The Senate passed three bipartisan appropriations bills for Fiscal Year 2024, including:

1. Military Construction, Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies;

2. Agriculture and the Food & Drug Administration;

3. Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies.

The Senate Appropriations Committee has approved all 12 appropriations bills with bipartisan votes. U.S. Senator Ben Cardin in Maryland, Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a senior member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee calls the senate passage of the three spending bills “a key step” in avoiding a federal government shutdown–adding that when senators set aside partisan differences to fund the workings of the federal government on behalf of the American people – this is how Congress is supposed to work and that it’s refreshing and overdue. Senator Cardin says chaos, extreme political agendas, and threats of shutdowns only hurt Marylanders and everyone across this great country.

 U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a senior member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, released the following statement after Senate passage of three bipartisan appropriations bills for Fiscal Year 2024, including (1) Military Construction, Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies; (2) Agriculture and the Food & Drug Administration; and (3) Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies. The Senate Appropriations Committee has approved all 12 appropriations bills with bipartisan votes.

“Senators setting aside partisan differences to fund the workings of the federal government on behalf of the American people – this is how Congress is supposed to work. It’s refreshing and overdue. And it is happening in the Senate today. Bipartisan passage of these first three spending bills is a key step in providing stability and certainty for the current fiscal year. Senators have policy differences, of course, but they kept the process moving, kept talking and negotiating, and ultimately passed the legislation. The House of Representatives can learn an important lesson from what is happening in the Senate and act swiftly to send these bills to the President. Chaos, extreme political agendas and threats of shutdowns only hurt Marylanders and everyone across this great country.

“Not only do these bills provide critical funding for federal agencies to carry out their responsibilities, but they also include Congressionally Directed Spending projects or earmarks for Maryland and elsewhere. These are locally driven priorities and opportunities for Congress to respond directly to needs across the state that might not otherwise receive sufficient attention, or to provide critical funding for a project to get started or achieve completion. Earmarks are only 1% of total federal discretionary spending, but they have an outsized impact on our communities.”