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# Senate Approves FY2026 USDA Budget
- URL: https://broadbandbreakfast.com/senate-approves-fy2026-usda-budget/
- Published: 2025-08-06T21:56:45.000Z
- Updated: 2026-03-11T05:48:09.000Z
- Description: Proposes $96 million for rural broadband grants and loans in FY26.
- Author: Jennifer Michel
- Tags: Funding, #with-siderail, John Hoeven, House Appropriations, Senate Appropriations, USDA, White House, Congress, FDA, ReConnect, Community Connect, Distance Learning and Telemedicine Grant Program

WASHINGTON, August 6, 2025 – The Senate passed a $27.1 billion agriculture appropriations bill Friday in an 87-9 vote, proposing $96 million for rural broadband grants and loans in fiscal year 2026\. 

The Senate bill, passed before the chamber adjourned for its August recess, earmarks $40 million for telemedicine and distance learning services; $35 million for U.S. Department of Agriculture's ReConnect program; and $20 million for the Community Connect Grant Program in FY26.

Introduced by Sen. **John Hoeven**, R-N.D., on July 10, the bill, titled the [Fiscal Year 2026 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/2256/text?ref=broadbandbreakfast.com), establishes the USDA’s discretionary budget for the coming year, and funds the FDA and related rural development programs.

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The bill’s $35 million allocation for ReConnect, which provides grants and loans to expand broadband service in rural areas, represents a major cut from the $90 million proposed by the House [in June](https://broadbandbreakfast.com/house-restores-reconnect-funding-for-fy26/). 

Still, it’s more than the Trump administration proposed. The White House [sought to eliminate](https://broadbandbreakfast.com/usda-ntia-receive-budget-cuts-in-fiscal-year-2026/) ReConnect funding entirely in FY26, calling the program [redundant](https://broadbandbreakfast.com/trump-plan-wants-to-cut-usda-broadband-funding/). The ReConnect program received $52 million in fiscal year 2025.

The Senate Appropriations Committee had previously advanced the discretionary spending bill by a 27-0 vote [on July 14](https://broadbandbreakfast.com/senate-panel-advances-usda-budget-trims-reconnect-in-fy26-bill/). 

The House Appropriations Committee introduced its version in June, but it has not yet received a floor vote, leaving final broadband funding levels unresolved until both chambers advance matching legislation after the August recess.