RELEASE: HILL VOTES TO PASS THREE FY26 APPROPRIATIONS BILLS

Rep. French Hill (AR-02) today released the following statement after the House passed three bipartisan government funding bills for Fiscal Year 2026 by a vote of 397-28: Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies; Commerce, Justice, Science; and Energy and Water:

"House Republicans are doing our part to move Congress back toward responsible governance. Today, we passed three more appropriations bills, bringing our total to six of the twelve needed to fully fund the government for fiscal year 2026.

"This is how Congress is supposed to work, with members debating and voting on spending bills instead of relying on continuing resolutions. Today's bipartisan bills cut wasteful spending, advance conservative priorities, and protect resources that Arkansas families and communities rely on. That's the kind of responsible governance the American people expect, and that's what Republicans are working to deliver."

Further Background:

These appropriations bills fund the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies, Commerce, Justice, Science, and Energy and Water for Fiscal Year 2026. During the House Appropriations process, Rep. Hill wrote in support of the following programs benefiting central Arkansas, which were included in the bills below:

Energy and Water:

• $47.2 million for Corps of Engineers Operation and Maintenance Additional Funding for Ongoing Work Inland Waterways maintenance, for which McClennan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System. Oklahoma can compete in addition to $60.5 million included for the project from the budget request.
• $531.6 million for Corps of Engineers Mississippi Rivers and Tributaries.
• $1.8 billion for the Department of Energy's Office of Nuclear Energy
• $1 million for expanding rural capabilities of the ETAC in the Department of Energy.

Interior and Environment:

• $45 million for the Forest Service Recreation, Heritage, and Wilderness, which supports the Wild and Scenic Rivers System.
• $49 million for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service North American Wetlands Conservation Fund (NAWCA).
• $25.2 million for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Technical Assistance for Wastewater Treatment Works grant program.
• $30.7 million for the EPA's National Priorities Rural Water Technical Assistance grant programs, including $26 million for Grassroots Rural and Small Community Water Systems Assistance Act grants, $3.45 million for grants to qualified not-for-profit organizations for technical assistance for individuals and private well owners, and $1.25 million for grants to qualified organizations for the sole purpose of providing on-site training and technical assistance for wastewater systems.

Commerce, Justice, Science

• $30 million for the Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Patrick Leahy Bulletproof Vest Partnership Repayment grant program.
• $44 million for the Regional Information Sharing Systems program within the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) hiring program.