that comparison leaves out the larger picture. It does not account for how enrollment moves through the year, or for the fact that the bill would reduce support even as families continue to face the price pressure that has made the program more important, not less.
What happens next is the open question. The House has done its part for now, but the size of the cuts puts pressure on the next round of budget talks to decide whether nutrition aid and rural development are treated as priorities or as places to absorb the savings.
