The Senate approved a $180 billion funding package before the August recess

The Senate passed a $180 billion funding package before the August recess. It is a fiscal 2026 appropriations bill that will spread the money among veterans, military infrastructure, and the Departments of Agriculture (USDA) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA). After achieving broad bipartisan support in the Upper House, the bills will move to the House of Representatives.

Although there are 12 appropriations bills, one for each subcommittee, the Senate-passed bill included only three spending items. The vote is a prelude to the discussion for the general budget, scheduled for October of this year. Of the $180 billion that was approved, $154 billion will go to military infrastructure and veterans' programs, while the remaining $27 billion will be split between the USDA and FDA. Both represent an increase of approximately 2% over current spending levels.

When it came to a vote, the first package that included the aforementioned spending received 87 votes in favor and 9 against, while the money earmarked for congressional spending passed 81 to 15.

Among other expenditures, the Capitol Police and the Congressional Budget Office will be strengthened. In turn, the Local Census Bureau, Community Rescue Service (CRS), and the Attorney General's Office (GAO) will maintain FY 2025 spending levels. Also agreed to was $44.5 million in emergency funding to bolster lawmaker safety and security.

The last time the Senate voted on an appropriations package before the August recess was in 2018, also with Trump in the White House and a Republican majority in both houses of Congress.

"It’s taken a great deal of work, good faith, and negotiation to get to this point. Congress has a responsibility, a constitutional responsibility under Article I, for the power of the purse. We are executing that responsibility," said Susan Collins (R-ME), chairwoman of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

"It’s just been so long since we’ve done our appropriations bills. A lot of people just [forgot] the procedures. It’s really a matter of just kind of legislating again, and the more we do it, the easier it’ll be as we go back," Sen. John Boozman (R-AR) told The Hill.

The Senate voted against some amendments that would have deepened some spending cuts. These were proposed by Senators John Kennedy (R-LA), Ron Johnson (R-WI), and Rick Scott (R-FL), among others.