Senator John Kennedy (R-La.), who serves as Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, voted in favor of the Fiscal Year 2026 Energy and Water Development Appropriations conference bill. The legislation passed the U.S. Senate with an 82-15 vote.
Kennedy stated, “President Biden left Americans with sky-high electricity bills, a drained national fuel reserve, and a mountain of red tape that strangled energy production and cut good-paying jobs. That wasn’t governing—it was failure. President Trump’s energy agenda brings common sense back to Washington and puts American energy dominance back within reach.
“The FY 2026 Energy and Water Development Appropriations bill delivers real results for Louisianans and the American people by reducing waste, strengthening our nation’s energy and nuclear security, and providing real flood protection. I’m proud this bill is becoming law. The era of Biden’s anti-energy policies is over, and President Trump should sign this bill without hesitation,” said Kennedy.
Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine), Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, also expressed support for the bill. She said, “This legislation will help strengthen America’s energy independence, supporting an all-of-the-above approach to energy research, development, and deployment efforts. The bill provides strong support for our national defense by meeting the needs of our nuclear deterrence posture during this period of growing geopolitical tensions.?At home, the bill funds critical Army Corps of Engineers water infrastructure projects, which provide for safe navigation and flood control.”
The appropriations measure includes several Louisiana-focused projects: $131.5 million for advancing flood protection features in coastal Louisiana through the Morganza to the Gulf Project; $43.6 million for operations at West Bank and Vicinity Project; $23 million for design work on levees in Upper Barataria Basin; $20 million for rock stabilization at Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge; $7 million to advance design on MRGO Ecosystem Restoration Project; funding ranging from $5 million to under $1 million allocated to various other flood mitigation efforts across regions such as Atchafalaya Basin, St. Tammany Parish, Pointe Celeste Pumping Station rehabilitation, Houma Navigation Canal dredging plans, Grambling Community Energy Grid Strengthening initiative, South Central Coastal Flood Mitigation design work, Southeast Louisiana Flood Risk Reduction planning strategies, Lake Pontchartrain flood reduction studies.
Overall highlights include a base discretionary total of $58 billion—$34.2 billion in defense funding and $23.8 billion in non-defense spending—with priority given to core national energy and defense needs. The bill provides $10.4 billion for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Civil Works program aimed at reducing flood risk and improving coastal resiliency among other goals; it allocates $25.4 billion for National Nuclear Security Administration activities—an increase over previous levels—and invests in both traditional nuclear energy ($1.8 billion) as well as advanced reactors ($3.1 billion).
Senator Kennedy represents Louisiana in the United States Senate where he supports policies benefiting veterans, farmers, small businesses and national security while serving on committees including Appropriations, Budget, Energy and Natural Resources [source]. He engages constituents through newsletters, town halls and public events [source], operates district offices across several cities in Louisiana [source], chairs key committees [source], offers services such as assistance with federal agencies [source], and influences policy decisions relevant to his state [source].
The full text of the FY 2026 Energy and Water Development Appropriations conference bill is available online.
