CRS Report on Appropriations for Rural Development Programs, Proposals for FY2027

The Government Accountability Office report examined appropriations proposals for Rural Development programs for fiscal year 2027. These programs are administered by the Rural Business-Cooperative Service, Rural Utilities Service, and Rural Housing Service within the Department of Agriculture. Congress funds these programs through annual appropriations acts.

GAO Findings on RUS Programs

Appropriations for water and waste disposal programs administered by RUS decreased from $478.5 million in FY2025 to $445.9 million in FY2026. Loan authority for these programs rose from $910 million in FY2025 to $1.1 billion in FY2026. The President’s FY2027 budget requested lower levels for both appropriations and loan authority compared to FY2026. H.R. 8646 proposed decreasing overall appropriations for rural water programs by $385.3 million in FY2027 versus FY2026. Congress may consider the role of Community Project Funding/Congressionally Directed Spending in project selection for these programs.

Rural Development Funding Methods

Most Rural Development programs used a competitive process for funding projects. Recipients had to submit documents like a project proposal, work plan, and budget to the USDA. The agency then selected the projects to receive funds. Some RD program funding was allocated noncompetitively by Congress. This allocation benefited a specific entity or locality. This practice is sometimes called a congressional earmark. The House Committee on Appropriations called these Community Project Funding. The Senate Committee on Appropriations called them Congressionally Directed Spending.

The report, Appropriations for Rural Development Programs: Proposals for FY2027 (R49503), by Zachary T. Neuhofer, is dated November 4, 2026. Read it on Congress.gov.