FY26 Congressionally Directed Spending

Thank you for your interest in applying for congressionally directed spending (CDS) through Senator Warner’s office.

Senator Warner’s application for congressionally directed spending closed on Friday, April 18.

Please read the instructions below in full and reach out to Approps@warner.senate.gov and Kaine_Approps@kaine.senate.gov with questions.

• Purpose: The purpose of this application is to identify high-impact projects in Virginia that can reach completion with one-time assistance from the federal government.
• Senate Rule XLIV: Any CDS request submitted to the Appropriations Committee must comply with this rule.
• Eligible Accounts: A specific list of the CDS accounts in the FY26 process is available here.
• Reforms: The Appropriations Committee instituted the following reforms for recent previous fiscal years:
• A 1 percent cap on discretionary spending for congressionally directed spending items;
• Ban congressionally directed spending items to for-profit entities;
• Require Senators to post online their congressionally directed spending item requests, as well as their financial certification disclosures attesting that they do not have any financial interest in any of the items requested; and
• The Committee will require the Government Accountability Office to audit a sample of enacted congressionally directed spending items and report its findings to Congress.
• Additionally for FY26, the Senate Appropriations Committee has instituted a maximum number of CDS requests a Senator may submit to certain subcommittees and/or accounts.

It is important to note that the budgetary constraints currently facing the federal government, as well as the Committee’s parameters on congressionally directed spending, limit the opportunities for community project funding. Submission of this application does not guarantee that funding will be appropriated.

Senator Warner’s FY25 requests are available here.