Federal lawmakers, including U.S. Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Washington, passed a proposal to fund many U.S. Department of Energy projects out of committee on Wednesday, and the bill has bad news and good news for the thousands of Tri-City workers at the Hanford site and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

The $50.3 billion Energy and Water Appropriations bill from the U.S. House of Representatives is $3 billion less than President Donald Trump’s proposal for those programs, which would already cut many programs compared to current funding levels, according to Energy Communities Alliance, a group that advocates for communities where DOE facilities and clean up sites are located. 

Newhouse lauded the funding proposal in comments sent after the committee vote, citing its increased funding for nuclear energy which he said will expedite development of small modular nuclear reactors, or SMRs, proposed by Energy Northwest, Amazon and X-energy north of Richland.

However, DOE’s Office of Environmental Management, which oversees cleanup at the Hanford site, would take an even bigger hit under the House proposal than that from the White House. Appropriators put forth an additional $385 million cut on top of the roughly $400 million the Trump administration proposed. 

Newhouse acknowledged that the bill cuts Hanford’s budget back to what it was in fiscal year 2023 though “it prioritizes the continued retrieval and immobilization of tank waste, supports cleanup milestones, and continues the momentum on vitrification.” 

“The appropriations process is a negotiation, and this mark is the first step in delivering legislation that reduces spending to the President’s desk,” Newhouse added in a statement.

The House funding proposal is more favorable to programs that fund research at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Lawmakers are proposing funding Energy’s Office of Science, the primary source of PNNL’s funding, at $8.525 billion, just above its current funding level and a complete reversal from cuts proposed by the White House. The Office of Nuclear Energy also has the Trump cuts more than zeroed out in the draft bill at $1.8 billion, more than $100 million above current spending. 

The appropriations bill next goes to the full House for consideration.

To view the full draft appropriations bill, go to: https://appropriations.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/republicans-appropriations.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/fy27-energy-and-water-development-and-related-agencies-subcommittee-mark.pdf?source=email