Sponsors
The bill increases congressional oversight, fiscal transparency, and protections for taxpayers and host communities—especially on large infrastructure and nuclear projects—but does so by sharply restricting agencies' ability to reprogram and transfer funds, adding administrative steps that risk delaying projects, emergency responses, and services while imposing compliance costs and some rights-related requirements.
Taxpayers and the public get substantially greater congressional oversight and financial transparency because agencies must provide baseline, quarterly/monthly, and semiannual reports and pre-notifications for large actions, improving visibility into how appropriations are used.
Local and state governments and project sponsors gain funding stability for Corps and Reclamation projects because the bill prevents reprogrammings from creating/eliminating/significantly augmenting projects while allowing limited, capped flexibility to cover overruns and requires the Bureau to spend per the companion report.
Taxpayers and communities benefit from stronger oversight of large DOE and nuclear projects through independent oversight, cost-estimate checks for major construction and $100M+ projects, and consent-based planning for consolidated nuclear storage, which can reduce cost overruns and clarify host-community costs/compensation.
Federal, state, and local agencies and project recipients face reduced budget flexibility because tight limits and prohibitions on reprogramming and transfers make it harder to shift funds to new or emerging priorities.
Local governments, rural communities, and small projects risk funding shortfalls and delays because strict dollar and percentage caps on reprogramming and restrictions (including on dredged material use and EPA-plan prerequisites) limit the ability to cover overruns or proceed until certifications/plans are complete.
Researchers, labs, small recipients, and DOE program managers may incur delays and additional administrative burden because of mandatory pre-notifications, multi-step approvals, and expanded reporting for grants and contracts (including short notification windows and 3-business-day holds for certain awards).
Based on analysis of 10 sections of legislative text.
Creates detailed limits and reporting rules for reprogramming, transfers, awards, and program starts, and requires advance notice to appropriations committees for major actions.
Introduced December 1, 2025 by John Neely Kennedy · Last progress December 1, 2025
Restricts how agencies can move or use funds provided by this Act and creates new notice, reporting, and approval requirements. It limits reprogrammings and transfers, sets dollar and percentage caps for investigations, planning, construction and other categories, and requires agencies to notify House and Senate Appropriations Committees before major awards, reorganizations, or reprogrammings. The measures apply in particular to the Army Corps of Engineers, Bureau of Reclamation/Interior water programs, Department of Energy, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and independent agencies, and add general conditions (e.g., anti‑lobbying, network content restrictions, and advance notice for certain personnel actions).