Senate appropriators queried top Pentagon officials Tuesday on funding for disaster recovery, environmental cleanups and energy concerns.
The questions came during a hearing on funding for military infrastructure and veterans issues. House appropriations already advanced their fiscal 2026 Military Construction-Veterans Affairs bill without dedicated funding for domestic climate programs or natural disaster recovery. The administration has also moved to deemphasize work on base resiliency and renewable energy.
Dale Marks, the assistant secretary of Defense for energy, installations and environment, fielded questions from Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) on the state of environmental cleanups at military installations.
Baldwin specifically criticized the Defense Department for failing to produce a public report on cleanup efforts since fiscal year 2023. Marks said his office would look to provide an updated report.
