Press Release : Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies

House Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03) today joined Chairwoman Kay Granger (R-TX-12) and Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Patty Murray (D-WA) and Vice Chairman Susan Collins (R-ME) in releasing six fiscal year 2024 appropriations bills. This package includes the following funding bills: Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies; Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies; Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies; Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies; Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies; and Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies.

Bill includes the lowest level the EPA has received since 1991, cuts funding for the arts, and prohibits Smithsonian from highlighting the contributions of American Latinos in U.S. history and culture.

House Republicans passed their fiscal year 2024 Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies funding bill that takes an aggressive anti-environment pro-pollution stance with a crippling 39 percent cut to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and policy provisions that will endanger public health, strain the economy, and increase costs. The bill also slashes funding for arts programs and prohibits funding for the new National Museum of the American Latino and the operation of the existing Molina Family Latino Gallery, which will prevent the Smithsonian from highlighting the contributions of American Latinos in United States History and culture.

House Republicans' fiscal year 2024 Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies appropriations bill, currently being considered before the full House Appropriations Committee, takes an aggressive anti-environment pro-pollution stance with a crippling 39 percent cut to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and policy provisions that will endanger public health, strain the economy, and increase costs. Stakeholders and organizations have expressed their concerns with the House Republicans’ funding plans. A selection of those concerns is included below.

House Republicans’ cuts to the Interior and Environment funding bill touch all aspects of programs that the American people depend on to ensure our air is safe to breathe, our water is safe to drink, and we are resilient in a changing climate. These cuts extend to undermining crucial support for the arts and humanities, which are an integral part of our communities and our society.

House Republicans today advanced their fiscal year 2024 Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies funding bill. The legislation takes an aggressive anti-environment pro-pollution stance with a crippling 39 percent cut to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and policy provisions that will endanger public health, strain the economy, and increase costs. The bill also slashes funding for arts programs and prohibits funding for the new National Museum of the American Latino and the operation of the existing Molina Family Latino Gallery, which will prevent the Smithsonian from highlighting the contributions of American Latinos in United States History and culture.

House Republicans released the draft fiscal year 2024 Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies funding bill, which will be considered in subcommittee tomorrow. The legislation takes an aggressive anti-environment pro-pollution stance with a crippling 39 percent cut to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and policy provisions that will endanger public health, strain the economy, and increase costs. The bill also slashes funding for arts programs and prohibits funding for the new National Museum of the American Latino and the operation of the existing Molina Family Latino Gallery, which will prevent the Smithsonian from highlighting the contributions of American Latinos in United States History and culture.

Based on information the House Appropriations Committee received from agency leaders in the Biden Administration, House Republicans’ reported proposal to cut fiscal year 2024 discretionary spending back to the fiscal year 2022 enacted level—resulting in a cut of at least 22 percent for essential programs—would ship manufacturing jobs overseas and undermine American workers.