Senate Passes Military Construction And Agriculture Government Funding Bills With Illinois Priorities Secured By Durbin, Duckworth

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) announced that the Senate passed a funding bill for Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, as well as for Agriculture, Rural Development, and FDA for Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26). Durbin and Duckworth worked to secure various priorities for Illinois in the appropriations bills, both through Congressionally Directed Spending requests and through the programmatic appropriations process.
“In a strong show of bipartisanship, the Senate has passed several appropriations bills that will support our nation’s military readiness while caring for our veterans and will fund the programs that our rural communities rely on,”Durbin said.“The appropriations process is far from over, but I hope that the Senate can continue to work on a bipartisan basis to fund critical programs that help Illinoisans thrive.”

“Our state and our nation are stronger when we invest in our communities and families—and that’s what these bipartisan funding bills do,”Duckworth said.“Appropriating federal funding is the primary role of Congress, and it’s critical this responsibility remains in the legislative branch. I’m proud we were able to come together and pass these bills in a bipartisan manner, and I urge my Republican colleagues to continue working with Democrats to pass the remaining funding bills.”
The two funding bills include the following Illinois priorities secured by Congressionally Directed Spending requests:

Military Construction and Veterans Affairs

Agriculture, Rural Development, and FDA

The two funding bills include additional Illinois priorities secured through the programmatic appropriations process:

Military Construction and Veterans Affairs

Department of Veterans Affairs

Agriculture, Rural Development, and FDA

USDA

FDA

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