Wicker Applauds Mississippi Wins in the Appropriations Package

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss,. highlighted the Mississippi initiatives included in a fiscal year 2026 appropriations package that passed the Senate today. The package includes funding for the Commerce, Justice, and Interior Departments, as well as for agencies handling science, energy, and water issues.

"This is how Congress should operate, passing federal spending bills through the appropriations process. I am pleased that the Senate has embraced regular order. I look forward to the ways this legislation will help Mississippi's needs and will support job creators and local governments."

Full text of the legislation can be found here.

Below is a section-by-section of Mississippi projects funded in this appropriations package:

$22.455 million for Mississippi Projects in the FY26 Commerce, Justice, and Science Appropriations Bill.

• $4 million for Frontier Measurements of Graphene and Graphene-Like Low-Dimensional Materials at University of Mississippi.
• $2.5 million for Forensic Science Institute and Digital Forensics Lab at Mississippi State University.
• $2.5 million for Composite Manufacturing for Blended Wing Body Airframe at Mississippi State University.
• $1.426 million for Geospatial Science for Disaster and Emergency Management for University of Southern Mississippi.
• $1.1 million for Agriculture Autonomy Technology Incubator at Mississippi State University.
• $1 million for Technology Enhancements for the Northeast Mississippi Area Crime Center.
• $1 million for Secured Research Computing Infrastructure at Mississippi State University.
• $1 million for Mississippi Oyster Restoration and Workforce Program for Mississippi Wildlife Fisheries Parks Marine Foundation.
• $1 million for Crime Prevention Initiative at the City of West Point.
• $1 million for the Chickasaw County Sheriff Department COPS Project.
• $907,000 for University of Mississippi Campus Public Safety Enhancements.
• $838,000 for Training for Justice System Professionals at University of Mississippi.
• $750,000 for Real Time Crime Center at City of Meridian.
• $750,000 for Public Safety Project at Pearl River County.
• $500,000 for Juvenile Delinquency Prevention Initiative at Mississippi Youth Challenge Academy.
• $500,000 for Cybersecurity Equipment and Data Management Upgrade at Institute for Marine Mammal Studies.
• $500,000 for Public Safety Technology and Equipment Upgrades at City of Florence Police Department.
• $483,000 for Vehicle Fleet Expansion at City of Corinth Police Department.
• $460,000 for Law Enforcement Equipment Upgrades at Humphreys County.
• $300,000 for Removal of Marine Debris at Mississippi Commercial Fisheries United.
• $130,000 for Fleet Expansion at City of Leland.
• $142,000 for Sheriff's Office Modernization Initiative at Greene County Sheriff's Office.
• $100,000 for Public Safety Mobile Data Terminals at Moss Point Police Department.
• $69,000 for Surveillance Enhancement Project at Monroe County Sheriff's Office.

$118.3 million for U.S. Army Corps of Engineer Mississippi Projects in the FY26 Energy and Water Development Appropriations Bill:

• $49 million for Yazoo Backwater Project,
• $21.9 million for Arkabutla Lake,
• $15 million for DeSoto County Regional Utility Authority,
• $10 million for Meridian Wastewater Upgrades,
• $5 million for Yazoo Basin Headwaters Project,
• $3.8 million for Rankin County Wastewater Upgrades,
• $3.1 million for Rosedale Harbor,
• $3 million for Greenville Harbor,
• $2.9 million for Tennessee Tombigbee Waterway Deepening Study,
• $2.4 million for Vicksburg Harbor,
• $2.2 million for Mississippi River Levee Slide Repair, and

$14.425 million for Mississippi Projects in the FY26 Interior Appropriations Bill:

• $7.8 million for City of Clinton, Bolton, and Raymond for Wastewater Improvements.
• $2.5 million for DeSoto County Regional Utility Authority (DCRUA) Pump Station.
• $1.75 million for City of Petal for Wastewater Treatment Plant Improvements.
• $1.5 million for City of Starkville for Wastewater Infrastructure.
• $500,000 for City of Louisville Strand Theatre Preservation and Restoration.
• $375,000 for Columbus Cultural Heritage Foundation Tennessee Williams Museum.

Additionally, this appropriation package also provides federal funding for programs that will benefit Mississippians including:

• $531.6 million for Mississippi Rivers and Tributaries Project: Mississippi Rivers and Tributaries is a comprehensive, unified system of public works within the lower Mississippi Valley that provides unprecedented flood risk management and an equally efficient navigation channel. This is a $163 million increase from FY25 enacted levels.
• $314 million for State and Private Forestry Programs: These programs within the Forest Service reach across the boundaries of National Forests to States, Tribes, communities, and non-industrial private landowners. This is a $9 million increase from FY25 enacted levels.
• $252.5 million for Ocean, Coastal, and Great Lakes Research: The U.S. needs affordable sensors and platforms to expand research from the seafloor to space with local to global coverage to ensure national security and economic prosperity.
• $48.2 million for NASA's Rocket Propulsion Testing Program: These funds will support all locations within the Rocket Propulsion Testing Program Office and are crucial for the Stennis Space Center in Mississippi.
• $47.5 million for Gulf of America Coastal Ocean Observing System (GCOOS) Regional Integrated Ocean Observing System: GCOOS Regional Association supports regional observations, data integration, and product development. GCOOS data and developed products support many marine operations vital to the economy of Mississippi, including commercial fishing, energy extraction, and marine transportation.
• $26 million for Safe Drinking Water Technical Assistance: These grants provide rural communities with the technical assistance necessary to improve water quality and provide safe drinking water. Small and rural communities rely on technical assistance to ensure compliance with Environmental Protection Agency regulations. This is a $500,000 increase from FY25 enacted levels.
• $14 million for Sea Grant Aquaculture Research: This will support aquaculture farmers in Mississippi and has resulted in job creation and sustainability for over 1,000 aquaculture-related jobs and over 400 aquaculture-related businesses nationwide.
• $2.2 million of new funding for Mississippi Levee Slide Repair: The funding will allow the Army Corps to repair more quickly the damage to the Mississippi levees after high-water events.
• $850,000 for Fisheries Data Collection, Surveys, and Assessments: This funding will bring development and implementation of new technology and collection of scientific shrimp effort data.