Congressionally Directed Spending Requests
The deadline to submit Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 appropriations requests to Sen. Durbin is March 26, 2024, subject to change.
Programmatic Requests:
To submit a programmatic or language request for FY25, please outline your request on your organization’s official letterhead and submit electronically to IL_Requests@durbin.senate.gov.
Please include as much detail about your request as possible including whether the request is for report language or programmatic funding, the specific account/program associated with the request, the subcommittee of jurisdiction, and a short description of why the request is important to Illinois.
Congressionally Directed Spending Requests:
Congress restored Congressionally Directed spending (CDS)—on a bipartisan basis and with enhanced transparency and accountability—in the FY22-FY24 federal appropriations process. While the Senate Appropriations Committee has not yet confirmed that CDS funding will be included in the upcoming FY25 appropriations bills, nor provided guidance on which accounts may include CDS funding, the Senator’s office is accepting funding requests for review. These requests are due not later than March 26, 2024, subject to change. If you submit a CDS request, please remain vigilant for emails on any changes to available accounts, eligibility, or requests for more information from the Senator’s office. These emails would come from IL_Requests@durbin.senate.gov
Sen. Durbin is now accepting CDS requests for Illinois-based projects via the electronic application form below. Submitting requests as early as possible is strongly encouraged.
The list of CDS requests that Sen. Durbin successfully secured in the FY23 omnibus appropriations bill can be viewed here, and within the FY22 omnibus appropriations bill here.
Disclaimer: The purpose of this application is to identify high-impact projects in Illinois that can reach completion with assistance from the federal government. In recent years, Congressionally Directed spending has been capped at 1% of all discretionary spending, and FY25 project funding may be available to a limited number of projects that meet strict eligibility requirements only. For-profit entities are not eligible to receive Congressionally Directed spending.
Submission of a request should not be construed as a guarantee that funding will be requested or awarded. All funding decisions are made by the Appropriations Committee after consultation with the appropriate Federal agency.
Submission of requests does not constitute a binding commitment on any party nor a guarantee that any organization will be awarded funding from any federal agency through this process. Furthermore, the submission, review, and approval of Congressionally Directed spending requests will be carried out consistent with Federal agency rules and regulations.
Eligible Programs: The Senate Appropriations Committee limits CDS requests to specific programs only. A specific list of accounts and eligible uses under which CDS requests were supported in the FY24 process is available here. Please check back for the Senate Appropriations Committee guidance for FY25.
Projects that do not meet strict eligibility requirements will not be eligible for funding. Please note that the Defense, State and Foreign Operations, and Legislative Branch Subcommittees typically do not accept CDS requests.
All Congressionally Directed spending requests must comply with Senate Rule XLIV, which requires rigorous procedures for transparency and accountability. Please review the Senate Appropriation Committee’s rules here. Requests may be posted publicly in accordance with Rule XLIV.
Application: To submit a Congressionally Directed spending request for project funding to Senator Durbin’s Office, please complete this electronic application.
In addition to the electronic application, all requests must include a formal request letter on the requesting organization’s official letterhead. Requests from nongovernmental entities must also include a letter of support from leaders in the community.
If you have questions about the project request process or project eligibility, please reach out to IL_Requests@durbin.senate.gov.