STATEMENT - Sierra Club on Senate’s Interior Appropriations Bill

Washington, D.C. — Today, the Senate Committee on Appropriations advanced the FY2020 Interior spending bill, allocating $35.8 billion to fund the U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Forest Service, Environmental Protection Agency, Indian Health Service, and other agencies. The bill includes an additional $2.25 billion for wildfire suppression activities, made available by the wildfire cap adjustment. It does not include funding to relocate Bureau of Land Management headquarters. See the full budget proposal here. 

In response, Sierra Club Deputy Legislative Director Kirin Kennedy released the following statement:

“The Sierra Club commends Senate appropriators for this increase in funding for critical agencies of government and essential programs that protect the right to clean water, air, and public health.  This budget protects public lands like Chaco Canyon. It also makes clear the lack of Congressional support for the Trump administration’s thinly-veiled plan to weaken the Bureau of Land Management by moving its headquarters out of Washington, D.C.

“The Senate should follow the House’s lead by finally dropping toxic anti-environment policy riders, including those attacking the vulnerable sage grouse. We urge Senators to follow the lead of the House and strip out poison pill riders which have always had no business in this bill.”

Bill Highlights:

• U.S. Department of the Interior - The bill provides $13.717 billion for the Interior Department, and includes full funding for the Payment in Lieu of Taxes program.

• Indigenous Protection - $6.5 million is provided to protect indigenous women and girls through cold case investigations, equipment, training and background checks.

• Bureau of Land Management (BLM) – Funding is increased by $53 million above the FY2019 enacted level, totaling $1.399 billion for BLM, funding the energy and minerals development program and improving public land management. 

• No funds are allocated for BLM to move headquarters out of Washington, D.C. 

• Language in the bill will also prevent new oil and gas leasing within the 10-mile buffer zone around Chaco Culture National Historical Park in New Mexico. 

• National Park Service (NPS) – The bill provides $3.36 billion for the NPS - an increase of $133 million above the FY2019 enacted level - which includes increases for construction backlog, maintenance, and new park units.

• Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and PFAS – $9.011 billion overall for EPA - an increase of $161 above the FY2019 enacted level - focusing on environmental cleanup efforts that are at the core of the EPA’s mission. It increases funds for State and Tribal Assistance Grants by $116 million, including $20 million to help states address PFAS contamination and remediation. $465 million is devoted to the Land and Water Conservation Fund, however, which is less than the $523.9 million in the House bill.

• U.S. Forest Service (USFS) – The $7.471 billion provided for the USFS includes investments in funding for improved health and management of forests, increased funding for fighting wildfire, a $19 million increase for hazardous fuels reduction in order to prevent catastrophic wildfires, as well as funds to increase State and volunteer firefighting capacity.

• Wildland Firefighting – $5.167 billion is provided in the bill to fight wildland fire, which is $1.22 billion above the FY2019 enacted level. It includes the combined $1.394 billion in base wildland fire suppression funding, as well as $2.25 billion in additional wildfire suppression funding from the wildfire cap adjustment. 

• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) – $1.63 billion overall for the FWS, a $52.7 million increase from the FY2019 enacted level. The bill, however, fails to protect threatened sage grouse populations, and continues the prohibition on listing the bird as an endangered species.