Hearing of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee - FY 2016 Interior and Environment Appropriations Bill

Hearing

I want to begin this morning by thanking Chairman Rogers for his support and leadership.

I also want to thank my good friend and our ranking member, Ms. McCollum, for her partnership
and work on this bill. Finally, I want to thank each of our Subcommittee Members for their
efforts and the collegiality that continues to be a hallmark of our Subcommittee's deliberations.

The fiscal year 2016 Interior and Environment bill is funded at $30.17 billion which is $246
million below the fiscal year 2015 enacted level and $3 billion below the budget request. We
have made a sincere effort to prioritize needs within our 302(b) allocation.

The Committee has again provided robust wildland fire funding in its fiscal year 2016 bill. Fire
suppression accounts (including the FLAME reserve fund) are again fully funded at the ten-year
average level.

This bill also makes critical investments in Indian Country. Overall, funding for the Indian
Health Service is increased by $145 million (or three percent), while funding for the Bureaus of
Indian Affairs and Education is increased by $165 million (or six percent) from fiscal year 2015
levels--the largest percentage increase in this bill.

This bill provides full funding in fiscal year 2016 for the Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT)
program.

The bill provides $2.7 billion for the National Park Service, including more than $60 million in
new funding relating to the Centennial of the Park Service.

We have also attempted to address a number of priorities within the Fish and Wildlife Service
accounts. The bill funds popular grant programs at slightly above fiscal year 2015 enacted
levels. It also provides additional funds to combat international wildlife trafficking; protects fish
hatcheries from cuts and closures; continues funding to fight invasive species; and reduces the
backlog of species that are recovered but not yet de-listed.

The bill provides $248 million for Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) programs that
enjoy broad, bipartisan support. We have attempted to return the emphasis of LWCF to its
original intent of recreation, and State and local acquisitions.

Overall, funding for EPA is reduced by $718 million (or 9 percent) from fiscal year 2015 enacted
levels. Again this year, there is a great deal of concern over the number of regulatory actions
being pursued by EPA in the absence of legislation and without clear congressional direction.
For this reason, the bill includes a number of provisions to stop unnecessary and damaging
regulatory overreach by the agency.

Before closing, I'd like to make one further point about several Endangered Species Act
provisions in this bill. We have no interest in interfering with science and no interest in letting
any species go extinct. But, we are concerned about Federal regulatory actions lacking in basic
fairness and common sense, and the continued use of the judicial system to make land
management decisions. Nowhere is this more evident than with sage-grouse.

States are rightfully concerned that a listing, or unnecessarily restrictive Federal land use plans,
will jeopardize existing conservation partnerships with States and private landowners. These
partnerships are necessary to save both the sage-brush ecosystem and local economies.
So long as sage-grouse are not under imminent threat of extinction, cooperative conservation
must be given a chance to work. That is why this bill maintains a one-year delay on any decision
to list sage-grouse, along with full funding to implement conservation efforts.

In closing, I want to thank the staff, on both sides of the aisle, who have worked hard on the
legislation before us today.

This markup is the next step in a long process and I hope over the coming months we'll come
together--as we do each year--to find common ground. In that spirit, I look forward to
continuing to work with Ms. McCollum and the Members of the Committee.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Source