Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2027
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The bill would fund the Army Corps of Engineers' civil works program, the Interior Department's Bureau of Reclamation, and the Department of Energy—including its nuclear weapons and nonproliferation programs—for fiscal year 2027, appropriating tens of billions of dollars across water infrastructure, energy research, and nuclear security accounts.
Beyond the dollar figures, the bill attaches dozens of policy riders limiting how agencies can reprogram funds, restricting Strategic Petroleum Reserve sales to Chinese-linked entities, requiring local consent before consolidated spent nuclear fuel storage, and blocking a Department of Energy building-efficiency rule.
What this bill would do
What it would do
The bill would appropriate fiscal year 2027 funding for Army Corps of Engineers civil works (investigations, construction, flood control, operations and maintenance), the Interior Department's Central Utah Project and Bureau of Reclamation, and the Department of Energy's energy programs, including nuclear weapons activities, nonproliferation, environmental cleanup, science, and power marketing administrations. It also funds independent agencies including the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and several regional development commissions. The bill would attach restrictions on fund reprogramming, require congressional notification before large grants or contract awards, bar Strategic Petroleum Reserve sales benefiting Chinese Communist Party-linked entities, prohibit awards to "entities of concern," require local and tribal consent before consolidated interim spent nuclear fuel storage, protect firearm possession at Corps water resources projects, and block implementation of a Department of Energy clean-energy building rule. It does not create new agencies or programs beyond adjusting several existing authorization ceilings and deadlines.
Key provisions
- 1Would appropriate funding for Army Corps of Engineers civil works, including investigations, construction, operation and maintenance, and flood control
- 2Would appropriate funding for the Central Utah Project and Bureau of Reclamation water and related resources activities
- 3Would appropriate funding for Department of Energy programs including nuclear weapons activities, nonproliferation, science, and environmental cleanup
- 4Would fund independent agencies including the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and regional development commissions
- 5Would bar Strategic Petroleum Reserve sales to entities under Chinese Communist Party ownership or control, or without conditions against export to China
- 6Would prohibit federal funds for consolidated interim spent nuclear fuel storage without host state, local, and tribal government consent
- 7Would bar the Secretary of the Army from enforcing regulations prohibiting lawful firearm possession at Corps water resources development projects
Who would be affected
Army Corps of Engineers and Bureau of Reclamation project areas, Department of Energy laboratories and contractors, nuclear weapons and nonproliferation programs, power marketing administration customers, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and Nuclear Regulatory Commission, regional development commissions, and communities near proposed spent nuclear fuel storage sites or water resources projects.
Why it matters
Agencies and contractors would gain or lose funding certainty for water infrastructure, nuclear weapons modernization, and energy research depending on final enacted amounts. Policy riders would constrain executive discretion over reprogramming funds, petroleum reserve sales, and foreign-linked grant recipients, while communities near proposed nuclear waste storage sites would gain a formal consent requirement.
What would change
Changes to existing law
Amends Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act (Public Law 114-322) (Sec. 203)
Extends expiration dates for certain water infrastructure financing provisions from 2021 to 2027 and from a 10-year term to December 16, 2034
Amends Reclamation Wastewater and Groundwater Study and Facilities Act (Sec. 203)
Raises the authorized funding ceiling from $50,000,000 to $177,500,000
Amends Water Desalination Act of 1996 (Sec. 203)
Raises the authorized funding ceiling from $30,000,000 to $106,500,000
Amends CALFED Bay-Delta Authorization Act (Public Law 108-361) (Sec. 204)
Extends authorization from fiscal year 2022 to 2027 and raises a funding cap from $32,600,000 to $40,000,000
Amends Northwestern New Mexico Rural Water Projects Act (Sec. 205)
Raises the authorized funding ceiling from $1,815,000,000 to $1,970,000,000 and extends the authorization from 2024 to 2027
Amends Fort Peck Reservation Rural Water System Act of 2000 (Sec. 206)
Extends the authorization deadline from 2026 to 2028
Amends Clean Energy for New Federal Buildings and Major Renovations of Federal Buildings rule (Sec. 311)
Bars use of funds to finalize, administer, implement, or enforce this Department of Energy final rule
Agencies directed to act
Effective dates
- Reprogramming baseline report to Committees on Appropriations for Corps of Engineers civil works
- First quarterly Bureau of Reclamation reprogramming report
- Department of Energy report on funds repurposed or transferred under the small modular reactor transfer provision
- Appropriations covered by this Act
Funding and costs
- $175,000,000
Army Corps of Engineers investigations of proposed water resources projects
- $2,382,000,000
Army Corps of Engineers construction of authorized water resources projects
- $6,255,000,000
Army Corps of Engineers operation and maintenance of existing projects
- $1,675,000,000
Bureau of Reclamation water and related resources management
- $8,525,000,000
Department of Energy Science programs
- $22,068,542,000
National Nuclear Security Administration weapons activities
- $2,084,844,000
Defense nuclear nonproliferation activities
- $6,555,922,000
Defense environmental cleanup activities
- $520,000,000
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission salaries and expenses
- $878,104,000
Nuclear Regulatory Commission salaries and expenses
- $2,675,000,000
Transfer to Nuclear Energy account for small modular reactor deployment competitive awards
How implementation would work
Agencies would draw down appropriated funds through existing account structures, with the Corps of Engineers, Bureau of Reclamation, and Department of Energy required to follow spending plans detailed in the accompanying committee report and to notify or obtain prior approval from the Appropriations Committees before reprogramming funds beyond set percentage thresholds. The Department of Energy must give advance notice before large grants, contracts, or awards, and must screen award recipients for ties to "entities of concern." Several agencies must submit periodic reports—quarterly, monthly, or within fixed post-enactment windows—to Congress on obligations, transfers, and waivers.
Legislative status & sources
Latest action
Rules Committee Resolution H. Res. 1377 Reported to House. Rule provides for consideration of H.R. 1181, H.R. 9022, H.R. 8595 and H.R. 9237. The resolution provides for consideration of H.R. 1181 and H.R. 9237 under a closed rule and H.R. 9022 and H.R. 8595 under a structured rule. The resolution provides for one hour of general debate and one motion to recommit on each bill.
Official CRS summary
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This bill provides FY2027 appropriations for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers civil works projects, the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Reclamation, the Department of Energy (DOE), and several independent agencies.
The bill provides appropriations for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers civil works projects, including for
- Investigations,
- Construction,
- Mississippi River and Tributaries,
- Operation and Maintenance,
- the Regulatory Program,
- Flood Control and Coastal Emergencies,
- Expenses,
- the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, and
- the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Program.
The bill provides appropriations to the Department of the Interior for the Central Utah Project and the Bureau of Reclamation.
The bill provides appropriations to DOE for energy programs, including
- Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation;
- Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response;
- Electricity;
- Nuclear Energy;
- Hydrocarbons and Geothermal Energy;
- Naval Petroleum and Oil Shale Reserves;
- the Strategic Petroleum Reserve;
- the Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve;
- the Energy Information Administration;
- Non-Defense Environmental Cleanup;
- the Uranium Enrichment Decontamination and Decommissioning Fund;
- Science;
- Nuclear Waste Disposal;
- the Advanced Research Projects Agency—Energy;
- the Title 17 Innovative Technology Loan Guarantee Program;
- the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan Program;
- the Tribal Energy Loan Guarantee Program;
- Indian Energy Policy and Programs;
- Departmental Administration; and
- the Office of the Inspector General.
The bill also provides appropriations to DOE for
- Atomic Energy Defense Activities of the National Nuclear Security Administration,
- Environmental and Other Defense Activities, and
- the Power Marketing Administrations.
The bill provides appropriations to several independent agencies, including the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
The bill also sets forth requirements and restrictions for using funds provided by this and other appropriations acts.
Legislative subjects
Economics and Public Finance
Committee report
H. Rept. 119-667