Committee Releases FY26 Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill

Washington, D.C. – Today, the House Appropriations Committee released the Fiscal Year 2026 bill for the Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Subcommittee. The bill will be considered in subcommittee tomorrow, July 14th at 6:00 p.m. The markup will be live-streamed and can be found on the Committee’s website.

Energy and Water Development Subcommittee Chairman Chuck Fleischmann said, “To achieve America’s new Golden Age, we must safeguard our national security, unleash American energy dominance, and increase economic prosperity for all our citizens. I am proud that, in tight fiscal times where every dollar spent must be scrutinized, the Fiscal Year 2026 Energy and Water Development appropriations bill makes historic investments in our national security and nuclear deterrent, restores American energy production, and stops wasteful, unnecessary spending. This bill is the product of close collaboration with the Trump Administration and my colleagues on the Appropriations Committee, and I thank them for their strong support.”

Chairman Tom Cole said, “Alongside President Trump’s leadership, we are unleashing American energy dominance. Every aspect of this appropriations bill advances affordable, abundant, and secure power for the nation. We’re fully leveraging baseload sources and investing in next-generation production. We also prioritize U.S. security by strengthening our nuclear deterrence and reducing reliance on foreign energy and critical minerals. Chairman Fleischmann ensured our energy future is made in America and powered by innovation –  all while cutting waste and safeguarding taxpayer dollars.”

Fiscal Year 2026 Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill

The Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill provides a total discretionary allocation of $57.300 billion, which is $766.4 million below the Fiscal Year 2025 enacted level. The defense portion of the allocation is $33.223 billion and the non-defense portion of the allocation is $24.077 billion.

The bill prioritizes funding for agencies and programs that safeguard U.S. national security, unleash American energy dominance, and advance economic competitiveness.
 
Key Takeaways

Champions America’s nuclear deterrent and strengthens national security by: 

• Providing $20.662 billion for the continued modernization of the nuclear weapons stockpile and infrastructure.
• Providing $2.171 billion to support the U.S. Navy’s nuclear fleet by investing in infrastructure and new technologies to maintain America’s advantage over our adversaries.
• Providing $1.984 billion to reduce the danger of hostile nations or terrorist groups acquiring nuclear weapons.
• Prohibiting the sale of crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to the Chinese Communist Party.
• Prohibiting access to U.S. nuclear weapons production facilities by citizens of China and Russia.
• Prohibiting the Department of Energy from providing financial assistance to any foreign entity of concern.
• Prohibiting the purchase of technology and telecommunications equipment from China and other adversaries.

Supports the Trump Administration and mandate of the American people by: 

• Codifying President Trump’s executive actions by prohibiting funding for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and Critical Race Theory programs and ending federal censorship of free speech.
• Continuing the prohibition on funding for any discriminatory action against individuals advocating for traditional marriage.
• Allowing for the lawful carry of firearms on Corps of Engineers land.

Restores American energy dominance and bolsters the national economy by: 

• Supporting one of the largest investments focused on mining production technologies for critical minerals extraction in decades, reducing reliance on foreign sources.
• Robustly funding small modular reactor and advanced reactor demonstration projects, as well as increasing funding for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to expand capacity for the review, licensing, and oversight of new nuclear reactors.
• These investments are key to regaining international dominance in the nuclear market and achieving the Trump Administration’s goal to expand nuclear energy capacity to 400 gigawatts by 2050.
• Facilitating the efficient transport of goods and commodities through improvements and maintenance of America’s ports and waterways.
• Increasing investments to develop new baseload geothermal energy sources to capitalize on our vast domestic resources.
• Maintaining funding for cybersecurity efforts that enable a resilient, reliable, and secure electric grid.

Safeguards American taxpayer dollars and preserves core functions by: 

• Eliminating the Biden-era Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations.
• Including no funds for the Department of Energy Office of Energy Justice and Equity.
• Refocusing applied energy technology program funding to ensure taxpayer resources are directed to the highest priority research and development efforts.
• Reducing global dependency on the U.S. for foreign nuclear reactor conversions.

A summary of the bill is available here.
Bill text is available here.
  

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