< Back to Current Version

Bureau of Reclamation: FY2026 Budget and Appropriations

Changes from July 17, 2025 to December 15, 2025

This page shows textual changes in the document between the two versions indicated in the dates above. Textual matter removed in the later version is indicated with red strikethrough and textual matter added in the later version is indicated with blue.

Bureau of Reclamation: FY2026 Budget and Appropriations
July 17Updated December 15, 2025 (IF13066)

The Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), part of the Department of the Interior, is primarily responsible for the construction and operation of hundreds of large dams and water diversion structures in the 17 western Reclamation States, as designated in statute (43 U.S.C. §391). Reclamation is the largest wholesale supplier of water in these 17 states and the second-largest hydroelectric power producer in the nation. Reclamation's mission areas and geographic scope are narrower than those of the other principal federal water resource agency, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Reclamation's Water and Related Resources account funds most agency activities, including construction, operations and maintenance, dam safety, and Indian water rights settlements Reclamation's Water and Related Resources account funds most agency activities, as well as the agency's programmatic and grant authorities. These authorities cover (e.g., water reuse and recycling, desalination, conservation and efficiency, and aquatic ecosystem restorationand conservation/efficiency, among other purposes). Reclamation typically also receives funding for three smaller accounts: California Bay-Delta Restoration, the Central Valley Project Restoration Fund (which is offset by customer receipts), and Policy and Administration.

FY2026 Budget and Appropriations

The Administration usually requestsAdministrations typically have requested a lower amount for Reclamation than the final enacted total of annual appropriations. For FY2026, President Trump requested the lowest funding level for Reclamation since the FY2017 budget request. The FY2026 budget proposesThe FY2026 budget proposed $1.273 billion in current budget authority for Reclamation, or $587 million (32%) less than the $1.860 billion Congress approved for FY2025 in the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025 (P.L. 119-4, also referred to as; the full-year continuing resolution [CR]).

In addition to regular annual appropriations, Congress has provided Reclamation with supplemental appropriations in three separate bills over the past five years, all of which would augment discretionary funding in FY2026. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (P.L. 117-58) included $8.30 billion total, to be made available in equal installments from FY2022 to FY2026 (i.e., $1.660 billion per year). Separately, P.L. 117-169 (popularly known as the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, or IRA) provided Reclamation with $4.590 billion in funding, including $4.0 billion for western drought mitigation. IRA funding is to remain available until FY2026 or FY2031, depending on the provision, and is being obligated on a rolling basis. Most recently, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (P.L. 119-21) appropriated another $1.0The House-passed FY2026 Energy and Water (E&W) Appropriations bill (H.R. 4553) and the Senate-introduced FY2026 E&W Appropriations bill (S. 3293) both would provide more funding than the Administration's budget request for Reclamation (Figure 1).

Figure 1. Reclamation Annual Appropriations, FY2016-FY2025, and Proposed Levels for FY2026

Source: CRS, based on enacted appropriations, FY2026 budget request (FY26 Req), H.R. 4553 (FY26 Hse), S. 3293 (FY26 Senate). Inflation adjustment based on FY2026 Budget Request, Historical Table 10.1.

Notes: Amounts do not reflect supplemental funding or offsetting receipts. CR = P.L. 119-4.

Additional Funding Available for FY2026

Congress approved supplemental appropriations for Reclamation in three separate bills since 2020: the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (P.L. 117-58; IIJA) included $8.3 billion total, made available in equal installments from FY2022 to FY2026 (i.e., $1.660 billion per year); P.L. 117-169 provided Reclamation with $4.590 billion in funding (available through FY2026 or FY2031), $4.0 billion of which was for western drought mitigation; and P.L. 119-21 appropriated $1.000 billion to Reclamation for FY2025 (available through FY2034) for projects that increase the capacity of Reclamation surface water storage projects.

Figure 1. Reclamation Annual Appropriations, FY2016-FY2026 Budget Request

Source: CRS, based on FY2017-FY2025 enacted appropriations and FY2026 budget request. Inflation adjustment to FY2024 dollars based on Office of Management and Budget (OMB) FY2026 Budget, Historical Table 10.1.

Notes: Amounts do not reflect supplemental funding or offsetting receipts. CR = P.L. 119-4.

The FY2026 Senate-introduced E&W bill proposes transferring $200 million of aging infrastructure funding in the IIJA to fund FY2026 discretionary Water and Related Resources activities. Additional Funding and "Earmarks"

Reclamation's Water and Related Resources account consists largely of individual project funding lines. During the 112th-116th Congresses, Reclamation appropriations were subject to general earmark moratoriums that restricted Congress from funding geographically specific project line items not requested by the Administration. Instead, Congress included Additional Funding amounts for selectedspecified categories of Reclamation projects, typically in five categories:such as Rural Water, Water Conservation and Delivery, Environmental Restoration and Compliance, Fish Passage/Fish Screens, and Facilities Maintenance and Rehabilitation. The Administration allocated these funds for specific projects in spend plans made available several months after enactment of the appropriations bills.

In the 117th and 118th Congresses, appropriations recommendations includedCongress has recommended earmarks (now categorized as community project funding [CPF] or congressionally directed spending [CDS] in the House and Senate, respectively). Congress has recommended funding CPF/CDS items in Reclamation's Water and Related Resources account, in addition to amounts designated as "Additional Funding" (i.e., funding to be allocated in subsequent work plans). For FY2025, P.L. 119-4 approved no new CPF/CDS projects. For FY2026, House and Senate proposals once again included these projects in different amountsAdditional Funding. For FY2025 appropriations, H.R. 8997 recommended $279 million for Additional Funding and $9 million in CPF, while S. 4927 recommended $287 million in Additional Funding and $63 million for CDS. P.L. 119-4 approved no new CPF/CDS projects for FY2025 and reduced Reclamation's total Water and Related Resources Account appropriation by $41 million (i.e., the FY2024 total for CPF/CDS projects). Recent CPF/CDS and Additional Funding levels are shown below in Figure 2.

Figure 2

. Congressionally Added Funding in Reclamation Annual Appropriations, FY2016FY2017-FY2025, and Proposed Levels for FY2026 Source: CRS, based on enacted appropriations and FY2026 proposals. Inflation adjustment based on -FY2025

Source: CRS, based on FY2016-FY2025 appropriations. Inflation adjustment to FY2024 dollars based on OMB FY2026 Budget Historical Table 10.1.

Notes: CPF/CDS = community project funding/congressionally directed spending. CR = P.L. 119-4. .

Reclamation Appropriations Issues

WIIN Act Section 4007 Funding

Section 4007 of the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act (WIIN Act; P.L. 114-322) authorized a process for Reclamation to study and construct federal and nonfederal water storage projects. For projects to receive funding under Section 4007, Congress first appropriates funds under this authority. Then, the Administration recommends specific projects to fund using those appropriations. Congress approves thesemust approve recommendations by project in enacted appropriations legislation.

From FY2017 through FY2025, Congress provided approximately $988 million in regular appropriations for these projects. Congress has approved Administration recommendations forAs of late 2025, Congress had approved $948 million of this funding for 13 projects in California, Washington, and Idaho. In FY2025, the Administration's operating plan for the full-year CR included $50 million in new Section 4007 project funding for future allocations. The FY2026 request includes no included no new funding for Section 4007 projects. H.R. 4553 stipulated that $201 million in Additional Funds for Water Conservation and Delivery would go toward Section 4007 projects; the Senate Committee provided no funding for these projects in S. 3293 or in a draft report released by the Senate Appropriations Committeefunding for Section 4007 projects.

WaterSMART Program

Reclamation combines funding for six subprograms (many of them awarded as grants) that promote water conservation into one program—the WaterSMART program. The subprograms include WaterSMART Grants; Title XVI projects (i.e., water recycling and reuse projects); the Drought Response Program; Water Conservation Field Services; the Cooperative Watershed Management Program; Basin Studies; and Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration Grants. In its operating plan for FY2025, the Administration allocated $90 million for the WaterSMART program, a $57 million decrease from the FY2024 enacted amount. For FY2025FY2026, the President's budget requested no funding for any of the programs under WaterSMARTWaterSMART programs, while the House and Senate Committee proposals recommended $90 million and $145 million, respectively (Figure 3).

Figure 3. WaterSMART Program: Annual Appropriations from FY2016-FY2026 Budget Request

FY2017 to FY2025, and Proposed Levels for FY2026

Source: CRS, based on FY2016-FY2025enacted appropriations and FY2026 budget requestproposals. Inflation adjustment to 2024 dollars based on OMB FY2026 Budget, Historical Table 10.1.

Notes: Amounts do not reflect supplemental funding. CR = P.L. 119-4.

Additional Reading