Appropriations Update: Senate Democrats Introduce FY 2023 Appropriations Bills

Yesterday, the Senate Appropriations Committee released its fiscal year 2023 appropriations bills. The package includes $850 billion in defense spending and $653 billion in non-defense discretionary spending. Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) said of the bills in a statement, “These bills are an investment in the American people that promote affordable housing, help families put food on the table, support the education and care of our children and young people, combat climate change, improve health care access, and invest in our communities.  It is my hope that by releasing these bills — making clear what the priorities of Senate Democrats are — we can take a step closer toward reaching a bipartisan compromise after months of stalled negotiations.”

Higher education funding within the Department of Education received a proposed $553.6 million increase from FY 2022 enacted levels, but it is smaller than President Biden’s budget request and what the House Appropriations Committee passed last week. Senate Democrats propose nearly $48 billion for the National Institutes of Health, which is $3 billion more than FY 2022 enacted levels. As well as $10.3 billion for the National Science Foundation, $1.5 billion more than FY 2022. The Senate proposes an increase of $59 million for the Graduate Research Fellowship Program. For the Department of Energy’s Office of Science, the Senate proposes $8.1 billion, with $20 million for the Computational Sciences Graduate Fellowship.

Thus far, the House of Representatives has passed 6 out of the 12 bills to fund the government for fiscal year 2023. After the August recess, they are expected to vote on the remaining six appropriations bills, including bills which fund the Departments of Education, Health and Human Services, and the National Science Foundation. Given time constraints, the House of Representatives and Senate are unlikely to come to final agreement on fiscal year 2023 appropriations before the mid-term elections.