The Senate Appropriations Committee approved its FY2016 Energy and Water spending bill on Thursday, May 21^st, after a markup where lawmakers debated funding levels for the bill’s programs, including those at the Department of Energy (DOE), Department of Interior, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. To ensure that the bill would proceed to the Senate floor, where the bill will be further debated, Energy and Water Subcommittee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-TN) encouraged the committee members to withdraw amendments on some contentious provisions in the bill, such as an amendment offered by Sen. Hoeven (R-ND) to prohibit EPA’s regulation plans for clean water. While much of the debate centered around raising the budget caps for the bill, the committee ultimately voted to keep the bill’s funding caps (302b Provisions) in line with the Senate Budget Resolution and within the Budget Control Act.

The House of Representatives passed its own version of the bill earlier this month. While the House’s bill funded energy and water programs at around $35.4 billion, the Senate’s version appropriates $36.1 billion, with significant increases in science research and development and nuclear energy programs.

The House Energy and Water Bill funded DOE’s Office of Science at $5.1 billion but the Senate bill would raise that amount by $43.9 million, funding the program at a total of $5,143,877,000 – the highest funding level ever recommended for DOE’s Office of Science by Congress, though it would still be $196 million less than the President’s budget request.

The Senate also opted to prioritize Nuclear Energy funding, recommending $950 million overall for nuclear energy programs, which is $14 million more than the House level, and $42.6 million more than the President’s budget request.

Unfortunately, the House, Senate and President all appear to agree on funding for the Mixed-Oxide (MOX) Fuel Fabrication Facility, which has wasted hundreds of millions of dollars and is still incomplete. Both chambers’ Appropriations Committees have funded the program at $345 million for FY16, matching the President’s Budget Request.

Taxpayers will now have to wait and see if these funding levels are approved when the bill is debated on the Senate floor, where lawmakers will surely offer amendments attempting to modify the appropriations approved this week.