HR9022-119

What This Bill Does

This bill is the fiscal year 2027 Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies appropriations act. It funds and controls water infrastructure, reclamation, Department of Energy, nuclear energy, intelligence-related energy activities, and Nuclear Regulatory Commission operations for the year ending September 30, 2027. The bill is not just a spending bill: it sets strict reprogramming rules for the Army Corps, Bureau of Reclamation, DOE, and NRC; extends or increases several western water and rural water authorities; restricts China-linked energy and nuclear activities; moves $2.675 billion from prior infrastructure-law energy accounts into nuclear energy; and blocks some policy actions such as the DOE federal-building clean-energy rule and unauthorized consolidated interim spent-fuel storage.

Who Benefits and How

Appropriations Committees benefit from tighter control over agency transfers, reprogrammings, new starts, large DOE awards, NRC reprogramming, and quarterly reporting. Army Corps water projects gain emergency reprogramming flexibility, eligible Corps projects receive additional funding only when the Chief of Engineers determines eligibility, and the Fish and Wildlife Service can receive up to $8.733 million from Corps operation and maintenance funds to mitigate fisheries losses from Corps projects. Western water users and local water systems benefit from extended or increased authority for WIIN Act water storage, wastewater and groundwater facilities, desalination, Calfed Bay-Delta work, the Northwestern New Mexico Rural Water Projects Act, and the Fort Peck Reservation Rural Water System. Nuclear energy developers benefit from a major transfer of prior unobligated balances: $2.675 billion moves into Nuclear Energy for Generation 3+ small modular reactor deployment, Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program awards, and future-demonstration risk reduction, plus $100 million moves into the Title 17 Innovative Technology Loan Guarantee Program.

Who Bears the Burden and How

The Army Corps, Bureau of Reclamation, DOE, and NRC face detailed notification, prior approval, waiver, and reporting requirements before shifting funds or making large awards. DOE award recipients face added restrictions: entities of concern cannot receive grants, contracts, cooperative agreements, or loans of $10 million or more; non-U.S. citizens from Russia or China cannot enter nuclear weapons production facilities without advance congressional notice; and high-hazard nuclear construction, large construction decisions, and awards above $100 million require independent oversight or project-management controls. Chinese Communist Party-linked entities and buyers in China are blocked from receiving Strategic Petroleum Reserve petroleum products, and DOE must screen entities of concern using risk-based tools. Private parties pursuing consolidated interim storage of spent nuclear fuel bear a direct restriction unless federal law authorizes the agreement and host state, local, and affected Tribal governments consent.

Key Provisions

• Restricts Army Corps reprogramming in title I, sets thresholds for investigations, construction, operation and maintenance, Mississippi River and Tributaries accounts, and emergency response, and requires a baseline report within 60 days.
• Lets the Secretary of the Army transfer up to $8.733 million to the Fish and Wildlife Service for fisheries mitigation tied to Corps projects, while limiting open-lake placement of Lake Erie dredged material unless state water quality certification approves it.
• Restricts Bureau of Reclamation reprogramming for Water and Related Resources, requires quarterly reports, and makes San Luis Unit drainage work fully reimbursable by beneficiaries after a California water-quality plan.
• Extends or increases western water authorities, including WIIN Act storage authorities through 2027 or 2034, Reclamation wastewater and groundwater funding to $177.5 million, desalination funding to $106.5 million, Calfed Bay-Delta authority through 2027 with a $40 million figure, Northwestern New Mexico rural water funding to $1.97 billion, and Fort Peck rural water authority through 2028.
• Restricts DOE from starting unfunded programs, making large grant or contract awards without notice, entering unfunded multiyear agreements, or reprogramming funds beyond thresholds without prior approval, while allowing health, environment, welfare, or national security waivers.
• Adds China, Russia, and nuclear-security controls by barring Strategic Petroleum Reserve sales to CCP-controlled entities or China exports, barring DOE awards of $10 million or more to entities of concern, and restricting entry by non-U.S. citizens from Russia or China to nuclear weapons production facilities without notice.
• Requires independent oversight for high-hazard nuclear facility construction, independent cost estimates for major DOE construction decision points over $100 million, and independent project-management procedures for DOE awards above $100 million.
• Transfers $2.675 billion from prior carbon dioxide infrastructure, energy efficiency, clean energy demonstration, and fossil energy balances into Nuclear Energy for small modular reactor and advanced reactor demonstration purposes, plus $100 million to the Title 17 loan guarantee program.
• Requires NRC to follow its internal congressional-information procedures, imposes NRC reprogramming and monthly reporting rules, and bars unauthorized consolidated interim storage of spent nuclear fuel without host government and Tribal consent.
• Blocks funds for lobbying Congress, unauthorized title III transfers, computer networks without pornography blocking, and agreements among private entities for consolidated interim spent-fuel storage without legal authorization and consent.