08.01.24

ICYMI : Summary of the Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill

ICYMI: Summary of the Defense Appropriations Bill

ICYMI: Summary of the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill

ICYMI< /a>: Summary of the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Bill

WATCH : Chair Murray's opening remarks

Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, just gaveled in a Senate Appropriations Committee markup and delivered the following remarks as the Committee meets to consider: the fiscal year 2025 Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies; Defense; Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies; and Financial Services and General Government appropriations acts.

Senator Murray's opening remarks, as delivered, are below:

"I'd like to thank Senator Kennedy, who is my Ranking Member of the Energy and Water Subcommittee; Senators Tester and Collins, the Defense Subcommittee Chair and Ranking Member; Senators Baldwin and Capito, the LHHS Subcommittee Chair and Ranking Member, and Senators Van Hollen and Hagerty, the FSGG Subcommittee Chair and Ranking Member.

"Everyone has put in hard work to pull together their bills, and we have already passed over half of our FY25 funding bills-seven of them, in fact-and in overwhelming bipartisan votes.

"We are on track to continue that great progress today by wrapping up work on four more bills.

"And we are continuing to work hard to get to a bipartisan agreement on the Homeland Security bill. The additional time will allow us to take a closer look at issues such as the Secret Service budget as we learn more from the assassination attempt of former President Trump just over two weeks ago, and my hope is that we will be able to mark that up when we return.

"In the meantime, before us today, are strong, bipartisan bills that make crucial investments in our nation's future.

"By working together, finding common ground, and rejecting dangerous cuts and extreme policy, we have once again produced strong, bipartisan bills that increase support for families, strengthen our national security, invest in our economy and competitiveness, and can actually be signed into law.

"These bills make commonsense investments in programs that make a real difference for our nation's future. There are investments here that strengthen our economy through workforce development, cutting edge scientific and biomedical research, support for small businesses, and major support for our infrastructure and waterways that are crucial to trade, agriculture, and more.

"There are investments in these bills to make families' lives a little easier and help parents make ends meet like increased funding for child care, our K-12 public schools, and to help students get a higher education, support for community health care and public health work, resources to make sure families can afford heating and AC, and much more.

"There are investments to protect our environment-whether it's restoring ecosystems for key species like salmon, addressing extreme weather dangers like flooding, or environmental clean-up, like at the Hanford nuclear site.

"And there are investments to protect people in every corner of the country, protect our nation-and protect our democracy.

"Whether that be protecting consumers from fraud, protecting communities from opioids and pandemics, protecting our electrical grid from cyberattacks, protecting our elections from bad actors and foreign interference, or protecting our nation with strong, strategic defense investments.

"These are really critical investments we are talking about today, so I'm glad we were able to work together like families back home expect us to do, and write bills that meet the challenges of this moment and set our country up for success.

"These are serious, bipartisan bills-bills with funding priorities that can actually be signed into law-and I hope we are able to get each of them across the finish line today.

"With that, I will turn it over to Vice Chair Collins for any comments she would like to make."

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