After numerous delays, lawmakers have released five more annual appropriations bills ready for markup in Appropriations subcommittees over the next few days.
The most recent rash of bills, released Monday and Tuesday, determine fiscal year 2026 funding levels for multiple departments and agencies, touching everything from the State department’s foreign aid programs to the Environmental Protection Agency’s chemical cleanup programs.
Out of the five new bills released, the most controversial bill, authorizing $37.9 billion in spending, provides funding for environmental initiatives.
Under the legislation, which many Democrats are sure to oppose, the EPA would receive a total of $7 billion, a 23% funding cut from fiscal year 2025. While funding for the Hazardous Substance Superfund remains the same, environmental programs and management would see a nearly 29% funding cut.
In the Department of the Interior, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement would receive $132 million, roughly half of what it requested last year. The National Park Service would receive over $3 billion, wildland fire management programs would receive $1.5 billion, and the Bureau of Land Management would get $1.2 billion.
Another Appropriations bill set for markup would authorize $57.3 billion for energy and water infrastructure, including $48.7 billion for the Department of Energy to spend on nuclear energy and security, fossil fuels, and renewable energy programs, though money for the latter is slashed by roughly by two-thirds.
The Army Corps of Engineers would receive $9.8 billion, including nearly $2 billion for flood and storm damage reduction projects, while the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is allocated $971 million.
Republicans will be lucky to receive any Democratic votes on the $46.2 billion appropriations bill funding national security and the State department, given Democrats’ strong aversion to cutting any form of foreign aid.
The bill drastically reduces funding for global health programs – which the Trump administration argues have prioritized sex, gender identity, and abortion initiatives rather than actual health – to $9.5 billion. This is down from $521 billion in fiscal year 2025.
It also directs the Secretary of State to gradually transition PEPFAR programs off of U.S. assistance. Bipartisan concerns over PEPFAR and other AIDS-combatting health programs have caused headaches for Republicans looking to pass a $9.4 billion rescissions bill.
Over $400 million is allocated for the Peace Corps, however, which President Donald Trump wanted Republicans to entirely defund. The bill does zero out all $437 million in funding for International Organizations and Programs, while granting $3.3 billion in assistance for Israel.
But House appropriators’ $90 billion funding bill for transportation, housing, and development will likely see at least some Democratic support. It gives the Department of Transportation $22 billion in discretionary funding and boosts budgets for highway, air, and rail.
The Federal Highway Administration would see $64 billion, the Federal Railroad Administration would receive $3.1 billion, and the Federal Aviation Administration would get $23.2 billion to help update its dangerously outdated air traffic control infrastructure.
A total of $67.7 billion goes to the Department of Housing and Urban Development for rental assistance and public housing programs.
The final funding bill released recently – the bill for the Department of Commerce, Department of Justice, and related agencies – allocates a total of $76.8 billion, including $10 billion for the FBI and $2.8 billion for the DEA.
Although Trump’s budget request wanted to zero out all funding for the Minority Business Development Agency, Republicans settled on a 76% cut, a possible olive branch to their Democratic colleagues.
Over half of the 12 annual appropriations bills that fund the federal government have now been drafted, while only one has passed the House. None of the legislation will take effect unless all Congress passes them all. If lawmakers do not pass them by Sept. 30, the end of the current fiscal year, it will force a government shutdown.
