Other
Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2026
This spending bill finances federal water infrastructure and energy programs for fiscal year 2026, redirecting roughly five billion dollars from renewable energy and carbon capture into advanced nuclear reactor projects. It allows visitors to carry firearms on Army Corps of Engineers lands and lakes in accordance with state laws, keeps public campgrounds open at Lake Lanier, and expands funding caps for Western drought relief and water desalination. The measure also bars federal money from being used for COVID-19 mask or vaccine mandates, diversity initiatives, or flagging social media speech as misinformation, while protecting tax exemptions and grants for religious groups that define marriage as between one man and one woman.
People affected—Not determinable from the text provided. The bill affects broad classes of individuals (e.g., visitors to Army Corps recreational sites, federal grantees, contractors, and agency personnel), but does not state or quantify a specific population count.
Fiscal magnitude—Not determinable from the text provided. While the bill specifies particular transfers (notably $5,104,132,548 redirected to nuclear reactor demonstration projects under Sec. 313 and up to $8,733,000 in Sec. 104) and increases various program authorization ceilings, the total net appropriation for the bill is not stated in the excerpted text.
Reach58provisional · pending reviewrigor: heuristic llm
What this bill touches.
LGBTQ+ policy−45Public works+30Race-conscious policy−50Firearms−25Mandates vs. liberty−55Energy sources−40Online speech−45Greenhouse-gas policy−35Native American affairs+40Religious exemptions−55Regulation (cross-sector)−50Trade & tariffs−25Speech & expression−40
Who it helps · who it burdens.
Who it helps
- lawfully armed visitors to Army Corps water project landsBars the Army Corps of Engineers from enforcing regulations that prohibit individuals from carrying legally owned firearms on water resource development project lands if permitted under state law (Sec. 108).
- advanced nuclear reactor developersDirects approximately $5.1 billion in transferred funding from prior clean energy and carbon management appropriations toward Generation 3+ small modular reactor and Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program projects (Sec. 313).
- individuals and organizations with traditional religious beliefs on marriageProtects individuals and organizations from losing federal tax-exempt status, grants, contracts, certifications, or accreditations if they speak or act according to the religious belief that marriage is between one man and one woman (Sec. 506).
- state, local, and tribal governments hosting nuclear waste facilitiesBars federal spending on private consolidated interim storage facilities for commercial spent nuclear fuel unless host state, local, and tribal governments grant formal consent (Sec. 504).
- Navajo Nation and Northwestern New Mexico rural water systemsIncreases total authorized funding for rural water supply projects in Northwestern New Mexico and the Navajo Nation from $870 million to $1.815 billion through 2026 (Sec. 208).
- campers and recreational visitors at Lake Sidney LanierProhibits using funds to close seven specified public campgrounds located at Lake Sidney Lanier in Georgia (Sec. 513).
Who it burdens
- San Luis Unit water beneficiariesRequires local beneficiaries to fully repay past cleanup costs for the Kesterson Reservoir and San Joaquin Valley programs and to reimburse all future federal costs for San Luis Unit drainage services or studies (Sec. 202(b)).
- Russian and Chinese citizens seeking access to nuclear weapons facilitiesRestricts non-U.S. citizens from Russia or China from entering secure areas of U.S. nuclear weapons production facilities unless Congress receives 30 days of advance notice (Sec. 310).
Who opposes it
- Chinese government-affiliated petroleum purchasersProhibits the drawdown and sale of petroleum products from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to any entity owned, controlled, or influenced by the Chinese Communist Party, and bars exporting that oil to China (Sec. 308).
- Chinese government-owned technology equipment manufacturersProhibits the Department of Energy from purchasing office computers, printers, or videoconferencing equipment from vendors or parent companies in which the Chinese government owns any stake (Sec. 311).
- renewable energy, efficiency, and carbon capture project developersRescinds and transfers approximately $5.1 billion in previously appropriated funds away from energy efficiency, renewable energy, clean energy demonstrations, and carbon capture infrastructure accounts to fund advanced nuclear projects (Sec. 313).
- diversity, equity, and inclusion personnel and training contractorsProhibits federal funding from being used to support diversity, equity, and inclusion offices, personnel, trainings, and initiatives, or programs promoting Critical Race Theory (Sec. 505).