Monday, September 8th, 2025
FY26 Energy-Water Appropriations: The House passed H.R.4553 (214-213), which would provide the Energy Department, Army Corps of Engineers, Bureau of Reclamation, and related agencies would receive $57.3 billion in discretionary funding for fiscal 2026. The total would be a $766.4 million decrease from fiscal 2025, according to a summary from House Appropriations Committee Republicans. The measure would provide $33.2 billion in defense funding and $24.1 billion in non-defense funding.
The measure would provide new funding to support nuclear reactor projects while cutting funds for nuclear cleanup and clean energy projects. It would block diversity initiatives and changes made to rename military facilities honoring the Confederacy. It also would bar agencies from issuing rules with major economic effects.
Made-in-America Defense: The House passed H.R.4216, which aims to boost American defense exports by simplifying regulations and increasing access for U.S. manufacturers to supply allied nations with defense equipment. It promotes domestic industry by making a list of restricted defense items public and requiring annual review and potential removal of restrictions, which currently slow sales through government channels.
Stop Chinese Fentanyl: The House passed H.R.747, which sanctions opioid manufacturers in China and holds the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) accountable for their role in the deadly opioid crisis plaguing American communities. The bill would amend the “Fentanyl Sanctions Act” and enable the U.S. government to impose sanctions on Chinese officials and organizations involved in the production, sale, financing, or transportation of synthetic opioids or their precursor chemicals. Entities that fail to cooperate with U.S. counternarcotics efforts would be designated as foreign opioid traffickers.
The House passed three joint resolutions aimed at rolling back several Bureau of Land Management plans which were put in place under the Biden administration:
BLM Montana Management Plan: The House passed H.J.Res.104 (211-208), which resolution nullifies the Bureau of Land Management's "Miles City Field Office Record of Decision and Approved Resource Management Plan Amendment" issued in November 2024 which generally prohibits BLM from issuing any new coal leases for certain public lands under the jurisdiction of the Miles City Field Office in Montana.
BLM North Dakota Management Plan: The House passed H.J.Res.106 (215-210), which nullifies BLM's "North Dakota Field Office Record of Decision and Approved Resource Manage Plan" issued in January 2025 which limits development of oil and gas in low-potential areas and new coal leasing to areas within four miles of existing mines on public lands under the jurisdiction of the North Dakota Field Office.
BLM Alaska Management Plan: The House passed H.J.Res.105 (215-211), which nullifies BLM's "Central Yukon Record of Decision and Approved Resource Management Plan" issued in November 2024 which designated 3.6 million acres as areas of "critical environmental concern" in the Central Yukon planning area, effectively limiting mining claims and oil and gas development on such lands.
