Republican senators have lined up a number of environment-related amendments to the Interior-Environment appropriations measure as the Senate inches closer to a vote on a broader spending package.
Among the amendments that could get votes is a requirement for EPA to submit a report on a beleaguered cleanup effort, language that would allow for the creation of a consolidated wildland firefighting agency and a proposal to slash hundreds of millions of dollars in funding for water infrastructure projects.
The amendments are the result of weeks of negotiations between conservative senators who have objections to parts of a proposed five-bill “minibus” and senior appropriators, who need the senators’ support in order to move the long-delayed package along.
The amendments and the overall spending deal are far from final, and some of the amendments appear likely to fail if they do get floor votes. But they represent crucial parts of a complicated agreement that could unlock progress in the fiscal 2026 funding process.
