Senator Murray Statement on Release of Partisan Energy and Water Development Bill
Washington, D.C. — Today, Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee and Ranking Member of the Energy and Water Development Subcommittee, issued the following statement on the draft fiscal year 2026 Energy and Water Development appropriations act that Senate Republicans released today.
“While I am disappointed that Senate Republicans released a partisan bill instead of working with Senate Democrats—and I am especially disappointed by the cuts to critical clean energy programs—there are some important priorities I strongly advocated for that are addressed by the bill released today.
“The bill provides $3.5 billion from the Harbor Maintenance Trust fund to support our nation’s ports and harbors, which are so critical to our economy—and that includes nearly half a billion dollars for donor and energy ports, like the Ports of Seattle and Tacoma. It also delivers critical funding for the Office of Science and supports national labs across the U.S. with the funding needed to continue their critical, cutting-edge work and prevent devastating layoffs. It blocks the Department of Energy’s senseless plan to slash critical research with its indirect cost policy. The bill provides nearly $10 billion for the Army Corps of Engineers, including $190 million to get the Howard Hanson Dam Project in Washington state back on track, along with so many other projects that were defunded by Russ Vought in a brazen and corrupt act of political retribution.
“Passing a full-year Energy and Water Development bill is critical in preventing President Trump and Vought from having the power to unilaterally decide where taxpayer dollars go, and I am committed to reaching bipartisan agreement with my colleagues on this bill and the remainder of our funding bills—and to getting them signed into law.”
###
Previous Article