Senate Appropriations Committee Approves Legislative Branch, Commerce-Justice-Science, and Financial Services Bills

Press Release

"We have a job to do. So here in the Senate, we are moving ahead. We are making clear the Senate is focused on writing serious bills that can actually be signed into law, and doing the most we possibly can for the people back home. And the three bills we are voting on today provide much needed investments in our nation.

We are going to keep the ball rolling with the rest of our appropriations bills too. Because we all want to continue our return to regular order. There's absolutely no need for chaos or shutdowns. And no one wants to see a damaging CR that would slash critical programs across the board. So I hope we can continue this progress with a full slate of bipartisan funding bills that make the investments our country needs to succeed--and that we can continue discussing how we lessen the damage of the caps on our defense spending and cuts to our non-defense spending.

This process is never easy--and was never going to be easy this year--but we are moving forward, and I'm grateful to all of my colleagues for putting in the work to get us here," concluded Chair Murray.

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This bill ensures there's the necessary resources so that we can deliver for our constituents and carry out our responsibilities as legislators--and it invests in the brave Capitol Police officers who keep everyone in the Capitol safe," said Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee. "This bill will help more working class moms and parents be able to work here in Congress by creating a pathway to make child care more affordable for staff and updating lactating rooms for nursing mothers. And I am glad that this strong, bipartisan bill provides resources to support the nonpartisan legislative expertise and oversight we all rely on to craft strong laws.

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For Americans in every corner of the country to thrive, we've got to have a strong, competitive economy and safe communities for families to raise their kids. Despite working with some really tight constraints, this bill ensures we continue to invest in strengthening our economy, propelling cutting-edge scientific research, and creating safer communities. This strong, bipartisan bill will help keep our supply chains running smoothly, spur economic development in states across the country, send Americans to the Moon again, and make sure we keep our foot on the gas when it comes to research into technologies of the future like AI, quantum computing, clean energy, and more. It will also help protect families from threats like crime, drug trafficking, cyberattacks, and domestic terrorism. And I am proud that this bill boosts funding to prevent violence against women and fully funds the Sexual Assault Nurse Exams program I worked to establish to help ensure survivors can seek justice.

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We cannot have a strong economy unless our economy works for working families, and this bill keeps us moving in the right direction by supporting our small businesses, protecting American consumers, and working to protect people's nest eggs. I'm glad we were able to sustain critical funding so that Treasury and so many essential independent agencies can continue carrying out their work to strengthen our economy and look out for the little guy," said Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee. "Importantly, this bill also invests in a capable, responsive, and accountable federal government that delivers for the American people--with new resources to tackle the opioid epidemic, funding for a new "mission control' office in the White House I established to coordinate our federal response to public health threats, and more."

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