Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2026
Floor Speech
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Mr. CLOUD. Mr. Chairman, I thank our chairman for his great work on this bill. I am happy to say that this bill supports the much-needed transition away from the policies of the previous administration in regard to energy and water and puts us on the right path, which is much needed, to support the President's agenda.
It does this in a few ways. It cuts waste, fraud, and abuse. It preserves our nuclear stockpiles so America can continue the President's mandate of peace through strength, and it works to restore our energy dominance and security that President Trump accomplished in his first administration. Yet, the Biden administration worked to undermine us at every step along the way.
Mr. Chair, $5.1 billion in green new energy scam funds are being transferred to various nuclear programs, including the Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program, which helps companies get closer to building nuclear facilities. This is extremely important.
We saw how the EV mandates and the policies of the previous administration spent billions and billions building only a handful of charging stations, again undermining America's energy dominance.
In the base of this bill, there is $50 million for the ARDP demonstration programs and $77 million for risk-reduction projects. We secured close to $5 billion in Army Corps projects that improve navigation and operating waterways for vessels which strengthens our economy, helps us to export, and helps us to lead on the world stage.
Projects like the Matagorda and Corpus Christi Ship Channel projects provide waterways for imports and exports, resources like LNG, crude oil, fertilizers, chemicals, and petrochemicals. The Corpus Christi Ship Channel alone exports the highest amount of crude oil in the country and is one of the top exporters of LNG to our allies and friends around the world, being the number one energy export port in the world.
Water is going to be a major issue as we continue to go forward and develop. There is language in here that points to desalination projects to help receive research and development funds so we can continue to lead, grow, and develop, and it contains language for the Bureau of Reclamation to develop seawater desalination facilities as we continue to move forward.
Mr. Chair, I thank the chairman for his leadership on this and for the great work in supporting the President's agenda.
Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.
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