By Mitchell Roland
mitchell@chronline.com
President Joe Biden signed a second package of six government spending bills on Saturday, March 23, averting the potential for a government shutdown through September.
Senator Patty Murray, D-Washington, chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, led Senate passage of the bills, which passed in the House by a vote of 286-134 and passed the Senate by a 74-22 vote. In a statement, Murray said the bills include $372 million in funds for Washington state and $1 billion more for child care and pre-k education.
“We have finally passed all 12 bills to fund the government — and I’m proud to be sending a $1 billion increase in funding for child care and early learning programs to President Biden’s desk,” Murray said in a statement. “Washington state families want the federal government to invest in our teachers and students, our mayors from Vancouver to Spokane want more resources to tackle the opioid crisis, and small businesses across our state want stronger workforce training programs. I worked hard, under tough fiscal constraints, to ensure Washington state priorities were reflected in our nation’s spending bills — and that we strengthened or protected critical federal investments that matter most to our state.”
According to Murray, the legislation will increase funding for child care and early learning programs through Health and Human Services. Additionally, the bill provides $167 million to fund the Department of Defense’s child care initiatives.
The bill increases pay for service members by 5.2%, increases funding for the Basic Needs Allowance and funds bonuses and other resources for military families.
“Whether it was parents from every part of our state who are struggling to find or afford child care or service members from Naval Base Kitsap to Fairchild Air Force Base who have been struggling to make ends meet — I worked hard to negotiate funding bills with Washington state families in mind,” Murray said.
According to Murray, the bill includes $4.6 billion “to support substance use disorder prevention and treatment programs nationwide — alongside congressionally directed spending for local programs from Everett to Vancouver that will help more people who are struggling with addiction get the lifesaving treatment they need.”
In Southwest Washington, the bill also includes $272,000 for the Port of Longview to purchase two portable generators to ensure the port can continue to operate in the event of a disaster.
The bill also includes $180,000 for the Army Corps of Engineers to monitor sediment at Mount St. Helens.
Following passage in the House of Representatives Friday, Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Washougal, said the “funding bill was not perfect, but I’m relieved it gives our service members a pay raise — and blocks members of Congress from giving themselves a raise, a fight I helped lead.”
“The bill also provides vital additional funding for the Border Patrol to tackle the crisis at our Southern Border, and it secures visas for 12,000 brave Afghans who put their lives on the line to help our service members defeat Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda after 9/11,” Gluesenkamp Perez said.
In her statement, Gluesenkamp Perez called for additional action “to secure our border, stop the flow of fentanyl, and rearm Ukraine against Putin’s Russia.”
Earlier this month, Murray led the bipartisan passage of another six fiscal year 2024 appropriations bills. In total, Murray secured $4.79 billion in funding for Washington state, including $1.57 billion for projects and activities in Washington, $3 billion for the Hanford nuclear site, and $188.4 million in congressionally directed spending for projects across Washington in the package.
In that round of funding, Gluesenkamp Perez secured more than $21 million through 15 community project funding requests, the maximum number of requests members of the House can submit.
Between both spending packages, Murray secured $5.16 billion for Washington, which includes nearly $242 million in congressionally directed spending. The 12 appropriation bills will fully fund the federal government through Sept. 30, the end of the fiscal year.
