Appropriations Committees Release Two-Bill Minibus

Legislation rejects drastic Trump cuts and 80+ extreme Republican riders-protecting key investments in America's small businesses and reasserting Congress' control over key spending decisions

Washington, D.C. - Today, the Senate and House Appropriations Committees released text of two bicameral, bipartisan fiscal year appropriations bills: the Financial Services and General Government and the National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs bills.

In a statement, Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said:

"President Trump has pushed to eviscerate key investments in our small businesses and America's global leadership-but because Democrats were at the table, this package rejects his truly extreme plan, protecting essential funding for communities nationwide and reasserting congressional control over key spending decisions.

"While President Trump pushed to slash investments in our small businesses and funding for community development to help local economies nationwide grow, Democrats successfully protected these resources. Democrats fought off Republicans' extreme riders and secured a much-needed funding boost to protect Americans' Sixth Amendment right to counsel by ensuring there is sufficient funding for federal defenders in the coming year.

"This compromise legislation rejects President Trump's decimation of America's foreign assistance programs and provides critical investments to save lives, reduce conflict, and strengthen our alliances and our national security. The bill supports key investments in global health, rejects this administration's proposed retreat from international organizations, and strengthens oversight and transparency measures.

"These were tough negotiations under extremely challenging circumstances, and while I strongly disagree with some of the difficult spending decisions that were ultimately made, there is no doubt in my mind that this bipartisan compromise is a significantly better outcome than another yearlong continuing resolution that provides President Trump with slush funds and more power-and that fails to address urgent problems. Passing these bills will help ensure Congress, not President Trump and Russ Vought, decide how taxpayer dollars are spent."

Throughout negotiations, Democrats fought to protect the programs and investments that matter most to working families across the country. The $76.3 billion package:

• REASSERTS CONGRESSIONAL CONTROL: Prevents President Trump and his cabinet secretaries from unilaterally deciding how to spend taxpayer dollars. Right now, the Trump administration has significantly more discretion to decide how to allocate federal funding thanks to Republicans' yearlong continuing resolution for fiscal year 2025, which failed to provide detailed funding directives for hundreds of programs and turned over decision-making power to the executive branch to fill in the gaps itself. These bills provides detailed directives about how funds are to be spent, and they strengthen key oversight, accountability, and transparency measures to help ensure that Congress-not the executive branch-decides how taxpayer dollars are spent.
  
• REJECTS EXTREME REPUBLICAN RIDERS: Rejects scores of extreme riders and proposals included in House Republicans' draft bills-including over 70 poison pill riders in the FSGG bill alone, like measures to restrict access to reproductive care and prevent the IRS from creating a free tax filing program.
  
• SUPPORTING SMALL BUSINESSES: Rejects President Trump's push to slash funding to invest in America's small businesses, instead providing $1.25 billion for the Small Business Administration and the grants and loans it provides to communities nationwide.
  
• INVESTING IN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT: Rejects President Trump's proposal to slash funding for the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund by 59%, as well as House Republicans' proposed 15% cut-protecting current funding and ensuring adequate staffing levels to administer the Fund.
  
• PUBLIC DEFENDERS: Provides a much-needed 22% increase in funding ($1.766 billion) for Federal Defenders to reimburse panel attorneys who make up 40% of the federal defender workforce and help protect Americans' Sixth Amendment right to counsel in criminal proceedings.
  
• REJECTING CATASTROPHIC FOREIGN ASSISTANCE CUTS: Rejects President Trump and House Republicans' most extreme cuts to investments in foreign assistance and America's global leadership. The bill provides $19 billion more in funding than President Trump's request-and $3.8 billion more than House Republicans' bill.

Text of the two-bill package is available HERE.

The joint explanatory statement front matter is available HERE.

Financial Services and General Government Bill

Bill Summary

Joint Explanatory Statement

State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs

Bill Summary

Joint Explanatory Statement

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