Washington (January 12, 2026) - Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) released the following statement today after voting against the motion to proceed to invoke cloture on the Commerce, Justice, Science; Energy and Water Development; and Interior and Environment Appropriations Act, 2026.
“I can’t support this appropriations bill, which funds the Department of the Interior without doing anything to prevent the Trump administration’s attacks on offshore wind and the resulting skyrocketing energy bills, lowered grid reliability, and lost union jobs.
“I can’t support this appropriations bill, which funds the Department of Energy without doing anything to rein in the insanity of Trump’s proposal to use American taxpayer dollars to help oil companies profit off Venezuelan oil.
“I can’t support this appropriations bill, which enables Trump and Zeldin’s decimation of public health and scientific integrity and fails to resolve this past year’s political attacks on clean energy and environmental grantees.
“And I can’t support this appropriations bill, which funds Trump’s Department of Justice as it launches baseless criminal probes and prosecutions against political opponents. We’re dealing with a lawless administration that’s willing to weaponize every part of government against Americans--that's why we need laws that will actually stop it, and this one won’t.”
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