WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine, both members of the Senate Budget Committee, released the following statement after Senate passage of legislation to fund the government through March 11 and called for a full year spending package to allow Virginia and the nation to access needed funds, including those from the bipartisan infrastructure law they helped pass:

“We’re relieved we averted a government shutdown, but we need the certainty that a full year government funding bill would provide. Virginia communities are at risk of being unable to fund critical operations. We owe it to them to do our jobs and fund the government for the full year, instead of simply kicking the can down the road.”

The following is a list of ways in which Virginia will be negatively impacted by passing a short term funding bill instead of a full year funding package. A short term deal would maintain funding at levels from the FY21 funding package — the last full year government funding package passed:

• Maintaining funding at FY21 levels will halt any new programs, construction, and grant awards and any innovation that would come with them.
• New programs funded in the new Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will not receive funding, and Virginia alone could lose approximately $364 million in roads and bridges funding and $53 million in transit funding.
• The City of Virginia Beach is currently awaiting funding from the Army Corps of Engineers to begin work on Comprehensive Regional Coastal Storm Risk Management Study to analyze the flood risk from sea level rise and coastal storms accelerated by climate change. Funding for projects like this one would be designated in the Army Corps’ annual Work Plan, which is contingent on annual appropriations.  While it’s not guaranteed that this study would be included in an annual Work Plan, without a full year government funding package, the study certainly won’t be able to move forward and begin directing regions like Hampton Roads to mitigate the effects of sea-level rise, endangering local businesses and military assets.
• Without a full year funding bill, our defense community will not have access to the additional $37 billion in defense funding expected under a FY22 spending bill. All new military construction projects will be halted, permanent change-of-station moves for service members and families will be delayed or suspended, and ship maintenance at our public and private yards could be deferred, risking our ability to respond to a crisis. Businesses and contractors working with our defense community, many based in Virginia, won’t have access to resources they need from the federal government.  
• The CDC won’t receive the $1.85 billion increase in funding expected under a FY22 budget that it needs to bolster our public health infrastructure and better respond to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
• The Department of Defense will not be able to redirect the $3 billion in funding for the war in Afghanistan that has since ended. If a new full year package is passed, this funding can be redirected to other critical DOD priorities.  
• Nonprofit organizations and state and local governments will not have access to congressionally-directed spending dollars, also known as earmarks, for vital programs throughout the Commonwealth.
• For example, Richmond will not receive $5 million for the Mayo Bridge rehabilitation; Portsmouth will not receive $199,000 to address community violence; and Longwood University will not receive $250,000 to maintain the Robert R. Moton Museum, a National Historic Landmark. Senators Warner and Kaine are pushing for the inclusion of those priorities under a full year package.
• Without the proposed 12 percent increase in National Science Foundation funding under a full year funding package, it will be harder for Virginia universities to attract and retain researchers, slowing advancement in STEM fields of study.

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