Commerce, Justice, Science; Energy and Water Development; and Interior and Environment Appropriations Act, 2026
This bill funds federal departments, environmental protections, and public safety programs through September 2026. For communities, it provides substantial grants to local police, programs combating domestic violence, and projects to rebuild clean drinking water and sewage systems. It also funds the maintenance of national parks, clean energy research, and weather tracking, while placing restrictions on offshore facility inspection fees and the use of foreign technology in federal computer networks.
The provisions, in plain language.
Allocates federal funding for fiscal year 2026 grants to combat violence against women, including transitional housing, youth victim services, legal assistance, campus safety, and specialized tribal criminal jurisdiction support.
Allocates Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grants and other federal funds to state, local, and tribal law enforcement for body-worn cameras, school safety, DNA backlog reduction, crisis intervention, and opioid treatment programs.
Allocates COPS administrative grants to fund the hiring of local law enforcement officers, acquire public safety technologies, and provide de-escalation training.
Directs the Department of Commerce and the National Science Foundation to allocate and manage the fiscal year 2026 funding made available by the CHIPS Act of 2022.
Allocates State and Tribal Assistance Grants of over $2.7 billion for Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds to finance local wastewater and drinking water infrastructure.
Allows the Department of Commerce to use its designated funds for advanced payments during fiscal year 2026 if the Secretary of Commerce certifies that doing so is in the public interest.
Sets the fiscal year 2026 maximum life-cycle funding levels for major meteorological satellite programs, including the Joint Polar Satellite System and the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite R-Series.
Authorizes the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to use the lands, equipment, and personnel of other federal, state, local, tribal, and foreign governments on a reimbursable basis.
Prohibits the National Technical Information Service from charging customers for printed or digital copies of public congressional reports unless they first provide instructions on how to download the report online for free.
Authorizes the Secretary of Commerce to waive up to half of the local cost-sharing requirements for coastal zone management grant applicants under designated NOAA construction programs.
Directs the National Weather Service to maintain its current staffing levels in order to protect lives and property.
Prohibits the Department of Justice from using federal funds to pay for abortions, except in cases of rape, incest, or where the mother's life is in danger.
Prohibits the Federal Bureau of Prisons and the U.S. Marshals Service from transporting maximum-security prisoners to facilities that are not certified as appropriately secure.
Prohibits the Department of Justice from using funds to target or investigate parents who peacefully protest at school board meetings.
Prohibits the Department of Justice from investigating or prosecuting religious institutions based on their religious beliefs.
Lowers the required percentage of eligible attorneys serving on the board of any Legal Services Corporation grantee from 60 percent to 33 percent.
Bars any individual or business from receiving a federal contract under this Act if they have been caught falsely labeling products as "Made in America."
Prohibits federal agencies under this Act from purchasing high- or moderate-impact information systems without first evaluating risk of cyber-espionage or sabotage, particularly from entities linked to China, Iran, North Korea, or Russia.
Permanently rescinds hundreds of millions of dollars in unused funds from prior years across multiple accounts, including the Census Working Capital Fund and the Department of Justice Assets Forfeiture Fund.
Prohibits the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Office of Science and Technology Policy from collaborating bilaterally with China or Chinese-owned companies, or hosting official Chinese visitors at NASA facilities, unless explicitly authorized by subsequent law or certified by the FBI as a non-risk.
Requires all federally funded computer networks to block access to pornography websites, except as necessary for active law enforcement or victim assistance activities.
Prohibits the Department of Justice from spending funds to interfere with state, territorial, or local laws that legalize medical marijuana.
Requires that at least 10 percent of Public Works grants and regional technology innovation grants be spent inside persistent poverty counties.
Exempts qualifying exports of low-value firearm parts and accessories to Canada from federal licensing fees and administrative export requirements, except for fully automatic weapons or barrels, frames, and receivers.
Prohibits the use of federal funds to transfer or release Guantanamo Bay detainees into the United States or to build facilities in the United States to house them.
Prohibits the Army Corps of Engineers from dumping dredged materials into Lake Erie or its tributaries unless the state government grants a clean water certification.
Allows the Secretary of the Interior to enter into multiyear contracts of up to 10 years with nonprofit organizations for the long-term care of wild horses and burros on private lands.
Requires the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to mass-mark coho, chinook, and steelhead salmon reared in federal hatcheries with visible tags to assist commercial and recreational fishermen.
Prohibits the Department of the Interior from using federal funds to write or issue rules listing the greater sage-grouse or its Columbia basin population segment as threatened or endangered.
Restricts the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) from giving individual grants to anyone except for designated literature, national heritage, or jazz fellowships, and bans the use of NEA money for sub-grants by non-government groups.
Allows federal land management offices to transfer excess wild horses and burros to government agencies as work animals, while prohibiting these animals from being destroyed, sold, or processed into commercial products.
Requires that all iron and steel products used in public water system or treatment works projects funded by a Safe Drinking Water State Revolving Fund be produced in the United States, subject to limited economic and availability waivers.
Blocks the federal government from accepting nominations or offering leases for oil and gas development within the withdrawal area of the Chaco Culture National Historical Park until a cultural resources investigation is complete.
Prohibits the Environmental Protection Agency from requiring Clean Air Act permits or mandatory emissions reporting for biological greenhouse gas emissions from livestock production or manure management systems.
Prohibits federal agencies from using funds to regulate the lead content of ammunition, ammunition components, or fishing tackle under the Toxic Substances Control Act.
Prohibits the Department of the Interior from granting or renewing right-of-ways for the Lava Ridge Wind Project until the Bureau of Land Management completes consultations and impact analyses with local elected officials and stakeholders.
Prohibits federal agencies from closing, halting development of, or reducing the operations of the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum and the National Museum of the American Latino.
Who it helps · who it burdens.
Who it helps
- victims of domestic violence and sexual assaultReceives $257 million in grants to combat violence against women, including transitional housing, youth victim services, and legal assistance (Division A, Office on Violence Against Women, Sec. 1-27).
- state, local, and tribal law enforcement agenciesReceives federal funding through Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grants and COPS programs for hiring officers, body-worn cameras, and de-escalation training (Division A, State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance, Sec. 1-22; COPS Programs, Sec. 1-8).
- local water and wastewater utilitiesReceives over $2.7 billion in State and Tribal Assistance Grants for Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds to finance local water infrastructure (Division C, Environmental Protection Agency, Sec. 1-23).
- firearm parts exportersExempts qualifying exports of low-value firearm parts and accessories to Canada from federal licensing fees and administrative export requirements (Sec. 533).
- nonprofit wild horse and burro care organizationsAllows the Secretary of the Interior to enter into multiyear contracts of up to 10 years for the long-term care of wild horses and burros on private lands (Sec. 108).
- residents of persistent poverty countiesRequires that at least 10 percent of Public Works and regional technology innovation grants be spent inside persistent poverty counties (Sec. 533).
Who it burdens
- contractors falsely labeling productsBars any individual or business from receiving a federal contract under this Act if they have been caught falsely labeling products as 'Made in America' (Sec. 506(a)).
- federal procurement officesProhibits federal agencies under this Act from purchasing high- or moderate-impact information systems without first evaluating risk of cyber-espionage or sabotage, particularly from entities linked to China, Iran, North Korea, or Russia (Sec. 514).
- water infrastructure contractorsRequires that all iron and steel products used in public water system projects funded by a Safe Drinking Water State Revolving Fund be produced in the United States (Sec. 419).
- National Technical Information ServiceProhibits the National Technical Information Service from charging customers for printed or digital copies of public congressional reports unless they first provide instructions on how to download the report online for free (Sec. 108).
Who backs it
- federal agencies with rescinded balancesPermanently rescinds hundreds of millions of dollars in unused funds from prior years across multiple accounts, including the Census Working Capital Fund and the Department of Justice Assets Forfeiture Fund (Sec. 521).
Who opposes it
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife ServiceProhibits the Department of the Interior from using federal funds to write or issue rules listing the greater sage-grouse or its Columbia basin population segment as threatened or endangered (Sec. 119).
- oil and gas developersBlocks the federal government from accepting nominations or offering leases for oil and gas development within the withdrawal area of the Chaco Culture National Historical Park until a cultural resources investigation is complete (Sec. 425).
- Guantanamo Bay detaineesProhibits the use of federal funds to transfer or release Guantanamo Bay detainees into the United States or to build facilities in the United States to house them (Sec. 538 & Sec. 539).