Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios
House appropriators voted along party lines late Thursday to advance a fiscal 2026 energy and water spending bill backing nuclear and minerals while slashing funding for renewable energy.
Why it matters: The bill — which the Appropriations Committee approved 35-27 — would codify many of the Trump administration's cuts at the Energy Department.
Driving the news: The committee batted down a slew Democratic amendments over a markup that stretched five hours.
- The DOE overall would receive nearly $49 billion, a cut of about $1.4 billion but slightly above President Trump's $46.3 billion request.
- The bill "unleashes American energy production and stops wasteful, inflationary spending," Energy and Water Development Subcommittee Chairman Chuck Fleischmann said in a statement.
The other side: "The passage of this ill-considered and careless bill will hurt our communities from coast to coast, and is a true disservice to all the generations to come," Marcy Kaptur, the energy-water panel's ranking Democrat, said in a statement.
- Democrats decried the 46% cut to the DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, which funds wind and solar priorities, and the closure of the agency's Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations.
Between the lines: The markup included moments in which Republicans were unwilling to reduce spending but were at a loss over how to pay for it.
- GOP Rep. Riley Moore offered an amendment to restore full funding to the Appalachian Regional Commission, noting the economic development panel's long-standing importance to his home state of West Virginia.
- When he proposed paying for the restored funding with DOE solar research, Fleischmann and Kaptur both objected.
- "My concern, candidly, is that it's cutting solar," Fleischmann said. "And EERE has been cut already. It is very important to a lot of people on both sides of the aisle, including myself."
After both sides worked in vain to find a pay-for, they ultimately agreed to approve a smaller, $20 million across-the-board cut to EERE to restore some funding to the ARC and other regional commissions.
- The amendment was adopted by voice vote with promises to continue to work on the issue.
Between the lines: The bill included other proposed funding increases.
- It would hike funding for the Office of Nuclear Energy to $1.8 billion, boosting money for nuclear fuel enrichment and an advanced reactor demonstration program.
- The Loan Programs Office would also get $150 million for advanced nuclear project financing.
- The Nuclear Regulatory Commission — in the midst of a White House-directed "total and complete reform" — would receive $27.4 billion, slightly higher than current funding.
What's next: As it heads to the House floor, the bill enters an appropriations debate that is expected to be contentious.
- Trump's cuts and rescission requests have been divisive. And only about four weeks of full congressional session remain before the Sept. 30 fiscal deadline.
