Senate Appropriations Committee Approves Subcommittee Allocations, Legislative Branch, Ag-FDA, and Military Construction-VA Bills
Committee unanimously approves Legislative Branch bill in 27-0 vote
Committee unanimously approves Agriculture-FDA bill in 27-0 vote
Committee unanimously approves Military Construction-VA bill in 27-0 vote
***WATCH and READ: Senator Murray’s opening remarks***
Washington, D.C. — Today, the Senate Appropriations Committee met for a full committee markup and approved subcommittee allocations for all twelve subcommittees and the fiscal year 2025 Legislative Branch; Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and Related Agencies; and Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies appropriations bills.
“These bills deliver critical resources to get moms and babies vital nutrition assistance, get veterans the care they have earned and deserve, support families in rural communities, protect America’s food supply, ensure our Capitol remains a safe place for all to come and visit, strengthen our posture in the Indo-Pacific, and much more,” said Senate Appropriations Chair Patty Murray (D-WA) in her opening remarks. “In moving forward today with these strong, bipartisan bills, I have no doubt we will be setting this process off in the right direction.”
“I am determined to show—and I know the Vice Chair feels the same way—that when we work hard, work together, and focus on helping people back home we can write strong, bipartisan bills that help meet our nation’s greatest challenges—and that can actually get passed into law,” added Senator Murray. “That’s exactly what this Committee did last year, and I hope we can do it again this year.”
Senator Murray also spoke about how the inadequate spending levels set by the Fiscal Responsibility Act would mean painful shortfalls across government—and how the bipartisan agreement she reached with Vice Chair Collins to make use of additional emergency funding will help address the insufficient levels and invest in families and our country’s future.
“As I have made clear—alongside so many members on both sides of the aisle—the one percent increase in funding that the FRA provides for nondefense and defense alike in FY25 is simply inadequate. It doesn’t come close to keeping up with inflation and rising costs—much less allow us to meet new challenges and invest in families and our country’s future,” said Senator Murray. “That’s why I have been clear that we cannot leave nondefense needs behind as we consider additional funding for defense. So I’m pleased that Vice Chair Collins and I reached a bipartisan agreement to provide much-needed additional funding for nondefense and defense alike. The agreement will provide an additional $13.5 billion in emergency funding for nondefense programs, and $21 billion for defense programs beyond the FRA levels.”
“This additional funding in our bipartisan agreement is crucial,” said Senator Murray. “It will help ensure we can address serious shortfalls, tackle urgent new challenges here at home and abroad, prevent devastating layoffs and cutbacks to services, and invest in families and our country’s future. This is going to help families keep a roof over their head. It will help us address issues like combatting the opioid crisis. When it comes to growing our economy, this is going to help us keep our edge—and help address the child care crisis that is holding our nation back. And when it comes to our global leadership, this is going to help us build on the investments we delivered in the National Security Supplemental that Congress passed to keep our nation safe, stand against dictators like Putin, counter the growing influence of the Chinese government, and strengthen deterrence to prevent conflict.”
In a 27-0 vote, the Committee unanimously approved the Fiscal Year 2025 Legislative Branch Appropriations Bill.
The Fiscal Year 2025 Legislative Branch Appropriations Act provides $7 billion for the operations of the United States Senate and House, the United States Capitol Police, the Library of Congress, the Government Accountability Office, the U.S. Copyright Office, the Congressional Research Service, the Congressional Budget Office, the Architect of the Capitol, the Office of the Attending Physician, and other legislative branch agencies. Note that this total includes $2.086 billion in funding for the House of Representatives and House Office Buildings, which is not allocated within the draft Senate bill.
“This bill makes targeted investments in making the legislative branch more effective, serving the public, and holding the entire government to account,” said Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), Chair of the Legislative Branch Subcommittee. “The bill invests in key watchdog functions of non-partisan agencies like the Government Accountability Office, which helps enhance transparency and accountability throughout the federal government to save taxpayers money. It provides needed funding and infrastructure to safeguard the Capitol complex and keep it accessible to the public. The bill also invests in modernizing the Library of Congress. And it prioritizes operations at the Congressional Budget Office, the Joint Economic Committee, and Government Publishing Office, which are crucial to providing lawmakers with trusted information and keeping the American public well-informed.”
“This bipartisan bill delivers the resources Congress needs to carry out our responsibilities as legislators—and to serve all our constituents back home,” said Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee. “This bill invests in keeping the Capitol complex safe for all who work in it and come to visit, and it invests in the brave Capitol Police officers who protect the campus each and every day. It also funds the essential nonpartisan expertise and research Congress relies on, and provides more funding to support government oversight and accountability.”
A full summary of the bill is available HERE.
Final bill text, as amended, is available HERE.
Final bill report, as amended, is available HERE.
Adopted amendments are available HERE.
In a 27-0 vote, the Committee unanimously approved the Fiscal Year 2025 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill.
The Fiscal Year 2025 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act provides $27.049 billion in total funding, an $821 million increase over fiscal year 2024.
“The Senate Appropriations Committee is proving, yet again, that it is possible to find common ground across party lines on funding bills that put the interests of working families first,” said Senator Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Chair of the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Subcommittee. “The investments we have included in this bipartisan bill will improve access to needed prescriptions, help American farmers produce healthy food, and grow economic opportunities in our rural communities. We maintained our full support for vital nutrition programs like WIC that ensure women, infants, and children can keep healthy food on the table. We also included continued funding for the Southwest Border Regional Commission, to further grow the region’s economy. Now that we have passed this bill out of committee on a strong, bipartisan vote, I will keep working, every step of the way, to get these investments across the finish line and into New Mexico.”
“Last year, we fought tooth and nail to fully fund WIC, and I am proud that this bill once again does just that—ensuring millions of women and children can continue to count on this vital nutrition assistance. This bill sustains rental assistance to help families in rural communities keep a roof over their head, and it fully funds critical programs that help kids get healthy meals at school and over the summer, including through the Summer EBT program I helped establish,” said Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee. “This legislation will keep food safety inspectors on the job, help protect our food supply, and provide FDA more resources to protect consumers’ health and safety. This is a strong bipartisan bill that also delivers important support for our farmers and rural communities.”
A full summary of the bill is available HERE.
Final bill text, as amended, is available HERE.
Final bill report, as amended, is available HERE.
Adopted amendments are available HERE.
Congressionally Directed Spending projects included in the bill are available HERE.
In a 27-0 vote, the Committee unanimously approved the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Fiscal Year 2025 Appropriations Bill.
The Fiscal Year 2025 Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act provides the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and related agencies $129.57 billion in non-defense discretionary funding, as well as $210.41 billion in mandatory funding, to fulfill our nation’s obligations to our veterans. The bill also provides advance appropriations for our veterans in fiscal year 2026, including $131.44 billion for veterans’ medical care and $222.23 billion for veterans benefits. In addition, the bill includes $19.31 billion in defense spending for military construction and family housing for fiscal year 2025.
“This bill provides servicemembers with the infrastructure needed to work, train, and live, and to provide them and their families with child care, schools, and medical facilities. It supports the nation’s defense by funding facilities supporting the Pacific Deterrence Initiative, the Shipyard Infrastructure Optimization Program, and military installation resilience,” said Senator Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ), Chair of the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Subcommittee. “It supports VA programs to provide the care and benefits that veterans have earned through their service, including additional funding for medical research, state veterans homes, and state cemeteries. This bill fully funds the Administration’s request to keep the promises we have made to veterans.”
“When our veterans come home, we have an obligation to ensure they get the benefits and care that they have earned—and that’s what this bill does with essential funding for our veterans, including critical investments to tackle veteran homelessness, provide mental health services, and get our women veterans the health care they have earned,” said Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee. “It is also critical that our servicemembers and their families have the support they need to thrive—and that’s why the resources this bill delivers to construct and improve military housing, child care centers, and other quality of life facilities are so important. Moreover, this bill invests in ensuring our military infrastructure is resilient and equipped to meet a host of new threats and responsibilities across the globe.”
A full summary of the bill is available HERE.
Final bill text, as amended, is available HERE.
Final bill report, as amended, is available HERE.
Adopted amendments are available HERE.
Congressionally Directed Spending projects included in the bill are available HERE.
In a 15-12 vote, the Committee approved 302(b) subcommittee allocations.
302(b) subcommittee allocations as approved by the Committee are available HERE.
Note that these allocations do not include any of the adjustments and emergency funding agreed to as part of the Fiscal Responsibility Act agreement, or the additional emergency funding that Chair Murray and Vice Chair Collins have agreed to for fiscal year 2025. These resources will instead be reflected as each subcommittees reports its bill.
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