Senate Committee Approves FY24 Energy and Water Development Appropriations Bill

Washington, D.C. – The Senate Committee on Appropriations today approved the Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24) Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act, providing support to advance America’s energy independence and improve water infrastructure across the country.

The measure, which was advanced by a bipartisan vote of 29-0, provides $58.095 billion in discretionary funding, including $33.422 billion in defense funding and $24.673 billion in non-defense funding.

“The Energy and Water Development bill will help strengthen America’s energy independence, supporting an all-of-the-above approach to energy research, development, and deployment efforts,” said Senator Collins.  “At a time when geopolitical tensions are growing, this bill also ensures our nuclear deterrent remains robust and credible, and it takes critical steps to lessen our reliance on Russian-sourced uranium.  I thank Ranking Member Kennedy for his work on this bill, and as the Vice Chairman of the Appropriations Committee, I will continue to advocate for this funding as the appropriations process moves forward.”

“Making America’s economy and national security strong were guiding priorities for this legislation.  This bill increases U.S. investment in key defense programs by 6%, ups our investment in nuclear energy and in producing its fuel sources right here at home, and cuts wasteful non-defense spending.  Moreover, we’re increasing the Army Corps of Engineers’ funding by 20% over the president’s budget so that the Corps can keep protecting and strengthening American communities,” said Senator John Kennedy, Ranking Member of the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Subcommittee.

Bill Highlights:

Army Corps of Engineers: $8.934 billion for the Army Corps of Engineers’ Civil Works program to reduce flood risk, increase the resiliency of our coastlines, improve the navigability of our ports, and restore ecosystems that have been impacted by Corps projects.

Department of the Interior: $1.941 billion for the Department of the Interior and the Bureau of Reclamation to help manage, develop, and protect water resources in the western United States.

Department of Energy Defense Programs: $32.8 billion

• Weapons Activities: $18.8 billion, a 10 percent increase in funding above the FY23 enacted level, for production modernization activities, plutonium pits, and warhead life extensions.

• Nuclear-Armed Sea-Launched Cruise Missile: $35 million to fund the research and development of a sea-launched variant of the W80-4 cruise missile warhead.

• Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation: $2.6 billion for the Department’s worldwide efforts to secure nuclear materials and keep weapons from falling into the wrong hands.  The bill also supports domestic and international nuclear incident response capabilities.

• Naval Reactors: $1.9 billion to continue support for our Navy’s nuclear-powered fleet, and to provide robust funding for research and development for our future generations of nuclear-powered warships.  

Department of Energy Non-Defense Programs: $17.3 billion

• Nuclear Energy: $2.7 billion, including increases in funding for small modular reactors and for advanced nuclear fuel availability to help reduce the nation’s dependence on foreign sources for uranium.

• Fossil Energy and Carbon Management: $892 million to support research and development for carbon management technologies, as well as the research, operations, and infrastructure at the National Energy Technology Laboratory.

• Office of Science: $8.4 billion to support cutting-edge research at our national laboratories.

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