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Summary:
The Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies appropriations bill includes funding for the Department of the Interior (DOI), except for the Bureau of Reclamation, and for two agencies within other departments -- the Forest Service within the Department of Agriculture and the Indian Health Service (IHS) within the Department of Health and Human Services. It also includes funding for arts and cultural agencies, the Environmental Protection Agency, and numerous other entities and agencies. The House passed H.R. 2643 with $27.63 billion for Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies for FY2008. This would be higher than enacted for FY2007 (excluding funds for Secure Rural Schools), requested by the Administration for FY2008, and recommended by the Senate Committee on Appropriations for FY2008 in S. 1696. Specifically, the House level was an increase of $679.2 million (2.5%) over the FY2007 level of $26.95 billion, $1.94 billion (7.6%) over the request of $25.69 billion, and $445.1 million (1.6%) over the Senate Committee level of $27.19 billion. The House-passed bill contained higher funding for many agencies and programs than the bill reported by the Senate Appropriations Committee, but lower funding for others. Among the House-passed levels that were higher than the Senate Committee recommendations were the following: ! $318.0 million for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); ! $81.2 million for the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA); ! $51.8 million for the National Park Service (NPS); ! $40.2 million for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) combined; and ! $36.3 million for the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS). Among the House-passed levels that were lower than the Senate Committee recommendations were the following: ! -$99.4 million for the Minerals Management Service (MMS); ! -$44.3 million for the Smithsonian Institution (SI); and ! -$35.7 million for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Congress is debating a variety of funding and policy issues during consideration of FY2008 Interior legislation. These issues include appropriate funding for BIA construction, education, and housing; IHS construction and urban Indian health; wastewater/drinking water needs; land acquisition; the Payments in Lieu of Taxes program; the Superfund program; the Smithsonian Institution; and wildland fire fighting. Other issues include Indian trust fund management, leasing in the Outer Continental Shelf, royalty relief, and the impact of climate change. This report will be updated following major congressional action.
