On January 6, 2025, House and Senate appropriators introduced the next package of full-year appropriations bills (H.R.6938) that Congress plans to advance.[1] It includes Interior-Environment, Commerce-Science-Justice, and Energy-Water. Congress will look to pass this package before the current continuing resolution runs out on January 30, 2026. We expect that this package will be enacted without any significant amendments or changes.
The Interior-Environment bill outlines FY 2026 funding levels for the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), Bureau of Indian Education (BIE), and Indian Health Service (IHS). In general, all three agencies are protected from cuts, demonstrating Congress’s continued bipartisan and bicameral commitment to Indian Country programs.
- BIA. The bill provides $2.49 billion to the BIA, a slight increase of $15 million from FY 2025 enacted levels. Most of that increase is reserved for the Public Safety and Justice account. The bill also fully funds contract support costs and section 105(l) leases.
- BIE. The bill flat funds the BIE at $1.36 billion. No accounts were increased or decreased.
- IHS. The bill includes $8.05 billion for the IHS. All programmatic accounts received nominal increases or were flat-funded. It also provides FY 2027 advance appropriations and continues to fully fund contract support costs and section 105(l) leases.
Compromise FY 2026 funding levels for the Native American Programs in the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) have not yet been released.
[1] Key links: (1) Interior-Environment summary; (2) Interior-Environment earmark disclosure; and (3) Interior-Environment Committee Report.
