Congress Finalizes 2026 Funding Package for Water Infrastructure, Energy Programs, and Nuclear Defense

The bill funds salaries and operations across the Army Corps of Engineers, Department of Energy, Bureau of Reclamation, and multiple independent agencies. While it maintains or increases funding for many programs, it bans the use of any funds for diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, training, programs, offices, or officers — directly affecting workplace policies for tens of thousands of federal workers at these agencies.

Section 108 permanently prohibits the Army from enforcing regulations that ban individuals from possessing firearms at Army Corps of Engineers water resources development projects like lakes and recreation areas, as long as the person is legally allowed to own a gun and follows state law. This opens up thousands of federal recreation sites to legal gun possession.

The bill does not directly target veterans programs, but it funds the National Nuclear Security Administration at over $25 billion for nuclear weapons modernization and defense activities that support national security infrastructure. Naval Reactors receives over $2.1 billion. These investments indirectly support the defense industrial base that many veterans have served.

Section 505 bans all funds from being used for diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, which often include LGBTQ workplace protections and training. Section 506 prohibits using any funds to take 'discriminatory action' against anyone who speaks or acts based on a belief that marriage should be between one man and one woman, effectively shielding opposition to same-sex marriage from any consequences in federally funded contexts. Section 508 bans flying any flag other than the U.S. flag, government seals, or POW/MIA flags at federal facilities, which would prohibit Pride flags.

The bill provides $8.4 billion for the Department of Energy's Office of Science, which funds national laboratories and research programs where thousands of graduate students and postdoctoral researchers work. However, Section 505's ban on DEI programs could affect campus recruitment programs and fellowship opportunities that promote diversity in STEM fields at DOE-funded institutions.