On May 20, the House Appropriations Committee passed its fiscal year (FY) 2027 Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act, which funds the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Bureau of Reclamation, Department of Energy (DOE), and several other related agencies. The bill provided $58.5 billion in total, $50.4 billion is directed towards the DOE,, including $27.1 billion for the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), $15.5 billion for DOE Energy Programs, and $7.7 billion for other defense programs, such as cleanup.

Similar Funding Levels to FY2026

The committee’s proposal would represent a slight increase for Energy Programs, depending on how you measure it. In FY2026, Congress appropriated $15.1 billion in new money for energy programs, but it also transferred $1.5 billion in previously appropriated IIJA funds, bringing total available funding up to $16.6 billion. For FY2027 the committee proposed to appropriate $15.5 billion proposed this year, more than FY2026 enacted level if not accounting for transferred funds. But with just $210 million in transferred funds from “previous years,” this year’s total available funding for DOE would be $15.7 billion, less than FY2026 level.

Overall, the proposed bill would maintain Energy Program funding at levels similar to last year. Science and Nuclear Energy, the largest Energy Programs, would see modest increases of 3% and 7% respectively, or a 1% increase for both if you account for last year’s transferred IIJA funds. Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation would see a minor increase of 5%, or a 34% decrease if you account for last year’s transferred IIJA funds. Funding for the Offices of Electricity, Cybersecurity, and Inspector General would remain largely constant.

Departure from the President’s Budget Request

Compared to the President’s budget request, the topline would represent a major increase in new appropriations. The Administration called for $13.2 billion in new funding but also proposed transferring $4.7 billion in IIJA funds.

The bill largely rejects the Administration’s proposed restructuring of DOE accounts. The budget request proposed six new offices or account structures: Baseload Power, Artificial Intelligence and Quantum (AIQ), Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation (CMEI), Hydrocarbons and Geothermal Energy (HGEO), Fusion, and Strategy and Technology Roadmaps. The committee-passed bill would only fund CMEI and HGEO accounts, which largely shift existing programs rather than creating entirely new ones.

The bill would not act on the budget proposal to permanently cancel $15.2 billion previously appropriated in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) or transfer $4.7 billion to new programs in FY2027. The bill would also continue funding the State and Community Weatherization Program, which the budget request proposed eliminating.

One notable area of overlap is proposed cuts to solar and wind energy research programs, which received $220 million and $100 million, respectively, last year. Both the President’s budget request and the committee proposal would eliminate those line items.