HR 3944 Considered in Senate – MilCon Spending – 7-22-25

Yesterday the Senate began consideration of HR 3944, the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act with a vote to begin consideration, with a strongly bipartisan vote of 91 to 7. That vote does not signal support for the partisan spending bill passed in the House, but rather showed support for moving forward on the spending bill process.

Twelve amendments to HR 3944 were proposed yesterday. The most important will probably be SA 2976 introduced by Sen Collins (R,ME). This should be the substitute language from the Senate Appropriations Committee that probably form the basis for the Senate debate on HR 3944. It includes, as Division B, the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2026 (taken from S 2256), and, as Division C, Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2026 (taken from S 2257).

If this bill manages to pass in the Senate, it will do so with at least some bipartisan (60 votes needed for passage) support. That means that there will be spending levels and other provisions (or lack of provisions) that will make it lose significant support from radical Republicans in the House. That would mean the amended bill would require bipartisan support in the House to be sent to the President. That could cause problems for Speaker Johnson, both with the Republican fringe and the President.