T he Agriculture appropriations bill—formally known as the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act—funds the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), excluding the U.S. Forest Service. This includes funding for FDA and USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), the two primary federal agencies responsible for overseeing the safety of the nation's food supply. In March 2018, Congress enacted the FY2018 agriculture appropriation as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018 ( P.L. 115-141 , Division A). Both the House and the Senate Appropriations Committees have reported Agriculture appropriations bills for FY2019 ( H.R. 5961 , S. 2976 ). The Senate amended and passed its version as Division C of a four-bill minibus ( H.R. 6147 ). The enacted FY2018 appropriation and both the FY2019 House-reported bill and the Senate-passed bill include funding for food safety programs and related activities at FDA and USDA. Introduction

Numerous federal, state, and local agencies share responsibilities for regulating the safety of the U.S. food supply. Federal responsibility for food safety rests primarily with FDA and FSIS. FDA, an agency of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), is responsible for ensuring the safety of the majority of all domestic and imported food products (except for meat and poultry products). FSIS, an agency at USDA, regulates most meat, poultry, and processed egg products. Combined appropriations covering food safety activities at both FDA and USDA totaled nearly $2.1 billion in FY2018, which is roughly split between the two agencies ( Figure 1 , Table 1 ). The enacted FY2018 appropriation for FDA's food safety activities provided $1,041.6 million. For FSIS, the FY2018 appropriation provided $1,056.8 million. Collected user fees differ between the two agencies: At FDA, user fees authorized under the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA, P.L. 111-353 ) have generated between $10 million and $20 million annually in recent years; at FSIS, authorized user fees have generated between $180 million and $250 million annually ( Figure 2 ). FDA's total budget for food safety programs and activities extends beyond the agency's Foods Program to encompass other food and veterinary medicine programs at FDA while also including aspects of other FDA program areas covering food additives, antimicrobial resistance, and nutrition labeling. FSMA was the largest expansion of FDA's food safety authorities since the 1930s, and FDA is still actively engaged in implementing the law and its regulations. Since FSMA became law in 2011, congressional appropriators have increased funding for the FDA Foods Program by $204.3 million—an increase of about 24% between FY2011 and FY2018—largely in an effort to support FDA's implementation of FSMA. Currently, FDA's annual appropriation to conduct its food safety oversight activities is roughly similar to that at FSIS ( Figure 1 , Table 1 ). Congressional appropriations are augmented by existing industry-paid user fees authorized by FSMA. The agency's Meat and Poultry Inspection Program conducts continual inspections at federal meat and poultry plants.
The Agriculture appropriations bill—formally known as the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act—funds the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), excluding the U.S. Forest Service. Congress enacted the FY2018 agriculture appropriation in March 2018 as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018 (P.L. 115-141, Division A). Both the House and the Senate Appropriations Committees have reported Agriculture appropriations bills for FY2019 (H.R. 5961, S. 2976). The Senate amended and passed its version as Division C of a four-bill minibus (H.R. 6147).
Numerous federal, state, and local agencies share responsibilities for regulating the safety of the U.S. food supply. Federal responsibility for food safety rests primarily with FDA, an agency of the Department of Health and Human Services, and also the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), an agency of USDA. FDA is responsible for ensuring the safety of the majority of all domestic and imported food products—except for meat and poultry products, which are within USDA's jurisdiction to oversee meat, poultry, and processed egg products.
Combined appropriations covering food safety activities at both FDA and USDA totaled nearly $2.1 billion in FY2018. Congressional appropriations at both FDA and USDA are augmented by existing (currently authorized) user fees. FDA user fees authorized by the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA, P.L. 111-353) have generated between $10 million and $18 million annually in recent years. At FSIS, user fees have generated between $180 million and $250 million per year.
At FDA, ongoing efforts to improve food safety include implementation of FSMA. FSMA was enacted by the 111th Congress and was the largest expansion of FDA's food safety authorities since the 1930s. Since FSMA became law in 2011, congressional appropriators have increased annual funding for the FDA Foods Program by $204.3 million—an increase of about 24% between FY2011 and FY2018—largely in an effort to support FDA's implementation of FSMA. The enacted FY2018 appropriation for FDA's Foods Program provided $1,041.6 million. Currently, FDA funding for its food safety oversight activities is roughly similar to those of FSIS (Figure 1). FDA's total budget for food safety programs and activities extends beyond the agency's Foods Program, encompassing other food and veterinary medicine programs at FDA.
Food-safety-related activities at FSIS include continuous inspections at federal meat and poultry plants. The enacted FY2018 appropriation provided $1,056.8 million to carry out this function. Compared to FY2011—the year FSMA was enacted—annual congressional appropriations for FSIS have increased by $48.3 million (+5%).
For FY2019, congressional appropriators would increase funding for federal food safety activities, whereas the Administration's budget proposal would reduce food safety funding below FY2018 levels at both FDA and FSIS.