January 20, 2026 — Rebuffing deep spending cuts proposed by the Trump administration, Congress has approved more funding for Chesapeake Bay cleanup and conservation than the White House requested — including boosts for restoring oysters, dealing with invasive blue catfish and addressing whether menhaden, an important forage fish in the Bay, are being overfished.
By a vote of 82-15, the U.S. Senate gave overwhelming, bipartisan approval Thursday to a trio of spending bills that included funding for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Commerce, Justice, Energy and Interior departments through the end of September. With the House having passed the package on Jan. 8, the measures now go to the White House for President Trump’s signature.
The bills do reduce overall spending at the affected agencies but by far less than proposed by the White House Office of Management and Budget. And lawmakers actually increased spending on some science-related programs and projects.
Notably, Congress approved record-high funding of $93 million for EPA’s Chesapeake Bay Program, the federal-state partnership that coordinates pollution reduction and habitat restoration efforts in the estuary and its rivers and streams.