The Senate Appropriations Committee on [date not specified] voted to report favorably the fiscal year 2026 Interior, Environment and Related Agencies appropriations bill, moving the measure to the Senate floor.

Chair Susan Collins, presiding over the committee, said the bill “provides resources for the management and conservation of public lands while fostering economic development through critical energy programs.” Vice Chair Patty Murray described the measure as a “serious bipartisan compromise” that protects national parks, funds firefighting and sustains tribal programs.

The bill provides $41,500,000,000 for the Department of the Interior, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Forest Service, the Indian Health Service and related accounts, according to remarks from subcommittee leaders. Sponsors said the text includes targeted increases and strategic cuts to balance priorities: maintaining national park operations, investing in wildfire suppression and preparedness, and funding tribal programs and community services.

Senator Lisa Murkowski, chair of the Interior subcommittee, said the measure “includes $41,500,000,000 for the Department of Interior, the EPA, the Forest Service, the Indian Health Service, and the arts” and that it provides nearly $4,000,000,000 for suppression efforts. She said the bill also preserves funding to address invasive species and supports the USGS, Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management and other DOI bureaus.

Senator Jeff Merkley, the subcommittee’s ranking member, said the bill sustains funding for park operations and tribal programs and keeps advanced appropriations for the Indian Health Service. Merkley also said the measure includes language requiring public land agencies to maintain staffing levels to carry out missions such as tribal consultation and maintenance of infrastructure.

Committee members adopted a manager’s package negotiated by subcommittee leaders by unanimous consent. Senator Reid offered, and then withdrew, an amendment that would have protected National Endowment for the Arts and National Endowment for the Humanities funds from being reprogrammed for an unauthorized “Garden of Heroes” project; Reid said he withdrew the amendment after acknowledging accountability measures in the manager’s package.

The committee recorded the motion to report the Interior bill favorably and, after roll call, reported the bill. Updated tallies reported in committee statements put the final vote at 26 ayes and 2 nays. The committee chair authorized offering the bill as a committee amendment to the House companion measure on the floor.

Discussion vs. action: Members debated funding priorities, staffing and program protections in committee debate; the manager’s package and the bill as reported are formal committee actions. A separate floor consideration may change provisions.

What’s next: The committee majority said it will continue appropriations work and expects floor consideration of bills reported out of the committee.