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Public law 119-74, H.R. 6938 · Friday 23 January 2026

Commerce, Justice, Science; Energy and Water Development; and Interior and Environment Appropriations Act, 2026

The law funds 2026 commerce, justice, science, energy, water, public lands, environmental, Tribal, and cultural programs.

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It finances major federal services ranging from law enforcement and weather forecasting to water systems, energy research, wildfire response, Tribal health care, and environmental cleanup. It also sets spending controls and policy limits for the funded agencies.

What the law does ​

  • Funds Commerce, Justice, NASA, the National Science Foundation, federal law enforcement, immigration courts, prisons, crime-victim services, and state, local, and Tribal justice grants.
  • Supports Army Corps and Bureau of Reclamation water projects, Department of Energy research and grid programs, nuclear security, nonproliferation, and nuclear-site cleanup.
  • Finances public lands, parks, wildlife, national forests, wildfire management, environmental enforcement and cleanup, drinking-water and wastewater infrastructure, and abandoned-mine work.
  • Funds Tribal government, education, health care, sanitation, facilities, leases, and contract-support obligations.
  • Supports museums, arts and humanities institutions, historic preservation, and programs marking the nation’s 250th anniversary.
  • Rescinds or redirects selected prior funding and requires spending plans, congressional notice, cybersecurity reviews, project oversight, and domestic iron and steel for specified water projects.
  • Restricts selected activities involving China and Russia, certain endangered-species rules, medical-marijuana enforcement, livestock-emissions regulation, offshore operations, mining, land use, and unauthorized funding shifts.

Who it affects ​

  • Federal agencies, employees, contractors, grant recipients, researchers, and regulated businesses.
  • States, local governments, Tribal nations, territories, law-enforcement agencies, crime victims, and legal-aid clients.
  • Communities facing wildfire, flooding, drought, pollution, unsafe water, abandoned mines, or aging infrastructure.
  • Energy producers, offshore operators, water users, farmers and ranchers, public-land visitors, and cultural institutions.

Breakdown ​

This part of the title provides fiscal year 2026 funding for the Department of Commerce and the Department of Justice. It supports trade and economic development, statistics, telecommunications, patents, scientific research, weather and fisheries programs, federal law enforcement, immigration courts, prisons, crime victims, and state, local, and Tribal justice programs. It also sets conditions on how the departments may transfer, oversee, and use the money.

Key takeaways

  • The title funds major Commerce agencies and programs, including trade enforcement, economic development, the Census Bureau, NTIA, USPTO, NIST, and NOAA.
  • It provides substantial funding for NOAA weather, ocean, fisheries, satellite, vessel, facility, and Pacific salmon recovery activities, while requiring continued National Weather Service staffing to protect life and property.
  • It funds Justice Department operations, immigration courts, federal prosecutors, the FBI, DEA, ATF, U.S. Marshals, federal prisons, national security work, and efforts against organized crime and drug trafficking.
  • It provides grants and assistance for violence prevention, crime victims, community policing, juvenile justice, school safety, forensic science, substance use programs, offender reentry, Tribal justice, and state and local law enforcement.
  • It restricts certain uses of Justice funds, including most abortion funding, some prisoner recreation purchases, unmonitored firearm transfers to suspected cartel agents, investigations of peaceful school board protesters, and investigations or prosecutions of religious institutions based on their beliefs.
  • It generally allows each department to transfer up to 5 percent among its appropriations, subject to limits, advance notice, and congressional review procedures.

This part of the 2026 appropriations law funds federal science programs and several related agencies, including NASA, the National Science Foundation, civil rights and employment enforcement bodies, trade agencies, and the Legal Services Corporation. It also sets government-wide spending controls for these agencies, directs selected transfers and rescissions, and imposes conditions on matters such as cybersecurity, congressional reporting, China-related cooperation, medical marijuana enforcement, and grant administration.

Key takeaways

  • NASA receives major funding for science, aeronautics, space technology, exploration, space operations, STEM engagement, mission support, construction, and oversight, with much of the funding available beyond fiscal year 2026.
  • The National Science Foundation receives funding for research, major research equipment and facilities, STEM education, agency operations, the National Science Board, and inspector general oversight.
  • The title funds the Commission on Civil Rights, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, International Trade Commission, Legal Services Corporation, Marine Mammal Commission, Office of the United States Trade Representative, and State Justice Institute.
  • NASA and the National Science Foundation may transfer limited amounts between accounts, but major funding changes require congressional notification and compliance with reprogramming rules.
  • The title rescinds about $709.2 million in unobligated Commerce and Justice Department funds while protecting specified emergency, disaster, and designated law-enforcement funds from those rescissions.
  • The general provisions require spending plans and financial reports, establish cybersecurity and supply-chain reviews for important information systems, restrict certain NASA and science cooperation with China, protect state and territorial medical marijuana laws from Justice Department interference, and direct allocations and reporting for CHIPS Act funds.

This division funds the Army Corps of Engineers’ civil works, the Bureau of Reclamation, Department of Energy programs, nuclear security and cleanup, federal power systems, and several independent and regional agencies for fiscal year 2026. It supports water infrastructure, flood protection, navigation, energy research and deployment, the nuclear weapons complex, environmental cleanup, and regional development. It also sets oversight, spending, transfer, and project-management rules for these funds.

Key takeaways

  • The division provides major funding for Army Corps projects involving navigation, flood and storm protection, ecosystem restoration, harbor maintenance, emergency response, and cleanup of sites tied to the early atomic energy program.
  • It funds Bureau of Reclamation water management and infrastructure, Central Valley and California Bay-Delta restoration, drought relief, and selected western water projects.
  • It funds Department of Energy work on renewable energy, nuclear and fossil energy, electricity, cybersecurity, science, energy information, petroleum reserves, and advanced energy research.
  • It provides substantial funding for nuclear weapons activities, nuclear nonproliferation, naval reactors, and cleanup of defense-related nuclear sites.
  • It redirects previously appropriated funds toward advanced reactor demonstrations, small modular reactors, domestic transformer and electric-grid supply chains, and other specified energy programs.
  • It requires congressional notice or approval for many funding changes and large awards, imposes independent review requirements on major or high-hazard projects, and restricts certain transactions involving China, Russia, or designated entities of concern.

This title funds the Department of the Interior and its agencies for fiscal year 2026, including public land management, wildlife conservation, national parks, geological research, offshore energy oversight, mine reclamation, tribal services, Indian education, territorial assistance, and wildfire response. It sets spending levels and operating rules, provides grants and project funding, and allows specified transfers and emergency uses of funds. It also establishes several policy requirements affecting offshore inspections, endangered-species actions, tribal programs, staffing, land transfers, and department operations.

Key takeaways

  • The title provides major operating and project funding for the Bureau of Land Management, Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, Geological Survey, offshore energy agencies, mining programs, and other Interior offices.
  • It funds tribal government services, Indian trust management, Indian education and school construction, tribal contract support costs, leases, land consolidation, and loan guarantees.
  • It provides more than $1.1 billion for Interior wildland fire management and an additional $370 million reserve that may be transferred for wildfire suppression after regular suppression funds are nearly exhausted.
  • It supports wildlife and historic preservation grants, wetlands and migratory bird conservation, endangered-species conservation, abandoned mine cleanup, and assistance to U.S. territories and freely associated states.
  • It requires offshore operators to pay specified fiscal year 2026 inspection fees and requires public disclosure of approved departures or alternate procedures for offshore plans and permits, except for confidential business information.
  • It bars funding for proposed Endangered Species Act listing rules for the greater sage-grouse and the Columbia Basin population, while also authorizing measures such as a National Park Service land transfer for the Long Bridge rail project and expanded local hiring authority for Interior field units.

This part of the 2026 appropriations law funds the Environmental Protection Agency, the Forest Service, the Indian Health Service, and several environmental, health, arts, cultural, and historical institutions. It supports environmental research and cleanup, water infrastructure, national forest management, wildfire response, Tribal health care and facilities, museums, the arts and humanities, and planning for the United States’ 250th anniversary. It also sets rules for how agencies may distribute grants, collect fees, transfer funds, maintain staffing, and oversee spending.

Key takeaways

  • The EPA receives funding for research, environmental programs, Superfund cleanup, leaking underground storage tanks, oil-spill response, oversight, facilities, and chemical safety work.
  • More than $4.4 billion is provided for state and Tribal environmental assistance, including major investments in clean water and drinking water revolving funds, community water projects, brownfields cleanup, air-quality programs, and rural and Tribal infrastructure.
  • The Forest Service receives funding for operations, research, forest health, national forest management, facilities, hazardous-fuels reduction, and wildfire response, including a $2.48 billion additional wildfire suppression reserve.
  • The Indian Health Service receives funding for health services, purchased and referred care, behavioral health and substance-use programs, electronic health records, Tribal contract support, leases, sanitation systems, and health facilities.
  • The title funds environmental health research and chemical-incident oversight, including the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, and the Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board.
  • The title supports the Smithsonian, National Gallery of Art, Kennedy Center, arts and humanities endowments, historic-preservation and capital-planning bodies, the Holocaust Memorial Museum, and activities marking the nation’s 250th anniversary.

This title sets government-wide conditions and oversight rules for fiscal year 2026 funding for Interior, environmental, forest, tribal health, and related programs. It restricts certain uses of funds, extends several land and resource management authorities, directs specific conservation and maintenance allocations, and transfers unused infrastructure funds to wildfire management, oversight, and Forest Service operations.

Key takeaways

  • Agencies generally may not use these funds to lobby on pending legislation, make unapproved funding shifts, award unauthorized no-bid contracts, or carry funds beyond fiscal year 2026 unless expressly allowed.
  • The title restricts mining patents, leasing in certain national monuments and near Chaco Canyon, condemnation of land, and approval of the Lava Ridge Wind Project until required reviews and consultations occur.
  • It limits 2026 tribal contract support cost payments to the amounts provided for that year, addresses tribal lease timing and consultation, and extends specified authorities involving Alaska Native health entities and grazing permits.
  • It protects healthy wild horses and burros from destruction or commercial processing, supports transfers of excess animals to government agencies as work animals, and authorizes training and equipment assistance for local wildfire organizations.
  • Water projects using specified revolving funds generally must use American-made iron and steel, subject to waivers for public-interest, availability, quality, or major cost concerns.
  • The title directs detailed allocation and congressional oversight of Land and Water Conservation Fund and public-land restoration projects, requires regular financial, maintenance, wildfire, and disaster reports, and preserves specified Smithsonian museums.
  • It transfers $763.5 million in unused infrastructure funding to wildland fire management, $65 million to Interior’s inspector general, and about $146.5 million to Forest Service operations, while barring the transferred wildfire funds from suppression operations.
  • It blocks funds from regulating certain livestock greenhouse gas emissions, manure-management reporting, and lead in ammunition or fishing tackle, and it maintains special rules for forest biomass energy, Alaska incinerators, and Alaska timber sales.