Today, Congressman Guthrie (KY-02) issued the following statement following the House passage of H.R. 4553, the Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2026.
“I was proud to vote in favor of this legislation, which fulfills President Trump’s priorities of asserting military deterrence through investing in America’s nuclear capabilities, unleashing our nation’s vast energy potential, and supporting the construction of important water infrastructure to grow our economy,” said Congressman Brett Guthrie. “As a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, I am glad to see the House pass legislation to fund essential Department of Energy priorities to unleash American energy and bolster our national security."
Background:
H.R. 4553 delivers on Republicans’ commitment by allocating $57.3 billion to utilize America’s energy potential, invest in America’s water infrastructure, and exert deterrence on the world stage through modernizing our nuclear weapons technologies.
This legislation notably funds:
– $20.662 billion for the continued modernization of the nuclear weapons stockpile and infrastructure.
– $2.171 billion to support the U.S. Navy’s nuclear fleet by investing in infrastructure and new technologies to maintain America’s advantage over our adversaries.
– $1.984 billion to reduce the danger of hostile nations or terrorist groups acquiring nuclear weapons.
– $9.883 billion for the Army Corps of Engineers, restoring full funding for the water resources development program.
This bill also:
– Prohibits the sale of crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to the Chinese Communist Party.
– Prohibits access to U.S. nuclear weapons production facilities by citizens of China and Russia.
– Prohibits the purchase of technology and telecommunications equipment from China and other adversaries.
– Supporting one of the largest investments focused on mining production technologies for critical minerals extraction in decades, reducing reliance on foreign sources.
– Funds small modular reactor and advanced reactor demonstration projects as well as increasing funding for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to expand capacity for the review, licensing, and oversight of new nuclear reactors.
More information about the Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2026 prior to amendments can be found here.
