R48471 — Agriculture Appropriations: Earmarks Disclosed from FY2022 to FY2024

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), through its programs and responsibilities, supports and promotes U.S. agriculture, rural development, human nutrition, agricultural research, natural resources conservation, and food safety. Many USDA programs and activities rely on discretionary funding, which Congress provides through an annual Agriculture appropriations act—formally known as the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act. The annual Agriculture Appropriations Act funds USDA except for the U.S. Forest Service. In FY2022, the House and Senate allowed Representatives and Senators to identify funding for specific projects, recipient entities, or both in annual appropriations acts after a decade without such actions, including in the Agriculture Appropriations Act. The House and Senate use various terms when referring to these spending directives. The House Committee on Appropriations refers to this type of funding as Community Project Funding, and the Senate Committee on Appropriations refers to it as Congressionally Directed Spending. Both chambers have disclosure rules that these spending directives be disclosed in committee reports accompanying appropriations bills. Collectively, this type of spending is commonly known as “earmarks” and sometimes referred to as such for commonality and brevity. This report uses the terms Community Project Funding (CPF) when referring to disclosed House spending and Congressionally Directed Spending (CDS) when referring to disclosed Senate spending. These disclosed spending projects collectively are referred to as CPF/CDS or earmarks throughout the report. The House and Senate Appropriations Committees designate which accounts will be eligible for CPF and CDS within each annual appropriations bill for a fiscal year. From FY2022 to FY2024, the committees in both chambers generally designated the following accounts as eligible for CPF and CDS across USDA agencies: Agricultural Research Service (ARS) Buildings and Facilities, Rural Housing Service (RHS) Community Facilities Program grants, and Rural Utilities Service (RUS) Distance Learning and Telemedicine Program grants. In addition, the House committee designated Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Conservation Operations, RUS ReConnect Program grants, and RUS Water and Waste Disposal Program grants for CPF. The Senate committee separately designated Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Salaries and Expenses and NRCS Watershed Flood Prevention Operations for CDS. In FY2022-FY2024, Congress included 1,166 CPF/CDS items totaling $1.541 billion in enacted Agriculture appropriations bills (P.L. 117-103, P.L. 117-328, and P.L. 118-42). In that period, the number and amount increased each fiscal year. Congress appropriated $331 million for 237 CPF/CDS items in FY2022, $456 million for 329 items in FY2023, and $753 million for 600 items in FY2024. Three USDA agencies accounted for 90% of such spending over the three years—RHS, RUS, and ARS. From FY2022 to FY2024, Congress funded CPF/CDS projects in 46 states and three U.S. territories. The CPF/CDS projects that received the most cumulative funding for FY2022-FY2024 are concentrated in the following states: Wisconsin ($119 million), Maine ($83 million), Texas ($78 million), New York ($64 million), and Pennsylvania ($62 million). Six states and territories did not receive any CPF/CDS in FY2022-FY2024: American Samoa, District of Columbia, Indiana, North Dakota, Puerto Rico, South Dakota, and Wyoming. CPF/CDS funding varies by USDA agency and account. As Congress considers future appropriations acts, policy issues of potential interest include whether to continue allowing CPF/CDS, the amount of program funding designated for CPF/CDS within accounts, and coordination issues between agencies and recipients regarding points of contact and application procedures.

Curated by CRS — every bill listed in this report's relatedMaterials. Edge type cited_in_report, gold confidence.

• HR 1968 — Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025 · 119th Cong
• HR 9027 — Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Ac · 118th Cong
• S 4690 — Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Ac · 118th Cong