"GOP lawmakers could nab hundreds of millions of dollars for major water projects if fiscal 2026 spending bills become law." 

"When Congress failed to pass bipartisan spending bills for the current fiscal year, lawmakers went back to their states and districts empty-handed, with no earmarked funding to show off for local projects.

Now, members are making up for lost time, loading up fiscal 2026 appropriations bills with billions of dollars in old and new earmarks — directed at everything from water infrastructure projects to research centers, airport upgrades and energy efficient housing.

Senior House and Senate Republicans are dominating the earmark bonanza for the third consecutive year, leading all lawmakers in earmarked dollars and notching major wins for water projects, according to an analysis by POLITICO’s E&E News. While Democrats have secured thousands of earmarks, they are receiving a much smaller portion of the overall funding.

Former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), the most senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, is the top earmark winner by far, on track to come away with more than half a billion dollars for Kentucky.

Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.), chair of the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Subcommittee, is once again in first place among all House members thanks to a massive earmark for a beleaguered lock and dam project."

Andres Picon reports for E&E News September 3, 2025. [2]