McCollum statement on Department of Interior budget request

Secretary Jewell, I join with Chairman Calvert in welcoming you to the subcommittee today. I appreciate that you and Deputy Secretary Connor are here to provide insight into the fiscal year 2016 budget request for the Department of the Interior and to answer any questions we may have.

            Madam Secretary, as I look over the budget request for the department, I see a budget that recognizes the responsibility that all of us have to be good stewards of our federal lands and the natural and historical resources they contain.

I am pleased that the budget request builds upon the bipartisan commitment that this subcommittee has had to further the social and economic well-being of Native Americans, especially in the area of Indian Education.

While we have made some progress in addressing the issues that Native Americans face, there is so much more that needs to be done.

            It is also good to see the renewed commitment in the budget request to preserving and interpreting our national parks as part of the upcoming Centennial of the National Park Service.

Combined with the new initiative on America’s Civil Rights Story and ongoing efforts to engage our youth, you are laying a strong foundation for the preservation of our natural and historical heritage.

            I also appreciate the strong emphasis on science in this budget. Our land and waters face continued, and in many instances, growing threats from invasive species, drought, and climate change.

Our land managers and others need the body of scientific research this budget would provide in order to make informed decisions on actions to address or mitigate these threats.

            After years of diminished budgets, with agencies barely holding their own, your budget request attempts to turn the corner and put sequestration behind us.

That said, this is by no means an extravagant budget. Adjusted for inflation, this request proposes to spend less on Interior Department programs than we were spending a decade ago in 2005.

            Madam Secretary, I know you share with me the concern about the impacts these diminished budgets of the past few years have had not only on the resources entrusted to the department but also the impact on the dedicated employees who have been continually asked to do more with less.

            We can only hope that as the fiscal year 2016 budget goes forward we can restore some sanity to the budget process and that the subcommittee can get a fair and workable budget allocation that will enable us to provide the Interior Department with the fiscal tools it needs to carry out its important work.

            Madam Secretary, I appreciate the work that you and the employees of the Interior Department do each and every day and I look forward to your testimony this afternoon.

            Thank you Mr. Chairman.