Funding within the annual Interior-Environment appropriations bills includes the Department of the Interior, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and a number of “related agencies” such as the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ). The bill also funds several entities that may seem less obvious, like the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Smithsonian Institution, and a significant portion of the U.S. Forest Service’s operations.
The Senate reported it’s fiscal year 2025 Interior-Environment bill out of committee this morning (along with its Commerce, Justice, and Science; State-Foreign Operations; and Transportation-HUD bills) and should publicly release legislative text before the weekend. The Senate’s bill summary outlines $44.6 billion in total funding and invests heavily in the wildfire workforce, including a $4 million health and wellness program for federal wildland firefighters, a direction for agencies to spend at least $8 million for firefighter housing, and a permanent raise for wildland firefighters. The bill also provides a significant increase for the Indian Health Service (+21% from FY24) and $50.3 million to restore staffing levels at the National Park Service (NPS) and support the hiring of 450 park rangers and other national park staff. A vote on the Senate floor is expected in mid-to-late September. We’ll provide a more in-depth analysis of that bill next week.
Last night, the House narrowly passed its FY25 Interior-Environment appropriations bill with a margin of 5 votes, including one Democrat voting in favor of passage. The bill provides a total of $38.47 billion in discretionary budget authority for fiscal year 2025; $72 million below the FY24 level and $4.4 billion below the President’s budget request.
Compared to FY24 enacted funding levels, the bill makes major cuts to the budgets of several of the agencies within its jurisdiction:
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): -20%
Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ): -78%
Bureau of Land Management (BLM): -8.4%
Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS): -8.4%
National Park Service (NPS): -6.3%
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS): -5.6%
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences: -6%
Smithsonian Institution: -12%
The bill also contains a number of controversial policy riders that all but assured that House Democrats would oppose the bill, including a requirement that the Secretary of Interior resume offshore oil and gas lease sales, language prohibiting the EPA from imposing a methane fee on oil and gas producers, and blockage of the BLM’s Conservation and Landscape Health rule and the EPA’s emissions regulation on light, medium, and heavy-duty vehicles.
In addition to outlining House Republicans’ intent behind FY25 Interior-Environment funding levels, the bill’s report includes language encouraging
BLM to increase the development and use of native seed for restoration and rehabilitation across public lands
The Forest Service to explore opportunities to expand accessibility to special use permits for film projects and to establish formal partnerships to develop coordinated response structures for wildland firefighting in geographically isolated areas
The USGS to prioritize cooperation with Western state water resource agencies facing challenges with long-term water sustainability
The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) to support investments in new energy projects to reduce the cost of electricity and support self-determined energy priorities.
Several amendments were been filed for inclusion in the bill for the House Rules Committee’s consideration of the bill, including:
A requirement that NPS to submit a report identifying statutes and regulations that inhibit active use of urban parks in the National Park System
A broad prohibition on funds from being used to stop oil and gas production
A prohibition on funds for the installation of wind turbines on federal lands
The addition of Section 4 of H.R.5169, the Wildland Firefighter Paycheck Protection Act, to include rest and recuperation leave for federal wildland firefighters
Significant reductions in funding for regional commissions like the Appalachian Regional Commission
While the majority of amendments were voted down, Rep. Josh Brecheen (R-OK) offered an amendment that prohibiting funding for any diversity, equity, and inclusion program or office, which was agreed to on the floor. Rep. Scott Perry offered a similar amendment that prohibits funding for “environmental justice activities” which was also agreed to. House Republicans also invoked the Holman Rule to attempt to reduce the salaries of many high-profile federal appointees, including the directors of the Department of Interior, CEQ, and BLM, to $1 a year.
Ultimately, the House’s bill makes heavy cuts to environmental programs and increases funding for the BIA (a 15% increase from FY24) and things like the Payments in Lieu of Taxes program (or PILT, which provides funding to local governments to offset losses in property taxes due to the existence of nontaxable Federal lands within their boundaries). The bill also prioritizes funding for Wildland Fire Management. However, the House’s funding Interior-Environment funding levels will have to be negotiated with the Senate leadership, who are likely to scale back cuts and policy riders.
As FY25 appropriations are unlikely to see full enactment before the end of the current fiscal year (or before elections in November), stakeholders should closely monitor the disparities between programs of interest in the two bills and engage congressional appropriators to adjust or maintain funding levels.
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