House Republicans advanced three more fiscal 2026 spending bills this week, making some progress on appropriations ahead of the Oct. 1 funding deadline but exposing intraparty rifts on energy and the environment along the way.
The week began with a subcommittee markup of the Labor-HHS-Education bill, in which Republicans approved cuts to some climate and health programs but bucked the Trump administration by increasing funding for low-income electricity assistance.
On Wednesday, the Appropriations Committee marked up its Financial Services-General Government bill, approving conservative riders on climate and battery initiatives — including one targeting a major battery plant in a GOP-led district.
And on Thursday, dozens of Republicans joined Democrats to block conservative amendments to the Energy-Water bill that proposed to slash funding for popular climate and environment programs. The bill squeaked through on the floor, 214-213, with no Democratic support and several Republicans voting against it.
The discord among Republicans is not new; it cropped up last year and forced GOP leadership to cancel a vote on the fiscal 2025 Energy-Water bill at the last minute. So far this year, it has not derailed Republicans’ aggressive push to pass appropriations bills on the floor.
But the disagreements over funding levels and the role the government should play in propping up various forms of energy underscore the challenge congressional leaders are up against in trying to strike deals to keep the government funded in a narrowly divided Congress.
Some of the intraparty fights have been somewhat symbolic, with Republicans pushing amendments that have no chance of passing to make a point.
Rep. David Schweikert (R-Ariz.) pushed a failed proposal to reduce energy and water funding by $37 billion and said many of the programs he was targeting “I actually don’t oppose.”
“It’s not about liking the appropriation,” Schweikert said. “It’s about budgetary discipline.”
But the dissonance is likely not helpful as congressional leaders look to put on a united front amid broader government funding talks. Democrats are already incensed at House Republicans for pursuing partisan bills.
One senior Democratic appropriator walked out of the House chamber after the vote on the Energy-Water bill Thursday shaking her head at what she perceived as Republican dysfunction.
“I wish the people who are the principle [critics of the spending bills] would cave earlier so we can all go home,” said House Appropriations ranking member Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.).
“In the long run, that’s what they always do,” DeLauro said. “This is just a charade.”
The Senate has passed three fiscal 2026 spending bills on the floor, all with bipartisan support. The upper chamber did not make any progress on appropriations this week, but the Senate Appropriations Committee is expected to meet next week to try to advance two more bills.
Bucking cuts to energy assistance
House Republican appropriators are advancing fiscal 2026 bills with steep cuts to Democratic priorities, but they have at times rejected the conservative funding levels the White House requested in its fiscal 2026 budget proposal.
The latest example came this week, when the House Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Subcommittee advanced its spending bill with a $10 million increase to the popular Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, despite the fact that President Donald Trump wants to eliminate it.
Still, the Labor-HHS-Education bill would scrap funding for some of the Democrats’ favored climate and health programs and cut $40 million from the Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration.
“The bill supports the Trump Administration’s efforts to eliminate out-of-touch progressive policies, ends the weaponization of government, preserves parental rights, and upholds the right to life,” said House Appropriations Chair Tom Cole (R-Okla.). “Each dollar is directed toward initiatives that truly help our communities, students, families, and workforce.”
The Senate’s version of the bill, which advanced out of committee with bipartisan support, would increase funding for LIHEAP by $20 million over the enacted level and generally maintain funding for the Mine Safety and Health Administration.
Both bills include more than $1 billion for environmental health programs administered by HHS. There are also provisions directing work on disaster resilience.
Ford plant, ESG under attack
The House Appropriations Committee advanced its Financial Services-General Government bill Wednesday after a day-long markup in which Republicans approved a number of amendments targeting Democratic climate priorities.
A GOP amendment package, adopted 32-28, included a provision that, if enacted, could effectively bar the federal government from buying vehicles from Ford and potentially Tesla — two of the most iconic and successful American automakers. Both have major plants in Republic-led districts.
The amendment would prohibit the General Services Administration from purchasing vehicles from any entity that has a contract or licensing agreement with certain Chinese companies, including Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited (CATL), due to national security concerns. The Department of Defense has labeled CATL a Chinese military company, a description that CATL disputes.
Ford is licensing CATL technology for its Blue Oval battery manufacturing plant in a Michigan congressional district represented by Republican Rep. Tim Walberg.
The GSA owns and leases thousands of Ford vehicles and even purchased Ford electric trucks for use in Michigan parks during the Biden administration.
Republicans have hammered Ford for its decision to use the Chinese technology and worked to get Ford to end the agreement. CATL has reportedly worked with Tesla to provide faster charging batteries, meaning Tesla could be impacted, too, if the language becomes law. The EV maker is owned by Republican ally and donor Elon Musk.
Ford declined to provide a comment for this story. CATL did not respond to a request for comment.
The amendment package also contained two provisions adding new scrutiny to the practice of using environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria in making financial decisions.
The amendment added new language to the bill report noting that the “Committee is concerned with the consideration of [ESG] criteria in bond markets and debt financing.”
It would require the SEC to issue a report outlining “the extent to which such practices may constrain a state’s or public entity’s ability to access capital and finance their debt.”
GOP blocks additional energy cuts
Thursday’s votes on the Energy-Water bill were the latest examples of the intraparty tensions among Republicans when it comes to energy and environment provisions.
Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.), chair of the Energy-Water Appropriations Subcommittee, pushed back on several amendments proposed by his Republican colleagues to water down his $57.3 billion bill.
He led the opposition against a number of Pennsylvania Republican Rep. Scott Perry’s amendments seeking to reduce funding for regional commissions and to eliminate funding for various programs at the Department of Energy.
Perry requested votes on amendments that would have zeroed out money for DOE’s advanced energy research arm, blocked funding for the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan Program and slashed the Loan Programs Office.
Fleischmann also spearheaded the bipartisan opposition to amendments that would have completely cut funds for DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), as well as Schweikert’s proposal to reduce the bill’s overall top line by $37 billion.
“I respectfully think my colleague’s amendment goes too far in eliminating this program,” Fleischmann said while noting that his bill would still cut EERE’s funding roughly in half.
“I think EERE is an [office] we all can support,” he said. “The reductions are there, and I think this strikes a very good balance.”
