House Republicans muscled through their fiscal 2026 Energy-Water bill Thursday morning, advancing a proposal that would boost funding for nuclear energy and other bipartisan priorities but slash support for renewables.
The spending legislation passed 214-213 with no Democratic votes. It is the third fiscal 2026 bill the House has passed, all with little or no Democratic support, as lawmakers scramble to clinch a deal on government funding with less than a month to go before the shutdown deadline.
The Energy-Water bill has a top line of $57.3 billion — a 1.3 percent reduction relative to the current level — and focuses on defense spending, advanced nuclear and other efforts while taking an ax to programs favored by Democrats, such as the Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
“The passage of the Fiscal Year 2026 Energy and Water bill strengthens America by investing in the modernization of our national security and nuclear deterrent, securing American global leadership in new nuclear, funding waterways infrastructure from coast to coast, and reducing our reliance on foreign sources of critical minerals,” said Energy-Water Appropriations Subcommittee Chair Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.) in a statement.
