Congress Must Pass a Clean Budget with No Poison Pills
Every year, unscrupulous lawmakers try to sneak harmful policies into the must-pass annual spending bills that have nothing to do with funding our government. Known as poison pill policy riders, these measures are little more than special favors for ideological extremists and big corporations. Most poison pills are highly controversial, wildly unpopular, and could not become law on their own merits.
Hundreds of organizations have joined together under the umbrella of the Clean Budget Coalition to oppose the inclusion of poison pills and other toxic amendments in the annual spending bills. We’re calling on Congress to pass clean FY 26 bills that fully fund the programs and services we all count on by the September 30th deadline.
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Latest Poison Pill Rider Counts
The coalition has found more than 275 new poison pill riders in the draft spending bills authored by House Republicans. All of them must be removed from any final spending package. Here’s how many we found in each bill.
Agriculture, Rural Development, FDA: 15
Commerce, Justice, Science: 67
Defense: 15
Energy and Water: 10
Financial Services and General Government: 57
Homeland Security: 20
Interior and Environment: 53
Labor, HHS, and Education: TBD
Legislative Branch: 6
Military Construction and Veterans Affairs: 6
State and Foreign Operations: 17
Transportation and HUD: 13
News and Resources
Forty-One Senators Call on Appropriators to Reject Anti-Environment Poison Pills
Senate Environment and Public Works Democrats: July 24, 2025
House Republicans’ Release of FY26 Anti-Environmental House Appropriations Bills Will Harm Communities and Raise Costs
League of Conservation Voters: July 14, 2025
More Than 220 Groups Tell Congress: Pass a Clean Budget
Clean Budget Coalition: July 8, 2025
Contact Info
David Rosen, drosen@citizen.org, (202) 588-7742