ICYMI: Summary of the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Fiscal Year 2024 Appropriations Bill – READ HERE
ICYMI: Summary of the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Fiscal Year 2024 Appropriations Bill – READ HERE
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, gaveled in the first Senate Appropriations Committee markup this Congress and delivered the following remarks as the Committee meets to consider: 302(b) subcommittee allocations; the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Fiscal Year 2024 Appropriations Bill; and the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Fiscal Year 2024 Appropriations Bill.
Senator Murray’s remarks, as prepared for delivery, are below:
“The Committee will come to order.
“Today, the Committee will consider: the fiscal year 2024 302(b) subcommittee allocations; the fiscal year 2024 appropriations bill recommended by the Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies; and the fiscal year 2024 appropriations bill recommended by the Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies.
“Before we get going, let me quickly run through the plan for today. I will start us off with some opening remarks. Next, the Vice Chair will give her opening remarks. Then, I will open the floor for debate on the subcommittee allocations. At 11:00, I intend to begin the votes on the 302(b) spending allocations, the Milcon-VA bill, and the Ag bill.
“We have a number of other committees holding executive sessions this morning and a short window to have all our members here, so I ask everyone be here promptly at 11 so we can have full attendance for those votes.
“Following the three votes, we will move to the consideration of amendments to the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill; and the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill in turn.
“I’m also excited to share with all of you today that we have several bits of history happening today. I’m delighted to share with Senator Collins the first time ever that two women have been running this Committee. And I know we both hope to do you all proud. So I’m honored to be here with my Vice Chair, Senator Collins.
“I’m also excited to tell you that this is actually the first time ever that the Senate Appropriations Committee is being done as a televised mark up. That seemed like sort of common sense to me in this day and age, and I’m really grateful to all of the staff who worked with us to make that happen and bring us closer to our communities and for people to have transparency and see what we’re doing in this Committee. So you’ll see cameras for the first time ever—a little bit of history there.
“Following the three votes, we will move to the consideration of amendments to the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill; and the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill in turn.
“Now, as we get started, I’d like to thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, Committee staff, Vice Chair Collins, my ranking member on the MilCon-VA subcommittee, Senator Boozman, and our Agriculture subcommittee chair and ranking member, Senators Heinrich and Hoeven who have put in hard work to pull together two strong bipartisan bills on a fast timeline and under challenging circumstances.
“Vice Chair Collins and I have said from the start of the year we are determined to return to regular order, determined to ensure the Senate and our constituents’ voices are heard at every stage of this process, and determined to make good on our responsibility to fund the government in a responsible, timely way. And this Committee hit the ground running with nearly 40 subcommittee hearings over the course of a few months!
“That was no small feat—and it was a crucial one to keep things on track. So I want to thank all of our Subcommittee leaders—and our staff—for the hard work that made that happen.
“And today, that hard work is paying off as we mark up our first two bills, consider our topline subcommittee allocations, and show the nation just how serious we are about getting back to regular order, getting our bills done in a timely way, and keeping the government that serves them running smoothly.
“Of course, this is just another step of many more to come—we have to keep moving forward together. And in doing so, our first order of business this morning will be the Committee’s adoption of the 302(b) allocations to the 12 subcommittees.
“The Budget Committee has provided this Committee with a 302(a) allocation under the Congressional Budget Act of 1974. That 302(a) allocation adheres to the statutory limits agreed to in the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023, which the Senate passed earlier this month on a bipartisan basis.
“Specifically, for fiscal year 2024, the Fiscal Responsibility Act sets statutory limits of $886.3 billion in new budget authority for defense, and $703.7 billion in new budget authority for nondefense, for a total of $1.59 trillion in new budget authority.
“It is now the responsibility of this Committee, pursuant to the Congressional Budget Act, to adopt a set of 302(b) allocations consistent with our 302(a) allocation, so we can begin our work on the fiscal year 2024 appropriations process.
“The Members of the Committee have before them the proposal for the 302(b) allocations to the subcommittees. As mentioned, the 302(b)s are consistent with the levels negotiated by the President and the Speaker, which Congress just agreed to on a bipartisan basis in the Fiscal Responsibility Act.
“As has been reported, the President and the Speaker agreed to a series of adjustments that will occur as the subcommittees report their bills. To be clear, these are normal things they agreed to—the types of things this Committee does every single year: emergencies; rescissions; changes in mandatory programs. As with every budget law before it, the Fiscal Responsibility Act specifically allows for these types of adjustments.
“So, in setting the 302(b) allocations in the table before you, I took into account the agreement between the President and the Speaker to: rescind and spend unobligated IRS balances from the Inflation Reduction Act; rescind and spend balances tied to unobligated COVID funds; include other changes in mandatory programs we do every year; and provide some amount of emergency spending.
“Now, I know members on both sides of the aisle, including myself, are concerned about the really challenging toplines in the debt ceiling agreement that we must now work with. This is not an agreement that I would have made—and as I said on the floor when the Senate considered the legislation—I am worried about how it will limit our ability to make necessary investments in our country’s future. But we have a critical job to do as appropriators and as Members of Congress—and I am determined to get it done, and I know Vice Chair Collins is, too.
“We paused our aggressive markup schedule to allow the President and Speaker to reach their agreement. I am now moving us along as quickly as possible to make up for that lost time.
“The way we make the best of what we have to work with is by pushing forward and writing serious bills that can be signed into law, and then passing the strongest possible bills in a timely, bipartisan way to keep our government running smoothly and avoid an automatic, across-the-board cut to everything.
“The challenges we face under the limits imposed by the debt ceiling deal do not get easier or better if we start going backwards, if we abandon our return to regular order, or write unserious bills.
“And as we all know, chaos only helps those who want to see our government shut down, including our adversaries—like the governments of Russia and China—who are rooting for Congress to descend into chaos.
“So we have got to forge ahead and work together to write and pass the strongest possible bills and find solutions to problems people are facing. And I know my colleagues up and down this dais share that commitment.
“That begins today by considering our subcommittee allocations and the first two of our bills, which I’ll have more to say about shortly. And at every stage of this process, I am going to be fighting to protect key investments in families across the country and in our country’s future.
“And I am going to ensure we adhere to the deal that President Biden and Speaker McCarthy negotiated and Congress passed just a few weeks ago. That includes making full use of all the resources in the agreement, honoring its terms, and working at every step of the way to lessen the blow of the cuts and caps, which, as we know, are tough across the board—and especially tough on so many of our vital nondefense priorities which are cut in the legislative text, and which keep our economy strong and support working people in their daily lives.
“We can, and we absolutely should, have a conversation about how the debt ceiling agreement also limits our investments in defense, and we can and should talk about how we can address the danger posed by these limits. I have heard those concerns loud and clear from leaders like Vice Chair Collins and Senator Graham, whose expertise and perspective on national security I value deeply. I’m certain this is a conversation we’ll continue to have.
“And just as we do every year, we can and will consider supplemental and emergency appropriations to address key challenges like: getting communities struck by natural disasters the resources they need to recover; standing with our Ukrainian allies against Putin’s war of aggression; ensuring we have the resources in place to address the situation at the border and stop the flow of fentanyl; and much more.
“So what I really want to underscore is that we need a balanced approach here. The programs that feed our families, keep people housed, or support child care centers around the country are critical! We need to be investing in both our non-defense and defense programs.
“So as this process continues to move forward, I am going to insist that the programs families depend on every day, get the same kind of attention and urgency we constantly see for the Pentagon.
“The task of funding our government is never an easy one—and this year, these limits will make it more difficult. But I am determined to keep this process moving here in the Senate in an orderly and timely way and to protect key investments that make a world of difference in the lives of working people—in the lives of kids and families everywhere. And I know my colleagues share that commitment.
“Which is why today we need to move this process forward and adopt our 302(b)s.
“I will now turn to Vice Chair Collins for any comments she would like to make.”
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