Senators Murray and Collins Issue Statement on Plans to Proceed with First Package of Appropriations Bills on Senate Floor

Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) and U.S. Senator Susan Collins (R-ME), Chair and Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee respectively, issued the following statement on plans to proceed with consideration of the first set of appropriations bills on the Senate floor.

The first three bills set to be considered by the full Senate include: the Fiscal Year 2024 Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies; Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies; and Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies appropriations bills.

“We are pleased to announce we are working to move ahead with the first package of appropriations bills on the Senate floor as early as next week. This summer, we worked with our colleagues in a bipartisan way to draft and pass out of Committee all twelve appropriations bills for the first time in years—and did so with overwhelming bipartisan votes. This is a critical next step as we continue working collaboratively in the Senate to keep our government funded, find common ground, and deliver for the people back home that we represent.”

Under Chair Murray and Vice Chair Collins’ leadership, the Committee conducted its first full committee markup in two years, and after four overwhelmingly bipartisan full committee markups, earlier this summer, Senate Appropriators reported all twelve individual appropriations bills out of Committee for the first time in five years.

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