Across both funding packages, Murray secures $5.16 billion for WA, which includes nearly $242 million in Congressionally Directed Spending and $4.9 billion for other WA projects
ICYMI on first funding package: As Appropriations Chair, Murray Secures Billions for WA Priorities in Six-Bill Funding Package; Fully Funds WIC & Protects Programs for Working Families
ICYMI: Former Preschool Teacher Patty Murray Delivers $1 Billion More to Help Families Find and Afford Child Care & Pre-K – MORE HERE
***WATCH: Senator Murray’s floor remarks after passage of the legislation***
Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, led Senate passage of the second package of six bicameral, bipartisan fiscal year 2024 appropriations bills. The six-bill package passed the House on Friday by a vote of 286-134 and passed the Senate by a 74-22 vote today—the President is expected to sign the funding package as soon as it reaches his desk.
As Senate Appropriations Chair, Senator Murray led negotiations to successfully protect and strengthen investments in this package in our kids’ education, people’s health, families’ pocketbooks, our national security, and so much more. She secured $1 billion more to help more families find and afford child care and early learning programs—and led the fight to successfully defeat scores of extreme Republican policy riders and draconian cuts that would have set our country back decades.
“We have finally passed all twelve bills to fund the government—and I’m proud to be sending a $1 billion increase in funding for child care and early learning programs to President Biden’s desk,” said Senator Murray. “Whether it was parents from every part of our state who are struggling to find or afford child care, or servicemembers from Naval Base Kitsap to Fairchild Air Force Base who have been struggling to make ends meet—I worked hard to negotiate funding bills with Washington state families in mind. Washington state families want the federal government to invest in our teachers and students, our mayors from Vancouver to Spokane want more resources to tackle the opioid crisis, and small businesses across our state want stronger workforce training programs. I worked hard, under tough fiscal constraints, to ensure Washington state priorities were reflected in our nation’s spending bills—and that we strengthened or protected critical federal investments that matter most to our state.”
In this second and final funding package, Senator Murray secured $372,039,000 in total funding for Washington state, which does not include funding for national programs that will later be allocated on a competitive or formula-specific basis. This includes approximately $318.5 million for specific projects in Washington and $53,533,000 in Congressionally Directed Spending (CDS) for local projects across Washington state—in addition to the $188.418 million in CDS that Senator Murray secured in the first package of funding bills. More information on the first six-bill funding package Murray passed, which President Biden signed into law earlier this month, is HERE.
Across both funding packages, Murray secured $5.16 billion for WA, which includes nearly $242 million in Congressionally Directed Spending. A full, searchable list of CDS projects Murray secured in both packages is available HERE.
Highlights, key provisions, and funding Senator Murray secured in the funding bills in the second package are below:
Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies
“Parents, small businesses, and just about everyone says again and again that child care is unaffordable and too hard to find in every part of our state,” said Senator Murray. “I worked hard to secure a $1 billion boost for child care and early learning programs in this bill to help lower child care costs for more families in Washington state—we have a lot more that needs to get done, but I’ll keep pushing for progress every way I can.”
“I fought hard to make sure this bill protects critical funding that helps communities tackle the opioid epidemic, which has been so devastating in Washington state, and was able to secure $4.6 billion overall to support substance use disorder prevention and treatment programs nationwide—alongside Congressionally Directed Spending for local programs from Everett to Vancouver that will help more people who are struggling with addiction get the lifesaving treatment they need,” Murray continued.
The bill Senator Murray negotiated provides a $1 billion increase for child care and early learning programs within HHS. This includes $8.75 billion for the Child Care and Development Block Grantprogram (CCDBG)—a $725 million or 9% increase over fiscal year 2023, when Murray secured a 30% boost for the program—and $12.27 billion for Head Start, a $275 million increase over last year’s funding level. Sustained annual increases of federal investments in child care and Head Start are critical in tackling the child care crisis and helping to ensure more families can find and afford the quality, affordable child care and early childhood education options they need.
Among many other things, the legislation also:
- Strengthens biomedical research, with $48.6 billion for the National Institutes of Health, which delivers funding boosts above fiscal year 2023 for the agency’s research programs on mental health (+$75 million), Alzheimer’s disease (+$100 million), cancer (+$120 million), opioids (+$5 million), diabetes (+$10 million), and maternal mortality (+$10 million). These funding levels build on previous investments delivered through Murray’s landmark 21st Century Cures Act, which passed in 2016.
- Protects funding for reproductive health programs, including Title X and the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program, rejecting House Republicans’ push to defund both programs.
- Protects and builds on investments in elementary and secondary education, and in public schools, teachers, and students—rejecting drastic cuts proposed by House Republicans.
- Protects investments in key federal workforce training programs that Murray authorized when she passed the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act in 2014 and has funded every year since.
- Provides $3 million for a new youth homelessness prevention demonstration program—based on Murray’s youth homelessness bill—which will provide grants to state, local, and Tribal governments and non-profit community-based organizations to provide primary prevention services for youth at risk of homelessness.
Senator Murray also secured over $46 million in funding for 28 CDS projects in the bill to meet critical education, child care, and health care needs across Washington state—those are listed HERE.
A full summary of the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies bill Senator Murray negotiated is available HERE.
Defense
“The most valuable asset we have when it comes to our national defense are the brave women and men who put their lives on the line to keep us safe,” said Senator Murray. “The defense funding bill I negotiated will give our servicemembers a much-needed pay raise, clean up dangerous PFAS chemicals at our military bases, and invest in important sexual assault and suicide prevention initiatives. If we want our servicemembers to be ready, they need to know their kids are safe and this bill will help expand access to child care for military families.”
The bill Senator Murray negotiated provides key investments in child care for military families, which has long been a top priority for Senator Murray especially as military installations in Washington state struggle to provide enough child care for families. The Defense bill provides $167 million to fully fund the Department of Defense’s (DOD) child care initiatives. This includes $33 million to enable DOD to offer a 50% discount for the first child of employees of DOD child development centers to improve recruitment and retention of staff, and $94 million—a $66.5 million increase—to support full-day universal pre-K and double enrollment from 1,810 to 3,625 children of servicemembers. The bill also provides $20 million in new funding for the renovation and repairs of DOD Child Development Centers, like the child development center at Fairchild Air Force Base.
The legislation also provides a 5.2 percent pay raise for servicemembers, increased funding for the Basic Needs Allowance, and funding for bonuses and new resources to help military families make ends meet. In addition, the bill provides new funding to help survivors of sexual assault and prevent sexual assault in the military—a longtime priority for Senator Murray—and additional funding to reduce suicide in the military.
Murray also secured funding in the legislation for key projects that are important to Washington state, including: $130 million for the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard for seismically mitigating the dry docks at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility; and $265 million above the President’s budget request for Defense-wide environmental mitigation activities, including for PFAS remediation.
A full summary of the Defense bill Senator Murray negotiated is available HERE.
Financial Services and General Government
“This bill is important to ensuring we have a capable and responsive federal government that delivers for the American people and supports small businesses and consumers while going after scammers and fraudsters. I’m glad to have secured $9 million to move forward on a new National Archives facility in the Seattle area and nearly $80 million for critically needed and urgent safety upgrades at the federal courthouse in Tacoma,” said Senator Murray. “This bill will also fund a new program I established through my bipartisan retirement bill to help people find their lost retirement accounts and recover their hard-earned investments. Importantly, this bill will also support the brand-new Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response Policy at the White House that I created to make sure the federal government is better equipped and ready to respond to the next pandemic.”
Among many other things, Senator Murray secured $9 million for planning and design of a new long-term records storage facility for the National Archives and Records Administration’s facility in the Seattle area to continue providing our region’s federally recognized Tribes, local and state governments, and general population with access to invaluable historical resources. In 2019, the federal government attempted to sell the current property at Sand Point and relocate the contents. Each year since then, Senator Murray has worked to develop a long-term solution that keeps the records in the Seattle region and ensures the records and archives are safely maintained and accessible.
Murray also secured $79,256,000 for repairs at the Federal Courthouse at Tacoma Union Station. The property has one of the highest seismic risk ratings in GSA’s portfolio, and retrofitting the building will ensure compliance with modern safety codes and better protect building occupants and visitors in the event of a natural disaster.
The legislation also provides $28 million—a $3 million boost over fiscal year 2023—for the Native American Community Development Financial Institutions Program to support Native communities’ access to capital and financial services, and $20 million for the State Trade Expansion Promotion (STEP) Program, which helps small businesses improve their access to overseas markets and the value of their exports. The Washington State Department of Commerce has received funding under STEP for 10 years.
Additionally, the bill provides $7 million to implement Senator Murray’s SECURE 2.0 Act to help people locate retirement accounts from past employers that are missing.
The bill also funds the brand-new Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response Policy Murray established with former Senator Burr as part of her bipartisan PREVENT Pandemics Act, which was signed into law in December 2022. The new office, housed within the White House, and launched in July, will serve as a mission control and ensure there is a team in place, ready to go 24/7, to guide an all-of-government response to new and emerging public health threats.
Senator Murray also secured more than $7.2 million in funding for four CDS projects in the bill, which are listed HERE.
A full summary of the Financial Services and General Government bill Senator Murray negotiated is available HERE.
Homeland Security
“I worked hard to secure $100 million for Coast Guard Base Seattle in this bill, along with new funding for the Puget Sound Whale Desk and efforts to help address staffing shortages at Washington State Ferries,” said Senator Murray. “This bill is a bipartisan compromise that will provide some important new resources to help meet increased operational needs at our border—and importantly, new resources to stop the flow of fentanyl way up the supply chain and at our ports of entry.”
Among other things, Senator Murray secured in the legislation: $100 million for improvements at the Seattle Coast Guard Base to accommodate three Polar Security Cutters that will be stationed at the Seattle Base to increase the nation’s Polar capabilities; $579 million for Offshore Patrol Cutters at the Seattle Coast Guard Base—a $36 million increase over last year’s funding level, to replace outdated Medium Endurance Cutters such as those stationed at the Seattle Base—and $250,000 for the Puget Sound Cetacean Desk Pilot Program, a joint program between the Coast Guard and NOAA to track and proactively alert vessel operations to whale presence in the Sound, as well as regulations and voluntary guidelines in place to protect the endangered Southern Resident orcas. This funding complements $200,000 included for NOAA in the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies funding bill enacted earlier this month.
Murray also secured in the bill $11 million to modernize the Mariner Credentialing Program and language directing the National Maritime Center to review their system for approving Merchant Mariner Credentials to help streamline the hiring process and address the crew shortage at Washington State Ferries.
Additionally, Murray secured $272,000 through CDS for the Port of Longview to purchase and install two portable generators to ensure that the Port can continue to operate temporarily in case of a disaster—the full list of CDS projects is HERE.
A full summary of the Homeland Security bill Senator Murray negotiated is available HERE.
Murray also fought hard to protect and strengthen investments that matter to our nation’s future in theState, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs and Legislative Branch funding bills that make up the remainder of the second funding package.
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