The House passed a bill on July 24 to fund the Department of the Interior, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and other entities, but the bill is likely dead on arrival in the Senate and is opposed by the White House.
The final vote tally was 210–205.
The bill allocates $14.69 billion for the Department of the Interior, $42.1 million less than what was appropriated for the current fiscal year and $1.48 billion below the administration’s request.
The measure also allocates $7.36 billion for the EPA, which is 20 percent, or $1.82 billion, less than what was appropriated for fiscal year 2024 and $3.63 billion less than what the administration requested.
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) stated that appropriations for the Interior Department “would be unable to adequately conserve and protect the Nation’s natural resources and cultural heritage, maintain or improve critical infrastructure on public lands, or honor trust and treaty responsibilities to American Indians, Alaska Natives, and affiliated Island Communities.”
The OMB stated that the EPA’s funding “would be the lowest EPA funding level in over 25 years and would have significant negative impacts on the agency’s ability to protect human health and the environment.”
“From the protection of forests and traditional hunting and fishing to U.S. energy and mineral independence, the impact of this bill on everyday life is extensive,” he said.
The Bureau of Land Management would get $1.26 billion, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service would receive $1.58 billion; those are, respectively, $115.6 million and $144.4 million less than what was allocated for fiscal year 2024.
The bill would allocate $8.43 billion for the U.S. Forest Service, $3.12 billion for the National Park Service, $1.37 billion for the U.S. Geological Survey, and $144.06 million for the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. All of the figures are less than what was spent in the current fiscal year and what the administration requested.
However, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the Bureau of Indian Education would get more funding than they received in fiscal year 2024.
The bill would also allocate $1.56 billion to the Wildland Fire Management, $91.6 million more than what was appropriated in the ongoing fiscal year.
The bill would require the interior secretary to resume onshore oil and gas lease sales. It would also block the Interior Department from prohibiting oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska.
The measure also blocks the EPA’s regulations on light, medium, and heavy-duty vehicles, ozone emissions, and steam electric power plants. It would also lift restrictions on hunting, fishing, and recreational shooting on federal lands.
Relatedly, it would block the Department of the Interior from utilizing the Endangered Species Act to penalize land users and energy producers. It would also prohibit funds for any diversity, equity, and inclusion program or office or for promoting critical race theory.
Finally, the bill would allocate funding for institutions in the nation’s capital.
This includes $38 million for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, which is funded by major donors including billionaire David Rubenstein; $188.32 million for the National Gallery of Art; $203.9 million for the National Endowment for the Arts; $203.9 million for the National Endowment for the Humanities; $959.72 million for the Smithsonian Institution; $65.23 million for the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum; and $12 million for the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.
An amendment introduced by Rep. Josh Brecheen (R-Okla.) to eliminate funding for the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars failed 156–236.
The appropriations bill vote occurred a day after the House GOP pulled a bill to fund the Department of Energy.
