The House Appropriations Committee approved its fiscal 2026 Commerce-Justice-Science spending bill Wednesday, including an amendment prohibiting the Trump administration from closing NOAA laboratories and ending university-based cooperatives that provide fundamental research on extreme weather and climate disasters. The spending package, which passed 34-28 along party lines, also includes a manager’s amendment requiring NOAA to advance research on early prediction and warning systems for flood disasters in rural areas, provide support for NOAA’s Hurricane Hunter program and fund coral reef research institutes on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts.

Other federal water law news:

• E&E News by Politico: Senate approves bipartisan oceans, wildfire bills
• Congressman Jim Costa: News release: Rep. Jim Costa pushes to enhance federal incentives for water conservation and farmland restoration​​