Majority News Releases
Currently showing results related to Defense
Senate Approves Final FY24 Funding Package in Overwhelming 74-24 Vote
Funding legislation strengthens America’s national security and invests in the American people—lowering families’ child care costs, protecting workers’ pocketbooks, investing in people’s health, supporting students, and much more Rejects steep cuts and extreme Republican policy riders that would have set our country back decades ***WATCH: Senator Murray’s floor remarks after passage of the legislation*** Washington, D.C. - Today, the Senate voted 72-24 to send the final set of bic… Continue Reading
03.22.24
Senator Murray Remarks Urging Swift Senate Passage of Bipartisan Funding Package
House passed legislation in overwhelming bipartisan 286-134 ***WATCH: Senator Murray’s floor remarks*** ICYMI: Murray, Top Appropriators Release Second Funding Package - MORE HERE ICYMI: Former Preschool Teacher Patty Murray Delivers $1 Billion More to Help Families Find and Afford Child Care & Pre-K - MORE HERE Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, spoke on the Senate floor urging swift Senate passage o… Continue Reading
03.21.24
Murray, Top Appropriators Release Second Funding Package
Funding legislation strengthens America’s national security and invests in the American people—lowering families’ child care costs, protecting workers’ pocketbooks, investing in people’s health, supporting students, and much more Rejects steep cuts and extreme Republican riders that would have set our country back decades ICYMI: Former Preschool Teacher Patty Murray Delivers $1 Billion More to Help Families Find and Afford Child Care & Pre-K - MORE HERE Washington, D.C. - Toda… Continue Reading
03.21.24
BILL SUMMARY: Defense Fiscal Year 2024 Appropriations Bill
Bill makes new investments in our servicemembers and military families and strengthens our deterrent capabilities and global readiness Rejects extreme Republican riders to restrict abortion access for servicemembers, weaken climate resilience at installations, promote discrimination against LGBTQ+ servicemembers, and more ***Bill text, explanatory statement, & more available HERE*** Washington, D.C. - The Fiscal Year 2024 Defense Appropriations Act provides $825 billion in t… Continue Reading
07.27.23
Senate Appropriations Committee Approves Defense, Interior-Environment, LHHS, and Homeland Security Bills
Committee approves Defense bill in 27-1 vote Committee approves Interior-Environment bill in 28-0 vote Committee approves LHHS bill in 26-2 vote Committee approves Homeland Security bill in 24-4 vote Washington, D.C. – Today, the Senate Appropriations Committee met and approved the Fiscal Year 2024 Defense; Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies; Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies; and Homeland Security appropr… Continue Reading
07.27.23
Chair Murray Remarks at Full Committee Markup of Defense, Interior-Environment, LHHS, and Homeland Security Bills
ICYMI: Summary of the Fiscal Year 2024 Defense Appropriations Bill – READ HERE ICYMI: Summary of the Fiscal Year 2024 Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill – READ HERE ICYMI: Summary of the Fiscal Year 2024 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill – READ HERE ICYMI: Summary of the Fiscal Year 2024 Homeland Security Appropriations Bill – READ HERE Washington, D.… Continue Reading
07.27.23
BILL SUMMARY: Defense Fiscal Year 2024 Appropriations Bill
Bill strengthens our deterrent capabilities and global readiness and supports our servicemembers and their families Washington, D.C. – The Fiscal Year 2024 Defense Appropriations Act provides $831.781 billion in total funding. “As Chairman of the Senate committee that sets the military’s budget, my top priority is making sure our armed forces have the necessary resources to defend our freedoms and keep our nation safe,” said Senator Jon Tester (D… Continue Reading
05.11.23
At Hearing on Defense Budget, Senator Murray Underscores Importance of Passing Timely Funding Bills to Keep Pace with Competitors and Support Military Families
***WATCH: Senator Murray speaks at hearing on Defense budget request*** Washington, D.C. - Today, at a Senate Appropriations Defense subcommittee hearing on the President's fiscal year 2024 budget request for the Department of Defense (DOD), U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, highlighted the importance of timely appropriations to keep pace with our competitors' investments, keep our country secure, and deliver the support our servicemembers and mi… Continue Reading
05.02.23
At Hearing on Army Budget, Senator Murray Stresses Importance of Supporting Military Families—and of Keeping Pace with Global Competitors’ Investments
***WATCH: Senator Murray speaks at hearing on Army budget request*** Washington, D.C. - Today, at a Senate Appropriations Defense subcommittee hearing on the President's fiscal year 2024 budget request for the Army, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, underscored the importance of passing bipartisan funding bills in a timely way to ensure our investments don't fall behind our competitors'-and of delivering the support our servicemembers and militar… Continue Reading
04.18.23
Senator Murray Emphasizes Need to Deliver for Military Families, Keep Pace with Adversaries at Hearing on Air Force and Space Force Budgets
***WATCH: Senator Murray speaks at hearing on Air Force and Space Force budget requests*** Washington, D.C. – Today, at a Senate Appropriations Defense subcommittee hearing on the President’s FY24 budget request for the Air Force and Space Force, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, highlighted the importance of passing robust funding bills in a timely way to keep pace with our adversaries—and ensure that we support our milita… Continue Reading
03.28.23
Senator Murray Underscores Importance of Support for Military Families and Timely, Bipartisan Spending Bills
(Washington, D.C.) - Today, at an Appropriations subcommittee hearing on the President's FY24 budget for the Navy and Marine Corps, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, emphasized the importance of-and her commitment to-working together to pass bipartisan funding bills in a timely way to keep our country safe and competitive, ensure our military remains the best in the world, and get military families the support they need. "The conversations we are… Continue Reading
06.17.21
Statement of Chairman Leahy at the hearing to review of the FY22 Department of Defense Budget Request
Today, we welcome testimony from Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley in support of the President's budget request for the Department of Defense. The budget request totals $715 billion for the Department of Defense, which is a 1.6 percent increase over fiscal year 2021. The budget includes important investments to deter our adversaries; support for our military and civilian personnel and their families; funds to combat the ongoing pand… Continue Reading
04.30.21
Chairman Leahy Statement On President Biden’s Announcement On Funds Stolen By The Trump Administration
For years, President Trump raided taxpayer dollars from our military and military families to build a wall he promised the American people Mexico would pay for. He let schools for military children deteriorate, and he stripped our National Guard of the resources and equipment they needed to effectively carry out their mission. This smash-and-grab funding of bumper sticker policies left a backlog of unfunded projects vital to our national security that will take years to restore. The construct… Continue Reading
02.13.20
Approps Dems Raise Alarm On Trump Admin Decision To Divert Funding From National Guard & Other Security Programs To Border Wall
WASHINGTON - Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee Democrats today loudly objected to the Department of Defense's short sighted and dangerous transfer of $3.8 billion from the Department of Defense to be used to build part of President Donald Trump's ineffective wall on the southwest border. The reprogramming targets the men and women of the National Guard and a variety of programs added by Congress to address shortfalls that were in many cases identified by military leaders in critical eq… Continue Reading
01.24.20
FACT CHECK: President Trump’s False Claim Equating His Illegal Ukraine Aid Freeze With President Obama’s Lawful, Legitimate Pauses On Aid
President Trump has argued that the House Managers' case against his Ukraine aid freeze is "loaded with lies and misrepresentations" because it fails to acknowledge that the "Obama administration withheld aid from many countries." This argument, which has been echoed by other Republicans, draws patently false equivalence between Trump's misconduct and President Obama's actions. Unlike Trump's Ukraine aid freeze, which was for personal, political purposes and which the Government Accountability … Continue Reading
01.17.20
Leahy, Durbin, Reed And Schatz Demand Answers On Reports That President Trump Intends To Raid $7.2 Billion From The Military And Military Families For His Wall
WASHINGTON (FRIDAY, January 17, 2020) - Senate Appropriations Committee Vice Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Vice Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Senate Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Jack Reed (D-R.I.), and Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Ranking Member Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) Friday released their letter to Department of Defense (DoD) Secretary Mark Esper demanding a… Continue Reading
10.31.19
Statement of Vice Chairman Leahy Opposing the Motion to Proceed to the Defense, LHHS Appropriations Bills
Today, the Senate will vote on whether to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to a package of appropriations bills that will include the Senate Defense Appropriations bill and the Senate Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education (Labor-HHS) Appropriations bill. I strongly urge all Senators to vote "no." I am disappointed that the Republican leadership by taking this step - bowing to the demands of President Trump - is continuing to delay funding for our troops. This delay is because… Continue Reading
09.03.19
Leahy, Durbin, Schatz REAX To President Trump Robbing From The Military To Pay For His Vanity Wall
"Military construction projects are carefully scrutinized by Congress. We work with the military services to validate and review these projects thoroughly. It is vital that we balance their operational necessity with existing fiscal constraints. "The President is robbing the men and women of our armed services of funds meant for critical construction projects that are necessary to serve our troops, support our allies, deter our adversaries, and care for our military families - all to build … Continue Reading
09.18.18
Leahy Statement On The Defense, Labor, Health And Human Services, And Education Conference Report
For the second time in two weeks, we are considering a Fiscal Year 2019 appropriations conference report. The two bills in the package before us - the Defense bill, and the Labor, HHS, and Education bill - are the products of months of hard work and bipartisan cooperation, and I am pleased that we have been able to work out all of the differences between the House and Senate bills. These bills make important investments not only in our national security but also in the future of our country… Continue Reading
09.13.18
Senate Appropriations Committee Vice Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) Releases Summary For Defense/LHHS “Minibus” Appropriations Package
WASHINGTON (THURSDAY, Sept. 13, 2018) - Senate Appropriations Committee Vice Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) released a summary compiled by the Senate Appropriations Committee Minority staff of the conference agreement for the Defense, Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies "minibus" appropriations package. Leahy said: "This agreement invests in the American people and ensures that the government remains open into December. Just as importantly, Congress, Republicans … Continue Reading