Murray Secures Dozens of Wins for Washington State in Annual Spending Bill

Press Release

Late yesterday, a bipartisan, bicameral group of Appropriations Committee leaders released an omnibus Appropriations bill which includes several significant wins for Washington state secured by U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), including funding for new KC-46A tanker and P-8A Poseidon fleets, funding for Sound Transit, Puget Sound cleanup and salmon recovery efforts, bridge safety policies in response to the Skagit Bridge collapse, and more than $2 billion for Hanford cleanup that could save jobs previously thought lost because of sequestration cuts.

In December, Senator Murray, as Chair of the Senate Budget Committee, reached a landmark budget deal with U.S. House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) that rolled back significant cuts from sequestration and provided a critical framework for the spending bill released today by the Appropriations Committee leaders. Senator Murray, also a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, was able to work with her colleagues to ensure several Washington state priorities were included in the omnibus package. In order to become law, the House and Senate must each pass the omnibus bill, and it then must be signed by the President.

Under cuts mandated by sequestration in the Budget Control Act, the government's discretionary spending limit for FY 13 was $968 billion. Under the budget agreement reached by Senator Murray and Rep. Ryan, the discretionary spending limit for this FY14 omnibus bill is $1.012 trillion. If not for the budget agreement, which rolled back cuts from sequestration, the FY14 budget topline would have been $967 billion. The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013 maintains defense spending at roughly current levels and increases non-defense discretionary spending significantly by replacing almost two-thirds of this year's cuts.

If Murray and Ryan hadn't reached an agreement, sequestration would have remained in place and overall discretionary spending would have been capped at $976 billion. The Murray-Ryan deal increased critical investments in defense and non-defense programs, setting the overall discretionary cap at $1.012 trillion. The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013 maintains defense spending at roughly current levels and increases non-defense discretionary spending significantly by replacing almost two-thirds of this year's cuts.

"After reaching a budget compromise with Congressman Ryan last year, today's appropriations bill is a critical next step in the process of getting our government and economy back on track, avoiding another government shutdown, and investing in jobs, families, businesses, and our national security," said Senator Murray. "There's more work to be done to build on the bipartisan budget work we did in the Budget and Appropriations Committees, but the omnibus spending bill released this week contains vital investments for our nation's economy as well as critical projects and programs that are important to Washington state. From funding the KC-46A military tanker built in Washington state and rolling back harmful sequestration cuts to investing in Puget Sound cleanup, salmon restoration, and critical transportation infrastructure, this bill is undoubtedly a significant "win' for Washington state."

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