U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), who serves on the Senate Appropriations Committee, voted in favor of advancing the FY2026 Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill. The committee approved the measure with a 26-2 vote, sending it to the full Senate for debate.
The appropriations bill allocates funding for several federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of the Interior, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the U.S. Forest Service.
“Mississippi, unlike western states, doesn’t have a lot of federal land holdings, but the Interior appropriations bill is important for the help it can give our communities to address water and wastewater infrastructure and historical site management. I am pleased to support this measure and look forward to its consideration by the full Senate,” Hyde-Smith said.
The legislation includes $2.8 billion for EPA’s Clean Water and Drinking Water Revolving Funds. These funds have been used by communities across Mississippi to improve water systems and wastewater infrastructure.
Mississippi’s national parks would also receive support from $3.3 billion allocated nationally for park operations, preservation of historic sites, and maintaining staff levels to manage visitor services.
With this bill’s approval, six out of twelve annual appropriations bills have cleared the Senate Appropriations Committee. Senate Majority Leader Thune has stated that these measures will be brought before the full Senate for further consideration. Earlier in the week, senators agreed to proceed with debate on the FY2026 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Bill.
