Interior and Environment
More on Interior and Environment
I thank Chairman Calvert and Ranking Member Moran for your work on this bill. Chairman Calvert, congratulations on introducing your first bill and for following the Committee tradition of consulting the minority even if the outcome is not something we can support at this time. During this last Interior and Environment Subcommittee markup for Mr. Moran, I am sorry to see him go and wish him success in all his future endeavors. We are losing a true stalwart for the environment.
Of the eleven FY15 bills that have been released, this is perhaps the worst. Even though the allocation, $162 million more than the current level, was sufficient to produce a legitimate bill, the Majority squandered these additional resources.
Thank you Mr. Chairman.
Let me start off by saying that you have done a great job since assuming the chair from our colleague, Mike Simpson. I have enjoyed working with you and appreciate the cooperation exhibited by you and the subcommittee staff as we have worked to address some of the important issues facing not only our nation but our planet. You have carried out your duties as chairman in an open and collaborative manner and for that I am truly appreciative.
It has been my privilege to serve on this subcommittee for nearly 20 years, including serving as chairman, and for the last four years as the ranking member. I consider Interior and Environment a very important subcommittee. Literally the very quality of the air we breathe and the water we drink depends on the programs funded by this bill.
Thank you Mr. Chairman. And since this is our first hearing with you as chairman, let me publicly congratulate you on assuming this new role and say that I look forward to working with you on the many issues that this subcommittee faces. You have big shoes to fill following Chairman Simpson but I am confident that you are up to the task.
Chairman Calvert took over just as we were entering the final stretch on the FY 2014 budget and helped shepherd the Interior and Environment bill to completion. It was a significant achievement. While it took our budget colleagues 9 months to come up with an agreed upon overall number, it only took the Appropriations Committee 3 ½ weeks to turn that number into 12 appropriations bills. We all know how important it is that the Interior Department has a regular appropriation, rather than a CR, with which to operate.
Congresswoman Nita Lowey (D-NY), Ranking Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, today issued the following statement on President Obama's FY 2015 budget request:
"The FY2015 budget and appropriations process offers Congress its best opportunity in years to reject the politics of brinkmanship and crisis management, and instead fulfill our responsibility to invest in our future, create and protect jobs, and support services on which American families rely.
2013 enacted level: $29.8 billion
2014 Committee mark: $24.3 billion
2014 Omnibus: $30.1 billion
· $3.938 billion for wildland fire, which is $417 million more than the 2013 enacted level.
· $4.4 billion for the Indian Health Service, which is $78 million more than the 2013 enacted level.
· $2.5 billion for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, which is $18 million more than the 2013 enacted level.
· $8.2 billion for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which is $143 million less than the 2013 enacted level and $299 million more than the post-sequester level.