The Senate will unveil and mark up its first three fiscal 2026 spending bills this week, kicking off what appropriators hope will be a bipartisan process as the House puts its partisan effort on hold for another week.
Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine) and ranking member Patty Murray (D-Wash.) are aiming to advance the Agriculture, Commerce-Justice-Science and Legislative Branch bills with support from both sides of the aisle during a markup Thursday.
House appropriators postponed planned markups of their Energy-Water proposal and other spending bills this week due to the lower chamber’s impromptu recess.
The Senate markup will feature discussion on funding levels for the Department of Agriculture, NOAA and the National Weather Service, among other agencies, against the backdrop of the deadly floods in Texas and swirling questions from Democrats about whether staffing cuts at those agencies may have played a role in the damage.
