***VIDEO: Senator Murray speaks about legislation on Senate Floor**
Senator Murray: “The bill we passed through the Senate with overwhelming bipartisan support would make serious investments in our nation’s food security and help families across the country put food on the table.”
Washington, D.C. – In case you missed it: earlier this month, Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, secured Senate passage of the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies (Ag-FDA) funding bill for Fiscal Year 2024. The legislation was part of a “minibus” package that passed the Senate in an overwhelming bipartisan vote of 82-15; the package also included the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD) and Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies (MilCon-VA) funding bills for Fiscal Year 2024. All three bills passed through the Senate Appropriations Committee unanimously this summer.
In addition to important investments in agricultural research, food safety, rural housing, and nutrition assistance programs, Murray also secured $8.45 million in the Ag-FDA bill in Congressionally Directed Spending Requests for four projects in Washington state. This does not include funding for national programs that will later be allocated on a competitive or formula-specific basis.
“Farmers and families in Washington state rely on the annual Ag-FDA funding bill for everything from vital agricultural research and nutrition assistance to rental support in rural communities and critical food safety inspections,” said Senator Murray. “The bill we passed through the Senate with overwhelming bipartisan support would make serious investments in our nation’s food security and help families across the country put food on the table. As Chair of the Appropriations Committee, I worked hard to make sure this funding bill included important wins for Washington farmers and our booming agriculture industry, and support for the groundbreaking agricultural research that happens in our state. I am working with my colleagues now to get this legislation—and the rest of our serious, bipartisan appropriations bills here in the Senate—signed into law.”
Murray secured robust funding in the bill for key national priorities of hers, including: nutrition assistance and child nutrition programs; a $50.6 million increase in funding for the Agricultural Research Service, USDA’s premier in-house research agency; a $20 million increase in funding for the FDA; $1.6 billion for rental assistance to ensure rural Americans have access to safe and affordable housing; and a $46.7 million increase for the Food Safety and Inspection Service to ensure the agency is not forced to reduce staffing levels, which would jeopardize food safety and exacerbate supply chain delays; and full funding for critical international food aid programs.
In the AG-FDA bill, Senator Murray secured $8.45 million in Congressionally Directed Spending requests:
- $1.4 million for the City of Roslyn to renovate their 120-year-old historic Old City Hall.
- $3 million for the completion of repairs and capital improvements at USDA’s Agricultural Research Service facility in Prosser.
- $1.05 million for Kittitas County for upgrades to public safety radio network and equipment for interoperable communications improvements.
- $3 million for Okanogan County to upgrade their public safety radio network and purchase mobile and portable radios for first responders.
Video of Senator Murray speaking on the Senate floor in support of this bill is HERE.
A full summary of the Ag-FDA bill is available HERE.
Congressionally Directed Spending projects included in the bill are available HERE.
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