HYDE-SMITH WELCOMES RETURN TO REGULAR ORDER AS SENATE PASSES THREE FY2026 FUNDING BILLS
Votes for Senate Passage of Agriculture, Military Construction-VA & Legislative Branch Appropriations Bills – Achieved Under Republican Leadership
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), who serves on the Senate Appropriations Committee, today voted for Senate passage of three FY2026 appropriations bills, the strongest signal yet that under Republican leadership the Senate is returning to regular order.
Under Democrat leadership in the last Congress, the Senate was never given a chance to consider any of the annual appropriations bills. In contrast, under Republican leadership, the Senate, with Hyde-Smith’s support, approved a package of three funding bills.
“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,” Hyde-Smith said.
This is the first time since 2018 that the Senate has approved spending bills before the August recess.
The three bills approved by the Senate and made ready for conference committee negotiations with the House of Representatives include the:
• FY2026 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill;
• FY2026 Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies (MilCon-VA) Appropriations Act; and,
• FY2026 Legislative Branch Appropriations Act.
“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,” Hyde-Smith said. “I look forward to conferring with the House to finalize these bills and to the Senate considering more 2026 funding bills.”
Among the provisions requested by Hyde-Smith for Mississippi in the Agriculture Appropriations Bill are resources to help respond to water system failures, to carry out watershed and flood prevention improvements in Mississippi watersheds, and to combat animal disease outbreaks like Chronic Wasting Disease and the avian influenza. For more details, click here.
Hyde-Smith also worked with the MilCon-VA Appropriations Subcommittee to secure $60 million in military construction funding for projects at Key Field-Meridian, Columbus Air Force Base, Stennis Space Center, Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC), and the Mississippi National Guard in Hattiesburg. For more details, click here.
The Legislative Branch Appropriations Bill provides funding for the Senate, House of Representatives, U.S. Capitol Police, Congressional Budget Office, Architect of the Capitol, Library of Congress, and Government Accountability Office. Read a summary here.
The three bills are among the eight annual spending bills approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee to date for the 2026 fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1. The Senate Appropriations Committee is expected to take up the remaining four bills in September.
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