Sandee McCullen
06-18-2007, 09:27 AM
Below is info regarding the National Budget. Certainly don't have a problem with dollars being given to FIRE but to increase the EPA budget to include millions to eliminate Greenhouse gas pollution is another step closer to putting all of us into glass bubbles.
4. APPROPRIATIONS: After week of discord, Interior-EPA spending bill set to move (06/18/2007)
Darren Samuelsohn and Dan Berman, E&E Daily senior reporters
Congressional appropriators this week return to work on a bill that would fund U.S. EPA, the Interior Department and U.S. Forest Service for fiscal 2008.
In the Senate, the subcommittee with jurisdiction over the agencies has scheduled a markup on its $27.2 billion package. Across the Capitol, the House Appropriations Committee finds itself having to take a second stab at its version of the measure.
The House panel earlier this month approved a $27.6 billion EPA-Interior spending bill minus lawmaker-requested earmarks. But a dispute over lawmakers' pet projects enveloped the House floor last week and forced Democrats to send the bill back to committee to include earmarks.
Democratic aides said the specific process for revamping the bill remains in flux.
One possibility is a closed-door Interior-Environment Subcommittee meeting to approve an earmark package, followed by a full committee vote to send the earmarks to the floor as a supplemental report. Aides cautioned that Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey (D-Wis.) has not yet signed off on any specific plan.
In an interview last week, Obey explained the additional work on the Interior-EPA bill will not change the overall spending level. And lawmakers will not be able to revisit other aspects. "The rest of the bill will not be open for discussion," Obey said.
House floor debate on the Interior-Environment spending bill had been planned last week. Speaking on the floor Friday, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said the major piece of environmental spending legislation now won't come up until the week of June 25.
The House bill includes additional funding over current levels for national parks, wastewater infrastructure, Superfund cleanups and inspector general investigations. It also orders the Bush administration to begin a global warming regulation to limit greenhouse gas pollution.
For EPA, the House provides $8.1 billion -- a $900 million boost above President Bush's request of $7.2 billion. It also represents a 5.1 percent boost over EPA's current funding level of $7.7 billion.
One of EPA's largest and most popular accounts -- the Clean Water State Revolving Loan Fund -- received $437 million more than Bush's request in the House bill, coming in at $1.1 billion. The Superfund account netted $600 million, representing $26 million more than fiscal 2007 and $15 million above Bush's request.
Senate appropriators will be working with about $480 million less than their House counterparts, presenting challenges that likely will make for compromises during conference negotiations. Also, the Senate plans to mark up its Interior-EPA spending bill with earmarks that include the specific senator's name who requested the project.
Forest Service, Tongass
The Forest Service would get $2.6 billion for non-wildfire-related programs under the House bill, a $102 million increase and $345 million above the president's request.
Non-wildfire programs at the Forest Service would receive $2.6 billion, $345 million above the White House request and about $100 million above fiscal 2007. The Forest Service and Interior wildfire programs would receive $2.78 billion, $200 million more than last year. Wildfire suppression budgets would increase $163 million, to $1.134 billion for Interior and USFS.
Senate Interior Appropriations Subcommittee members expressed concern about rising fire suppression costs at a hearing last month. "The Forest Service seems to be turning into the fire service," said ranking member Larry Craig (R-Idaho).
Meanwhile, Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) has threatened to add language to the bill that would limit lawsuits against the new management plan for Alaska's Tongass National Forest (E&E Daily, May 23).
The Forest Service's latest draft Tongass plan aims to allow sales of up to 267 million board feet of timber from the 17-million-acre rainforest -- the same target level from the much-criticized and litigated 1997 management plan. That alternative also would allow making about 2.4 million acres of inventoried roadless areas available for logging.
When the bill hits the House floor, however, a coalition of Democrats and fiscal conservatives are preparing to once again offer an amendment to the bill to prevent spending on new logging roads in the Tongass. The House approved the amendment in 2004 and 2006, but the provision never reached the White House.
Interior spending levels
The House bill would boost spending for Interior by $262 million over fiscal 2007 and $454 million above the White House request to $10.167 billion.
The National Park Service would get $2.52 billion from the House, a $228 million increase over fiscal 2007. The bill would jump-start a major Bush administration initiative by providing $50 million in initial matching funds for private donations to the NPS centennial challenge.
President Bush's centennial challenge calls for $1 billion in mandatory spending -- $100 million over each of the next 10 years -- in donations from the public, friends groups and corporations for the centennial initiative, to be matched "dollar for dollar" by Congress. The $50 million added for fiscal 2008 is included as discretionary spending.
Congress would have to approve separate legislation if it wants to implement a 10-year mandatory spending package for NPS.
Also under the House bill:
The Bureau of Land Management would receive $1.046 billion in non-wildfire-related spending, about $26 million above the Bush administration request and last year's total.
The Fish and Wildlife Service and its endangered species accounts would receive more money than last year or the president's request. FWS comes in at $1.4 billion, $79 million more than last year. Endangered species would receive $152.5 million, almost $8 million more than last year. The listing and recovery budgets are also up.
The Minerals Management Service would receive $153.5 million under the royalty and offshore minerals management, roughly even with fiscal 2007. Oil spill research is again funded at $6 million.
The Office of Surface Mining would get $170 million in fiscal 2008, $1.8 million above the administration's request.
The U.S. Geological Survey would get $1.033 billion, a $50 million increase and $58 million above the White House request.
Payment in Lieu of Taxes would remain constant at $233 million, $43 million above the administration request.
Schedule: The Senate Appropriations Committee markup is set for 10 a.m. tomorrow in 124 Dirksen. It is unclear if the House Appropriations Committee will hold additional public meetings on the Interior-EPA spending bill.
4. APPROPRIATIONS: After week of discord, Interior-EPA spending bill set to move (06/18/2007)
Darren Samuelsohn and Dan Berman, E&E Daily senior reporters
Congressional appropriators this week return to work on a bill that would fund U.S. EPA, the Interior Department and U.S. Forest Service for fiscal 2008.
In the Senate, the subcommittee with jurisdiction over the agencies has scheduled a markup on its $27.2 billion package. Across the Capitol, the House Appropriations Committee finds itself having to take a second stab at its version of the measure.
The House panel earlier this month approved a $27.6 billion EPA-Interior spending bill minus lawmaker-requested earmarks. But a dispute over lawmakers' pet projects enveloped the House floor last week and forced Democrats to send the bill back to committee to include earmarks.
Democratic aides said the specific process for revamping the bill remains in flux.
One possibility is a closed-door Interior-Environment Subcommittee meeting to approve an earmark package, followed by a full committee vote to send the earmarks to the floor as a supplemental report. Aides cautioned that Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey (D-Wis.) has not yet signed off on any specific plan.
In an interview last week, Obey explained the additional work on the Interior-EPA bill will not change the overall spending level. And lawmakers will not be able to revisit other aspects. "The rest of the bill will not be open for discussion," Obey said.
House floor debate on the Interior-Environment spending bill had been planned last week. Speaking on the floor Friday, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said the major piece of environmental spending legislation now won't come up until the week of June 25.
The House bill includes additional funding over current levels for national parks, wastewater infrastructure, Superfund cleanups and inspector general investigations. It also orders the Bush administration to begin a global warming regulation to limit greenhouse gas pollution.
For EPA, the House provides $8.1 billion -- a $900 million boost above President Bush's request of $7.2 billion. It also represents a 5.1 percent boost over EPA's current funding level of $7.7 billion.
One of EPA's largest and most popular accounts -- the Clean Water State Revolving Loan Fund -- received $437 million more than Bush's request in the House bill, coming in at $1.1 billion. The Superfund account netted $600 million, representing $26 million more than fiscal 2007 and $15 million above Bush's request.
Senate appropriators will be working with about $480 million less than their House counterparts, presenting challenges that likely will make for compromises during conference negotiations. Also, the Senate plans to mark up its Interior-EPA spending bill with earmarks that include the specific senator's name who requested the project.
Forest Service, Tongass
The Forest Service would get $2.6 billion for non-wildfire-related programs under the House bill, a $102 million increase and $345 million above the president's request.
Non-wildfire programs at the Forest Service would receive $2.6 billion, $345 million above the White House request and about $100 million above fiscal 2007. The Forest Service and Interior wildfire programs would receive $2.78 billion, $200 million more than last year. Wildfire suppression budgets would increase $163 million, to $1.134 billion for Interior and USFS.
Senate Interior Appropriations Subcommittee members expressed concern about rising fire suppression costs at a hearing last month. "The Forest Service seems to be turning into the fire service," said ranking member Larry Craig (R-Idaho).
Meanwhile, Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) has threatened to add language to the bill that would limit lawsuits against the new management plan for Alaska's Tongass National Forest (E&E Daily, May 23).
The Forest Service's latest draft Tongass plan aims to allow sales of up to 267 million board feet of timber from the 17-million-acre rainforest -- the same target level from the much-criticized and litigated 1997 management plan. That alternative also would allow making about 2.4 million acres of inventoried roadless areas available for logging.
When the bill hits the House floor, however, a coalition of Democrats and fiscal conservatives are preparing to once again offer an amendment to the bill to prevent spending on new logging roads in the Tongass. The House approved the amendment in 2004 and 2006, but the provision never reached the White House.
Interior spending levels
The House bill would boost spending for Interior by $262 million over fiscal 2007 and $454 million above the White House request to $10.167 billion.
The National Park Service would get $2.52 billion from the House, a $228 million increase over fiscal 2007. The bill would jump-start a major Bush administration initiative by providing $50 million in initial matching funds for private donations to the NPS centennial challenge.
President Bush's centennial challenge calls for $1 billion in mandatory spending -- $100 million over each of the next 10 years -- in donations from the public, friends groups and corporations for the centennial initiative, to be matched "dollar for dollar" by Congress. The $50 million added for fiscal 2008 is included as discretionary spending.
Congress would have to approve separate legislation if it wants to implement a 10-year mandatory spending package for NPS.
Also under the House bill:
The Bureau of Land Management would receive $1.046 billion in non-wildfire-related spending, about $26 million above the Bush administration request and last year's total.
The Fish and Wildlife Service and its endangered species accounts would receive more money than last year or the president's request. FWS comes in at $1.4 billion, $79 million more than last year. Endangered species would receive $152.5 million, almost $8 million more than last year. The listing and recovery budgets are also up.
The Minerals Management Service would receive $153.5 million under the royalty and offshore minerals management, roughly even with fiscal 2007. Oil spill research is again funded at $6 million.
The Office of Surface Mining would get $170 million in fiscal 2008, $1.8 million above the administration's request.
The U.S. Geological Survey would get $1.033 billion, a $50 million increase and $58 million above the White House request.
Payment in Lieu of Taxes would remain constant at $233 million, $43 million above the administration request.
Schedule: The Senate Appropriations Committee markup is set for 10 a.m. tomorrow in 124 Dirksen. It is unclear if the House Appropriations Committee will hold additional public meetings on the Interior-EPA spending bill.