WASHINGTON, DC -- Last night, the U.S. Senate voted 82-15 to pass an appropriations package including the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies (MilCon-VA); Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies (Agriculture-FDA); and Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies (THUD) appropriations bills as part of a bipartisan appropriations package.  The package combines three appropriations bills that were passed out of Committee unanimously earlier this year.  Passage of the spending legislation marks the first and only bipartisan appropriations bills to clear either chamber of Congress this year. The Senate considered a total of 40 amendments to the package in an open process—and adopted 30 of those amendments.

U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, hailed the bipartisan vote, stating:

“This bipartisan appropriations package is a strong step toward improving our infrastructure, supporting our veterans and farmers, and making critical investments that benefit communities nationwide.  Now that the Senate has acted in a bipartisan manner, I hope the House will do the same.  Members of Congress were sent here to govern and it would be an abdication of responsibility to not take up and pass the full-year funding measures we need to keep our country strong, safe, and competitive.

“In Rhode Island, the federal funding in these bills will help feed the hungry, and support our National Guard, our veterans, and their families.  The bills will also make investments in transportation infrastructure, affordable housing, economic development, and more.”

Reed noted the appropriations package includes several key wins for Rhode Island, including $73.6 million in earmarks he secured, including:

MilCon-VA: $154.352 billion in discretionary funding, including $19.07 billion in defense funding and $135.282 billion in non-defense funding and $31.9 million in Reed-backed Congressionally-directed spending projects, also known as earmarks, including:

-           $30 million for a new National Guard Readiness Center in North Kingstown

-           $1.9 million in planning and design funds for a Collective Training Unaccompanied Housing Open Bay facility at Camp Fogarty Training Site

Agriculture: $25.993 billion in discretionary funding and $7.7 million in Reed-backed earmarks, including:

-           $3.5 million for a Block Island Public Safety Complex

-           $2.025 million for Flood Mitigation in the Pocasset River Watershed Floodplain

-           $1.95 million for Aquaculture Diagnostics at Roger Williams University

-           $165,000 for the Town of Richmond to construct a Radio Tower

-           $55,000 for a new elevator at the Richmond Senior Center

Senator Reed racked up several other key wins for the Ocean State in this section of the bill, including:

-           A $1 million increase for East Coast Shellfish research

-           $1 million for Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE) surveillance, testing, prevention, and research in impacted states like Rhode Island

Transportation, Housing and Urban Development: $98.931 billion in discretionary funding, as well as nearly $34 million in Reed-backed earmarks, including:

-           $5 million for Repairs to the Newport Cliff Walk

-           $3.8 million for Pedestrian- and Bicycle-Safe Street Improvements in Pawtucket

-           $3 million for Amos House to Create Affordable Housing for Abuse Victims

-           $3 million to Update the Central Falls Public Safety Complex

-           $3 million for the Ten Mile River Greenway

-           $2.08 million to Alleviate Roadway Flooding in Johnston

-           $2 million for Pierce Field in East Providence

-           $2 million for the Travelers Aid Tower, Housing Expansion at Crossroads Rhode Island

-           $1.95 million for Knightsville Park in Cranston

-           $1.7 million for Streetscape Improvements in Centredale

-           $1.2 million to Resurface the Washington Secondary Bike Path

-           $1 million for Pawtucket Housing Authority Upgrades to Galego Court

-           $1 million for the Sheridan Village Housing Development in Olneyville

-           $875,000 for Trinity Repertory Company to Make Accessibility Improvements

-           $800,000 for Pawtucket Central Falls Development to Create Affordable Housing

-           $500,000 for the Jonnycake Center to Construct Affordable Housing in South Kingstown

Other key wins Senator Reed secured in the THUD section of the bill:

-           $1.145 billion for the Bridge Replacement and Rehabilitation Program. In FY23, Rhode Island received $60 million under this provision, the highest amount of any state, through this funding.

-           $105 million for the Healthy Homes Initiative – a $30 million increase over FY23.

While the Senate has taken a bipartisan approach resulting in a strong vote and support across the political spectrum, House Republicans are taking a party-line approach to appropriations bills that deeply cut spending and include poison pill policy measures that are non-starters in the Senate and strongly opposed by the White House.

With a short-term continuing resolution (CR) set to expire on November 17, the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate have about two and a half weeks left to pass their 12 respective appropriations bills and deliver them to a conference committee, where legislation is sent to sort out differences.  Should lawmakers miss the November 17 deadline, they would need to approve another CR, or the federal government would be forced to shut down.