Congress releases conferenced FY2026 Interior spending bill

The congressional appropriators released the conference agreement on the Fiscal Year 2026 Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, part of a three-bill minibus that also includes Commerce, Justice and Science, and Energy and Water Development funding.

The agreement represents a negotiated compromise between the House and Senate and is now headed to the floor of both chambers for final consideration before the Jan. 30 government funding deadline. The bill sets annual funding levels for the USFWS, USGS, BLM and other agencies that manage public lands, implement wildlife conservation, and conduct ecosystem-level science.

Program highlights

The spending levels proposed in the conferenced bill are, in many cases, markedly different from the administration’s budget proposal released earlier this year. It rejects the elimination of program funding requested in the president’s proposal for many key conservation programs. Still, Congress is proposing funding cuts across the majority of these programs compared to FY2025.

What’s next?

Conference leaders released the agreement on Jan. 5, 2026, emphasizing bipartisan negotiation to advance regular appropriations. With a looming funding deadline of Jan. 30, Congress must pass the minibus or another continuing resolution to avoid a partial government shutdown.

This Interior and Environment funding package will now move to the House and Senate floors for final votes, where members will consider the full set of federal wildlife, land management and conservation investments for FY2026.