The Senate Appropriations Committee approved government funding levels for a dozen fiscal 2024 spending bills on Thursday, setting up a clash with the GOP-led House, which aims to slash an additional $120 billion from its top-line numbers.
The committee voted along party lines to approve subcommittee allocations for the 12 appropriations bills, setting the levels in line with the caps laid out in the Fiscal Responsibility Act negotiated by President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA).
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The committee markup was the first ever led by two women, Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), who is the chairwoman, and Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) as the vice chairwoman. In a joint statement, the duo said they are determined to keep working together in a bipartisan way to craft the funding bills.
“Our nation absolutely must be able to count on a dependable appropriations process as we grapple with urgent challenges at home and abroad,” Murray and Collins wrote late Thursday. “ We are both committed to ensuring that the voice of the Senate is heard through the appropriations process and expect a busy summer of markups and continued bipartisan deliberation.”
In setting the spending levels, Murray said she took into account the agreement between Biden and McCarthy. Senators in both parties continue to air their grievances with the deal but emphasized they would not hold up the process.
“I know members on both sides of the aisle, including myself, are concerned about the really challenging top lines in the debt ceiling agreement that we now have to work with,” Murray said during the markup on Thursday. “This is not an agreement that I would have made, and as I said on the floor, when the Senate considered this legislation, I’m worried about how it will limit our ability to make necessary investments in our country’s future.”
“But, we have a critical job as appropriators, and as members of Congress, I’m determined to get this done," she added.
Collins ultimately voted against the proposed top-line numbers due to what she called inadequate funding levels for both Homeland Security and the Department of Defense.
“I hope in the weeks ahead, we will be able to reach an agreement to ensure that our military and the Department of Homeland Security have the resources they need to keep our country safe,” Collins said.
“In the meantime, I want to second chair Murray’s conclusion that we must continue to make progress in advancing the annual appropriations process in order to avoid a shutdown, a year-end omnibus, or damaging across-the-board funding cuts,” she said, a veiled swipe at House Republican appropriators who are pushing for additional spending cuts.
The debt limit bill limits overall national security spending in fiscal 2024 to $886 billion, which is roughly a 3% increase from current levels. In fiscal 2025, defense spending would be capped at $895 billion, a 1% increase from the previous year. The inflation-adjusted cuts have been a point of contention for defense hawks who continue to advocate spending increases to deter Chinese aggression.
“Don’t tell me you’re a China hawk if you negotiated this deal because you sunk the Navy. The Congress has sunk eight ships. How many fighter squadrons have we parked because of this deal?” said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) during the markup Thursday.
Sen. John Tester (D-MT), the defense subcommittee chairman, also admitted he’s not satisfied with the defense number and predicted they might be able to find an agreement that boosts it in the future.
“I don't think this is going to be the last bite at this appropriations apple, myself. I think there are going to be other bites coming down the line,” Tester said.
Last Thursday, the House Appropriations Committee voted 33-27 along party lines to adopt discretionary spending levels at $1.47 trillion for fiscal 2024, which is about $120 billion below the $1.59 trillion that was initially negotiated in the debt ceiling bill. The plan maintains $866 billion for defense spending, which was agreed upon, but would cut spending for public assistance, foreign aid, and the environment. Instead, it would increase spending on drug enforcement, border security, and efforts to counter China.
McCarthy continues to face pressure from his right flank, which has been fuming about the deal the speaker cut with Biden. The House speaker also has been resistant to an effort to get around the defense cap specified in the debt-limit bill after Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) agreed to demands for a supplemental defense bill for Ukraine later this year, in exchange for senators to raise the debt limit.
If the differences in funding levels between the House and Senate continue, there’s a risk of a government shutdown that could come on Oct. 1 without a bipartisan agreement.
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Tester acknowledged the time frame to write and pass the appropriations bills is going to be tight.
“We need to get this thing done," he said. "We need a bill written before the end of September and get it passed before the end of September.”