Capitol Hill Reports - House Clears $32.3 Billion Interior & Environment Spending Legislation

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House Clears $32.3 Billion Interior & Environment Spending Legislation
Sunday, June 28, 2009
3:15 PM

After beating back a handful of amendments aimed at stripping certain Members' parochial projects from the measure, the House on Friday passed the $32.3 billion fiscal year (FY) 2010 Interior & Environment appropriations bill (H.R. 2996) on a 254 to 173 vote. The legislation contains $3.66 billion for wildland fire prevention and response efforts, a $669 million increase over this year's (FY 2009) level, and includes $357 million for a new emergency wildfire reserve fund.

House appropriators provided the National Park Service with $25 million for the new Park Partnership Project Grants Program, as well as funding for the 10-year initiative to upgrade national parks before the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service in 2016.

The Environmental Protection Agency would receive $10.46 billion under the House bill, $23 million below the administration's request and $2.83 billion above FY 2009. In addition, the National Endowments for the Arts and Humanities would each get $170 million ($30 million above FY 2009) and the Smithsonian would see $774 million ($43 million above FY 2009).

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Appropriations Scorecard

Proposed Program Terminations

Prior to Friday's vote on final passage, the House approved the following floor amendments to the FY 2010 Interior & Environment appropriations bill:

Smith (TX) - Allocates $25 million for the Forest Service’s Law Enforcement and Investigations drug enforcement efforts, including removal of marijuana sites and clandestine methamphetamine labs from the National Forest System and interdiction of drug traffickers on NFS lands that share a common border with Canada and Mexico.
Garrett (NJ) - Adds $2 million for land conservation partnerships authorized by the Highlands Conservation Act, and reduces funding for construction, repair, improvement, extension, alteration, and purchase of fixed equipment or facilities of, or for use by, the Environmental Protection Agency by $2 million.
Dicks (WA) (Manager's Amendment) - Allows the abandoned mine land funding to be used for the non-federal share of the cost of certain environmental restoration projects funded by the federal government that repair acid mine drainage from coal abandoned mines; increases funding for the Saving America's Treasures Account, offset by reducing funding from the Construction account of the National Park Service; and increases the allocation for the Land and Water Conservation Fund Stateside program from $30 million to $40 million, by reducing the allocation for the Department of Interior, Working Capital Fund by $10 million.

On the other side of the Capitol, the Senate last week began consideration of its version of the FY 2010 Legislative Branch appropriations bill, the first annual spending measure to see Senate floor consideration this year. On a 65 to 31 vote, the body tabled, or defeated for all intents and purposes, a motion offered by Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) to return the bill to the Appropriations Committee with instructions to report it back to the floor with a topline funding level equal to the current year's level -- or about a $76 million cut. An amendment by Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) that would strike a $200,000 earmark for the Durham Museum in Omaha, Nebraska remains pending.

The House and Senate have gaveled out for the weeklong Fourth of July recess. Both chambers will return to session the week of July 6th.