WASHINGTON, D.C. – Republican chairs of Senate and House Appropriations subcommittees for Energy and Water expect to hold a conference meeting in late January to blend their two versions of a fiscal 2026 spending plan, Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.), said Monday.
Fleischmann, the chair of the House Appropriations Energy and Water subcommittee, said he and Senate counterpart John Kennedy (R-La.) will discuss and combine, both their appropriations bills at that time.
Fleischmann expressed confidence the government would reopen “this week.” He made his comments at a panel at the 2025 American Nuclear Society Winter Conference and Expo in Washington, D.C.
The House, prior to the lapse in appropriations that has been ongoing since Oct. 1, passed its version of the fiscal 2026 Energy and Water appropriations bill that would give the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) over $25 billion. The DOE Office of Environmental Management would receive a little under $8 billion.
Meanwhile, the Senate’s version of the bill did not even reach the subcommittee level.
There were reports in August and September of disagreement between Kennedy and subcommittee ranking member Patty Murray (D-Wash.). Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), chair of the full appropriations committee, was also involved, and Kennedy told the Exchange Monitor in September outside the Senate speaker’s lobby he met with Collins about his budget he wanted to push through, but “haven’t heard a word from Senator Murray.”
Fleischmann added he has a “very good partner” in Kennedy, and the two “work very well together.”