Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2025

Floor Speech

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Mr. McCORMICK. Mr. Chair, I rise to offer my amendment No. 56 to H.R. 8998, the Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2025.

Amendment No. 56 will reduce funding for the Environmental Protection Agency by reducing the Environmental Programs and Management account by $7 million.

My amendment will then reallocate $5 million in funding to the EPA's Office of Inspector General for increased oversight of the EPA.

The EPA's role is to protect human health and the environment through research and development. Yet, it seems the EPA is more often focused on creating burdensome bureaucratic red tape than serving the American people and businesses.

Stringent EPA regulations burden businesses with compliance costs leading to job losses, higher consumer prices, and reduced economic competitiveness, particularly in industries such as manufacturing, energy, and agriculture. Tragically, these regulations often have nothing to do with protecting the environment.

For example, in my district, the repaving of a key road has been delayed for 18 months. This heavily trafficked road is in desperate need of repair.

These delays are due to the EPA's requirement for an extensive environmental impact study, even though the road is already paved, has been around for over a decade, and it is a simple repaving project to revitalize the community. It is going to cost $700,000 and a delay of 18 months to repave 1.5 miles of road. This is a ridiculous delay of the inevitable.

The EPA needs to begin prioritizing our communities over bureaucratic overreach and overbearing regulations with no benefit. That is why proper oversight is critical to holding the EPA in check.

The EPA's Office of Inspector General has done incredible work with the funding it receives. Their work proves additional funding is a sound investment.

In May, it published its semiannual report to Congress which summarized its work and accomplishments from October 1, 2023, through March 31, 2024. During that 6-month reporting period, they identified $120.1 million in total monetary benefits and provided the EPA and U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board with 55 recommendations for improvement.

To further prove their worth, the EPA OIG is performing a critical role in investigating and tracking the ridiculous spending from the Inflation Reduction Act. That is important oversight work to prevent fraud of Federal dollars.

I urge my colleagues to support amendment No. 56 which will decrease the EPA's overall funding account and reallocate a portion of those funds to increase oversight, transparency, and accountability.

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Mr. McCORMICK. Mr. Chair, I love the environment. My favorite President is Teddy Roosevelt, a great environmentalist, and my dad was a forest ranger. I grew up with Woodsy Owl and Smokey the Bear. I truly, truly, have a great love for the environment, and I want to make sure we use our funds appropriately.

I just reiterate that my amendment reduces funding for the overbearing EPA portion and really increases accountability, which I think is the more important part at this point when we see the abuses of the system. I think it is time for a more efficient and more accountable government. That is what this bill is about.

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Mr. McCORMICK. In closing, Mr. Chairman, I am grateful for this time to talk about accountability and efficiency of government. I hope and humbly request support for my amendment No. 56, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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