With the government shutdown over, federal funding resumes. What does this mean for the veterinary industry?

At 43 days, the longest US government shutdown in history ended this week as President Donald Trump signed government funding bill H.R. 5371.^1,2 Under the narrowly passed compromise, most federal agencies will receive temporary funding at the same levels as fiscal year 2025 through January 30, 2026. Some departments, including the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), will receive full-year funding through September 30, 2026. Funding includes money for federal veterinary and food safety programs.

H.R. 5371 guarantees back pay for federal employees and bars agencies from cutting full-time staff while the continuing resolution is in effect. Additionally, federal workers that were fired by the Trump administration since the shutdown began on October 1 will be rehired.

On November 10, the Senate approved the bill. Then, on November 12, Trump signed the bill, hours after the House approved the measure in a mostly partisan vote of 222-209.³

What this means for the veterinary industry

The bill allocates $203.4 billion in total funding for the USDA and FDA through the full-year appropriations bill, covering discretionary and mandatory spending. With the more-than-monthlong gridlock over, the veterinary industry can expect fundings at fiscal year 2025 levels for programs including the Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program ($10 million), Veterinary Services Grant Program ($4 million), and Food Animal Residue Avoidance Databank ($2 million).

H.R. 5371 also sets aside $750,000 to support the Alaska Native Rural Veterinary Care—which increases access to veterinary care to underserved tribal or rural communities in Alaska—while providing $1.9 million for a pathological waste incinerator at the University of Georgia’s Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory. It also includes $1 million to develop a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine program at the University of Maryland-Eastern Shore and $560,535 for a mobile veterinary research and training laboratory at Utah State University.

The legislation also calls for the USDA to report on its domestic readiness and response plans for New World screwworm (Cochliomyia hominivorax). With detections less than 70 miles from the US-Mexico border reported earlier this fall, the parasite may be approaching the US.⁴

Through the the bill, most provisions of the 2018 Farm Bill, officially the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, which had been scheduled to expire on September 30, will be extended through January 30, 2026.

Additionally, the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility will receive funding, and the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service budget for State Meat and Poultry Inspection and Cooperative Interstate Shipment programs will be increased by $15 million.

References

1. Senate passes bill to end government shutdown, veterinary programs funded. American Veterinary Medical Association. November 12, 2025. Accessed November 13, 2025. https://www.avma.org/news/senate-passes-bill-end-government-shutdown-veterinary-programs-funded
2. House. H.R. 5371 — Continuing Appropriations, Agriculture, Legislative Branch, Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, and Extensions Act, 2026. 119th Cong. (2025–2026). Actions. Congress.gov. Published November 12, 2025. Accessed November 13, 2025. https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/5371/all-actions
3. The Latest: Longest government shutdown in US history ends after 43 days as Trump signs funding bill. The Associated Press. November 12, 2025. Accessed November 13, 2025. https://apnews.com/article/trump-shutdown-snap-travel-8cae829d4472a165846d1aae3e82f310
4. Bautista-Alejandre A. New World screwworm detected less than 70 miles from the US-Mexico border. dvm360. September 22, 2025. Accessed November 13, 2025. https://www.dvm360.com/view/new-world-screwworm-detected-less-than-70-miles-from-the-us-mexico-border