Congressionally Directed Spending
Thank you for your interest in applying for congressionally directed spending (CDS) through Senator Kaine’s office.
Senators Kaine and Warner are now accepting requests jointly for Virginia CDS projects for Fiscal Year 2027 (FY27). Interested and eligible parties only need to submit one form on either of the senators' websites.
A deadline will be announced on the senator’s website in the coming weeks. Please make every effort to submit applications as soon as possible.
Any CDS request that was submitted to Senators Kaine or Warner’s office for previous fiscal years must be resubmitted for consideration for FY27. Prior requests do not carry over to the new fiscal year.
Please read the instructions below in full and reach out to Kaine_Approps@kaine.senate.gov and approps@warner.senate.gov with questions.
Once a request is submitted, it goes through an internal review process to ensure the project is eligible for funding and has a substantial benefit to the community. If the project meets that criteria, Senator Kaine pushes to get the project funded in the annual government funding bill to help ensure the bill meets Virginians’ needs.
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 an application does not guarantee that funding will be appropriated.
- 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: The FY27 CDS Form is subject to change pending instructions from the Senate Appropriations Committee, including a list of accounts that are eligible for CDS. A specific list of the CDS accounts in the FY26 process is available here.
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Reforms: The Appropriations Committee
instituted the following reforms for recent previous fiscal years. These
reforms are expected to continue for FY25:
- A one 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.
Frequently Asked Questions: A list of FAQs is available here.
If you are interested in receiving periodic updates about CDS, please sign up here and make sure to check the box that says "Appropriations & Community Project Funding."