What the Committee Does
The Appropriations Committee writes the annual spending bills that keep the federal government open. Through twelve separate appropriations bills, it decides how much money agencies may actually spend on defense, health care, education, transportation, housing, justice, homeland security, and more.
While other Senate committees design and authorize programs, the Appropriations Committee controls the discretionary budget that determines whether those programs are robustly funded, trimmed back, or left on paper only. The committee also negotiates continuing resolutions and omnibus packages to prevent government shutdowns when Congress has not finished its work on time.
The committee is led by a Chair from the majority party and a Vice Chair from the minority party. Together with the other members, they hold hearings on agency requests, draft and mark up spending bills, and conduct oversight of how taxpayer dollars are used across the executive branch.
Committee Membership
Murray (Vice Chair) appears at the far left of the outer arc; Collins (Chair) at the far right. Democrats are grouped on the left side of the semicircle, Republicans on the right.
Appropriations Bills
Annual Spending Measures Drafted by the CommitteeMilitary Construction and Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, and Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2026
This bill allocates FY2026 appropriations for federal activities related to military construction, veterans’ affairs, agriculture, and the legislative branch. It combines three major funding measures: the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act, the Agriculture and FDA Appropriations Act, and the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act. The funding supports programs in the Department of Defense, Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Agriculture, FDA, and various congressional agencies. Following standard practice, the bill excludes funding for the House of Representatives, which manages its own budget, and includes general provisions on how allocated funds may be used.
Rescissions Act of 2025
This bill cancels $9.4 billion in unobligated funds previously allocated to the Department of State, USAID, and related agencies, as well as the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Proposed by the President under the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974, the rescissions target funds for programs such as Global Health, Peacekeeping, Migration and Refugee Assistance, Economic Support, and International Disaster Assistance. Additional cuts affect USAID operations, the Inter-American Foundation, the U.S. African Development Foundation, and the U.S. Institute of Peace, effectively reclaiming unused foreign aid and development funds.