$17.5 Million in Zinke’s Infrastructure Requests and Many More Montana Priorities Head to the Floor for a Vote

Washington, D.C. - Last night, the FY27 Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act and the FY27 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD), and Related Agencies Appropriations Act passed full committee markup. The bills included $17,500,000 in community project funding requested by Zinke, including continued funding for the Noxon Bridge and Seeley Lake wastewater treatment plant. As a member of the Appropriations Committee, Zinke helped craft both bills, which now head to the House floor for a vote.

"Montana priorities are front and center in these bills," said Zinke. "These investments will improve water and wastewater infrastructure, strengthen transportation and public safety, support affordable housing, and deliver real results for rural communities across Montana. The bills also include key provisions to delist recovered grizzly populations, combat drug trafficking in Indian Country, modernize transportation systems, and support working families and seniors. All Montana priorities, and all issues I will be fighting to get in the President's hands to be signed into law."

See Congressman Zinke's Community Project Funding requests included in the bills:

FY27 Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act

• Flathead County, $1,000,000 - Lakeside Wastewater System Improvement Project Phase 1
• Flathead County, $1,000,000 - Bigfork County Sewer District West Trunk Sewer Project
• Lake County, $1,500,000 - Charlo Water and Sewer District Wastewater Lagoon Rehabilitation
• Flathead County, $1,500,000 - Evergreen Flood Resiliency and Groundwater Quality Improvements
• Missoula County, $1,750,000 - Lolo Wastewater Well Upgrades Phase 2
• Granite County, $1,750,000 - Granite County Clean Water Infrastructure Project Phase 2

FY27 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act:

• Ravalli County $500,000 - Ravalli County Wastewater Treatment Plant Phase II
• Ravalli County, $500,000 - Old Corvallis Road Repair Phase II
• Missoula County, $1,000,000 - Seeley Lake Wastewater Treatment Plant Project Phase II
• Butte-Silver Bow County, $2,000,000 - Critical Minerals Extraction Advancements by Montana Tech
• Sanders County, $5,000,000 - Noxon Bridge Replacement Phase II

Zinke provisions included in the bills:

THUD

Low Population Highway Infrastructure

Directs the Federal Highway Administration to ensure rural highway projects in counties under 50,000 residents receive fair consideration, even if they are not included in state transportation plans, helping small and remote communities compete for critical road safety and infrastructure funding.

Project-Based Rental Assistance

Provides $18.975 billion to renew housing assistance contracts for approximately 1.2 million families, an increase of $432 million over last year, ensuring continued stability for low-income households and seniors in rental housing, helping maintain stability in tight housing markets where rent increases have priced out many fixed-income residents.

Housing Market Support Staff

Directs HUD to closely monitor rapidly rising rental markets and dedicate staff support to communities facing housing shortages, helping local governments respond more quickly to affordability pressures. This gives smaller communities better access to federal expertise when rents spike or housing supply tightens unexpectedly. Zinke has consistently pushed for stronger HUD responsiveness to rural and mid-sized communities that often lack dedicated federal support capacity.

Rent Reporting for Affordable Housing

Creates a pilot program allowing on-time rent payments to be reported to credit agencies with tenant consent and privacy protections, helping renters build credit history and improve pathways to homeownership. This is especially helpful for working families and young renters who consistently pay rent but do not receive credit for it under traditional scoring models.

Interior

Grizzly Bear Delisting (Northern Continental Divide & Greater Yellowstone)

Directs the Interior Department to remove recovered grizzly bear populations from the endangered species list within 180 days, reflecting population recovery and returning greater management authority to state wildlife agencies. Zinke has long been a leader on this policy, submitting multiple bills and report language on the issue throughout his time in Congress. This shift is intended to give Montana and other Western states more flexibility to manage wildlife conflict, protect livestock, and maintain balanced conservation outcomes.

Opioid Task Force

Requires the Interior Department to brief Congress within 90 days on efforts to restart a drug enforcement task force focused on combating opioid and drug trafficking in tribal communities. This responds to ongoing concerns about drug trafficking routes impacting reservation communities across Montana and the West. Zinke has repeatedly emphasized the need for stronger coordination between federal, state, and tribal law enforcement to address the opioid crisis in Indian Country. As Secretary of Interior, Zinke created the Joint Opioid Reduction Task Force and has continued to work to address this issue in his time in Congress.

Cottonwood Fix

Provides a permanent legislative fix to the Cottonwood court decision by limiting when the U.S. Forest Service must reinitiate consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to cases involving substantial new developments or changes to forest management plans. It will reduce delays that have stalled logging and forest management projects, address backlogs, and improve wildfire response and habitat management across Montana and the West. Zinke has previously introduced similar legislation in 2016 and 2023, both of which drew bipartisan and conservation support. Recently, this fix has passed the House in the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026 (Farm Bill).

National Wildlife Refuge Fund

Provides $16.2 million in funding to counties containing federal wildlife refuges to offset lost property tax revenue, helping support essential local services such as schools, roads, and emergency response. Half of western Montana counties contain National Wildlife Refuges and will receive funding from this program, helping stabilize local budgets that depend heavily on federal land payments.

Native American Ironworker Training

Funds workforce development programs that provide Native communities with training iron working as well as in advanced manufacturing and digital fabrication skills, supporting long-term economic opportunity and job growth for tribal members. The program was restarted in last years Interior appropriations bill at Zinke's request.

Wolverines

Prohibits the use of federal funds to implement the Biden-era North American wolverine endangered species listing, following specific finding and maintaining current management approaches while further evaluation continues. This prevents unnecessary litigation and restrictions to occur in Montana's timber harvesting forests. This prevents unnecessary litigation and regulatory uncertainty that can stall timber and land management projects in Montana's forested regions.

CMR Bison Management

Prohibits federal funding for the introduction of bison into the Charles M. Russell Wildlife Refuge, maintaining existing land use and grazing management practices in eastern Montana. This preserves longstanding grazing agreements that many local ranchers depend on for economic stability.

Read the full text of the Interior bill here.
Read the full text of the THUD bill here.