House Republicans narrowly passed a partisan funding bill for the Energy Department and water development Thursday, cutting nondefense programs while boosting dollars for defense.
The vote was 214-213. Four Republicans voted with Democrats against the measure: Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (Pa.), Thomas Massie (Ky.), Tom McClintock (Calif.) and Scott Perry (Pa.).
“The bill’s pretty lacking, that’s why I voted no,” Perry told The Hill. “Policy, spending, the whole thing is just a weak effort.”
The annual appropriations bill would allow for about $57 billion in funding for fiscal 2026.
The bill marks the third appropriations bill House Republicans have passed for fiscal 2026, as Congress continues to run behind on its annual funding work.
While the bill faces long odds in the Senate, where Democratic support is needed to pass funding bills, it provides a starting point for Republicans when it comes time for both sides to work out a funding deal for the next fiscal year.
The bill increases funding to key Republican priorities, including the Energy Department’s National Nuclear Security Administration, which maintains the nation’s weapons stockpile.
It includes cuts to many programs favored by Democrats, including a 17 percent cut to the Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation account, according to a summary released by Democrats over the summer.
It also cuts the Energy Department’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy nearly in half and cuts its energy research office, known as the Advanced Research Projects Agency — Energy (ARPA-E) office by nearly a quarter.
While significant, these cuts are not as dramatic as what was proposed by the Trump administration, which sought to cut 74 percent of the renewable energy office’s budget and the research office’s budget by 57 percent.
Appropriators have faced pressure in recent months to write bills consistent with President Trump’s budget request, which seeks to cut nondefense discretionary spending by more than 20 percent.
Overall, the bill cuts funding to the Energy Department by about 3 percent.
In addition, the bill cuts $5.1 billion that the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law put toward hydrogen energy, carbon capture technology, battery recycling and energy upgrades in public schools, according to the Democrat summary.
