The U.S. Senate has passed three fiscal year 2026 appropriations bills, marking what some lawmakers see as a return to regular order in the legislative process. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, supported the passage of these funding bills and highlighted the shift from previous years.
According to Hyde-Smith, “Taking up annual appropriations bills under regular order shouldn’t be a rare occurrence in the Senate, but has been unfortunately. I’m very pleased our Republican leaders committed to making time for all Senators to have a chance to debate and amend the bills we produce in the Appropriations Committee.”
This is reportedly the first time since 2018 that such spending measures have been approved before the August recess. In recent sessions under Democratic leadership, Hyde-Smith noted that the Senate did not consider any annual appropriations bills.
The three pieces of legislation sent forward include funding for agriculture and rural development (including oversight for agencies like the Food and Drug Administration), military construction and veterans affairs, and operations of Congress itself.
Hyde-Smith stated, “I’ve worked to ensure each of these bills takes into account Mississippi’s interests, whether that be rural development and infrastructure support from the USDA, construction projects at our military bases, or the safety of Mississippians who visit our nation’s capital. I look forward to conferring with the House to finalize these bills and to the Senate considering more 2026 funding bills.”
For Mississippi specifically, Hyde-Smith sought provisions within agriculture funding for water system repairs, watershed improvements, flood prevention efforts, and responses to animal disease outbreaks such as Chronic Wasting Disease and avian influenza.
She also worked with colleagues on $60 million in military construction funds designated for facilities including Key Field-Meridian, Columbus Air Force Base, Stennis Space Center, Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC), and Mississippi National Guard installations in Hattiesburg.
The Legislative Branch Appropriations Bill allocates resources for congressional operations as well as entities such as U.S. Capitol Police and Library of Congress.
These three measures are part of eight total annual spending bills advanced by committee so far this year; four more are expected for consideration after lawmakers return in September.
