[Senate Hearing 114-]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, ENVIRONMENT, AND RELATED AGENCIES
APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2017
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U.S. Senate,
Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations,
Washington, DC.
NONDEPARTMENTAL WITNESSES
[Clerk's note.--The subcommittee was unable to hold
hearings on nondepartmental witnesses. The statements and
letters of those submitting written testimony are as follows:]
Prepared Statement of the 1854 Treaty Authority
1854 TREATY AUTHORITY
The 1854 Treaty Authority (Authority) is a tribal organization
funded by a Public Law 93-638 contract with the Bureau of Indian
Affairs (BIA) under its Trust-Natural Resources Management-Rights
Protection Implementation (RPI) budget.
--The Authority supports the administration's proposed $40,161,000
for BIA Rights Protection Implementation (an increase of
2,500,000) and a proportionate share for the Authority.
However, while the Authority supports the 2,500,000 increase to
RPI funding, we do not agree that the increase should be open
to a ``competitive proposal-based process'' as outlined in the
BIA fiscal year 2017 Justifications (a.k.a. BIA Greenbook), but
any increase should be allocated in the same proportions as it
has historically been distributed.
--The Authority supports the full finding of contract support for its
Public Law 93-638, Self-Determination contract at no less than
the administrations proposed $278,000,000.
--The Authority supports maintaining funding for the EPA Great Lakes
Restoration budget at least at its current level of
$300,000,000.
The Authority is a tribal organization responsible for protecting,
preserving, and regulating the treaty-reserved hunting, fishing and
gathering rights in the territory ceded to the United States by the
Chippewa in the Treaty of September 30, 1854, 10 Stat. 1109. The Bois
Forte Band and the Grand Portage Band created the authority following
Federal court affirmation of the rights in 1988. As part of a court-
approved agreement with the State of Minnesota, the Bands have
obligations to preserve the natural resources in the five (5) million
acre ceded territory and to regulate the activities of Band members
through a conservation code, enforcement officers, and a court. The
Authority has also been involved with a variety of inter-agency efforts
to study the effect of invasive species, climate change, and activities
that impact treaty resources.
Although it has significant responsibilities in a geographic area
the size of Massachusetts, the Authority has only fifteen (15) full-
time employees. With those limited resources, the Authority has been
able to collaborate with State, tribal and Federal agencies to become a
prominent presence in the conservation of resources critical to the
subsistence hunting, fishing and gathering activities of the Chippewa.
However, the successes of the Authority are overshadowed by the
challenges facing the trust resources that are at the heart of the
treaty rights. The Minnesota moose population has declined
precipitously in just a few years and for reasons unknown, invasive
species and climate change threaten the treaty fishing and wild rice
production areas across the ceded territory, and human activities
continue to deplete or displace wildlife populations.
The Authority urges the subcommittee and the Congress to
acknowledge that the resources we seek to protect are trust resources,
reserved in treaties that the United States has a legal obligation to
protect and preserve.
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Prepared Statement of the Aleutian Pribilof Islands Association
The requests of the Aleutian Pribilof Islands Association (APIA)
for the fiscal year 2017 Indian Health Service (IHS) budget are as
follows:
--Funding for a health facility replacement project in Atka, Alaska.
--Provide or require the IHS to allocate an additional $12.5 million
to fully fund Village Built Clinic Leases and make it a line
item in the budget.
--Place IHS funding on an advance appropriations basis.
--Continue with indefinite funding for Contract Support Costs (CSC)
but without the fiscal year 2016 proviso limiting carry-over
authority, and make indefinite CSC funding permanent and
mandatory.
The Aleutian Pribilof Islands Association (APIA) is a regional non-
profit tribal organization with members consisting of the 13 federally
recognized tribes of the Aleutian Chain and Pribilof Islands Region.
APIA provides healthcare services to the Alaska Natives in four of the
tribal communities of this Region through funding received from IHS
under Title V of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance
Act (ISDEAA). We also provide health-related services through various
non-IHS grants and agreements.
atka clinic replacement
We are requesting $2.9 million for a health facility replacement in
Atka, Alaska.
--During World War II, Atka Health Clinic was also destroyed along
with the entire community by the United States Navy to keep our
enemies from using the area.
--In Atka the APIA is working with and helping the City of Atka on a
grant and funding package.
--In Unalaska a Joint Venture application with the Indian Health
Service is approved, which also includes Atka.
--The Current Atka Health Clinic is inadequate to provide the care
the community deserves, it is beyond repair and even a simple
window replacement cannot be supported with the existing
structure. It is vulnerable to weather & the life safety code.
--The Atka IRA Council, the City, APIA & APIDCA have taken the first
steps to finance the design in the amount of $128,000.
--Site-work plans, foundation design, floor plans & draft RFP for a
modular building is completed.
--The Atka Health Clinic is a newly designated Community Health
Center that serves everyone regardless of race or ability to
pay; it is a Veterans service site, as well as an Indian Health
Service site.
--We are ready to take this project to the next level & begin the
construction phase.
--We are specifically requesting support for construction funding in
the amount of $2,923,100.
funding for village built clinics in alaska
The Village Built Clinics (VBCs) continue to face a significant
funding crisis. We thank you for the $2 million appropriated in fiscal
year 2016 to supplement what was being spent on clinic leases and are
heartened by the administration's request of $11 million in fiscal year
2017 ($9 million increase plus $2 million from fiscal year 2016) for
this same purpose.
VBCs are leased by the IHS from other entities and are a vital
component of the provision of basic healthcare services in rural
Alaska, as they serve as the clinic space for the Community Health Aide
Program (CHAP). The CHAP utilizes a network of community health aides
and practitioners to provide primary healthcare services in otherwise
unserved rural and isolated areas. Rental amounts for the VBCs have
failed to keep pace with costs--the majority of the leases for VBCs
have not increased since 1989. As a result, many of the VBCs are unsafe
or have had to be closed, leaving some villages in Alaska without a
local healthcare facility.
In addition, the President's proposed fiscal year 2017 clinic lease
bill language may need some clarification, depending on IHS's
interpretation of the reference that healthcare be delivered in a space
acquired through a ``full service lease''. In some cases tribes receive
VBC funding as part of their recurring base, and so the IHS no longer
has ``full service leases'' in place for those clinics. We know that
the Appropriations Committees do not intend to limit VBC eligibility
based on unclear terminology.
In sum, these amounts are a step in the right direction but the
2105 ANHB study that analyzed the funding deficiency statewide for
these facilities identified an increased need of $12.5 million
increase. We urge that the full amount needed be appropriated. We also
support maintaining this funding as a line item in the bill.
ihs advance appropriations & mandatory contract support costs
We continue to support placing the IHS budget on an advance
appropriations basis, as Congress has done with the Veterans
Administration (VA) health accounts. The fiscal year 2016 budget
justification for the VA said advance appropriation is necessary to
``fulfill the administration's commitment to provide reliable and
timely resources to support the delivery of accessible and high-quality
medical services for veterans.'' Advance appropriations for the IHS is
equally important to the predictable and timely funding of healthcare
for Alaska Natives and American Indians, and for us to more effectively
use our resources in what is otherwise a difficult fiscal environment.
We wish to extend our appreciation to the subcommittee for its
support for full funding of CSC. We support the President's proposal
for an appropriation in fiscal year 2017 of ``such sums as may be
necessary,'' with an estimated $800 million for CSC for the IHS in a
separate accounts within the IHS's discretionary budget. We join with
others in Indian Country, however, in asking that the proviso from the
fiscal year 2016 appropriations language (``amounts obligated but not
expended by a tribe or tribal organization for contract support costs
for such agreements for the current fiscal year shall be applied to
contract support costs otherwise due for such agreements for subsequent
fiscal years'') be removed in 2017 and thereafter. We also believe that
indefinite CSC funding should ultimately be made permanent and
mandatory, beginning no later than fiscal year 2018.
We appreciate your consideration of our request outlined in this
testimony. On behalf of APIA and the people we serve, I am happy to
provide any other additional information desired by the subcommittee.
[This statement was submitted by Dimitri Philemonof, President and
CEO.]
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Prepared Statement of the America's Great Waters Coalition
Albemarle-Pamlico Sound Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River
Basin
Chesapeake Bay Coastal Louisiana Colorado River
Delaware River
Everglades Galveston Bay Great Lakes Gulf of
Maine Lake Champlain
Long Island Sound Mississippi River Missouri River
Narragansett Bay
New York/New Jersey Harbor and Hudson Estuary Ohio River
Puget Sound Rio Grande San Francisco Bay
St. Johns River
Dear Chairwoman Murkowski and Ranking Member Udall:
We express our strong support for your subcommittee's dedication to
the restoration of America's Great Waters. As the fiscal year 2017
appropriations bills are developed, we respectfully urge you to
maintain strong funding for programs that enable important work to
restore landscapes like those in and around the America's 21 Great
Waters.\1\ In addition to these waterways being valuable ecological
resources, they are also significant economic drivers for large swaths
of the Nation, providing much-needed jobs and opportunities for untold
numbers of Americans. As you make difficult decisions regarding
funding, we want to highlight the solid return on taxpayer investments
in Great Waters restoration.
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\1\ America's Great Waters Coalition recognizes 21 Great Waters
based on specific criteria. These waters are the Albemarle-Pamlico
Sound, Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin, Chesapeake Bay,
Coastal Louisiana, Colorado River, Delaware River, Everglades,
Galveston Bay, Great Lakes, Gulf of Maine, Lake Champlain, Long Island
Sound, Mississippi River, Missouri River, Narragansett Bay, New York/
New Jersey Harbor and Hudson Estuary, Ohio River, Puget Sound, Rio
Grande, San Francisco Bay, and St. Johns River.
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As you prepare the fiscal year 2017 Interior appropriations bill,
we encourage you to maintain robust funding for programs that support
aquatic ecosystem restoration and exclude policy riders that harm our
Great Waters and derail ongoing restoration efforts. Programs important
for restoring Great Waters in the Interior bill include but are not
limited to:
--EPA's Geographic Programs, which include robust and successful
restoration programs in the Chesapeake Bay, Lake Champlain,
Great Lakes, Long Island Sound, Puget Sound and others.
--The National Estuary Program, which has restored and protected 1.75
million acres of coastal habitats in 28 estuaries since 2000
and has leveraged $18 of investment for every dollar provided
by EPA.
--Department of the Interior priorities such as the National Park
Service's Everglades restoration initiatives; the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service's Coastal Program, Cooperative Landscape
Conservation Program, National Coastal Wetlands Grant, and
North American Wetlands Conservation Act programs; and Joint
Ventures, which bring together partners to conserve habitat.
--Clean Water State Revolving Fund and Drinking Water State Revolving
Fund, which provide important resources for States and
municipalities to make much-needed upgrades to wastewater
treatment systems and include dedicated Green Project Reserves
in each fund.
--Section 319 Nonpoint Source Management Program, which is the
primary grants program for States, Territories, and tribes to
address nonpoint source challenges.
--USGS National Water Quality Program, which provides robust water
quality monitoring and data for informed decisionmaking.
At a time when Federal lawmakers need to make smart spending
choices, restoration offers one of the best returns on investment in
the Federal budget. Restored watersheds improve our quality of life,
increase property values, provide clean water, support fish and
wildlife and enhance outdoor recreation for our families. The on-the-
ground work to restore our coasts, lakes, rivers, and estuaries
produces jobs and utilizes skills and machinery available in the local
workforce that provide many benefits to local economies.
--According to Restore America's Estuaries, restoring our coasts can
create more than 30 jobs for every million dollars invested,
which is more than twice as many jobs as the oil and gas and
road construction industries combined.
--Along the Mississippi River, estimates show that more than 50
habitat restoration projects contribute approximately $16.5
million to small businesses and employ more than 300 people in
rural counties where, so often, unemployment is the highest
following the closure of factories and other industries along
the river.
--A report by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation found that economic
benefits provided by nature in the Chesapeake watershed will
total $130 billion annually, an increase of $22 billion
annually, when the Chesapeake Clean Water Blueprint is fully
implemented.
--A study conducted by Mather Economics found that for every $1
invested in restoring the Everglades, there is at least a $4
return in economic benefits, and that over the next 50 years,
the incremental impact of Everglades restoration is expected to
produce more than 440,000 jobs.
--A study of the Delaware River Watershed found that it contributes
$25 billion in annual economic activity and $21 billion in
ecosystem goods and services.
The America's Great Waters Coalition represents diverse national,
regional, State and local organizations working to protect, preserve
and restore our Nation's waters. The Coalition is a result of years of
work by national and local organizations to bring the broader
restoration community together to ``lift all boats.'' Together, we urge
you to continue to provide the highest level of funding possible for
Federal programs critical for effective Great Waters restoration.
Sincerely,
Molly M. Flanagan, Vice President, Policy
--Alliance for the Great Lakes
Jim Bradley, Vice President, Policy and Government
Relations
--American Rivers
Eric Draper, Executive Director
--Audubon Florida
Wayne Daltry, President
--Audubon of Southwest Florida
Paul J. Marinelli, President
--Audubon of the Western Everglades
Jennifer Browning, Executive Director
--Bluestem Communications
John R. Paul III, President
--Caloosahatchee River Citizens Association
(Riverwatch)
Alix Murdoch, Federal Policy Director
--Chesapeake Bay Foundation
Kathleen E. Aterno, Florida Director
--Clean Water Action
Madeline Urbish, Director
--Coalition for the Delaware River Watershed
Clark Bullard, Director
--Committee on the Middle Fork Vermilion River
Kelly Reed, Vice President, Government Relations
--The Conservation Fund
Duane De Vries, President
--Dwight Lydell Chapter, Izaak Walton League of
America
Dan Silver, Executive Director
--Endangered Habitats League
Jennifer Rubiello, State Director
--Environment Florida
Manley Fuller, President
--Florida Wildlife Federation
Ted Auch PhD, Great Lakes Program Coordinator and
Lead Researcher
--The FracTracker Alliance
Elinor Williams, President
--Friends of ARM Lox NWR
Jeff Skelding, Executive Director
--Friends of the Upper Delaware River
Matt Rota, Senior Policy Director
--Gulf Restoration Network
Indra Frank, MD, MPH, Environmental Health & Water
Policy Director
--Hoosier Environmental Council
Darwin Adams, Chairman
--Illinois Council of Trout Unlimited
Robert Stegmier, National Director
--Izaak Walton League of America
Ivan J. Hack, Jr., President, Headwaters Chapter
--Izaak Walton League of America
Scott Kovarovics, Executive Director
--Izaak Walton League of America
Tom FitzGerald, Director
--Kentucky Resources Council, Inc.
Judy Petersen, Executive Director
--Kentucky Waterways Alliance
Lori Fisher, Executive Director
--Lake Champlain Committee
Sandy Bihn, Executive Director
--Lake Erie Waterkeeper Inc.
John Ruskey, Director
--Lower Mississippi River Foundation
Cheryl Nenn, Riverkeeper
--Milwaukee Riverkeeper
Theresa Pierno, President & CEO
--National Parks Conservation Association
Adam Kolton, Vice President of Federal Policy
--National Wildlife Federation
Sarah Murdock, Director, U.S. Climate Resilience
and Water Policy
--The Nature Conservancy
Todd Miller, Executive Director
--North Carolina Coastal Federation
George L. Jones, Director of Special Projects
--Ocean Research and Conservation Association,
Inc. Duerr Laboratory for Marine
Conservation
Kristy Meyer, Managing Director Natural Resources
--Ohio Environmental Council
Rich Cogen, Executive Director
--Ohio River Foundation
Carol Hays, Executive Director
--Prairie Rivers Network
Millard McCleary, Executive Program Director
--Reef Relief
Allison Colden, Senior Manager of External Affairs
--Restore America's Estuaries
Nicole Barker, Executive Director
--Save the Dunes
Lee Willbanks, Executive Director, Upper St.
Lawrence Riverkeeper
--Save the River
Stephen Mahoney, Conservation Chair
--Sierra Club Miami Group
Brett Fitzgerald, Executive Director
--Snook and Gamefish Foundation
Dana Wright, Water Policy Director
--Tennessee Clean Water Network
Paul Botts, President & Executive Director
--The Wetlands Initiative
______
Prepared Statement of the American Alliance of Museums
Chairman Murkowski, Ranking Member Udall, and members of the
subcommittee, thank you for allowing me to submit this testimony. My
name is Laura L. Lott and I serve as President and CEO of the American
Alliance of Museums (AAM). We urge your support for at least $155
million each in fiscal year 2017 for the National Endowment for the
Arts (NEA) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), as well
as $922.2 million for the Smithsonian Institution. We also request your
support for the Historic Preservation Fund (HPF), including at least
$55 million for State Historic Preservation Offices (SHPOs), $15
million for Tribal Historic Preservation Offices (THPOs) and $28
million to preserve the sites and stories of the Civil Rights Movement.
We request restored funding of $30 million and $4.6 million
respectively for the Save America's Treasures (SAT) and Preserve
America programs.
Before detailing these funding priorities for the museum field, I
want to express my deepest appreciation for the increases enacted by
the subcommittee in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, Public Law
114-113. The additional funds for the NEH, NEA, Smithsonian Institution
and historic preservation activities will enhance museums' work to
enrich their communities and preserve our many heritages. I know the
subcommittee once again faces a very limited 302(b) allocation, and
must make difficult decisions. In this context, however, we would posit
that each of our priorities outlined below is a vital investment that
will both protect our Nation's cultural treasures and provide a
tremendous economic benefit.
AAM is proud to represent the full range of our Nation's museums--
including aquariums, art museums, botanic gardens, children's museums,
culturally specific museums, historic sites, history museums, maritime
museums, military museums, natural history museums, planetariums,
presidential libraries, science and technology centers, and zoos, among
others--along with the professional staff and volunteers who work for
and with museums. AAM is honored to work on behalf of the Nation's
approximately 35,000 museums, which employ 400,000 people, invest more
than $2 billion annually in educational programs, receive more than 55
million visits each year from primary and secondary school students,
and directly contribute $21 billion to their local economies.
Museums are essential in our communities for many reasons:
--Museums are key education providers.--Museums already offer
educational programs in math, science, art, literacy, language
arts, history, civics and government, economics and financial
literacy, geography, and social studies, in coordination with
State and local curriculum standards. Museums also provide
experiential learning opportunities, STEM education, youth
training, job preparedness, and a range of programs geared
toward homeschooling families. They reach beyond the scope of
instructional programming for schoolchildren by also providing
critical teacher training. There is a growing consensus that
whatever the new educational era looks like, it will focus on
the development of a core set of skills: critical thinking, the
ability to synthesize information, creativity, and
collaboration. We believe museums are uniquely situated to help
learners develop these core skills, and this is borne out by
evidence. According to a recent University of Arkansas study,
students who attended just a half-day field trip to an art
museum experienced an increase in critical thinking skills,
historical empathy and tolerance. For students from rural or
high-poverty regions, the increase was even more significant.
--Museums create jobs and support local economies.--Museums serve as
economic engines, bolster local infrastructure, and spur
tourism. Both the U.S. Conference of Mayors and the National
Governors Association agree that cultural assets such as
museums are essential to attracting businesses, a skilled
workforce, and local and international tourism.
--Museums address community challenges.--Many museums offer programs
tailored to seniors, veterans, children with special needs,
persons with disabilities, and more, greatly expanding their
reach and impact. For example, some have programs designed
specifically for children on the autism spectrum while others
are addressing veterans' post-war trauma or providing youth job
training opportunities.
--Digitization and traveling exhibitions bring museum collections to
underserved populations.--Teachers, students, and researchers
benefit when cultural institutions are able to increase access
to trustworthy information through online collections and
traveling exhibits. Most museums, however, need more resources
to digitize collections.
The National Endowment for the Humanities is an independent Federal
agency created by Congress in 1965. Grants are awarded to nonprofit
educational institutions--including museums, colleges, universities,
archives, and libraries--for educational programming and the care of
collections. NEH supports museums as institutions of learning and
exploration, and as keepers of our cultural, historical, and scientific
heritages.
In 2015, through Preservation & Access, one of NEH's national
program divisions, 63 peer-reviewed, competitive grants totaling over
$3.6 million dollars were awarded to museums, historical societies and
historic sites for a variety of projects to preserve and provide access
to our Nation's rich cultural heritage. Across all NEH divisions
(including Preservation and Access, Research, Education, Public
Programs, Challenge Grants and Digital Humanities), these institutions
received 118 awards totaling over $12.5 million. Demand for humanities
project support, as demonstrated by NEH grant application rates, far
exceeds available funding. In fiscal year 2015, NEH received 4,928
competitive grant applications representing $482.8 million in requested
funds, but was only able to fund 15.4 percent of these peer-reviewed
proposals.
NEH also provides approximately 40 percent of its funding directly
to States through grants to humanities councils located in every State
and U.S. Territory. In 2015, 55 State councils supported 4,266 events
in museums, reaching a total audience of more than 2.1 million people.
Here are just two examples of how NEH funding supports museums'
work in your communities:
--In 2015, Chugachmiut was awarded $250,000 for the creation of an
online digital archive of approximately 700 ethnographic
objects, art works, and photographs, representing the cultural
heritage of the Chugach people of southern Alaska. The project
will gather, upload, display, and disseminate historical
information about all Chugach ethnographic collections
worldwide on a dedicated Web site accessible to researchers.
--In 2015, The International Folk Art Foundation in Santa Fe, New
Mexico was awarded $400,000 for The Red that Colored the World,
including implementation of a traveling exhibition, a catalog,
and public programs about the history and global significance
of cochineal, an insect-based dye source whose origins date to
the pre-Columbian Americas.
The National Endowment for the Arts makes art accessible to all and
provides leadership in arts education. Established in 1965, NEA
supports great art in every congressional district. Its grants to
museums help them exhibit, preserve, and interpret visual material
through exhibitions, residencies, publications, commissions, public art
works, conservation, documentation, services to the field, and public
programs.
In 2015, more than 2,000 museums participated as Blue Star
Museums--a partnership between NEA, Blue Star Families, and the
Department of Defense--to offer free admission to all active duty and
reserve personnel and their families from Memorial Day through Labor
Day. This particular effort served more than 839,000 people, while many
other museums offer military discounts or free admission throughout the
year.
In 2015, NEA made more than 160 direct awards to museums, totaling
over $5 million. Forty percent of NEA's grant funds are distributed to
State arts agencies for re-granting, and many museums benefit from
these funds as well. Receiving a grant from the NEA confers prestige on
supported projects, strengthening museums' ability to attract matching
funds from other public and private funders. On average, each dollar
awarded by the NEA leverages more than nine dollars from other sources.
Here are two examples of how NEA funding is used to support
museums' work in your communities:
--In 2015, the American Jazz Museum received $20,000 to support an
indoor and outdoor jazz and blues festival, including education
programming for youth and adults as well as potential
performance opportunities for local youth jazz ensembles.
--In 2015, Art Mobile of Montana, in Dillon, received $15,000 to
support a traveling exhibition and visual arts education
program. A specially equipped van travels throughout the State,
providing access to original artworks by Montana artists. The
program provides resources for teachers in selected schools on
Indian reservations.
In addition to these direct grants, NEA's Arts and Artifacts
Indemnity program also allows museums to apply for Federal indemnity on
major exhibitions, saving them roughly $30 million in insurance costs
every year and making many more exhibitions available to the public--
all at virtually no cost to the American taxpayer.
The Smithsonian Institution comprises some of the most visited
museums in the world, including the National Museum of American
History, the National Air and Space Museum, and the National Museum of
Natural History. The Smithsonian reaches visitors and learners of all
ages, in the Nation's capital and across the country, with innovative
exhibits and programs. Its 20 museums--including the National Zoo--
attracted over 28 million in-person visitors last year, its Web sites
reached more than 100 million unique visitors, and its content and
curriculums are used by teachers all over the country.
The President's fiscal year 2017 budget request of $922.2 million
includes critical funding necessary for the maintenance, operation, and
security of the National Museum of African American History and
Culture, which is due to open in September. Additional funding for
collections care, cutting-edge research of every type, facilities
maintenance, and technology upgrades will allow the Smithsonian to
continue caring for the Nation's treasures and increase access for all.
The Historic Preservation Fund is the funding source of
preservation awards to States, tribes, local governments, and
nonprofits. State and Tribal Historic Preservation Offices carry out
the historic preservation work of the Federal Government on State and
tribal lands. These duties include making nominations to the National
Register of Historic Places, reviewing impacts of Federal projects,
providing assistance to developers seeking a rehabilitation tax credit,
working with local preservation commissions, and conducting
preservation education and planning. This Federal-State-local
foundation of America's historic preservation program was established
by the National Historic Preservation Act. We urge you to provide $55
million for SHPOs and $15 million for THPOs through the Historic
Preservation Fund.
We also urge you to restore funding of $30 million for Save
America's Treasures and $4.6 million for Preserve America, which have
not been funded in recent years. From 1999 to 2010, Federal funding of
$315 million for 1,287 Save America's Treasures projects leveraged an
additional $400 million in non-Federal funds. These projects protected
some of America's most iconic and endangered artifacts, including Ansel
Adams' prints and negatives, Frank Lloyd Wright structures including
Fallingwater, and the American flag that inspired the Star Spangled
Banner. SAT projects also created more than 16,000 jobs in local
communities across the country. We are disappointed that the
administration did not include this funding in its fiscal year 2017
budget.
Also in the context of the Historic Preservation Fund, we support
the administration's requested increases for the Civil Rights
Initiative, including $25 million for competitive historic preservation
grants to preserve the stories and sites associated with the Civil
Rights Movement as well as $3 million to help Historically Black
Colleges and Universities conduct similar documentation and
interpretation.
The 2005 Heritage Health Index of archives, libraries, historical
societies, and museums concluded that action is needed to prevent the
loss of millions of artifacts, and an updated Heritage Health Index due
soon is predicted to show a continuing urgent need. Historic
preservation programs are not only essential to protecting our many
heritages; they also serve as economic development engines and job
creators.
I want to once more acknowledge the difficult choices that the
subcommittee faces. I hope that my testimony has made it clear why
these priorities are of critical importance to the Nation and will
provide a worthwhile return on investment to the American taxpayer.
Thank you again for the opportunity to submit this testimony.
______
Prepared Statement of the American Chemical Society
As Congress and the administration consider funding priorities for
fiscal year 2017 in a tight budgetary environment, the American
Chemical Society (ACS) urges policy makers to support the important
work carried out by the Environmental Protection Agency's Science and
Technology Program. In reviewing the President`s budget request, ACS
has identified two areas of focus for EPA:
1. Funding the EPA Science & Technology account at the requested
amount of $754 million and increasing support for scientific research
supported by the agency, particularly through the Office of Research
and Development (ORD).
2. Restoring $10 million the Science To Achieve Results (STAR)
fellowships program to the fiscal year 2016 enacted amount of $49.8
million.
The American Chemical Society (ACS) would like to thank Chairperson
Lisa Murkowski and Ranking Member Tom Udall for the opportunity to
submit testimony for the record on the Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) science and technology programs for fiscal year 2008.
ACS is a non-profit scientific and educational organization,
chartered by Congress, representing approximately 157,000 individual
chemical scientists and engineers. The world's largest scientific
society, ACS advances the chemical enterprise, increases public
understanding of chemistry, and brings its expertise to bear on State,
national, and international matters.
We look to science to understand environmental challenges and to
develop more intelligent, less burdensome solutions. Over the past two
decades, demand for more scientific evidence--whether to set or improve
regulations--has grown substantially. The amount of research envisioned
in EPA-related authorizations also has increased. Nevertheless,
appropriations for EPA science programs have not kept pace with the
need for more and better science.
Over the last 20 years, the EPA S&T account, which includes the ORD
and research programs in other EPA Offices, has fluctuated between 7
and 10 percent of the agency's total budget. In order for EPA set
science-based national environmental standards, conduct research and
environmental monitoring, and provide technical assistance to States,
local governments, and businesses, the S&T account needs to increase as
a percentage of the agency's total budget, ultimately to a stable 10
percent level. The President's budget request is $754 million, a
roughly 2.6 percent increase over fiscal year 2016, and 9.2 percent of
the total agency request. While ACS supports the President's request,
we urge the subcommittee to find additional resources to boost S&T
spending at EPA to eventually reach 10 percent of the agency budget.
In the long term, ACS recommends the ORD account should eventually
receive $646 million, consistent with its 2004 funding high point. This
represents an increase of 20.5 percent percent relative to fiscal year
2016 funding levels. ACS strongly urges to the subcommittee to work
with EPA to boost resources for ORD to request and appropriate steadily
increasing amounts to eventually reach the 2004 level. ACS recommends
that the additional funds be applied to the following priority areas:
--Provide at least a $10 million increase in funding for STAR
fellowship program.
--Increase funding of green chemistry and engineering to advance the
development and use of innovative, environmentally benign
products and processes.
--Invest in EPA's ability to recruit, develop, and retain an
effective scientific workforce.
--Continue investing in Federal research and technology development
to reduce or avoid greenhouse gas emissions and address the
potential impacts of global climate change.
--Support innovative and high-risk research to help identify and
explore future environmental problems and develop new sets of
technologies to solve existing problems.
The fiscal year 2008 budget request continues a pattern of flat
support for science at EPA for the Office of Research & Development,
which is the largest part of the S&T account. The administration
requested $512 million for ORD for fiscal year 2017. This represents a
-.2 percent cut in ORD resources over fiscal year 2016. The decrease,
when accounting for inflation, in ORD accounts from fiscal year 2016
threatens ORD's mission to carry out world class environmental
research, further damaging the Government's ability to provide top
notch research on behalf of the American taxpayer and ensure America's
policy makers use sound scientific advice in decisionmaking.
The administration's proposal to reduce funding in the STAR
fellowship program is a good case in point. This program is the only
Federal program dedicated to graduate study in environmental sciences
at colleges and universities across the country. The STAR fellowships
are part of a cohesive effort to characterize critical or emerging
environmental problems and create solutions to address them. EPA
designed this extramural research grant program to work in cooperation
with a fellowship program. Together, they provide ideas, information,
new discoveries, and new researchers. Today's STAR fellows will become
tomorrow's environmental experts working for industry, Government
agencies like EPA, and academic institutions. The loss of this
program's resources will further erode the agency's capability to
attract an excellent workforce and will reduce the amount of scientific
information available to inform agency decisions. Over the last decade,
STAR fellowship funding has been reduced by over half. We urge the
subcommittee to restore funding to the appropriated level of $49.8
million from the budget request of $39.1 million.
ACS supports increased funding for green chemistry and engineering
programs to advance the development and use of innovative products and
process, reducing or eliminating the use of hazardous substances.
Because chemistry and chemical products fuel the economy of every
industrialized nation, the tools and strategies chemists and chemical
engineers develop will be instrumental in meeting the dual challenges
of protecting the environment and strengthening the economy.
ACS is a long term advocate for increased attention to research
programs at EPA, both in budgetary and in management terms, and our
enthusiasm for these programs remain strong.
[This statement was submitted by J. Carl Maxwell, Director, Energy
and Environment Policy, Office of Public Affairs.]
______
Prepared Statement of the American Forest Foundation
America's family-owned forests, over one-third of the Nation's
forested landscape, are critical to meeting the Nation's clean air and
water, wildlife, and wood supply needs today and in the future. With
impending threats to these forests from catastrophic wildfires,
development pressures, insects, diseases, and other issues, continued
delivery of these benefits is not guaranteed. Funding for critical U.S.
Forest Service programs is essential for helping the 22 million people
who own these lands, continue to provide these necessities for all
Americans. In particular, we request the following funding levels and
policy improvements for critical programs in the USDA Forest Service
budget:
--Revise budgeting structure for wildfire suppressing to allow
expenses for large wildfires to be paid for from emergency
funds and to reverse both the ``borrowing'' and the gradual
decline of key agency program funding.
--$479 million for the hazardous fuels program accompanied with
policy direction to support increased cross-boundary
collaboration and implementation, especially with private
landowners, through the hazardous fuels program.
--$29 million for the Forest Stewardship Program with continued
direction to encourage a focus on outcomes and measurable
impact.
--$23.5 million for the Landscape Restoration Program.
--$83 million for the Forest Inventory and Analysis Program.
--$27 million for the Forest Products Laboratory.
--$48 million for Forest Health Protection on Cooperative lands.
The American Forest Foundation is a nonprofit conservation
organization that works on the ground with the more than 22 million
family woodland owners through a variety of programs, including the
American Tree Farm System, to protect the values and benefits of
America's family forests, with a specific focus on clean water,
wildlife, and sustainable wood supplies. Unfortunately, new data
suggests that by 2020, more than 18 million acres of family forests
will be threatened by housing development. Furthermore, almost 14
million acres are at risk of mortality due to insects and disease,
while 29 million are at high or very high risk of destruction from
wildfire.\1\ At the same time, less than 15 percent of family forest
owners have sought out technical service for the stewardship of their
forests; therefore, it is essential that we provide families with the
tools, technical information, and policy support to keep their forests
as forests and help them accomplish their management objectives while
also protecting the critical benefits Americans depend on every day.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Family Forest Research Center, 2014 Preliminary Data.
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wildfire suppression funding fix
Over the last decade, wildfire expenses have significantly
increased, and the Federal wildfire budgets are often insufficient to
cover the costs, leading Federal agencies to transfer funds from non-
fire accounts to cover fire-fighting expenses. Additionally, as the
budgeted 10-year average of wildfire fighting costs has increased in a
limited budget, non-fire programs have gradually been squeezed.
Programs like the Forest Stewardship Program have seen as much as a 20
percent decline in the last few years, causing serious challenges with
State forestry agency's abilities to work with family landowners.
We urge passage of legislation that will both end the disruptive
borrowing and reverse the trend of wildfire fighting costs consuming
the Forest Service budget at the expense of other critical programs.
hazardous fuels program cross boundary direction
A recent AFF survey of family landowners in the West showed that
family owners are aware and interested in implementing management to
reduce wildfire risks on their properties but there are two important
barriers: cost and concern about lack of action by their neighbors. Why
is this important? AFF also completed recent analysis that shows if we
want to protect critical watersheds in the West from the risks of
catastrophic wildfire--which can destroy the storage and filtration
benefits forests provide-leading to water quality and quantity
problems-- we've got to engage family landowners in wildfire
mitigation. In fact our analysis shows that nearly 40 percent of the
land that keeps water clean in important watersheds that are at a high
risk of wildfire, are private and family-owned. Cross-boundary
collaborative projects that engage all landowners in a landscape or a
watershed-- both public and private, will help address these challenges
and will also help motivate landowners to act. Thus, we ask the
subcommittee to provide direction to the Forest Service and the
Department of the Interior to work in partnership with State forestry
agencies to encourage cross-boundary collaboration and implementation
of wildfire mitigation at a landscape scale, through the hazardous
fuels program. We also ask the subcommittee to fund the Forest Service
hazardous fuels program at $479 million.
This approach is working. For example, in the Blue Mountains of
Oregon, AFF is working through a local collaborative, that involves
public agencies and local organizations working together to support
wildfire mitigation across the landscape. This collaborative has
realized that treating only one piece of the puzzle--the public lands
side which has been where most of the focus has been--is not going to
full protect communities, homes, lives, and water supplies. To date, we
have succeeded in engaging landowners who are now managing almost
22,000 acres for wildfire mitigation, in the patchwork of public and
private lands. We are similarly working in collaboratives in Colorado's
Front Range, Montana's Great Falls, and California's Northern Sierra's.
forest stewardship program
The Forest Stewardship Program (FSP), implemented through State
forestry agencies, provides Federal support for the boots-on-the-ground
needed to engage family landowners in stewardship. With strong funding
of $29 million for fiscal year 2017 and strategic changes, FSP could do
more. FSP can be, and in some States already is, an essential lynchpin
for conducting outreach, marketing, and interaction with landowners in
ways that can measurably protect clean water, wildlife habitat, and
sustainable wood supplies. Without the presence on the ground,
effective landowner engagement will be impossible. We encourage the
subcommittee to continue to provide direction to support the changes
underway in the program to better focus the program on measurable
outcomes, encourage targeted marketing and engagement so resources are
focused on the highest priorities, and encourage sustained engagement
with landowners so resources are used most effectively to achieve
priority outcomes on the landscape.
landscape scale restoration program
The Landscape Scale Restoration Program (LSR), which provides
resources through a competitive process, to States and partner
organizations to implement work that results in measurable outcomes, is
a very effective program. Through LSR, State agencies are working with
partners like AFF to move the needle on key issues like protecting
clean water in the West or restoring critical ecosystems in the south
which will be essential to preventing another flood of species listings
in the south. The program is leveraging private sector funding as well.
AFF strongly urges the subcommittee to support $23.513 million for the
Landscape Restoration Program.
forest inventory and analysis program
The Forest Inventory and Analysis Program provides critical data to
inform natural resource decisions, such as where to site a new mill,
where to implement wildfire mitigation treatments for the greatest
impact, how much carbon is captured and stored in our forests. FIA also
provides trends in family forest ownership and demographics so that we
can better understand how to work with this significant ownership
group. We appreciate the work of the subcommittee in fiscal year 2016
to increase funding for this program and we encourage an increase to
$83 million in fiscal year 2017, to allow the agency to implement the
current measurement cycle, at a minimum.
forest products laboratory
The Forest Products Laboratory, part of USFS Research and
Development, provides critical research for increasing the market
opportunities for forest products. Recently, the Laboratory has been
essential to providing the science and data needed to build the new
tall wood buildings we are beginning to see in the U.S., that have both
economic and environmental benefits. The Lab is also key to researching
new products for forests--from biomass energy to nanotechnology
products. Markets that provide landowners with income to implement
management such as hazardous fuels reduction or habitat creation, will
be essential if we're to address the issues facing family lands and
continue to see the benefits from these lands. We appreciate the
increase the subcommittee provided for the Lab in fiscal year 2016 and
we ask that this funding level, of $27 million be at least maintained
in fiscal year 2017. We also urge the subcommittee to provide direction
that the increased funds be used for a combination of research,
development, and technology transfer for advancing wood building
construction, nanotechnology, and biomass technology development.
state fire assistance
We ask the subcommittee to provide $87 million for State Fire
Assistance to support the program's coordinated fire protection and
mobilization for fire suppression on both Federal and non-Federal
lands. In addition, the funds support State-coordinated hazard
mitigation activities in the wildland-urban interface, focus on
reducing property loss, decrease fuels hazards, increase public
awareness, develop fire plans, and increase citizen-driven solutions in
rural communities.
forest health investments
Threats from invasive species and pests continue to pervade
American tree-farmers' lands, thus posing economic and environmental
hardships. Close to 500 species of tree-damaging pests from other
countries have become established in the United States, and a new one
is introduced, on average, every 2 to 3 years. The USFS Forest Health
Protection (FHP) Program is necessary to help prevent, contain, and
eradicate these dangerous pests and pathogens. The program provides
critical assistance to other Federal agencies, State agencies, local
agencies and private landowners. We ask the subcommittee fund the
Forest Health Cooperative lands program at $48 million, to provide
protection from insects and diseases on non-Federal lands, including
family lands.
Thank you for considering these requests. We know the subcommittee
has difficult decisions to make, in this era of limited budgets,
especially with the rising costs of wildfire suppression. We hope that
the subcommittee will consider the impact the above mentioned
priorities can have on millions of family forest owners, along with all
other Americans who reap the benefits of well-managed, working forests.
We, at AFF, thank the subcommittee for the opportunity to provide
some insight on these programs.
[This statement was submitted by Tom Martin, President & CEO.]
______
Prepared Statement of American Forests
Dear Chairman Murkowski, Ranking Member Udall, and honorable
subommittee members:
American Forests appreciates the opportunity to submit public
testimony regarding our fiscal year 2017 appropriation recommendations.
We understand the continuing economic realities facing the Nation, and
we thank this subcommittee for its support of key Federal conservation
programs in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2016. The return on
investing in our Nation's forests is great, whether those forests are
public or private, in urban areas or in wildlands. The economic,
social, and environmental benefits healthy forests provide are clear
incentives for Federal investment. American Forests' funding
recommendations are generally consistent with the President's budget
requests for the USDA Forest Service, Department of Interior, and the
Environmental Protection Agency, with the exception of programs that
merit an elevated request.
Founded in 1875, American Forests is the oldest national nonprofit
conservation organization in the United States. Its mission is to
restore threatened forest ecosystems and inspire people to value and
protect urban and wildland forests. American Forests has planted 50
million trees in 1,000 high-impact forest restoration projects, as well
as works in cities across the country helping to increase urban forest
canopy and demonstrating innovative greenspace projects.
usda forest service (usfs)
National Forest System
Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program (CFLRP): CFLRP
was created to promote job stability, a reliable wood supply, and
forest health while reducing emergency wildfire costs and risks.
American Forests' request is $20 million above the President's fiscal
year 2017 budget ask, and identical to agency budget requests from the
past 2 years. Increased funding would support the continued
implementation of the 23 existing projects, and allow for the
competitive selection of up to 10 additional landscapes across the
Nation.
-- American Forests recommends an increase from the President's
request to $60 million.
State and Private Forestry
Urban and Community Forestry (U&CF): U&CF plays an integral part in
promoting sound stewardship of our Nation's urban and community forests
and trees. By providing important technical and financial support, U&CF
helps cities and towns across the Nation enhance tree and forest cover,
prepare for storms and other disturbance events, contain threats from
native and invasive pests, and maximize the economic, social, and
ecological benefits of their tree resources. U&CF is a high-impact
program and a smart investment as Federal support is often leveraged
2:1 (or in many cases significantly more) by States and partner
organizations. As a model Federal program, U&CF consistently increases
communities served, brings together diverse partners and resources, and
shows that Federal investment can have huge and lasting impacts on
communities of all sizes.
-- American Forests recommends U&CF be funded at $31.3 million.
Community Forests and Open Space Program (CFP): CFP has made
substantial progress in preserving forests by increasing opportunities
for Americans to connect with forests in their own communities and
fostering new public-private partnerships. CFP has supported 27
community forest projects in cities and towns across 15 States and
Territories. In the latest round of CFP grants, project partners
leveraged $8.7 million in Federal funds to secure $31.8 million in non-
Federal funding. As a result of these partnerships, more than 14,000
acres of private forestlands have been or soon will be acquired to
create new or expand existing community forests.
-- As interest in this program far exceeds the fiscal year 2016
allocation of $2 million, American Forests recommends an increase to $5
million.
Forest Health Management: The Forest Health Management programs
provide essential expertise and assistance to State and municipal
agencies and private landowners in countering non-native pests.
Municipal governments across the country are spending more than $3
billion each year to remove trees on city property killed by these non-
native pests. Homeowners are spending an additional $1 billion to
remove and replace trees on their properties and are absorbing an
additional $1.5 billion in reduced property values.
-- American Forests asks that the subcommittee appropriate $52
million for Federal lands and $48 million is designated for cooperative
lands.
Forest Legacy Program: Since authorized in 1990, the Forest Legacy
Program has protected 2.49 million acres across the country, including
169,250 acres of water bodies and 3,288 miles of streams. It is
imperative to continue protecting our Nation's forests for future
generations while simultaneously providing the myriad of ecosystem
services to current Americans.
-- American Forests supports the President's request of $62.35
million allocated through the Land and Water Conservation Fund.
Landscape-Scale Restoration: The Landscape Scale Restoration
program strategically prioritizes resources by competitively allocating
the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act funds. It focuses on targeting
Federal investments --leveraged by State funding resources--to areas of
greatest need, highest value, or strongest innovation potential as
stipulated in each State Forest Action Plan.
-- American Forests recommends funding the Landscape Scale
Restoration program at $23.5 million.
bureau of land management (blm)
Public Domain Forest Management: The BLM is entrusted with the
management of 58 million acres of forests and woodlands across 12
western States, including Alaska. 14 million acres--or 24 percent--of
BLM forests are overstocked increasing insect and disease attacks and
catastrophic wildfire. Increased funding to address these serious risks
is necessary across all land management agencies.
-- American Forests supports the President's fiscal year 2017
request at $10.08 million.
National Conservation Lands: The National Conservation Lands
encompasses signature landscapes including some of America's finest
natural and cultural treasures, many of them forested. Yet, despite
their codification in law and growing popularity, the system of
national monuments and national conservation areas is still
undercapitalized. These areas lack sufficient staff and financial
resources to adequately protect their valuable natural and cultural
resources and maximize their recreational potential.
-- American Forests supports the President's fiscal year 2017
request for $50.65 million.
fish and wildlife service (fws)
Ecological Services: Ecological Services achieves conservation of
FWS trust resources, focusing on imperiled species, and works closely
with external partners and agencies for the conservation of natural
resources across the landscape. The Ecological Services Program
facilitates implementation of the Endangered Species Act through the
programmatic divisions of listing, planning and consultation,
conservation and restoration, recovery and provides assistance to
States under the Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund.
-- American Forests supports the President's fiscal year 2017
request of $252.29 million for Ecological Services.
Coastal Program: As part of the habitat conservation arm of FWS,
the Coastal Program is a cooperative program to implement habitat
restoration and protection projects on public and private lands in 24
priority coastal ecosystems, including areas in the Great Lakes and
U.S. Territories. It delivers on-the-ground conservation by working
collaboratively with partners to restore, enhance, and protect coastal
habitat for priority Federal trust species.
-- American Forests supports the President's fiscal year 2017
request of $13.49 million for the Coastal Program.
National Wildlife Refuge System: The National Wildlife Refuge
System, with 563 refuges covering more than 150 million acres across
the country, is vital to protecting America's wildlife and ensuring
that their habitats are a priority. Because refuges are visited by
nearly 48.5 million people each year, contributes a total of $4.5
billion to the economy, and support more than 35,000 jobs, investment
in the Refuge system is an investment in our communities. With 101
refuges within 25 miles of 250,000 or more people, the Refuge System is
a vital component of our urban forests, as well.
-- American Forests supports the President's fiscal year 2017
request for $508.20 million with the additional $5.5 million requested
for the Refuge Visitor Service allocated to the urban wildlife refuges.
State and Tribal Wildlife Grant Program (STWG): As authorized by
the Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956, STWG provides Federal grant funds to
States and Tribes to develop and implement programs for the benefit of
fish and wildlife and their habitats. All funded activities must link
with species, actions, or strategies included in each State Wildlife
Action Plan (Plan). The success of this program is evident in the 1.9
million acres of habitat for species of greatest conservation need and
the nearly 131,000 acres of habitat it has protected through land
acquisition or conservation easements.
-- American Forests supports the President's fiscal year 2017
request for $66.98 million for State and Tribal Wildlife Grants.
national park service
National Park System: During this historical centennial year of the
National Park Service, American Forests' requests improved funding for
the agency's operations, construction, and partnerships. Specifically,
the National Park Partnerships (a.k.a. Centennial Challenge) is an
economically wise program that leverages private dollars to match
Federal funds. The funds support projects to improve the visiting
experience at national parks. An fiscal year 2016 investment of $15
million has yielded more than twice that in private donations, and many
more opportunities await with a funding boost.
-- American Forests supports the President's fiscal year 2017
request of $2.524 billion for `Operations', $252 million for
`Construction' and $35 million for National Park Partnerships.
Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership Program (ORLPP): The State
and Local Assistance Program provides matching grants to States and
localities for protection and development of parks and recreation
resources and is the primary Federal investment tool to ensure that
families have easy access to urban forests in parks and open space, and
neighborhood recreation resources. This nationally competitive program
complements the existing State and local assistance program by creating
opportunities for outdoor play as well as developing or enhancing
outdoor recreation partnerships in cities.
-- American Forests supports the President's fiscal year 2017
request of $110 million for the State and local assistance program,
which includes $12 million for ORLPP.
environmental protection agency (epa)
Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF): Green infrastructure is a
cost-effective and resilient approach to stormwater infrastructure
needs that also provide many other community benefits. American Forests
supports EPA's goal of strengthening green infrastructure activities to
further its sustainability goals.
-- American Forests request that not less than 20 percent the CWSRF
funding be made available for green infrastructure or environmentally
innovative projects that promote water system and community resilience.
legislative language requests
Wildfire Suppression Funding
America's forests and forest-dependent communities are at risk from
outbreaks of pests and pathogens, persistent drought, and the buildup
of hazardous fuels. Urbanization and development patterns are placing
more homes and communities near fire-prone landscapes, leading to more
destructive and costly wildfires. Unfortunately and again in fiscal
year 2015, the 10-year average was not enough to meet the USFS
suppression needs, forcing the agency to transfer $700 million from
non-suppression accounts to make up for the shortfall. The current
wildfire suppression funding model and cycle of transfers and
repayments has negatively impacted the ability to implement forest
management, among many other activities. Additionally, the increasing
10-year average to has not met annual suppression needs since before
fiscal year 2002, which is why we are thankful to the subcommittee for
the full transfer repayment and increased suppression funding in fiscal
year 2016. However, we understand this is not expected to occur every
year. DOI and USFS need a long-term fire funding solution that would
result in stable and predictable budgets.
We appreciate the subcommittee's support of the bipartisan Wildfire
Disaster Funding Act, which addresses Federal fire funding challenges
as well as other bipartisan congressional efforts in this regard. We
respectfully request a bipartisan fire funding solution that would (1)
access disaster funding, (2) minimize transfers, and (3) address the
continued erosion of agency budgets over time, with the goal of
reinvesting in key programs that would restore forests to healthier
conditions.
Land and Water Conservation Fund
American Forests supports the permanent authorization of full and
dedicated funding, without further appropriation or fiscal year
limitation, for the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF). LWCF
programs protect natural resource lands, outdoor recreation
opportunities, and working forests at the local, State and Federal
levels. This program ensures that these important lands are protected
for current and future generations.
-- American Forests supports the President's fiscal year 2016
budget request, which calls for permanent authorization of $900 million
in mandatory funding for LWCF programs in the Departments of Interior
and Agriculture.
______
Prepared Statement of the American Geophysical Union
The American Geophysical Union (AGU), a non-profit, non-partisan
scientific society, appreciates the opportunity to submit testimony
regarding the fiscal year 2017 budget request for the United States
Geological Survey (USGS). The AGU, on behalf of its more than 60,000
Earth and space scientist members, respectfully requests Congress to
appropriate $1.17 billion for the USGS. Currently, Federal funding for
USGS is 4.5 percent below what it was in fiscal year 2010. Since fiscal
year 2010, USGS has not seen a funding increase above 2 percent.
Restoring strong funding to USGS will allow the agency to sustain
current programs and make strategic investments to improve knowledge
and understanding of critical geologic, environmental, and ecological
systems needed by decision makers across the country.
usgs benefits every state and territory in the union
USGS is uniquely positioned to provide information and informed
responses to many of the Nation's greatest challenges and has a mission
that positively impacts the lives of all Americans. USGS plays a
crucial role in assessing water quality and quantity, reducing risks
from earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, landslides, wildfires, and other
natural hazards; providing emergency responders with geospatial data to
improve homeland security; assessing mineral and energy resources
(including rare earth elements and unconventional natural gas
resources); and providing the science needed to manage our ecosystems
and combat invasive species that can threaten natural and managed
environmental systems and public health.
Through its offices across the country, the USGS works with
partners to provide high-quality research and data to policymakers,
emergency responders, natural resource managers, civil and
environmental engineers, educators, and the public. A few examples of
the USGS' valuable work are provided below.
water quality
The Survey collects scientific information on water availability
and quality to inform the public and decision makers about the status
of freshwater resources and how they are changing over time. During the
past 130 years, the USGS has collected streamflow data at over 21,000
sites, water-level data at over 1,000,000 wells, and chemical data at
over 338,000 surface-water and groundwater sites. This information is
needed to effectively manage freshwaters--both above and below the land
surface--for domestic, public, agricultural, commercial, industrial,
recreational, and ecological purposes.
natural hazards
The USGS plays an important role in reducing risks from floods,
wildfires, earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, landslides, and
other natural hazards that jeopardize human lives and cost billions of
dollars in damages every year. Seismic networks and hazard analysis are
used to formulate earthquake probabilities and to establish building
codes. USGS monitors volcanoes and provides warnings about impending
eruptions that are used by aviation officials to prevent planes from
flying into volcanic ash clouds. Data from the USGS network of stream
gages enable the National Weather Service to issue flood and drought
warnings. The bureau and its Federal partners monitor seasonal
wildfires and provide maps of current fire locations and the potential
spread of fires. In domestic and global events, emergency managers and
public officials rely on USGS to inform them of risks and hazards posed
to human and natural systems.
mineral and energy resources
USGS assessments of mineral and energy resources--including rare
earth elements, coal, oil, unconventional natural gas, and geothermal--
are essential for making decisions about the Nation's future. The
Survey identifies the location and quantity of domestic mineral and
energy resources, and assesses the economic and environmental effects
of resource extraction and use. The agency is mapping domestic supplies
of rare earth elements necessary for widespread deployment of new
energy technologies, which can reduce dependence on foreign oil. The
USGS is the sole Federal source of information on mineral potential,
production, and consumption.
land management
USGS science plays a critical role in informing sound management of
natural resources on Federal and State lands. The USGS conducts
research and monitoring of fish, wildlife, and vegetation--data that
informs management decisions by other Interior bureaus regarding
protected species and land use. Ecosystems science is also used to
control invasive species and wildlife diseases that can cause billions
of dollars in economic losses. The Survey provides information for
resource managers as they develop management strategies for restoration
and long-term use of the Nation's natural resources in the face of
environmental change.
data collection
Research and data collected by the USGS is vital to predicting the
impacts of land use and climate change on water resources, wildfires,
and ecosystems. For 43 straight years, Landsat satellites have
collected the largest archive of remotely sensed land data in the
world, allowing for access to current and historical images that are
used to assess the impact of natural disasters on communities and the
environment and monitor global agriculture production. A 2013 National
Research Council study found that the economic benefit of Landsat data
was estimated to be $2 billion for 2011 alone. The consistency of data
sets like those provided by Landsat is vital for advances in science,
more efficient natural resource management, and profitable applications
of data in commerce and industry.
enhanced mapping for the nation
The USGS utilizes unique technologies that enable the nationwide
collection of accurate terrain information. This information improves
our knowledge of water supply and quality issues; better prepares
emergency responders for natural disasters; and helps businesses
utilize more accurate data for the development of alternative renewable
energy projects. Modernized, high-resolution topographic maps are
provided by the USGS through their 3D Elevation Program (3DEP). 3DEP,
which is run by the USGS, leverages funds from the private sector and
other Federal Agencies throughout the U.S. The initiative provides
open-access elevation data to inform better flood-inundation maps,
cost-effective precision farming, and the development of alternative
renewable energy projects.
public health
The USGS plays a critical role in maintaining public health at the
local, State, and national level. For example, the agency assesses
negative health effects caused by the dispersion of contaminants after
natural and man-made disasters, such as hurricanes and oil spills. In
one such instance, after Hurricane Sandy, the USGS provided soil,
water, and sediment information to public health agencies to help them
protect citizens from toxic contaminants.
engaging the next generation of scientists
The USGS meets monthly with other Department of Interior (DOI)
divisions to collaborate on projects that will engage the next
generation of scientists. Collectively, the DOI is actively working to
provide least 10 million students with educational, work, and training
opportunities. In 2015, the USGS offered learning opportunities to
113,375 students and teachers in activities such as science fairs,
mentoring opportunities, camps, and hands-on learning experiences.
Programs such as the USGS's Cooperative Research Units (CRU) provide
under-represented undergraduate students with mentoring and hands-on
experience designed as a pathway to DOI recruitment.
conclusion
AGU is grateful to the Senate Interior Appropriations Subcommittee
for its leadership in restoring past budget cuts and strengthening the
USGS. We recognize the financial challenges facing the Nation, but USGS
has been historically strained by a large workload and too few
resources. With our Nation facing unprecedented challenges such as the
loss of ecosystems, demand for limited energy, increasing vulnerability
to natural hazards, and need for clean water, the work done by USGS is
essential to our environmental, economic, and national security.
AGU respectfully requests that Congress work to provide $1.17
billion for USGS in fiscal year 2017. We appreciate the opportunity to
submit this testimony to the subcommittee and thank you for your
thoughtful consideration of our request.
______
Prepared Statement of the American Geosciences Institute
Thank you for this opportunity to provide the American Geosciences
Institute's perspective on fiscal year 2017 appropriations for
geoscience programs within the subcommittee's jurisdiction. We ask the
subcommittee to support and sustain the critical geoscience work of the
United States Geological Survey (USGS), the Bureau of Land Management
(BLM), the National Park Service, and the Smithsonian Institution.
Specifically, we ask that you support the President's request for
$1.2 billion for USGS, but we respectfully request that Congress place
greater emphasis on the geological sciences within the USGS mission.
AGI supports balanced funding for Mission Areas within USGS and notes
that funding for important geoscience-based programs has consistently
lagged funding for other parts of USGS. AGI also supports $138 million
for Energy and Minerals Management at the Bureau of Land Management;
$234 million for the National Park Service's Natural Resource
Stewardship and Everglades Restoration activities; and $922 million for
the Smithsonian Institution.
The Earth provides the energy, mineral, water, and soil resources
that are essential for a thriving, innovative economy, national
security, and a healthy population and environment. We must understand
the Earth system, and particularly the geological characteristics of
Earth's surface and subsurface, in order to sustain human health and
safety, maintain energy and water supplies, and improve the quality of
the environment while reducing risks from natural hazards.
AGI is a nonprofit federation of 51 geoscientific and professional
associations that represent approximately 250,000 geologists,
geophysicists, and other Earth scientists who work in industry,
academia, and government. Founded in 1948, AGI provides information
services to geoscientists, serves as a voice of shared interests in our
profession, plays a major role in strengthening geoscience education,
and strives to increase public awareness of the vital role the
geosciences play in society's use of resources, resilience to natural
hazards, and the health of the environment.
u.s. geological survey
AGI supports the President's request for $1.2 billion for USGS. We
respectfully suggest that Congress should allocate more resources to
USGS's geoscience functions because there is no alternative source for
this expertise. The key Mission Areas of Water Resources, Core Science
Systems, and Energy & Mineral Resources have consistently been
underfunded when compared to other USGS Mission Areas. AGI strongly
supports the proposed increase for USGS Facilities to maintain
essential scientific facilities, including monitoring and observation
instrumentation. We urge additional funding for the USGS Library, which
is an important and unique resource for researchers and industry.
Importance of Geoscience Functions at USGS: The need for geological
information has not diminished since USGS was established in 1879. On
the contrary, as we place increasing demands on Earth's system, many
critical decisions rely upon geoscience information. The USGS has a
wide-ranging mission to provide objective data, observations, analyses,
assessments, and scientific solutions to support decisionmaking; while
there is merit to USGS's broad remit, its unique geological mission
should be paramount.
Table 1 highlights the Mission Areas that have been singled out for
lower increases than other sections of USGS since fiscal year 2014; we
note that these contain the majority of USGS's geoscience functions. We
respectfully ask Congress to recognize the importance of geoscience
research, monitoring, information collection and analysis to the
Nation's safety, economy, defense, and quality of life, and to support
USGS's mandated role by funding balanced investment in USGS programs.
Table 1: Trends in funding for USGS Mission Areas and Accounts, fiscal
year 2014-fiscal year 2017 request.
Core Science Systems Mission Area:
--USGS Library: The USGS Library is a vital resource for
geoscientists within and outside USGS, servicing hundreds of
thousands of requests online and in person annually, yet
staffing has fallen from 66 Federal staff (FTE) in 2000 to 18
FTE in 2015. AGI supports increased funding for the USGS
Library, which serves industry, academia, and government
clients and preserves the intellectual stock of the
geosciences.
--National Geospatial Program: Topographic mapping has been a core
activity at USGS since its inception. AGI strongly supports the
3D Nation interagency partnership to build a modern elevation
map of the Nation's territories and urges Congress to support
USGS's contribution, the 3DEP (3D Elevation) program. AGI
strongly supports investment in lidar and ifsar mapping, and
the President's request for $69 million for the National
Geospatial Program.
--National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program (NCGMP): This
important, decades-long partnership between the USGS, State
geological surveys, and universities has a proven track record
of delivering cost-effective geological maps. Over the past few
years the number of grant proposals has increased while funding
has remained stagnant. AGI asks that Congress increase funding
for the National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program to $30
million in fiscal year 2017 to meet growing demand.
--Data Preservation: The National Geological and Geophysical Data
Preservation Program (NGGDPP) produces more value in terms of
economic, environmental, hazard mitigation, and regulatory
efficiency than it costs to run. AGI urges Congress to
reauthorize NGGDPP and to fund it at the previously authorized
level of $3 million.
Energy and Mineral Resources Mission Area:
--Mineral Resources Program: AGI is a founding member of the Minerals
Science and Information Coalition (MSIC), which supports
minerals expertise in the Federal Government. We are concerned
at the dearth of investment in this foundational component of
the manufacturing supply chain, which is critical to our
national economy and defense. AGI supports the President's
request for $49 million for the Mineral Resources Program and
asks that Congress add $5 million in new funding to create
minerals forecasting capabilities.
There is no point developing new materials if we cannot supply
the raw materials to manufacture them. AGI suggests the creation of a
Critical Minerals Hub, with funding of $25 million per year for 5
years, to match the Critical Materials Hub in the Department of Energy.
--Energy Resources Program: AGI supports increased funding for the
Energy Resources Program. We note the importance of research on
gas hydrates, which may play a significant role in future
energy and climate scenarios. AGI supports funding of $286
million for the Energy Resources Program.
--We urge USGS to develop opportunities to collaborate effectively
with other agencies, including integrating more geological
information with DOE's Subsurface Technology and Engineering
(SubTER) crosscut, to ensure prudent use of Federal funds.
Climate and Land Use Mission Area:
--Land Remote Sensing Program: One of the most fundamental concepts
in the geosciences is that the Earth changes through time. It
is impossible to overstate the importance of long-term,
consistent monitoring of the Earth to provide a sound basis for
decisionmaking. AGI supports the President's request for $96.5
million for the Land Remote Sensing Program, which includes
Landsat and other Earth observing systems.
Water Resources Mission Area:
--Challenges in water supplies and water quality highlight the
importance of understanding the quality, quantity, and
distribution of our groundwater and surface water resources.
AGI urges Congress to ensure the continuity and expansion of
nationwide, long-term data collection and research programs
that support water planning and decisionmaking across all
States, and to fund Water Resources at $228 million for fiscal
year 2017.
Natural Hazards Mission Area:
--Landslide hazards are assessed using detailed topographic data from
the National Geospatial Program. AGI supports the proposed
increase to $8 million for the Landslides Hazards Program in
order to reap societal benefits from investments in geospatial
information.
--Earthquakes are increasing in States like Oklahoma and Kansas, and
early warning systems are needed to avoid potential devastation
from large earthquakes. AGI supports funding for the Earthquake
Hazards Program of $60.5 million.
--AGI supports robust funding of the Natural Hazards Program and
urges Congress to appropriate $139 million to this Mission
Area.
bureau of land management
AGI notes efforts by the Energy and Minerals Management program to
improve the return to taxpayers from the extraction of natural
resources on our Nation's public lands. AGI supports funding the Energy
and Minerals Management activity at $138 million.
smithsonian institution
The Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History plays a dual
role in communicating the excitement of the geosciences and enhancing
knowledge through research and preservation of geoscience collections.
AGI supports the President's request of $922 million for the
Smithsonian Institution in fiscal year 2017.
national park service
National parks are very important to the geoscience community and
the public as unique national treasures that showcase the geologic
splendor of our country and offer unparalleled opportunities for
research, education, and outdoor activities. AGI supports the
President's request for $224 million for Natural Resource Stewardship
activities and $10 million for Everglades Restoration during the
centennial year of the National Parks.
Thank you for the opportunity to present this testimony to the
subcommittee.
______
Prepared Statement of the American Indian Higher Education Consortium
request summary
On behalf of the Nation's Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs),
which collectively are the American Indian Higher Education Consortium
(AIHEC), thank you for this opportunity to present our fiscal year 2017
appropriations recommendations for the 28 colleges funded under Titles
I and II of the Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities
Assistance Act (Tribal College Act); the two tribally chartered career
and technical postsecondary institutions (Title V of the TCU Act); the
two Bureau of Indian Education postsecondary institutions; and the
Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA). The Bureau of Indian
Education administers each of these programs, with the exception of
IAIA, which is congressionally chartered and funded in its own account.
In fiscal year 2017, TCUs seek:
--$89,220,000 to fund institutional operations and technical
assistance under Titles I and II of the Tribally Controlled
Colleges and Universities Assistance Act of 1978 or Tribal
College Act, of which $88.5 million is for Titles I & II
operating grants (which would fund 28 TCUs at the authorized
level for the first time in 35 years) and $701,000 is to
address increasingly needed technical assistance and a modest
increase of $100,000 (this would be the first increase in
technical assistance funding in over a decade);
--$11,000,000 for Title V of the Tribal College Act, which provides
partial institutional operations funding for the two tribally
controlled postsecondary career and technical institutions;
--$11,835,070, as included in the President's budget, for the
Institute of American Indian Arts (this includes $2 million
towards forward funding of IAIA);
--Minimum of $21,767,000, as included in the President's fiscal year
2017 budget, for Haskell Indian Nations University and
Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute, the Bureau of Indian
Education's two postsecondary institutions; and
--$18,200,000 for a one-time appropriation to fully transition
institutional operating funding for the three federally
chartered TCUs, from the Federal fiscal year to an academic
year, as follows: $3.4 million for IAIA (in additional to the
$2 million included in the President's budget) and $14.8
million for Haskell Indian Nations University and Southwestern
Indian Polytechnic Institute.
IAIA, Haskell Indian Nations University, and Southwestern Indian
Polytechnic Institute are the only schools funded through the
Department of the Interior that still receive their institutional
funding on the Federal fiscal year (October 1) or more likely, much
later in the year when the annual Interior appropriation bill is
passed, rather than the first week of July in preparation for the
upcoming school year. Once forward-funded these TCUs--like other
institutions of higher education--will be able to plan multiyear
budgets and start (and end) each school year with dependable funding.
Forward funding does not increase the Federal budget in the long-term.
It simply allows vital education programs to receive basic operating
funds before each school year begins, which is critically important
when the Federal Government is funded under continuing resolutions.
TCUs are founded and chartered by their respective American Indian
tribes, which hold a special legal relationship with the Federal
Government, actualized by more than 400 treaties, several Supreme Court
decisions, prior congressional action, and the ceding of more than one
billion acres of land to the Federal Government. Despite the trust
responsibility and treaty obligations, the TCUs' primary source of
basic operating funds has never been adequately funded. Further, our
member institutions--already operating on shoestring budgets--have
suffered the ramifications of sequestration and other across-the-board
cuts.
tcus: ``doing so much with so little''
Tribal Colleges and Universities are an essential component of
American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) education. Currently, 37 TCUs
operate more than 75 campuses and sites in 16 States, within whose
geographic boundaries 80 percent of all American Indian reservations
and Federal Indian trust land lie. They serve students from well over
250 federally recognized tribes, more than 85 percent of whom receive
Federal financial aid--primarily Pell grants. In total, the TCUs
annually serve 160,000 AI/ANs and other community members through a
wide variety of academic and community-based programs. TCUs are public
institutions accredited by independent, regional accreditation agencies
and like all U.S. institutions of higher education must regularly
undergo stringent performance reviews to retain their accreditation
status. Each TCU is committed to improving the lives of its students
through higher education and to moving AI/ANs toward self-sufficiency.
To do this, TCUs serve many roles in their reservation communities,
functioning as community centers, libraries, tribal archives, career
and business centers, computer labs, summer camps, community farms,
economic development centers, GED/HiSET training and testing centers,
child and elder care centers, and more.
The Federal Government, despite its direct trust responsibility and
binding treaty obligations, has never fully funded TCU institutional
operations as authorized under the Tribally Controlled Colleges and
Universities Assistance Act of 1978. Yet despite funding challenges,
TCUs are leading the Nation in preparing AI/AN nurses and more
recently, in preparing teachers for our Native schools. For example, in
2014, half of all AI/AN special education teachers in Montana graduated
from Salish Kootenai College. TCUs train other professionals in high-
demand fields, including agriculture and natural resources management,
human services, IT technicians, and building tradesmen. By teaching the
job skills most in demand on our reservations, TCUs are laying a solid
foundation for tribal economic growth, with benefits for surrounding
communities, and the Nation as a whole. But that is not enough. TCU
leadership understand that we must do more--we must move beyond simple
workforce training. Today, TCUs are tackling the tougher--but much more
significant--issue of job creation because we know that to break the
cycle of generational poverty and end the culture of dependency that
grips so much of Indian Country, simply filling jobs that would be
filled anyway is not enough. We must create new industries, new
businesses, and a culture of self-sufficiency and innovation. Our job
creation initiative is focusing initially on advanced manufacturing,
through a partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy, National
Laboratories, TCUs, and industry.
Tribal Colleges continually seek to instill a sense of hope and
identity within Native youth, who one day will lead our tribal nations.
Unfortunately, the high school drop-out rate for Native students
remains around 50 percent. To help address this alarming reality, TCUs
are partnering with the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian
Education to help create a lasting ``college-going culture'' in Indian
middle and high schools. TCUs are reaching back to create a bridge for
Indian students as early as the elementary school, encouraging them to
abandon any notion of dropping out of high school and instead, to think
that the natural course is to finish high school and go on to the local
TCU. In addition, TCUs offer Dual Credit courses for high school
students, provide math teachers for local high schools as a strategy
for improving course delivery, host Saturday academies, after school
programs and summer camps for middle and high school students, and at
the other end of the spectrum, they offer GED training and testing.
As noted earlier, the TCUs' operations funding is insufficient, and
their budgets are further disadvantaged because, on a per student
basis, the colleges receive funding for only about 85 percent of their
academic enrollments. Approximately 15 percent of the TCUs' collective
enrollments are non-Indian students living in the local community, but
TCUs receive Federal funding based only on Indian students, defined as
members of a federally recognized tribe or the biological children of
enrolled tribal members. While many TCUs do seek funding from their
respective State legislatures for their non-Indian, State-resident
students (often referred to as ``non-beneficiary'' students) successes
have been, at best, inconsistent. Given their locations, often hundreds
of miles from another postsecondary institution, TCUs are open to all
students, Indian and non-Indian, believing that education in general,
and postsecondary education in particular, is a catalyst to a better
economic future for their areas.
A recent independent, economic impact study proves this,
illustrating that TCUs create lasting value from multiple perspectives:
students, society, and taxpayers. TCUs elevate their students' lifetime
incomes, and this in turn benefits society as a whole by increasing the
region's economy and generating a wide array of savings through
improved lifestyles. The increased employment benefits taxpayers
through increased tax receipts and a reduction in the need for welfare
and unemployment benefits. In fact, for every dollar spent the lifetime
income of students more than quadruples; society gains over five times
the investment in added income and social savings; and the taxpayers
get back almost two and a half times the investment. In short, the TCUs
are a very sound investment of Federal funds.
further justifications & facts
--Breaking the cycle of generational poverty: Tribal Colleges and
Universities provide access to higher education for American
Indians and others living in some of the Nation's most rural
and economically depressed areas. In fact, seven of the
Nation's 10 poorest counties are home to a TCU.
--Growing number of TCUs: Compounding existing funding disparities is
the fact that although the numbers of TCUs and students
enrolled in TCUs have dramatically increased since they were
first funded in 1981, appropriations have increased at a
disproportionately low rate. Since 1981, the number of tribal
colleges has more than quadrupled and continues to grow; the
number of Indian students enrolled has risen over 300 percent.
In the past 10 years, six additional TCUs have become
accredited and eligible for funding under Title I of the Tribal
College Act, and two more colleges are expected to be eligible
for Tribal College Act funding as soon as fiscal year 2018.
While AIHEC celebrates the growing number of tribally chartered
colleges and universities and the increasing numbers of Native
students served, these successes have forced TCUs to function
with smaller slices of an already inadequate annual funding
pie.
--Local Tax and Revenue Bases: TCUs cannot rely on a local tax base
for revenue. Although tribes have the sovereign authority to
tax, high reservation poverty rates, the trust status of
reservation lands, and the lack of strong reservation economies
hinder the creation of a reservation tax base. As noted
earlier, on Indian reservations that are home to TCUs, the
unemployment rate can well exceed 70 percent. By contrast, the
national unemployment rate is currently 5 percent.
--Gaming and the TCUs: Although several of the reservations served by
TCUs have gaming operations, the vast majority are not mega-
casinos located in urban areas and featured in the broad-based
media. Only a handful of TCUs receive regular income from the
chartering tribe's gaming revenue, and the amounts received can
vary greatly from year to year. Most reservation casinos are
small businesses that use their gaming revenue to improve the
local standard of living and potentially diversify into other,
more sustainable areas of economic development. In the interim,
where relevant, local TCUs offer courses in casino management
and hospitality services to formally train tribal members to
work in their local tribally run casinos.
Some form of gaming is legalized in 48 States, but the Federal
Government has not used the revenues generated from State gaming as a
justification to decrease Federal funding to other public colleges or
universities. Some have suggested that those tribes that operate the
few extremely successful and widely publicized casinos located in or
near urban areas, should be financing higher education for all American
Indians. And yet, no State is expected to share its gaming revenue with
a less successful or non-gaming State.
appropriations request for fiscal year 2017
As noted earlier, it has been over 35 years since the Tribal
College Act was first funded, and the TCUs have yet to receive the
congressionally authorized per Indian student funding level. Full
funding for the TCUs' institutional operating grants ($8,000 per Indian
student) for fiscal year 2017 would require an increase of
approximately $19.4 million over the fiscal year 2016 appropriated
level. Additionally, to transition the three federally chartered TCUs
to receive their operations funding on an academic schedule, rather
than the Federal fiscal year, requires a $18.2 million one-time
appropriation (IAIA--$3.4 million (in addition to the $2 million
included in the President's budget; Haskell Indian Nations University
and Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute--$14.8 million).
Additionally, if the subcommittee determines that forward funding is to
be achieved through incremental appropriations, language needs to be
included directing that funds appropriated to partially fund the
transition to forward funding are to be held until the needed sum (75
percent of full year funding) is accrued.
conclusion
AIHEC Member institutions/Tribal Colleges and Universities provide
quality higher education to thousands of American Indians and other
reservation residents, as well as essential community programs and
services to those who might otherwise not have access to such
opportunities. The modest Federal investment that has been made in TCUs
has paid great dividends in terms of employment, education, and
economic development. Continuation of this investment makes sound moral
and fiscal sense.
We greatly appreciate your past and continued support of the
Nation's Tribal Colleges and Universities and your careful
consideration of our fiscal year 2017 appropriations requests.
______
Prepared Statement of the American Lung Association
The American Lung Association is pleased to present our
recommendations for fiscal year 2017 to the Interior, Environment, and
Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee. The work to monitor and
clean up harmful air pollution funded by this subcommittee will prevent
asthma attacks, emergency room visits, hospitalizations, and premature
deaths across the country. Founded in 1904 to fight tuberculosis, the
American Lung Association is the oldest voluntary health organization
in the United States. The American Lung Association is the leading
organization working to save lives by improving lung health and
preventing lung disease through education, advocacy and research.
Support and Defend EPA's Programs to Address Climate Change and Improve
Air Quality
Mr. Chairman, the Clean Air Act is a key public health safeguard.
It is especially important for populations most at risk, including
those with asthma and other lung diseases; children; older adults;
people living in low-income communities; people who work, exercise or
play outdoors; and people with heart disease and diabetes. We urge you
to invest in protecting public health from the impacts of dangerous air
pollution. We also urge you to reject any policy riders that would
block, delay or weaken EPA's ability to save lives and improve public
health by reducing air pollution, including carbon pollution from power
plants and ground-level ozone pollution.
State, Tribal, and Local Government Work to Improve Air Quality
The American Lung Association requests that the subcommittee
provide $171 million for Federal Support for Air Quality Management.
The Federal Support for Air Quality Management Program assists States,
tribes, and local air pollution control agencies in the administration
of programs and standards to protect the air we breathe. States have
the primary responsibility for developing clean air measures necessary
to meet Federal standards, but rely on support and assistance from EPA
to create effective comprehensive air quality management programs. The
EPA also supports training for State, tribal, and local air pollution
professionals on rulemakings and other significant actions.
The American Lung Association also requests that the subcommittee
provide $268.2 million for Categorical Grants: State and Local Air
Quality Management and $12.829 million for Categorical Grants: Tribal
Air Quality Management. State, local and tribal air pollution agencies
need more funding, not less, to ensure proper protection of the public
through implementation of the Clean Air Act. These agencies are on the
front lines of vital efforts to improve air quality and protect public
health, yet they are perennially underfunded. This must change in order
to secure the benefits promised by Clean Air Act protections.
Climate Change
Climate change is one of the greatest threats to public health,
including lung health. The health threats posed by climate change
include worsened air pollution, the spread of diseases into new areas,
stronger and longer heat waves, and more frequent and severe droughts.
The EPA has a critical role to play in reducing carbon pollution,
methane, and other climate pollutants and must have the resources
needed to meet the challenge ahead. Reducing climate pollutants will
save lives and protect health. We request that the subcommittee provide
$115.9 million for the Climate Protection Program.
Radon
Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United
States, and the EPA's State Indoor Radon Grants are the only nationwide
program that helps prevent exposure to it. States and tribes depend on
this program as well as technical assistance through the Radon Programs
to educate the public and fight this deadly carcinogen. In 2003, the
National Academy of Sciences estimated that radon kills 21,000 people
each year. We request that the subcommittee provide $8.1 million for
the Categorical Grant for Radon.
Reducing Pollution From Vehicles
We request that the subcommittee provide $100 million for the
Diesel Emissions Reduction Grant Program. Ten million old diesel
engines are in use today that pollute communities and threaten workers.
Immense opportunities remain to reduce diesel emissions through the
DERA program. The subcommittee's continued investments in this program
have yielded up to $13 of public health benefit for every $1 spent on
diesel projects, according to an EPA report to Congress from February
2016.
The American Lung Association also requests that the subcommittee
fully fund EPA's Federal Vehicle Fuels Standards and Certifications
Programs at $103.6 million, particularly to improve the effectiveness
of the certification and compliance testing programs in the face of
increasing demand, more challenging oversight requirements, and the
increasing diversity of technologies. Currently, EPA conducts very
limited testing of small imported engines, but a high fraction of these
engines fail the test. Additional resources are needed to improve
testing, including on-road testing, and compliance for this important
program to protect public health.
Monitoring and Enforcement
The American Lung Association requests that the subcommittee
provide at least $111.3 million for EPA's Compliance Monitoring &
$282.7 million for Enforcement. To protect public health, EPA must
ensure that air pollution standards and requirements are met. EPA must,
therefore, have the ability and funding needed to reduce non-
compliance, as well as enforce penalties for violations. EPA must also
be prepared to respond to civil enforcement actions authorized by the
Clean Air Act.
Conclusion
Mr. Chairman, air quality is crucial for health. Air pollution can
harm anyone, but is particularly dangerous for children, people over
65, people with asthma and other chronic lung diseases, people with
cardiovascular disease and diabetes, people living in poverty, and
people who work or exercise outdoors. Our Nation has made significant
progress in reducing levels of dangerous outdoor air pollution. We urge
this subcommittee to continue making investments into EPA's life-saving
work toward fulfilling the promise of the Clean Air Act: healthy air
for all to breathe.
______
Prepared Statement of the American Society for the Prevention of
Cruelty to Animals
On behalf of our 2.5 million supporters, the American Society for
the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) appreciates this
opportunity to submit testimony to the Senate Appropriations
Subcommittee on Interior, Environment and Related Agencies. Founded in
1866, the ASPCA is the first humane organization established in the
Americas and serves as the Nation's leading voice for animal welfare.
We request that the subcommittee consider the following concerns when
making fiscal year 2017 appropriations.
wild horses and the blm
In the 45 years since Congress charged the Bureau of Land
Management (BLM) with protecting our country's wild horses and burros,
Americans have witnessed the agency's Wild Horse and Burro Program
deteriorate into a continuous cycle of roundups and removals with
little regard for the preservation-focused mandate specified in the
Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act. Our wild horses and burros
should be revered as historical icons, treated humanely, and managed
fairly and respectfully on our public lands. We appreciate BLM's
recognition of the great need for reform in the Wild Horse and Burro
Program. We are encouraged by BLM's interest in incorporating the use
of on-the-range management methods, such as immunocontraception, and in
identifying alternatives to the confinement of wild horses in long-term
holding facilities. However, the implementation of additional
significant reforms must be immediate and effective.
Prohibit BLM Funding for Euthanasia or Sale of Wild Horses as
Management Methods
In December 2004, Congress passed the Consolidated Appropriations
Act for fiscal year 2005, which amended the Wild Free-Roaming Horses
and Burros Act to allow for the sale of certain wild horses and burros.
This instant transfer of title from the U.S. Government to the
individual purchaser revokes the animal's status as a protected equine
and leaves mustangs vulnerable to the still-thriving horse slaughter
industry. Additionally, in 2008, BLM publicly announced that, for the
first time, it was considering using its statutory authority to destroy
old, sick, or unadoptable wild horses and burros by implementing mass
euthanasia as a population control method. The public uproar that
followed forced BLM to quickly withdraw the proposal. However, both the
sale provision and the language allowing for the destruction of wild
horses and burros remain in the law.
In September 2012, published reports revealed that since 2009, the
BLM had sold more than 1,700 captured mustangs--70 percent of the total
number of animals sold since the program's onset--to a single Colorado
livestock hauler known to be a longtime kill buyer for the horse
slaughter industry.\1\ Although BLM has since implemented measures to
prevent the sale of such a large number of horses to one individual,
Congress must send a clear message that the slaughter of our Nation's
wild horses and burros is a gross violation of the Wild Free-Roaming
Horses and Burros Act. In past appropriations bills, Congress has
repeatedly confirmed its opposition to the slaughter of our Nation's
wild horses and burros; it did so most recently in the fiscal year 2016
Consolidated Appropriations Act, the current funding vehicle for the
Department of Interior. The President's fiscal year 2017 budget request
also includes an administrative provision to bar appropriations for the
euthanasia of healthy horses and their sale to slaughter. The ASPCA
requests that the subcommittee continue to include the following
language, present in both the President's budget request and previous
appropriations bills: ``Appropriations herein made shall not be
available for the destruction of healthy, unadopted, wild horses and
burros in the care of the Bureau or its contractors or for the sale of
wild horses and burros that results in their destruction for processing
into commercial products.''
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\1\ ``All the Missing Horses: What Happened to the Wild Horses Tom
Davis Bought From the Gov't?'' ProPublica: September 28, 2012.
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Prioritize On-the-Range Management Over Roundup and Removal
The Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act makes clear that on-
the-range management should be preferred over roundup and removal as
the primary method of wild horse management. BLM has multiple options
to make that happen.
The ASPCA realizes that population control is necessary in some
circumstances, and we appreciate BLM's public acknowledgement that
fertility control methods must be a significant part of wild horse
population management. Porcine Zona Pellucida (PZP), the contraceptive
vaccine that has been used for decades to manage horse and deer
populations, is registered by EPA and commercially available. In fiscal
year 2015, BLM administered 469 fertility control treatments, a
decrease from nearly 1,200 treatments 3 years prior.\2\ If PZP is to be
a serious part of the solution, its use must be increased to levels
that will significantly impact population growth. A 2013 National
Academy of Sciences report noted the promising capabilities of this and
other forms of chemical fertility control.\3\ The ASPCA recommends that
the subcommittee direct BLM to prioritize the use of humane, reversible
fertility control when necessary to stem the population growth of wild
horse or burro herds.
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\2\ ``Wild Horse and Burro Quick Facts.'' U.S. Department of the
Interior, Bureau of Land Management. March 23, 2016. http://
www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/prog/whbprogram/history_and_facts/
quick_facts.html.
\3\ ``Using Science to Improve the BLM Wild Horse and Burro
Program: A Way Forward.'' National Research Council. The National
Academies Press, 2013.
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Included in the administration's fiscal year 2017 budget request is
an unsettling new proposal from BLM. If included in the Interior
Appropriations bill, this language would allow for the immediate
transfer of wild horses and burros as ``working animals'' to State,
Federal, and local agencies.\4\ This language would set a dangerous
precedent, allowing for the immediate disposition of any wild equine
that has been removed from the range. This means thousands of wild
horses could be instantly stripped of their legal protections and could
easily fall victim to slaughter, as we know has happened to others in
the past. Additionally, this language fails to address the program's
true need--better on-range management of the wild horse population
through NAS-recommended methods such as immunocontraception. The ASPCA
strongly encourages the subcommittee to prioritize humane on-range
management methods as it crafts the fiscal year 2017 Interior
appropriations bill.
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\4\ Department of the Interior Budget Estimate, fiscal year 2017.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/budget/fy2017/
assets/int.html.
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______
Prepared Statement of the Animal Welfare Institute
wild free-roaming horses and burros act
The Bureau of Land Management continues to round up wild horses and
warehouse them on private lands at great public expense. This is not a
humane or responsible solution, and this subcommittee has called on the
BLM to implement humane on-the-range solutions. Since some progress has
been made, we are concerned that the BLM's proposed $572,000 decrease
for Wild Horse and Burro Management could put any advances at risk. We
ask the subcommittee to fund the BLM at fiscal year 2016 levels and to
urge it to continue exploring more effective and longer lasting
fertility control agents. We understand the desire to explore
alternatives to warehousing tens of thousands of healthy wild horses
but oppose Sec. 110 ``Transfer of Excess Horses'' of the fiscal year
2017 budget. This language is unnecessary and could result in once-
protected wild horses ending up in slaughter, a practice this
subcommittee has long opposed. Thousands of healthy and viable wild
horses, not bound by limitations of the Act, are currently being held
by the BLM and are already available for sale to other Federal, State,
and local entities. The subcommittee should encourage the BLM to
explore this option before changing the Act. Should this option be
considered, the subcommittee must ensure safeguards are established to
ensure wild horses sold to other agencies are also protected from
slaughter. Finally, we strongly support the continued inclusion of this
``no-kill'' language to ensure that BLM does not kill healthy wild
horses and burros: Provided, that appropriations herein made shall not
be available for the sale or destruction of healthy, unadopted wild
horses and burros in the care of the Bureau or its contractors.
fish and wildlife service--national wildlife refuge system--signage and
reporting
We support the administration's request of $506.6 million for
operating and maintaining the National Wildlife Refuge System (NWRS),
which generates $2.5 billion in economic impacts and $342.9 million in
tax revenues. To further enhance the NWRS's stated purpose of
conserving wildlife (including species threatened with extinction), and
to ensure that National Wildlife Refuges are safe for the millions of
Americans who visit these public lands each year, we request the
inclusion of the following report language, which is geared towards
promoting public safety and greater transparency regarding the use of
body-gripping traps on wildlife refuges. Currently, over half of the
System's 563 refuges allow trapping. Steel-jaw leghold traps,
Conibears, and strangulation snares pose distinct risks to humans,
wildlife, and other animals (e.g., pets) given their indiscriminate
nature and the trauma such devices inflict upon individuals or animals
captured in these traps.
Trapping Report Language: The Committee directs the Fish and
Wildlife Service to comply with the following for any refuge unit
within the National Wildlife Refuge System that allows the use of body-
gripping traps: The Service shall post sufficient signage on the
physical premises to protect visitors to the refuge, including children
and pets; the Service shall post notice of any refuge that allows body-
gripping traps on the System Web site and on the Web site of the
relevant refuge. No later than 1 year after the enactment of this
legislation, the Service shall submit to the Committee on Natural
Resources of the House of Representatives and the Committee on
Environment and Public Works of the Senate a report that provides the
following information relating to the use of any body-gripping trap in
the System for the preceding fiscal year: The identification of any
refuge in which the use of a body-gripping trap was authorized; the
purpose for such use, such as for management, recreational, or
commercial purposes; a description of any non-lethal control methods
used before authorization was granted for management purposes; the
types of body-gripping traps used; trap-check time requirements; the
number of Special Use Permit Applications granted, either by Service
Region or by State, to engage in trapping on a National Wildlife
Refuge; the number and species of target and non-target animals that
were captured in body-gripping traps on refuges; and a description of
any injuries sustained by target and non-target animals caused directly
or indirectly by the capture in body-gripping traps. The Committee
encourages the Service to continue collecting the aforementioned data
and information regarding the use of body-gripping traps in the System
on an annual basis.
fish and wildlife service--office of law enforcement--$75.1 million
The FWS Office of Law Enforcement (OLE) is one of the most
important lines of defense for wildlife both at home and abroad. OLE
enforces over a dozen Federal wildlife and conservation laws that
frequently impact both domestic and global security. Year after year,
OLE protects the public against the illegal trade in wildlife and
wildlife products--which ranks third only to the illicit trade in
narcotics and weapons in terms of global revenue--and the United States
remains a source of, or destination for, much of this contraband. Even
those who may not concern themselves with wildlife are reaping benefits
as OLE protects against smuggling illegal substances and helps to
thwart potentially devastating human health threats. We support FWS's
proposed appropriation of $75.1 million for OLE, a modest increase of
$328,000 over the 2016 enacted level. Ensuring that OLE receives
adequate funding is crucial in terms of supporting the work of Special
Agents and Wildlife Inspectors, and enhancing FWS's ability to combat
wildlife trafficking.
fish and wildlife service--international affairs--wildlife
trafficking--$500,000 increase
Combatting increased wildlife trafficking is a high priority for
the administration and Congress. Congress in particular (with strong
bipartisan support) has taken important steps in this regard, e.g., the
House of Representatives passing H.R. 2494, the Global Anti-Poaching
Act earlier this session. Wildlife trafficking threatens not only
species conservation, but also global security given its close
association with terrorism and criminal syndicates. With poaching
reaching unprecedented levels, domestic and international governments
and private entities have turned to FWS for leadership in coordinating,
guiding, and implementing a response. This funding increase will help
provide financial assistance to projects in foreign countries that
advance counter wildlife trafficking activities as outlined in the
National Strategy for Combating Wildlife Trafficking and actions
articulated in the Implementation Plan. The goal is to continue efforts
to build further capacity and partnerships for species conservation.
Such measures are in concert with the aims of the Global Anti-Poaching
Act and other bills under consideration this Congress, which would
facilitate partnerships between the U.S. Government and foreign
countries fighting terrorist organizations and international crime
syndicates that profit from wildlife trafficking.
white-nose syndrome (wns)
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.--$4,500,000 total; $2 million in
Endangered Species Recovery; $2.5 million in Service Science.
U.S. Geological Survey.--$1,501,000 in Ecosystems/Wildlife.
National Park Service.--$3,155,000 in Natural Resource Stewardship.
Bureau of Land Management.--$500,000.
U.S. Forest Service.--$2.5 million, Research & Development;
$500,000, Forest Systems.
White-nose syndrome (WNS) remains at the root of North America's
most precipitous wildlife die-off of the past century. The disease is
caused by an invasive species of fungus, Pseudo-gymnoascus destructans
(Pd), which thrives in caves and abandoned mines and infects bats
hibernating there, disrupting their physiological processes. WNS has
killed at least 6 million bats and has spread to 27 States and 5
Canadian provinces. WNS has struck seven species, including the
federally endangered Indiana and gray bats, while the presence of the
fungus has been confirmed in three more States and five more species,
including one endangered species. It has reached the ranges of other
endangered bats, including the Virginia big-eared bat and the Ozark
big-eared bats, and has the potential to affect 25 of our country's 47
bat species. Declines due to WNS are so severe that the FWS has
designated the northern long-eared bat as threatened. The loss of bats
from WNS has serious implications for our economy and environment. Bats
are primary predators of night-flying insects, including pests that
attack corn, soybeans, cotton, and other crops. By eating these pests,
bats reduce the need for pesticides, lower food production costs, and
save U.S. farmers an average of $22.9 billion yearly. Bats also aid 66
plant species that produce timber.
Thanks to steady Government funding, progress has been made. USFWS
is the lead agency for WNS response, serving as an umbrella for
nationwide WNS action on the part of more than 100 Federal, State,
local, tribal, academic, nonprofit, and other entities. Grants from FWS
fund research that likely would not occur otherwise. Two recent
examples are projects spearheaded by teams from the University of
California-Santa Cruz: one finding evidence of Pd in China, which will
offer new populations to study for their resistance; and another
identifying a potentially promising treatment utilizing bacteria that
occur naturally on bats' skin. In addition, FWS is the largest source
of funding for State agencies to monitor, manage, and research WNS.
USGS also plays a critical role in WNS research. In 2006, WNS and
Pd were unknown to science. Since then, USGS's research has laid much
of the foundation of our understanding of the disease and continues to
explore ways to treat WNS. USGS developed a more accurate WNS test for
bats which, unlike previous methods, does not require euthanizing the
animals. The agency has expanded surveillance for Pd and WNS through
sampling of bats and hibernacula and collaborates with State agencies
to monitor the disease. In 2015, scientists from its National Wildlife
Health Center and the University of Wisconsin developed an ``energy
depletion'' model to explain how WNS kills bats. With a view to
possible treatments, USGS has a number of ongoing projects studying
Pd's cave environment to identify conditions conducive to and hostile
to the fungus that might yield natural controls, as well as whether
other microbes found on bats' skin could mitigate the effects of Pd. It
is also developing an oral vaccine and is working to identify the best
delivery method.
The natural resources of the NPS provide significant challenges for
WNS management and information-sharing. NPS staff take seriously their
responsibility to ``safeguard bats, their hibernacula, and maternity
roosts from WNS . . .'' They conduct bat and disease monitoring in
NPS's many caves and abandoned mines to inform the nationwide
understanding of the disease. With the largest number of visitors every
year, NPS properties play an important role in educating the public
about WNS, through ranger outreach, visitor infrastructure, and
multimedia materials. NPS's visitors also heighten the need for the
agency to prevent human spread of Pd through screening and closures.
Conducting chemical disinfection for visitors and staff when entering/
exiting caves and abandoned mines has enabled NPS to advance knowledge
of various decontamination methods. NPS is integrating WNS into all
staff bat-resource activities; for example, conducting wing swabs for
WNS is becoming standard procedure whenever NPS staff handle bats.
Forty-three projects in over 40 parks were to have been completed in
2015. One in particular had astounding results. A survey conducted at
Great Smokey Mountain National Park revealed an 85 percent decline in
the capture rate for one species and a 65 percent decline in the
capture rate for another.
With at least 3,000 caves and an estimated 31,000 abandoned mines
on its lands, the BLM has much work to do on WNS and has never been
allocated funds for this purpose. Most of BLM's lands, concentrated in
the western U.S., have not yet suffered from WNS, but the threat is
moving in that direction. Addressing the disease is therefore necessary
and urgent, and BLM has begun the task, thanks in part to directive
language from Congress. To address a paucity of information about bats
on BLM lands, staff are conducting bat inventories and inspecting bats
for signs of Pd or WNS, either visually or by swabbing. To minimize the
risk of Pd spread, the agency has integrated decontamination into
protocols for personnel who enter caves or abandoned mines and is
producing educational programming on decontamination for visitors. BLM
also aims to prevent Pd spread by closing abandoned mines, installing
gates on other mines and caves to keep people out, and selectively
closing caves to visitors. Through an internal small-grant program, BLM
field offices apply for up to $2500, which must be matched by other
funds, often from State agencies or local NGOs.
With many land and research resources, e.g., the Center for Forest
Mycology Research, USFS has been a leader in WNS activities, but it
needs and deserves a dedicated funding stream to maintain its effort.
USFS scientists contribute significantly to our understanding of WNS
and Pd. In 2013, agency researchers taxonomically reclassified the WNS-
causing fungus, laying the foundation for a better understanding of Pd
with regard to its closely related benign fungi. Furthering this line
of inquiry, USFS currently is comparing these fungi to pinpoint Pd's
harmful genes, in the hope of silencing them. USFS is also exploring
the use of a native soil bacterium to inhibit Pd and improve survival
of WNS-infected bats. In the spring of last year, FWS released the
results of a study involving the bacterium Rhodococus rhodochrous, a
native soil bacterium that inhibits Pd growth. Among diseased bats were
treated with this bacterium in the lab, there was a 50 percent increase
in survival, and recovered bats were released last May.
In response to directive language in fiscal year 2012, USFS wrote a
WNS science strategy. With those goals accomplished, USFS issued an
updated strategy in September, the goal of which is to sustain
functional WNS-affected bat populations through integrated disease
management. It is estimated that $4.5 million will be needed to
implement the plan over 4 years. USFS has also developed A Plan for the
North American Bat Monitoring Program (NABAT), a program to conduct
coordinated, standardized monitoring of multiple bat species across
North America to gain reliable data for conservation decisionmaking--
similar to programs for birds and amphibians. USFS also wants to
develop an ``electronic nose,'' a device that identifies the components
of an odor and analyzes its chemical make-up to identify it. Pd and WNS
have ``odors'' (chemical biomarkers) that could be identified by an
``e-nose,'' thus permitting early detection and application of
treatments. The e-nose would also enable testing of bats without
handling them, thus reducing disturbance and stress.
It is clear that the Forest Service has made and continues to make
major contributions to our understanding, detection, and treatment of
Pd and WNS, but it has been doing so at the expense of other programs.
We believe that the redirection of surplus funds from other accounts
(such Forest Inventory and Analysis), as well as new funds, are more
than justified.
______
Prepared Statement of the Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Fort Peck
Reservation
I would like to thank the subcommittee for permitting the
Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation to
present testimony concerning fiscal year 2017 appropriations for the
Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and Indian Health Service (IHS). My name
is Floyd Azure. I am Chairman of the Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of
the Fort Peck Reservation. I will focus my testimony today on
infrastructure, public safety and public health needs for our tribe
which are largely dependent upon the appropriations of this
subcommittee to the BIA and IHS. The tribes also express strong support
for the administration's request for full funding for contract support
costs for both agencies. We also fully support the administration's
proposal to make this funding mandatory.
fort peck reservation rural water system
Congress has long recognized that the foundations for economic
development and prosperity in Indian country lay in community stability
which begins with infrastructure such as safe drinking water, roads and
utilities.
This is why we strongly support the administration's $2.262 million
request for the Operation and Maintenance (OM&R) funding for the Fort
Peck Reservation Rural Water System for fiscal year 2017. This funding
is essential for this system to operate, which now provides drinking
water to more than 15,000 residents in Northeast Montana and several
social and governmental agencies, including the BIA Agency Office,
Poplar Schools, and Poplar hospital.
More than 20 years ago, the tribes realized that a new water source
was necessary to ensure the health of our people. Located on a former
inland sea with a high saline content, coupled with unprecedented
contamination from oil production, water on the reservation and the
surrounding communities is not safe for human consumption. To ensure
our future, we sought to find another water source for our people.
Congress agreed and in 2000 enacted the Fort Peck Reservation Rural
Water System Act to build a modern rural water system for the
Reservation (Assiniboine and Sioux Rural Water System) and to assist
the off-reservation communities in Roosevelt, Sheridan, Daniels and
Valley Counties (Dry Prairie Rural Water Authority) build a rural water
system that would ``interconnect'' with the tribes.
We are more than 60 percent complete and the project now serves
more than 70 percent of the reservation population with safe, reliable
drinking and industrial water. The statute requires that the OM&R of
the Assiniboine and Sioux Rural Water System--the portion on the
reservation that is held in trust by the Federal Government--be paid in
full by the BIA as a Federal obligation. This is consistent with the
Federal trust responsibility to the tribes, who were promised a
permanent home when we agreed to move to the reservation. A permanent
home requires safe drinking water.
To date, the Federal Government has invested $180 million in
constructing the Fort Peck Reservation Rural Water System. The
Assiniboine and Sioux Rural Water System components--the ``common
facilities''--must be maintained. The entire system is dependent upon
the safe and proper operation of common facilities which includes the
Missouri River intake, the pumping system, the water treatment plant,
sludge lagoon, and miles of main transmission lines running east-west
and north-south within our 2 million acre reservation. Adequate funding
of the operation and maintenance of our ``common facilities'' will
extend the useful life of this vita infrastructure project. Thus, the
$2.2 million requested for the OM&R of this project is critical. If
Congress does not appropriate the required funds for OM&R, then this
System will not operate and the people of northeast Montana will have
no drinking water.
public safety and drug trafficking
The reservation lies immediately west and north of the Bakken and
Three Forks Formation and we are already witnessing the economic
impacts of oil and gas development in this region. With rapid
development come social ills in the form of increased criminal
activity, including methamphetamine use, prescription drug abuse and
addiction, which are reversing the downward trend our tribal police
achieved through effective policing techniques, task force
collaboration and effective education campaigns.
Six years ago, through effective policing techniques, our Chief of
Police was seeing a reduction in methamphetamine use on our
reservation, but over the last few years it has returned with a
vengeance. The growing population working in the Bakken formation has
created an easy source of meth on our reservation. This problem must be
attacked on all fronts: law enforcement; treatment; and improved social
services. This is why we support the President's Generation Indigenous
Initiative as a comprehensive interagency response to the challenges
facing Indian country, but so much more needs to be done if we are to
reverse substance abuse.
A. Law Enforcement
There is no greater need in Indian County than public safety and
justice and these programs cannot be sacrificed for any purpose. Our
police chief estimates that 70-80 percent of criminal conduct has a
drug component to it, with assaults and burglaries arising out of drug
use and addiction. The BIA's own statistics are alarming; over a 5 year
period, drug related arrests in Indian Country increased nearly 10-fold
from 443 arrests in fiscal year 2008 to 4,289 arrests in fiscal year
2013. Our tribal police department has 18 police officers, two
dedicated to drug enforcement, three criminal investigators, and we
share dispatchers with Roosevelt County. Our Police Chief said he could
use six drug enforcement agents to help with the rising workload. The
needs of our community and those throughout Indian Country cry out for
increase law enforcement and justice funding. We urge you to reject the
administration's proposal to cut law enforcement funding.
B. Social Services
In the last year, we have had too many infants born addicted to
meth. These infants must be placed in foster in families. This causes
tremendous stress on our social services program. The administration's
$53 million request for tribal social service programs and the $19
million requested for Indian Child Welfare programs will help meet this
need. In addition, the $30 million requested for tribal courts will
also ensure that our children are safer as these institutions will have
additional resources to supervise and monitor the children in their
care.
C. Detention Services
The Fort Peck Tribes completed a modern detention facility to serve
the reservation and other tribes. This allows for inmates to be close
to their homes and families. It will do a great deal to ensure
continuity in our families. Beyond not requesting additional funds for
law enforcement personnel, the budget does not request sufficient funds
for the operation of BIA or tribally operated detention facilities that
were opened in the last 2 years, like Fort Peck.
The tribes worked with the BIA office of Justice Services when we
were building this new detention facility, including on the staffing
and operations costs. The tribes entered into a contract with the BIA
for the operation of this facility. And while we received some funding
associated with this contract, it is approximately 30 percent of what
we negotiated with the BIA to have a fully functional detention center.
When we expressed concern, the BIA officials said that the tribes would
be made whole in fiscal year 2016. This did not happen last year. We
ask you do this so that we can continue to provide safe and secure
detention services in our community and protect the tribal and Federal
investment.
road maintenance
By its own admission, the administration's funding request for the
Road Maintenance Program for fiscal year 2017 will permit tribes to
maintain only 16 percent of BIA-owned roads and 62 percent of BIA-owned
bridges in ``acceptable'' condition. This leaves 8 out of 10 BIA-owned
roads and nearly 4 out of 10 BIA-owned bridges with funds to maintain
them in their current poor or failing condition. This is a safety
issue. Most of these routes are gravel and earthen school bus routes
that require more frequent maintenance than paved roads. We urge the
subcommittee to add at least an additional $9 million to the Road
Maintenance Program out of planned increases for the Interior
Department for fiscal year 2017. Doing so will increase the percentage
of BIA-owned roads and bridges maintained to an ``acceptable''
condition.
indian health service
We continue to build government services and programs on the
reservation and attract businesses to improve the quality of life for
our members. The IHS operates two clinics on the reservation; the Verne
E. Gibbs IHS Health Center in Poplar, and the Chief Redstone IHS Health
Center in Wolf Point. In-patient services are available at the non-IHS
Poplar Community Hospital and Trinity Hospital in Wolf Point. To combat
the high incidence of heart disease, cancer and diabetes, the tribes
supplement health services on the reservation through our Health
Promotion and Disease Prevention (HPDP) Wellness Program, the Spotted
Bull Resource and Recovery Center, and nursing services for a Youth
Detention Center, which we operate pursuant to an ISDA contract with
the IHS.
The tribes' focus on preventative care is the reason we so strongly
support the requested increase of $48 million for Purchased and
Referred Care. This level of funding will allow more Service Units to
move beyond life or limb coverage, and provide a fuller range of
healthcare services, instead of crisis care. Everyone agrees that
focusing on the health of a person instead of crisis care will improve
the health status of our people.
One area I would ask the subcommittee to address in its report is
that for many of our people who have insurance, whether it be private,
Medicaid, or Medicare, the Service Unit at Fort Peck will not refer
people out for anything but life or limb care. Thus, even if someone
has the ability to cover the cost of a procedure, like gall bladder
surgery, the person's primary provider, who is at the Service Unit,
will not refer them out. If the person gets the gall bladder surgery,
the IHS will not pay the copay or the deductible because they did not
meet the life or limb criteria. Many of our tribal members, who have
insurance, are the working poor. They cannot pay these obligations,
which are often times substantial. Thus, they consequently get referred
to collections. I would ask that the subcommittee direct the IHS to
reconsider its business practices, because waiting until someone is at
life or limb stage to address a health issue makes neither good
economic or healthcare sense. It would make more sense to pay the copay
and deductible before someone gets dangerously ill.
We are disappointed that the Indian Health Service has yet to
implement a portion of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act that
allows the IHS to provide dialysis services to patients. More than 20
years ago, the Fort Peck Tribes recognized the need for dialysis
services on our reservation and built and opened a dialysis clinic on
the reservation. This was without any assistance by the IHS because, at
that time, the IHS said it did not have the authorization to provide
these services. Today, this facility needs to be expanded, and now the
IHS has the authority to provide dialysis services. However, the IHS
has not requested any funding from Congress to do so. We would urge the
subcommittee to direct the IHS to provide an update on how it plans to
expand its role in providing dialysis care in Indian Country,
especially in tribal communities such as on our reservation where
existing dialysis treatment is overburdened.
conclusion
We thank the subcommittee for the opportunity to present written
testimony concerning the President's fiscal year 2017 budget.
______
Prepared Statement of the Association for Fire Ecology, International
Association of Wildland Fire, Tall Timbers Research Station and Land
Conservancy, and The Nature Conservancy
joint fire science program funding is vital for managing wildfires
safely and cost-effectively
The undersigned leading professional wildland fire organizations in
the Nation and the world are seriously concerned with the proposed cut
and a new funding process for the USDA Forest Service's (USFS) Joint
Fire Science Program (JFSP). The clear current wildfire trend is more
acres burned, higher severity, and on more days each year, raising our
challenge to apply resources in a wise, science-based manner. We
respectfully request that the USFS JFSP be funded at $7 million through
the Wildland Fire Management budget. We additionally request that the
Department of the Interior Joint Fire Science program be funded at $6
million.
The USFS JFSP has a relatively small budget for a program that
successfully yields important results which are directly and widely
applied across a broad geographic landscape. These tools and technology
products support the fire risk reduction community that help track the
effectiveness of Forest Service programs, such as vegetation management
and hazardous fuels reduction. Their applied research supports
resilient landscapes and communities, and provides key information on
wildfire mitigation impacts on water quality, atmospheric emissions,
and other natural resources and ecosystem services. We are concerned
about the zeroing out of this program under Wildland Fire Management in
exchange for funding a smaller portion from the already-constrained
Forest & Rangeland Research budget. Restoring the USFS funding
mechanism under Wildland Fire Management and ensuring an appropriated
level of $7 million would help to address the urgent need to maintain
and further important research.
maintaining research
The JFSP is a research program that builds on a 15+ year commitment
to focusing research questions on the needs and objectives of fire
managers. As such, JFSP serves as an independent and vital research arm
of the broader efforts to safely and efficiently manage wildland fire
on all ownerships. Additionally, JFSP:
--Generates priorities based on the expressed needs of managers and
local land units, maximizing their relevance and effectiveness
in improving fire management. This need-driven priority focus
frees it from alternative priorities and mandates of any
individual agency and ensures funded research is directly
applicable to managers.
--Draws its strength and relevance from being truly collaborative and
interdisciplinary--by engaging Federal and university
scientists, land/resource managers and multiple stakeholders in
advancing the field of fire science. This is vital for a
profession in which fire knows no bureaucratic boundaries.
--Serves as an international forum for information and technology
exchange particularly important in the face of global climate
change.
more research, not less
Wildland fire management requires a significant investment from
Federal agencies, in particular the USFS. Currently, JFSP is only 1
percent of the total Wildland Fire Management budget. For an agency
with approximately half of its budget focused on wildland fire
management, it makes fiscal sense to invest in a research program like
the JFSP in order to understand the science of fire management, fire
prevention, and landscape-scale climate impacts.
With continued and even expanded funds for cutting-edge research,
we could expect to pioneer safer and less costly methods to manage
fires on public lands, thus earning long-term cost savings.
current policy supports research
The Federal Wildland Fire Management Policy states as two of the
guiding principles:
--``Fire management plans and activities are based upon the best
available science.''
--``Knowledge and experience are developed among all wildland fire
management agencies. An active fire research program combined
with interagency collaboration provides the means to make this
available to all fire managers.''
The National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy states as
one of the guiding principles and core values:
--``Fire management decisions are based on the best available
science, knowledge, and experience, and used to evaluate risk
versus gain.''
Fully funding JFSP is one of the few ways to achieve these goals
and sustain scientific and technological innovations that are critical
for the vitality of wildland fire management and for expansion of
knowledge and skill.
We urge you continue to fund the USFS JFSP at $7 million under the
Wildland Fire Management budget and additionally the DOI JFSP at $6
million. These levels and funding structures would emphasis Congress'
commitment to the continued development of research tools that have
greatly improved our success in managing wildland fire in the past and
which are needed even more so in the future.
Dr. Leda Kobziar
President, Association for Fire Ecology
Tom Zimmerman
President, International Association of Wildland Fire
Dr. William Palmer
President/CEO, Tall Timbers Research Station and Land Conservancy
Cecilia Clavet
Senior Policy Advisor on Fire and Forest Restoration, The Nature
Conservancy
______
Prepared Statement of the Association of Art Museum Directors
The Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD) respectfully
requests funding of $155 million each for the National Endowment for
the Arts (NEA) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) for
fiscal year 2017. We also ask that the subcommittee provide the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) with the funding necessary to staff and
train personnel in order to avoid placing any additional impediments on
American art museums that are importing works of art containing ivory
for the purposes of temporary public exhibition.
arts and artifacts indemnity program
AAMD again thanks the subcommittee for revising the statutory caps
for international and domestic arts exhibition indemnity agreements
under the Arts and Artifacts Indemnity Act, which is administered by
the NEA on behalf of the Federal Council on the Arts and the
Humanities, of which both NEA and NEH are members. Participating AAMD
members reported saving an average of more than $650,000 in insurance
fees in 2015. A partial list of examples of indemnified exhibitions
that may be of particular interest to members of the subcommittee
includes:
1. ``Of Heaven and Earth: 500 Years of Italian Painting from
Glasgow Museums'' at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art.
2. ``Portrait of an English Country House: Houghton Hall'' at
Frist Center for the Visual Arts (Nashville, Tennessee).
3. ``Gods and Heroes: Masterpieces from the Ecole des Beaux-Arts,
Paris'' at Portland Art Museum (Oregon).
4. ``The Paintings of Sir Winston Churchill'' at Mildred Lane
Kemper Museum of Art (Saint Louis, Missouri).
5. ``America's Eden: Thomas Cole and The Voyage of Life'' at Dixon
Gallery and Gardens (Memphis, Tennessee).
6. ``When Modern Was Contemporary: Selections from the Roy R.
Neuberger Collection'' at Mississippi Museum of Art and The Albuquerque
Museum of Art and History.
national endowment for the arts
As stated above, AAMD requests that Congress appropriate $155
million for the NEA. The agency continues to make modest but important
grants that leverage significant private support, disseminate best
practices, and foster innovation.
For example, the Boise Art Museum received a grant to support an
exhibition related to the Minidoka National Historic Site, a World War
II Japanese internment camp in Idaho. This project comprises an
exhibition of artwork created at the camp or created by artists who
have a personal connection with the Minidoka incarceration experience,
such as Takuichi Fujii (1892-1964), Kenjiro Nomura (1896-1956), Teresa
Tamura (b. 1960), Roger Shimomura (b. 1939), and Wendy Maruyama (b.
1952). To engage visitors of all ages with the Minidoka National
Historic Site, educational programming will take place at Boise Art
Museum, at the national park site, and at Boise State University (BSU).
The exhibition is scheduled to coincide with the annual Civil Liberties
Symposium at BSU.
The director of the museum, Melanie Fales, explained the
significance of the NEA's support:
``BAM is sensitive to the fact that people have mixed feelings
regarding the actions of the U.S. Government during World War II. We
want to facilitate the opening of a dialogue about the events that
occurred in our State during that time. The museum is not taking a
stance, rather we intend to present a safe space for artists and
audience members to discuss the events that took place, focusing on the
artistic process of documentation and response. We want to present a
balanced approach to a challenging topic. For topics such as this,
which can be considered potentially controversial, it is not always
possible to garner funding from local sources. The significance of this
discussion is evident at a national level, and we are grateful to the
NEA for recognizing its value. This funding makes it possible for the
museum to carry out the project for the benefit of our community and
country.''
Examples of recent grants listed on the NEA's Web site include:
1. To support an exhibition at the Anchorage Museum featuring
indigenous artists and focusing on contemporary indigenous issues in
the north.
2. To support shipping and loan costs for the exhibition
``Multiplied: Edition MAT and the Transformable Work of Art, 1959-
1965'' at the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum in St. Louis.
3. To support an exhibition at Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art
in Kansas City of work by contemporary artists.
4. To support the exhibition ``Phantom Bodies: The Human Aura in
Art,'' at the Frist Center for the Visual Arts in Nashville, and
accompanying catalogue.
5. To support reinstallation of the New Orleans Museum of Art's
Spanish Colonial collection, and accompanying catalogue.
6. To support the exhibition ``Jewel City: Art of the Panama-
Pacific International Exposition'' at the de Young Museum in San
Francisco, with an accompanying catalogue.
7. To support a professional development program for artists at
the RISD Museum in Providence.
8. To support the Northwest Filmmaker's Festival and related
programming at the Portland Art Museum.
AAMD commends NEA for its commitment to the Blue Star Museums
initiative, now in its seventh year. AAMD members have responded with
overwhelming enthusiasm to Chairman Chu's invitation to offer free
admission to active duty military and their families at least from
Memorial Day through Labor Day. In 2015, approximately 90 percent of
AAMD members in the United States either formally joined the program or
already offered free admission to all.
national endowment for the humanities
As stated above, AAMD requests that Congress appropriate $155
million for the NEH.
This important agency assists art museums in presenting humanities
scholarship to the general public. It also plays an invaluable role in
assisting with the preservation and conservation of important
collections. This is exactly the type of unglamorous work for which it
is chronically difficult to raise private funding, making Federal
support all the more valuable.
AAMD commends the NEH for two initiatives in particular. The Common
Good is designed to demonstrate the critical role that humanities
scholarship can play in public life. This is especially suitable for
museums, which have developed expertise in presenting complex ideas to
non-specialists. Standing Together, the Humanities and the Experience
of War, supports programs that explore war and its aftermath, promote
discussion of the experience of military service, and support returning
veterans and their families. Taken in tandem with Blue Star Museums,
this program clearly demonstrates the commitment of the two agencies to
both veterans and active duty military.
A few of the agency's grants to art museums include:
1. To the Santa Barbara Museum of Art to perform an on-site
preservation and condition assessment of 800 paintings.
2. To the Palm Springs Art Museum to conduct an assessment of
architectural drawings, blueprints, renderings, and archival documents
within the permanent collection.
3. To the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art at the University of
Oregon to improve long-term preservation of 156 oversize objects and
increase scholarly research and public use of these collections.
u.s. fish and wildlife service
The AAMD has had extensive conversations with the Fish and Wildlife
Service (FWS) about the importance of presenting works of many cultures
to the American public, works that without temporary exhibitions,
Americans would never see. These works, entrusted to our museums from
both foreign museums and foreign private collectors, are fragile,
invaluable and represent the highest professional quality. American
museums borrowing these works must be assured that the works can move
quickly, safely and be fully protected.
This is especially true when moving works of art, made in whole or
in part of ivory, through designated ports as called for in the
Director's Order 210 issued February 25, 2014. The Director's Order 210
imposed strict requirements on importing works of ivory from abroad,
with which museums are struggling to comply.
Unfortunately, the FWS has limited capacity to staff and train
personnel at the designated ports to process works of ivory for special
exhibitions. There must be sufficient staff to ensure that the works
move in accordance with professionally accepted procedures and the new
requirements at the speed that a temporary exhibition requires. The
AAMD urges the subcommittee to provide FWS with the funding necessary
to staff and train personnel in order to avoid placing any additional
impediments on American art museums.
about aamd
The purpose of the Association of Art Museum Directors is to
support its members in increasing the contribution of art museums to
society. The AAMD accomplishes this mission by establishing and
maintaining the highest standards of professional practice, serving as
forum for the exchange of information and ideas, acting as an advocate
for its member art museums, and being a leader in shaping public
discourse about the arts community and the role of art in society.
______
Prepared Statement of the Association of Community Tribal Schools Inc.
My name is Tom Miller; President of the Association of Community
Tribal Schools Inc. (ACTS) and Superintendent of Hannahville Indian
School in Michigan. We want to thank you for the fiscal year 2016
appropriations.
The tribal school movement started in 1966 with Rough Rock
Demonstration School in Arizona. Currently there are over 30,000
students in 129 tribal elementary and secondary schools. The schools
are in the States of Maine, Florida, North Carolina, Mississippi,
Louisiana, South Dakota, Minnesota, North Dakota, Michigan, Iowa,
Wisconsin, Kansas, Wyoming, Oklahoma, Montana, California, Washington,
Idaho, Nevada, Arizona, and New Mexico. ACTS represents a significant
number of the students in the 129 tribally controlled elementary and
secondary schools. ACTS's mission is to ``assist community tribal
schools toward their mission of ensuring that when students complete
their schools they are prepared for lifelong learning and that these
students will strengthen and perpetuate traditional tribal societies.''
The following charts illustrate the revenues over the last few
years and the proposed fiscal year 2017 appropriations.
requested action
1. Divert BIE-Elementary/Secondary Programs--ISEP Program
Adjustments and Education Program Enhancements to ISEP, Transportation,
etc. These funds often used to continue paternalistic practice of
telling tribes and schools what is best for their children.--
($17,472,000)
2. Increase Early Child and Family Development (.70 WSU).--
$15,000,000
3. Continue to annually increase, by 2 percent, these accounts for
next 3 (fiscal year 2018, 2019, 2020) years:
BIE-Elementary/Secondary Programs--ISEP $ 8,000,000
BIE-Elementary/Secondary Programs--Facility Operations $ 2,000,000
BIE-Elementary/Secondary Programs--Facilities Maintenance $ 2,000,000
BIE-Elementary/Secondary Programs--Student Transportation $ 2,000,000
BIE-Elementary/Secondary Programs--Grant Support Costs $ 1,400,000
------------
$15,400,000
4. Construction--Education Construction. The BIA reported a nearly
$75,000,000 annual facility deterioration rate, $388 million in
deferred maintenance and, also reports a $4.4 billion school
replacement value.
Annual Need:
Replacement School Construction $65,000,000
Replacement Facility Construction $25,000,000
Employee Housing Repair and Replacement $10,000,000
Facility Improvement and Repair $90,000,000
Add this Administrative Provision:
-- The BIE will accept new school and expansion applications
from federally recognized tribes and tribal organizations. This will
help determine the feasibility of allowing more BIE funded schools for
possible fiscal year 2019 consideration.
-- The BIE is not to be considered a State education agency,
prefer the tribal education departments.
______
Prepared Statement of the Association of Navajo Community Controlled
School Board, Inc.
The Association of Navajo Community Controlled School Board
(ANCCSB), Inc. is an organization of 11 member school boards who
operate federally funded schools on the Navajo Reservation in Arizona
and New Mexico under contracts or grants from the Bureau of Indian
Education (BIE).
We would like to take the opportunity to thank this subcommittee
for making Indian Education a bi-partisan priority. We are deeply
grateful for the substantial increases in funding for Indian Education
in fiscal years 2015 and 2016. These increases were desperately needed
to fund such basic things as text books and student transportation.
Providing consistent and adequate funding for core functions means that
we as educators and administrators can focus on providing our students
with a world class education instead of worrying about how we can
afford to heat our classrooms during the winter or whether these
classrooms are safe to occupy. Looking at the administration's request
for fiscal year 2017, we are grateful to see a commitment to maintain,
and in some cases build upon, the gains of the last 2 years. We
highlight below some of the budget categories that directly impact our
schools' educational programs, facilities, student transportation, and
administrative management.
tribal grant support costs
Since the 1988 Elementary and Secondary Education Act
reauthorization, tribally operated elementary and secondary schools
have received funding for the administrative expenses incurred for the
operation of BIE-funded schools through an Administrative Cost Grant,
now called Tribal Grant Support Costs (TGSC). These funds are used for
costs of essential services such as contract/grant administration;
program planning and development; human resources; insurance; fiscal,
procurement, and property management; required annual audits;
recordkeeping; and legal, security and other overhead services. Tribal
Grant Support Costs are the tribally operated schools' Contract Support
Costs.
Impact. In fiscal year 2016, Tribal Grant Support Costs were fully
funded for the first time. In previous fiscal years when TGSC
appropriations had been insufficient to meet the level of need without
other sources of funding, we had been forced to re-direct more and more
funds from our education program budgets to cover essential
administrative costs. Our schools were forced to make difficult
decisions--such as delaying purchase of new textbooks and other
materials, paying non-competitive teacher salaries, reducing the number
school days--to fit within these reduced budgets. Even with these cost-
saving measures, some schools were still struggling with further
reductions in management and business-office personnel at the risk of
prudent internal controls and meeting the federally mandated
requirements for fiscal processes and operation of education grants/
programs. Since TGSC is forward-funded, the fiscal year 2016
appropriation provided TGSC funds for school year 2016-17.
We are grateful that this year the administration again proposes to
follow through on commitments to pay full TGSC funding for all BIE-
funded schools, and to include in its request sufficient funding for
schools that are deciding to transition to grant or contact school
status. ANCCSB applauds this subcommittee's and the administration's
decision to treat schools' support costs the same as contractors with
the BIA and the IHS.
Request. We fully support the administration's proposal that TGSC
and startup costs be funded at $75.3 million, and request that this
subcommittee support this level of funding.
facilities operations and maintenance
Facilities Maintenance funds are intended to provide for the
preventative, routine, and unscheduled maintenance for all school
buildings, equipment, utility systems, and ground structures. We are
very grateful for the $7 million increase we saw in this budget
category in fiscal year 2016 and encouraged that the fiscal year 2017
request for a $3 million increase would build upon these gains. This is
a marked improvement from years past and while it would not meet all
the needs of our schools, it will certainly help.
There are numerous studies which attest to the fact that there is a
close correlation between poor or inadequate facility conditions and
poor student and staff performance. According to the administration's
fiscal year 2017 request, 55 of the 183 BIE-funded schools and
dormitories (one-third) are still rated in ``poor'' condition in the
Bureau's Education Facility Condition Index (FCI). Further, the
administration's fiscal year 2017 request elaborates that there is
$388.9 million in deferred maintenance backlogs! It is clear that there
is a long way to go with regard to upkeep of our schools. Part of the
maintenance problem will be solved by replacing school wholesale, but
Federal resources for this crucial need must increase so our schools
buildings can make it to their replacement date.
Facilities Operations funding is for the ongoing operational
necessities such as electricity, heating fuels, custodial services,
communications, refuse collection and water and sewer service. This
budget category also saw a $7 million increase in fiscal year 2016
along with a $3 million requested increase above that for fiscal year
2017. This is another budget category that has been severely
underfunded in years past and we are encouraged to see the proposed
increase.
Impact. Our schools are making every effort to make do with very
modest facilities funding. Since we cannot delay paying our utilities
or avoid taking actions that would impact student safety, we often have
to resort to using our other education or academic program monies. We
caution that insufficient funding to for facilities maintenance and
operations will mean delaying routine, as well as unscheduled,
maintenance of buildings, equipment, utility systems and grounds--
thereby jeopardizing student and staff safety. Attempts to moderate
electrical and/or heating costs, or reduce custodial and refuse
services and similar costs cutting measures would only make our already
compromised learning conditions more uncomfortable and unhealthy for
students and staff. If we cannot provide a decent learning environment,
how can we expect our students to focus on achieving academic success?
Request. The administration states that the $59 million requested
for Facilities Maintenance and the $66.2 million requested for
Facilities Operations would fund 78 percent of calculated Facilities
Operations and Maintenance need across BIE-funded schools. We
respectfully ask that the subcommittee consider funding 100 percent.
student transportation
The Student Transportation account is intended to cover: (1) the
costs of the daily bus services for children attending the BIE-funded
elementary and secondary schools; and (2) air travel for children who
attend distant boarding schools. School transportation costs include
vehicle rental (buses, vans), maintenance and repair, fuel, and
qualified bus driver salaries. The BIE budget justification states that
students at BIE-funded schools travel 16 percent of their miles on
unimproved roads, and that the BIE-funded schools have transportation
routes where the mileage covered is ``significantly higher than in
metropolitan areas.''
For the schools located on the Navajo Reservation, the percentage
of unimproved roads traveled by our buses is much higher and in some
cases it can be as much as 90 percent. Further, these unpaved roads are
often subject to becoming ``washboards'' due to adverse weather impacts
such as mud and snow. At times these roads become impassable so we must
resort to using 4-wheel drive vehicles to ferry the students to a
waiting bus. There have been times, however, when even the 4-wheel
vehicles cannot reach the students so they are prevented from making it
to class through no fault of their own. These conditions take a
tremendous toll on vehicles, resulting in greater maintenance and
repair costs, and greatly increase student travel time as well as the
drivers' work day.
From our experience, the 66 BIE-funded schools on the Navajo
Reservation must supplement our Student Transportation allocated
amounts by at least $70,000 to $100,000 each year. The best estimates
show that there is a $21 million shortfall in funding for Student
Transportation as the BIE has allowed funding to fall far behind need,
and has been willing to allow schools to poach other school funds for
transportation purposes.
Impact. As with the other program shortages, varied cost cutting
measures have been instituted--from reducing the number of bus routes
(resulting in longer rides for our students) to delaying vehicle
replacements as long as possible. Nonetheless, underfunding Student
Transportation will continue to adversely impact classroom programs
since each year schools have no choice but to use scarce education
program dollars to subsidize transportation costs.
Request. We are relieved to see that the administration is
requesting a $4 million increase for this critical budget category but
we respectfully request that the subcommittee consider providing at
least $73 million for Student Transportation in the BIE system.
indian school equalization program (isep) formula funds
The Indian School Equalization Program (ISEP) Formula is the core
budget account for Educational and Residential programs of the BIE
elementary and secondary schools and dormitories. These funds are used
for instructional programs at BIE-funded schools and include salaries
of teachers, educational technicians, and principals. The amount
provided to each school is determined by a statutorily mandated formula
established by regulation.
During the 8-year period of fiscal year 2003 to fiscal year 2010,
the ISEP Formula account increased by almost $45.5 million; but in only
two of those years--fiscal year 2009 and fiscal year 2010--the increase
was actually an increase in program funding. For the other years, the
requested increases were limited to amounts needed for fixed costs and
related changes, as opposed to actual program increases. Funding for
ISEP began to fall in fiscal year 2011, and the fiscal year 2015 level
was actually $5 million less than in fiscal year 2010.
Impact. For most BIE-funded schools, the chronic shortfall in the
other key school accounts has a negative impact on ISEP Formula
funding, because ISEP Formula funds are often diverted to make up the
shortfalls in other accounts such as Student Transportation,
Facilities, and Tribal Grant Support Costs when a tribe or tribal
school board has no other source of funding to satisfy those
shortfalls. This means fewer dollars are available for the education.
We are tremendously grateful that Congress has increased funding for
these critical accounts so ISEP Formula funds can be used for their
intended purpose.
Request. The administration's request for a $6.5 million increase
would be very helpful but it still does not acknowledge the shortfalls
that have been building for years. ANCCSB Member Schools respectfully
request a total of $431 million for this critical budget category.
education construction
We are very grateful for the substantial increase that Congress
provided for Education Construction in fiscal year 2016. We are pleased
to see that the fiscal year 2017 request would maintain this level of
funding. Providing consistent funding for this budget category each
fiscal year means that our aging schools can be replaced in an orderly,
scheduled fashion.
conclusion
Thank you Chairman Murkowski, Ranking Member Udall, and members of
this subcommittee for the opportunity to relay our needs to you.
______
Prepared Statement of the Association of Public and Land-Grant
Universities (APLU) Board on Natural Resources (BNR)
On behalf of the APLU Board on Natural Resources (BNR), we thank
you for your support of science and research programs within the United
States Geological Survey (USGS). We appreciate the opportunity to
provide recommendations for the following programs within USGS: $9
million for the Water Resources Research Institutes and $20 million for
the Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units.
APLU BNR requests $9 million for the Water Resources Research
Institutes (WRRI). The APLU BNR request is based on the following:
$7,500,000 in base grants for the WRRI as authorized by Section 104(b)
of the Water Resources Research Act, including State-based competitive
grants; $1,500,000 to support activities authorized by section 104(g)
of the Act. Federal funding for the WRRI program is the catalyst that
moves States and cities to invest in university-based research to
address their own water management issues. State WRRIs take the
relatively modest amount of Federal funding appropriated, match it 2:1
with State, local and other funds and use it to put university
scientists to work finding solutions to the most pressing local and
State water problems that are of national importance. The Institutes
have raised more than $16 in other funds for every dollar funded
through this program. The added benefit is that often research to
address State and local problems helps solve problems that are of
regional and national importance. Many of the projects funded through
this program provide the knowledge for State or local managers to
implement new Federal laws and regulations. Perhaps most important, the
Federal funding provides the driving force of collaboration in water
research and education among local, State, Federal and university water
professionals. This program is essential to solving State, regional and
inter-jurisdictional water resources problems. As USGS itself has
stated: ``The Water Institutes have developed a constituency and a
program that far exceeds that supported by their direct Federal
appropriations.''
The institutes also train the next generation of water resource
managers and scientists. Last year, these institutes provided research
support for more than 1,400 undergraduate and graduate students at more
than 150 universities studying water-related issues in the fields of
agriculture, biology, chemistry, earth sciences, engineering and public
policy. Institute-sponsored students receive training in both the
classroom and the field, often working shoulder-to-shoulder with the
top research scientists in their field on vanguard projects of
significant regional importance.
In addition to training students directly, Water Resources Research
Institutes work with local residents to overcome water-related issues.
For example, the California Institute for Water Resources, like most of
its peers, holds field days, demonstrations, workshops, classes,
webinars, and offers other means of education in an effort to transfer
their research findings to as many users as possible. Outreach that
succeeds in changing a farmer's approach to nitrogen application or
reducing a homeowner's misuse of lawn treatments can reduce the need
for restrictive regulation.
Below are some examples of work being done in various States:
--The current drought in California is creating serious economic
hardship for agricultural producers and local communities. The
University of California's (UC) California Institute for Water
Resources (CIWR) has responded by creating an information hub
that is being accessed by agricultural and urban interests to
gain vital information on how to adapt during the drought. This
hub contains valuable information from multiple units within
the UC system. It also brings together information on workshops
and seminars (many of which are and will be provided in video
form on the Web). In 2014-2015, UC promoted and hosted over 350
workshops and has many more planned (ciwr.ucanr.edu). The CIWR
has also produced a series of drought tip fact sheets and a
webinar series of short (15-minute) talks with useful
information on irrigation practices, salinity management,
landscape management and more.
--The Minnesota Water Resources Center has funded a number of
research projects that address important, nationally-relevant
water resources issues with USGS/WRRA funding over the last 4
years. This funding has been highly leveraged with university
funds and the Minnesota Environmental Trust Fund. Researchers
have addressed critical issues, including determining the
biogeochemical variables that can be used to predict how much
arsenic will get into groundwater used for drinking water, and
determining the degree of antibiotic resistance in wastewater
treatment plant effluent.
--Researchers with the Idaho Water Resources Research Institute have
collaborated with Idaho Department of Water Resources
scientists to develop technology for assessing crop-water usage
over large areas using satellite based remote-sensing
information. This technology is now used routinely within the
Idaho Department of Water Resources for investigating and
resolving water rights conflicts, for aquifer depletion
modeling and for stream flow management. This technology is
also being adopted by 10 western States and parts of Africa,
Europe and Australia.
APLU BNR requests at least $20 million for the Cooperative Fish and
Wildlife Research Units (CRU). This program: (1) trains the next
generation of fisheries and wildlife managers; (2) conducts research
designed to meet the needs of unit cooperators; and (3) provides
technical assistance to State, Federal and other natural resource
managers. Originally established in the 1930s to provide training for
students in fisheries and wildlife biology, the units were formally
recognized by the Cooperative Units Act of 1960 (Public Law 86-686).
The CRUs provide experience and training for approximately 600 graduate
students per year, a critical need as State and Federal workforces face
unprecedented retirements over the next 5 to 10 years. The CRUs also
provide valuable mission-oriented research for their biggest clients,
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and cooperating State agencies.
Today, there are 40 Cooperative Research Units in 38 States.
Each unit is a true Federal-State-university-private sector
collaboration in that it is a partnership between the U. S. Geological
Survey, a State natural resources management agency, a host university,
and the Wildlife Management Institute. For every $1 the Federal
Government puts into the program, $3 more are leveraged through the
other partners. The U.S. economy has long relied on the bountiful
natural resources bestowed upon this land. Federal investment in the
CRUs will be returned many times over though the training of future
natural resource managers who will guide the Nation in sustainable use
of our natural resources. The research conducted by CRU scientists
directly supports the difficult management challenges faced by natural
resources managers. The examples below demonstrate the value of the
CRUs to wildlife issues with local and national importance.
--Minnesota: The Minnesota CRU is currently researching the olfactory
sensitivity of Asian carps to putative sex pheromones. This
work has recently received national attention, because Asian
carps are an invasive species that threatens many of the
Nation's freshwater native fishes through competition for food.
The Minnesota CRU hopes to use the sex pheromones to attract
and trap Asian carp, removing them permanently from the
Nation's freshwater lakes and rivers. Minnesota CRU researchers
are also studying human behavior, working to understand the
motivations of agricultural producers enrolling in USDA water
quality and wildlife habitat programs. They hope to gain
insight into designing and developing programs, practices and
messages that encourage broader participation in those
programs.
--Tennessee: In 2011, an estimated 826,293 anglers fished in
Tennessee, creating an economic impact of nearly $1.3 billion
for the State. The Tennessee CRU supports this economic driver
by assessing fish stocks, working on recovery efforts for
threatened and endangered species, providing research and
technical assistance to support State decisions related to
fishing. For example, research on sauger in the Tennessee River
showed that minimum size requirements by the State were not
leading to increased mortality of released fish below the
minimum size. Their research also kept ``stinger'' hooks
available for fishermen by showing they also did not contribute
to increased mortality.
--Oklahoma: The Oklahoma CRU is celebrating its seventh decade of
activity. Since opening in 1948, the graduate students that
conducted research at the CRU have completed over 400 theses
and dissertations. One on-going research project is to gather
an accurate count of the black bear population expansion out of
Arkansas and into eastern Oklahoma. Wildlife managers need this
information for appropriate management of the bear population
now that black bear hunting has been reintroduced in Oklahoma.
BNR thanks you for the opportunity to provide our views to the
subcommittee. We look forward to working with you through the fiscal
year 2016 appropriations process.
About APLU and the Board on Natural Resources
APLU's membership consists of 235 State universities, land-grant
universities, State-university systems and related organizations. APLU
institutions enroll more than 4.7 million undergraduate students and
1.2 million graduate students, and conduct $42.7 billion annually in
university-based research annually. The Board's mission is to promote
university-based programs dealing with natural resources, fisheries,
wildlife, ecology, energy, and the environment. BNR representatives are
chosen by their president's office to serve and currently number over
500 scientists and educators, who are some of the Nation's leading
research and educational expertise in environmental and natural-
resource disciplines.
______
Prepared Statement of the Association of State Drinking Water
Administrators
The Association of State Drinking Water Administrators (ASDWA)
respectfully submits the following recommendations for fiscal year 2017
appropriations on behalf of the drinking water programs in the 50
States, 5 Territories, District of Columbia, and Navajo Nation.
Summary of Request: ASDWA respectfully requests that, for fiscal
year 2017, the subcommittee appropriate funding for three programs at
levels commensurate with Federal expectations for performance; that
ensure appropriate public health protection; and that will result in
enhancing economic stability and prosperity in American cities and
towns. ASDWA requests $200 million for the Public Water System
Supervision (PWSS) program; $1.0205 billion for the Drinking Water
State Revolving Loan Fund (DWSRF) program; and $10 million for State
drinking water program security initiatives. A more complete
explanation of the needs represented by these requested amounts and
their justification follows.
overview: the importance of safe drinking water for our communities and
the economy & the role of state drinking water programs
States need increased Federal support to maintain public health
protection and to support the needs of the water systems they oversee.
State drinking water programs strive to meet the Nation's public health
protection goals through two principal funding programs: the Public
Water System Supervision Program (PWSS) and the Drinking Water State
Revolving Loan Fund (DWSRF) Program. These two programs, with their
attendant State match requirements, provide the means for States to
work with drinking water utilities to ensure that American citizens can
turn on their taps with confidence that the water is both safe to drink
and the supply is adequate. In recent years, State drinking water
programs have accepted additional responsibilities in the area of water
system security and resiliency that include working with all public
water systems to ensure that critical drinking water infrastructure is
protected; that plans are in place to respond to both natural and
manmade disasters; and that communities are better positioned to
support both physical and economic resilience in times of crisis.
Vibrant and sustainable communities, their citizens, workforce, and
businesses all depend on a safe, reliable, and adequate supply of
drinking water. Economies only grow and sustain themselves when they
have reliable water supplies. Over 90 percent of the population
receives water used for bathing, cooking, and drinking from a public
water system--overseen by State drinking water program personnel. Even
people who have their own private wells will visit other homes,
businesses, and institutions served by a public water system. As
important as public water systems are to the quality of the water we
drink and our health, the majority of water produced by public water
systems is used by businesses for a variety of purposes, including
processing, cooling, and product manufacturing. The availability of
adequate supplies of safe water is often a critical factor in
attracting new businesses to communities. Public water systems--as well
as the cities, villages, schools, and businesses they support--rely on
State drinking water programs to ensure they are in compliance with all
applicable Federal requirements and the water is safe to drink. Several
recent incidents in the United States have led to illnesses, death, or
prohibitions against use, due to unsafe drinking water. These have
included deaths in several States due to microbiological contaminants;
unsafe drinking water in Charleston, West Virginia for over a week due
to an upstream chemical spill; unsafe drinking water in Toledo, Ohio
for over a day due to algal toxins; and the leaching of lead from lead-
containing pipelines into the water supply in Flint, Michigan. These
incidents serve as stark reminders of the critical nature of the work
that State drinking water programs do--every day--and the reason why
State drinking water programs must be adequately funded.
state drinking water programs: how they operate, why support is needed,
and justifications for requested amounts
The Public Water System Supervision (PWSS) Program:
How the PWSS Program Operates: To meet the requirements of the Safe
Drinking Water Act (SDWA), States have accepted primary enforcement
responsibility for oversight of regulatory compliance and technical
assistance efforts for over 155,000 public water systems to ensure that
potential health-based violations do not occur or are remedied in a
timely manner. Over 90 contaminants are regulated in Federal drinking
water regulations and the pace of regulatory activity has accelerated
in recent years. Beyond the contaminants covered by Federal drinking
water regulations, States are also implementing an array of proactive
initiatives to protect public health from ``source to tap.'' These
include source water assessments and protections for communities and
watersheds; technical assistance for water treatment and distribution
for challenged utilities; and enhancement of overall water system
performance. In recent years, States have also taken on an increasingly
prominent role in working with Federal and local partners to help
ensure sufficient water quantity. Many States have worked intensively
with numerous small water systems in recent years that were within days
of running completely dry. The public health and economic consequences
of such a catastrophe would have been incalculable to the residents of
those communities. In short, State activities go well beyond simply
ensuring compliance at the tap--and, States perform all of these tasks
more efficiently and cheaply than would be the case if the program were
federally implemented. Well supported State drinking water programs are
a good deal for America.
Why Adequate Support is Needed: State drinking water programs are
extremely hard pressed financially and the funding gap continues to
grow. States must accomplish all of the above-described activities--and
take on new responsibilities--in the context of a challenging economic
climate. State funding has historically compensated for inadequate
Federal funding, but State budgets have been less able to bridge this
funding gap in recent years. State drinking water programs have often
been expected to do more with less and States have always responded
with commitment and integrity, but they are currently stretched to the
breaking point. Insufficient Federal support for this critical program
increases the likelihood of contamination events that puts the public's
health at risk. $101.9 million was appropriated for the PWSS program in
fiscal year 2016 and the administration requested only $109.7 million
in fiscal year 2017 (or, on average, about $2 million per State per
year). These amounts are woefully inadequate for the enormity of the
task faced by State drinking water programs. We believe, based on our
rigorous assessment of every State's need (in a report we released in
January 2014), that at least twice that amount is needed. Inadequate
Federal funding for State drinking water programs has a number of
negative consequences. Many States are simply unable to implement major
provisions of the newer regulations, leaving the work undone or ceding
the responsibility back to EPA, which is also challenged by the
Agency's own resource constraints and lack of ``on the ground''
expertise. States also want to offer the flexibilities allowed under
existing rules to local water systems. However, fewer State resources
mean less opportunity to work individually with water systems to meet
their individual needs. This situation has created a significant
implementation crisis in several regions of the country and is
ultimately delaying or hampering implementation of critically needed
public health protections.
For the PWSS Program in Fiscal Year 2017, ASDWA Respectfully
Requests $200 million: The number of regulations requiring State
implementation and oversight as well as performance expectations
continue to grow while at the same time, the Federal funding support
necessary to maintain compliance levels and meet expectations has been
essentially ``flat-lined.'' Inflation has further eroded these
inadequate funding levels. The recommended amount is based on ASDWA's
aforementioned January 2014 resource needs report and begins to fill
the above-described resource gap. These funds are urgently needed for
implementing new drinking water rules, taking on a number of other new
initiatives, and to account for the eroding effects of inflation. We
further recommend that Congress not allow any Federal funds already
appropriated to State drinking water programs to be rescinded.
The Drinking Water State Revolving Loan Fund (DWSRF) Program:
How the DWSRF Program Operates: Drinking water in the United States
is among the safest and most reliable in the world, but it is
threatened by aging infrastructure. Through loans provided by the
DWSRF, States help water utilities overcome this threat. The historical
payback to the DWSRF on this investment has been exceptional. In the
core DWSRF program, approximately $18 billion in cumulative Federal
capitalization grants since 1997 have been leveraged by States into
over $29 billion in infrastructure loans to small and large communities
across the country. Such investments pay tremendous dividends--both in
supporting our economy and in protecting our citizens' health. States
have very effectively and efficiently leveraged Federal dollars with
State contributions to provide assistance to more than 10,000 projects,
improving health protection for millions of Americans. The U.S.
Conference of Mayors estimates that each public dollar invested in
water infrastructure increases private long-term Gross Domestic Product
output by $6.35. An important feature of the DWSRF program is States
``set-aside'' funds and another key reason for adequately funding this
critical program. States can reserve up to 31 percent of these funds
for a variety of critical tasks, such as shoring up the technical,
managerial, and financial capacity of public water systems. Set-asides
are thus an essential source of funding for States' core public health
protection programs and these efforts work in tandem with
infrastructure loans.
Drinking Water Infrastructure Investment is Well below the
Documented Need: The American Society of Civil Engineers gave the
Nation's drinking water infrastructure a D+ grade and EPA's most recent
National Drinking Water Infrastructure Needs Survey (2011) indicated
that drinking water system infrastructure needs total $384 billion over
the next 20 years; $72.5 billion of that total is needed to prevent
contamination of 73,400 water systems. The American Water Works
Association recently estimated that 20 year need at $1 trillion (which
more fully accounted for water distribution system replacement costs).
Investment is needed for aging treatment plants, storage tanks, pumps,
and distribution lines that carry water to our Nation's homes,
businesses and schools. The DWSRF must continue to be a key part of the
solution to the Nation's infrastructure crisis.
For the DWSRF Program in Fiscal Year 2017, ASDWA respectfully
requests $1.0205 billion: States were very encouraged by the $1.387
billion appropriated for the DWSRF in fiscal year 2010 but have been
disappointed by the subsequent generally downward trend--$963 million
in fiscal year 2011, $919 million in fiscal year 2012, $854 million for
fiscal year 2013 (a figure not seen since 2006), $907 million in fiscal
year 2014 and fiscal year 2015, and $863 million in fiscal year 2016.
The primary purpose of the DWSRF is to improve public health protection
by facilitating water system compliance with national primary drinking
water regulations through the provision of loans to improve drinking
water infrastructure. Water infrastructure is needed for public health
protection as well as a sustainable economy, as explained above. In
light of these indicators of success and documented needs, we believe
funding at the $1.0205 billion level--the level requested in the
President's fiscal year 2017 budget--will better enable the DWSRF to
meet the SDWA compliance and public health protection goals for which
it was designed.
State Drinking Water Security and Resiliency Programs
State Drinking Water Security and Resiliency Responsibilities:
State drinking water programs are critical partners in emergency
planning, response, and resiliency at all levels of government. In
fact, States are typically the critical nexus between Federal and local
level officials in emergency situations. State primacy agencies provide
key resources and critical support--regardless of whether the emergency
is rooted in terrorism, natural disasters, or cyber intrusions. States
continually work toward integrating security considerations throughout
all aspects of their drinking water programs and provide information
and support to water systems needing to better understand cyber
threats.
State Drinking Water Security Funds Are Urgently Needed: After 7
years of congressional support for State security programs through a
small grant of approximately $5 million in EPA's appropriations (from
fiscal year 2002 through fiscal year 2008), no funds have been provided
for this purpose since fiscal year 2009 and none are requested by the
administration for fiscal year 2017. It is very difficult to understand
why this small, but essential grant to States has been zeroed out of
EPA's proposed budget and why Congress has not supported State drinking
water security and resiliency programs. State drinking water programs
urgently need funds to continue to maintain and expand their security
activities, particularly in partnership with small and medium public
water systems.
For State Drinking Water Security Programs in Fiscal Year 2017,
ASDWA Respectfully Requests $10 million: Given the realities and the
lessons learned from recent catastrophic events such as Hurricane Sandy
in New York and New Jersey; tornados in central Oklahoma; wildfires and
floods in Colorado; and continuing drought in California and Texas--to
name but a few--State drinking water programs are working more closely
than ever with their water utilities to evaluate, assist, and support
drinking water systems' preparedness, response, and resiliency
capabilities. States continue to expand their efforts to reflect a
resilient, ``all hazards'' approach to water security and to assist
public water systems of all sizes, particularly smaller water systems
that most need help.
Conclusion: ASDWA respectfully recommends that the Federal fiscal
year 2017 budget needs for States' role in the provision of safe
drinking water be adequately funded by Congress. A strong State
drinking water program supported by the Federal-State partnership will
ensure that the quality of drinking water in this country will not
deteriorate and, in fact, will continue to improve--so that the public
can be assured that a glass of water is safe to drink no matter where
they travel or live. States are willing and committed partners.
However, additional Federal financial assistance is needed to meet
ongoing and ever growing regulatory, infrastructure, and security
needs. In 1996, Congress provided the authority to ensure that the
burden would not go unsupported. For fiscal year 2017, ASDWA asks that
the promise of that support be realized.
______
Prepared Statement of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums
Thank you Chairwoman Murkowski and Ranking Member Udall for
allowing me to submit written testimony on behalf of the Nation's 219
AZA-accredited zoos and aquariums. Specifically, I want to express my
support for the inclusion of $11,100,000 for the Multinational Species
Conservation Funds (MSCF) operated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service (USFWS), $15,800,000 for the USFWS's International Affairs
program, and $11,100,000 for National Environmental Education Act
programs at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the fiscal
year 2017 Department of the Interior, environment, and related agencies
appropriations bill. I also urge you to reject any efforts to include
language that would prohibit the USFWS from moving forward with its
efforts to eliminate loopholes in the commercial elephant ivory trade.
Founded in 1924, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) is a
nonprofit 501c(3) organization dedicated to the advancement of zoos and
aquariums in the areas of conservation, education, science, and
recreation. AZA-accredited zoos and aquariums annually see more than
183 million visitors, collectively generate more than $17 billion in
annual economic activity, and support more than 166,000 jobs across the
country. Annually, AZA-accredited institutions spend $160,000,000 on
more than 2,650 field conservation projects in 130 countries.
MSCF programs support public-private partnerships that conserve
wild tigers, elephants, rhinos, great apes, and marine turtles in their
native habitats. Through the MSCF programs, the United States
supplements the efforts of developing countries that are struggling to
balance the needs of their human populations and endemic wildlife. MSCF
programs help to sustain wildlife populations, address threats such as
illegal poaching, reduce human-wildlife conflict, and protect essential
habitat. By working with local communities, they also improve people's
livelihoods, contribute to local and regional stability, and support
U.S. security interests in impoverished regions. This Federal program
benefits AZA-accredited zoos and aquariums in their field conservation
efforts and partnerships with the USFWS.
The EPA offers valuable environmental education initiatives that
AZA encourages you to support. Education programs at AZA-accredited
institutions provide essential learning opportunities, particularly
about science, for schoolchildren in formal and informal settings.
Studies have shown that American schoolchildren are lagging behind
their international peers in certain subjects including science and
math. In the last 10 years, accredited zoos and aquariums formally
trained more than 400,000 teachers, supporting science curricula with
effective teaching materials and hands-on opportunities. School field
trips annually connect more than 12,000,000 students with the natural
world. Increasing access to formal and informal science education
opportunities has never been more important.
Tragically, elephants are being slaughtered for their ivory. From
2010 to 2014, 81 AZA-accredited facilities provided nearly $5.8 million
to Asian and African elephant field conservation efforts. Sadly, it is
estimated that 96 elephants are killed by poachers in Africa every day
for their ivory, a total of 35,000 per year. Much of this ivory ends up
in the United States, which continues to be one of the largest markets
for ivory in the world.
In 2013, the AZA joined The Wildlife Conservation Society as a
partner in the 96 Elephants Campaign--an effort focused on securing a
U.S. moratorium on illegal ivory; bolstering protection of African
elephants; and educating the public about the link between ivory
consumption and the elephant poaching crisis. Through the 96 Elephants
campaign, millions of zoo visitors can take action to stop the demand
for ivory here in the United States and around the world. The USFWS has
proposed a rule to eliminate loopholes in the commercial elephant ivory
trade. Any delay in this process comes at the expense of Africa's
elephants which desperately need action now.
Finally, much of the important conservation work at AZA-accredited
zoos and aquariums depends on a robust and fully staffed USFWS.
Acknowledging the budget challenges facing Congress and the agencies, I
encourage you to ensure that the USFWS has sufficient resources to
employ qualified professionals, particularly for the programs handling
permits, which support the science-based conservation breeding and
wildlife education programs that require animals to be moved in an
efficient, timely manner: International Affairs (Management Authority),
Endangered Species, Law Enforcement, and Migratory Birds.
AZA-accredited zoos and aquariums are essential conservation and
education partners at the Federal, State, and local levels domestically
as well as internationally. To ensure that AZA-accredited zoos and
aquariums can continue to serve in these important roles, I urge you to
include $11,100,000 for the Multinational Species Conservation Funds
operated by the USFWS, $15,800,000 for the USFWS's International
Affairs program, and $11,100,000 for National Environmental Education
Act programs at the Environmental Protection Agency in the fiscal year
2017 Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies appropriations bill.
Thank you for your consideration of our comments.
______
Prepared Statement of the Bristol Bay Area Health Corporation
The requests of the Bristol Bay Area Health Corporation for the
fiscal year 2017 Indian Health Service (IHS) budget and our comments on
BIA Recognition are as follows:
--Allocate at least an additional $12.5 million to the IHS to fully
fund Village Built Clinic (VBC) leases and make it a line item
in the budget.
--Active support by the subcommittee to change Contract Support Costs
funding to a permanent, mandatory funded basis and eliminate
provisos on indefinite funding that could be misread to
conflict with the carryover funding authority in the Indian
Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act.
--Increase IHS behavioral healthcare funding.
--Funding for built-in costs.
--Urge the Department of Interior to issue a decision regarding
recognition of Knugank.
The Bristol Bay Area Health Corporation (BBAHC) was created in 1973
to provide healthcare services to Alaska Natives of Southwest Alaska.
BBAHC began operating and managing the Kanakanak Hospital and the
Bristol Bay Service Unit for the IHS in 1980, and was the first tribal
organization to do so under the Indian Self-Determination and Education
Assistance Act (ISDEAA). BBAHC is a co-signer to the Alaska Tribal
Health Compact with the IHS under the ISDEAA and is now responsible for
providing and promoting healthcare to the people of 28 Alaska Native
Villages.
We have made significant progress but now deal with modern-day
health problems. Today, rather than TB and influenza epidemics, we
struggle with diseases of a modern society that include chronic
illnesses such as cancer, diabetes and heart disease. The life
expectancy of our people has increased from 47 years of age in 1952 to
69.4 in 1998, still below that of U.S. residents and other Alaskans. We
are strengthening our programs and services to address chronic
illnesses as well as continuing to provide acute care services that
dominated healthcare need much of the past 100 years for the people of
Bristol Bay.
village built clinics
We appreciate that the fiscal year 2016 appropriations act included
$2 million to supplement funds for operational costs at tribal clinics
in spaces acquired through full service leases, which we understand was
intended for all Village Built Clinics (VBCs) in Alaska. Even when this
additional funding is finally allocated, VBC facilities will continue
to face a significant funding crisis in our region. Our 27 VBCs are
essential to our ability to maintain our Community Health Aide/
Practitioner (CHA/P) programs which provide the only local source of
healthcare for many of our Alaska Native people.
Because the CHA/Ps could not operate in most of rural Alaska
without clinic facilities in the Alaska Native villages, the IHS
established the VBC leasing program in the 1970s, but the leases have
been chronically underfunded ever since. Lease rental amounts for VBCs
have failed to keep pace with costs; the majority of leases have not
increased since 1989. Unlike tribal healthcare facilities in the lower
48 States, the IHS treats VBCs as being ineligible for maintenance and
improvement funding, for which Congress appropriated over $73.6 million
in fiscal year 2016. Current funding for the VBCs is not sufficient to
cover the cost of repair and renovation as necessary to maintain the
facilities in a safe condition.
The regional tribal health organizations collaborated with the
Alaska Native Health Board and the Alaska Native Tribal Health
Consortium to develop an updated needs assessment for VBCs, called
``Village Based Clinics in Crisis 2015.'' According to the report,
lease amounts in fiscal year 2015 covered less than 30 percent of the
basic operating costs of the VBCs. The report estimates that an
additional $12.5 million in funding--in addition to the $4.5 million in
current annual funding--would be needed to maintain and operate Alaska
VBCs on a par with similar tribal health facilities elsewhere. We
request that you direct the IHS to (1) add an additional $12.5 million
to the current amount being provided for the VBCs, (2) request that
amount in a separate line in the IHS budget, and (3) allocate that
amount to the VBC lease program.
contract support costs (csc) mandatory funding
We wish to extend our thanks for the change made in funding to CSC
in the fiscal year 2016 appropriations act, which made the fiscal year
2016 CSC funding for an indefinite amount. This shift helped to ensure
that CSC would be fully funded without having to reprogram funding for
critical healthcare services and other programmatic funding to cover
the CSC need.
For fiscal year 2017, we support the President's request for an
appropriation of ``such sums as may be necessary,'' with an estimated
$800 million for CSC for the IHS, and an estimated $278 million for the
BIA, in separate accounts in both the IHS and BIA discretionary
budgets. However, we request the removal of the following proviso:
``amounts obligated but not expended by a tribe or tribal organization
for contract support costs for such agreements for the current fiscal
year shall be applied to contract support costs otherwise due for such
agreements for subsequent fiscal years.'' This proviso is problematic
because it could be misread to effectively deny the carryover authority
granted by the ISDEAA.
BBAHC strongly believes, however, that the indefinite appropriation
of CSC funding must be made mandatory and permanent. Under the ISDEAA,
the full payment of CSC is not discretionary; it is a legal obligation,
affirmed by the U.S Supreme Court. Funding of CSC on a discretionary
basis has placed the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations, in
their own words, of being in the ``untenable position of appropriating
discretionary funds for the payment of any legally obligated contract
support costs.'' We are committed to working other Native organizations
and Congress to determine how best to achieve that goal.
behavioral health funding
BBAHC continues to face particular hardships in providing for our
communities' behavioral and mental health needs, particularly with
regard to our youth. Our Behavioral Health Counseling Center, located
in Dillingham, relies on a staff of mental health clinicians to provide
outpatient behavioral health services, village outreach services, as
well as 24 hour crisis stabilizations services for the entire region.
To say the least it is a challenge and there are major gaps in the
provision of behavioral healthcare in the region's isolated villages.
We have well-qualified professional staff who serve approximately 8,000
people in our region. The 6 mental health, 2 master level social work
supervisors, 5 alcohol and drug counsellors, and 7 behavioral health
aides theoretically would serve more than 300 persons each. The ratio
of mental health clinicians to clients is 1 to 1,300. In addition the
significant increase in heroin use in the region has made the provision
of quality services increasingly difficult.
Particularly concerning is that the treatment for our youth with
substance abuse problems is lacking. Our 14 bed residential facility
for substance abuse (Jake's Place) has an Alcohol and Drug Safety
Program funded by the State of Alaska but it is primarily an education
program, not a treatment program, and much of the education is done
remotely, via the Internet. And, as you know, there is an epidemic of
suicide among Alaska Natives. Alaska outpaces the rest of the Nation in
suicide rates and suicide attempts requiring hospitalization. Alaska
Native teens commit suicide at a rate nearly six times that of non-
Native teenagers.
It seems that finally there is increased attention nationally by
policy makers to behavioral health issues. Thus we appreciate the $10
million appropriated in fiscal year 2016 in the IHS Alcohol and
Substance Abuse line item for the Generations Indigenous (Gen-I)
initiative to address youth behavioral, mental health and substance
abuse issues. This funding will be critical for the hiring of staff to
provide more services and prevention programs for our youth. We ask for
your support to fund the expansion of the Gen-I program in fiscal year
2017. The administration is requesting a $16.8 million increase focused
on youth: $15 million to expand Gen-I for additional staffing and $1.8
million for a pilot program that would provide a continuum of care for
youth after discharge from a Youth Regional Treatment Center.
We also support the administration's proposed $25 million increase
in the IHS Mental Health account. It would consist of $21.4 million to
integrate behavioral health services more broadly in the healthcare
system, including to community-based programs, and $3.6 million for a
``Zero Suicide Initiative''.
built-in costs
We support the administration's fiscal year 2017 request of $159
million for built-in costs: $75.4 million for medical inflation at a
5.8 percent rate; $26 million for pay costs; and $43.2 million to
partially fund population growth. Built-in costs are often sacrificed
in the budget negotiation process, but lack of them impacts all
programs. Inflation--both medical and non-medical, pay raises that must
be afforded to employees, and population growth are real facts of life
that impact our ability to provide sufficient healthcare services. The
cumulative effect of underfunding of built-in costs over a period of
years takes a significant toll on our budgets and ultimately on our
ability to provide a range of quality healthcare services. We urge
Congress to fund this request.
knugank recognition
We bring to your attention the efforts to get the Department of
Interior to correct the omission of Knugank (which is in the Bristol
Bay region) from the list of federally recognized tribes. We are
supporting Knugank in this effort and are hopeful this this situation
will be corrected soon although there has been a series of delays in
issuing a decision.
In a January 2012 letter to Senator Murkowski, the Assistant
Secretary of Indian Affairs explained that Knugank could be added to
the list of recognized tribes if it meets the standards established by
Congress in Section 1 of the Alaska Amendment to the Indian
Reorganization Act (25 U.S.C. Sec. 473a). Several months later, the
office of the Assistant Secretary agreed to evaluate Knugank's
extensive documentation, and based on the statutory standards, issue a
decision regarding Knugank's eligibility to be included on the list of
recognized tribes. Several times we have been told that a decision
(which we believe will be favorable to Knugank) is imminent and that
all needed information has been provided. Now, after significant
investments made over the course of many years by BBAHC, Knugank,
Members of Congress and the Agency to resolve this matter, we
understand that the Offices of the Solicitor and Assistant Secretary
have completed their review but still have not taken the final steps
necessary to issue a decision.
BBAHC is deeply troubled by the Agency's continued delays. We
respectfully request that this subcommittee exercise its oversight
responsibility to ensure that the Assistant Secretary issues a decision
in the coming days so that the substantial investment of Federal and
tribal resources is not wasted but instead serves to fully resolve
Knugank's tribal status. We expect this decision will correct the
Agency's omission of Knugank from the list of federally recognized
tribes, affirm their eligibility to organize as a tribe under the
standards and precedent established by the Alaska Amendment to the
Indian Reorganization Act, and allow Knugank its rightful government-
to-government status and access to an array of Federal resources.
Other. There is no room within the page limits to comment on all
issues but we want you to know that we support a permanent
reauthorization of the Special Diabetes Program for Indians, for
establishment of Medicare-like Rates for non-hospital services thus
stretching our Purchased/Referred Care dollars, and, as Congress has
done for the VA medical accounts, providing funding to IHS on an
advance appropriations basis so that may have better lead time for our
planning, budgeting, and purchasing processes and for our recruitment
of personnel.
Thank you for your consideration of our concerns and needs.
______
Prepared Statement of the Central Arizona Water Conservation District
On behalf of the Central Arizona Water Conservation District
(CAWCD), I encourage you to include $1.5 million for salinity specific
projects in the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) Soil, Water and Air
Program in fiscal year 2017. The funding will help protect the water
quality of the Colorado River that is used by approximately 40 million
people for municipal and industrial purposes and used to irrigate
approximately 5.5 million acres in the United States.
CAWCD manages the Central Arizona Project (CAP), a multi-purpose
water resource development and management project that delivers
Colorado River water into central and southern Arizona. The largest
supplier of renewable water in Arizona, CAP diverts an average of over
1.5 million acre-feet of Arizona's 2.8 million acre-foot Colorado River
entitlement each year to municipal and industrial users, agricultural
irrigation districts, and Indian communities.
Our goal at CAP is to provide an affordable, reliable and
sustainable supply of Colorado River water to a service area that
includes more than 80 percent of Arizona's population.
These renewable water supplies are critical to Arizona's economy
and to the economies of Native American communities throughout the
State. Nearly 90 percent of economic activity in the State of Arizona
occurs within CAP's service area. The canal provides an economic
benefit of $100 billion annually, accounting for one-third of the
entire Arizona gross State product. CAP also helps the State of Arizona
meet its water management and regulatory objectives of reducing
groundwater use and ensuring availability of groundwater as a
supplemental water supply during future droughts. Achieving and
maintaining these water management objectives is critical to the long-
term sustainability of a State as arid as Arizona.
negative impacts of concentrated salts
Natural and man-induced salt loading to the Colorado River creates
environmental and economic damages. EPA has identified that more than
60 percent of the salt load of the Colorado River comes from natural
sources. The majority of land within the Colorado River Basin is
federally owned, much of which is administered by BLM. Human activity,
principally irrigation, adds to salt load of the Colorado River.
Further, natural and human activities concentrate the dissolved salts
in the River.
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) has estimated the
current quantifiable damages at about $382 million per year to U.S.
users with projections that damages would increase to approximately
$614 million per year by 2035 if the program were not to continue.
These damages include:
--A reduction in the yield of salt sensitive crops and increased
water use to meet the leaching requirements in the agricultural
sector;
--Increased use of imported water and cost of desalination and brine
disposal for recycling water in the municipal sector;
--A reduction in the useful life of galvanized water pipe systems,
water heaters, faucets, garbage disposals, clothes washers, and
dishwashers, and increased use of bottled water and water
softeners in the household sector;
--An increase in the cost of cooling operations and the cost of water
softening, and a decrease in equipment service life in the
commercial sector;
--An increase in the use of water and the cost of water treatment,
and an increase in sewer fees in the industrial sector;
--A decrease in the life of treatment facilities and pipelines in the
utility sector; and
--Difficulty in meeting wastewater discharge requirements to comply
with National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit
terms and conditions, and an increase in desalination and brine
disposal costs due to accumulation of salts in groundwater
basins.
Adequate funding for salinity control will prevent the water
quality of the Colorado River from further degradation and avoid
significant increases in economic damages to municipal, industrial and
irrigation users.
history of the blm colorado river basin salinity control program
In implementing the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Act of
1974, Congress recognized that most of the salts in the Colorado River
originate from federally owned lands. Title I of the Salinity Control
Act deals with the U.S. commitment to the quality of waters being
delivered to Mexico. Title II of the Act deals with improving the
quality of the water delivered to users in the United States. This
testimony deals specific with Title II efforts. In 1984, Congress
amended the Salinity Control Act and directed that the Secretary of the
Interior develop a comprehensive program for minimizing salt
contributions to the Colorado River from lands administered by BLM.
In 2000, Congress reiterated its directive to the Secretary and
requested a report on the implementation of BLM's program (Public Law
106-459). In 2003, BLM employed a Salinity Coordinator to increase BLM
efforts in the Colorado River Basin and to pursue salinity control
studies and to implement specific salinity control practices.
Meaningful resources have been expended by BLM in the past few years to
better understand salt mobilization on rangelands. With a significant
portion of the salt load of the Colorado River coming from BLM
administered lands, the BLM portion of the overall program is essential
to the success of the effort. Inadequate BLM salinity control efforts
will result in significant additional economic damages to water users
downstream.
The threat of salinity continues to be a concern in both the United
States and Mexico. On November 20, 2012, a 5 year agreement, known as
Minute 319, was signed between the United States and Mexico to guide
future management of the Colorado River. Among the key issues addressed
in Minute 319 included an agreement to maintain current salinity
management and existing salinity standards. The CAWCD and other key
water providers are committed to meeting these goals.
conclusion
Implementation of salinity control practices through the BLM
Program has proven to be a very cost effective method of controlling
the salinity of the Colorado River and is an essential component of the
overall Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Program.
CAWCD urges the subcommittee to include $1.5 million for salinity
specific projects in the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) Soil, Water
and Air Program. The continuation of funding will prevent further
degradation of the water quality of the Colorado River and further
degradation and economic damages experienced by municipal, industrial
and irrigation users. A modest investment in source control pays huge
dividends in improved drinking water quality for nearly 40 million
Americans.
______
Prepared Statement of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma
Thank you for inviting the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma to present
written testimony on the fiscal year 2017 President's proposed budgets
for the Indian Health Service (IHS) and the Bureau of Indian Affairs
(BIA). I submit this testimony on the funding priorities and budget
issues important to the Choctaw Nation and its citizens.
The Choctaw Nation requests that Congress exempt tribal government
services and program funding from sequestrations, unilateral
rescissions and budget cuts in all future appropriations.
CHOCTAW NATION TRIBAL SPECIFIC REQUESTS IN INDIAN HEALTH SERVICE
A. $24 million Joint Venture Project Staffing for Choctaw National
Regional Medical Center
NATIONAL BUDGET REQUESTS--INDIAN HEALTH SERVICE AND BUREAU OF INDIAN
AFFAIRS
B. Special Diabetes Program for Indians--Reauthorize at $200
million/year for 5 years
C. Contract Support Costs--Indian Health Service and Bureau of
Indian Affairs
1. $800 million for IHS full funding ($82 million above 2016
enacted)
2. Reclassify CSC funding as Mandatory for 2018-2020
3. $278 million for BIA full funding ($1.0 million above 2016
enacted)
4. Remove Provisions from all future appropriations ``amounts
obligated but not expended by a tribe or tribal organization for the
current fiscal years shall be applied to CSC otherwise due for such
agreements for subsequent fiscal years''
D. Purchased and Referred Care (PRC) (Formerly Contract Health
Services). The President's fiscal year 2017 budget includes $48.2
million increase
E. IHS Mandatory Funding (Maintaining Current Services)--provide
an increase of $482.4 million over the fiscal year 2016 President's
proposed budget
F. Provide Funding Increases to Support the Office of Tribal Self-
Governance (IHS) and the Office of Self-Governance (DOI) to fully staff
the operations to build capacity to support the increased number of
tribes entering Self-Governance
The Choctaw Nation supports the fiscal year 2017 budget requests of
the National Congress of American Indians and the National Indian
Health Board.
THE CHOCTAW NATION OF OKLAHOMA
The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma is the third largest Native American
tribal government in the United States with over 208,000 members. The
Choctaw Nation territory consists of all or part of 10 counties in
southeast Oklahoma, and we are proudly one of the State's largest
employers. The Nation operates numerous programs and services under
Self-Governance compacts with the United States, including but not
limited to: a sophisticated health system serving over 33,000 patients
with a hospital in Talihina, Oklahoma, nine (9) outpatient clinics,
referred specialty care and sanitation facilities construction; higher
education; Johnson O'Malley program; housing improvement; child welfare
and social services; law enforcement; and, many others. The Choctaw
Nation has operated under the Self-Governance authority in the
Department of the Interior (DOI) since 1994 and in the Department of
Health and Human Services' IHS since 1995. As a Self-Governance Tribe,
the Nation is able to re-design programs to meet tribally specific
needs without diminishing the United States' trust responsibility.
Self-Governance is now a permanent reality for many tribes.
The Choctaw Nation has improved the health status of our people by
operating a healthcare system that is responsive and designed to meet
the increasing complex needs of our users. We have benefitted from
access to resources that have enabled us to succeed in the challenging
healthcare field. We owe much to Self-Governance which authorized
flexibility to use Federal appropriations in a way that supports the
expansion and growth of the healthcare system we are continuing to
build for our people.
A. $24 MILLION--JOINT VENTURE PROJECT STAFFING FOR CHOCTAW NATIONAL
REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER
The Joint Venture Construction Program (JVCP) is a unique
opportunity for the Indian Health Service to partner with tribes and
make scarce Federal dollars stretch much farther than in the
traditional Federal construction programs. Under the JVCP, the Choctaw
Nation will use non-IHS funds to construct a tribally owned healthcare
facility that meets IHS design criteria and approval. The IHS will
enter into a 20-year nominal lease for the facility and agrees to
request appropriations for the operation and maintenance during the
lease period.
Choctaw recently settled our past contract support cost claims in
both the IHS and BIA; although we have only received payment for the
IHS settlement. These funds have contributed greatly to our ability to
continue to cultivate a healthcare system. We have enjoyed partnering
with the IHS on two JVCP projects; the first was the Idabel Indian
Health Care Center in Idabel, Oklahoma in 2005 and a new Choctaw
National Regional Medical Center opening in January 2017. The Choctaw
Regional Medical Clinic is a new facility at a new location that will
serve Bryan County. It will be equipped with advanced technology which
will require new staffing to operate an expanded health system to meet
the healthcare needs of the user population.
As new space, the Choctaw Regional Medical Clinic must meet
operational and facility readiness. We will have 284 new staff and we
have projected that it will take 2 months to orientate, educate and
train them so that nothing is new about their jobs on day one. This
includes staff orientation, proper operating sequences, appropriate
staff alignment, technology integration/implementation and equipment
education and implementation. The question remains how will the Choctaw
Nation prepare new staff for operational and facility readiness with
funding?
Language in the fiscal year 2016 consolidated appropriations bill
and in the 2017 budget proposal will put a strain on negotiations
between the Nation and IHS to fund the necessary costs to get the staff
in place, trained and ready to open. We have been working with IHS to
include sufficient funding in the fiscal year 2017 budget request to
satisfy their commitment to fund the operational cost of the facility.
It is imperative that we are prepared to open the clinic as scheduled
with fully orientated, educated and trained staff for operational and
facility readiness.
For tribes seeking to offer, improve and/or expand access to
healthcare, the JCVP partnership is an added value mutually beneficial
partnership between a tribe, its members and the Federal Government.
Limitations such as the proviso in the appropriations bill will impede
the progress and success of the benefits of this effort.
B. SPECIAL DIABETES PROGRAM FOR INDIANS--SUPPORT 5 YEAR
REAUTHORIZATION AT $200 MILLION/YEAR
The Special Diabetes Program for Indians (SDPI) has been a top
priority for the Choctaw Nation since it was initially authorized in
1997. SDPI is currently reauthorized through March 31, 2015 at a flat-
line rate of $150 million/year (since 2004). A flat budget for more
than the past decade with the annually rising costs of healthcare
translates to a significant reduction in the purchasing power of these
appropriations since 2004. Continuing support of the SDPI will maintain
critical momentum in diabetes research and care to help bring diabetes-
related costs under control. The permanency of SDPI would be a great
asset to promoting stability for this important health program and for
reversing the trend of Type 2 diabetes in Indian Country. In addition
it will provide for staff retention, programmatic long-term planning
which increases and improves patient care, and more stable outside
contracts with vendors and suppliers.
Congressional funding remains the critical factor in the battle
against diabetes and we request that as we continue to work for
permanent authorization and mandatory program status, that you urge
your colleagues to extend the reauthorization to five (5) years and
increase funding to $200 million/year for the SDPI program.
C. CONTRACT SUPPORT COSTS--INDIAN HEALTH SERVICE AND BUREAU OF
INDIAN AFFAIRS
We applaud this subcommittee for its foresight, leadership and
creativity in finding a workable solution to fully pay CSC within a
difficult budget environment.
1. $800 million for IHS full funding ($82 million above 2016
enacted); Reclassify CSC funding as Mandatory for 2018-2020--The
President's budget request for CSC proposes to fully fund the estimated
need for IHS CSC at $800 million, an increase of $82 million above
fiscal year 2016. The estimated increase also includes a long-term
proposal to fully fund CSC by reclassifying IHS CSC to mandatory
funding beginning in fiscal year 2018. All tribes agree that the
payment of CSC, which is a legal obligation, should not be achieved by
reducing directly services to any tribes.
2. $278 million for BIA full funding ($1 million above 2016
enacted)
3. Remove Provisions from all future appropriations ``amounts
obligated but not expended by a tribe or tribal organization for the
current fiscal years shall be applied to CSC otherwise due for such
agreements for subsequent fiscal years''
D. Purchased and Referred Care ((PRC) (formerly contract health
services). The President's fiscal year 2017 budget includes $48.2
million increase. The PRC program pays for urgent and emergent and
other critical services that are not directly available through IHS and
tribally operated health programs.
E. IHS mandatory funding (maintaining current services)--provide
an increase of $482.4 million over the fiscal year 2016 President's
proposed budget. Current services calculate mandatory cost increases
necessary to maintain those services at current levels. These
``mandatories'' are unavoidable and include medical and general
inflation, pay costs, contract support costs, phasing in staff for
recently constructed facilities, and population growth. If these
mandatory requirements are not funded, tribes have no choice but to cut
health services, which further reduces the quantity and quality of
healthcare services available to American Indian/Alaskan Native (AI/AN)
people.
F. Provide funding increases to support the Office of Tribal Self-
Governance (IHS) to fully staff to support the number of tribes
entering Self-Governance. In 2003, Congress reduced funding for this
office by $4.5 million, a loss of 43 percent from the previous year. In
each subsequent year, this budget was further reduced due to the
applied congressional rescissions. As of 2015, there are 351 Self-
Governance (SG) tribes. This represents slightly over 60 percent of all
federally recognized tribes. The Self-Governance process serves as a
model program for Federal Government outsourcing, which builds tribal
infrastructure and provides quality services to Indian people.
The Choctaw Nation supports the budget requests of the National
Congress of American Indians and the National Indian Health Board.
Thank you.
______
Prepared Statement of the Choose Clean Water Coalition
Dear Chair Murkowski and Ranking Member Udall:
The undersigned members of the Choose Clean Water Coalition request
continued support for programs that are essential to maintaining and
restoring clean water to the rivers and streams throughout the
Chesapeake Bay region and to the Bay itself. Two-thirds of the 18
million people in this region get their drinking water directly from
the rivers and streams that flow through the cities, towns and farms
throughout our six State, 64,000 square mile watershed. This water
quality is critical to both human health and to the regional economy.
The efforts to clean the Chesapeake began under President Reagan in
1983. In his 1984 State of the Union speech President Reagan said,
``Preservation of our environment is not a liberal or conservative
challenge, it's common sense.''
To follow a common sense path to maintain healthy local water and
restore Chesapeake Bay, which is critical for our regional economy, we
request funding for the following programs in fiscal year 2017:
u.s. environmental protection agency
Chesapeake Bay Program--$73.0 million
We support level funding of $73.0 million for the base budget of
the Chesapeake Bay Program, which coordinates Chesapeake Bay watershed
restoration and protection efforts. The majority of the program's funds
are passed through to the States and local communities for on-the-
ground restoration work through programs such as the Small Watershed
Grants, Innovative Nutrient and Sediment Reduction Grants, State
Implementation Grants, and the Chesapeake Bay Regulatory and
Accountability Program grants.
We strongly support the $12 million for the Chesapeake Small
Watershed Grants and the Innovative Nutrient and Sediment Reduction
Grants--$6 million each--that Congress appropriated in fiscal year
2016. These are two well-run, competitive grant programs that have
contributed significantly to water quality improvements throughout the
Chesapeake Bay watershed. These are the Bay Program's only grants that
go directly to on-the-ground restoration efforts by local governments
and communities. Without specific congressional direction, EPA has, in
the past, reallocated this grant money for purposes other than local
restoration. This is not the time to stop local implementation of
restoration work. We strongly support the language in last year's 2016
Consolidated Appropriations Act, where Congress protected these
critical local grant programs: ``The Committee recommends $73,000,000
for the Chesapeake Bay program. From within the amount provided,
$6,000,000 is for nutrient and sediment removal grants and $6,000,000
is for small watershed grants to control polluted runoff from urban,
suburban and agricultural lands.'' We urge you to retain the same
language in the fiscal year 2017 Interior, Environment and Related
Agencies Appropriations Bill.
Clean Water State Revolving Fund (SRF) --$1.448887 billion
This program is critical to the 1,779 local governments throughout
the Chesapeake region. The funding level has eroded over the years as
the clean water needs of local communities have increased dramatically.
The Choose Clean Water Coalition supports efforts to close the gap
between Federal infrastructure investment in clean water and the known
need. For instance, legislation has been recently introduced which
would authorize the Clean Water State Revolving Fund grant program at a
level of $5.96 billion for fiscal year 2017. This is the direction in
which we should be going, but at a minimum, appropriations should not
fall below $1.44887 billion the level appropriated in fiscal year 2014
and 2015, when Congress stabilized this critical program. Congress
restored most of the President's cuts last year, but the $1.394 billion
was 3.7 percent below the fiscal year 2014 and 2015 level.
These low interest loans are critical for clean water and for
ratepayers in the Chesapeake region and nationwide. We urge you to
support the $1.448887 billion funding level that provided $311 million
in low interest loans to local governments in Delaware, Maryland, New
York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of
Columbia. The President's 2017 budget request would cut $102.146
million from those six Chesapeake watershed States and the District of
Columbia--a drastic 31 percent cut for our region from the fiscal year
2016 level. We do however, strongly support the provision in the
President's budget request that targets 20 percent of the Clean Water
SRF funds for ``green infrastructure and innovative projects including
those to manage stormwater, which helps communities improve water
quality while creating green space, mitigating flooding, and enhancing
air quality.''
The Clean Water SRF allocates money to the States based on a set
formula, which is then used for low interest loans to local governments
for critical capital construction improvement projects to reduce
nutrient and sediment pollution from wastewater treatment and
stormwater facilities; nonpoint sources of pollution, such as farms and
development; and other sources. The Clean Water SRF enables local
governments in the Chesapeake watershed to take actions to protect
their local waters to meet Clean Water Act requirements. As the list of
clean water infrastructure needs in the Chesapeake region continues to
expand, we request that Congress restore funding for the Clean Water
SRF at least to its fiscal year 2014 and 2015 levels.
department of the interior
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)--Chesapeake Bay Studies--$12.491 million
We support the President's 2017 budget request of $12.491 million
for the USGS to provide the critical science necessary for restoration
and protection efforts in the Chesapeake Bay region, and to implement
the 2014 Chesapeake Watershed Agreement. This includes $500,000 for
USGS to collect and use Light Distance and Ranging (LIDAR) data to
produce high-quality elevation information needed for the eastern shore
of the Chesapeake Bay in Delaware, Maryland and Virginia. The results
will help the Chesapeake Bay Program to develop high-resolution land
cover information to more effectively place conservation practices to
improve water quality and help conserve healthy watersheds.
The USGS will focus on: (1) understanding the factors affecting
freshwater fisheries and streams, including the effects of shale gas
drilling; (2) identifying sources and effects of endocrine-disrupting
compounds and other contaminants that threaten fisheries and wildlife;
(3) assessing the effects of sea level rise and development on coastal
wetlands important for waterfowl; (4) forecasting the potential effects
of land and climate change to inform land conservation; and (5)
monitoring and explaining water quality change to inform nutrient and
sediment reduction efforts.
National Park Service--Chesapeake Regional Programs--$3.05 million
The National Park Service Chesapeake Bay Office runs a number of
small, but very important programs that focus on increasing public
access and the use of ecological, cultural and historic resources of
the Chesapeake region. Expanding access and public awareness fosters
stewardship and protection efforts.
The key programs in the President's fiscal year 2017 budget request
that we support are: Chesapeake Bay Gateways and Trails ($2.02
million); Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail
($391,000); Star Spangled Banner National Historic Trail ($151,000);
and, support for coordinating these programs through the National Park
Service Chesapeake Bay Office ($488,000).
department of the interior/u.s. department of agriculture
National Park Service/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service/Bureau of Land
Management/U.S. Forest Service--Rivers of the Chesapeake
Collaborative Landscape Planning Projects--Land and Water
Conservation Fund--$28.261 million
We support the President's 2017 budget that calls for the strategic
use of funds for the Land and Water Conservation Fund and, for the
second consecutive year, requests funding for the Rivers of the
Chesapeake Collaborative Landscape Planning initiative. This effort
targets conservation funds for priority landscapes throughout the
country; the Rivers of the Chesapeake is one such priority area. These
projects will enhance public access and education, preserve key
historic and heritage sites and will protect important freshwater and
tidal habitat areas critical to an array of fish and wildlife species.
--Bureau of Land Management--Nanjemoy National Resource Management
Area (Maryland)--$1.6 million *
--Bureau of Land Management--Nanjemoy National Resource Management
Area (Maryland)--$1.668 million
--Bureau of Land Management--Meadowood Special Recreation Management
Area (Virginia)--$1.4 million *
--Bureau of Land Management--Meadowood Special Recreation Management
Area (Virginia)--$2.8 million
--U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service--Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge
(Maryland)--$1.2 million *
--U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service--James River National Wildlife
Refuge (Maryland)--$0.9 million
--U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service--Rappahannock River National
Wildlife Refuge (Virginia)--$8.5 million
--U.S. Forest Service--George Washington-Jefferson National Forests
(Virginia)--$1.0 million
--National Park Service--Captain John Smith Chesapeake National
Historic Trail (Virginia)--$2.1 million *
--National Park Service--Appalachian National Scenic Trail
(Virginia)--$2.0 million *
--National Park Service--Piscataway Park (Maryland)--$0.55 million
--National Park Service--Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania County
National Military Park (Virginia)--$4.543 million
* Indicates projects with Current/Discretionary Authority
National Park Service --Land Protection in Maryland through the Land
and Water Conservation Fund--$794,000
We support the President's 2017 budget that calls for the strategic
use of funds from the Land and Water Conservation Fund to protect and
preserve key assets in the National Park System at Piscataway Park
($794,000) in Maryland. This project will enhance public access and
education, preserve key historic and heritage sites and protect key
habitat areas critical to an array of fish and wildlife species.
Thank you for your consideration of these very important requests
to maintain funding for these programs which are critical to clean
water throughout the mid-Atlantic region.
Sincerely,
American Rivers
Anacostia Watershed Society
Audubon Naturalist Society
Blue Heron Environmental Network Inc.
Blue Ridge Watershed Coalition
Blue Water Baltimore
Cecil Land Use Association
Chapman Forest Foundation
Chesapeake Bay Foundation
Chesapeake Wildlife Heritage
Citizens for Pennsylvania's Future
Clean Water Action
Coalition for Smarter Growth
Conservation Pennsylvania
Conservation Voters of Pennsylvania
Delaware Nature Society
Earth Forum of Howard County
Eastern Pennsylvania Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation
Environment America
Environment Maryland
Environment Virginia
Friends of Accotink Creek
Friends of Dyke Marsh
Friends of the North Fork of the Shenandoah River
Green Muslims
Interfaith Partners for the Chesapeake
Izaak Walton League of America
James River Association
Lackawanna River Conservation Association
Lynnhaven River NOW
Maryland Conservation Council
Maryland League of Conservation Voters
Mattawoman Watershed Society
Mehoopany Creek Watershed Association
Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper
National Aquarium
National Parks Conservation Association
National Wildlife Federation
Nature Abounds
Natural Resources Defense Council
Otsego County Conservation Association
Otsego Land Trust
PennEnvironment
Pennsylvania Council of Churches
Piedmont Environmental Council
Potomac Conservancy
Potomac Riverkeeper
Potomac Riverkeeper Network
Rivanna Conservation Society
Rock Creek Conservancy
Sassafras River Association
Savage River Watershed Association
Shenandoah Riverkeeper
Shenandoah Valley Network
Sidney Center Improvement Group
Sierra Club--Maryland
Sierra Club--Pennsylvania
Sierra Club--Virginia
Sleepy Creek Watershed Association
South River Federation
St. Mary's River Watershed
Stewards of the Lower Susquehanna
Trout Unlimited
Upper Potomac Riverkeeper
Upper Susquehanna Coalition
Virginia Conservation Network
Virginia League of Conservation Voters
Water Defense
West & Rhode Riverkeeper
West Virginia Rivers Coalition
______
Prepared Statement of the Civil War Trust
introduction
Madame Chairman and members of the subcommittee, thank you for the
opportunity to provide written testimony. My name is James Lighthizer,
and I am the president of the Civil War Trust. I come before you today
to respectfully request that the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee for
Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies fund the Battlefield Land
Acquisition Grants Program at its authorized amount of $10 million. The
program is administered by the National Park Service's American
Battlefield Protection Program (ABPP).
The Civil War Trust is a national nonprofit organization dedicated
to preserving America's remaining Civil War, Revolutionary War, and War
of 1812 battlefields. Thanks to the generosity of our 200,000 members
and supporters, the Civil War Trust has protected more than 42,500
acres of critically important battlefield land in 23 States.
The ABPP Battlefield Land Acquisition Grants Program is an
authorized competitive matching grants program that requires a 1-to-1
Federal/non-Federal match, although on most occasions the Federal
dollars are leveraged much more than 1-to-1. The program promotes
cooperative partnerships between State and local governments and the
private sector to protect high priority battlegrounds outside National
Park Service boundaries.
battlefield lands are our shared american heritage
America's battlefields are an irreplaceable part of our shared
national heritage. When preserved, these battlefields serve as outdoor
classrooms to educate current and future generations about the defining
conflicts in our country's history. They are living monuments, not just
to the men who fought and sacrificed there, but to all who have proudly
worn our Nation's uniform. Preserved battlefields are also economic
drivers for communities, generating tourism dollars that are extremely
important to State and local economies. When these hallowed grounds are
lost, they are lost forever.
origins of the program
In 1990, Congress created the Civil War Sites Advisory Commission
(CWSAC), a blue-ribbon panel composed of lawmakers, historians and
preservationists, to examine the status of America's Civil War
battlefields. Three years later, the Commission released a report
identifying the most important Civil War battlegrounds, prioritizing
them according to preservation status and historic significance. In
addition, the Commission also recommended that Congress establish a
Federal matching grant program to encourage the private sector to
invest in battlefield preservation. The Commission's proposal for
Federal matching grants was the genesis of today's ABPP Battlefield
Land Acquisition Grants Program.
The National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2015 (Public
Law 113-291) reauthorized the battlefield acquisition grants program
and expanded its eligibility to include Revolutionary War and War of
1812 battlefields, in addition to Civil War battlefields. Similar to
the Civil War grants, which are awarded for priority battlefield land
identified in the CWSAC report, funding for Revolutionary War and War
of 1812 battlefields will target sites listed in a landmark 2007 study
by the National Park Service. Among the battlefields that could
potentially benefit from the expanded program are: Bennington, New
York, and Vermont; Brandywine, Pennsylvania; Cowpens, South Carolina;
Caulk's Field, Maryland; Guilford Courthouse, North Carolina;
Princeton, New Jersey; River Raisin, Michigan; Saratoga, New York; and
Yorktown, Virginia.
Since the program was first funded in fiscal year 1999, grants have
been used to protect more than 24,500 acres of hallowed ground in 17
States. Among the many battlefields that have benefited from this
program are: Antietam, Maryland; Bentonville, North Carolina; Champion
Hill, Mississippi; Chancellorsville, Virginia; Chattanooga, Tennessee;
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania; Harpers Ferry, West Virginia; Mill Springs,
Kentucky; Prairie Grove, Arkansas; and Wilson's Creek, Missouri. It is
important to note that grants are awarded for acquisition of lands from
willing sellers only; there is--and never has been--any eminent domain
authority.
urgent need for funding
The Civil War Trust wishes to thank the subcommittee for its
previous support for this valuable program. We recognize that these are
difficult economic times and appreciate the constraints on this
subcommittee. However, we must point out that the clock is ticking on
the remaining battlefields of the Revolutionary War, War of 1812 and
Civil War. The Civil War Trust estimates that, in the next decade, most
unprotected battlefield land will be either developed or preserved.
Full funding for the Battlefield Land Acquisition Grants Program at its
authorized level of $10 million a year will enable nonprofit groups
like the Trust to protect as many key battlefield lands as possible in
the limited time remaining.
conclusion
The Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, and the Civil War were
defining moments in our country's history. Our forbearers secured our
independence from Great Britain and forged our democratic ideals during
the Revolutionary War and War of 1812. During the Civil War, the great
armies of the North and South clashed in hundreds of battles that
reunited our union and sounded the death knell for slavery. Preserved
battlefields help insure that the sacrifices of these turbulent periods
in our Nation's history are never forgotten.
Chairman Murkowski and Ranking Member Udall, I sincerely hope you
and your subcommittee will consider our request to provide funding of
the ABPP Battlefield Land Acquisition Grants Program at its authorized
level of $10 million. We look forward to working closely with you as we
continue our important work to preserve America's sacred battlefield
lands. Thank you for the opportunity to address the subcommittee.
______
Prepared Statement of the Coalition Against Forest Pests
The Coalition Against Forest Pests consists of non-profit
organizations, for-profit entities, landowners, State agency
associations and academic scholars who have joined together to improve
our Nation's efforts to address forest health threats. We write to ask
your support for adequate funding for the Forest Health Management
programs--both Federal and cooperative lands--and the Forest and
Rangeland Research programs in the USDA Forest Service (USFS). We
respectfully request your support in funding the Forest Health
Management programs at $100 million--$52 million Federal Lands and $48
million Cooperative Lands--and the Forest and Rangeland Research
program at $303 million in fiscal year 2017.
Forested landscapes cover approximately one-third of the total land
area of the United States, including 136 million acres in urban
environments. Our Nation's forests and trees provide numerous benefits
in both rural and urban areas. These benefits include wood products,
wildlife habitat, carbon sequestration, clean water and air, and
aesthetic enjoyment. Harvest of numerous woodland products and forest-
associated recreation provide hundreds of thousands of jobs and
generate considerable economic activity across all 50 States.
These benefits are at risk to attacks by non-native insects and
diseases. While most of the monetized losses occur in cities, the
threat is to all forests. The Asian longhorned beetle kills trees in 15
botanical families--especially maples and birches which constitute much
of the forest reaching from Maine to Minnesota. The polyphagous and
Kuroshio shot hole borers now spreading in southern California threaten
more than 300 plant species, including tree species that anchor the
region's riparian areas as well as half of the trees planted in urban
areas of the region. The beetles might also threaten forests in other
warm regions of the country such as the Gulf Coast, where some of the
host trees grow. In 16 coastal California and Oregon counties, sudden
oak death has killed over one million tanoaks as well as hundreds of
thousands of coast live oaks and other trees. Sudden oak death attacks
a wide range of trees and shrubs native to eastern forests, including
northern red, chestnut, white, and pin oaks; sugar maple; black walnut;
mountain laurel; rhododendrons; and viburnum. The emerald ash borer has
already killed untold millions of ash trees in 25 States, with
resulting damage to wetland and riparian areas and posing a potential
threat to dependent invertebrates.
The cost to urban areas and homeowners is staggering: municipal
governments across the country spend more than $2 billion each year to
remove trees on city property killed by non-native pests. Homeowners
spend an additional $1 billion to remove and replace trees on their
properties and are absorbing an additional $1.5 billion in reduced
property values.
Nor are these pests' damages confined to urban areas. Once a newly
introduced species has established a beachhead in the city, it
spreads--to suburban woodlots and then into the forest. This phenomenon
is illustrated by the spread of the Asian longhorned beetle in
Massachusetts, the emerald ash borer across 25 States, and the redbay
ambrosia beetle in the southeast.
The risk to forest systems and the benefits we receive from them
continues to grow. At least 28 new tree-killing pests have been
detected over the last decade. Every day, an estimated 35 shipping
containers from abroad carry to our shores a tree-killing pest.
The USFS Forest Health Management Program is a critical resource
supporting Federal, State, municipal and landowner efforts to prevent,
contain, and eradicate these costly and dangerous pests. The Program
has supported Oregon's efforts to slow the spread of sudden oak death;
Plains States' strategies to address the threat from emerald ash borer;
whitebark pine restoration plantings in the Mountain States; and the
decades-old, successful program to slow the spread of the gypsy moth.
This program has been cut by 10 percent over the last 5 years, reducing
its reach and effectiveness. It is particularly essential that funding
for work on ``cooperative'' lands--that is, State, municipal, and
private lands--be restored to $48 million. We ask further that the
subcommittee instruct program managers to allocate a higher proportion
of total funds to projects targeting non-native insects or pathogens.
In recent years, such projects have received only about $12 million, or
13 percent of total program funds.
The USFS Forest and Rangeland Research program provides the
scientific foundation for developing effective tools to detect and
manage forest pests and the pathways by which they are introduced and
spread. As America's forests face increasing pressure from the growing
number of non-native pests, a greater research engagement is critical.
For example, tools are desperately needed to detect and contain the
polyphagous and Kuroshio shot hole borers. Promising research to
support breeding ash trees resistant to the emerald ash borer needs to
be taken to its conclusion so breeders can begin restoring ash trees.
Pathways of introduction and spread require additional analysis, e.g.,
wood packaging, nursery stock and firewood. To support these efforts,
we respectfully request that the subcommittee fund the USFS Forest and
Rangeland Research program at $303 million in fiscal year 2017. We ask
further that the subcommittee recommend that a higher proportion of
these funds be allocated to projects specifically targeting non-native
insects or pathogens. In recent years, such projects have received only
$5 million--less than 2 percent of total research funding.
______
Prepared Statement of the Coalition for Healthier Schools
Dear Senators:
On behalf of more than 150 participating parent, public health,
environment, and education groups in the Coalition, we urge you to make
healthy children and healthy indoor environments a priority in the
final fiscal year 2017 Department of Interior, environment and related
agencies appropriations. Specifically, we ask that you ensure that
EPA's Office of Children's Health Protection and EPA's Indoor Air and
Radiation have $16 million over fiscal year 2016 enacted. It is a small
sum which can lead to major improvements in the lives of small children
in our Nation's PreK-12 schools.
Some 55 million children attend public and private schools every
day, yet our Nation's schools--places where 20 percent of Americans who
are 95 percent women and children learn and work every day--are
woefully unaware or under-prepared to manage their facilities, as
numerous studies on schoolhouse neglect have shown. Research also shows
that environmentally healthy learning places that are clean, dry and
quiet, and have good ventilation, have lower absenteeism and higher
test scores.
As CDC and EPA both know, asthma is the leading cause of school
absenteeism, yet CDC's 2012 School Health Policy and Practices key
informant survey found too few States and districts with policies that
are known to boost attendance and achievement:
--only 42.9 percent of States reported helping schools with Indoor
Air Quality; and,
--only 36.3 percent of districts reported having a policy to purchase
low-emitting products which reduce contaminants in indoor air.
We urge you to ensure that EPA's Office of Children's Health
Protection receive $6 million over fiscal year 2016 enacted to advance
children's health and support its voluntary grants for State agencies
and for pediatric environmental health services. And we urge that EPA's
Office of Air and Radiation/Indoor Environments (Reducing the Risks
from Indoor Air) be allocated $10 million over fiscal year 2016 enacted
for voluntary grants to reduce children's indoor exposures and asthma
in homes, schools, and child care centers, as well as to help schools'
address resiliency to severe weather events.
Sincerely,
Alaska Community Action on Toxics
American School Health Association
Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America
Association of School Business Officials International
Asthma Regional Council of New England
Center for Cities + Schools, University of California, Berkeley
Children's Environmental Health Network
Connecticut Foundation for Environmentally Safe Schools
Empire State Consumer Project
Health and Education Alliance of Louisiana
Health Resources in Action
Healthy Schools Network
hellmuth + bicknese architects
Improving Kids' Environment (Indiana)
Maryland Children's Environmental Health Coalition
Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health
Massachusetts Healthy Schools Network
Moms' Clean Air Force
National Association of County and City Health Officials
National Center for Environmental Health Strategies
National Education Association--Healthy Schools Caucus
New York Lawyers for the Public Interest
Parents for Students' Safety (Tennessee)
School-Based Health Alliance
Sheet Metal Occupational Health Institute Trust (SMOHIT)
Take Care of Your Classroom Air (Texas)
Toxics Information Project (Rhode Island)
Twenty-first Century Schools Fund
U.S. Green Building Council
West Harlem Environmental Action
______
Prepared Statement of the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Forum
Waters from the Colorado River are used by nearly 40 million people
for municipal and industrial purposes and used to irrigate
approximately 5.5 million acres in the United States. Natural and man-
induced salt loading to the Colorado River creates environmental and
economic damages. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) has
estimated the current quantifiable damages at about $382 million per
year. Congress authorized the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control
Program (Program) in 1974 to offset increased damages caused by
continued development and use of the waters of the Colorado River.
Modeling by Reclamation indicates that the quantifiable damages would
rise to approximately $614 million by the year 2035 without
continuation of the Program. Congress has directed the Secretary of the
Interior to implement a comprehensive program for minimizing salt
contributions to the Colorado River from lands administered by the
Bureau of Land Management (BLM). BLM funds these efforts through its
Soil, Water and Air Program. BLM's efforts are an essential part of the
overall effort. A funding level of $1.5 million for salinity specific
projects in 2017 is requested to prevent further degradation of the
quality of the Colorado River and increased downstream economic
damages.
EPA has identified that more than 60 percent of the salt load of
the Colorado River comes from natural sources. The majority of land
within the Colorado River Basin is federally owned, much of which is
administered by BLM. In implementing the Colorado River Basin Salinity
Control Act in 1974, Congress recognized that most of the salts in the
Colorado River originate from federally owned lands. Title I of the
Salinity Control Act deals with the U.S. commitment to the quality of
waters being delivered to Mexico. Title II of the Act deals with
improving the quality of the water delivered to users in the United
States. This testimony deals specifically with Title II efforts. In
1984, Congress amended the Salinity Control Act and directed that the
Secretary of the Interior develop a comprehensive program for
minimizing salt contributions to the Colorado River from lands
administered by BLM. In 2000, Congress reiterated its directive to the
Secretary and requested a report on the implementation of BLM's program
(Public Law 106-459). In 2003, BLM employed a Salinity Coordinator to
increase BLM efforts in the Colorado River Basin and to pursue salinity
control studies and to implement specific salinity control practices.
BLM is now working on creating a comprehensive Colorado River Basin
salinity control program as directed by Congress. Meaningful resources
have been expended by BLM in the past few years to better understand
salt mobilization on rangelands. With a significant portion of the salt
load of the Colorado River coming from BLM administered lands, the BLM
portion of the overall program is essential to the success of the
effort. Inadequate BLM salinity control efforts will result in
significant additional economic damages to water users downstream.
Concentration of salt in the Colorado River causes approximately
$382 million in quantified damages and significantly more in
unquantified damages in the United States and results in poor water
quality for United States users. Damages occur from:
--a reduction in the yield of salt sensitive crops and increased
water use to meet the leaching requirements in the agricultural
sector,
--increased use of imported water and cost of desalination and brine
disposal for recycling water in the municipal sector,
--a reduction in the useful life of galvanized water pipe systems,
water heaters, faucets, garbage disposals, clothes washers, and
dishwashers, and increased use of bottled water and water
softeners in the household sector,
--an increase in the cost of cooling operations and the cost of water
softening, and a decrease in equipment service life in the
commercial sector,
--an increase in the use of water and the cost of water treatment,
and an increase in sewer fees in the industrial sector,
--a decrease in the life of treatment facilities and pipelines in the
utility sector, and
--difficulty in meeting wastewater discharge requirements to comply
with National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit
terms and conditions, and an increase in desalination and brine
disposal costs due to accumulation of salts in groundwater
basins.
The Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Forum (Forum) is composed
of gubernatorial appointees from Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada,
New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. The Forum is charged with reviewing the
Colorado River's water quality standards for salinity every 3 years. In
so doing, it adopts a Plan of Implementation consistent with these
standards. The level of appropriation requested in this testimony is in
keeping with the adopted Plan of Implementation. If adequate funds are
not appropriated, significant damages from the higher salinity
concentrations in the water will be more widespread in the United
States and Mexico.
In summary, implementation of salinity control practices through
BLM is a cost effective method of controlling the salinity of the
Colorado River and is an essential component to the overall Colorado
River Basin Salinity Control Program. Continuation of adequate funding
levels for salinity within the Soil, Water and Air Program will assist
in preventing the water quality of the Colorado River from further
degradation and significant increases in economic damages to municipal,
industrial and irrigation users. A modest investment in source control
pays huge dividends in improved drinking water quality to nearly 40
million Americans.
______
Prepared Statement of the Colorado River Board of California
This testimony is in support of fiscal year 2017 funding for the
Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management (BLM) associated
with the sub-activity that assists Title II of the Colorado River Basin
Salinity Control Act of 1974 (Public Law 93-320). This long-standing
successful and cost-effective salinity control program in the Colorado
River Basin is being carried out pursuant to the Colorado River Basin
Salinity Control Act and the Clean Water Act (Public Law 92-500).
Congress has directed the Secretary of the Interior to implement a
comprehensive program for minimizing salt contributions to the Colorado
River from lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).
BLM funds these efforts through its Soil, Water and Air Program. BLM's
efforts are an essential part of the overall effort. A funding level of
$1.5 million for salinity specific projects in 2017 is requested to
prevent further degradation of the quality of the Colorado River and
increased downstream economic damages.
The Colorado River Board of California (Colorado River Board) is
the State agency charged with protecting California's interests and
rights in the water and power resources of the Colorado River system.
In this capacity, California participates along with the other six
Colorado River Basin States through the Colorado River Basin Salinity
Control Forum (Forum), the interstate organization responsible for
coordinating the Basin States' salinity control efforts. In close
cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and
pursuant to requirements of the Clean Water Act, the Forum is charged
with reviewing the Colorado River water quality standards every 3
years. The Forum adopts a Plan of Implementation consistent with these
water quality standards. The level of appropriation being supported in
this testimony is consistent with the Forum's 2014 Plan of
Implementation. The Forum's 2014 Plan of Implementation can be found on
this Web site: http://coloradoriversalinity.org/docs/
2014%20Final%20REVIEW%20-%20complete.pdf. If adequate funds are not
appropriated, significant damages associated with increasing salinity
concentrations of Colorado River water will become more widespread in
the United States and Mexico.
The EPA has determined that more than 60-percent of the salt load
of the Colorado River comes from natural sources. The majority of land
within the Colorado River Basin is federally owned, much of which is
administered by BLM. Through passage of the Colorado River Basin
Salinity Control Act in 1974, Congress recognized that much of the
salts in the Colorado River originate on federally owned lands. Title I
of the Salinity Control Act deals with the U.S. commitment to efforts
related to maintaining the quality of waters being delivered to Mexico
pursuant to the 1944 Water Treaty. Title II of the Act deals with
improving the quality of the water delivered to U.S. users. In 1984,
Congress amended the Salinity Control Act and directed that the
Secretary of the Interior develop a comprehensive program for
minimizing salt contributions to the Colorado River from lands
administered by BLM. In 2000, Congress reiterated its directive to the
Secretary and requested a report on the implementation of BLM's program
(Public Law 106-459). In 2003, BLM employed a Salinity Coordinator to
coordinate BLM efforts in the Colorado River Basin States to pursue
salinity control studies and to implement specific salinity control
practices. BLM is now working on creating a comprehensive Colorado
River Basin salinity control program as directed by Congress. With a
significant portion of the salt load of the Colorado River coming from
BLM-administered lands, the BLM portion of the overall program is
essential to the success of the entire effort. Inadequate BLM salinity
control efforts will result in significant additional economic damages
to water users downstream.
Over the 32 years since the passage of the Colorado River Basin
Salinity Control Act, much has been learned about the impact of salts
in the Colorado River system. Currently, the salinity concentration of
Colorado River water causes about $382 million in quantifiable damages
in the United States annually. Economic and hydrologic modeling by
Reclamation indicates that the quantifiable damages could rise to more
than $614 million by the year 2035 without the continuation of the
Salinity Control Program. For example, damages can be incurred related
to the following activities:
--a reduction in the yield of salt sensitive crops and increased
water use to meet the leaching requirements in the agricultural
sector,
--an increase in the amount of imported water,
--an increased cost of desalination and brine disposal for recycling
water in the municipal sector,
--a reduction in the useful life of galvanized water pipe systems,
water heaters, faucets, garbage disposals, clothes washers, and
dishwashers, and increased use of bottled water and water
softeners in the household sector,
--an increase in the cost of cooling operations and the cost of water
softening, and a decrease in equipment service life in the
commercial sector,
--an increase in the use of water and the cost of water treatment,
and an increase in sewer fees in the industrial sector,
--a decrease in the life of treatment facilities and pipelines in the
utility sector,
--difficulty in meeting wastewater discharge requirements to comply
with National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit
terms and conditions, and
--an increase in desalination and brine disposal costs due to
accumulation of salts in groundwater basins.
The Colorado River is, and will continue to be, a major and vital
water resource to the nearly 20 million residents of southern
California, including municipal, industrial, and agricultural water
users in Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San
Diego, and Ventura Counties. The protection and improvement of Colorado
River water quality through an effective salinity control program will
avoid the additional economic damages to users in California and the
other States that rely on Colorado River water resources.
______
Prepared Statement of the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission
Mr. Chairman and members of the subcommittee, the Columbia River
Inter-Tribal Fish Commission (CRITFC) is pleased to share its view on
the Department of Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs' (BIA) fiscal year
2017 budget. We have specifically identified the following funding
needs and one request for review:
1. $9.95 million for Columbia River Fisheries Management under
Rights Protection Implementation, ($5.3 million above fiscal year
2016), to meet the base program funding needs of the Commission and the
fisheries programs of our member tribes;
2. $4.8 million for U.S./Canada Pacific Salmon Treaty under Rights
Protection Implementation, ($520,000 above fiscal year 2016) to
implement obligations under the recent agreements adopted by the U.S.
and Canada;
3. $8.0 million for Tribal Climate Resilience under Rights
Protection Implementation to assist tribes in climate change adaptation
and planning (supporting the POTUS request);
4. $10.4 million for Fish, Wildlife and Parks Projects,
(supporting the POTUS request);
5. $352.5 million for Public Safety and Justice, of which $943,000
supports enforcement of Federal laws at In-Lieu and Treaty Fishing
Access Sites on the Columbia River.
History and Background
CRITFC was founded in 1977 by the four Columbia River Treaty
Tribes: Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation,
Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon,
Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, and the Nez Perce
Tribe. CRITFC provides coordination and technical assistance to these
tribes in regional, national and international efforts to protect and
restore our shared salmon resource and the habitat upon which it
depends. Our collective ancestral homeland covers nearly one-third of
the entire Columbia River Basin in the United States, an area the size
of the State of Georgia.
In 1855, the U.S. entered into treaties with the four tribes \1\
whereupon we ceded millions of acres of our homelands to the U.S. In
return, the U.S. pledged to honor our ancestral rights, including the
right to fish in all Usual and Accustomed locations. Unfortunately, a
perilous history brought the salmon resource to the edge of extinction
with 12 salmon and steelhead populations in the Columbia Basin listed
under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
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\1\ Treaty with the Yakama Nation, June 9, 1855, 12 Stat. 951;
Treaty with the Tribes of Middle Oregon, June 25, 1855, 12 Stat. 963;
Treaty with the Umatilla Tribe, June 9, 1855, 12 Stat. 945; Treaty with
the Nez Perce Tribe, June 11, 1855, 12 Stat. 957.
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The CRITFC tribes have arrived as globally-recognized leaders in
fisheries restoration and management working in collaboration with
State, Federal and private entities. We are principals in the region's
efforts to halt the decline of salmon, lamprey and sturgeon populations
and rebuild them to levels that support ceremonial, subsistence and
commercial harvests. To achieve these objectives, our actions emphasize
`gravel-to-gravel' management including supplementation of natural
stocks, healthy watersheds and collaborative efforts.
The programs in this testimony are carried out pursuant to the
Indian Self-Determination and Assistance Act. Our programs are
integrated as much as possible with State and Federal salmon management
and restoration efforts.
Columbia River Fisheries Management Within Rights Protection
Implementation
We are succeeding. The salmon, returning in greater numbers, tell
us so. But along with success, management increases in complexity,
requiring greater data collection and enforcement. Funding shortfalls
prohibit the achievement of tribal self-determination goals for
fisheries management, ESA recovery effort, protecting non-listed
species, conservation enforcement and treaty fishing access site
maintenance. We request an increase of $4.4 million over fiscal year
2015 for a new program base of $8.95 million for Columbia River
Fisheries Management.
The BIA's Columbia River Fisheries Management line item is the base
funding that supports the fishery program efforts of CRITFC and the
four member tribes. Unlike State fish and game agencies, the tribes do
not have access to Dingell-Johnson/Pittman-Robertson or Wallop-Breaux
funding. The increase will be directed to support the core functions of
the fisheries management programs of the Commission's member tribes,
namely enforcement, harvest monitoring and renegotiation support for
four primary agreements including Columbia River Treaty modernization.
In 2008, CRITFC and its member tribes struck three landmark
agreements: (1) the Columbia Basin Fish Accords with Federal action
agencies overseeing the Federal hydro system in the Columbia Basin,\2\
(2) a 10-Year Fisheries Management Plan with Federal, tribal and State
parties under U.S. v OR, and (3) a new Chinook Chapter of the Pacific
Salmon Treaty.\3\ These agreements establish regional and international
commitments on harvest and fish production efforts, commitments to
critical investments in habitat restoration, and resolving contentious
issues by seeking balance of the many demands within the Columbia River
basin. While through these agreements the tribes have committed to
substantial on-the-ground projects with some additional resources from
the Bonneville Power Administration, the overall management
responsibilities of the tribal programs have grown exponentially
without commensurate increases in BIA base funding capacity. For
example, the tribes' leadership in addressing Pacific Lamprey declines
is this species' best hope for survival and recovery. The tribes' are
also addressing unmet mitigation obligations, such as fish losses
associated with the John Day and The Dalles dams.
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\2\ The Nez Perce Tribe is not a Columbia Basin Fish Accord
signatory.
\3\ See ``Salmon Win A Triple Crown'' at http://www.critfc.org/
text/wana_109.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The funding provided through the BIA to support tribal fishery
programs is crucial to the tribes' and CRITFC's ability to successfully
carry out tribal rights protection, including these agreements, by
providing sound technical, scientific and policy products to diverse
legal, public and private forums. Rights Protection Implementation
funding takes on even greater importance as funding for State co-
management agencies has become inconsistent or decreased. Below are
priority need areas for CRITFC and our member tribes.
Youth Program Initiatives
The Columbia River Treaty Tribes place an emphasis on preparing our
youth for careers in Natural Resources Management. However, our tribes,
like tribes nation-wide, struggle to overcome barriers to Science,
Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics achievement, high dropout
rates, and low percentages of students pursuing natural resources
majors. Our Place-Based Workforce Development Initiative seeks to
address these barriers through a blend of technical assistance, intern
and externship opportunities and a summer Salmon Camp.
Columbia River Treaty Modernization
The Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission's member tribes are
part of a coalition of 15 Columbia Basin tribes whose rights, as well
as management authorities and responsibilities, are substantially
affected by the implementation of the Columbia River Treaty. In order
for treaty modernization to succeed, the Columbia Basin tribes need to
continue to coordinate internally and with other regional and national
entities, as well as continue their analytical evaluation of the treaty
including the impacts of climate change, while the State Department
evaluates the Regional Recommendation and completes their national
interests review.
U.S./Canada Pacific Salmon Treaty Under Rights Protection
Implementation
The U.S. and Canada entered into the Pacific Salmon Treaty in 1985
to conserve and rebuild salmon stocks, provide for optimum production,
and control salmon interceptions. The treaty established the Pacific
Salmon Commission (PSC) as a forum to collaborate on intermingled
salmon stocks. The U.S. Section of the PSC annually develops a
coordinated budget for tribal, State and Federal programs to ensure
cost and program efficiencies. Congress increased funding in 2000 in
order to implement the 1999 Agreement, but funding has significantly
eroded since then. In 2008, the U.S. and Canada adopted a new long term
treaty agreement after nearly 3 years of negotiations. Both parties
agreed to significant new management research and monitoring activities
to ensure the conservation and rebuilding of the shared salmon
resource.
For tribal participants in the Pacific Salmon Treaty, the U.S.
Section has identified a program need of $4.8 million for the 25
participating tribes. These funds provide for direct tribal
participation with the Commission, panels and technical committees. The
funding enables the tribes to assist in treaty implementation and
facilitates management protecting trust resources. This funding
maintains tribal resource assessment and research programs structured
to fulfill required treaty implementation activities. The fiscal year
2017 recommended level for this program is an increase of $520,000
above the fiscal year 2016 enacted level. Our request correlates to the
U.S. Section's recommendation.
Tribal Climate Resilience
The Columbia River Treaty Tribes are feeling the effects of Climate
Change. Shifts are occurring in salmon run timing, and berry and root
ripening cycles. In 2015, climate-related stress in the form of
historic forest fires and the loss of up to 400,000 sockeye salmon due
to elevated water temperatures illustrate our climate crisis. We
support the President's request of an increase of $2.5 million to
implement Tribal Climate Resilience. CRITFC is concerned about the
underlying lack of fairness in the distribution of climate change
funding with Rights Protection Implementation since the fund's
appearance in 2014. Attempts at a collaborative process have not
yielded a consensus. We conditionally support the President's directive
of a ``competitive process'' as a means to an end. This process could
lead to a better assessment of treaty-based climate needs and metrics
to best put dollars on the ground.
Fish, Wildlife and Parks Projects
We support the President's request to support Federal facilities
maintenance.
Public Safety and Justice, Criminal Investigations and Police Services
Public safety continues to be a high priority for CRITFC and our
tribes. Our conservation and criminal enforcement officers are the
cornerstone of public safety in the popular and heavily used Columbia
Gorge area patrolling 150 miles of the Columbia River, including its
shorelines in Oregon and Washington. In this area we are the primary
provider of enforcement services at 31 fishing access sites developed
pursuant to Public Law 87-14 and Public Law 100-581 for use by treaty
fishers. CRITFC's officers have obtained BIA Special Law Enforcement
Commissions to aid our efforts protecting and serving tribal members
and Federal trust properties along the Columbia River. We are also very
pleased that the BIA has created OJS District 8 and housed it in
Portland. CRITFC entered into a Public Law 93-638 contract with BIA in
February 2011 for enforcement services along the Columbia River. That
contract currently provides funding for two enforcement positions.
Our immediate priority is to add two patrol officers, one sergeant,
one investigator and one dispatcher. Full funding for this Enforcement
need is $943,000 which would support a total of four officers, one
sergeant, an investigator and a dispatcher.
A Request for Review of Salmon Mass-Marking Programs
CRITFC endeavors to secure a unified hatchery strategy among
tribal, Federal and State co-managers. To that end, we seek to build
hatchery programs using the best available science, regional expertise
and supported by adequate, efficient budgets. A congressional
requirement, delivered through prior appropriations language, to
visibly mark all salmon produced in federally funded hatcheries
circumvents local decisionmaking and should be reconsidered. We have
requested that Federal mass-marking requirements, and correlated
funding, be reviewed for compatibility with our overall objective of
ESA delisting and with prevailing laws and agreements: U.S. v Oregon,
Pacific Salmon Treaty and the Columbia Basin Fish Accords.\4\ Salmon
managers should be provided the latitude to make case-by-case decisions
whether to mark fish and, if so, in the appropriate percentages.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\4\ Letter from Bruce Jim, Chairman, Columbia River Inter-Tribal
Fish Commission to U.S. House of Representatives Chairmen Frank Wolf,
Mike Simpson and Doc Hastings, July 11, 2011.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In summary, through the combined efforts of the four Columbia River
Treaty Tribes, supported by a staff of experts, we are proven natural
resource managers. Our activities benefit the region while also
essential to the U.S. obligation under treaties, Federal trust
responsibility, Federal statutes, and court orders. We ask for your
continued support of our efforts. We are prepared to provide additional
information you may require on the Department of Interior's BIA budget.
______
Prepared Statement of the Congressional Fire Services Institute, the
International Association of Fire Chiefs, and the National Volunteer
Fire Council
Dear Chairman Murkowski, Ranking Member Udall, and members of the
subcommittee:
On behalf of the Congressional Fire Services Institute, the
International Association of Fire Chiefs, and National Volunteer Fire
Council, thank you for the opportunity to offer written comments on
appropriations levels for fiscal year 2017. Our organizations urge you
to fund the Volunteer Fire Assistance (VFA) grant program at $16
million, the fiscal year 2010-enacted appropriations level, for fiscal
year 2017.
As you are aware, the United States is facing an alarming trend
with the growth of wildland fires. The cost of suppressing these fires
is reaching new heights as more than 50 percent of the U.S. Forest
Service's (USFS) annual budget now goes to fighting wildland fires.
Local fire departments play a key role in assisting the USFS extinguish
wildland fires. More than 80 percent of wildland fires are extinguished
on initial attack by local fire departments. The USFS estimates that
the value of the service provided by local fire departments exceeds $36
billion per year. Despite the significant value of service provided by
our Nation's fire and emergency service, the Federal Government's
commitment to supporting these agencies has dwindled since fiscal year
2006.
The VFA program is an extremely successful and effective program
aimed at supporting fire departments that protect communities with a
population of 10,000 or less. VFA grants are provided on a 50/50
matching basis and are generally used to help budget-strapped
departments procure new equipment, refurbish old fire apparatus, and
train personnel. According to the USFS, in fiscal year 2015, the VFA
program assisted 9,318 communities by providing training to 22,272
firefighters, expanding and organizing 20 fire departments, and
facilitating the purchase, rehabilitation, and maintenance of $8.1
million in equipment. While these are impressive accomplishments for
the VFA program, even more communities could be supported if VFA
received a proper funding level of $16 million.
The chart below illustrates the dramatic decrease in funding for
rural fire departments. Just 10 years ago, in fiscal year 2006, the
USFS' VFA program was funded at $14 million and the Rural Fire
Assistance (RFA) program, which was a similarly operated grant program
at the Department of the Interior (DOI), was funded at $10 million.
Together, these programs provided $24 million to America's rural fire
departments. Though these amounts fluctuated over the years, these
grants provided an average of nearly $21 million per fiscal year to
rural fire departments. Sadly, the RFA program was eliminated in fiscal
year 2011 and has not been funded since. In addition to the elimination
of RFA, VFA received deep cuts of nearly 30 percent in the three fiscal
years following the elimination of RFA. While VFA has received slight
funding increases since fiscal year 2013, VFA is still funded at nearly
20 percent less than it was in fiscal year 2010--a year when $7 million
in RFA funding also was available to support America's rural fire
departments.
The decrease in funding for VFA, coupled with the complete
elimination of RFA in fiscal year 2011, has significantly hampered the
ability of local fire departments to partner with the USFS and protect
at-risk communities. In July 2015, the House unanimously adopted an
amendment to their fiscal year 2016 Interior, Environment, and Related
Agencies bill that attempted to provide a modest increase of $1 million
for VFA. Unfortunately, the Senate did not concur with this amendment
and the VFA program was funded at $13 million for fiscal year 2016.
With the elimination of RFA in mind, restoring the VFA program to
its fiscal year 2010 funding level will allow a greater level of
operational readiness and capability for thousands of rural fire
departments across the Nation. Improving the capabilities of these fire
departments will not only benefit their communities but also the USFS
as local fire departments will be more effective partners in
extinguishing wildland fires. Our organizations firmly believe that an
investment in the VFA program will yield savings for the USFS' Wildland
Fire Management account.
Thank you for your support of our Nation's rural fire departments
and for the opportunity to offer these recommendations. We look forward
to working with you to restore the VFA program to a funding level of
$16 million and protecting our Nation from the dangers of wildland
fire.
______
Prepared Statement of The Conservation Fund
Chairman Murkowski, Ranking Member Udall, and Members of the
Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related
Agencies, thank you for this opportunity to submit outside witness
testimony on behalf of The Conservation Fund (TCF). TCF supports full
funding of the President's budget request of $900 million in fiscal
year 2017 for the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) discretionary
and mandatory proposals, which includes the Federal land acquisition
programs of the Bureau of Land Management ($88.77 million), National
Park Service ($134.457 million), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
($137.622 million), U.S. Forest Service ($128 million), as well as
three State grant programs: the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's
Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund ($108.495 million);
National Park Service's State Conservation Grants ($110.006 million);
and the U.S. Forest Service's Forest Legacy Program ($100 million). TCF
also supports full funding of the President's request for the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service's North American Wetlands Conservation Fund
($35.145 million); the U.S. Forest Service's Community Forest and Open
Space Conservation Program ($5 million); and the Department of
Interior's (DOI)--Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration
Program ($9.229 million). TCF requests funding for the Environmental
Protection Agency's (EPA) Great Lakes Restoration Initiative ($300
million); EPA's Clean Water State Revolving Funds ($979.5 million) and
EPA's Drinking Water State Revolving Funds ($1,020.5 million).
Additionally, TCF supports the proposals for the Federal Land
Transaction Facilitation Act reauthorization, the National Park Service
Centennial Initiative, and the U.S. Forest Service proposal for a
fiscally responsible funding strategy that considers catastrophic
wildland fires as disasters (i.e. in line with the Wildland Disaster
Fund Act).
TCF is a national, non-profit conservation organization dedicated
to conserving America's land and water legacy for future generations.
Established in 1985, TCF works with landowners; Federal, State and
local agencies; and other partners to conserve our Nation's important
lands for people, wildlife and communities. To date, TCF has helped our
partners to conserve over 7.5 million acres. These accomplishments are
due, in large measure, to the leadership of this subcommittee over many
years to appropriate funds to acquire lands for future generations,
working forests, recreational opportunities, wildlife habitat, and many
other benefits.
Below are highlights of some benefits of the LWCF and land
acquisition programs. While these projects show the tremendous
diversity of benefits of land acquisition for the public, they have one
thing in common--each of these projects is driven by landowners. Many
farmers, ranchers and forestland owners have significant financial
equity in their land. By enabling a landowner to sell a conservation
easement or fee title, the LWCF program provides landowners with funds
to stay in business, reinvest in businesses, or meet other financial
goals.
As the subcommittee crafts its Interior, Environment and Related
Agencies Appropriations bill, there are several key points we
respectfully request you to consider, listed below.
1. Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) at $900 million ($475
discretionary and $425 mandatory).--Funding at the recommended $900
million is critical for the Nation's premier conservation program, a
bipartisan agreement from 50 years ago. The Conservation Fund supports
the President's budget for $475 million in discretionary requests and
$425 in mandatory requests. LWCF represents a promise to the Nation
that proceeds from offshore oil and gas development will help protect
the public trust, and the proposed fiscal year 2017 projects will
fulfill that mission.
The LWCF Budget includes Collaborative Landscape Planning
(CLP) areas that we ask you to support: Island Forests at Risk, High
Divide, National Trails System, Rivers of the Chesapeake, Florida-
Georgia Longleaf Pine, Southern Blue Ridge, and Pathways to the
Pacific. In each CLP, several Federal land agencies are partnering with
States, local groups, non-profits and private interests to support
conservation and make a lasting impact.
Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Land Acquisition at $88.77
million ($43.595 million discretionary and $44.818 million
mandatory).--The BLM and its National Conservation Lands provide some
of our Nation's best recreation and historic areas. From exploring
ancient petroglyphs in the canyon at Agua Fria National Monument in
Arizona to floating the Upper Colorado River Special Recreation
Management Area, we request full funding of the agency's discretionary
and mandatory project lists.
National Park Service (NPS) Federal Land Acquisition at
$134.457 million ($68.242 million discretionary and $66.215 million
mandatory).--Hosting more than 292 million visitors every year, the
over 400 National Park units provide an economic boost to their local
communities and those employed directly and indirectly. Funding for NPS
LWCF will help protect key access points for recreation, historic
areas, trails and more, including at Little River Canyon National
Preserve in Alabama and Captain John Smith National Historic Trail in
Maryland, Virginia, and Delaware. We respectfully request full funding
of the agency's discretionary and mandatory project lists.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) Land Acquisition at
$137.622 million ($58.655 million discretionary and $78.967 million).--
National Wildlife Refuges (NWR) are our Nation's protectors of clean
water, clean air, abundant wildlife and world-class recreation. Funding
for fiscal year 2017 FWS LWCF will help protect water quality in the
Chesapeake Bay area, critical wildlife habitat at National Wildlife
Refuges in Montana and many other important places. We respectfully
request full funding of the agency's discretionary and mandatory
project lists.
U.S. Forest Service (USFS) Land Acquisition at $128 million
($65.653 million discretionary and $62.347 million mandatory).--USFS
LWCF funds help with forest management by protecting key inholdings and
reducing fire threats. From the Pisgah National Forest in North
Carolina to the Caribou-Targhee National Forest in Idaho, we are
working with willing landowners at priority project areas and
respectfully request full funding of the agency's discretionary and
mandatory project lists.
LWCF State Grant Programs: FWS-Section 6 Cooperative
Endangered Species Fund, NPS-State Conservation Grants, and USFS-Forest
Legacy.--We encourage the subcommittee to fully fund fiscal year 2017
President's budget request for:
-- FWS.--Section 6 Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation
Fund: $108.495 million
-- NPS.--State Conservation Grants: $110.006 million
-- USFS.--Forest Legacy Program: $100 million
2. DOI and USFS Land Acquisition Programs.--TCF encourages the
subcommittee to fund:
-- FWS.--North American Wetlands Conservation Fund: $35.145
million
-- USFS.--Community Forest and Open Space Conservation Program:
$5 million
3. Department of Interior--Natural Resource Damage Assessment and
Restoration Program at $9.229 million.--The Restoration Program leads
the national response for recovery of natural resources that have been
injured or destroyed as a result of oil spills or releases of other
hazardous substances. Recoveries from responsible parties can only be
spent to implement restoration plans developed by the Trustee Council
for each incident. These funds are one hundred percent private and
represent the amount needed to restore environmental resources or
compensate for lost public use since the damage in question. The fiscal
year 2017 funds would allow the Program to add carefully targeted staff
allocated to Interior bureaus and offices through its Restoration
Support Unit in order to accelerate restoration activities.
4. Environmental Protection Agency--Great Lakes Restoration
Initiative (GRLI) at $300 million.--TCF urges funding of GLRI at $300
million. The Initiative provides critical support for on-the-ground
restoration programs and projects targeted at the most significant
environmental problems in the Great Lakes ecosystem. Over the past 5
years, the Initiative has opened up fish access to more than 3,400
miles of rivers, expanding recreational opportunities. It has also
accelerated the cleanup of toxic hotspots, resulting in the delisting
of three formerly contaminated sites.
5. Environmental Protection Agency--State Revolving Funds.--TCF
encourages the Committee to fund:
-- Clean Water State Revolving Fund: $979.5 million
-- Drinking Water State Revolving Fund: $1,020.5 million
6. Reauthorization of the Federal Land Transaction Facilitation
Act.--We support the fiscal year 2017 President's budget request to
reauthorize the Federal Land Transaction Facilitation Act (FLTFA).
FLTFA is a western Federal lands program that facilitates strategic
Federal land sales by the BLM in order to provide funding for high-
priority land conservation within or adjacent to Federal lands in the
eleven contiguous western States and Alaska. Over 165 groups are
working together to support Congress' efforts to reauthorize FLTFA.
FLTFA expired in 2011, and reauthorization will enhance the lands and
economy by facilitating Federal land sales and conservation
transactions, at no cost to the taxpayer.
7. Wildlife Disaster Funding Act (S. 235 and H.R. 167) and
Avoiding Transfers to Wildland Fire Suppression.--We support the
proposal in the President's budget that would avoid transferring funds
Congress appropriates to other priority programs to fund wildland fire
suppression. Unfortunately and again in fiscal year 2015, the 10-year
average was not enough to meet the USFS suppression needs, forcing the
agency to transfer $700 million from non-suppression accounts to make
up for the shortfall. In fiscal year 2016, we are thankful to the
subcommittee for the full transfer repayment and increased suppression
funding in--however, we understand this is not expected to occur every
year, and DOI and USFS need a long-term fire funding solution that
would result in stable and predictable budgets. We support language
mirroring the bipartisan Wildfire Disaster Funding Act (S. 235 and H.R.
167), which is needed to prevent future transfers and ensure that the
USFS and DOI can achieve their land management objectives by
implementing activities needed to address the growing buildup of
hazardous fuels on Federal lands. This language provides the structure
to fund a portion of the USFS and DOI wildfire suppression costs
through a budget cap adjustment under the Balanced Budget and Emergency
Deficit Control Act of 1985, as amended. The funding structure is
similar to that used by other agencies who respond to natural disaster
emergencies. We respectfully request a bipartisan fire funding solution
that would: (1) access disaster funding, (2) minimize transfers, and
(3) address the continued erosion of agency budgets over time, with the
goal of reinvesting in key programs that would restore forests to
healthier conditions.
The Conservation Fund stands ready to work with you to secure full
and consistent funding for the LWCF, Forest Legacy, and the other
critically important programs that help protect the environment,
economies, forests, and community values across our Nation. Thank you
for the opportunity to provide this testimony and your consideration of
our request.
______
Prepared Statement of the Consolidated Tribal Health Project, Inc.
The requests of the Consolidated Tribal Health Project, Inc. (CTHP)
for the fiscal year 2017 Indian Health Service (IHS) budget are as
follows:
--Provide mandatory funding for contract support costs, and eliminate
language that may be misread to conflict with the carryover
funding authority in the Indian Self-Determination and
Education Assistance Act.
--Shield the IHS from sequestration in fiscal year 2017 and beyond.
--Place IHS funding on an advance appropriations basis.
--Provide funding for built-in costs.
--Provide the requested $25 million increase for behavioral health.
The Consolidated Tribal Health Project, Inc. is an intertribal
consortium of nine tribes in Mendocino County in Northern California.
We serve more than 3,200 patients, more than three-quarters of whom are
American Indian and Alaska Native. We provide comprehensive medical,
dental, and behavioral healthcare to our patients, as well as
traditional healing and cultural events each month, home visits, and
health screenings, and--through the Purchased and Referred Care
program--manage care for our patients when they need services beyond
that which CTHP provides. We operate under a self-governance agreement
with the IHS under the Indian Self-Determination and Education
Assistance Act (ISDEAA).\1\
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\1\ Our consortium includes the Cahto Indian Tribe of the
Laytonville Rancheria, Coyote Valley Band of Pomo Indians, Guidiville
Rancheria, Hopland Band of Pomo Indians, Pinoleville Pomo Nation,
Potter Valley Tribe, Redwood Valley Rancheria, Sherwood Valley
Rancheria, and an ex oficio member from the Yokayo Provisional Council
Tribe. We serve both Native and non-Native patients in our area.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
As an intertribal organization providing healthcare services via an
ISDEAA agreement, we wish to highlight structural changes in the budget
of the IHS that we believe are necessary to ensure the agency's
programs and healthcare outcomes for Native people can continue to
improve.
Contract Support Costs Mandatory Funding. We wish to thank Congress
for fully funding Contract Support Costs (CSC) in fiscal year 2016. For
fiscal year 2017, we support the President's request for an
appropriation of ``such sums as may be necessary,'' with an estimated
$800 million for CSC for the IHS, provided in a separate account in the
IHS's discretionary budget. We strongly disagree with the proviso that
was included in both the fiscal year 2016 appropriations language and
the administration's proposed fiscal year 2017 budget, which states:
``amounts obligated but not expended by a tribe or tribal organization
for contract support costs for such agreements for the current fiscal
year shall be applied to contract support costs otherwise due for such
agreements for subsequent fiscal years.'' This proviso is concerning to
us because it could be misread to effectively deny the carryover
authority granted by the Indian Self-Determination and Education
Assistance Act. We thus ask that the proviso be removed for fiscal year
2017 and not included in future appropriations for CSC.
We also support the administration's proposal to fully fund CSC on
a mandatory basis in fiscal years 2018-2020, though we would prefer
that begin in fiscal year 2017 and, of course, that it be a permanent,
indefinite appropriation.
We understand that Member-to-Member communications are incredibly
important. You have had a lot of experience in the past speaking with
Native leaders about their frustrations regarding the inequity of
tribes and tribal organizations who contract to assume administration
of Federal programs without being paid for the costs to administer
them. We ask for your active help in working with the Budget Committee
and any others on this proposal for mandatory CSC funding.
Protect the IHS from Sequestration. We are glad that Congress took
action to avert a sequestration of IHS funds in fiscal years 2014,
2015, and 2016. However, we are concerned that the IHS's funding may be
subject to sequestration in future years. The IHS was subject to
sequestration in fiscal year 2013 of roughly 5 percent of its overall
budget, even though other health programs--such as the Veterans
Administration (VA), State Medicaid grants and most of Medicare--were
not. The VA was made fully exempt from sequestration for all programs
administered by the VA. See Sec. 255 of the Balanced Budget and
Emergency Deficit Control Act (BBEDCA), as amended by Public Law 111-
139 (2010). We strongly urge Congress to fully exempt the IHS from any
future sequestration, just as the VA and other health programs are
exempt.
IHS Advance Appropriations. We ask to Committee to transition the
IHS budget to an advance appropriations basis. We know you are
sympathetic to our frustrations caused by the funding of IHS and other
Federal agencies via Continuing Resolutions. Over the past several
fiscal periods, appropriations have been enacted well after the
beginning of the Federal fiscal year. The current (fiscal year 2016)
fiscal year funding was enacted two and half months after the beginning
of the fiscal year. In fiscal years 2015 and 2014 it was 2.5 and 3.5
months, respectively. In fiscal year 2013 it was 6 months after the
start of the fiscal year before the appropriations were enacted. This
significantly harms our ability to provide healthcare services. We want
to do the best job possible in planning, decisionmaking and
administering programs, but are limited by not knowing how much funding
will be available or when it will be available. It also requires us to
constantly modify our budget--time and resources that would be better
devoted to providing healthcare services, improving the efficiency of
service delivery, or pursing third party reimbursements.
The Veterans Administration (VA) funding is on an advance basis,
and the Budget and Appropriations Committees have provided the
necessary support for that authority. We and others in Indian Country
were struck by the justification in the proposed fiscal year 2016
budget (fiscal year 2017 advance appropriations) for the VA:
For 2017, the Budget requests $63.3 billion in advance
appropriations for the three medical care appropriations:
Medical Services, Medical Support and Compliance, and Medical
Facilities. This request for advance appropriations fulfills
the administration's commitment to provide reliable and timely
resources to support the delivery of accessible and high-
quality medical services for veterans. This funding enables
timely and predictable funding for VA's medical care to prevent
our Nation's veterans from being adversely affected by budget
delays, and provides opportunities to more effectively use
resources in a constrained fiscal environment. (Appendix,
Budget of the U.S. Government, p. 1058).
The fiscal year 2017 budget proposal continues to discuss VA
funding in light of the need to provide ``timely, high-quality
healthcare for the Nation's veterans.'' Our need is no less great and
the promise made for our healthcare is no less solemn. We ask for
parity in this regard.
Funding for Built-in Costs. We appreciate the administration's
fiscal year 2017 request of $159 million for built-in costs consisting
of $75.4 million for medical inflation at a 5.8 percent rate; $26
million for pay costs; and $43.2 million to partially fund population
growth. Built-in costs are often sacrificed in the budget negotiation
process, and when they are not includes, it affects all programs.
Inflation (both medical and non-medical), essential pay raises for
employees, and population growth are real facts of life that affect our
ability to provide sufficient healthcare services. We urge Congress to
fund this request.
Funding for Behavioral Health. We support the administration's
much-needed request of a $25 million increase for a Behavioral Health
Integration Initiative. The goal of that Initiative is to integrate
behavioral health services into the primary health systems and to
collaborate with services that may be provided outside the primary
healthcare delivery system, such as substance abuse and mental health
services. A portion of the funds ($3.6 million) are to be used for
tribes and tribal organizations to establish Zero Suicide programs
focusing on the role of medical and behavioral health systems in the
prevention of suicide. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
reports that American Indian/Alaska Native youth have the highest rates
of suicide-related fatalities in the Nation, and we know it is
something we struggle with in our communities; we see this funding as
essential.
Thank you for the consideration of the concerns and requests of the
Consolidated Tribal Health Project.
______
Prepared Statement of the Cooperative Alliance for Refuge Enhancement
Chair Murkowski, Ranking Member Udall, and members of the
subcommittee:
The National Wildlife Refuge System stands alone as the only
Federal land and water conservation system with a mission that
prioritizes wildlife and habitat conservation alongside wildlife-
dependent recreation. Since 1995, the Cooperative Alliance for Refuge
Enhancement (CARE) has worked to showcase the value of the Refuge
System and to secure a strong congressional commitment for conserving
these special landscapes.
Found in every U.S. State and Territory, national wildlife refuges
conserve a diversity of America's environmentally sensitive and
economically vital ecosystems, including wetlands, coasts, forests,
prairie, tundra, deserts, and oceans, and provide Americans with an
opportunity to encounter and engage with these areas.
We ask that the subcommittee provide a funding level of $506.6
million for the Operations and Maintenance accounts of the National
Wildlife Refuge System for fiscal year 2017. We also thank you for the
much needed $7 million funding increase for fiscal year 2016--the
continued support of the subcommittee for refuges will be much
appreciated by all of our organizations.
This testimony is submitted on behalf of CARE's 23 member
organizations, which represent over 16 million American hunters,
anglers, bird and wildlife watchers, scientists, managers, and
concerned citizens passionate about wildlife conservation and related
recreational opportunities.
American Birding Association
American Fisheries Society
American Sportfishing Association
Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies
Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation
Defenders of Wildlife
Ducks Unlimited, Inc.
Izaak Walton League of America
Marine Conservation Institute
National Audubon Society
National Rifle Association
National Wildlife Federation
National Wildlife Refuge Association
Safari Club International
Sportsmen's Alliance
The Corps Network
The Nature Conservancy
The Wilderness Society
The Wildlife Society
Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership
Trout Unlimited
Wildlife Forever
Wildlife Management Institute
The National Wildlife Refuge System, established by President
Theodore Roosevelt in 1903, protects approximately 150 million acres on
563 national wildlife refuges and 38 wetland management districts in
every State and Territory in the United States. An additional 418
million acres of water within the Pacific marine monuments round out
the total of 568 million acres within the management jurisdiction of
the Refuge System. From the Virgin Islands to Guam to Alaska to Maine,
the Refuge System spans 12 time zones and protects America's natural
heritage in habitats ranging from arctic tundra to arid desert, boreal
forest to sagebrush grassland, and prairie wetlands to coral reefs.
A refuge is within an hour's drive from most metropolitan areas,
enabling the Refuge System to attract a growing number of visitors each
year (48.5 million in fiscal year 2015, up from 46.5 million just 2
years before) providing opportunities for hunting, fishing, wildlife
observation, photography, kayaking, hiking, and outdoor education. In
fact, from 2006-2011, during our Nation's greatest economic recession
since the Great Depression, visitation to our national wildlife refuges
increased by 30 percent, showcasing the value Americans place on the
Refuge System.
CARE welcomes recreational use of our refuges. Refuge visitors
generate $2.4 billion annually to local and regional economies--on
average returning $4.87 in economic activity for every $1
appropriated--and support 35,000 U.S. jobs.\1\ In addition, refuges
provide major environmental and health benefits, such as filtering
storm water before it is carried downstream and fills municipal
aquifers; reducing flooding by capturing excess rainwater; and
minimizing the damage to coastal communities from storm surges. Refuges
generate more than $32.3 billion in these ecosystem services each year,
a return of over $65 for every $1 appropriated by Congress.\2\
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\1\ Banking on Nature, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, October
2013, http://www.fws.gov/refuges/about/refugereports/pdfs/
BankingOnNature2013.pdf.
\2\ The Economics Associated with Outdoor Recreation, Natural
Resources Conservation, and Historic Preservation in the United States,
Southwick Associates, October 2011, https://www.fws.gov/refuges/news/
pdfs/TheEconomicValueofOutdoorRecreation[1].pdf.
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The Refuge System budget is now $77 million below the level needed
to keep pace with inflation plus salary increases, relative to the
fiscal year 2010 budget of $503.2 million. Workforce has declined in
that time by over 500 positions, who provided services such as
administration, maintenance, fire management, wildlife management, and
research support. That is a loss of 1 out of 7 refuge positions. As a
result, refuges are struggling to be maintained and provide the
adequate visitor services, environmental education, access for hunting,
and law enforcement that will ensure healthy habitat and a safe and
enjoyable visitor experience.
Unfortunately, inadequate funding threatens the System's ability to
carry out its mission, which is mandated by the National Wildlife
Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997. Between fiscal year 2010 and
fiscal year 2013, Refuge System funding was reduced by $50 million--a
10 percent cut. Even with increased budgets in fiscal year 2016 to $481
million, the Refuge System continues to function at unsustainable
levels. CARE estimates that the Refuge System needs at least $900
million in annual operations and maintenance funding to meet
conservation targets, including wildlife management, habitat
restoration, and opportunities for public recreation.
The fiscal year 2015 Refuge Annual Performance Plan (RAPP) reports
revealed falling performance rates in several important System
categories--as a direct result of funding shortfalls--including habitat
condition, habitat restoration, recreation opportunities, volunteerism,
and scientific research. The following measures for which performance
declined from fiscal year 2010 to fiscal year 2015:
--Open water acres restored (-63 percent)
--Wetland acres restored (-70 percent)
--Acres of non-native, invasive plants controlled (-58 percent)
--Number of invasive animal populations controlled during the year
(-55 percent)
--Acres treated for non-native, invasive plants (-34 percent)
--Riparian miles restored (-30 percent)
--Acres of farming (-30 percent)
--Total refuge acres receiving needed management (-12 percent)
--Number of volunteers (-14 percent)
--Fishing visits (-5 percent)
However, many measures of public use increased for the Refuge
System over this same timeframe, despite budget shortfalls. Funding for
fiscal year 2017 needs to ensure Americans will be able to continue
these valuable recreational activities. These include:
--Hunting visits (+2 percent)
--Waterfowl hunt visits (+7 percent)
--Photography participants (+52 percent)
--Number of boat trail visits (+18 percent)
--Acres of prescribed grazing (+13 percent)
--Wildlife observation visits (+12 percent)
--Number of visitors (+9 percent)
Refuge visitation is growing and is expected to continue. In fact,
from fiscal year 2010 to fiscal year 2015, the Refuge System welcomed 9
percent more visitors. However, refuges are losing valuable staff
committed to visitors and volunteers. We thank you for the $500,000
increase to the visitor services budget line in fiscal year 2016, which
will be helpful in slowing that loss. Volunteers provide numerous
benefits to the Systems, from staffing refuge nature stores,
maintenance, interpretation, and much more. These volunteer can only
work when the System is reasonably staffed and thus able to extend
requisite volunteer training and oversight.
Further reductions or stagnation in Refuge System funding will
likely show continued declines in the System's conservation work and
public use opportunities. If annual operations and maintenance funding
does not rise, CARE anticipates further impacts both within and outside
of refuge boundaries, including:
--Reduced treatment of invasive plants, reducing habitat quality for
wildlife (both game and non-game) and placing nearby private
lands at higher risk of infestations;
--Decreased use of prescribed fire, which is used on refuges both to
improve habitat for wildlife and to reduce hazardous fuels that
pose a wildfire risk to nearby communities;
--Reduced number and quality of visitor programs, with visitor
centers operating at fewer hours, and delayed plans to add or
expand hunting programs at refuges;
--Lost revenue for local communities as visitor numbers drop.
According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service fiscal year
2013 budget justification, ``Each 1 percent increase or
decrease in visitation impacts $16.9 million in total economic
activity, 268 jobs, $5.4 million in job-related income, and
$608,000 in tax revenue.''
--Elimination of ancillary functions like FWS's operation of
Henderson Field at Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, which
serves as a critical emergency landing site for trans-pacific
flights, as well as the public's main window to the vast marine
national monuments.
Challenges abound throughout the system. In California, years of
severe drought have caused a dramatic reduction of water deliveries to
wildlife refuges, while proposals to change deliveries from higher
quality surface water to brackish groundwater threaten the
functionality of these refuges as waterfowl habitat. In Minnesota, the
Morris Wetland Management District has seen a staffing reduction of 70
percent leading to the conversion of native prairie and waterfowl
habitat to forest as a result of decreased fire management of wetland
habitats. At the Loxahatchee NWR in Florida, instead of healthy takes,
alligator hunters found emaciated animals severely impacted by the
drastic increase in invasive species on the refuge.
The common denominator to all these challenges is a lack of
funding. Adequate staffing and funding are critical to the maintenance
of healthy wildlife populations and access for recreational users to a
healthy ecosystem.
We understand the budget constraints the subcommittee is working
under; however, we see the systemic declines in performance of the
Refuge System on a daily basis due to the lack of adequate funding. As
stated above, the System needs a minimum of $900 million each year to
function the way it was intended, and CARE is dedicated to working with
your subcommittee to see that this goal is reached.
CARE is supporting the President's request of $506.6 million for
fiscal year 2017, although it is substantially less than what the
System needs. Albeit roughly half the optimal funding amount, $506.6
million is a $25 million increase, and we hope it will help the System
maintain its ability to manage refuge lands as intended in their
purpose for the benefit of the American people. If the requested
funding level is satisfied, the Refuge System can better:
--Conduct management and restoration activities to provide healthy
habitats that attract wildlife and, in turn, draw visitors and
increase economic return to communities;
--Keep refuges open and staffed so quality recreational opportunities
continue to be offered to the public;
--Maintain facilities and equipment used to serve the public and
manage habitat;
--Provide Federal wildlife officers needed to keep refuge resources
and people safe.
CARE is also requesting an additional $6 million necessary to
recoup the cost of the occupation of the Malheur NWR in Oregon. For 40
days this winter, armed occupiers took over the refuge, causing injury
to infrastructure and habitat. Without these additional funds, all
costs currently incurred will be taken out of the Service's operating
budget, reducing the amount available to the rest of the System.
We urge Congress to fund the Refuge System at $506.6 m in fiscal
year 2017--to bridge the growing gap between what the System needs and
what it receives, enabling refuges to continue moving America forward.
On behalf of our more than 16 million members and supporters, CARE
thanks the subcommittee for the opportunity to submit comments on the
fiscal year 2017 Senate Interior Appropriations bill.
______
Prepared Statement of the Corps Network
Dear Chairwoman Murkowski and Ranking Member Udall;
We write to respectfully urge your support for funding the
Department of Interior (DOI) and U.S. Forest Service (USFS) in fiscal
year 2017. As you craft the Interior appropriations bill, we encourage
you take into account the significant leveraging of limited Federal
resources our Corps accomplish in partnership with these land
management agencies, and ensure they have adequate funding to expand on
our proven and cost-effective public-private partnerships.
In particular, Corps of the Corps Network around the country
support DOI and USFS budgets for operation, maintenance, and
construction which are used to engage Corps to help address the
billions in backlogged projects and resource management needs on public
lands; the Engaging the Next Generation proposals; the Centennial
Initiative; and funding for Wildland Fire Management through both DOI
and USFS. By partnering with Corps, agencies achieve much more with
their budgets and also provide opportunity for youth and veterans to
learn job skills and while accomplishing high-priority projects.
Additionally, these accounts help support partnerships with our
21st Century Conservation Service Corps (21CSC) initiative, which has
received bipartisan support in Congress from Senators John McCain and
Michael Bennet, and out, from Former Army General Stanley McChrystal
and President Bush's Domestic Policy Advisor, John Bridgeland. We're
privileged to also have the support of the past four secretaries of the
interior--two Republicans and two Democrats--and private sector support
from KEEN, the North Face, American Eagle Outfitters, the Outdoor
Industry Association, and other organizations like the Vet Voice
Foundation, and the American Recreation Coalition.
Thank you for your efforts in ensuring those accounts were strong
in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2016. With additional support
from the 2016 Act, our Corps will help accomplish millions in critical
projects and engage the next generation of resource management leaders
while also multiplying limited Federal funds. For example, Corps have
utilized $150 million in project funding from DOI and USFS over the
past 3 years and turned that into millions more in matched funds and
service projects, with the added benefit of engaging youth and veterans
in meaningful hands-on work experiences outdoors.
In 2015 alone, our Corps around the country have:
--Restored 567,000 acres of ecological habitat
--Removed 365,000 acres of invasive species
--Reduced 32,000 acres of hazardous fire fuel
--Responded to 500 wildfire remediation and response needs
--Built and maintained 11,000 miles of multi-use trails
--Maintained and improved 16,000 parks and public spaces/facilities
--Planted and maintained 2.8 million trees
The Corps Network represents our country's 130+ Service and
Conservation Corps. Descended from the Civilian Conservation Corps
(CCC), today's Corps provide youth and veterans with the opportunity to
advance their education, obtain critical career-readiness and job
skills, and earn a stipend while they perform important conservation
service projects on public lands. Collectively, our Corps enroll 24,000
Corpsmembers, engage an additional 100,000 volunteers, and complete
thousands of service projects valuing hundreds of millions of dollars
each year, with volunteer hours valued at nearly $10 million each year.
Project sponsors consistently express a high degree of satisfaction
with the quality of work and productivity of Corps. Virtually all
Federal project partners (99.6 percent) say they would work with Corps
again and an independent study commissioned by the National Park
Service found an over 50 percent cost savings in using Corps on
projects. In addition, the Corps Model has been rigorously tested and
proven to be an effective youth development model and a recent study
found that Corpsmembers gained significant career and leadership skills
like teamwork, community engagement, critical thinking, and
communication through their term of service.
Corps also work to be inclusive and engage many veterans, Native
Americans, and disconnected youth who have either dropped out of school
or are unemployed. Over half of Corpsmembers are minorities and nearly
half are women. In addition to the normal work week, Corpsmembers
receive a wide range of personal and professional development
including, but not limited to: workforce services; adult and peer-
mentoring; academic programming; industry-recognized certificates and
credentials; and a modest stipend--all to prepare them for
postsecondary education and/or career success.
Fiscal Year 2017 Interior Appropriations Priorities
The Corps Network respectfully urges the subcommittee to support
these programs that will allow public land management agencies to
engage youth and veterans through Corps to leverage Federal funds to
address more backlogged maintenance needs:
--Department of Interior--Engaging the Next Generation: $102 million
in fiscal year 2017; funded at $64.8 million in fiscal year
2016
--Department of Interior--Wildland Fire Management: $1.1 billion in
fiscal year 2017; funded at $993 million in fiscal year 2016
--National Park Service--Operation: $2.5 billion in fiscal year 2017;
funded at $2.3 billion in fiscal year 2016
--National Park Service--Centennial Initiative: $730.9 million in
fiscal year 2017; funded at $15 million in fiscal year 2016
(includes NPS Centennial Act authorizations--$500 million)
--Bureau of Land Management--Management of Lands and Resources:
$1.075 billion in fiscal year 2017; funded at $1.072 in fiscal
year 2016
--Bureau of Reclamation--Water & Related Resources: $813.4 million in
fiscal year 2017; funded at $1.18 billion in fiscal year 2016
--Bureau of Indian Affairs--Construction: $196 million in fiscal year
2017; funded at $194 in fiscal year 2016
--Fish and Wildlife Service--Construction: $23.7 million in fiscal
year 2017; funded at $23.6 million in fiscal year 2016
--U.S. Forest Service--National Forest System: $1.5 billion in fiscal
year 2017; funded at $1.5 billion in fiscal year 2016
--U.S. Forest Service--Capital Improvement and Maintenance: $343
million in fiscal year 2017; funded at $364 million in fiscal
year 2016
--U.S. Forest Service--Wildland Fire Management: $2.45 billion in
fiscal year 2017; funded at $2.38 billion in fiscal year 2016
All these programs help Corps leverage Federal dollars to engage
thousands of youth and veterans improving and restoring our Nation's
lands, water, and recreation assets. The construction and operation
accounts are important as they are the main source of project funding,
and help the agencies address their backlog maintenance issues. The
Centennial Initiative is an innovative approach to addressing the
myriad of issues in the national parks and this year's proposal from
DOI is targeted toward addressing the deferred maintenance backlog on
the NPS' highest priority non-transportation assets.
To build on that work, we also support DOI's Engaging the Next
Generation proposal which is intended to promote public-private
partnerships to maximize opportunities for youth through visitor and
educational programs, partnerships, volunteerism, and our innovative
21st Century Conservation Service Corps Initiative. For example, DOI
states that ``Collaborative efforts across all levels of government and
mobilization of the 21st Century Conservation Service Corps resulted in
several high impact initiatives . . . These initiatives enabled
significant progress towards Interior's goal to provide 100,000 work
and training opportunities to young people and veterans by the end of
2017.''
The USFS is a major supporter of our 21st Century Conservation
Service Corps Initiative as well, explaining in their budget and
strategic priorities that ``Our 21st Century Service Corp (21CSC)
partnership provides an enormous return on investment, allowing the
Forest Service to address critical conservation restoration needs and
simultaneously have a deep and lasting impact on the people who
participate, thereby building the next generation of natural resource
professionals.''
These accounts through USFS enable our Corps to help the USFS
address important projects. USFS states in their budget that ``The 21st
Century Conservation Service Corps will continue to provide enhanced
and expanded opportunities to work with partners to address trails
maintenance needs and provide improved citizen access to all [USFS]
trails, including congressionally designated trails.''
Corps also partner with USFS on critical wildfire remediation and
fighting and see firsthand the damage that is done to the system, and
communities, by an outdated budget structure for wildfire needs. We
support changes to the budgeting process as included in the President's
budget and in the Wildfire Disaster Funding Act--a bipartisan proposal
that would fund wildfire suppression in a similar manner to how the
government currently funds the response to other natural disasters. As
the USFS notes in its budget justification, ``The cost of fire
management has grown from 16 percent of the agency's budget in 1995
to--for the first time in the agency's 110-year history--to over 50
percent of the budget in 2015. It is subsuming the agency's budget and
jeopardizing our ability to successfully implement our full mission.''
As you can see, our Corps work with DOI and USFS in numerous
capacities to help them better manage our natural resources while
providing high quality service and work experience outdoors to engage
thousands of youths and veterans. We understand the fiscal constraints
placed upon the subcommittee which is why ensuring more partnerships
and opportunities for our cost-effective public private partnerships is
more important than ever. We again respectfully urge your support for
these programs. Thank you for your time and consideration.
[This statement was submitted by Mary Ellen Sprenkel, President &
CEO.]
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Prepared Statement of the Council of Athabascan Tribal Governments
The Council of Athabascan Tribal Governments (CATG) is a consortium
of 10 tribal governments located along the Yukon River and its
tributaries in northeastern Alaska. We provide a variety of services to
our tribal members, including full healthcare services at the Yukon
Flats Health Center and village-based clinics in four of our villages.
We also have Self-Governance agreements with the Fish and Wildlife
Service and with the Bureau of Land Management.
We request that you implement the following measures in the fiscal
year 2017 Appropriations cycle:
--Non-BIA Interior Self-Governance Agreements.
--Make full Contract Support Costs funding for the IHS and BIA
mandatory, and ensure there are no provisos on indefinite CSC
funding that conflict with the carryover funding authority
provided by the Indian Self-Determination Act.
--Support the proposed increases in mental health, suicide prevention
and substance abuse spending in the IHS and BIA budgets.
--Provide funding for built-in costs.
--Permanently Authorize the Special Diabetes Program for Indians.
--Provide advance appropriations for the IHS.
--Maintain funding for tribal court development in Public Law 280
States.
Non-BIA Interior Self-Governance Agreements
CATG is one of the first tribal consortiums in the country to
develop non-BIA DOI Self-Governance Annual Funding Agreements. However,
the AFA's are not fully funded for Contract Support Costs that would
otherwise cost the agencies if they were to manage the same programs,
functions, services, and activities in our scopes of work.
We are also concerned that DOI scopes of work are being limited and
the intent of Self-Governance is not being carried out. During 2016
negotiations, for the Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge AFA, a
summer intern position was inserted into our Scope of Work by the
refuge because the agency had not been able to recruit a local intern
in years past. However, the position was removed at the regional level.
At first we were told that the agency wanted to test our chosen intern
for the first year and make sure they were trained by the agency. We
agreed that, while employed with CATG, we fully expected that the
agency would provide the training and our employee would be integrated
into their team of researchers. We were then told that the agency
preferred to hire and train interns for their eventual hire by the
agency, not CATG. This is counter to the intent and practice of Self-
Governance, which is to build tribal capacity to take on increasing
levels of responsibility.
Mandatory Funding for Contract Support Costs
We are pleased that the fiscal year 2016 funding for contract
support costs (CSC) was for an indefinite amount, which greatly helped
to ensure that CSC would be fully funded without having to reprogram
funding for critical healthcare services and other programmatic funding
to cover the CSC need.
For fiscal year 2017, we support the President's request for an
appropriation of ``such sums as may be necessary,'' with an estimated
$800 million for CSC for the IHS in a separate account in the IHS's
discretionary budget. However, we disagree with the proviso that was
included in the fiscal year 2016 appropriations language, which stated
as follows: ``amounts obligated but not expended by a tribe or tribal
organization for contract support costs for such agreements for the
current fiscal year shall be applied to contract support costs
otherwise due for such agreements for subsequent fiscal years.'' This
proviso is concerning to us because it could be misread to effectively
deny the carryover authority granted by the Indian Self-Determination
and Education Assistance Act. We thus ask that the proviso be removed
for fiscal year 2017 and in future appropriations for CSC.
We also support the administration's proposal to fully fund CSC on
a mandatory basis and we ask for your help in working with the Budget
Committee and any others on this proposal for mandatory CSC funding as
soon as possible.
Increase Funding for Behavioral Health, Suicide Prevention, and Alcohol
& Substance Abuse Treatment
CATG's communities in rural Alaska have a very high rate of suicide
and suicide attempts, and a similarly high rate of alcohol and
substance abuse that contributes to myriad other problems, including
crime, domestic violence, child abuse or neglect. Oftentimes, tribes in
Alaska have a difficult time working through the State of Alaska to
provide these services, which adds layers of guidelines, regulations,
and reduced funding. We strongly believe that tribes and tribal
organizations should receive behavioral funds directly, because
programs that implement traditional cultural values are more successful
than those that do not.
The administration's request includes $25 million in IHS program
increases for mental health. Of that amount, $21.4 million would be for
a behavioral health integration initiative, for which tribes and tribal
organizations would be eligible to seek funding for the expansion of
their behavioral health services to areas outside of the traditional
healthcare system; training; hiring behavioral health staff; and
community-based programs. Another $3.6 million in the proposal would be
for funding pilot projects to implement the ``Zero Suicide
Initiative.'' We request your support for funding the $25 million
program increase for these critical programs.
We also ask for your support in expanding the Generations
Indigenous (Gen-I) initiative, which provides increased resources for
tribes to address youth behavioral, mental health and substance abuse
issues. We appreciate the $10 million appropriated in the IHS budget
for Gen-I in fiscal year 2016, which was critical to hiring staff to
provide more services and prevention programs for Native youth. For the
IHS in fiscal year 2017, the administration is requesting a $16.8
million increase focused on youth: $15 million to expand Gen-I for
additional staffing and $1.8 million for a pilot program that would
provide a continuum of care for youth after discharge from a Youth
Regional Treatment Center. For the BIA the proposal includes an
increase of $21 million to expand the Tiwahe Initiative designed to
address the inter-related problems of poverty, violence and substance
abuse faced by Native communities, including $12.3 million for social
services programs designed to provide culturally appropriate care. We
ask for your support for this funding.
Funding for Built-in Costs
We appreciate the administration's fiscal year 2017 request of $159
million for built-in costs consisting of $75.4 million for medical
inflation at a 5.8 percent rate; $26 million for pay costs; and $43.2
million to partially fund population growth. Built-in costs are often
sacrificed in the budget negotiation process, but lack of them impacts
all programs. Inflation--both medical and non-medical, pay raises that
must be afforded to employees, and population growth are real facts of
life that impact our ability to provide sufficient healthcare services.
We urge Congress to fund this request.
SDPI/Advance Appropriations
We again join with Alaska Native tribes and others throughout
Indian Country in support of a permanent reauthorization of the Special
Diabetes Program for Indians and for placing IHS appropriations on an
advance funding basis. We understand that this will involve
congressional committees in addition to appropriations and urge your
support in working for these goals.
Funding for Village Built Clinics in Alaska
For the last several years, Alaska organizations have submitted
testimony to this subcommittee on the need to address chronic
underfunding of Village Built Clinics (VBCs) in Alaska. VBCs, which are
clinic facilities leased by the IHS from other entities, are a vital
component of the provision of basic healthcare services in rural
Alaska, as they serve as the clinic space for the Community Health Aide
Program (CHAP) under the Indian Health Care Improvement Act. The CHAP,
which IHS is directed by the IHCIA to carry out, uses a network of
community health aides and practitioners to provide primary healthcare
services in rural and isolated areas where access to those services
might not otherwise exist.
In 1989, Congress specifically authorized the operation of 170 VBCs
in Alaska and provided approximately $3 million in funding for the
program for that year. Since then, Congress has not provided amounts
specifically for VBCs in the IHS appropriation and IHS has consistently
under-funded these leases. The VBCs are IHS facilities acquired by
lease in lieu of construction and should thus be eligible for
maintenance and improvement funding, but the IHS does not see it that
way. The IHS can also access other IHS discretionary funds to fully
fund its VBC obligations. For example, the Indian Health Facilities
appropriation is a lump-sum appropriation that can be used for
construction, repair, maintenance, improvements and equipment, and
includes a sub-activity for maintenance and improvement of IHS
facilities. IHS nevertheless continues to assert that it provides for
VBC leases all of the funds that Congress has appropriated for the
program. The chronic underfunding over decades has resulted in
deterioration and in some cases closure of VBC facilities, threatening
the CHAP itself and access to basic healthcare services for rural
Alaskans that hinges on the continued availability of properly
maintained VBC space.
Recently, a coalition made up of the regional tribal health
organizations in Alaska, the Alaska Native Health Board and the Alaska
Native Tribal Health Consortium, updated a VBC needs assessment in
2015, and called ``Village Built Clinics in Crisis 2015.'' The report
estimates that $12.5 million more per year, in addition to the current
VBC allocation from IHS of about $4.5 million, would be needed to
maintain and operate Alaska VBCs on a par with similar tribal health
facilities elsewhere. This would require a total of $17 million in
order to adequately fund the operation and maintenance of the 170 VBCs
in Alaska. In addition, the report calls for approximately $14 million
annually ``to fully fund the replacement reserve and to remove the
village clinics from the crisis state they are currently
experiencing.'' CATG therefore urges that Congress appropriate at least
an additional $12.5 million to fully fund VBC leases and that IHS be
directed to use it to fully fund such leases. We request that you
direct the IHS to (1) identify the amount needed to fully fund all
Alaska VBCs, (2) ask for that amount in a separate line in the IHS
budget, and (3) allocate that amount to the VBC lease program.
Maintain Funding for Tribal Courts in Public Law 280 States
In the fiscal year 2016 appropriations act $10 million was added
for the BIA Office of Tribal Justice Support to work with tribes and
tribal organizations to, in the words of the Senate Appropriations
Committee report, ``assess needs, consider options, and design,
develop, and pilot tribal court systems for tribal communities
including those communities subject to full or partial State
jurisdiction under Public Law 83-280.'' The administration's fiscal
year 2017 request would reduce that amount by $8 million. Given the
need in Alaska, the tribal jurisdiction provisions of the Tribal Law
and Order Act and the Violence Against Women Act, we ask that this
funding be maintained at its fiscal year 2016 level.
Thank you for your consideration of our concerns and requests. We
are happy to respond to questions or provide any additional information
you may request.
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Prepared Statement in Support of the Creation and Operation of an
Outdoor Recreation Satellite Account
Dear Senators Murkowski and Udall:
We request your action in the fiscal year 2017 budget to fund the
creation and operation of an Outdoor Recreation Satellite Account
(ORSA) to better assess the economic significance of programs and
policies under the jurisdiction of your subcommittee, chiefly within
the Departments of the Interior and Agriculture.
The Nation's public lands and waters play an essential role for the
recreation industry. Virtually all Americans participate in some form
of outdoor activity at these places. This activity results in an
estimated $650 billion in annual expenditures on RVs and boats, lift
tickets and entrance fees, fishing and hunting licenses and surfboards,
campground fees and OHVs--and much more. Expenditures on recreation
create manufacturing jobs, jobs in retailing and repairs, lifeguard
posts at public beaches and guide jobs in the backcountry, jobs at
insurance firms and hotels. Federal agencies host more than a billion
recreation visits and now tout the direct contributions to local and
national economies. The National Park Service claims 10 dollars in
spending for each 1 dollar it receives in appropriated funding. The
Forest Service notes that its lands supply an estimated 60 percent of
all downhill ski and snowboarding activity, all at privately built and
operated ski areas.
Many of those signing this letter regularly collect and make
available very useful data on the economic activities associated with a
specific recreation industry. But this data is not standard in format
and often fails to capture the full array of spending linked to
recreation activity. A trusted, comprehensive report is needed.
The leadership of the Federal agencies most active on recreation is
represented on a multi-departmental body called the Federal Recreation
Council (FRC). That Council has made the creation of a Recreation
Satellite Account by the Bureau of Economic Analysis its highest
priority. Creation of the account is, by national standards, very
reasonable. The Department of Commerce, which has recently created
similar satellite accounts for the arts, and for travel and tourism,
estimates that the account can be in place in 3 years or less at a cost
of approximately $3.5 million.
We endorse a recent statement by the FRC:
``ORSA will directly and efficiently benefit both the private
and public sectors, including the outdoor recreation industry
and business interests, as well as the public policy community,
by providing a ready means to assist in the evaluation of
policies, programs, grants and other support or development
tools. Creating the satellite account presents an opportunity
for detailed and defensible data to inform decisionmaking,
improving governance and long-term management of public lands
and waters.''
The ORSA information is vital to making good choices in allocating
Federal funds through the budget process--for your very subcommittee to
make strategic decisions. Yet currently available information is not
from the best possible public sources. Rather it has been created on an
irregular basis by the recreation industry itself.
Yet the implementation of this account is in limbo. Although the
funds are a very small portion of existing Federal recreation program
funding approved every year by your subcommittee--and about 1 percent
of existing Federal recreation fee collections--the money does compete
with other popular recreation expenditures.
We call upon the Congress to invest immediately in creating the
Outdoor Recreation Satellite Account as a vital tool in assessing
Federal program priorities and benefits. We ask that this be done in a
way which does not impact highly popular recreation services, but
instead as a vital part of effective governmental program management
activities.
We urge that the fiscal year 2017 budget provide for complete
implementation of the Outdoor Recreation Satellite Account on a
priority basis. The path forward is clear. Congressional action
recently created and funded an Arts and Cultural Production Satellite
Account. Similarly, a Travel and Tourism Satellite Account has been
recently created. The data is already being collected. It simply needs
to be organized so it can be appropriately aggregated from traditional
reporting accounts.
Thank you for your consideration of this request.
Sincerely,
Derrick A. Crandall, President, American Recreation Coalition
Michael Nussman, President, American Sportfishing Association
Jay McAninch, President and CEO, Archery Trade Association
Paul Bambei, President, ARVC--National Association of RV Parks and
Campgrounds
Brad Gross, Chair, Association of Marina Industries
Margaret Podlich, President, BoatU.S.
Geoff Baekey, Managing Director, CHM Government Services
Mary Ellen Sprenkel, President, The Corps Network
Ed Klim, President, International Snowmobile Manufacturers Association
Matt Gruhn, President, Marine Retailers Association of the Americas
Tim Buche, President, Motorcycle Industry Council
John Johnson, Executive Director, National Association of State Boating
Law Administrators
Domenic Bravo, President, National Association of State Park Directors
Thom Dammrich, President, National Marine Manufacturers Association
Terry MacRae, Chairman, National Park Hospitality Association
Barbara Tulipane, President, National Recreation and Park Association
Michael Berry, President, National Ski Areas Association
Amy Roberts, Executive Director, Outdoor Industry Association
Phil Ingrassia, President, Recreation Vehicle Dealers Association
Frank Hugelmeyer, President, Recreation Vehicle Industry Association
Nick Sargent, President, SnowSports Industries America (SIA)
Ron Christofferson, President, States Organization for Boating Access
______
Prepared Statement of The Creative Coalition
[This statement is submitted by Robin Bronk, CEO, and Tim Daly,
President.]
Chairman Murkowski, Ranking Member Udall and members of the
subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to submit written testimony
regarding the fiscal year 2017 funding level for the National Endowment
of the Arts (NEA). We are writing on behalf of The Creative Coalition,
the 501(c)(3), non-profit, non-partisan public advocacy organization of
the arts and entertainment community to urge Congress to provide $155
million for NEA in the fiscal year 2017 Department of the Interior,
environment, and related agencies appropriations bill. We very much
appreciate the opportunity to express our views on the need for
sufficient funding for the arts.
In 1989, actors Ron Silver, Christopher Reeve, Susan Sarandon, Alec
Baldwin, and others established The Creative Coalition to advocate for
more significant public investment in America's arts organizations and
arts education programs like the NEA. The Creative Coalition's
membership includes actors, directors, producers, writers,
entertainment industry executives, and others who make their living in
theater, film, arts, letters, and television.
The arts help us discover who we are. The leadership of The
Creative Coalition is living proof of this. Robin grew up in a small,
rural town in South Carolina where high school plays and community
theatre productions were part of the lifeblood of the community. One of
the most influential people in her life was a high school chorus
teacher who was a master at using the arts to help discover what the
curriculum was really all about. Many students at D.W. Daniel High
School learned about math and science from building sets, designing
light-grids and wiring sound boards. Important lessons about discipline
and team work came from being a member of the school band.
Tim grew up in a family of actors and was first on stage when he
was 7 years old in a play with his parents and two sisters at the Bucks
County Playhouse in New Hope, Pennsylvania. Since those early days on
the stage, Tim has played significant roles in three long-running TV
series and appeared in more than 75 different movies and television
programs as part of an industry that generates millions of jobs and
billions of dollars in economic development each year for our country.
We are pleased that over the last couple of years, arts funding,
particularly for the NEA, has risen slightly from $146 million in
fiscal year 2015; to $148 million in fiscal year 2016; to President
Obama's budget request of $149 million for fiscal year 2017. We
recognize the significance of these modest funding increases when such
an emphasis is currently placed upon fiscal constraint. We encourage
you to continue with this trend and call on you to dedicate $155
million in fiscal year 2017 for the NEA in its 50th Anniversary year.
This level of funding would adequately celebrate this milestone and
better leverage State, local, and private arts funding. Increased
funding will help to restore critical Federal arts programming--which
supports creativity and innovation, and provides measured cultural,
educational, and economic benefits.
We must acknowledge the compelling data supporting Federal
investment in the arts. Statistics show that every NEA grant dollar
spent will leverage 10 more dollars from private and other public
funds. This far surpasses the required non-Federal match of at least
one to one. Data also indicates that the non-profit arts industry
supports 4.13 million jobs in the arts and related industries. The
Bureau of Economic Analysis and the NEA have calculated the arts and
culture sector's contributions to the gross domestic product at $698
billion or 4.32 percent. The data is indisputable that Federal funding
of the arts is a wise investment.
However, the benefits of Federal funding for the arts are about
much more than compelling economic data and leveraging additional
dollars. One can easily make a connection between NEA funding and
Federal efforts to support strong fathers and families, juvenile
justice and delinquency prevention, Federal anti-bullying campaigns,
preparing a 21st Century workforce, and Federal economic development
programs. Just compare the goals of any of these programs with the
outcomes associated with participation in the arts and you will see
strong correlations. A recent grant from the NEA to Project STEP in
Boston, Massachusetts provides advanced music instruction to minority
students from elementary school through high school. These students
join chamber music ensembles, perform regularly in recitals and
community outreach concerts and attend classes and professional
concerts. The program not only provides mentoring and performance
opportunities, but it aims to create a network of support for the
students, their families, and their communities to allow them to excel
in a field of music that is typically underrepresented in African-
American and Latino communities. The goal of the program is to expand
exposure to classical music so that future classical musicians better
reflect the racial and ethnic diversity of our communities.
We know that young people's involvement in the arts has a huge
impact on them later in life. They do better on standardized tests, are
more likely to graduate from high school, and increase their chances of
graduating from college. Data conclusively establishes links between
the arts and achievement in science, technology, engineering, and math.
Research shows that students with 4 years of arts education score
roughly 100 points higher on their SATs. Business leaders no longer
look to fill positions with candidates possessing only the strongest
science education, but are increasingly seeking out individuals who
have a background in the arts as well. It is not only those of us in
the arts community who make this claim. James McNerney, Jr., Chairman,
former President and Chief Executive Officer, of The Boeing Company.
has stated:
``At Boeing, innovation is our lifeblood. The arts inspire
innovation by leading us to open our minds and think in new
ways about our lives--including the work we do, the way we
work, and the customers we serve.''
Speak to anyone of note in the areas of politics, business, media,
community leadership, and the entertainment industry and you will find
individuals who were drawn into the arts as young people. They were
acting in community theater productions and school plays, playing in
bands, spending their afternoons and weekends at local dance companies.
Many members of Congress are known to play musical instruments or even
form singing groups like the ``Singing Senators.'' We have no doubt the
non-profit arts ecosystem nurtured them into the thought and idea
leaders we know today.
Beyond supporting youth and creating dynamic thinkers, the arts are
valued for their ability to revitalize communities. They stimulate
tourism, attract business investment, foster creative climates, and
offer more quality lifestyles. Communities that have embraced the arts
entice more young professionals and make them want to stay and raise
their families. As a testament to the importance of the arts to State
and local communities, the National Governors Association offers
guidance on how States can attract, harness, and utilize the arts to
create places where people want to live and visit.
NEA and the grants it provides to smaller community arts efforts do
more than bring joy to children and adults. These grants enrich their
lives and create foundations for more active and responsible citizens,
more innovative and critical thinkers, and more inclusive and vibrant
communities. The NEA grant to Theatre Squared in Fayetteville, Arkansas
will help fund a project that converts an existing parking lot into a
thriving hub for artists and audiences. When finished, the theater
commons will include a performance venue, rehearsal space, classrooms,
studio space and artist housing. This new facility will expand access
to tens of thousands of additional community members, while serving as
a new institutional anchor for the downtown district. Without the
support of NEA grants for arts education and community arts
organizations, fewer individuals would have the opportunity to
participate in arts and develop the creative skills that often lead to
future success.
Survey any of The Creative Coalition's members and you will find
individuals who were inspired by the arts at an early age. Our members
were motivated to succeed by the visions, confidence, and comradery
instilled in them by their exposure to the arts. The essence of why
access to the arts is so vital might be best captured in the words of
one of our members:
``When I was 7 years old, I fell in love with the most
beautiful thing I ever met . . . Acting. The art of expression
has given my heart a permanent smile. I live my life pursuing a
dream to make the unbelievable believable. This love has kept
me faithful, honest, passionate, happy and peaceful. Growing up
in the projects of New York City where there was trouble on
every corner, I was fortunate to have the arts to keep me
distracted and out of trouble. The arts are the greatest gift I
have ever received.''
--Actor Marlon Wayans
We know that exposure to the arts is not simply about creating
professional and amateur artists. It is not just about the economic
impact of the arts and entertainment industry. Although these are
important contributions, the arts are about discovering the creative
inspiration that will allow an individual to reach their full
potential. It is about the journey, the creative process invoked, and
the inspiration to achieve--no matter what path life takes you.
Adequate Federal funding for the arts is vital to maintaining our
arts economy, ensuring American competitiveness in a global market that
values creativity, and most importantly, continuing to provide
opportunities for young people to find their creative inspiration and
reach their full potential. The NEA is often responsible for bringing
the arts to individuals and communities who otherwise would not have
the opportunity to discover the richness that arts can bring to your
life. Therefore, The Creative Coalition urges the subcommittee to
increase the funding level for the National Endowment of the Arts to
$155 million in fiscal year 2017.
Thank you for your consideration and for the opportunity to submit
this testimony.
______
Prepared Statement of Dance/USA
Mr. Chairman and distinguished members of the subcommittee, I am
grateful for the opportunity to submit testimony on behalf of Dance/
USA, its Board of Directors and its 500 members. We strongly urge the
Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies in the
Committee on Appropriations to designate a total of $155 million to the
National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) for fiscal year 2017. This
testimony and the funding examples described below are intended to
highlight the importance of Federal investment in the arts, so critical
to sustaining a vibrant cultural community throughout the country.
The NEA makes it possible for everyone to enjoy and benefit from
the performing arts. Before the establishment of the NEA in 1965,
funding for the arts was mostly limited mostly larger cities. The NEA
has helped to strengthen regional dance, opera, theater and other
artistic disciplines that Americans enjoy. NEA funding provides access
to the arts in regions with histories of inaccessibility due to
economic or geographic limitations. The NEA envisions a ``nation in
which every American benefits from arts engagement, and every community
recognizes and celebrates its aspirations and achievements through the
arts.'' The agency has helped the arts become accessible to more
Americans, which in turn has increased public participation in the
arts.
The NEA is a great investment in the economic growth of every
community. Despite diminished resources, including a budget that is $20
million less than it was in 2010, the NEA awarded 2,139 grants in 2015,
totaling $103.47 million in appropriated funds. These grants nurture
the growth and artistic excellence of thousands of arts organizations
and artists in every corner of the country. NEA grants also preserve
and enhance our Nation's diverse cultural heritage. The modest public
investment in the Nation's cultural life results in both new and
classic works of art, reaching the residents of all 50 States and in
every congressional district.
The return of the Federal Government's small investment in the arts
is striking. In 2013, the American creative sector was measured by the
Federal Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). The BEA and the NEA
developed an ``Arts and Cultural Production Satellite Account'' which
calculated the arts and culture sector's contributions to the gross
domestic product (GDP) at 4.2 percent (or $704.2 billion) of current-
dollar GDP in 2013. Additionally, the nonprofit performing arts
industry generates $135.2 billion annually in economic activity,
supports more than 4.13 million full-time equivalent jobs in the arts,
and returns $9.59 billion in Federal taxes (Arts and Economic
Prosperity IV, Americans for the Arts).
On average each NEA grant leverages almost $10 from other State,
local, and private sources. Few other Federal investments realize such
economic benefits, not to mention the intangible benefits that only the
arts make possible. Even in the face of cutbacks in the recent years,
the NEA continues to be a beacon for arts organizations across the
country.
The return on investments is not only found in dollars. In 2012,
2.2 million people volunteered 210 million hours with arts and cultural
organizations, totaling an estimated value of $5.2 billion--a
demonstration that citizens value the arts in their communities.
nea grants at work
Past NEA funding has directly supported projects in which arts
organizations, artists, schools and teachers collaborated to provide
opportunities for adults and children to create, perform, and respond
to artistic works. NEA funding has also made the art form more widely
available in all States, including isolated rural areas and inner
cities.
NEA grants are awarded to dance organizations through its core
programs: Art Works; Challenge America Fast Track Grants; and Federal/
State Partnerships. In fiscal year 2015, the NEA awarded 163 grants to
the dance field through the Art Works category, totaling $4,235,000.
Nashville Ballet
$15,000
Nashville, Tennessee
To support the creation of a new ballet, Frank N. Stein. Artistic
Director Paul Vasterling led the conceptualization of this original
ballet, overseeing the choreography by company dancer Chris Stuart and
music score by Belmont University School of Music. Tailored for youth,
support materials for educators--including study guides curriculum
plans, and continued learning activities, were created to accompany the
performances. The ballet was presented as a free public performance
before becoming part of the company's ongoing outreach and educational
programming rotation for schools in central Tennessee.
Friends of NORD/NOBA Center for Dance
$30,000
New Orleans, Louisiana
To support tuition-free youth and senior citizen dance education
programs. Organized by the NORDC/NOBA Center for Dance, a cultural
community partnership of the New Orleans Recreation Development
Commission and the New Orleans Ballet Association, the project included
dance classes, workshops, intergenerational opportunities,
performances, and family activities for senior citizens and students.
Center for Dance's (CFD) youth program was offered in underserved
communities and offered a program for youth interested in dace and a
pre-professional program taught by local and guest artists. In response
to the lack of community programming for seniors following Hurricane
Katrina, CFD launched a year-round senior dance fitness. Seniors and
youth received intergenerational opportunities to learn, rehears, and
perform choreography together. CFD and seniors, along with their
families, also had the opportunity to attend CFD main stage
performances by professional dance companies.
AXIS Dance Company
$20,000
Oakland, California
To support Dance/Access and Dance/Access Kids! educational and
outreach programs in the Bay Area and on a national tour. These
activities offered a variety of events for youth and adults with and
without disabilities, both locally and nationally. Activities included
dance classes, school assemblies, a dance campy for youth, teacher
training, a dance apprentice program, workshops for emerging
choreographers and professional dancers, community workshops, lecture-
demonstrations, and presentations.
DanceAbility International
$10,000
Eugene, Oregon
To support touring performances of ``Don't Leave Me,''
choreographed by DanceAbility founder Alitto Alessi, and associated
outreach activities. Performances took place at the National Building
Museum in Washington, DC, University of Minnesota, University of
Maryland, University of New Mexico, and Cal Poly San Louis Obispo.
Accompany each performance was a post-performance discussion,
DanceAbility classes, and Space-Movement workshops that brought
together university students in dance, architecture, and design with
community members along with full spectrum of abilities and
disabilities for cross-community interaction.
the non-profit professional dance community
America's dance companies perform a wide range of styles and
genres. These include aerial, ballet, modern, culturally specific,
jazz, and tap companies. Over two-thirds of America's professional
dance companies are less than 45 years old; as an established art form
with national identity and presence, dance has burst onto the scene
almost entirely within living memory. And yet, America can boast some
of the greatest dance companies of the world and can take credit for
birthing two indigenous dance styles--tap and modern dance.
One key to this spectacular achievement has been the creation of a
national marketplace for dance. When the National Endowment for the
Arts instituted its Dance Touring Program in the 1970s, great dance
became accessible to every community in America. What used to be a
handful of professional companies and a scattering of ``regional''
dance has become a national treasure spread across cities and through
communities, schools and theaters in all 50 States. Based on data from
over 400 nonprofit dance companies from across the United States,
Dance/USA estimates that dance companies:
--Employed over 15,100 individuals in a mix of full-time and part-
time positions and supported by more than 19,900 volunteers;
--Paid approximately $346.2 million, or 52 percent of expenses, in
wages and benefits;
--Earned $230.7 million, or 36 percent of their income, from
performances;
--Received $311.8 million, or 44.8 percent of their income in
contributions (including public support, corporate sponsorship
and contributions, foundation support, and individual
donations);
--Generated more than $600 million in economic activity across the
United States.
Dance/USA, the national service organization for the professional
dance field, believes that dance is essential to a healthy society,
demonstrating the infinite possibilities for human expression and
potential, and facilitating communication within and across cultures.
Dance/USA sustains and advances professional dance by addressing the
needs, concerns, and interests of artists, administrators, and
organizations. Dance/USA's membership currently consists of nearly 500
aerial, ballet, modern, culturally specific, jazz, and tap companies,
dance service and presenting organizations, individuals, and related
organizations. Dance/USA's member companies range in size from
operating budgets of under $100,000 to over $50 million.
conclusion
Despite overwhelming support by the American public for spending
Federal tax dollars in support of the arts, the NEA has never recovered
from a 40 percent budget cut in the mid-nineties, leaving its programs
seriously underfunded. We urge you to continue toward restoration and
increase the NEA funding allocation to $155 million for fiscal year
2017.
On behalf of Dance/USA, thank you for considering this request.
[This statement was submitted by Amy Fitterer, Executive Director.]
______
Prepared Statement of the Defenders of Wildlife
Mister Chairman, ranking member and members of the subcommittee,
thank you for the opportunity to submit testimony for the record.
Founded in 1947, Defenders has more than 1.2 million members and
supporters and is dedicated to the conservation of wild animals and
plants in their natural communities.
North America is fortunate to have some of the most abundant and
diverse wildlife on Earth, more than 200,000 known species in the U.S.
alone. This unique and irreplaceable heritage is treasured by all
Americans both for its aesthetic value as well as for the very tangible
benefits it provides as a resource. For example, a third of our food is
pollinated by birds, bats, and insects; wildlife-associated recreation
generated $145 billion in economic benefits in 2011; \1\ bats provide
at least $3.7 billion in pest control services to the agricultural
industry annually; \2\ and the value of ecosystem services from habitat
in the contiguous 48 States is estimated at $1.6 trillion annually.\3\
Budget cuts since fiscal year 2010 to Federal programs that conserve
wildlife and habitat have severely undermined sound management.
Inadequate funding will likely lead to irreparable harm to vulnerable
species and habitat. Our Nation's wildlife is a treasure and well worth
the investment to properly care for it.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ The 2011 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife
Associated Recreation, USFWS, 12/12.
\2\ http://www.sciencemag.org/content/332/6025/
41.summary?sid=853248fd-6760-4341-93d0-2aeeab9ea450.
\3\ The Economics Associated with Outdoor Recreation, Natural
Resources Conservation and Historic Preservation in the United States,
Southwick Associates, 9/29/11.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Riders that would have undermined protections for imperiled species
and the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and that would have forced
construction of a road through the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge in
Alaska were included in the fiscal year 2016 Senate Interior
appropriations bill. Defenders strongly opposed these riders and while
all should rightfully have been removed from the final omnibus, we
appreciate that all but one were stricken.
fish and wildlife service
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) is our Nation's premier
wildlife conservation agency. FWS needs adequate funding if it is to
recover threatened and endangered species and protect migratory birds
and fish, species of global conservation concern and other trust
species, and stop or prevent wildlife crimes.
Cooperative Recovery.--Defenders supports the requested increases
of $1.5 million in Recovery under Ecological Services, $1 million in
National Wildlife Refuge System Operations and Maintenance, and
$300,000 under Migratory Bird Management. This initiative is supporting
more efficient and strategic efforts across landscapes to recover
threatened and endangered species on National Wildlife Refuges and
surrounding lands and has already supported delisting of two species.
Renewable Energy.--Defenders supports the President's request of
$11.1 million to fund renewable energy related Planning and
Consultation and Service Science programs. The Service supports
approvals of renewable energy projects while ensuring they comply with
relevant environmental laws, and conducts research to assess potential
impacts of energy development on sensitive lands and wildlife in the
West and to identify mitigation strategies.
Ecological Services.--Defenders supports the requested increase of
$18.3 million for Ecological Services. The requested increase is
critically needed for high priority efforts:
--Listing.--The FWS has made substantial progress in listing
decisions in recent years and the requested $2.3 million
increase will help to continue that progress for the 60 current
candidate species and to meet its other listing
responsibilities.
--Recovery.--Defenders strongly supported and appreciates the
subcommittee's decision to maintain recovery for threatened and
endangered species as a separate program element in responding
to the FWS request to restructure the Ecological Services
budget. Recovery is the goal of the ESA and transparency in
tracking amounts directed to this crucial end is of the highest
priority. In general, the average inflation-adjusted dollars
per species for recovery has decreased every year since fiscal
year 2010; moreover, according to the most recent FWS Recovery
Report to Congress, hundreds of listed species have no recovery
plans or extremely outdated ones. We therefore strongly
support, at the very least, the requested $7.2 million increase
for Recovery.
--Planning and Consultation.--The $6.6 million increase will support
crucial Section 7 consultations under the ESA so that projects
can move forward while minimizing harm to listed species.
Adequate resources to increase the scientific and technical
capacity of FWS to conduct consultations on pesticide
registrations is particularly important.
--Conservation and Restoration.--The $2.2 million increase will
support continued conservation for candidate species as they
await listing and also includes an increase to support
additional staff to provide technical assistance and other
support to landowners in implementing the unprecedented
sagebrush steppe conservation plans.
--Defenders opposes the elimination of funding for the Wolf Livestock
Loss Demonstration Program that assists livestock owners co-
existing with wolves, and we urge its restoration.
National Wildlife Refuge System (NWRS).--Our National Wildlife
Refuge System is the largest land and water system in the world
dedicated to wildlife conservation. Refuges provide enormous benefits
to the American people, generating $2.4 billion each year for local
economies. Defenders supports the $25.2 million increase in the
request, which includes funding for inventory and monitoring,
rebuilding lost capacity to manage wildlife and habitat, and pollinator
restoration. We also support legislative language proposed by the
administration that would provide authority to recover compensation
from responsible parties who injure or destroy Refuge System or
Hatchery System resources similar to that provided to the National Park
Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and
allows compensation to be applied directly to the cost of restoration
without further appropriation by Congress.
Science Support.--The requested $3.6 million increase will help to
answer pressing questions about climate adaptation and other landscape
level ecological changes as well as about conservation of monarch
butterflies and other declining species, White-Nose Syndrome that is
devastating bat populations, and other agency management challenges.
Migratory Bird Management.--U.S. bird populations have experienced
precipitous declines in recent years. Defenders supports the $2.5
million requested increase which includes funding for needed upgrades
in aviation management and survey and monitoring programs, and for
building resilience of bird species and their habitats through the
Joint Venture partnerships.
Office of Law Enforcement.--The request is essentially flat despite
the fact that only one in five currents ports of entry are staffed with
wildlife inspectors. Funding for inspectors is covered by user fees
which have not been increased since 2008. Defenders is recommending the
inclusion of report language directing the FWS to complete an analysis
of possible additional sources of funding required to increase the
capacity of the port inspection program.
International Affairs.--Defenders supports the requested $1.1
million increase which includes funding to advance the President's
National Strategy for Combating Wildlife Trafficking.
Other key grant programs.--Defenders supports the requested funding
amounts for the Multinational Species Conservation Fund, the
Neotropical Migratory Bird Fund, the Cooperative Endangered Species
Fund and State and Tribal Wildlife Grants.
forest service and bureau of land management
The U.S. Forest Service (FS) and the Bureau of Land Management
(BLM) are essential to the conservation of wildlife and habitat in the
U.S., yet funding is inadequate to address significant challenges to
sustain these resources. A top priority for Defenders is ensuring that
uses proceed in a sustainable way that maintains the ecological
integrity of our public lands and waters, conserves wildlife habitat
and populations, and contributes to agency efforts to successfully
recover our most imperiled wildlife. We urge strong oversight to ensure
that any energy development is done in an environmentally sensitive
fashion and in low conflict areas. Given their large land ownerships,
it is imperative that both agencies participate fully in landscape
level conservation and management efforts. We are encouraged by BLM's
innovative efforts in the Western Solar Program and consider it an
example of how land management agencies can improve landscape level
decisionmaking for energy development.
FS Wildlife and Fisheries Habitat Management/Integrated Resource
Restoration (IRR).--Defenders supports the decision to abandon the
request for an IRR line item given our concern that wildlife program
activities could be marginalized under IRR and that hard timber targets
could detract from integrated restoration. The request for Wildlife and
Fisheries Habitat Management is flat-funded, a 9.6 percent reduction in
real dollars from fiscal year 2010. We support funding the program at
least at the fiscal year 2010 level of $143 million to begin to address
the loss of biologists at the forest level that has occurred in recent
years.
FS Land Management Planning/Inventory and Monitoring.--The request
again proposes merging these two programs into a single line item.
Defenders is concerned about consolidating these functions unless and
until the agency can demonstrate its ability to meet its
responsibilities under each program independently. We urge continued
funding as separate programs at no less than the fiscal year 2016
level.
FS Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program.--We support
the request for continued funding at the current level for this cost-
effective program established to stabilize employment, offer a reliable
wood supply, restore forest and watershed health, improve wildlife
habitat, and reduce both the costs of fire suppression in overgrown
forests and the risk of uncharacteristic wildfires.
FS Forest and Rangeland Research (FS R&D).--We urge a $4 million
increase for FS R&D, a return to the fiscal year 2015 level which
included $27.1 million for Wildlife and Fish R&D. Adequate funding for
this program is crucial in providing relevant tools and information to
support sustainable management of National Forest System lands as well
as non-Federal forest lands. Generally, we are concerned that the
Forest Service may lack adequate applied scientific capacity both in
R&D and the National Forest System to implement critical planning and
management actions, including the 2012 Planning Rule.
BLM Wildlife and Fisheries Management.--Defenders supports the
$19.4 million increase requested to support implementation of the 68
resource management plans that were amended to address conservation of
the sage-grouse. FWS determined not to list the grouse under the ESA
largely due to this effort and associated measures. Success in
conserving sage-grouse will depend upon adequate funding for
implementing the plans.
BLM Threatened and Endangered Species Management.--According to
agency reports, the BLM has funding to implement only about 10 percent
of the work it is required to do in recovery plans for ESA listed
species on BLM lands, but the administration's request includes just a
$131,000 increase for fiscal year 2016. Defenders supports an increase
of $1 million over the request which simply restores the budget to the
fiscal year 2010 level and will better help move listed species to
recovery.
BLM Renewable Energy.--Full funding of the $29.2 million request,
essentially flat with fiscal year 2016, will help BLM continue to
proceed with renewable energy development on public lands while
avoiding areas with natural resource conflicts, including conflicts
with sensitive wildlife species.
BLM Resource Management Planning, Assessment and Monitoring.--The
$17.1 million increase in the request will support new high priority
planning efforts, data collection and monitoring crucial to the sage-
grouse conservation strategy and other key initiatives, and continued
development of a new geospatial initiative to better monitor ecological
conditions and trends on the landscape.
u.s. geological survey
The U.S. Geological Survey provides the basic science necessary for
conservation of fish, wildlife and habitat. We urge support for the
following increases:
National Climate Change and Wildlife Science Center/Climate Science
Centers.--A $4.5 million increase in the request will support
scientific needs in planning for climate change adaptation and building
resiliency of ecosystems.
Ecosystems.--A $13.7 million increase in the request will help to
support development of crucial scientific information for sound
management of our Nation's biological resources including research into
declines of native pollinators, threats to sensitive landscapes, such
as the Arctic and sagebrush steppe, and impacts of drought and climate
change across the country.
land and water conservation fund (lwcf)
Defenders supports the proposal in the request for full and
permanent funding of LWCF that will help to save some of the 6,000
acres of open space, including wildlife habitat, that are lost each day
in the U.S.\4\ Thank you for the opportunity to submit testimony.
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\4\ http://www.fs.fed.us/openspace/coop_across_boudaries.html.
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______
Prepared Statement of the Dzilth-Na-O-Dith-Hle Community Grant School
Thank you for the opportunity to submit testimony on behalf of the
Dzilth-Na-O-Dith-Hle Community School (DCGS) on the Navajo Reservation
in Bloomfield, New Mexico. Our school, which has been in continuous
service since 1968, operates a K-8 educational program and a dormitory
program for students in grades 1-12, serving around 250 students in
both programs. DCGS is a tribally controlled grant school is located
approximately 170 miles northwest of Albuquerque. DCGS is primarily
funded through appropriations received from the BIE, and pass-through
funding from the Department of Education.
Our all-Navajo Board operates the DCGS through a Grant issued by
the BIE under the Tribally Controlled Schools Act. The DCGS goal is to
make a difference in the educational progress of our students and we
believe that all of our students are capable of achieving academic
success. In fact, despite the challenges I will describe, we are
meeting or exceeding our peer-schools in the BIE and New Mexico
systems, and sometimes eclipsing national scores. I have included a
chart at the end of this statement showing the results of the new test
in New Mexico. Yet, we struggle with underfunding of practically every
one of our educational and related programs that impacts our ability to
fully meet our school goals and our ability to successfully operate our
programs under the Indian Self-Determination policy--think of what we
could do without the worries we face. Funding increases are desperately
needed and are having a significant impact. Thank You.
Our recommendations can be summarized as follows:
--Protect school funding from the proposed Federal bureaucratic
expansion.
--Increase ISEP funding to $431 million in fiscal year 2017.
--Fund Student Transportation at $73 million, and BIA Road
Maintenance at $40 million.
--Continue to fully fund Tribal Grant Support Costs.
--Provide $85 million for facilities operation and $76 million for
facilities maintenance (full funding).
--Embark on a comprehensive 60-year plan for school replacement and
upkeep.
1. Protecting School Funding and Programs from Federal Expansion
You have heard over the last year from us and other schools about
our concerns with the BIE's ``Blueprint for Reform.'' We do not doubt
the administration's commitment to high quality education for Indian
students. The administration's focus, along with the strong commitment
of this subcommittee signal that we have entered a new era for Indian
education. However, coming from the local reservation community, we
have a different perspective on what will be the best strategies to use
to reach the goals of improvement. We continue to have concerns about
centralization of authority at the BIE headquarters, instead of leaving
that power at the local level as Congress intended and required by
enacting the Tribally Controlled Schools Act. We ask that this
subcommittee and your colleagues continue to engage tribal schools with
concerns over the BIE reorganization and exercise appropriate oversight
as it had done this last year.
2. Increase Funding for Indian School Equalization Programs
The most critical stream of funding for community grant schools
like ours is increased funding in the Indian School Equalization
Program (ISEP). The ISEP funds are those that schools use for the day
to day operation, whether that is paying teachers and staff, purchasing
curriculum and supplies, or running student programs. In years past,
our ISEP funds were put under pressure by unfunded needs elsewhere in
our schools, which could be paying utilities or repairing one of our
school buses. This year, we are grateful to see the administration has
requested $400.2 million for ISEP funding, an increase of $6.5 million
to the program. However, the need in our schools is much greater. The
National Congress of American Indians has recommended that Congress
appropriate $431 million for ISEP funding, which we think should be
this subcommittee's baseline for funding this budget year. ISEP is our
schools' lifeblood, and we are still struggling to make up for losses
in past years.
3. Increase funding for Student Transportation
One of our school's largest challenges is getting our children to
school and back home. Maintenance costs for our vehicles are higher
than normal for several reasons, including the fact that they travel
more miles per day than the average school bus, those miles are often
very rough, and the cost of maintaining our buses includes long
transport time to garages or parts stores. This is not to mention the
cost of fuel to cover those extra miles!
The administration has requested $57.2 million for Student
Transportation, a $4 million increase, but that is simply not enough
given the challenges of our roads and equipment. We request at least
$73 million for student transportation in the BIE system. We also
request that this subcommittee fund BIA Road Maintenance at a
sustainable level. We echo NCAI's recommendation that the subcommittee
appropriate at least $40 million for road maintenance in fiscal year
2017. Such funding will enable us to maintain our six school buses, and
will protect other funds that would otherwise be used for this purpose.
4. We support the administration's proposal to continue full funding
for Tribal Grant Support Costs.
Tribal Grant Support Costs (TGSC) (formerly known as Administrative
Cost Grants) are the BIE analogue to Contract Support Costs, and are
necessary for schools like DCGS to operate our schools. Not only do the
TGSC funds pay for the administration of the school, but also fund all
indirect costs like payroll, accounting, insurance, background checks
and other legal, reporting, and recordkeeping requirements. TGSC also
enables schools to comply with the increasingly burdensome reporting
requirements imposed by BIE or to comply with grant funding.
We are grateful to this subcommittee for fully funding TGSC in
fiscal year 2016. This year, the administration has proposed to fully
fund TGSC, including funding for schools transitioning from BIE-
operated status to local control and grant funding. In years past
schools had only received, at most, two-thirds of the TGSC needed to
cover overhead costs. DCGS welcomes this long overdue change, and
applauds this subcommittee's decision to treat schools' support costs
the same as contractors with the BIA and the Indian Health Service. We
support the administration's proposal that TGSC and startup costs be
fully funded at $75.3 million.
5. Our schools need full funding for Facilities Operation and
Maintenance.
The condition of BIE-funded schools is a national disgrace, and has
been the subject of national news attention for years. Some schools in
the country are forced to teach their students in converted bus barns
or go without hot water. We do the best we can with our facilities at
Dzilth-Na-O-Dith-Hle, but constantly struggle with the fact that we do
not have enough funding for maintenance of our buildings, utilities,
and everyday repairs. The operation of our facilities is an important
one, not only for the comfort of our students, but one that affects
their health and safety. It is hard to learn and progress if you're too
cold, or if you're too hot due to radiator problems. In 2010, the BIA
listed our school condition as ``poor'' with a deferred maintenance
backlog of over $7.7 million dollars. Our backlog has only grown since,
and our students are the ones who suffer as a result.
We appreciate that the administration has finally moved to complete
the replacement of schools on a list dated from 2004, but we need to
stress that these needs are ongoing. We support the BIE's request for
school construction, but request that funding for facilities operation
and maintenance be increased to $85 million for operations and $76
million for maintenance.
We are very grateful for the substantial increase that this
subcommittee provided for Education Construction in fiscal year 2016,
allowing the 2004 school replacement list to finally be completed. We
are pleased to note that the completion of the 2004 list means that a
new round of replacements will begin. In 2015, we were overjoyed to
make it on to the top 10 list and present before the school replacement
panel; however, we are still waiting to hear whether we will be one of
the five schools chosen. Providing consistent funding for this budget
category each fiscal year means that our aging schools can be replaced
in an orderly, scheduled fashion. To this end, we call on the
subcommittee to embark on a 60-year schools replacement plan coupled
with adequate funding to maintain buildings throughout their life.
Recent testimony from the Government Accountability Office reported
that even new construction is starting to fail because of inappropriate
maintenance or poor construction oversight. Our schools want to protect
the Federal investment in our students' education, and we ask the
subcommittee to empower local communities to do so by removing
bureaucratic hurdles inherent in the BIE facilities system. As school
boards, we are the best decision makers.
Thank you for the opportunity to submit testimony.
[This statement was submitted by Ervin Chavez, School Board
President & Faye BlueEyes, Assistant Executive Director.]
Prepared Statement of the Ecological Society of America, the Society of
Range Management, the Association of Fire Ecology, and the Forest
Stewards Guild
The Ecological Society of America, the Society of Range Management,
the Association of Fire Ecologists, and the Forest Stewards Guild
appreciate the opportunity to provide testimony about the fiscal year
2017 budget U.S. Forest Service (USFS) funding for the Joint Fire
Science Program. We are concerned that the administration's 2017 USFS
budget request cuts funding for the Joint Fire Science Program's (JFSP)
budget by $6.194 million within its Wildland Fire Management budget.
Instead, the Service has designated $3 million for the Joint Fire
Science Program from the $292 million Forest and Rangeland Research
account without increasing its funding. We request that the U.S. Forest
Service restore the Joint Fire Science Program budget of $6.194 million
under the Wildland Fire Management budget and fully fund the Forest and
Rangeland Research program.
We applaud the subcommittee's past leadership in funding wildland
fire research within the U.S. Department of Interior and the U.S.
Forest Service that is responsive to the needs of fire and fuel
managers throughout the country.
As you know, the frequency, severity, and size of fires have
increased substantially in the continental United States since the
1980s, and this trend is projected to continue and intensify in the
future. The risk to communities, the cost of property loss, and the
expense to cover the damage brought by these fires will consequently
also grow. Scientific research has been critical to understanding and
properly responding to these wildfires in the most productive and cost-
effective manner possible.
The JFSP was created by Congress in 1998 as an interagency
research, development, and applications partnership between the U.S.
Department of the Interior and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The
program solicits proposals from scientists who compete for funding
through a rigorous peer-review process to ensure the highest quality
projects are funded. Over 90 colleges and universities across the
United States have collaborated or partnered with JFSP-sponsored
research projects. The JFSP also runs a model program in science
communication, with very effective efforts to put science in the hands
of managers and policy makers.
No other Federal program except the JFSP provides the integration
of science and management needed to face the challenges that lie
ahead--we will be living in a world with more fire. Research in fire
science is crucial to anticipating how ecosystems and landscapes may
change in the future, how fire should be managed in both wildlands and
developed areas, and where mitigation or adaptation strategies are most
appropriate. Reductions in support for JFSP are inconsistent with high-
priority national research needs.
For much of the past 10 years, the U.S. Forest Service has had to
borrow from other accounts within the Service to cover expenses of
mitigating the increasing costs of wildfires nationwide. While the
Society understands the need to consolidate resources to improve the
effectiveness of Federal fire response efforts, it seems
counterproductive to cut funding towards applied research that will
help agencies improve wildfire coordination and response efforts.
We appreciate that the Senate Subcommittee on Interior,
Environment, and Related Agencies has made funding for policy-relevant
wildfire science among your highest priorities. We hope you will
continue to recognize the critical role the JFSP plays in these
efforts.
[This statement was submitted by Monica G. Turner, President of the
Ecological Society of America, Dr. Val Anderson, President of the
Society of Range Management, Leda N. Kobziar, President of the
Association of Fire Ecologists, and Fred Clark, Executive Director of
the Forest Stewards Guild.]
______
Prepared Statement of the Edison Electric Institute
The Edison Electric Institute (EEI) respectfully submits this
written testimony for the record to the Senate Appropriations
Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies. We
appreciate this opportunity to share our views on three important rule
makings that are underway at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
We also would like to briefly review three activities at the Department
of Interior (DOI), which pose challenges for our industry and warrant
continued attention by the subcommittee.
waters of the united states
Last August, EPA issued a final rule to revise the definition of
``Waters of the United States'' (WOTUS) under the Clean Water Act. In
October, a Federal appeals court stayed implementation of the rule
nationwide. Many believe that the case will find its way to the Supreme
Court and, if so, will delay any final resolution on the merits until
sometime in 2017.
The final rule violates recent Supreme Court decisions limiting
Federal jurisdiction, and would fail to achieve the Agency's stated
goal of providing greater continuity, predictability, and clarity.
Although EPA's final rule is marginally improved in certain areas that
are important to electric power companies, it still objectionably
broadens the scope of waters subject to Federal jurisdiction.
Implementation of the final rule will affect electric power companies
and their customers, and is inconsistent with the administration's
stated goals of promoting power grid resiliency and streamlining the
permitting of energy infrastructure, including renewable energy
facilities.
While legal challenges by State and industry petitioners are
pending, EEI supports congressional efforts to obtain withdrawal, delay
or modification of the final rule.
coal combustion residual (ccr) regulation
In April 2015, EPA promulgated its final rule to regulate the
disposal of CCRs, or coal ash, from electric power companies. The rule,
which became effective in October 2015, properly regulates CCRs as non-
hazardous waste under Subtitle D of the Resource Conservation and
Recovery Act (RCRA).
Despite EPA's non-hazardous waste determination, serious flaws in
the final rule remain, including its self-implementing nature, the
legal authority of EPA to regulate inactive coal ash impoundments, and
the way in which EPA has left the door open to one day regulate coal
ash as a hazardous waste, creating additional uncertainty for electric
power companies.
Because the CCR rule is self-implementing, affected facilities must
comply with the new regulations regardless of whether a State adopts
the rule. Even if a State adopts the rule and incorporates its criteria
into the State's solid waste management program, the Federal rule
remains in place as an independent set of Federal criteria. The rule
neither requires regulated facilities to obtain permits nor requires
States to adopt and implement the new rules, and cannot be enforced by
EPA. The rule's enforcement mechanism is for a State or citizen group
to bring a RCRA citizen suit in Federal district court against any
facility that is alleged to be in non-compliance with the new
requirements.
EEI is currently working closely with the States, our member
companies and other stakeholders to achieve cost-effective
implementation of the rule. However, we also continue to advocate for
legislation that would ensure implementation of the rule in an
effective and practical manner.
On July 22, 2015, the House passed H.R. 1734, the ``Improving Coal
Combustion Residuals Regulation Act.'' The bill essentially would
codify the CCR rule, establish national standards for CCR under RCRA
Subtitle D, and allow States to create and enforce their own CCR permit
programs. Bipartisan companion legislation, S. 2446, has been
introduced in the Senate.
EEI, the American Public Power Association and the National Rural
Electric Cooperative Association are on record in strong support of
this legislation, as it would eliminate the practical and enforcement
challenges associated with the self-implementing nature of the final
CCR rule. In the absence of congressional action, EEI continues to
support member company compliance with non-hazardous waste regulations
for CCRs, and will advocate for CCR mine placement regulations that
allow for the continued beneficial use of coal ash in mine reclamation
activities.
steam effluent electric guidelines
In September 2015, EPA finalized its Steam Electric Effluent
Guidelines Rule. The final rule, which became effective in January
2016, sets strict technology-based effluent limitations that will force
major technological and operational changes and upgrades, particularly
at existing coal-based facilities.
The rule has the potential to impact long-term investment decisions
companies are making relative to compliance with other EPA regulations,
including the final CCR regulation, and may cause marginal units to
become unprofitable. EPA estimates the total annual pre-tax industry
cost of the rule is $496 million, but this likely is a significant
underestimate of the rule's costs.
In short, the final rule presents significant operational and
compliance challenges. EPA included important new requirements related
to stringent fly ash transport water, bottom ash transport water, flue
gas mercury control wastewaters and treatment for flue gas
desulfurization wastewater. These requirements are likely to
significantly complicate implementation of the rule.
EEI is working to assist member companies in permit proceedings to
achieve cost-effective and flexible implementation of the final
guidelines. Still, implementation of the rule--particularly concerns
over compliance dates and the misalignment of compliance dates with
other environmental regulations (i.e., provisions in the CCR rule)--
remains an area that may warrant subcommittee attention.
endangered species act (esa)
As the number of new species listings increase and the accompanying
critical habitat designations expand, so, too, does the creative use of
the ESA by Federal agencies to increase burdens on electric power
sector operations. These impacts include electric power companies'
ability to site, operate and maintain generation and transmission
facilities.
Congress is expected to consider ESA reform legislation this year.
As part of these reform proposals, EEI will continue to advocate for
ESA implementation in a way that is less burdensome and more responsive
to the siting and permitting of electricity generation and transmission
facilities. As EEI works to address the growing number of ESA-related
challenges facing the electric power sector, we will continue to
advocate for improved implementation of the ESA through direct
collaboration with your subcommittee.
avian protection and sage-grouse habitat preservation
In addition to ESA, EEI is concerned with avian issues related to
the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (BGEPA) and the Migratory Bird
Treaty Act (MBTA). Federal agency implementation of these Acts in
certain cases is inconsistent across regions, both within individual
agencies and among various Federal land management agencies.
Under the MBTA, DOI's Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has proposed
establishing programmatic incidental take permits. If properly
implemented, such a permit could provide electric power companies with
decreased risk from prosecution if companies develop and follow an
avian protection plan. However, in September 2015, a decision by a
Federal circuit court ruled that the MBTA does not prohibit incidental
``take'' of migratory birds. Rather than appeal the circuit court
decision, FWS is working to develop a redefinition of what constitutes
intentional and unintentional take under the MBTA. As a result, the
Agency's work on developing the MBTA incidental take permit has slowed,
and it is not likely to be finalized before the end of the current
administration.
With regard to the BGEPA, FWS developed a permitting program in
2009. Unfortunately, only a handful of BGEPA permits have been issued
for transmission and distribution facilities as well as wind energy
projects. Industry has met with FWS and the Council on Environmental
Quality to explain the difficulties electric power companies and wind
energy face in applying for BGEPA permits. FWS is expected to issue a
notice of proposed rulemaking later this year to update the BGEPA
permitting system, on which we will develop comments and keep the
subcommittee updated.
As you are aware, FWS announced last year that the greater sage-
grouse does not require protection under the ESA due to the
collaborative and ``unprecedented conservation planning effort''
undertaken by numerous Federal, State, local and private partners.
Despite this determination, the land use plans developed by the Bureau
of Land Management (BLM) and the Forest Service to protect greater
sage-grouse present significant barriers to the siting and operation of
transmission and distribution lines in a cost-effective and reliable
manner in the western States. Nevertheless, EEI and our member
companies remain committed to avoiding and minimizing impacts of power
line construction and maintenance to sage-grouse and their habitat.
vegetation management on federal lands
Electric power companies experience significant delays when trying
to gain access to their rights-of-ways (ROWs) located on Federal lands
to perform vegetation management activities. Consequently, EEI
advocates for legislation to remove impediments to vegetative
management activities on Federal lands and improve access to ROWs to
ensure power line safety.
H.R. 2358, the ``Electricity Reliability and Forest Protection
Act,'' promotes agency consistency, accountability, and timeliness as
it relates to permitting vegetation management activities for
electricity transmission and distribution lines on Federal lands. The
legislation was incorporated into H.R. 8, the ``North American Energy
Security and Infrastructure Act of 2015,'' which passed the House in
December 2015. EEI is committed to passing H.R. 2358 as part of H.R. 8
or as a stand-alone measure. EEI also supports Section 5013 of H.R. 8
to facilitate voluntary partnerships between electric power companies
and the Federal land agencies to address vegetation management needs on
public lands neighboring a ROW that pose wildlife risks to electricity
infrastructure.
In light of Federal electricity reliability guidelines related to
vegetative management and the need to reduce the threat of catastrophic
forest fires, EEI is also working to ensure that the land management
agencies--BLM, FWS, and the National Park Service--have consistent
policies and timely decisionmaking when it comes to protecting power
lines on Federal lands. Recently EEI reached agreement with the Federal
land management agencies to update and renew a 2006 Memorandum of
Understanding to facilitate cooperation and coordination among parties
regarding vegetation management within, and immediately adjacent to,
existing and future electricity transmission line ROWs and associated
facilities. The formal signing of this agreement will take place in
spring 2016.
conclusion
Thank you, Chair Murkowski, for this opportunity to discuss these
significant environmental policies. EEI truly values the partnership
that we share with your subcommittee, and we look forward to continuing
our dialogue with you on these and other issues that have the potential
to impact electricity generation, siting, permitting and construction
efforts.
______
Prepared Statement of the Entomological Society of America
The Entomological Society of America (ESA) respectfully submits
this statement for the official record in support of funding for
entomology-related activities at the U.S. Department of Agriculture
Forest Service and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). For
fiscal year 2017, ESA requests the Forest Service be funded at least at
the fiscal year 2016 enacted level of $5.68 billion in discretionary
funds. Within the Forest Service, ESA requests the Forest and Rangeland
Research budget be supported at the President's requested level of
$291.982 million to preserve critical research and development on
invasive species. The Society also supports continued investment in
Forest Health Management programs across the Forest Service in fiscal
year 2017. In addition, ESA recommends $8.267 billion for EPA,
including support for Pesticides Licensing Program Area activities
within its Science & Technology and Environmental Program & Management
budgets, and continued support for State & Tribal Assistance Grants for
Pesticide Program Implementation. Finally, ESA strongly supports EPA's
commitment to work with other Federal agencies to monitor and improve
pollinator health, including involvement by EPA to examine the
potential impact of pesticides on pollinator health.
Advances in forestry and environmental sciences, including the
field of entomology, help to maintain U.S. forests and grasslands and
safeguard their contributions to the Nation's public health, economic
prosperity, agricultural productivity and safety, social well-being and
natural heritage. Through improved understanding of invasive insect
pests and development of sustainable approaches to pest management, the
science of entomology is critical to reducing or preventing disease
epidemics and pest outbreaks that threaten the Nation's communities and
ecosystems. Entomological science is also fundamental to the design and
implementation of Integrated Pest Management (IPM), which uses science-
based, environmentally sustainable, and economically and sociologically
compatible methods to take preventative action against pests. In
addition, entomology is key to understanding the biology of pollinators
and identifying factors affecting their health and viability, helping
to protect pollination services for America's agricultural enterprise
to provide a safe, reliable food, fiber, and fuel supply for a growing
world population.
The U.S. Forest Service sustains the health, diversity, and
productivity of 193 million acres of public lands in national forests
and grasslands across 44 States and Territories. Serving as the largest
supporter of forestry research in the world, the agency employs
approximately 35,000 scientists, administrators, and land managers. In
addition to activities at the Federal level, the Forest Service
provides technical expertise and financial assistance to State and
private forestry agency partners.
The Forest Service's Forest and Rangeland Research budget supports
the development and delivery of scientific data and innovative
technological tools to improve the health, use, and management of the
Nation's forests and rangelands. Within Forest and Rangeland Research,
the Invasive Species Strategic Program Area provides scientifically
based approaches to reduce and prevent the introduction, spread, and
impact of non-native invasive species, including destructive insects,
plants, and diseases that can have serious economic and environmental
consequences for the Nation. For example, Forest Service scientists are
working to prevent the destruction of ash trees across North America by
the emerald ash borer, an Asian beetle first detected in the U.S. in
2002. Since its accidental introduction, this invasive wood-boring
insect has killed tens of millions of ash trees and threatens to
eliminate all ash trees from North America. Estimated annual damage
inflicted by the emerald ashborer exceeds $1.5 billion, yet it is just
one of the exponentially growing list of invasive insects and pathogens
that harm the Nation's ecosystems and the human communities that depend
upon them.\1\ Forest health is also affected by invasive weeds, the
management of which often depends on deploying beneficial insect
predators and parasites as biological control agents, resulting in
permanent and often spectacular control. ESA respectfully requests that
Forest and Rangeland Research be fully funded at the President's
requested level of $292 million for fiscal year 2017.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Aukema, J.E.; Leung, B.; Kovacs, K.; [et al.]. 2011. Economic
impacts of non-native forest insects in the continental United States.
PLoS ONE 6(9): e24587.
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Also under the purview of the Forest Service is the Forest Health
Management program, which conducts mapping and surveys on public and
private lands to monitor and assess risks from potentially harmful
insects, diseases, and invasive plants. The program also provides
assistance to State and local partners to help prevent and control
outbreaks that threaten forest health. According to a 2011 study,
invasive forest insects cost local governments alone an average of over
$2 billion per year; direct costs to homeowners from property loss,
tree removal, and treatment averages $1.5 billion per year.\2\
Initiatives within the Forest Health Management program are designed to
reduce these costs. The program's ``Slow the Spread'' activities, for
example, have led to a 60 percent reduction in the rate of the spread
of the invasive gypsy moth, resulting in an estimated benefit-to-cost
ratio of 3:1. Without the program, this destructive insect would likely
have infested an additional 50 million acres of oak hardwood
forests.\3\ To support such vital functions, ESA requests that the
subcommittee oppose proposed cuts to Forest Health Management program
in fiscal year 2017.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ Ibid.
\3\ Forest Service Fiscal Year 2017 Budget Overview: http://
www.fs.fed.us/sites/default/files/FY-2017-FS%20-budget-overview.pdf.
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EPA carries out its mission of protecting human health and the
environment by developing and enforcing regulations, awarding grants
for research and other projects, conducting studies on environmental
issues, facilitating partnerships, and providing information through
public outreach. Through these efforts, EPA works to ensure that the
Nation has clean water, clean air, a safe and secure food supply, and
protection from exposure to pollution and toxic chemicals.
EPA's Pesticides Licensing Program Area, supported by EPA's Science
& Technology and Environmental Program & Management budgets, serves to
evaluate and regulate new pesticides to ensure safe and proper usage by
consumers. Through the mandate of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide,
and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), EPA utilizes scientific expertise and
data, including knowledge gained from entomological science, to set
maximum tolerated residue levels and to register pesticide products as
effective and safe. By controlling insects that act as vectors of
diseases of humans and domesticated animals and invasive insect species
that threaten virtually every kind of natural or managed biological
community and the human activities that depend on those communities,
pesticides registered by EPA help protect public health and the
Nation's food supply. EPA's activities in this area also include the
development of educational information and outreach to encourage the
use of IPM and other reduced-risk methods of controlling pests. For
example, EPA continues to support programs aimed at protecting children
from pesticide exposure used in and around schools, helping to promote
cost-effective strategies that reduce student exposure to pesticides
and pests. IPM strategies used in schools reduce student exposure to
pesticides as well as allergens from pests themselves. Therefore, ESA
supports continuing the modest funding that EPA has invested in school
IPM.
Among EPA's State & Tribal Assistance Grants, categorical grants in
the area of Pesticides Program Implementation help to facilitate the
translation of national pesticide regulatory information into real-
world approaches that work for local communities. For example, these
grants fund efforts to reduce health and environmental risks associated
with pesticide use by promoting, facilitating, and evaluating IPM
techniques and other potentially safer alternatives to conventional
pest control methods. ESA requests that the subcommittee support the
proposed modest increase for Pesticides Program Implementation grants.
ESA is in favor of increased funding for scientifically based
studies of pollinator populations and health. Pollinators play a vital
role in the Nation's agricultural enterprise. The honey bee, for
example, provides pollination services for more than 90 crops in the
United States, which collectively are valued at more than $17 billion
per year.\4\ To ensure a healthy honey bee population, more research is
needed to understand the complexities of annual colony losses that
regularly exceed 30 percent and to examine the diverse factors that
endanger bee health. Challenges to the health of honey bees and other
pollinators include, among others, parasites, pathogens, poor
nutrition, and pesticides; of these, pesticides also have agricultural
benefits, against which risks to pollinators must be assessed, and the
balance between risk and benefit varies among crop types, crop-
producing regions, and pest identity. EPA is well-positioned to guide
the development of methods for protecting pollinator health; the agency
has, for example, previously awarded agricultural IPM grants to three
universities to aid in the development of IPM practices that reduce
risks to bees and other pollinators while protecting crops from pests
and human populations from insect disease vectors.\5\ For this reason,
ESA supports EPA's participation in multi-agency efforts to investigate
pollinator health and implementing plans to prevent pollinator
population decline.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\4\ Calderone, NW. 2012. Insect Pollinated Crops, Insect
Pollinators and US Agriculture: Trend Analysis of Aggregate Data for
the Period 1992--2009. PLoS ONE 7(5): e37235. doi:10.1371/
journal.pone.0037235, http://journals.plos.org/plosone/
article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0037235.
\5\ EPA. 2014. ``EPA Awards Almost Half a Million in Funding to
Three Universities for Projects to Reduce Pesticide Risk Including
Risks to Bees,'' https://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/
6427a6b7538955c585257359003f0230/
a5c495f5bc4d4ba285257c5a005aaa35!OpenDocument.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
ESA, headquartered in Annapolis, Maryland, is the largest
organization in the world serving the professional and scientific needs
of entomologists and individuals in related disciplines. Founded in
1889, ESA has nearly 7,000 members affiliated with educational
institutions, health agencies, private industry, and government.
Members are researchers, teachers, extension service personnel,
administrators, marketing representatives, research technicians,
consultants, students, pest management professionals, and hobbyists.
Thank you for the opportunity to offer the Entomological Society of
America's support for Forest Service and EPA programs. For more
information about the Entomological Society of America, please see
http://www.entsoc.org/.
______
Prepared Statement of the Environmental Council of the States
Dear Chairwoman Murkowski, Ranking Member Udall, and members of the
subcommittee,
I am Martha Rudolph, Director of Environmental Programs at the
Colorado Department of Health and Environment, submitting this
testimony as president and on behalf of the members of the
Environmental Council of the States (ECOS) on the fiscal year 2017
budget for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
We are pleased to provide this testimony in support of the
President's budget request of $3.28 billion in appropriations for the
State and Tribal Assistance Grants (STAG). Within STAG, there is a
proposed $1.158 billion for categorical grants, which advance, in part,
core State work to carry out responsibilities under the major
environmental laws. The administration's STAG request also includes $2
billion for the important clean water and drinking water State
revolving funds (SRFs), $90 million for brownfields projects, $10
million for diesel emission reduction grants, and $22 million for
several focused assistance programs. States welcome the President's
request for $77 million more in funding for categorical grants than the
enacted fiscal year 2016 budget for these programs. We see great value
in the $15.7 million requested increase for environmental information
categorical grants, which help support the critical E-Enterprise for
the Environment collaborative State and Federal work to improve
regulatory processes for the regulated community and increase data
availability to the public. The E-Enterprise for the Environment effort
between States and EPA continues to support the ushering in a new era
of efficient, effective, and renewed collaborative Federalism--with
benefits for all who interface with, or administer, our Nation's
environmental programs.
States continue to face obstacles as we work to keep pace with the
cost of implementing core and new programs. When limited funding is
combined with new regulatory requirements and variability in the timing
and the amount of Federal funds, States' ability to meet their
delegated commitments becomes increasingly challenging. As States are
responsible for the implementation of over 95 percent of the Nation's
Federal environmental laws, it is essential that States are given
flexibility and financial support so that we can work with EPA and
other partners to ensure effective protection of human health and the
environment.
While States seek ways to save resources through efficiency
efforts, our work is difficult to conduct in a flat or reduced fiscal
state. We urge Congress to recognize the States' crucial role in
delivering environmental protection and services by funding the STAG at
the requested $3.28 billion level. Following, we offer and elaborate
upon several reasons why this investment in States will deliver many
times over.
States are Primary Implementers of the Nation's Environmental Laws
The States are co-regulators with EPA in the implementation of the
Nation's environmental laws and corresponding programs. Congress
included provisions in the major Federal environmental statutes--
including the Clean Water Act, Safe Drinking Water Act, Clean Air Act,
and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act--for States to assume
authority over the Federal programs and to provide financial assistance
to States to operate these Federal programs. A State match is usually
required under these statutes, and States provide on average well over
half and in many States, three-quarters of the funds to operate
federally delegated programs.
States perform much of the work set out in the President's budget
request through these delegated programs, making Federal funding
essential. States use a combination of Federal and State funding, and
fees assessed on regulated entities, to issue permits, conduct
inspections and enforcement, gather and manage data, set standards,
remediate sites, monitor ambient conditions, and other important
activities. In order to ensure the long-term strength and viability of
EPA and the States' joint efforts to implement these programs, it is
essential that the States receive sufficient Federal funding through
STAG.
The Reality of the STAG Request
States are encouraged that the President's budget request increases
ten categorical grants and that overall, categorical grants receive a
$77 million requested increase. When divided nationally, this is a
proposed increase of just over $1 million per State for the
implementation of national programs, and every Federal dollar will
matter--particularly as States do more to maintain the delegated
programs.
We acknowledge that the budget request was prepared in continued
challenging fiscal climate, and that proposed increases may come from
reductions to valued programs. In many of these areas, EPA has proposed
alternative ways to support the sectors affected by the proposed
reductions though programs on the Agency's side of the ledger. For
example, while a reduction is proposed for the Clean Water SRF, the
administration's proposal calls for a $1.6 million increase in funds
for the Water Infrastructure and Resiliency Finance Center to help
communities identify and develop water financing. ECOS still has
concerns with reductions to the revolving loan funds below needed and
historic amounts. ECOS Resolution 08-1, renewed in 2014, refers to
estimates--continually increasing--that over $700 billion is required
to address wastewater and drinking water needs over the next 20 years.
While the $157 million increase proposed for the Drinking Water SRF is
without question an overdue and needed response to long acknowledged
shortfalls, it appears to come at the expense of the Clean Water SRF--
which is proposed at $414 million less than fiscal year 2016 enacted.
Given the great needs for investment in water infrastructure across the
Nation, we encourage Congress to fund the SRFs at the President's
increased drinking water request level without taking funds away from
the clean water SRF. These investments are essential in order to
advance critically needed and important work to protect the environment
and public health in communities across the Nation.
Modernizing the Business of Environmental Protection
Among the categorical grant increases, we especially encourage you
to appropriate the requested $15.7 million increase to the
Environmental Information Categorical Grant to States. Streamlining
processes and technological investment are essential to enhancing how
States deliver permits, monitoring, inspections, and public
information. When leveraged with State resources it is essential to
bringing State environmental business models into the modern age, and
often supports development of shared services for States. These funds
will facilitate States' continued efforts to implement electronic
permitting and reporting systems proactively which will allow
information to be processed, reviewed, shared between States and EPA,
and acted upon more quickly. This facilitates job creation, contributes
to improved public health, and creates a more efficient and transparent
government system that brings more and more regulated entities into
compliance while creating incentives for all facilities to perform at
high levels. We are committed to joint governance, to better
decisionmaking, and to increasing transparency and efficiency through
the E-Enterprise for the Environment initiative. Your support for this
Categorical Grant, and for EPA's request for funding its work on E-
Enterprise for the Environment aligned projects, will make a meaningful
difference to the States, private entitles, and the public.
Rescissions
We commend the administration for proposing no rescissions in prior
STAG funds. The States need every dollar that Congress can give, and
rescinding prior year funds is detrimental to achieving environmental
progress. We are working with EPA to improve administrative processes
to ensure that funds are dispersed in a timely manner so that they can
be efficiently and effectively put to use by States. We urge you not to
include any rescissions of unobligated STAG funds in the fiscal year
2017 enacted budget. If rescissions must occur due to hard choices you
must make, rescissions should be taken equitably from one or more of
the Agency's budget accounts and the STAG account.
The Value of Flexibility
State Environmental Agencies have seen budget cuts at the State
level and are managing reductions in part by leaning our business
processes and by strategically applying practices that improve
efficiency, such as targeting inspections to priority areas and
implementing technological advancements.
Within each State, needs and priorities can vary in part from
priorities set by EPA at the Federal level. State commissioners require
maximum flexibility to direct the Federal resources in ways that suit
their unique needs and circumstances. While the States may agree with
and appreciate funding for specific efforts, States need flexibility to
budget for and implement work activities most effectively. Directed
funding undermines State flexibility and needed support for on-going
every day implementation of the Nation's environmental laws. The
States, as co-regulators with EPA, wish to preserve and expand State
flexibility to address State and regional priorities within EPA's
national framework. Fewer funding directions should help streamline
State-EPA discussions about the work to be accomplished.
Reducing spending directives within a Categorical Grant expedites
State utilization of funds. States have worked closely with EPA over
the last several years to quickly award and then efficiently utilize
valuable Federal funding. Fewer instructions allow States to move more
quickly to turn Federal dollars into positive results.
ECOS and the States are very supportive of the $21 million
multipurpose grant program that Congress created in the fiscal year
2016 omnibus budget. The President's budget does not include a request
to fund this program. In providing these funds for EPA to apportion to
States and tribes for the implementation of priorities within
environmental programs generally, Congress has given States and tribes
the ability to direct the funds where they can most effectively be
leveraged and deliver tangible results. We believe flexible funds
provide States the best opportunity to make progress in advancing
environmental goals and protecting human health, and we strongly
encourage Congress to provide additional funding in the enacted budget
so that this much-needed grant program can continue.
ECOS and its members value our work with the Appropriations
Committees, and are appreciative of the continued consideration of our
views. We are confident the funding allocated will be well used to
implement the Nation's environmental enterprise with EPA. With this
funding, States will continue their dedicated efforts to deliver the
clean environment all Americans want and deserve in the most efficient,
modern, and results-oriented way possible.
We welcome the opportunity to answer any questions or provide any
further information.
We thank you for the opportunity to share our perspective, and
remain willing to provide the subcommittee with any input in the
future.
______
Prepared Statement of the Everglades Coalition
Dear Chairwoman Murkowski and Ranking Member Udall:
On behalf of the 61 members of the Everglades Coalition committed
to the protection and restoration of America's Everglades, we want to
thank you for your subcommittee's long-time support for Everglades
restoration. Your continued support, along with the strong commitment
from the last four Florida Governors, has kept restoration on a strong
and steady path. This strong partnership between the Federal Government
and the State of Florida has resulted in many successes with more on
the horizon.
To build on this progress, we respectfully request the amount of
$62.7 million for fiscal year 2017 for agencies within the U.S.
Department of the Interior (DOI), as recommended in the President's
budget. This amount will allow key projects under the Comprehensive
Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) and others, such as combatting
invasive species like the Burmese python and numerous plant species, to
move forward.
There is little question that the restoration of America's
Everglades has been one of the highest priorities of this and previous
administrations. The National Park Service (NPS), which is celebrating
its centennial this year, listed the Everglades among their high
priority parks. Everglades restoration is critical for the Interior
bill because it is helping 17 federally protected lands--including
National Parks and National Wildlife Refuges--that are currently in
distress from the lack of clean water. We have a national
responsibility to preserve this special and unique ecosystem for future
generations, and agencies within DOI are taking a lead role to fulfill
the goals of CERP and their commitment to manage the resources of the
Greater Everglades Ecosystem in the Federal interest.
We are very pleased that NPS is working closely with the Florida
Department of Transportation (FDOT) and has funding committed to begin
construction on the 2.6-mile bridge segment of the Tamiami Trail Next
Steps project in spring 2016--making this a centennial project for the
National Park Service. This bridging will enable long-blocked water to
flow under this highway and bring badly needed water to Everglades
National Park and Florida Bay. NPS intends to use funds from the
Federal Lands Transportation Program to fulfill its commitment, in
addition to $90 million committed from FDOT and $20 million from DOT's
Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER)
competitive grant program.
Last week, the Florida Legislature overwhelmingly passed ``Legacy
Florida,'' which will dedicate at least $1 billion of Amendment 1 funds
over the next 10 years for planning, design, engineering, and
construction of Everglades restoration projects outlined in CERP. This
legislation will dedicate even more funds for restoration projects
beyond CERP that will improve the health of the greater Everglades
ecosystem. The passage of this legislation ensures that reliable State
dollars will be directed each year to these vital infrastructure
projects. We look forward to working with your subcommittee to build on
this State commitment to ensure a more predictable path for advancing
Everglades projects.
We greatly appreciate your continued support and commitment to
Everglades restoration as we move forward with this monumental
restoration effort, fulfilling our promise to future generations.
[This statement was submitted by Cara Capp, National Co-Chair, and
Jason Totoiu, State Co-Chair.]
______
Prepared Statement of the Federation of State Humanities Councils
Madam Chairwoman and members of the subcommittee, I thank you for
this opportunity to submit testimony on behalf of the State humanities
councils, the State affiliates of the National Endowment for the
Humanities, requesting $155 million for the National Endowment for the
Humanities and $46 million for the Federal/State Partnership for fiscal
year 2017.
As full partners of the NEH, the State humanities councils receive
their core funding through the Federal/State Partnership line of the
NEH budget, which they use to leverage additional support from
foundations, corporations, private individuals, and State governments.
For the past several years, councils have leveraged, on average, $5.00
in local contributions for every dollar of Federal funding awarded
through their grants, and they have further extended their resources in
recent years by forming partnerships with more than 9,000 organizations
throughout their States. But demand continues to increase. While
Federal funding for council programs has remained roughly level for the
past several years, councils have continued to expand their programs to
reach new populations and to meet growing needs in their States.
At the heart of every humanities council discussion is a
fundamental question: How can we make life better for the citizens of
our communities? The multiple responses to this question can be seen in
an array of council programs, conducted in nearly every congressional
district in the Nation, which serve families, students, veterans,
educators, rural Americans, medical personnel, immigrants and refugees,
adult new readers, and a host of others. The State councils in each of
the 50 States, five Territories and Washington DC work from a deep
understanding of the unique identity of their States and of the needs
of their citizens and communities. Their programs reach the tiniest and
most remote towns as well as densely populated urban neighborhoods,
creating bridges between academic research and public citizens hungry
for substantive conversation about issues that matter.
Councils steward their modest Federal resources not only by forming
partnerships and leveraging other funding, but also by carefully
studying the civic, cultural, demographic, and educational profile of
their States, assessing the challenges their citizens and communities
face, and making informed decisions about where and how their programs
will have the greatest impact. Four areas of council activity offer
particularly striking and significant illustration of the ways lives
are changed through council work. These include programs that (1)
support and help reintegrate veterans, (2) contribute to the economic
and civic health of communities, (3) provide resources to underserved
rural populations and (4) increase literacy and strengthen K-12
education.
Supporting veterans and their communities.--In 2014, the National
Endowment for the Humanities, through its newly launched initiative,
``Standing Together: The Humanities and the Experience of War,''
invited councils to submit proposals for $10,000 grants to develop or
continue programs to help veterans reintegrate into civilian life and
deepen community understanding of the challenges faced by returning
veterans. Through these grants, councils created programs and
partnerships that have continued well beyond the conclusion of the
grant period and expanded far beyond the original design. Councils
learned early that sustaining relationships forged with veterans and
veterans groups was critical, so they stretched their resources to
continue the initial programs as long as possible, while also using the
grants to leverage other funds based on a strong record of high
quality, reliable programs. NEH offered councils several program models
but also gave them a free hand, under the terms of the grant, to shape
programs they believed would best serve the veterans in their States.
Veterans' experiences can be communicated in a variety of ways, as
evidenced by a California Humanities program called ``War Ink,''
through which veterans shared their stories of war and homecoming with
each other and the general public through an online interpretive
exhibit of tattoos, a widespread form of communication among veterans.
Initiated by a veteran and a program fellow at the Contra Costa County
Library with a modest $10,000 grant from the humanities council, the
site has received more than 50,000 visits since it was launched on
Veterans Day in 2014. The 24 stories from men and women located in
every part of the State reflect the diversity of experience in
California, home to more than 2 million veterans. The project was
created through the cooperative efforts of an unusual array of partners
including public and private funders, tattoo parlors, veteran-serving
organizations, libraries, college campuses, and media professionals.
The New Mexico Humanities Council is one of a dozen councils
serving veterans through a reading and discussion program, ``Talking
Service,'' a partnership between participating councils and the Great
Books Foundation, with support from the National Endowment for the
Humanities. The project enables participants to discuss their
experiences and challenges with fellow veterans, drawing on the
literature chosen specifically for its relevance to veterans. The
Vermont Humanities Council also offers reading and discussion programs
for veterans, based on a model developed by the Maine Humanities
Council. Session facilitator Michael Heaney, retired American history
professor and Vietnam veteran, said of these discussions, ``The
participants get to read stuff that bubbles up memories, provokes them
sometimes, and then talk about it in a group that's safe for them. And
for some of them, it's the first time they've ever had that
opportunity.''
Strengthening economic and cultural structures.--In addition to
giving context and meaning to the lives of individuals and communities,
the humanities strengthen the economic, cultural, and educational
foundations of communities. Council-sponsored book festivals in
Kentucky, Nebraska, Nevada, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee,
Texas, Utah, Virginia, and West Virginia bring thousands of residents
and visitors together around the love of books and reading, while also
contributing to local economies. Humanities Tennessee's Southern
Festival of Books has been bringing the public together with more than
200 nationally prominent authors every October since 1989. The 3-day
festival, centered in Nashville, promotes reading and lifelong learning
among the thousands of attendees each year, while also boosting the
city's businesses.
Other councils bring dollars to local communities by helping to
strengthen local tourism. The Missouri Humanities Council's newest
initiative brings the council into partnership with local governments
and community organizations to highlight the State's most cherished
historical and cultural treasures. In its first phase, the project will
focus on the State's German heritage, identifying a series of sites
that will illuminate the story of this important group, educating
Missourians about their own history while also drawing tourism dollars
to communities along the heritage tour route.
The Rhode Island Council for the Humanities is creating a model for
encouraging community vitality and prosperity through its 3-year
``Catalyzing Newport'' project, which brings organizations and citizens
together ``to address challenges and constraints, add value, and create
the basis for resilient, sustainable, and innovative communities.'' The
project will enlist experts to engage with citizens during residencies
in which they will help to define and address challenges and work with
community leaders to shape a future ``rich in culture, civic life, and
economic opportunities.''
Serving rural communities.--Our Nation's rural communities are a
rich tapestry of vibrant American life, but many of these communities
hunger for the kinds of cultural resources that connect them with their
own histories and with the larger world. Humanities council programs
meet this need yearly in thousands of communities in every corner of
their States. From Chautauqua portrayals of historic figures to reading
and discussion programs in local libraries to humanities speakers who
traverse the State to deliver presentations on topics ranging from
``Paul Revere's Ride'' to ``Cowboys and Cowgirls: Icons of the American
West,'' humanities council programs offer live, intellectually
substantive programs otherwise unavailable to residents of these rural
communities.
In a State of vast distances and small population centers,
Humanities Montana has created a unique program that provides sustained
support for a different community each year to become the site of
intensive humanities programming including community conversations,
writing workshops, lectures, poetry events, and reading and discussion
series. Communities apply to be selected for this year-long project,
which includes, in the course of the year, dozens of local events and
several visits from humanities council staff members, who meet with
community officials, cultural and educational leaders, and other local
planners. The creation of strong local networks and partnerships within
each community, along with the development of programming expertise,
ensures that the impact will extend well beyond the designated year.
The successful 25-year partnership between the State humanities
councils and the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service
(SITES) has brought high-quality, lightweight, portable Smithsonian
exhibits to small towns in 46 States and Guam through a project known
as Museum on Main Street (MoMS). Over its history, MoMS has stimulated
partnerships among the councils, SITES, and local institutions in more
than 900 communities, with an average population of 8,000. Recent
exhibit topics have included ``Hometown Teams,'' looking at the way
American sports have both reflected and influenced the culture; ``The
Way We Worked,'' which traces changes in our workforce and work
environments over 150 years; and ``Water/Ways,'' exploring the impact
that water has on our landscape, our climate, and our communities. In
each community, the MoMS exhibit is accompanied by a local exhibit and
by cultural and educational activities planned and carried out by the
host community, with financial and professional support from the
humanities council and SITES.
Councils in both Mississippi and Kentucky, for example, will tour
``Hometown Teams,'' the newest MoMS exhibition, in 2016 and 2017,
respectively. In both States, the exhibit will visit several
communities, and the council will work with a local planning group to
shape a local exhibit and accompanying programs. Programs in
Mississippi, where the tour began this spring, will include a panel
discussion among three former governors, all from small towns in
Mississippi, talking about the impact of sports on their communities
growing up. In addition, a world-renowned sports architect and Jackson
native will talk about baseball stadium design across the country.
Supporting education at all levels.--The State humanities councils,
at their core, are all about contributing to the education of our
citizens, from the youngest children to the most senior adults. Council
programs help low-income and immigrant families improve their
children's school readiness and the parents' reading skills through
family literacy program models, such as Prime Time and Motheread.
Council-supported programs for K-12 students, such as the National
History Day competition, Center for the Book writing programs, Speakers
in the Schools programs, and humanities camps and conferences for
youth, improve student learning and engagement.
The Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities, for example, 25 years
ago launched a family literacy program, ``Prime Time,'' which was
adopted by a number of other councils throughout the country. The
program has a proven track record of improving school performance for
students from underserved families, while also strengthening family
ties. Through a 6-week series, families listen to a storyteller read
award-winning children's literature and then discuss substantive
humanities concepts and ideas together. Serving a different age group,
the Alaska Humanities Forum offers an array of educational programs
tailored to the unique circumstances of a State that is sharply divided
between urban centers and very remote rural towns. One of these
programs, the ``Sister School Exchange,'' provides support for five
middle and high school students and a teacher from a rural community to
change places with counterparts in Anchorage to promote cross-cultural
understanding. ``Take Wing Alaska'' provides support for rural Native
Alaska students to make the transition from their home communities to
urban secondary schools, where they will gain the education needed to
assume leadership positions back in their home villages. The program
focuses not only on academic skills but also on the inherent Native
skills that students can draw on to help them succeed in their new
environment.
``Idea Lab,'' a summer program created by Oregon Humanities, offers
professional development for teachers and college preparation for
``high-curiosity'' students through a 3-day residential institute,
looking at the pursuit happiness and its meaning in relation to such
concepts as consumer culture, religion, politics, education, and civic
engagement. The program welcomes teens from a wide variety of economic
and social backgrounds with a particular focus on students who lack
financial and family support for their college aspirations.
These are only a few of the hundreds of programs through which
councils help fulfill the mandate of the founding legislation, which
eloquently reminds us that ``democracy demands wisdom and vision in its
citizens . . . .'' We urge you to support our request for $155 million
for the NEH and $46 million for the Federal/State Partnership, so
humanities councils can continue to partner with the citizens of their
States all across the country in pursuit of this wisdom.
______
Prepared Statement of the Firefighters United for Safety, Ethics, and
Ecology
Oppose ``Disaster'' Funding for Forest Service Wildfire Suppression
Operations
As you are well aware, suppression spending has been soaring in
recent years--rising well above the rate of inflation and consuming a
majority of the Forest Service's budget. Even during years when
wildfire activity has been relatively low, suppression spending has
kept going up. The fire services have long passed the point of
diminishing returns whereby increased spending on wildfire suppression
yields any benefit in terms of increased firefighting safety or
effectiveness.
Giving Federal bureaucracies discretion to spend hundreds of
millions of taxpayer dollars per year beyond their annual
appropriations (as the Wildfire Disaster Funding Act proposed to do) is
not only fiscally irresponsible, it is environmentally irresponsible
and will raise safety risks for firefighters for generations to come.
We strongly urge you to reject efforts to include the Wildfire Disaster
Funding Act or any other similar legislative proposal, rider, or
amendment.
There is a serious problem with the Forest Service overspending its
annual appropriated budgets on firefighting operations, and then
transferring funds from other non-fire programs to pay for firefighting
costs. We share the wide concern of many other organizations to cease
these ``fire transfers'' and have the Forest Service budget become more
stable, predictable, and above all accountable. We are glad that Forest
Service Chief Tidwell has promised not to do that this year, especially
since Congress has increased its fiscal year 2016 suppression
appropriations by several hundred million. This means that there should
be no self-induced crisis over fire transfers this year, giving
Congress time to craft a bill that is fiscally sound and sustainable.
Indeed, there are better ways to stop fire transfers than simply
changing the budgetary source of those transfers, such as taking funds
from FEMA.
The problem with the mechanism proposed by the Wildfire Disaster
Funding Act is that it does not target emergency funds to the large-
scale ``megafires'' that are truly fiscal disasters because they
consume 30 percent of the agency's suppression budget. Instead, the
agency can start accessing emergency funds after they've spent 70
percent of their suppression budget. This system could set up a system
of perverse incentives causing the agency to spend the 70 percent
portion of their appropriated budget as soon as possible--sending crews
out aggressively fighting early season wildfires in remote wildlands
and at all costs--so they can gain disaster funding. This system is a
ticket to promoting wildfire disasters, not preventing them!
Unfortunately, Congress has traditionally given a ``blank check''
to Federal agencies when they overspend their appropriated budgets on
suppression, rarely asking them hard questions about how they spent
that money, what impacts that spending had on fire or the land, and
what taxpayers actually get in return. This has led to the agency fire
managers often choosing high-cost suppression strategies or tactics--
which may look good to the media--while neglecting other more cost-
efficient and effective fire management actions. Giving Federal
agencies access to billions of more taxpayer dollars from disaster
accounts will lead to suppression spending on steroids!
Worse, allowing agencies to declare wildfires as disasters simply
to lift budget caps and access near-unlimited emergency funding for
suppression operations will undermine efforts that have been long in
the making to shift agencies toward alternative proactive strategies in
fire preparedness and planning, fuels reduction and forest restoration.
Why bother with those activities that might actually prevent disasters,
but must be paid for by appropriated budgets, when the agency can
simply continue fighting all fires and get fully funded with no
questions asked? And the definition of a wildfire disaster ultimately
has nothing to do with the effects of a given wildfire, only the amount
of money spent fighting it! Again, this is will simply incentivize
disastrous management choices to spend more taxpayer dollars for no
real benefit in reducing future fire risks, restoring fire-adapted
ecosystems, or improving firefighter safety.
We regret that many, perhaps most Members of Congress fail to
understand the nature of the ``firefighter's dilemma,'' a term from
business management that refers to the inability of businesses to
invest in long-term cost-saving operations because they are so caught
up in avoiding short-term losses. In the case of Federal agencies
spending ever more taxpayer dollars on reactive wildfire suppression
actions while neglecting proactive research, planning, and fuels
management projects, the firefighter's dilemma is a literal, not
metaphorical term. Allowing the agencies to access disaster accounts
will become a bigger dilemma to the point of fiscal disaster.
We strongly urge you to reject any efforts to include the Wildfire
Disaster Funding Act or any other similar language in the fiscal year
2017 Interior appropriations bill. Congress has already added hundreds
of millions of extra dollars in the fiscal year 2016 Forest Service
budget for suppression, and the Chief has pledged not to do any fire
transfers this year, so there should be no crisis this year.
Congress should take this time to come up with a more effective
solution to suppression overspending. The real task Congress needs to
do is to contain Federal suppression costs, not simply find a novel
``off-budget'' way to pay for escalating expenditures.
[This statement was submitted by Timothy Ingalsbee, Ph.D.,
Executive Director.]
______
Prepared Statement of the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa
I am Wally Dupuis, Chairman of the Fond du Lac Band of Lake
Superior Chippewa. On behalf of the Band, I would like thank this
subcommittee for the opportunity to submit testimony on fiscal year
2017 appropriations for Indian programs funded through the Interior
Department, Indian Health Service, and Environmental Protection Agency.
The Fond du Lac Band occupies a small reservation in northeastern
Minnesota. We have approximately 4,200 members and provide health,
education, social services, public safety and other governmental
services to more than 6,700 Indian people who live on and near our
reservation. We strive to find solutions that will break the cycle of
poverty and meet the unmet needs of our community. We are proud of the
steps that we have taken to do this, including partnerships with the
public and private sectors. But while we are beginning to address these
longstanding problems, much remains to be done. Federal funding is
essential.
Bureau of Indian Education. BIE funding is the primary source of
funding for the Fond du Lac Ojibwe School. This school serves
approximately 340 students in pre-K through grade 12. Our students come
from very low-income households; more than 90 percent of our students
qualify for free or reduced rate lunches. While we are making progress
in improving the educational attainment of our students, we are
handicapped by limited resources. There are still significant
disparities between American Indians and the population statewide on
education that correlate with poverty levels. Data compiled for
Minnesota in 2015 illustrates this:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3rd Grade
Students at 8th Grade High School
Living below 3rd Grade Students at graduation
Poverty reading 8th Grade rates
level math level
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Statewide............................................... 11.50% 58.7% 57.8% 81.9%
Minnesota Indian........................................ 32.20% 40.5% 30.8% 51.9%
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Minnesota Compass, http://www.mncompass.org/education/overview. Most recent data is as of 2015 except
poverty rates are as of 2014.
We very much appreciate the Federal efforts to improve
opportunities for American Indian youth, and the recognition that
education is a key component to improve the life trajectories of Native
youth. We support the President's budget, which would increase overall
education funding by $60 million over the fiscal year 2016 enacted
level, including increases in funding for: Johnson O'Malley, so we can
assist Indian children in public schools, as well as Early Childhood
Development funds (FACE), which is critical to providing preschoolers
with skills to be school-ready. As to other elements of the budget for
education funding, we urge the following:
--ISEP. Increase ISEP to $574 million as requested in the President's
budget. ISEP is the primary source of school funding. It covers
salaries for teachers, teacher aides, and administrative
personnel and is essential to our ability to recruit and retain
qualified teachers and to cover shortfalls in other budget
areas, such as transportation, facilities and maintenance.
--Tribal Grant Support Costs (TGSC). Increase to $75 million funding
for TGSC. This helps pay the costs of accounting, insurance,
background checks, legal and record-keeping.
--School Facility Operations and Maintenance. Increase School
Facility Operations to $66,219,000, and School Facility
Maintenance to $79,000,000. We need these funds to keep the
building safe, pay for preventative maintenance, and cover
insurance and utility costs.
--Student Transportation. Increase Student Transportation to
$57,245,000 as set out in the President's budget as these funds
allow us maintain, repair, and replace buses.
--School Construction and Repair. Appropriate $138 million for School
Construction and Repair. Students and staff are put in jeopardy
if deferred maintenance is not addressed.
BIA: Public Safety and Justice. We disagree with the President's
proposal to decrease funding for BIA's Public Safety and Justice. We
urge Congress to increase those funds above fiscal year 2016 levels.
Although we are a small community, we are combating major crimes.
Alcohol, illegal prescription drug use, methamphetamine, and gang-
related activity create huge demands on our law enforcement. In
addition, we face a significant increase in heroin use. Many in our
community are the victims of assaults and robberies that are drug-
related. Our officers must respond to increasing drug overdoses and
deaths, as well as juvenile offenses involving drugs, alcohol, thefts,
assaults and burglaries. They also respond to a wide range of other
matters, including domestic disputes, disturbances, disorderly conduct,
property damage, theft, medical emergencies, fire, neglected children,
runaways, suicide threats, as well as numerous traffic-related matters.
In 2015, our Law Enforcement responded to more than 8,000 incidents and
calls for service. This is a substantial increase from past years,
where incidents and calls for service from our Department were: 6,000
in 2014; 5,342 in 2013; 5,100 in 2012; and 4,900 in 2011.
We use a combination of tribal and available Federal funds and
cooperative agreements with local law enforcement agencies to meet law
enforcement needs. To ensure effective law enforcement coverage 24/7,
we need to have sufficient law enforcement staff and equipment. We are
very fortunate that as a result of a COPS grant in 2015, we were able
to employ 20 sworn officers--the number we need to effectively patrol
the reservation. But our officers still need equipment. We do not yet
have a sufficient number of patrol cars. We regularly need to acquire
and replace other basic law enforcement equipment, like binoculars,
video cameras, digital recorders and other surveillance tools. Federal
funding is essential to meet those needs.
Although I am pleased that we have been able to employ 20 sworn
police officers, we have outgrown our current office space. With the
lack of available building space, we have had to share building space
with the reservation's Housing Department. We moved into our current
space in 2004 with a total of 11 sworn officers. The space was tight
with 11 officers. Needless to say, we desperately need a new modern
building. As of right now we work in an area that consists of 5
offices, a squad room barely capable of holding everyone for a
department wide meeting and an evidence room. A new building would
allow us to work more efficiently and allow for further growth in the
future.
BIA: Trust-Natural Resources Management. We support the President's
budget proposal, to fund BIA Natural Resources Management at $215.6
million in fiscal year 2017, including funding for Tribal Climate
Resilience. Climate change impacts are especially significant in Indian
country, where the basic subsistence needs of Indian people often
depend on natural resources. This is certainly true at Fond du Lac. By
treaties made in 1837, 1842 and 1854, the United States acquired our
aboriginal territory but, to ensure that we could sustain ourselves and
our families, expressly promised that we retained rights to hunt, fish
and gather natural resources within and outside our reservation. Our
members depend on and exercise these treaty-protected rights to put
food on the table and for ceremonial practices that serve as the
foundation for our culture. The stewardship of those natural
resources--through scientific study, resource management, and
enforcement of Band laws that regulate tribal members who hunt, fish
and gather those resources--are an important source of employment for
many of our members. Funding increases for Trust-Natural Resources
Management allows us to protect, enhance, and restore natural
resources. Significant stable funding is the most effective way to
provide ecosystem services in a climate change driven environment.
Healthy ecosystems will be best able to tolerate the stresses of
climate change if they are in the best condition possible.
Fond du Lac forest resources are an important asset to the Fond du
Lac Band. The Intertribal Timber Council's third assessment of Indian
forestry completed in 2013 found that Indian forestry is woefully
unfunded when compared to other Federal, State, and private industrial
forests. Working towards funding parity should be a goal nationally.
Protecting the forest from wildfire and maintaining a fire resilient
forest is also a goal of the Fond du Lac Band. Fire preparedness
funding is below the most efficient level (MEL) and now 20 percent of
the fuels funding is proposed to be stripped away from Indian forestry.
Fire preparedness and fuels funding provide a basis for workforce
development in Indian forestry. Tribal communities are within tribal
fire protection areas. Other Federal agencies have communities adjacent
to their protection areas. Provide adequate funding to manage tribal
forests, protect forests from wildfire, create fire resilient
communities and forests, and provide workforce development.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
is a valued partner of the Fond du Lac Band in wildlife and fisheries
research and restoration programs. We request that the overall budget
of the Fish and Wildlife Service be increased, with a particular
increase to the Native American Liaison program. We support the
President's requested increase to the Tribal Wildlife Grant Program,
but urge that this program be funded at 5 times its current level,
since current funding levels allow few grants to be awarded.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The drastic funding cuts to
EPA in past years threaten long-term damage to the Nation. We support,
at a minimum, the $8.6 billion in funding recommended in the
President's budget, as well as the President's recommended increase in
State and Tribal Assistance Grants, but urge that more be appropriated
for these important programs.
--Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. The Band fully supports this
initiative, and asks that it be funded at $500 million, two
times what is requested in the President's budget. This
initiative has broad-reaching benefits to resources of
importance for all stakeholders (State, tribal and private) in
the Great Lakes region. It is also an example of where EPA's
modest investment in tribal capacity support has resulted in
substantial outcomes, both in a more visible presence and
active participation in Great Lakes restoration and
protection--a true `seat at the table'--and in tangible
outcomes from successful projects.
--Water Quality. The Fond du Lac Band has a federally approved water
quality standards program that has seen annual funding
declines, while the Band's responsibilities have increased.
Given the current threats to water resources in our region from
the expansion of iron and copper mining, we urge that tribal
section 106 funding be doubled. Not only has the universe of
tribes authorized for section 106 funding expanded, but tribes
with mature programs like the Band are struggling to cover
additional activities related to our multiple Clean Water Act
authorities with shrinking funds.
--Air. In conjunction with our water quality monitoring
responsibilities, the Band has a long-standing air monitoring
program that has also faced a steady decline in Federal
funding. We request that air quality program funding for tribes
be increased.
--Wetlands. One-half of our reservation is made up of wetlands.
Proper management and restoration of this valuable resource is
impossible without adequate and consistent Federal funding. We
request sustained wetland monitoring and protection program
funding.
Indian Health Service. We fully support the President's proposed
increase in funding for IHS and appreciate the commitment that the
administration and Congress have made to address the funding needs for
healthcare in Indian Country. The President's proposed increase is
essential to address the high rates of medical inflation and the
substantial unmet need for healthcare among Indian people. Indians at
Fond du Lac, like Indians throughout the Nation, continue to face
disproportionately higher rates of diabetes and its associated
complications, than the rest of the population. Heart disease, cancer,
obesity, chemical dependency and mental health problems are also
prevalent among our people. All Indian tribes should receive 100
percent of the Level of Need Formula, which is absolutely critical for
tribes to address the serious and persistent health issues that
confront our communities. The Band serves over 7,000 Indian people at
our clinics, but the current funding level meets only 42 percent of our
healthcare funding needs.
As the epidemic of prescription drug abuse grows across the
country, the IHS needs resources to expand its treatment and community
education capacity. We are especially disappointed with the Pharma-
driven position SAMHSA has followed for the past several years
regarding Methadone Assisted Therapy (MAT). Many poorly administered
MAT programs are pouring unprecedented amounts of cheap, liquid
Methadone into Indian communities with very destructive results. In
2012, nearly 40 percent of the babies delivered by Fond du Lac Nurse-
midwives were born to Methadone dependent mothers. Although those
numbers improved in 2013, nearly 35 percent of all pregnant women seen
by Fond du Lac primary care providers use illicit drugs, mainly
opiates. Research shows that methadone users are cognitively impaired,
and more recent research has shown that children born to methadone
users are more likely to have low birth weight, neural tube defects,
spina bifida, congenital heart defects and gastroschisis. In Minnesota,
Indian moms on Medical Assistance are 8.7 times more likely than non-
Indian moms to give birth to an infant suffering with NAS. Meanwhile,
thousands of American Indians are falling victim to the chemical
slavery now sponsored by SAMHSA. Additional funding for the
Methamphetamine, Suicide Prevention Initiative should be made available
to tribes and the IHS so that this ``new sickness'' can be addressed.
Best practices in pharmacy inventory and prescription monitoring need
to be modeled and replicated throughout Indian Country. The need is
compounded by the fact that more government agencies expect local units
of government, including tribes, to address these problems and the
increasing number of individuals who become homeless as a result of
them, through the operation of supportive housing. But Fond du Lac's
ability to establish new program initiatives, like supportive housing,
depends on assistance from the Federal Government. We urge Congress to
support programs that would fund supportive housing for tribes in every
area of the country. Miigwech. Thank you.
______
Prepared Statement of the Forest Climate Working Group
Adelante Consulting American Forest Foundation
American Forests
Binational Softwood Lumber Council Hardwood Federation
L&C Carbon National Alliance of Forest Owners
National Association of University Forest Resources Programs
Society of American Foresters The Forest Stewards Guild
The Trust for Public Land Weyerhaeuser
Rationale: Forests and forest products currently sequester and
store 13 percent of annual U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. The trend,
for now, is up--U.S. EPA reports that land-based sequestration has
increased 13.5 percent in the past decade. It is important to maintain
this important resource by addressing rising threats to forest health
and slowing forest conversion to non-forest uses. Through
implementation of USDA's Building Blocks for Climate-Smart Agriculture
and Forestry, we can take steps to protect and increase this carbon
benefit, and accelerate the ability of U.S. forests to provide a
sustained level of climate mitigation service to the Nation. Many of
these same investments are leveraged to strengthen the resiliency of
the Nation's forests and thus protect additional public services beyond
carbon such as watersheds, wildlife habitat, recreational resources and
economic prosperity for rural and urban communities.
fiscal year 2017 budget items
The FCWG recommended funding levels below focus on program needs to
implement USDA's Building Blocks for Climate-Smart Agriculture and
Forestry. The actions outlined in the forest-related building blocks
are major positive steps in conserving and enhancing climate resilience
and carbon sequestration and storage on public and private lands. Below
are FCWG's recommendations and the linkage to the USDA Building Blocks.
Fix How Wildfire Fighting is funded in Federal Budget: Currently,
wildfires are budgeted within the USFS and Department of the Interior
through regular appropriations. This has created two issues for the
USFS and DOI budgets. First, in this limited budget environment, non-
fire spending has decreased, as the annual appropriated levels for
wildfire fighting has increased. Secondly, when wildfire fighting funds
run out, non-fire and fire prevention program budgets are tapped to
cover fire suppression expenditures, creating disruptions and in some
case discontinuing key program activities. This has led to overall
decreases in restoration and management programs that improve climate
resiliency and mitigation through forests and ultimately help reduce
wildfire risks. The FCWG supports revisions in budget structure that
allow the expenses for large, extreme fires to be paid for from
emergency funds, to reverse both the ``borrowing'' and the gradual
decline of key agency programs.
Invest in Sound Science and Data (Foundational Support for All Building
Blocks)
--USFS Forest Inventory and Analysis Program: FIA is the foundational
measure for our forests nationwide and is essential to
monitoring our progress. The fiscal year 2016 enacted budget
included a necessary increase in funding for this program which
we believe should at least be maintained, but an investment of
at least 83 million in fiscal year 2017 is warranted. We remain
concerned about the low level of funding for the program
relative to established needs for the information it provides
and the negative impact of constrained budgets on data
gathering, geographic scope, and sampling return interval and
national consistency that is vital for evaluating forest carbon
and resilience problems and potentials. This additional Federal
investment should be accompanied with language calling for
improvements in this program efficiencies to justify additional
investment in 2017 and in future fiscal years to enable further
program impact and ensure that FIA fully delivers on the
congressional mandate set in previous Farm Bills and the needs
for forest owners, managers, and communities. Additional
support for the FIA program is needed to ensure that we have
improved data regarding carbon sequestration rates and storage
and the impact of disturbance in forests to support growing
data and analysis needs for climate mitigation, forest
protection, and bioenergy.
--The McIntire-Stennis (M-S) Cooperative Forestry Research Program:
This program has continued to provide fundamental support for
creating and strengthening forestry research and graduate
training efforts at colleges and universities across the Nation
for more than 50 years. M-S funding has helped produce
thousands of forest scientists and other research
professionals. Its support has provided national capacity for
both basic understanding and applied solutions to the emerging
problems of forests and related rangelands. In the face of
declining State and Federal budgets for forestry research, M-S
program support plays a critical role in sustaining and
advancing new knowledge and solutions, and producing the next
generation of forestry professionals. We recommend at least
$35.5 million investment into the M-S program.
--USDA Climate Hubs and Related Investments in Applied Climate
Science: The USDA Climate Hubs have now been running for close
to 3 years and have demonstrated the capacity to provide useful
science-based guidance for private landowners and other land
managers. The Hubs assure that investments in science are
returned to the taxpayer in the form of usable knowledge and
tools that millions of forest landowners and managers can apply
to climate adaptation and mitigation problems. Continued
investment in these Hubs, integrated into various program
funding, to assist both public and private land managers is
critical to cross-boundary success.
--The Renewable Resources Extension Act (RREA): This was enacted in
1978, with a mandate to provide for an expanded and
comprehensive extension program for forest and rangeland
renewable resources. This is the only USDA program focused
specifically on forest and rangeland Extension programs across
the full spectrum of landscapes and represents an important
part of USDA's commitment to forest and rangeland owners and
managers. Activities under this program are a critical
component to achieving long-term conservation and resource
protection. The RREA, through its systematic, objective, and
research-based initiatives at colleges and universities across
the Nation are helping participants understand and undertake
appropriate management alternatives relating to Biomass for
Energy, Climate Variability, Ecosystem Services, Fish and
Wildlife Resources, Food Production, Safety and Security,
Intergenerational Land and Other Land Ownership Changes,
Invasive Species, Urbanization, and Water and Wetlands. We
recommend at least $4.06 million investment into RREA program.
Promote the Use of Forest Products--Utilization in Building
Construction (USDA Building Block: Promotion of Wood Products
and Energy Generation and Efficiency)
USFS Forest Products Laboratory
--Woodworks: We recommend at least $2 million investment through the
USFS, or other funding source, into the initiative Woodworks,
which promotes wood use in building construction through
technology transfer, especially in non-residential buildings.
This program has demonstrated the potential to create an 18M
metric ton carbon benefit by 2018--a good investment at $.28
per metric ton of carbon sequestered.
--Life Cycle Assessment Research on Wood Products: We recommend a $1
million investment in LCA Research through USFS FPL to ensure
the most updated information about the environmental impact of
wood products, with a particular focus on climate related
information and the role of wood in sustainable forest
management systems.
Enhance Resources for Private Forest Owners--Reforestation,
Afforestation, and Restoration
--USFS Forest Stewardship Program: The Forest Stewardship Program
helps landowners plan sustainable management, including carbon
friendly and climate-smart practices, and to implement
reforestation. We recommend an appropriation of at least $29
million to advance carbon mitigation through this program,
including funds to support tree-planting assistance on private
lands. (USDA Building Block: Private Forest Growth and
Retention)
--USFS Landscape Scale Restoration: We recommend $23.5 million this
program, to stimulate cross boundary, landscape scale work that
will measurably improve climate mitigation and resilience in
our forests. We feel that the landscape restoration approach
taken by the Forest Service effectively leverages public
investments and creates scale and efficiency that allows
climate and carbon public and private benefits to be both cost-
effective and sustainable. Climate-induced stressors like
wildfires and insects and diseases, don't stay within ownership
boundaries and thus, a landscape approach is needed. (USDA
Building Block: Stewardship of Federal Forests)
--NRCS Forest Landowner Cost Share--EQIP, WHIP, CSP, CRP, WRP, HFRP:
This suite of Farm Bill programs under NRCS are in the
aggregate the largest source of funding for landowners to
implement the stewardship and restoration actions needed to
increase carbon sequestration. This ranges from forest stand
improvement to restoration of carbon-rich forest types like
bottomland hardwoods. We recommend maintaining funding levels
currently authorized, as well as providing discretionary
funding for HFRP. (USDA Building Block: Conservation of
Sensitive Lands)
--USFS Urban and Community Forestry Program: Urban and community
forests are an integral part of a community's infrastructure
and they have significant benefits for clean water, clean air,
energy conservation, and human health. Urban and community
forests should be recognized as ``green infrastructure'' for
the purposes of community planning and preparation for the
impacts of climate change. We recommend an appropriation of at
least $31 million to advance the important climate benefits
associated with growing and maintaining urban and community
forests. (USDA Building Block: Urban Forests)
Utilize Existing Grant Programs to Retain Forests--Diverse Tools for
Different Partners and Contexts
--USFS Forest Legacy Program: We recommend $62 million for the Forest
Legacy Program in current discretionary funding and $38 million
for the Program from mandatory Land and Water Conservation
Funds, the most flexible and widely applicable Federal program
for permanent conservation of forestland from development. We
recommend at least maintaining or strengthening funding for
this program to capture the many opportunities for State,
local, and private forest conservation in carbon-rich forest
systems, including extensive working forest conservation
easements. (USDA Building Block: Private Forest Growth and
Retention)
--USFS Community Forest Program: The Community Forest Program is a
relatively new 50/50 matching grant program that is helping
local governments, tribes, and non-profits to acquire and
manage forestland threatened with conversion. We recommend $5
million for this program, to fully tap the potential of these
local and tribal entities to contribute carbon mitigation
through forests. (USDA Building Block: Private Forest Growth
and Retention)
______
Prepared Statement in Support of the Forest Inventory and Analysis
Program
Dear Chairwoman Murkowski and Ranking Tom Udall,
The undersigned organizations are strong supporters of the Forest
Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program funded by the USDA Forest Service
(Forest Service). We rely on the inventory data and analysis of
America's forests provided by the program, which make up the backbone
of scientific knowledge on the current state of the Nation's forests.
This critical information is needed to support sound policy and forest
management decisions, both public and private, and is increasingly
important for decisions regarding new and expanding markets. We urge
the Congress to support the FIA program and request funding for the
program in fiscal year 2017 of at least $83 million to move the program
toward providing an accurate and timely inventory of America's forests.
We also urge the inclusion of language ensuring that this funding
would, at minimum, maintain historic remeasurement cycles--every 7
years in the east and every 10 years in the west--as referenced by the
administration.
The data and information collected by FIA serves as the basis for:
identifying trends in forest ownership; measuring carbon stocks;
assessing fish and wildlife habitat; evaluating wildfire, insect, and
disease risk; predicting the spread of invasive species; determining
capital investment in existing forest products facilities and selecting
locations for new forest product facilities; and identifying and
responding to priorities identified in State Forest Action Plans.
The FIA program is utilized by a large set of diverse stakeholders
interested in the state of America's forests. These include forest
resource managers at mills, land managers, conservation groups,
university students and faculty, and State and Federal agencies, such
as the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
The undersigned organizations would like to work with Congress to
further explore program potential. An annual funding level of $83
million would support a 7 year annualized program in the east, and a 10
year program in the west as recommended in the Forest Service's 2007
FIA Strategic Plan. In 2015 the Forest Service released an updated FIA
Strategic Plan, which outlines a variety of potential program
deliverables at funding levels. While we are supportive of at least $83
million in funding for fiscal year 2017, the 2015 Strategic Plan calls
for $103 million to implement the 5 year annualized program called for
in the 1998 Farm Bill. This reduction in cycle length would provide
more accurate data to support important forest resource decisions. As
engaged partners, we are interested in working with Congress and the
Forest Service to make program delivery as efficient as possible and to
support additional Federal investment to implement many of the useful
tools outlined in the new FIA Strategic Plan--including full urban
inventory, increased plot density, and improved carbon and biomass
estimates.
There is a need to make FIA data more robust and more useful for
emerging uses, such as accurate information regarding carbon stocks,
forest sustainability monitoring, wildlife habitat assessments, and
much more. Given the increasing pressures facing our forests--from
wildfire, insects and disease and development--the FIA program is more
important now than ever before. Funding the FIA program at $83 million
for fiscal year 2017 would move toward providing for our growing data
needs.
Sincerely,
Alabama Forestry Association
Allegheny Hardwood Utilization Group, Inc.
American Forest & Paper Association
American Forest Foundation
American Forests
American Wood Council
Arkansas Forestry Association
Arkansas Timber Producers Association
Black Hills Forest Resource Association
California Forestry Association
Empire State Forest Products Association
Environmental Defense Fund
Forest Business Network
Forest Products Industry National Labor Management Committee
Forest Landowners Association
Forest Products Industry National Labor Management Committee
Forest Resources Association
Hardwood Federation
Hardwood Plywood and Veneer Association
Kentucky Forest Industries Association
Louisiana Forestry Association
Maine Forest Products Council
Minnesota Forest Industries
Minnesota Timber Producers Association
Mississippi Forestry Association
Montana Wood Products Association
National Alliance of Forest Owners
National Association of Conservation Districts
National Association of Forest Service Retirees
National Association of State Departments of Agriculture
National Association of State Foresters
National Association of University Forest Resources Programs
National Wild Turkey Federation
National Woodland Owners Association
North Carolina Forestry Association
Northeastern Loggers' Association
Northeastern Lumber Manufacturers Association
Ohio Forestry Association
Oregon Forest & Industries Council
Oregon Women in Timber
Pennsylvania Forest Products Association
Pinchot Institute for Conservation
Pulp and Paperworkers' Resource Council
Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests
Society of American Foresters
South Carolina Forestry Association
South Carolina Timber Producers Association
Sustainable Forestry Initiative
Texas Forestry Association
The Nature Conservancy
Treated Wood Council
United Steelworkers
Virginia Forest Products Association
Virginia Forestry Association
Western Wood Preservers Institute
Wisconsin Paper Council
______
Prepared Statement of Kathleen Fowler
Dear Senators:
As an American citizen and taxpayer, I strongly oppose the BLM's
proposal to conduct dangerous sterilization experiments on wild mares
at the Wild Horse Corral Facility in Hines. According to the
Environmental Assessment (EA), the BLM is deciding whether or not to
proceed with one or more of the proposed sterilization procedures. The
weight of scientific evidence and public opinion clearly supports a BLM
decision NOT to proceed with any of these sterilization procedures.
The sterilization procedures that BLM is proposing to conduct on
federally protected wild mares are dangerous, costly and impractical
for use in the field, due to the serious health risks they pose to the
horses and their unborn foals, and also due to the great expense of
purchasing the equipment and training the number of veterinarians
necessary to implement these procedures on the range.
It makes no sense to spend millions of taxpayer dollars on these
risky invasive experiments when proven, humane, and relatively
inexpensive fertility control technology in the form of the PZP vaccine
is readily available but vastly underutilized by the BLM.
The EA is completely inadequate in analyzing the impacts of these
experimental procedures on mares. In addition, the BLM has deliberately
avoided public opposition to this controversial and grotesque research
proposal by skipping the scoping stage of the environmental analysis
process. As a result, the public has been deprived of the opportunity
to provide input into the impacts of and alternatives to these
procedures that must be analyzed under the rules of the National
Environmental Policy Act.
1. Ovariectomy via Colposcopy
This is an outdated and archaic procedure that has been supplanted
by more modern laparoscopic surgery. The EA fails to analyze the
impacts of and alternatives to this procedure to mares and never once
mentions the availability of more modern techniques! This proposed
sterilization experiment is an intra-vaginal complex surgical
procedure, which is hardly ever performed in domestic horses (never
mind in wild ones), due to its inherently dangerous risks.
--The blind nature of this surgery increases the risk of intra-
abdominal hemorrhage, but the EA never even addresses this
issue or the availability of more modern laparoscopic
techniques that allow the surgeon to visualize the abdominal
structures.
--The lack of a sterile environment subjects the mares to a high risk
of infection, something that is ignored by the EA.
--The procedure carries with it a significant risk of hemorrhage and
evisceration (protrusion of the intestines through the surgical
incision), which is why it requires strict follow-up care when
used in domestic horses, including pain relief and 4-7 days of
stall rest, the first 48 hours of which is spent in crossties
to prevent the mare from lying down. It is not possible to
provide this required post-operative care to wild mares, yet
the EA minimizes the impacts of this fact, citing the opinion
of an un-named veterinarian, instead of the published science
and National Research Council review, which clearly indicate
the risks and impacts of this outdated procedure on wild mares.
--The procedure will cause mares in early stages of pregnancy to
abort their fetuses and may cause loss of pregnancy for mares
in the mid-stage of pregnancy as well. This is unacceptable.
This pursuit of ovariectomy research is directly counter to the
recommendations of the National Academy of Sciences National Research
Council (NRC) in its 2013 report, ``Using Science to Improve the BLM
Wild Horse and Burro Program: A Way Forward.'' That NRC report
concluded that: ``The possibility that ovariectomy may be followed by
prolonged bleeding or peritoneal infection makes it inadvisable for
field application.''
2. Minimally Invasive Sterilization Techniques
The other sterilization procedures that BLM proposes to research,
while less invasive than ovariectomy, should also be abandoned due to
the inability to provide post-operative care and the impracticality of
implementing these procedures--which have never before been done in
wild or domestic horses--on a broad scale in a field setting. The EA
fails to analyze the impacts of precedent-setting procedures that have
never before been performed in horses, and as well as the inability to
provide required post-operative care. The EA also omits analysis of the
economic impacts and practicalities of implementing these procedures on
the range.
In proceeding with these experiments, the BLM has ignored the NRC
recommendation that these techniques should first be perfected in
domestic mares, who can be easily handled and will be accessible for
close monitoring and post-operative care, before attempting them in
wild horses.
It is unconscionable that the BLM is proceeding with these
draconian experiments that endanger the lives of the un-consenting
equine subjects and their unborn foals, particularly when a proven non-
invasive and safe fertility control method exists in the readily
available PZP birth control vaccine. Instead of wasting millions of tax
dollars to fund experiments on inhumane and impractical sterilization
experiments, the agency should instead focus resources on vaccinating
sufficient numbers of mares with the PZP fertility control vaccine,
which is documented through 30 years of experience and published
science, to be safe, effective, cost-effective and successful in
managing wild horse populations.
Again, as a taxpayer and wild horse lover, I am outraged that the
BLM is even considering pursuing such inhumane, barbaric and wasteful
experimentation on wild horses and I find the BLM's Environmental
Analysis of its impacts to be woefully inadequate. As a result, I
strongly urge the BLM to abandon these proposed experiments in favor of
using proven, more cost-effective and humane fertility control methods.
______
Prepared Statement of the Friends of Patuxent Research Refuge and
Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Inc.
Mr. Chairman and members of the subcommittee:
On behalf of the Friends of Patuxent Research Refuge and Patuxent
Wildlife Research Center, Inc., I would like to present testimony in
support of the fiscal year 2017 budget requests for the Patuxent
Research Refuge (USFWS) and the fiscal year 2018 capital budget request
for the Patuxent Widlife Research Center (USGS) in Laurel, Maryland. In
broad terms, the Friends of Patuxent supports a full appropriation of
$506.6 million for the National Wildlife Refuge System operation and
maintenance; permanent reauthorization and full funding for the Land
and Water Conservation Fund at $900 million per year; and specifically
for capital budget requests for the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center
of $23 million for a replacement general science lab and $12 million
for a wildlife physiology lab.
Many of you may have visited this unique National Wildlife Refuge
and Research Center, the only facility of its kind, since it is so
close to our Nation's Capital. Founded in 1936, Patuxent is the premier
wildlife research center in the world, and the 12,000+ acres of the
research refuge, along with the National Wildlife Visitor Center,
comprise one of the largest urban wildlife refuges in the Nation.
While this flagship refuge and research center is justly the pride
of USFWS and USGS for its unique mission, the refuge and center have
suffered from years of cut-back budgets and staff shortages. These
intentional cuts and lack of ability to make up for losses from
inflation have seriously impacted the mission of each of these
facilities.
For example, at Patuxent Research Refuge, full time staff positions
have been left vacant for inordinate amounts of time; 2 and 3 years in
some cases simply because there is insufficient funding to fill them.
The National Wildlife Visitor Center is now closed 1 day per week
because there is insufficient staff and operational funding to remain
open 7 days per week.
Many program requests such as school visits, youth groups, and
training workshops turned down because of lack of staff or the closed
visitor center. This is not the staff's fault, but it is not acceptable
for a national urban wildlife refuge of this caliber.
At Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, a facility of USGS, there is
comparable need for staff and operational funding, but in addition,
there is exceptional need for capital funding to replace a general
science lab, the Stickell Lab, that was demolished in recent years due
to deterioration and unsafe conditions. In addition, a new wildlife
physiology lab for $12 million is needed to perform vital work in
genetics analysis, indoor holding of wildlife species under study, and
other needs.
The staff of research scientists and biologists is down 60 percent.
Four scientists are retiring this year; they are replacing only one
position. Overall the omplement of research scientists who are
performing vital work on environmental contaminants, wildlife research,
and endangered species is down from a high of 54 positions to the
present 32.
The Friends of Patuxent have supported the volunteer program at
Patuxent in both the educational and programmatic functions of Patuxent
Research Refuge and the scientific and management functions of Patuxent
Wildlife Research Center. It is a sad state of affairs when the lack of
staff causes the volunteer program to be diminished because there is
not enough staff to coordinate and supervise the outstanding volunteers
who are willing to give of their time and talent in support of the
mission of these facilities.
We urge you to support these reasonable budget requests for both
the wildlife refuge and the wildlife research center. You will be
making investments in work that is extremely important to the Nation.
We thank you for the opportunity to present this testimony.
[This statement was submitted by Jeanne Latham, President.]
______
Prepared Statement of the Friends of Rachel Carson National Wildlife
Refuge
Ms. Chairman and honorable members of the subcommittee: I am Bill
Durkin, President of The Friends of Rachel Carson National Wildlife
Refuge in Biddeford, Maine.
First off, a Happy Earth Day in a few days; it has been 46 years
since the first Earth Day and it is truly amazing how far we have all
come in protecting the environment. As you all know, after that first
Earth Day, the EPA was created and Congress passed the Clean Air, Clean
Water and Endangered Species Acts. At the time it was a gamble and we
are all thankful that it worked and we continue to work at protecting
our air, water and habitats (human and wildlife). I have been a member
of the Friends of Rachel Carson NWR for the past 27 years. The group
was founded in 1987; we are a small group supporting the refuge in
southern Maine. I have given numerous written statements over the years
and we really appreciate your support in the past. This year, our
refuge is not requesting any appropriations directly for Rachel Carson
National Wildlife Refuge; this is a request for general funding of the
National Wildlife Refuge System of $506.6 million. This year we ask to
appropriate $50 million in the National Wildlife Refuge Fund. I also
urge the subcommittee to fund the Land, Water and Conservation Fund at
full funding at $900 million with a $137.6 million of that request for
the National Wildlife Refuge Systems purchase of easements and in
holdings. I thank you all for your consideration.
The Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge is named in honor of one
of the Nation's foremost and forward-thinking biologists. After
arriving in Maine in 1946 as an aquatic biologist for the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, Rachel Carson became entranced with Maine's coastal
habitat, leading her to write the international best-seller The Sea
Around Us. This landmark study, in combination with her other writings,
The Edge of the Sea and Silent Spring, led Rachel Carson to become an
advocate on behalf of this Nation's vast coastal habitat and the
wildlife that depends on it. With the recent 50th anniversary of the
publication of Silent Spring, her legacy lives on today at the refuge
that bears her name and is dedicated to the permanent protection of the
salt marshes and estuaries of the southern Maine coast. The refuge was
established in 1966 to preserve migratory bird habitat and waterfowl
migration along southern Maine's coastal estuaries. It consists of 11
refuge divisions in 12 municipalities protecting approximately 5,600
acres within a 14,800 acre acquisition zone.
Consisting of meandering tidal creeks, coastal upland, sandy dunes,
salt ponds, marsh, and productive wetlands, the Rachel Carson NWR
provides critical nesting and feeding habitat for the threatened piping
plover and a variety of migratory waterfowl, and serves as a nursery
for many shellfish and finfish. Located along the Atlantic flyway, the
refuge serves as an important stopover point for migratory birds.
Previous years' appropriations have allowed the USFWS to conserve
several properties within the refuge. In fiscal year 2010 we purchased
a 98 acre tract at Timber Point with a $3 million LWCF appropriation.
This purchases provide an important buffer between the intense
development pressure along the southern Maine coast and its fragile
coastal estuaries--development pressures continue to spiral upwards and
additional coastal properties are under threat. We built a National
Recreational Trail (NRT) for public use and have completed an
Environmental Assessment for future use of the property. Protecting
Timber Point was a priority for the refuge for decades, and we thank
you. The process does work and I support all Refuges requests for
fiscal year 2017. You can make it happen.
1. We are requesting an overall funding level of $506.6 million in
fiscal year 2017 for the Operations and Maintenance Budget of the
National Wildlife Refuge System, managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service. All of the refuges are in dire need of staffing and upkeep.
The National Wildlife Refuge System is responsible for 568 million
acres of lands and waters, but currently receives less than a $1. per
acre for management costs. The refuges cannot fulfill its obligation to
the American public, our wildlife and 47 million annual visitors
without adequate funding. Refuges provide unparalleled opportunities to
hunt, fish, watch wildlife and educate children about the environment.
An investment in the Nation's Refuge System is an excellent investment
in the American economy, generating $2.4 billion and creating about
35,000 jobs in local economies. Without increased funding for refuges,
wildlife conservation and public recreation opportunities will be
jeopardized. We fully supported the U.S. Fish and Wildlife's request of
$506.6 million for Operation and Management for the National Wildlife
Refuge System.
2. Appropriate $50 million in the National Wildlife Refuge Fund in
fiscal year 2017 which offsets losses in local government tax revenue
because lands owned by the Refuge System are exempt from taxation. The
Refuge Fund is an annual appropriation that supplements the Refuge
Revenue Sharing Program. The Revenue Sharing Program offsets lost local
tax revenue by providing payments to local governments from net income
derived from permits and wildlife refuge activities.
3. We request $137.6 million in LWCF funding for Refuge land
acquisitions/conservation easements and we call for full funding of
LWCF at $900 million. The Land and Water Conservation Fund is our
Nation's premier Federal program to acquire and protect lands at
national parks, forests, refuges, and public lands and at State parks,
trails, and recreational facilities. These sites across the country
provide the public with substantial social and economic benefits
including promoting healthier lifestyles through active recreation,
protecting drinking water and watersheds, improving wildfire
management, and assisting the adaptation of wildlife and fisheries to
climate change. The quality of place is greatly enhanced. As you know,
LWCF uses no tax payer dollars. Created by Congress in 1964 and
authorized at $900 million per year (more than $3 billion in today's
dollars), the LWCF is our most important land and easement acquisition
tool. In the President's budget, he has included full funding for LWCF
programs at the $900 million level, and I support the administration's
commitment to fully funding the program. This wise investment in the
Land and Water Conservation Fund is one that will permanently pay
dividends to the American people and to our great natural and
historical heritage. The Refuge System needs $137 million in LWCF for
fiscal year 2017.
The Land, Water and Conservation Fund has provided incredible
benefit to the State of Maine. We have six National Wildlife Refuges
and our only National Park, Acadia, attracts a huge amount of tourist
each year and offers great recreational activities to the local
citizens of the State. LWCF and the Forest Legacy program have
conserved tens of thousands of acres in our interior forestlands and
ensures that forestry and recreational access for all will be a huge
part of our economy for generations to come. As a Mainer, I also wanted
to highlight the importance of LWCF funding to other parts of the State
beyond Rachel Carson NWR. We have a Crown Jewel of the national park
system at Acadia National Park, which will celebrate its centennial
this year. and has continuing LWCF acquisition needs. And we have
incredibly valuable private forests whose permanent protection through
Forest Legacy Program funding means that our tourist and timber
industries--our two largest--can thrive together. I have traveled all
over the huge State of Maine, visiting all of the National Wildlife
Refuges, Acadia NP and State public lands where I enjoyed cross country
skiing, hiking, mountain biking, spending nights at quaint lodges and
dining at small restaurants: all adding to the local Maine economy. So,
LWCF funding for conservation in Maine is critical to the rural economy
and National Wildlife Refuges. And it is matched by other funding, and
enjoys broad support from forest landowners, snowmobilers hikers and
birdwatchers alike. I cannot emphasize enough how important LWCF
funding is to Maine and the remaining 49 United States.
I again extend our appreciation to the subcommittee for its ongoing
commitment to our National Wildlife Refuge System and respectfully
request the Interior, Environment and Related Agencies Appropriations
Subcommittee allocate $506.6 million for the Refuge System's fiscal
year 2017 Operations & Maintenance Budget, $50 million in the National
Wildlife Refuge Fund and $137.6 million in Refuge LWCF monies. We need
Congress to standby their commitment that was made in 1964 : stabilize
the LWCF at $900 million.
Thank you again, Ms. Chairman, for the opportunity to present this
testimony in support of protecting wildlife and it's habitat. Enjoy
your next walk out on a National Wildlife Refuge.
______
Prepared Statement of the Geological Society of America
summary
The Geological Society of America (GSA) urges Congress to support
the fiscal year 2017 request of $1.2 billion for the U.S. Geological
Survey (USGS). As one of our Nation's key science agencies, the USGS
plays a vital role in understanding and documenting mineral and energy
resources that underpin economic growth; researching and monitoring
potential natural hazards that threaten U.S. and international
security; and determining and assessing water quality and availability.
Approximately two thirds of the USGS budget is allocated for research
and development. In addition to underpinning the science activities and
decisions of the Department of the Interior, this research is used by
communities across the Nation to make informed decisions in land use
planning, emergency response, natural resource management, engineering,
and education. Despite the critical role played by the USGS, funding
for the agency has stagnated in real dollars for more than a decade.
The requested level would permit the USGS to add to its capability in
these important areas. Given the importance of the many activities of
the Survey that protect lives and property, stimulate innovations that
fuel the economy, provide national security, and enhance the quality of
life, GSA believes that growth in Federal funding for the Survey is
necessary for the future of our Nation.
The Geological Society of America, founded in 1888, is a scientific
society with over 26,000 members from academia, government, and
industry in all 50 States and more than 100 countries. Through its
meetings, publications, and programs, GSA enhances the professional
growth of its members and promotes the geosciences in the service of
humankind.
u.s. geological survey contributions to national security, health, and
welfare
The USGS is one of the Nation's premier science agencies.
Approximately two thirds of the USGS budget is allocated for research
and development. In addition to underpinning the science activities and
decisions of the Department of the Interior, this research is used by
communities across the Nation to make informed decisions in land use
planning, emergency response, natural resource management, engineering,
and education. USGS research addresses many of society's greatest
challenges for national security, health, and welfare. Several are
highlighted below.
--Natural hazards--including earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic
eruptions, wildfires, and landslides--are a major cause of
fatalities and economic losses. Recent natural disasters
provide unmistakable evidence that the United States remains
vulnerable to staggering losses. Landslides, which occur in
every State, cause more than $3 billion in damage each year. An
improved scientific understanding of geologic hazards will
reduce future losses through better forecasts of their
occurrence, which allows for effective planning and mitigation.
Decision makers in many sectors rely upon USGS data. For
example, USGS volcano monitoring provides key data to enable decisions
on airline safety and data from the USGS network of stream gages is
used by the National Weather Service to issue flood and drought
warnings. GSA urges Congress to support efforts for USGS to modernize
and upgrade its natural hazards monitoring and warning systems to
protect communities from the devastating personal and economic effects
of natural disasters, including additional 3-D elevation mapping and
earthquake early warning systems.
--A 2013 report by the National Research Council, Emerging Workforce
Trends in the Energy and Mining Industries: A Call to Action,
found, ``Energy and mineral resources are essential for the
Nation's fundamental functions, its economy, and its
security.'' Recent studies have shown that rare earth elements
are essential to the production, sustainment, and operation of
U.S. military equipment. Reliable access to the necessary
material is a bedrock requirement for the Department of
Defense. In addition, many emerging energy technologies--such
as wind turbines and solar cells--depend upon rare earth
elements and critical minerals that currently lack diversified
sources of supply. We support the proposed increases in
minerals science, research, information, data collection and
analysis that will allow for more economic and environmental
management and utilization of minerals. In addition, GSA
supports increases in research to better understand domestic
sources of energy, including conventional and unconventional
oil and gas and renewables.
--The ongoing drought in the western United States is a testament to
our dependence on water. The availability and quality of
surface water and groundwater are vital to the wellbeing of
both societies and ecosystems. Greater scientific understanding
of these resources through monitoring and research by the USGS
is necessary to ensure adequate and safe water resources for
the health and welfare of society.
--USGS research on climate impacts is used by the Department of the
Interior and local policymakers and resource managers to make
sound decisions based on the best possible science. The Climate
Science Centers, for example, provide scientific information
necessary to anticipate, monitor, and adapt to climate change's
effects at regional and local levels, allowing communities to
make smart, cost-effective decisions.
--The Landsat satellites have amassed the largest archive of remotely
sensed land data in the world, a tremendously important
resource for natural resource exploration, land use planning,
and assessing water resources, the impacts of natural
disasters, and global agriculture production. GSA supports
interagency efforts to plan a path forward for future support
of Landsat.
All of these activities are supported by the Core System Sciences,
Facilities, and Science Support arenas. These programs and services,
such as geologic mapping and data preservation, provide critical
information, data, and infrastructure that underpin the research that
will stimulate innovations that fuel the economy, provide security, and
enhance the quality of life. Increases are particularly needed in
Facilities to address many deferred maintenance programs.
Knowledge of the earth sciences is essential to science literacy
and to meeting the environmental and resource challenges of the twenty-
first century. It is also fundamental to training the next generation
of Earth science professionals. We are very concerned that cuts in
Earth science funding will cause students and young professionals to
leave the field, potentially leading to a lost generation of
professionals in areas that are already facing worker shortages.
Investments in these areas could lead to job growth, as demand for
these professionals now and in the future is assessed to be high.
A 2013 report by the National Research Council, Emerging Workforce
Trends in the Energy and Mining Industries: A Call to Action, found,
``In mining (nonfuel and coal) a personnel crisis for professionals and
workers is pending and it already exists for faculty.'' Another recent
study, Status of the Geoscience Workforce Report 2014, found an
expected deficit of approximately 135,000 geoscientists by 2022.
Thank you for the opportunity to provide testimony about the U.S.
Geological Survey. For additional information or to learn more about
the Geological Society of America--including GSA Position Statements on
water resources, mineral and energy resources, natural hazards, and
public investment in Earth science research--please visit
www.geosociety.org or contact Kasey White at [email protected].
______
Prepared Statement of Helen Golding
Dear Senators:
As an American citizen and taxpayer, I strongly oppose the BLM's
proposal to conduct dangerous sterilization experiments on wild mares
at the Wild Horse Corral Facility in Hines. According to the
Environmental Assessment (EA), the BLM is deciding whether or not to
proceed with one or more of the proposed sterilization procedures. The
weight of scientific evidence and public opinion clearly supports a BLM
decision NOT to proceed with any of these sterilization procedures.
The sterilization procedures that BLM is proposing to conduct on
federally protected wild mares are dangerous, costly and impractical
for use in the field, due to the serious health risks they pose to the
horses and their unborn foals, and also due to the great expense of
purchasing the equipment and training the number of veterinarians
necessary to implement these procedures on the range.
It makes no sense to spend millions of taxpayer dollars on these
risky invasive experiments when proven, humane, and relatively
inexpensive fertility control technology in the form of the PZP vaccine
is readily available but vastly underutilized by the BLM.
The EA is completely inadequate in analyzing the impacts of these
experimental procedures on mares. In addition, the BLM has deliberately
avoided public opposition to this controversial and grotesque research
proposal by skipping the scoping stage of the environmental analysis
process. As a result, the public has been deprived of the opportunity
to provide input into the impacts of and alternatives to these
procedures that must be analyzed under the rules of the National
Environmental Policy Act.
1. Ovariectomy via Colposcopy
This is an outdated and archaic procedure that has been supplanted
by more modern laparoscopic surgery. The EA fails to analyze the
impacts of and alternatives to this procedure to mares and never once
mentions the availability of more modern techniques! This proposed
sterilization experiment is an intra-vaginal complex surgical
procedure, which is hardly ever performed in domestic horses (never
mind in wild ones), due to its inherently dangerous risks.
--The blind nature of this surgery increases the risk of intra-
abdominal hemorrhage, but the EA never even addresses this
issue or the availability of more modern laparoscopic
techniques that allow the surgeon to visualize the abdominal
structures.
--The lack of a sterile environment subjects the mares to a high risk
of infection, something that is ignored by the EA.
--The procedure carries with it a significant risk of hemorrhage and
evisceration (protrusion of the intestines through the surgical
incision), which is why it requires strict follow-up care when
used in domestic horses, including pain relief and 4-7 days of
stall rest, the first 48 hours of which is spent in crossties
to prevent the mare from lying down. It is not possible to
provide this required post-operative care to wild mares, yet
the EA minimizes the impacts of this fact, citing the opinion
of an un-named veterinarian, instead of the published science
and National Research Council review, which clearly indicate
the risks and impacts of this outdated procedure on wild mares.
--The procedure will cause mares in early stages of pregnancy to
abort their fetuses and may cause loss of pregnancy for mares
in the mid-stage of pregnancy as well. This is unacceptable.
This pursuit of ovariectomy research is directly counter to the
recommendations of the National Academy of Sciences National Research
Council (NRC) in its 2013 report, ``Using Science to Improve the BLM
Wild Horse and Burro Program: A Way Forward.'' That NRC report
concluded that: ``The possibility that ovariectomy may be followed by
prolonged bleeding or peritoneal infection makes it inadvisable for
field application.''
2. Minimally Invasive Sterilization Techniques
The other sterilization procedures that BLM proposes to research,
while less invasive than ovariectomy, should also be abandoned due to
the inability to provide post-operative care and the impracticality of
implementing these procedures--which have never before been done in
wild or domestic horses-on a broad scale in a field setting. The EA
fails to analyze the impacts of precedent-setting procedures that have
never before been performed in horses, and as well as the inability to
provide required post-operative care. The EA also omits analysis of the
economic impacts and practicalities of implementing these procedures on
the range.
In proceeding with these experiments, the BLM has ignored the NRC
recommendation that these techniques should first be perfected in
domestic mares, who can be easily handled and will be accessible for
close monitoring and post-operative care, before attempting them in
wild horses.
It is unconscionable that the BLM is proceeding with these
draconian experiments that endanger the lives of the un-consenting
equine subjects and their unborn foals, particularly when a proven non-
invasive and safe fertility control method exists in the readily
available PZP birth control vaccine. Instead of wasting millions of tax
dollars to fund experiments on inhumane and impractical sterilization
experiments, the agency should instead focus resources on vaccinating
sufficient numbers of mares with the PZP fertility control vaccine,
which is documented through 30 years of experience and published
science, to be safe, effective, cost-effective and successful in
managing wild horse populations.
Again, as a taxpayer and wild horse lover, I am outraged that the
BLM is even considering pursuing such inhumane, barbaric and wasteful
experimentation on wild horses and I find the BLM's Environmental
Analysis of its impacts to be woefully inadequate. As a result, I
strongly urge the BLM to abandon these proposed experiments in favor of
using proven, more cost-effective and humane fertility control methods.
______
Prepared Statement of the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife
Commission
1. Department of Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Operation of
Indian Programs
a. Trust-Natural Resources Management, Rights Protection
Implementation (RPI).--At least the administration's proposed
$40,161,000 and a proportionate share for Great Lakes Area Resource
Management (the overall need for which is at least $11,454,603).
b. Trust-Natural Resources Management, Tribal Management/
Development Program (TM/DP): At least the administration's proposed
$14,266,000 and the TM/DP requests of GLIFWC's member tribes.
c. Trust-Natural Resources Management, Tribal Climate
Resilience: At least the administration's proposed $13,056,000.
d. Trust-Natural Resources Management, Invasive Species: At least
the administration's proposed $6,770,000.
e. Tribal Government, Contract Support: At least the
administration's proposed $278,000,000.
Funding Authorizations: Snyder Act, 25 U.S.C. s. 13; Indian Self-
Determination and Education Assistance Act, (Public Law 93-638), 25
U.S.C. ss. 450f and 450h; and the treaties between the United States
and GLIFWC's member Ojibwe Tribes.\1\
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\1\ Specifically, the Treaty of 1836, 7 Stat. 491, Treaty of 1837,
7 Stat. 536, Treaty of 1842, 7 Stat. 591, and Treaty of 1854, 10 Stat.
1109. The rights guaranteed by these treaties have been affirmed by
various court decisions, including a 1999 U.S. Supreme Court case.
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2. Environmental Protection Agency
a. Environmental Programs and Management, Geographic Programs,
Great Lakes Restoration: The historical allocation of $300,000,000 out
of which there is an overall tribal need of at least $25,000,000.
GLIFWC's Need: $1,200,000.
b. State and Tribal Assistance Grants, Categorical Grants, Tribal
General Assistance Program: At least the Administration's proposed
$96,375,000.
Funding Authorizations: Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. s. 1268(c); and
treaties cited above.
glifwc's fiscal year 2016 funding request highlights
1. GLIFWC would be pleased to accept an allocation of appropriated
RPI funding that is in the same proportion as it has currently been
receiving, while rejecting the notion that the RPI line item is open
for a competitive process.
2. A total tribal set-aside of $25,000,000 and GLIFWC's request of
$1,200,000 under the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.
3. Full funding for contract support costs, as required by the
ISDEA Act.
4. Sufficient funding in the Tribal Management and Development
line item for GLIFWC's member tribes to fulfill their needs for
reservation-based natural resource programs.
glifwc's goal--a secure funding base to fulfill treaty purposes
For more than 30 years, Congress has funded GLIFWC to implement
comprehensive conservation, natural resource protection, and law
enforcement programs that: (1) ensure member tribes are able to
implement their treaty reserved rights to hunt, fish, and gather
throughout the ceded territories; (2) ensure a healthy and sustainable
natural resource base to support those rights; and (3) promote healthy,
safe communities. These programs also provide a wide range of public
benefits, and facilitate participation in management partnerships in
Wisconsin, Michigan, and Minnesota.
glifwc's programs--promoting healthy communities and educating tribal
members through treaty rights exercise
Established in 1984, GLIFWC is a natural resources management
agency of 11 member Ojibwe Tribes with resource management
responsibilities over their ceded territory (off-reservation) hunting,
fishing and gathering treaty rights. These ceded territories extend
over a 60,000 square mile area in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and
Michigan.\2\ GLIFWC employs 83 full-time staff, including natural
resource scientists, technicians, conservation enforcement officers,
policy specialists, and public information specialists.
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\2\ GLIFWC's programs do not duplicate those of the Chippewa-Ottawa
Resource Authority or the 1854 Treaty Authority. GLIFWC also
coordinates with its member tribes with respect to tribal treaty
fishing that extends beyond reservation boundaries by virtue of the
Treaty of 1854 and the reservations' locations on Lake Superior.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
GLIFWC strives to implement its programs in a holistic, integrated
manner that is consistent with the culture and values of its member
tribes, especially in light of tribal lifeways that the exercise of
treaty rights supports. This means not only ensuring that tribal
members can legally exercise their rights, but supporting community
efforts to educate them about the benefits (physical, spiritual, and
cultural) of harvesting and consuming a more traditional diet, as well
as promoting intergenerational learning and the transmission of
traditional cultural and management practices. These programs, in turn,
promote healthy communities by encouraging healthy lifestyles,
intergenerational connections, and cultural education.
GLIFWC and its member tribes thank Congress, and particularly this
subcommittee, for its continuing support of these treaty obligations
and its recognition of the ongoing success of these programs. There are
two main elements of this fiscal year 2016 funding request:
1. BIA Great Lakes Area Management (Within the RPI Line Item): A
proportionate share of the $40,161,000 proposed by the administration
for the RPI line item, including the proposed $2,500,000 increase. The
administration's proposed increase for climate change in RPI for fiscal
year 2017 is greatly appreciated, but competition for funding has no
place in this line item. RPI provides funding for tribes and tribal
commissions to meet Federal court litigated responsibilities.
Fulfilling these obligations cannot be the focus of a competitive
process. GLIFWC has always saupported allocating increases to the RPI
line item in the historically proportionate amounts.
GLIFWC has testified about the fact that the need is consistently
greater than RPI funding, and the impacts that underfunding has on
treaty rights programs. RPI climate change funding has allowed GLIFWC
to undertake a new climate change program to better understand the
physical, chemical and biological changes occurring in ceded territory
ecosystems, develop and implement adaptive management strategies to
address those changes, and provide technical assistance to GLIFWC
member tribes. This program is in its infancy, and continued support
would allow it to further develop and integrate into GLIFWC overall
programs.
Tribes can only protect the resources that support their rights if
they undertake relevant scientific and technical analyses that inform
the design and implementation of adaptive natural resource management
activities. To this end, maximum flexibility should be provided to
GLIFWC and its tribes to define for themselves the science and research
activities best suited to the needs of their member tribes and the
particular issues within their region. GLIFWC would gladly accept funds
in proportion to overall RPI funding, as provided in fiscal year 2016.
2. EPA Environmental Programs and Management: $300,000,000. GLIFWC:
$1,200,000. GLIFWC supports continued funding for the Great Lakes
Restoration Initiative (GLRI) as an important non-regulatory program
that enhances and ensures coordinated governance in the Great Lakes, as
well as substantive natural resource protection and restoration
projects. GLIFWC supports funding the GLRI at $300 million, the level
that has been provided since 2011. Effective Great Lakes programs
throughout the basin require a consistent funding level of $300
million.
GLIFWC also recommends that at least $25 million be provided
through a distinct tribal program to fulfill treaty obligations, meet
trust responsibilities, and achieve tribal self-determination and self-
governance in protecting and restoring the Great Lakes. A separate
tribal component should allow for greater flexibility to allow tribes
to develop the programs that are of the highest priorities to their
communities, rather than having priority projects designed for them by
Federal agencies.
Sustained funding for GLIFWC at approximately $1.2 million will
enable GLIFWC to augment its current natural resource protection and
enhancement activities. It will also allow GLIFWC to maintain its
participation in interjurisdictional governance structures, including
the implementation of the revised Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement
(GLWQA). With GLRI funding, GLIFWC has been able to provide active
support on numerous implementing Annexes, including the Lakewide Action
and Management Plan, Aquatic Invasive Species, Chemicals of Mutual
Concern, and Science Annexes.
GLRI funding has also allowed GLIFWC to continue to provide
culturally relevant and targeted mercury-based consumption advice for
fish. Tribal members are disproportionately impacted by the presence of
mercury in fish due to their higher rate of consumption. Contaminated
fish threaten the tribes' ability to exercise their treaty guaranteed
right to harvest fish off reservation throughout the ceded territory.
results and benefits of glifwc's programs
1. Maintain the Requisite Capability To Meet Legal Obligations, To
Conserve Natural Resources and To Regulate Treaty Harvests: While more
funding would increase program comprehensiveness, sustained funding at
the fiscal year 2017 level supports tribal compliance with various
court decrees and intergovernmental agreements that govern the tribes'
treaty-reserved hunting, fishing and gathering rights. Funding for
science and research enhances GLIFWC's capability to undertake work and
participate in relevant partnerships to address ecosystem threats that
harm treaty natural resources, including those related to climate
change.
2. Remain a Trusted Management and Law Enforcement Partner, and
Scientific Contributor in the Great Lakes Region: GLIFWC has become a
respected and integral part of management and law enforcement
partnerships that conserve natural resources and protect public safety.
It brings a tribal perspective to interjurisdictional Great Lakes
management fora and would use its scientific expertise to study issues
and geographic areas that are important to its member tribes but that
others may not be examining.
3. Maintain the Overall Public Benefits That Derive From Its
Programs: Over the years, GLIFWC has become a recognized and valued
partner in natural resource management. Because of its institutional
experience and staff expertise, GLIFWC has built and maintained
numerous partnerships that: (i) provide accurate information and data
to counter social misconceptions about tribal treaty harvests and the
status of ceded territory natural resources; (ii) maximize each
partner's financial resources and avoid duplication of effort and
costs; (iii) engender cooperation rather than competition; and (iv)
undertake projects that achieve public benefits that no one partner
could accomplish alone.
4. Encourage and Contribute to Healthy Tribal Communities. GLIFWC
works with its member tribes' communities to promote the benefits of
treaty rights exercise. These include the health benefits associated
with a more traditional diet and the intergenerational learning that
takes place when elders teach youth. In addition, GLIFWC sponsors a
camp each summer where tribal youth build leadership skills, strengthen
connections to the outdoors, and learn about treaty rights and careers
in natural resource fields.
______
Prepared Statement of the Great Lakes Resources Committee
Mr. Chairman and members of the subcommittee:
My name is Levi D. Carrick, Sr., Chairman of the Great Lakes
Resources Committee (GLRC) of the Chippewa Ottawa Resource Authority
(CORA). CORA is an inter-tribal resource management organization
established by five (5) federally recognized Indian tribes in the State
of Michigan. They are: the Bay Mills Indian Community; the Grand
Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians; the Little River Band of
Ottawa Indians; the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians; and the
Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians. GLRC addresses issues of
management, preservation and enhancement of all species and habitats
which are within the Great Lakes resources. I also am proud to serve as
the President of the Bay Mills Indian Community.
On behalf of CORA, I personally express CORA's appreciation for the
Rights Protection Implementation Program (RPI) funding request for
CORA, contained in the Presidents' Fiscal Year 2017 Budget for the
Department of the Interior. RPI Program funds enable CORA's tribes to
provide for the exercise by their members of the reserved right to
hunt, fish, trap and gather on the lands and waters ceded to the United
States by our ancestors in Article 13 of the Treaty of March 28, 1836.
That cession covers the eastern Upper Peninsula of Michigan and the
northern \2/3\ of the Lower Peninsula, as well as large portions of the
upper three Great Lakes--Lakes Huron, Michigan and Superior.
I am sure that the importance of treaty reserved rights to Indian
tribes and their members has been expressed in testimony before this
subcommittee many times, but that importance can never be overstated.
Treaty hunting, fishing and gathering rights were essential to the
existence of our ancestors and continue to be essential to our
existence as Indian people; they preserve our access to culturally
significant resources which are intimately connected to traditional
ways of life. This importance is not symbolic; tribal members continue
to rely on the ability to harvest natural resources for both commercial
and subsistence purposes. It is our life way.
The tribes have always believed that these treaty reserved rights
continue to exist, and were not extinguished or diminished by any act
of the Federal Government. Unfortunately, that was not a belief shared
by the State of Michigan, which prosecuted tribal members for hunting,
fishing and gathering at times or with methods which State law
prohibited. This situation continued until the United States filed suit
against the State of Michigan in 1973. It resulted in a decision in
United States v. Michigan in 1979 upholding the right to fish in the
ceded waters of the Great Lakes. This right was implemented by court-
facilitated negotiations among the Federal, State and tribal parties,
that produced two Consent Decrees which provided for the allocation and
management of the Great Lakes fisheries in the treaty area; the first
one was entered in 1985 for a period of 15 years, and a successor
agreement was entered in 2000 for a period of 20 years, ending in
August, 2020. It is that Decree which is listed as ``Chippewa/Ottawa
Treaty Fisheries'' under CORA in the Fiscal Year 2017 Green Book RPI
Programs.
The CORA tribes receive base funding through the ``Treaty
Fisheries'' line item for the following activities: to establish
conservation-based fishing regulations; conduct biological monitoring
of the fishery; carry out resource protection and enhancement programs
and activities; staff conservation enforcement departments and
adjudicatory bodies to resolve violations of the regulations; and
provide an intertribal voice to coordinate and cooperate with the
Federal, State and international organizations which address Great
Lakes resource matters.
The Great Lakes ``model'' provided a template for the parties in
United States v. Michigan, who voluntarily entered into negotiations to
resolve the scope of rights reserved by Article 13 in the inland 14
million acres of land and water of the cession. In 2007, their efforts
produced a permanent Consent Decree, which encompasses the nature and
extent of the right to hunt, fish, trap and gather by tribal members as
regulated by their respective tribes; establishes protocols by which
the resources are allocated between tribal and State-licensed
harvesters; and provides collaborative resource management procedures
for the CORA tribes and the State of Michigan.
The terms of the Inland Consent Decree envision the following
responsibilities for the tribes: significant expansion of the tribes'
conservation enforcement programs; creation and maintenance of inland
biological monitoring, assessment, restoration and enhancement
programs; growth in tribal adjudicatory systems' staffing,
administration and financial support; and expansion of intertribal
management mechanisms and procedures. It is the trust responsibility of
the United States to provide stable, recurrent funding by which the
Court Decree can be implemented by the tribes.
This element of the trust responsibility was finally recognized by
the administration and included in the Interior Green Book as an RPI
Program for Fiscal Year 2013. In response, the Congress appropriated
$461,000 for CORA in RPI funds, an amount which allowed each tribe to
initiate permanent programs, albeit very small ones. This amount was
increased by this subcommittee to $1,605,714.00 in fiscal year 2016,
and is the amount requested by the administration for these purposes in
the Fiscal Year 2017 Green Book for RPI Programs, listed as ``Chippewa/
Ottawa Inland Consent Decree''.
One final item is included in the RPI fiscal year 2017 budget for
all intertribal resource management organizations, which is entitled
``Evaluation & Research Activities--Climate Change''. CORA supports the
administration's proposed $2.5 million increase for climate change
activities, but does not support the administration's proposed
competitive process for distributing this increase, in the event that
it is approved by this Congress. CORA's position is that requiring the
tribes to compete with each other for funding derogates the trust
responsibility embodied by the RPI line item. The recipient tribes and
tribal commissions receive RPI funds to carry out responsibilities
established and ordered by Federal courts as the culmination of years
of litigation. Establishing a mandatory competitive process for any
portion of the resource management activities undertaken by tribes to
fulfill their court-ordered obligations is a breach of the trust
responsibility masquerading as fiscal accountability. CORA instead
supports an allocation of those funds among the organizations based on
the percentage that each listed inter-tribal organization will receive
in RPI funds, as compared to the total amount requested for all RPI
purposes for fiscal year 2017. This is the same method used in previous
fiscal years, and it has worked well. For CORA, that proportionate
amount is $681,355.
CORA tribes have participated in intertribal management and
regulation of natural resources since 1982. For decades, we have been
at the forefront of efforts to protect, enhance and restore the natural
environment so that all human beings can enjoy the fish, wildlife and
plants of our region for generations to come. Already, the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service is asking to consult on what type of resource
management regime should replace the Great Lakes Consent Decree in
2020. The CORA tribes have proven to be an effective partner with
agencies of the United States, the States, and the province of Ontario
to manage our natural resources to the seventh generation and beyond.
For these reasons, the CORA tribes respectfully request your
support for fiscal year 2017 RPI funding at the level of $4,746,355.00
in recurring base funding, which is the amount outlined for CORA in the
RPI portion of the Department of Interior's Green Book for Fiscal Year
2017, plus CORA's proportionate share of the ``Climate Change'' line
item.
Thank you for your consideration.
______
Prepared Statement of the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS),
Humane Society Legislative Fund (HSLF), and Doris Day Animal League
Thank you for the opportunity to offer testimony to the Interior,
Environment, and Related Agencies Subcommittee on items of importance
to our organizations. We urge the subcommittee to address these
priority issues in the fiscal year 2017 Department of Interior
appropriation. We have requests to a number of programs detailed below:
Environmental Protection Agency's CompTox program ($25.7 million),
Bureau of Land Management's Wild Horse and Burro Program (budget
increase contingent on implementing the National Academy of Science's
recommendations on fertility control; language to ensure continued
protection of wild horses and burros from slaughter), and the
Multinational Species Conservation Fund (continued funding but with no
funds from conservation programs to promote trophy hunting, trade in
animal parts, and other consumptive uses). We also ask that language is
not included that would halt the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's (FWS)
efforts to combat wildlife trafficking or in any way undermine the
Endangered Species Act.
environmental protection agency's comptox program
Thousands of chemicals are currently used and hundreds of new ones
are introduced each year for which toxicity assessments need to be
conducted. To answer this need, EPA established the National Center for
Computational Toxicity to predict hazard and prioritize chemicals for
further screening and testing, developing and using high-throughput
assays and predictive tools which are less expensive and time consuming
and more predictive of relevant biological pathways.
Through EPA's CompTox program, EPA has screened more than 2,000
chemicals (industrial, food additives, and consumer products) and
evaluated them in more than 700 high-throughput assays. Additionally,
EPA is using ToxCast data to prioritize chemicals for evaluation in the
Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program. Tox21, a collaboration between
EPA, NIEHS, NCATS and the FDA is currently screening 10,000 chemicals
to improve the effectiveness of drug development.
However, even as the need increases for this data, the program's
budget has stagnated at $21.4 million in fiscal year 2015 and fiscal
year 2016. We support an increase to $25.7 million to the CompTox
program in fiscal year 2017. This will encourage the likelihood of
realizing the goals presented in the CompTox program and assure a more
predictable and relevant chemicals safety assessment.
bureau of land management--wild horse and burro program
The Humane Society of the United States (The HSUS) is one of the
leading advocates for the protection and welfare of wild horses and
burros in the U.S. with a long history of working collaboratively with
the Bureau of Land Management (BLM)--the agency mandated to protect
America's wild horses and burros--on the development of effective and
humane management techniques.
The HSUS strongly supports a significant reduction in the number of
wild horses and burros gathered and removed from our rangelands
annually. We believe removing horses from the range without
implementing any active program for suppressing the population growth
rate has proven itself to be an unsustainable method of management of
our Nation's wild horses, and simply leads to a continual cycle of
roundups and removals when more long-term, cost-efficient and humane
management strategies, such as fertility control, are readily
available.
For years, the BLM has removed far more wild horses and burros from
the range than it could possibly expect to adopt annually, and as a
consequence, the costs associated with caring for these animals off the
range have continued to skyrocket. The costs associated with caring for
one wild horse in a long term holding facility over the course of its
life is approximately 46,000 dollars according to the BLM. Today, there
are almost 50,000 wild horses and burros in these pens, and the agency
spends more than 65 percent of its annual Wild Horse and Burro budget
on holding costs. While recent years have shown a decline in the number
of animals removed from the range, the BLM must continue to balance the
number of animals removed from the range annually with the number of
animals it can expect to adopt in a given year if it hopes to
effectively reduce off-the-range management costs.
Further, the BLM's current program of management of wild horses has
negative effects that go beyond a simple cost-benefit analysis. For
instance, the recommendations in the National Academy of Sciences 2013
report ``Using Science to Improve the BLM Wild Horse and Burro Program:
A Way Forward,'' commissioned by the BLM itself, stated that it is
BLM's own practices of managing wild horses ``below food-limited
carrying capacity'' by rounding up and removing a significant
proportion of the herd's population every 3 to 4 years that is
facilitating high horse population growth rates on the range.
As such, it is incumbent that the BLM move away from current
management practices to create a long-term, humane and financially
sustainable path. It is our belief that the most cost-effective and
humane approach is for the BLM to move aggressively forward with a
fertility control program which prioritizes on-the-range management of
wild horses and burros. This path forward is supported by the National
Academy of Sciences report, which called for an increased usage of on-
the-range management tools, including the usage of the fertility
control vaccine PZP. Further, a 2008 paper determined that
contraception on-the-range could reduce total wild horse and burro
management costs by 14 percent, saving $6.1 million per year. Finally,
the results of a paper describing an economic model commissioned by The
HSUS indicates that by treating wild horses on one hypothetical Herd
Management Area (HMA) with the fertility control vaccine Porcine Zona
Pellucida (PZP), the BLM could save approximately $5 million dollars
over 12 years while achieving and maintaining Appropriate Management
Levels (AML) of 874 horses. Since the BLM estimates that more than
58,000 wild horses roam in the U.S., the use of PZP could result in a
cost-savings of tens of millions of dollars if applied broadly across
all HMAs.
For these reasons, we support an increase to the BLM Wild Horse and
Burro budget, contingent on the agency's usage of the funding to
immediately begin usage of the NAS-recommended fertility control
methods that are currently available, and to fund additional research
on contraception and population growth suppression methods.
We also request inclusion of the same language barring wild horses
and burros from being sent to slaughter that was included in the fiscal
year 2016 omnibus: ``Appropriations herein made shall not be available
for the destruction of healthy, unadopted, wild horses and burros that
results in their destruction for processing into commercial products.''
(Division G, p. 714, line 23).
The President's fiscal year 2017 budget requested language that
inadvertently creates a loophole that could allow iconic wild horses
and burros to be sent to slaughter. If Congress chooses to include
Section 110 from the President's fiscal year 2017 budget, we request
the following language be added at the end of the section to ensure
that wild horses and burros are not sent to slaughter:
Provided further, That any Federal State, or local government
agency receiving excess wild horses or burros shall not
destroy, sell, or otherwise transfer the horses or burros in a
way that results in their destruction for processing into
commercial products.
multinational species conservation fund
The administration's fiscal year 2017 budget requests $11.1 million
for the Multinational Species Conservation Fund (MSCF) program which
funds African and Asian elephants, rhinos, tigers, great apes like
chimps and gorillas, and sea turtles. The HSUS joins a broad coalition
of organizations in support of the administration's request while
ensuring that the sales from the semi-postal stamps benefiting this
program remain supplementary to annually appropriated levels. We also
support the fiscal year 2017 budget justification request from the
USFWS Office of International Affairs (IA) of approximately $15.8
million. The USFWS IA program supports efforts to conserve our planet's
rich wildlife diversity by protecting habitat and species, combating
illegal wildlife trade, and building capacity for landscape-level
wildlife conservation. Within IA are the Wildlife Without Borders
programs that tackle grassroots wildlife conservation problems and we
support these programs that conserve several of the world's most iconic
species in their native habitats.
While we wholeheartedly support continued funding for the MSCF, we
are concerned about past incidents and oppose any future use of funds
from these conservation programs to promote trophy hunting, trade in
animal parts, and other consumptive uses--including live capture for
trade, captive breeding, and entertainment for public display
industry--under the guise of conservation for these animals. Grants
made to projects under the MSCF must be consistent with the spirit of
the law.
wildlife trafficking
The illegal wildlife trafficking trade has reached a level of
global emergency, with impacts on national security, international
human rights, and the survival of protected wildlife species. African
elephants are especially facing an unprecedented crisis, with one
elephant killed every 15 minutes in Africa. The U.S. is the world's
second largest market for ivory product sales, behind China. In
response to this crisis, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS)
issued a proposed rule that will curtail the commercial ivory trade in
the U.S. by cracking down on the domestic trade in ivory. In addition,
the rule proposes to increase scrutiny of the import of African
elephant trophies and to extend Endangered Species Act (ESA) protection
to live African elephants in captive facilities in the United States.
Soon after the release of the rule, President Obama and President Xi
Jinping of China announced a detailed and shared commitment to ending
the global trade in ivory.
In the midst of the current poaching crisis African elephants are
facing, it is imperative that the FWS is able to finalize a rule that
will curtail the commercial ivory trade in the United States. We ask
that the fiscal year 2017 Interior, Environment and Related Agencies
Appropriations bill not include language that would block further
action on this proposed rule.
endangered species act
The Endangered Species Act (ESA) is fundamental to the protection
of our globe's most imperiled animals. This law, which is supported by
90 percent of American voters, has prevented the extinction of 99
percent of the species under its care, including the bald eagle. Under
the ESA, the responsibility to list and delist species lies with
Federal agencies, which must make these listing decisions based upon
the best available science. The authority to make these science-based
management decisions should remain with Federal agencies.
We ask that the fiscal year 2017 Interior Appropriations bill
exclude any language that prevents Federal agencies from making listing
or delisting decisions based on sound science, or otherwise undermines
the ESA.
______
Prepared Statement of the Independent Review Team
Thank you for the opportunity to testify today and to address the
serious funding needs that have limited and continue to hinder the
operations of tribal judicial systems in Indian Country. We are
representing the Independent Tribal Court Review Team. We thank this
subcommittee for the additional $10.0 million funding in fiscal year
2010, the last significant increase. These funds were a blessing to
tribes. Even minimal increases are always put to good use. It is the
strong recommendation of the Independent Tribal Courts Review Team that
the Federal Tribal Courts budget be substantially increased in fiscal
year 2017 to support the needs of tribal judicial systems.
BUDGET PRIORITIES, REQUESTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
1. +$2.6 Million--Support fiscal year 2017 Proposed Increased for
Tribal Courts
2. +$58.4 Million authorized under the Indian Tribal Justice Act
of 1993, Public Law 103-176, 25 USC 3601 and re-authorized in year 2000
Public Law 106-559 (no funds have been appropriated to date)
3. Support the requests and recommendations of the National
Congress of American Indians
The increase will support:
1. Hiring and Training of Court Personnel
2. Compliance with the Tribal Law and Order Act of 2010
3. Compliance with and implement the VAWA Act of 2013
4. Salary Increases for Existing Judges and Court Personnel
5. State-of-the-Art Technology for Tribal Courts
6. Security and Security Systems to Protect Court Records and
Privacy of Case Information
7. Tribal Court Code Development
8. Financial Code Development
The Independent Tribal Courts Review Team supports the proposed
$2.6 million increase for tribal courts in the fiscal year 2017
President's budget. Tribal courts need an immediate, sustained and
increased level of funding. The lack of funding has delayed
implementation of the Tribal Law and Order Act (TLOA) and the Violence
Against Women Act (VAWA) to a critical level and the resources that
have been appropriated are required to provide Attorneys to represent
Non-Indian defendants which further strain the capacity of the Tribal
Judicial System. Tribal systems remain underfunded, understaffed and
ill-equipped to function effectively and in a manner comparable to non-
Indian government judicial systems. Tribal courts are at a critical
stage in terms of need. The Tiwahe Initiative, as a means to be
responsive to tribal concerns, demonstrates that the administration and
Congress are listening to the tribes, but there needs to be a greater
effort to fund the authority that was enacted in 1993.
Section 402 of TLOA reauthorized the Tribal Justice Act, and Indian
Tribal Justice Technical and Legal Assistance Act of 2001. These acts
authorize funding for tribal court judges, court personnel, public
defenders, court facilities, and the development of records management
systems and other needs of tribal court systems. The Tribal Justice
Act, originally enacted December 1993, authorized the appropriation of
$58.4 million in tribal court base funding. Yet, not a single dollar
under the Tribal Justice Act has been appropriated in the 22 years
since it was enacted. Of particular note is the provision of the Tribal
Justice Act that states that Federal funds may be used specifically for
``training programs and continuing education for tribal judicial
personnel.'' Appropriations should finally be made to fulfill the
promise of these acts.\1\ We recommend that the Interdepartmental
Tribal Justice, Safety and Wellness Session, of which the Department of
the Interior (DOI) is a member, resume outreach to support the efforts
of TLOA, VAWA and the Tiwahe Initiative.
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\1\ Defining the Indian Civil Rights Act's ``Sufficiently Trained''
Tribal Court Judge, Jill Elizabeth Tompkins, American Indian Law
Journal [Vol, 4:53].
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The Tiwahe Initiative was launched in 2015 to address several
lagging family welfare and poverty issues in Indian Country including a
strategy to reduce incarceration in Indian Country. The alternative to
incarceration is intended to address underlying causes of repeat
offenses, such as substance abuse and the lack of adequate social
service support, by utilizing alternative courts to increase treatment
opportunities, probation programs, and interagency and
intergovernmental partnerships with tribal, State and Federal
stakeholders. In response to the unusual high rates of alcohol and/drug
related repeat offenders that are dominating the resources of the
justice system, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) created the
Diversion and Re-Entry Division (DRD) within the Tribal Justice Support
Directorate. In fiscal year 2016 tribal courts received a 4.9 percent
increase, and the budget request for 2017 is $2.6 million over the
enacted 2016 level. There is an even greater need to ensure that court
personnel are trained, equipped and prepared to address these new
challenges. We support the fiscal year 2017 proposed $21.0 million
increase for Tiwahe to expand social services, Indian Child Welfare,
housing, tribal courts and job placement and training.
Background:
The Bureau of Indian Affairs provides funding to tribal governments
to supplement their justice systems including courts. Tribal courts
play a ``vital role'' in Tribal Self-Determination and Self-Governance
as cited in long-standing Federal policy and Acts of Congress. Funding
levels from BIA to support tribal justice systems have not met the
Federal obligations.
There is a great deal of variation in the types of tribal courts
and how they apply laws. Some tribal courts resemble Western-style
courts in that written laws and court procedures are applied. Others
use traditional Native means of resolving disputes, such as
peacemaking, elders' councils, and sentencing circles. Some tribes have
both types of courts. The BIA also manages a small number of CFR (Code
of Federal Regulations) courts.
Since 1999, Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) in the Department of
Justice (DOJ) has administered the Tribal Courts Assistance Program,
designed to provide funds for tribes to plan, operate, and enhance
tribal judicial systems. They have made attempts to evaluate tribal
courts but discovered their means of doing so was insensitive to
American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) people and unrealistic in the
absence of elements that were key to Indian Country, such as: (1) the
importance of tribal culture and traditions; (2) the inability to apply
State and local criminal justice initiatives to tribal settings; (3)
the lack of cooperation from non-tribal entities; and, (4) the lack of
available data on tribal justice.
The Independent Tribal Court Review Team has had more hands on
success in reviewing tribal court systems. For 7 years, we traveled
throughout Indian Country assessing how tribal courts are operating.
During this time, we have completed 84 Court Reviews. We also completed
28 Corrective Actions. There is no one with more hands-on experience
and knowledge regarding the current status of tribal courts than our
review team.
Justification for Request:
1. Hiring and Training of Court Personnel.--Tribal courts make do
with underpaid staff, under-experienced staff and minimal training. (We
have determined that hiring tribal members limits the inclination of
staff to move away; a poor excuse to underpay staff.)
2. Compliance with the Tribal Law & Order Act of 2010.--To provide
judges, prosecutors, public defenders, who are attorneys, who are bared
to do ``enhanced sentencing'' in tribal courts.
3. Compliance with the 2013 VAWA Act.--To provide tribal courts
with the ability to provide non-Indians with all the rights under the
U.S. Constitution in domestic violence actions in tribal courts (12
person juries, provide licenses attorneys for non-Indians, provide
licensed attorneys in court personnel in domestic violence cases as in
TLOA, etc.).
4. Salary Increases for Existing Judges and Court Personnel.--
Salaries should be comparable to local and State court personnel to
keep pace with the non-tribal judicial systems and be competitive to
maintain existing personnel.
5. Tribal Courts Need State-of-the-Art Technology (Software,
Computers, Phone Systems, Tape Recording Machines).--Many tribes cannot
afford to purchase or upgrade existing court equipment unless they get
a grant. This is accompanied by training expenses and licensing fees
which do not last after the grant ends.
6. Security and Security Systems to Protect Court Records and
Privacy of Case Information.--Most tribal courts do not even have a
full time Bailiff, much less a State-of-the-Art security system that
uses locked doors and camera surveillance. This is a tragedy waiting to
happen.
7. Tribal Court Code Development.--Tribes cannot afford legal
consultation. A small number of tribes hire on-site staff attorneys.
These staff attorneys generally become enmeshed in economic development
so code development does not take priority. Tribes make do with under-
developed codes. The Adam Walsh Act created a hardship for tribes who
were forced to develop codes, without funding, or have the State assume
jurisdiction. (States have never properly overseen law enforcement in a
tribal jurisdiction.)
8. Financial Code Development.--We have rarely seen tribes with
developed financial policies. The process of paying a bond, for
example, varies greatly from tribe to tribe. The usual process of who
collects it, where it is collected and how much it is, is never
consistent among tribes.
There are many positive aspects about tribal courts. It is clear
that tribal courts and justice systems are vital and important to the
communities where they are located. Tribes value and want to be proud
of their court systems. Tribes with even modest resources tend to
allocate funding to courts before other costs. After decades of
existence, many tribal courts, despite minimal funding, have achieved a
level of experience and sophistication approaching, and in some cases
surpassing, local non-Indian courts.
Tribal courts, through the Indian Child Welfare Act, have mostly
stopped the wholesale removal of Indian children from their families.
Indian and non-Indian courts have developed formal and informal
agreements regarding jurisdiction. Tribal governments have recognized
the benefit of having law-trained Judges, without doing away with
judges who have cultural/traditional experience. Tribal court systems
have appellate courts, jury trials, well-cared-for courthouses (even
the poorer tribes), and Tribal Bar listings and fees. Perhaps most
importantly, tribes recognize the benefit of an independent judiciary
and have taken steps to insulate courts and judges from political
pressure. No longer in Indian Country are judges automatically fired
for decisions against the legislature.
Tribal courts have other serious needs. Tribal appellate court
judges are mostly attorneys who dedicate their services for modest fees
that barely cover costs for copying and transcription fees. Tribal
courts do offer jury trials. In many courts, one sustained jury trial
will deplete the available budget. The only place to minimize expenses
is to fire staff. Many tribal courts have defense advocates. These
advocates are generally not law trained and do a good job protecting an
individual's rights (including assuring speedy trial limitations are
not violated.) However, this is a large item in court budgets and if
the defense advocate, or prosecutor, should leave, the replacement
process is slow.
On behalf of the Independent Tribal Court Review Team, Elbridge
Coochise, Ralph Gonzales, Charles Robertson, Philip Lujan and Myrna
Rivera, thank you for this opportunity to appear before you today.
______
Prepared Statement of the Institute of Makers of Explosives
Interest of the IME
The Institute of Makers of Explosives (IME) was founded in 1913 to
provide accurate information and comprehensive recommendations
concerning the safety and security of the commercial explosives
industry. Our mission is to promote safety, and the protection of
users, the public and environment, and to encourage the adoption of
uniform rules and regulations in the manufacture, transportation,
storage, handling, use and disposal of explosive materials used in
blasting and other essential operations.
IME represents the U.S. manufacturers and distributors of
commercial explosive materials and oxidizers as well as other companies
that that provide related services. Millions of metric tons of high
explosives, blasting agents, and oxidizers are consumed annually in the
United States. Of this, IME member companies produce over 98 percent of
the high explosives and a great majority of the blasting agents and
oxidizers. These products are used in every State and are distributed
worldwide.
The industry's commitment to being good stewards of the environment
is well documented. Managers responsible for operating explosives
manufacturing and distribution sites are faced with a surprising number
of environmental issues that require knowledgeable and diligent
attention. To assist the commercial explosives industry in this area,
IME developed a manual of best practices for managers to reference
called Safety Library Publication (SLP) 29, Recommendations for the
Environmental Management of Commercial Explosives (2011). While limited
in its scope, IME believes SLP 29 is of assistance to facility managers
in crafting and implementing a comprehensive environmental compliance
programs for their unique circumstances. IME is in the final steps of
updating SLP 29 and expects the new version to be published later this
year. This update will serve to provide the latest in best practices
and updates on current regulations so that all of our members can be
proper stewards of the environment.
With this perspective, IME appreciates the opportunity to comment
on the following subjects:
Ammonium Nitrate (AN)
Regarding EPA's implementation of Executive Order (EO) 13650, IME
would like to note that the Agency has abided by the directions in the
House committee report to the fiscal year 2016 Interior, Environment,
and Related Agencies appropriations bill. Specifically, the committee
report language instructed the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to
defer further consideration of including AN under the Risk Management
Program (RMP) until the agency considers whether that approach is
necessary. As was reflected in the language, it was entirely
appropriate that EPA should defer its decisionmaking until the
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)--the agency
currently regulating workplace and thus public safety of this
material--first determines what action it will take with regard to AN
safety.
Going forward, OSHA has announced that it will initiate a Small
Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act (SBREFA) review on Risk
Management Program Modernization, including how to address safety of
AN, and expects to conclude the process in 2016. The SBREFA process
will afford OSHA greater understanding of how different courses of
action, including those for regulating AN, could impact small
businesses and the potential safety improvements associated with those
actions. IME is participating in this process.
EPA's Local Emergency Planning Committees (LEPC)
IME requests that the subcommittee support the $23.7 million budget
request for EPA's State and Local Prevention and Preparedness program,
which represents an $8.4 million increase over the agency's fiscal year
2016 appropriation.\1\
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\1\ Fiscal Year 2017 EPA Budget Estimate, page 50.
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The Emergency Preparedness and Community Right-to-Know Act of 1986
was created to help communities plan for emergencies involving
hazardous chemicals. It envisioned a seamless safety net of LEPCs
established by States and Indian tribes that would ensure community
engagement and chemical industry participation. Since that time, EPA
has conducted two assessments of the program, in 1999 and 2008, and
both have shown the implementation of the program to uneven at best.
More recently, the tragic 2013 industrial incident at West, Texas
revealed again EPA's lack of attention and leadership in using this
program to better safeguard communities. As a result, EO 13650 has
called for the agency to revitalize the LEPC program.
The funding request is more important this year than in the past.
Historically, significant funding for this program has come from
registration fees assessed by the U.S. Department of Transportation
(DOT) on shippers and carriers of hazardous materials. The 2015 Fixing
America's Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act) made important changes
to how registration fees may be used by States. Since 1990, DOT has
allocated registration funds to States for hazmat training and
planning. Planning funds were provided to State Emergency Response
Commissions (SERC) with a 75 percent pass-through requirement to LEPCs.
The FAST Act removes DOT discretion to allocate these funds and it
removed the 75 percent pass-through. In short, DOT's annual $8.15
million set-aside to fund SERCs and LEPCs will still be provided to
States, but States will have unfettered discretion about whether to use
those funds for emergency responder training or for planning. Many
believe that States will choose to direct the majority of these funds
to training purposes. These FAST Act changes underscore the need for
EPA to take responsibility to fully-fund its LEPC program. The
additional $8.4 million request for this program is warranted.
USGS Minerals Resource Program, Minerals Information Program (MIP)
IME requests the subcommittee support the USGS budget request for
the MIP of $15.4 million.\2\
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\2\ 2017 USGS Budget Justification, page H-22.
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The Minerals Information dataset one of the longest running data
sets in the Federal Government. It provides critical information to a
number of important public sector entities as well as the private
sector. No other entity has the capability, integrity, or objectiveness
to produce the broad data sets that are now produced by the MIP.
According to the USGS, in 2016, and on a continuing basis, MIP mineral
economists and minerals information specialists will provide minerals
information to other Federal agencies, including the U.S. Census
Bureau, the Department of Defense, the Federal Reserve Board, and the
Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.\3\
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\3\ 2017 USGS Budget Justification, page H-24.
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IME works with the MIP to produce the Explosives Commodity Report.
IME collects information for the report from the commercial explosives
industry as a public service because the USGS has proven to be a
trusted partner in ensuring that commercially sensitive data is not
disclosed. The completed report provides business intelligence
unavailable elsewhere, to stakeholders inside and outside of
government.
As stated by USGS,
``In 2017, the National Mineral Information Center (NMIC) will
continue to provide hundreds of reports such as the Minerals
Commodity Summaries, the Minerals Yearbook, the Mineral
Industry Surveys, Metal Industry Indicators, and the
Nonmetallic Mineral Products Industry Indexes. These and other
MRP information products, along with sound analysis from
minerals and materials analysis specialists and program
scientists, allow for decision makers and stakeholders to
better understand the changes and importance of mineral
resource production, consumption, and use. The NMIC will
continue to provide high quality information and analysis that
informs Federal critical minerals policy and is of paramount
importance to U.S. national security and trade interests.'' \4\
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\4\ 2017 USGS Budget Justification, page H-25.
Clearly, it is in the interest of the Nation and other stakeholders
for the U.S. Congress to fund the Minerals Information Program at the
requested level.
Thank you for your consideration of our requests.
______
Prepared Statement of the Inter Tribal Buffalo Council
introduction and background
My name is Ervin Carlson and I am a member of the Blackfeet Nation
in Montana and serve as the President of the Inter Tribal Buffalo
Council (ITBC). Please accept my sincere appreciation for this
opportunity to submit written testimony to the honorable members of the
Senate Subcommittee on Interior, Environment and Related Agencies. ITBC
was granted a Federal charter in 2009 pursuant to Section 17 of the
Indian Reorganization Act and is comprised of 60 federally recognized
Indian tribes in 19 States with headquarter offices in Rapid City,
South Dakota. The Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, the Shakopee Tribe of
Minnesota, and the Ruby Tribe of Alaska are the three newest members of
ITBC.
American Indians have a long-standing connection with the buffalo.
Historically, buffalo provided the tribes with food, shelter, clothing
and essential tools for survival. Indians have maintained a strong
spiritual and cultural connection with the buffalo that has not
diminished with the passage of time. ITBC member tribes strive to
restore buffalo to tribal lands for cultural, health and economic
benefits for tribal populations.
On behalf of the member tribes of ITBC, I am requesting an increase
of $5,600,000 to our current $1,400,000 fiscal year 2015 funding level
for a total funding award for fiscal year 2016 of $7,000,000 to allow
the organization to: (1) increase funds for the tribal herd development
grant program, (2) to fund ITBC efforts to serve as a meaningful
management partner to the National Park Service, and (3) to fund
scientific research on the benefits of buffalo meat for Native
populations for the prevention and treatment of diet related diseases.
ITBC requests funding from the Department of Interior Bureau of Indian
Affairs Fish and Wildlife Program and also from the National Park
Service.
funding history
ITBC has been funded through various methods including the
President's budget, congressional earmarks or administrative action
since 1992. ITBC's approximate annual funding is listed below:
Fiscal year 1992-1993..................... $ 400,000.00 Congressional
Earmark
Fiscal year 1994-1999..................... $ 650,000.00 President's
Budget
Fiscal year 2000-2001..................... $1,100,000.00 President's
Budget; Congressional
Earmark
Fiscal year 2002-2003..................... $1,560,000.00 President's
Budget; Congressional
Earmark
Fiscal year 2004-2005..................... $2,200,000.00 President's
Budget; Congressional
Earmark
Fiscal year 2006.......................... $4,100,000.00 President's
Budget; Congressional
Earmark
Fiscal year 2007.......................... $1,000,000.00 Administrative
Action BIA
Fiscal year 2008.......................... $1,000,000.00 Congressional
Earmark
Fiscal year 2009-2010..................... $1,400,000.00 Congressional
Earmark; Administrative
Action BIA
Fiscal year 2011.......................... $1,750,000.00 President's
Budget; Administrative
Action BIA
Fiscal year 2012.......................... $1,400,000.00 President's
Budget
Fiscal year 2013.......................... $1,600,000.00 President's
Budget; Administrative
Action BIA
Fiscal year 2014.......................... $1,400,000.00 President's
Budget; Administrative
Action BIA
Fiscal year 2015.......................... $1,450,000.00 President's
Budget; Administrative
Action BIA
Fiscal year 2016.......................... $1,400,000.00 President's
Budget
The above funding history illustrates congressional and
administrative support for ITBC and tribal buffalo herds. Annual
funding of ITBC provides evidence that buffalo restoration and
management is not a limited or one-time ``project'' but a ``recurring
program'' most recently funded from the Department of Interior Bureau
of Indian Affairs Fish and Wildlife line item.
funding increase justification
Increase in Herd Development Grant Funds
ITBC expends 100 percent of the appropriated funds on the
development and management of tribal buffalo herds. A significant
portion of ITBC funding is distributed directly to ITBC member tribes
via a Herd Development Grant program administered by ITBC. The herd
development grant program commenced in 1992 with $400,000 to assist the
twelve member tribes in the organization. In 2002, ITBC was awarded
$1,000,000 for tribal herd development grants to support 25 tribal
herds. Since 2002, the herd development grant funding has been stagnant
at $1,000,000 despite the growth of the organization to the current 60
member tribes and 54 buffalo herds. In total, ITBC collectively manages
over 20,000 buffalo which is more than all the buffalo currently
managed by NPS in the National Parks. A $2,500,000 increase for tribal
herd development grants will provide critically needed funding to
protect and manage existing tribal herds. This increase will provide a
total of $3,500,000 for distribution to tribes in an average amount of
$65,000 per tribal herd depending on specific needs. These funds will
create jobs in Indian Country, create sustainable tribal buffalo herds
and allow tribes to utilize buffalo for economic development.
Funding for National Park Service and United States Fish and Wildlife
Service Partnership
Since its inception, ITBC has partnered with the National Park
Service (NPS) on buffalo management efforts including population
management through roundups and distribution of buffalo to tribes from
the parks national refuges. ITBC has not been funded for these
activities but has utilized minimal administrative funding to partner
with the Federal agencies. For example, ITBC has agreed to manage
buffalo removed from Yellowstone Park for population control, transport
the animals to processing facilities and distribute processed meat to
tribes despite very limited funding for these efforts. Additionally,
ITBC is a member of the Interagency Bison Management Plan workgroup and
has incurred significant costs to participate in all related activities
to insure that tribes are represented in buffalo management decisions.
ITBC can continue these efforts and develop and manage a quarantine
program that will allow the transfer of live buffalo from the
Yellowstone Park to tribes through an increase of $500,000 in annual
funding.
Health Related Research
ITBC has a long-term objective to prevent and treat diet related
diseases in Native populations through the reintroduction of buffalo
into daily diets. However, these efforts to coordinate with healthcare
providers have been limited by the lack of scientific evidence of the
health benefits of natural grass fed buffalo diets. ITBC believes
research to develop concrete evidence of these health benefits will
facilitate ITBC partnerships with health programs to prevent and treat
diet related diseases in Native populations.
Additionally, sound research results will allow ITBC to develop a
health education curriculum for healthy living with a component
specifically focused on Native youth. Further, this critical research
will support ITBC's efforts to provide buffalo meat to school lunch
programs as a healthy alternative to other meat products.
Funding in the amount of $3,000,000 will allow ITBC to pursue
professional research objectives.
current itbc initiatives
ITBC's primary objectives are to restore buffalo to tribal lands,
and to conserve and manage existing tribal herds through the promotion
of traditional buffalo handling practices and beliefs. ITBC strives to
offer assistance and opportunities to tribes to meet the needs and
desires of individual tribal programs. ITBC attempts to balance the
varying interests of member tribes from maintaining herds for spiritual
purposes to utilizing buffalo as viable economic development endeavors.
ITBC accomplishes these objectives as follows:
1. Technical Assistance to Tribes
ITBC assesses current and potential tribal buffalo programs to
determine technical service needs and infrastructure needs and provides
technical assistance in the areas of wildlife management, ecological
management, range management, buffalo health, cultural practices and
economic development. Further ITBC assists with fencing, corrals,
facility design, water development and equipment research. ITBC
provides annual training sessions (national and regional) designed to
enhance tribal buffalo management.
2. Education and Outreach
ITBC staff provides educational presentations to various audiences
including school-age youth on buffalo restoration, conservation
efforts, and the historical, cultural relationship between buffalo and
American Indians.
3. Partnership and Collaboration
ITBC is a member of various Federal and State working groups
organized to address buffalo issues. ITBC collaborates with the
National Park Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on surplus
Federal buffalo and to address the Yellowstone brucellosis concerns.
However, ITBC participates on a limited basis due to a lack of funding
for these collaborative efforts.
4. ITBC Marketing Program
ITBC strives to develop markets for buffalo meat and products for
interested member tribes at the local and national level. ITBC procures
buffalo, as limited funds allow, from tribes and sells the meat
products under a joint tribal and ITBC label. An increase in funding
will enhance these marketing efforts.
5. School Lunch Program
ITBC has eight member tribes serving tribal raised buffalo into
their school lunch programs to address health concerns of school-age
children. ITBC anticipates expanding this program to 20 tribes in the
next 3 years with increased funding.
conclusion
ITBC has existed for over two decades to assist tribes with
restoration of buffalo to tribal lands for cultural purposes. No other
program exists to assist tribes with buffalo restoration and
protection.
ITBC and its member tribes have created a new Indian reservation
industry that includes job creation and new revenue for the tribal
economies. ITBC ultimately hopes to restore tribal herds large enough
to support local tribal health needs and generate sufficient revenue to
achieve economically self sufficient herds.
ITBC and it member tribes are appreciative of past and current
support from the Congress and the administration. However, I urge the
subcommittee to increase ITBC funding to a total of $7,000,000 which is
a level commensurate with the growth of the tribal buffalo programs.
This increase will demonstrate congressional respect for this national
icon and allow ITBC to fulfill its responsibilities to restore, protect
and manage buffalo.
I would like to thank this subcommittee for the opportunity to
present testimony and I invite you to visit ITBC tribal buffalo
projects and experience first hand their successes.
______
Prepared Statement of the Intertribal Timber Council
summary
Mr. Chairman, members of the subcommittee, I am Phil Rigdon,
President of the Intertribal Timber Council (ITC) and Deputy Director
of Natural Resources for the Yakama Nation. The ITC offers the
following recommendations for fiscal year 2017 Indian forestry-related
activities in the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), the Department of
Interior (DOI) Office of Wildland Fire Management (OWFM), and the
U.S.D.A. Forest Service (USFS):
BIA
1. Increase BIA Forestry by $25 million, to $77.2 million, as a
first step toward the additional $100 million needed for funding parity
with other Federal forestry programs, as recommended by the 2013 IFMAT
III report.
2. Separately, increase BIA Forestry Projects by $12.7 million to
initiate a BIA Forestry Workforce Development program.
3. Increase BIA's Endangered Species funding to $10 million.
4. Increase BIA's Tribal Climate Resilience program to $30.4
million.
OWFM
5. Provide $12.6 million in OWFM BAR for rehabilitation of Indian
trust forests burned in 2015.
6. Direct a reassessment of wildfire suppression priorities to
include Indian trust forests as ``property,'' to be a second priority
behind only protection of life as a suppression priority.
7. Increase Fuels Management funding to $206 million; allow RTRL
funds on tribal lands.
USFS
8. Encourage expanded support for the ITC Anchor Forest
initiative.
9. Continue encouraging the USFS to improve implementation of the
TFPA.
appreciation
I would like to begin by expressing our appreciation for the
subcommittee's adopting BIA's fiscal year 2016 requested increase of $2
million for thinning on Indian trust forests and for adding $2 million
to BIA Forestry Projects for post-fire rehabilitation. These funds are
critically needed to address the historic and catastrophic 2015 fire
season.
ifmat iii
Many of our requests reflect the findings and recommendations of
the 2013 IFMAT III report, the statutorily required (Public Law 101-
630, Sec. 312) decadal independent review on tribal forests and
forestry. A copy of that report has been provided to the subcommittee.
IFMAT III found that chronically insufficient funding and
understaffing threaten tribal forests and communities. Unless these
problems are rectified, Indian forests will continue to suffer
unnecessary damage from wildland fire, insects, disease, and climate
change.
bia
1. Increase BIA Forestry by $25 million, to $77.2 million, as a first
step toward the additional $100 million needed for funding
parity with other Federal forestry programs, as recommended by
the 2013 IFMAT III report.
Indian forestlands cover one third of the total 56 million acres
held in Federal trust for Indians. These trust forestlands provide
enumerable essential and renewable functions to tribal and surrounding
communities, including clean air and water, stable soils, spiritual and
cultural support, habitat for fish, wildlife and plants, forest
products for medicine, art, and individual entrepreneurship, and
through commercial forestry, local jobs and revenues for tribal
governments. Indian people live with the forests and deeply rely upon
them, and the United States, especially the Interior Department, has a
binding and compensable fiduciary responsibility to protect, maintain
and enhance these forests, but is failing to do so. Interior's chronic
underfunding of the BIA Forestry program also incurs significant
economic losses for the tribes. Insufficient personnel constrain BIA
Forestry's ability to process the annual timber harvest levels set by
tribes, such that in fiscal year 2014, timber harvest benefits were 60
percent below what should have been realized, costing tribes $41
million in lost revenue and a loss of over 15,000 jobs.
The fiscal year 2017 BIA Budget Justification continues to reflect
disregard for Federal trust responsibilities for Indian forests.
Enhanced climate resilience is a principal theme for Trust and Natural
Resources Management programs, but funding increases are not proposed
for Forestry, despite the fact that trust forests (A) cover one third
of all BIA trust land, (B) are subject to statutory trust protection,
(C) are integral to supporting a wide and critical array of
environmental, cultural and economic functions, (D) are vital to
approaches for addressing climate change, carbon sequestration, water
management, and adaptation, and (E) are the only trust natural resource
with professional and independent assessments and reports documenting
the impacts of climate change.
We find fiscal year 2017's exclusion of BIA Forestry from any
programmatic increase to be bewildering and dismaying. IFMAT III
reports a $100 million increase is needed to correct this disparity. As
in past years, ITC requests that the subcommittee incrementally correct
chronic underfunding by providing a $25 million increase to the fiscal
year 2017 BIA Forestry program.
2. Separately, increase BIA Forestry Projects by $12.7 million to
initiate a BIA Forestry Workforce Development program, as
recommended by IFMAT III.
BIA and tribal Forestry are facing a staffing crisis. The IFMAT III
report states 800 additional BIA Forestry positions are needed, and
essential existing positions are going unfilled and knowledge and
expertise are being lost due to retirements and funding shortfalls.
Last year I cited an example on my reservation--the Yakama Nation--
where 33 of the 55 BIA Forestry positions had not been filled for a
long time. Today, 1 year later, it is basically unchanged, despite
repeated tribal pleas. Harvest targets are not being met, forest health
is suffering, and economic opportunities are being lost. A concerted
effort is needed to fill vacancies and provide the skills required for
responsible stewardship of our forest resources. ITC requests that
$12.7 million be added to BIA Forestry Programs to undertake a program
to attract, train and retain well qualified professional forestry
staff.
3. Increase BIA Endangered Species funding to $10 million.
ITC requests BIA ESA be funded at $10 million to address impacts of
listed species on management of trust resources. BIA's $3.7 million
request represents an increase over recent years, but is still less per
acre than BLM ESA and below BIA ESA's $3 million appropriated for
fiscal year 2002 after inflationary costs are considered.
4. Increase BIA's Tribal Climate Resilience program to $30.4 million.
ITC requests $30.4 million for the BIA Tribal Climate Resilience
program, the amount requested by the administration for fiscal year
2016. Indian tribes rely upon the land, which is our history, our
culture, our livelihoods, and our future. While the administration's
fiscal year 2017 request is $3.1 million over fiscal year 2016's final
appropriation, last year's $30.4 million requested amount better
represents the BIA and tribes' true needs for evaluating climate change
on our homelands and planning and conducting actual on-the-ground
projects to begin addressing its consequences.
doi office of wildland fire management
5. Provide $12.6 million in OWFM BAR for rehabilitation of Indian
trust forests burned in 2015.
The 2015 wildfire season was catastrophic for Indian tribes,
particularly in the Northwest, where some fires were the most
destructive in recorded history. Nearly 500,000 acres of Indian trust
forest burned. Approximately 1.5 billion board feet of timber was
killed, worth more than $200 million in tribal revenue. Nearly 100,000
acres need reforestation. Tribal losses of their forest resource,
revenue and jobs are severe and will extend decades into the future.
BIA has estimated recovery costs of $9 million for fiscal year 2016,
$12.6 million for fiscal year 2017, and a total of $55 million over 5
years.
The Interior Department's Office Wildland Fire Management (OWFM)
provided BIA and the tribes only $3.5 million in Burned Area Recovery
(BAR) funds for fiscal year 2016. OWFM has not provided any increase to
address the devastating impacts of the 2015 fires on tribal resources.
The fiscal year 2016 amount allocated is less than the $4 million in
BAR funds allocated for BIA and tribes in fiscal year 2015. The only
fund increase in response to last summer's devastation of tribal trust
forests has been Congress's fiscal year 2016 increase of $2 million. At
Interior, it is as if our Federal trustee is simply turning a blind eye
to the problem, which, by further delaying or denying the recovery,
only exacerbates the economic and environmental losses inflicted on the
tribes.
ITC asks Congress to specifically designate $12.6 million for
fiscal year 2017 within OWFM BAR for recovery of tribal forests burned
in 2015. Please note this is just for the 2015 fires, and should not
impinge on separate funding for fires that may occur in 2016 and future
years.
6. Direct a reassessment of wildfire suppression priorities to include
Indian trust forests as ``property,'' to be a second priority
behind only protection of life as a suppression priority.
Last summer, lightning storms ignited a wave of wildfires in the
Northwest, including on Indian reservations. When fire crews attacking
reservation fires were diverted to fight off-reservation fires
threatening private property, the fires on our trust forests exploded.
The United States evidently abandons its fiduciary obligations to
protect Indian trust assets when Federal fire suppression policy
prioritizes protection of life first and property second, leaving our
trust forests to burn, as they did last summer. Timber tribes depend on
our forests for jobs and revenue; the destruction suffered by those
forests will have severe and long-lasting consequences. Fire
suppression policy must prioritize protection of trust resources and
economies, not subjugate those obligations to the protection of (often
insured) private property. We ask the subcommittee to direct the
reevaluation of Federal fire suppression priorities to consider the
protection of Indian trust resources as second only to protection of
life.
7. Increase Fuels Management funding to $206 million; allow RTRL funds
on tribal lands.
For fiscal year 2017, ITC urges that Fuels Management funding be
restored to its fiscal year 2010 $206 million level to reduce the
Department's fuels backlog. This will be a sound investment that will
reduce future costs of suppression. Within the fiscal year 2017 Fuels
Management budget, ITC strongly supports the designation of $10 million
for Reserved Treaty Rights Lands (RTRL) landscape restoration, to allow
tribes to engage in proactive fuels and forest health projects to
protect tribal trust assets on treaty lands. However, we ask that these
funds be allowed to be used on both tribal lands and off-reservation.
usfs
8. Encourage expanded support for the ITC Anchor Forest initiative.
We ask that you encourage and expand continued Forest Service
support of the ITC's Anchor Forest initiative, in which tribes and
other forest stakeholders are pursuing long-term collaboration to
maintain ecological functions and sustain economically viable
infrastructure for management, harvesting, transportation, and
processing of forest products. The Final Report of the ITC's Anchor
Forest pilot study in Washington State, published March 2016, reflects
the participation of tribal, Federal and State governments, the
conservation community, and local forestland owners and businesses.
Tribes in the Lakes States, the Plains States, Alaska, and the
Southwest are expressing interest in the Anchor Forest concept, and we
urge the subcommittee to express support for expanding the application
of the Anchor Forest concept.
9. Continue encouraging the USFS to improve implementation of the
TFPA.
Finally, we thank the subcommittee for its fiscal year 2015 support
of the Tribal Forest Protection Act (TFPA, Public Law 108-278) that
authorizes tribes to conduct fuels and health projects on U.S.F.S. and
B.L.M. lands to protect trust and cultural resources. The
subcommittee's support helped prompt a series of successful regional
TFPA workshops and the initiating of numerous TFPA agreements. There is
keen interest in additional workshops and follow-on activities, and the
ITC urges the subcommittee to express continued support for the TFPA
program.
intertribal timber council background
The ITC is a 40-year-old association of forest owning tribes and
Alaska Native organizations dedicated to improving the sustainable
ecological and economic management of our 18.6 million acres of
timberland and woodland held in BIA trust. We invite you to come visit.
That concludes my statement. Thank you.
______
Prepared Statement of the Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe
On behalf of the Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe, I am pleased to submit
this written testimony on our funding priorities and requests for the
fiscal year 2017 Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and Indian Health
Service (IHS) budgets. A fundamental goal for our tribe is achieving
economic self-sufficiency/self-reliance through opportunities that
enable us to generate our own unrestricted revenues to address the
unmet needs of our community. In order to achieve this goal, we need to
be treated on par with State and local governments with respect to
revenue raising authority. The continued proliferation of State and
local taxes on sales, personal property and transactions (including
resource extraction) within Indian reservations has a direct negative
impact on the self-sufficiency of Indian tribes and tribal governments,
and an indirect and equally negative impact on Federal programs and
appropriations. When tribes are allowed to conduct activities on their
own land subject only to their own taxes and regulations, tribal
governments are able to fund their own programs and Indian reservation
economies can flourish.
Tribal Specific Appropriation Priorities
1. Waste Water System $8.3 million
2. Tribal Courts TPA $20,000
3. BIA Road Maintenance $1.5 million
$8.3 million--Waste Water System.--In order to engage in economic
development and expand our tribal business portfolio, the tribe needs
to invest in a waste water system. Our tribal government cannot operate
without adequate infrastructure and clean water. After years of careful
planning and research, we have entered into a partnership with the City
of Sequim to connect tribal businesses and governmental facilities in
Blyn to the City of Sequim Wastewater Treatment Plant. The installation
of the project pipeline is approximately $8.3 million with
environmental and economic benefits to all.
$20,000--Tribal Courts TPA.--Tribes cannot operate police
departments and court systems on grant funding. Stable funding for
tribal courts is a prerequisite to ensure a safe, healthy and thriving
tribal community. Although Congress and the administration have taken
steps in recent years to try and address some of these concerns through
the passage of the Tribal Law and Order Act (TLOA) of 2010 and the
Reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) of 2013,
significant funding is needed in order to implement these new
authorities to address the crisis level need in Indian Country and
elevate the safety and wellness of our tribal citizens and communities.
$1.5 million--BIA Road Maintenance.--Federal appropriations for the
BIA Road Maintenance Program has averaged only $24.3 million annually
for a number of years. However, a recent analysis completed by the BIA
and tribal representatives determined that the documented deferred road
maintenance backlog is at $203 million above fiscal year 2015 enacted
funding levels. Substantial investment in tribal transportation is
primarily needed to ensure the safety of all persons who traverse these
roads, Native and non-Native alike. Deteriorated roads are not only a
health risk, they hinder governmental services, impede economic
development and make getting to health clinics, schools, stores and
employment centers more difficult. The tribe plans to use
transportation/road maintenance funding to complete a road safety
project that is desperately needed on a very busy and well-traveled
area of State highway that runs through our tribal reservation campus.
In summer months, traffic on the highway substantially increases due to
a surge in tourism, which supports both tribal and county economies.
National Requests and Recommendations: The Jamestown S'Klallam
Tribe continues to support the requests and recommendations of the
National Congress of American Indians and the National Indian Health
Board.
National Requests and Recommendations
BIA and IHS:
1. Contract Support Costs Mandatory Funding $800 million for IHS &
$278 million for BIA
2. Hold Indian Country Programs Harmless from Budgetary
Reductions, Rescissions and Sequestration
Contract Support Costs Mandatory Funding.--The tribe appreciates
the bipartisan support of the Interior appropriations subcommittees for
full funding of Contract Support Costs (CSC). Funding of CSC in fiscal
year 2016 at an indefinite amount, helped to ensure that critical
programmatic services were not abrogated in order to cover the CSC
need. The tribe maintains that the indefinite appropriation of CSC
funding must be made mandatory and permanent. We thus support the
administration's proposal to move CSC funding to a mandatory funding
basis, although, we would like it to begin in fiscal year 2017 rather
than in fiscal year 2018. Should CSC funding not be made mandatory in
fiscal year 2017, we otherwise are supportive of the President's
request for an appropriation of ``such sums as may be necessary,'' with
an estimated $800 million for CSC for IHS, and an estimated $278
million for the BIA, in separate accounts in both the IHS and BIA
discretionary budgets. However, we do not agree with the continued
insertion of a proviso that could effectively deny the carryover
authority granted by the Indian Self-Determination and Education
Assistance Act. For fiscal year 2017 and thereafter, we thus request
the removal of the following proviso: ``amounts obligated but not
expended by a tribe or tribal organization for contract support costs
for such agreements for the current fiscal year shall be applied to
contract support costs otherwise due for such agreements for subsequent
fiscal years.''
Hold Indian Country Programs Harmless from Budgetary Reductions,
Rescissions and Sequestration.--Decades of unfulfilled Federal
obligations has devastated tribal communities who continue to face
persistent shortfalls and overwhelming unmet needs. Until tribes attain
exclusive taxing jurisdiction within their tribal lands, Federal
support remains critical to ensure the delivery of essential
governmental services to our tribal citizens. The Federal trust
obligation must be honored and vital programs and services for tribes
must be sustained and held harmless in any budgetary deal enacted to
reduce the national deficit.
BIA Requests:
1. Self-Governance Compacts $171,468
2. Economic Development TPA $200,000
3. Natural Resources TPA $611,319
4. Indian Guaranteed Loan Program $12.6 million
$171,468--Self-Governance Compacts.--Tribal Self-Governance is the
most successful policy in the history of tribal-Federal relations
because it stimulates efficient and effective government spending.
Increases to Self-Governance tribal base budgets will allow tribes to
fund core tribal government programs such as community development,
economic development, healthcare, and community safety. Funding Self-
Governance not only fulfills the Federal treaty and trust obligation,
it positively impacts the surrounding regional economies.
$200,000--Economic Development (TPA).--Tribal governmental revenues
depend entirely on effective economic development to support nearly
every aspect of reservation life and tribal governance. Chronic
underfunding and the severe lack of private investment have left the
economic potential of Indian Country unrealized. Tribes are forced to
rely on their own economic ventures to generate revenue to support
programs and services for tribal citizens. Yet, tribes are expected to
meet these economic challenges with fewer resources and greater
restrictions placed on vital economic financing tools and incentives
that are easily accessible and lucrative to other governments.
Increased funding for Economic Development will allow us to continue to
diversify our successful business portfolio and expand our revenue
generating opportunities.
$611,319--Natural Resources (TPA).--In the Northwest, degradation
of the environment is occurring faster than ever before. Climate change
is having profound impacts on tribal people and tribal treaty rights
are at risk. The Jamestown Natural Resource Department is charged with
the responsibility to manage, protect, conserve, and nurture the Point-
No-Point Treaty rights in our usual and accustomed areas for tribal
citizens and future tribal descendants. The Federal investment in
Tribal Natural Resources will foster tribal self-sufficiency and
support tribal economies through the creation of jobs, the promotion of
cultural vitality, religious practices, community cohesiveness, improve
the environmental conditions on our tribal homelands and in surrounding
communities, and foster cross-jurisdictional partnerships between our
tribe and the local and State governments.
$12.6 million--Indian Guaranteed Loan Program.--The Federal
Government is in a unique position to help advance tribal projects and
provide sustainable economic opportunities for Indian businesses and
tribal governments through the Indian Loan Guarantee Program. The
program provides attractive incentives for financial institutions to
expand their services by underwriting loans in Indian country, provides
tribes and their citizens' access to capital, and promotes tribal
economies by encouraging lending to Indian-owned businesses. Loan
guarantees are an attractive financial tool because tribes are able to
leverage limited Federal funding in and promote economic growth by
investing in projects that are capable of generating their own revenue
streams. The program, however, has been consistently targeted for cuts
despite its positive return on the Federal investment. If not for the
Loan Guarantee Program, many tribes would be unable to secure loans
from standard sources that are available to other entities and
businesses. Federal credit programs should facilitate tribal access to
private capital markets where tribes frequently encounter market
resistance to conventional lending.
IHS Requests:
1. Support Advanced Appropriations for IHS
2. Fully Fund the Indian Healthcare Improvement Act Provisions in
the ACA
3. Increase Funding for Purchased and Referred Care $562.2 million
Support Advanced Appropriations for IHS.--The Interior, Environment
and Related Agencies Appropriations bill, which includes funding for
IHS, has not been enacted in a timely manner for the past 20 years,
creating significant challenges to tribes' ability to provide critical
healthcare services to their tribal citizens. When it comes to IHS
funding, delays could mean the loss of life. Late funding not only
affects quality of care, it constrains tribal healthcare providers'
ability to plan, budget, recruit and retain staff, and construct and
maintain facilities. Tribal healthcare programs should be funded
similarly to every other government health program in this country
either through mandatory funding or advanced appropriations. Providing
predictable, timely and sufficient funding will ensure the Federal
Government is upholding its trust responsibility to American Indians
and Alaska Natives.
Fully Fund the IHCIA Provisions in the ACA.--Although the IHCIA
provides the authority and, with it, the opportunity to provide
essential healthcare to tribal citizens, it did not provide the
necessary funds to the IHS to carry out these new statutory
obligations. There are 23 unfunded provisions in the Indian Health Care
Improvement Act (IHCIA). Many of the provisions that remain unfunded
would strengthen the tribal healthcare workforce, provide greater
access to behavioral health and support innovative initiatives for
healthcare delivery to tribal citizens. Funding these provisions is a
necessary precursor to increase tribal capacity, infrastructure and
most importantly access to healthcare services. Significant Federal
investment is needed to achieve a fully funded Indian Health Service
and now is the time to act on opportunities made possible in the newly
expanded authorities granted under the Indian Health Care Improvement
Act.
$562.2 million--Purchased and Referred Care.--Most IHS and tribal
operated direct care facilities do not provide the required emergency
and specialty care services so tribes are forced to turn to the private
sector to fulfill this need. CHS funds are used to purchase essential
healthcare services, including inpatient and outpatient care, routine
emergency ambulatory care, transportation and medical support services,
such as diagnostic imaging, physical therapy, laboratory, nutrition and
pharmacy services.
Local/Regional Requests and Recommendations.--The Jamestown
S'Klallam Tribe support the requests and recommendations of the
Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians, Northwest Portland Area Indian
Health Board, and the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission.
I would like to extend my thanks to the subcommittee for an
opportunity to submit testimony on the fiscal year 2017 appropriations.
[This statement was submitted by honorable W. Ron Allen, Tribal
Chairman/CEO.]
______
Prepared Statement of Rose Kuljerich
Dear Senators:
As an American citizen and taxpayer, I strongly oppose the BLM's
proposal to conduct dangerous sterilization experiments on wild mares
at the Wild Horse Corral Facility in Hines. According to the
Environmental Assessment (EA), the BLM is deciding whether or not to
proceed with one or more of the proposed sterilization procedures. The
weight of scientific evidence and public opinion clearly supports a BLM
decision NOT to proceed with any of these sterilization procedures.
The sterilization procedures that BLM is proposing to conduct on
federally protected wild mares are dangerous, costly and impractical
for use in the field, due to the serious health risks they pose to the
horses and their unborn foals, and also due to the great expense of
purchasing the equipment and training the number of veterinarians
necessary to implement these procedures on the range.
It makes no sense to spend millions of taxpayer dollars on these
risky invasive experiments when proven, humane, and relatively
inexpensive fertility control technology in the form of the PZP vaccine
is readily available but vastly underutilized by the BLM.
The EA is completely inadequate in analyzing the impacts of these
experimental procedures on mares. In addition, the BLM has deliberately
avoided public opposition to this controversial and grotesque research
proposal by skipping the scoping stage of the environmental analysis
process. As a result, the public has been deprived of the opportunity
to provide input into the impacts of and alternatives to these
procedures that must be analyzed under the rules of the National
Environmental Policy Act.
1. Ovariectomy via Colposcopy
This is an outdated and archaic procedure that has been supplanted
by more modern laparoscopic surgery. The EA fails to analyze the
impacts of and alternatives to this procedure to mares and never once
mentions the availability of more modern techniques! This proposed
sterilization experiment is an intra-vaginal complex surgical
procedure, which is hardly ever performed in domestic horses (never
mind in wild ones), due to its inherently dangerous risks.
--The blind nature of this surgery increases the risk of intra-
abdominal hemorrhage, but the EA never even addresses this
issue or the availability of more modern laparoscopic
techniques that allow the surgeon to visualize the abdominal
structures.
--The lack of a sterile environment subjects the mares to a high risk
of infection, something that is ignored by the EA.
--The procedure carries with it a significant risk of hemorrhage and
evisceration (protrusion of the intestines through the surgical
incision), which is why it requires strict follow-up care when
used in domestic horses, including pain relief and 4-7 days of
stall rest, the first 48 hours of which is spent in crossties
to prevent the mare from lying down. It is not possible to
provide this required post-operative care to wild mares, yet
the EA minimizes the impacts of this fact, citing the opinion
of an un-named veterinarian, instead of the published science
and National Research Council review, which clearly indicate
the risks and impacts of this outdated procedure on wild mares.
--The procedure will cause mares in early stages of pregnancy to
abort their fetuses and may cause loss of pregnancy for mares
in the mid-stage of pregnancy as well. This is unacceptable.
This pursuit of ovariectomy research is directly counter to the
recommendations of the National Academy of Sciences National Research
Council (NRC) in its 2013 report, ``Using Science to Improve the BLM
Wild Horse and Burro Program: A Way Forward.'' That NRC report
concluded that: ``The possibility that ovariectomy may be followed by
prolonged bleeding or peritoneal infection makes it inadvisable for
field application.''
2. Minimally Invasive Sterilization Techniques
The other sterilization procedures that BLM proposes to research,
while less invasive than ovariectomy, should also be abandoned due to
the inability to provide post-operative care and the impracticality of
implementing these procedures--which have never before been done in
wild or domestic horses--on a broad scale in a field setting. The EA
fails to analyze the impacts of precedent-setting procedures that have
never before been performed in horses, and as well as the inability to
provide required post-operative care. The EA also omits analysis of the
economic impacts and practicalities of implementing these procedures on
the range.
In proceeding with these experiments, the BLM has ignored the NRC
recommendation that these techniques should first be perfected in
domestic mares, who can be easily handled and will be accessible for
close monitoring and post-operative care, before attempting them in
wild horses.
It is unconscionable that the BLM is proceeding with these
draconian experiments that endanger the lives of the un-consenting
equine subjects and their unborn foals, particularly when a proven non-
invasive and safe fertility control method exists in the readily
available PZP birth control vaccine. Instead of wasting millions of tax
dollars to fund experiments on inhumane and impractical sterilization
experiments, the agency should instead focus resources on vaccinating
sufficient numbers of mares with the PZP fertility control vaccine,
which is documented through 30 years of experience and published
science, to be safe, effective, cost-effective and successful in
managing wild horse populations.
Again, as a taxpayer and wild horse lover, I am outraged that the
BLM is even considering pursuing such inhumane, barbaric and wasteful
experimentation on wild horses and I find the BLM's Environmental
Analysis of its impacts to be woefully inadequate. As a result, I
strongly urge the BLM to abandon these proposed experiments in favor of
using proven, more cost-effective and humane fertility control methods.
______
Prepared Statement of Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa
Indians
My name is Larry Wawronowicz, I am the Natural Resource Director
for the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, located
in Wisconsin. I am not a tribal member, but I have worked for the Lac
du Flambeau Band for 33 years, raised a family in the Lac du Flambeau
community and have many friends and co-workers in Indian Country, so I
am deeply honored that the tribe has allowed me the privilege to
present written testimony which reflects the needs and concerns of the
tribal membership.
The President's fiscal year 2017 budget has some important and
positive initiatives for tribes. For example, it includes fully funding
contract support costs and requesting that Congress reclassify this
funding as mandatory. And in doing so would implement what two Supreme
Court cases have already stated is the law. This funding must be paid;
it is time that Congress make the necessary changes in the statute to
implement the Court's decisions.
i. generation indigenous initiative
I call on the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee to fully support
the administration's emphasis on our youth. The Generation Indigenous
Initiative is the first time this Nation has taken a comprehensive
approach to improving the lives of Indian children. The administration
called on all agencies, including those outside of the Department of
the Interior and the Indian Health Service, to do their part to fulfill
the trust responsibility to Indian children. Based the Federal trust
responsibility, the Federal Government should be committed to providing
fundamental fairness to tribes, not just in selected areas but across
the board--and appropriations for all programs affecting Indians should
provide funding levels based on this fundamental principle.
BIA Tiwahe (Family) Initiative. The tribe strongly supports the
continuation of the administration's Tiwahe initiative, a broad-based,
interdisciplinary, and culturally appropriate program for addressing
the needs of Indian families and communities--including child welfare
and family services, housing and job training. This program fills an
immediate and critical need. At Lac du Flambeau, over the last few
years we have faced a crisis in our community arising from a growing
epidemic of drug abuse. The problem has been far-reaching--as we find
widespread abuse of prescription drugs, synthetic marijuana, and heroin
on our reservation. The impact on our community has been devastating in
terms of the health and well-being of our families. The rise in drug
abuse often leaves our children caught in unsafe situations at home.
This has led to an increase in the need for foster care and other
temporary placements for our children. The administration's $57 million
request (a $12.3 million increase) for tribal social service programs
and the $18.9 million request (a $3.4 million increase) for Indian
Child Welfare programs will help meet this need. In addition the $30
million requested for tribal courts ($2.5 million increase) will also
ensure that our children are safer as these institutions will have
additional resources to supervise and monitor the children in their
care. This is also why the tribe supports the administration's request
for $29 million to increase the number of mental health providers
throughout the Indian Health Care System and the $15 million increase
to hire behavioral health professionals and peer specialists focused on
Indian youth and their families.
ii. department of the interior
A. Natural Resource Programs. As we address our communities' social
services needs, we are mindful that one of the cornerstones of a
healthy community is a healthy environment. Clean air, water and land
are vital for the physical and emotional health of our people, and
provide both a foundation for our tribal culture and the basis for
economic opportunity on our reservation. That is our obligation to
future generations--to ensure that our lands, air and waters are
adequately protected.
B. Bureau of Indian Affairs Climate Resiliency. The tribe endorses
the requested $13 million to address the impact of the changing climate
on our natural resources. Our community is reliant on our natural
resources to survive. If people cannot fish the lakes we have been
fishing since the beginning of time or hunt wild game because these
resources are not there, who we are as a people will be forever
changed.
C. Tribal Natural Resource Management and Development; Tribal Fish
Hatchery Operations and Maintenance. Tribes are leaders in natural
resource protection and BIA natural resource funding is essential to
maintain our programs. Lac du Flambeau has a comprehensive Natural
Resources Department and dedicated staff with considerable expertise in
natural resource and land management. Among our many programs, the
tribe operates a fish hatchery that stocks many of our lakes. Along
with our other natural resource programs, our fish production
activities are essential to protect our natural resources and to foster
economic activity on our Reservation. We support full funding fish
hatchery operations and maintenance.
D. Circle of Flight: Wetlands Waterfowl Program. We urge the
subcommittee to continue to provide support for the BIA Circle of
Flight Program. This program supports tribal efforts throughout the
Great Lakes Region to restore and preserve wetlands and waterfowl
habitat within tribal territories.
E. Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission. The tribe
strongly supports the work of the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife
Commission (``GLIFWC''). GLIFWC assists in protecting and implementing
its treaty-guaranteed hunting, fishing and gathering rights. We urge
the subcommittee to fully support the programmatic funding for GLIFWC
from both BIA and EPA. GLIFWC has played an invaluable role in
providing science and sound management practices for our off-
reservation resources. This role could not be filled by any other
agency.
F. Education Programs. Education remains a critical investment in
the future of the tribes. The Johnson-O'Malley Program provides vital
support for Indian students in public schools. We support the $18.5
million requested for this Program. We must do more for our students in
public schools. Likewise, we are proud to see an increasing number of
our students attending and graduating from colleges and other post-
secondary institutions. Thus, we support the increased funding for
scholarships and adult education within the BIE. The Tribe also
supports the administration's proposed increase in BIA funding for
fellowship and training opportunities for post graduate study.
G. Tribal Courts. We are concerned that the administration has
proposed an $8 million cut in funding for tribal courts in Public Law
280 States like Wisconsin. Because of a BIA policy that chose not to
fund tribal courts in Public Law 280 States for decades, our courts
have lagged behind our sister tribes in the ability to meet the justice
needs of our communities. Congress recognized this deficiency last year
and provided $10 million to address it. BIA essentially wants to halt
this initiative before it even starts. With regard to the $10 million
provided in fiscal year 2016, the BIA has not held any consultation on
how this funding would be allocated and we understand may not do so and
instead use this funding to build its own bureaucracy. We would urge
the subcommittee to clarify with the BIA that the fiscal year 2016
funding was intended to assist tribal courts in Public Law 280 States
and not to build their own bureaucracy which hopefully will carry over
to fiscal year 2017 funding as well.
H. Transportation. Proper road maintenance on the reservation is
essential for the safety and health of our community, and for promoting
economic opportunities. BIA Road Maintenance, nationally, is
responsible for 29,700 miles of BIA owned road and 931 BIA owned
bridges. The administration request of $27 million only funds 16
percent of the level of need for BIA road maintenance. For bridges it
would fund 62 percent of the level of need. Thus, 84 percent of the
roads in the BIA systems will continue to be at poor or and failing
condition and almost 300 of the bridges in the BIA system will be at
poor or failing condition. These are roads used by school buses and
first responders. In any other community this would be unacceptable. We
urge the subcommittee to increase BIA road maintenance funding by at
least $9 million. This level of funding would allow a greater
percentage of roads to be maintained in fair or better condition.
I. Tribal Historic Preservation Offices. The tribe supports the
administration's $11.9 request (a $2 million increase) for Tribal
Historic Offices. This increase is a start to adequately fund tribal
Historic Preservation Act compliance. While more tribes have assumed
the responsibility under the Historic Preservation Act, Federal
appropriations have not kept pace and this threatens tribe's ability to
do this important work.
iii. environmental protection agency
A. EPA Tribal General Assistance Program. The tribe strongly
supports the proposed $96.4 request in the EPA Tribal General
Assistance Program, known as ``Tribal GAP.'' This program provides base
environmental funding to assist tribes in building their environmental
capacity to assess environmental conditions, utilize available data and
build their environmental programs to meet their local needs. This is a
foundational program for tribes to address the broad range of
challenging circumstances we face regarding our reservation
environment. Importantly, the increase in funding this program is to
implement tribal environmental plans and to recruit and retain
qualified environmental professionals in Indian Country.
B. Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. The tribe strongly supports
funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. For the indigenous
people of Wisconsin, the Great Lakes represent the lifeblood of our
culture and the foundation of our economies. The protection and
preservation of the Great Lakes are necessary to preserve the tribal
communities that have made the Great Lakes area their home since time
immemorial.
C. Leaking Underground Storage Tank. The tribe urges the
subcommittee to increase funding for Leaking Underground Storage Tank
(LUST) clean-up in Indian Country. This funding was decreased to $1.69
million from almost $2.5 million a few years ago. As the EPA notes in
its budget justification this funding is the primary source of funding
for these clean-up activities in Indian Country. Since its inception in
the 1980s, the LUST program has cleaned up 78 percent of the 1,375
identified releases in Indian Country. There are 298 of these
identified sites that still need to be cleaned up. Unfortunately, the
number of sites the EPA is able to cleanup has decreased by 50 percent
in the last 6 years. While some of this is attributed to the fact the
sites are much more complex and require more time and resources, there
can be no doubt that this drastic reduction in the number of sites
addressed is attributed to the decrease in funding.
This issue is particularly important to Lac du Flambeau because we
fear that the 1,375 identified sites grossly underestimate the number
of sites actually in Indian Country. In Lac du Flambeau we have 25
sites that may be impacting reservation resources which are not
included in the 1,375 sites. One site in particular, the Haskell Lake/
Tower Standard Site has the Tribe very concerned because of
contaminated ground and possibly lake surface water with lead, benzene
and a host of other contaminates. We identified this site in 2010 and
we are still working on getting the funding necessary for cleanup. So
we urge Congress to increase funding for the LUST program in Indian
Country by $5 million, recognizing that this will only clean-up
approximately 33 out of the 298 identified sites per year.
iv. indian health service programs
We fully support the administration's request of $ 5.1 billion for
the Indian Health Service. According to the IHS, this level of funding
would fully fund pay costs, inflation, and partially fund population
growth. This increase will allow for a significant investment in
Purchased and Referred Care with a $48.1 million increase.
Research has clearly demonstrated that our overall health is tied
to our oral health. The Lac du Flambeau Tribe recognized this and that
is why in 2013 we opened a state of the art dental clinic to serve the
needs of our people. No longer are dental visits done by an occasional
dental visit at our schools. We are now seeing our members in our
facility early and often and are preventing dental disease before it
can happen. We fully support the requested $8.5 million increase for
the dental health services program. This increase will address the not
only medical inflation, but also the population increase our community
has experienced.
Thank you for affording the Lac du Flambeau Tribe the opportunity
to submit written testimony.
______
Prepared Statement of the League of American Orchestras
The League of American Orchestras urges the Senate Interior,
Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee to
support fiscal year 2017 funding for the National Endowment for the
Arts (NEA) at a level of $155 million. We are pleased that Congress
showed strong bi-partisan support for the agency by approving a $2
million increase for its fiscal year 2016 appropriation, and we ask for
further support so the agency can help more communities fulfill the
NEA's mission to provide all Americans with diverse opportunities for
arts participation.
The League of American Orchestras leads, supports, and champions
America's orchestras and the vitality of the music they perform. Its
diverse membership of more than 2,000 organizations and individuals
across North America runs the gamut from world-renowned symphonies to
community groups, from summer festivals to student and youth ensembles,
from conservatories to libraries, from businesses serving orchestras to
individuals who love symphonic music. Orchestras unite people through
creativity and artistry, contribute to civic vitality, and educate
young people and adults. The League is committed to helping orchestras
engage with their communities, and the NEA plays an invaluable role
through its direct grants, Federal/State partnerships, and research on
trends in public participation and workforce development.
An NEA grant affirms an organization's contributions to our
Nation's artistic vitality. The capacity of orchestras to present
nationally recognized programs is highly valued by communities of all
sizes, in part because NEA grants awarded through the competitive
process leverage additional funding from State, local, and private
sources. In fiscal year 2015, the NEA's Grants to Organizations
included 102 direct grants to orchestras in the Art Works and Challenge
America categories, and from the current fiscal year, the following 10
awards, totaling $267,000 in support, offer a sampling of the high
quality, unique opportunities communities are able to enjoy with NEA
support.
NEA Funding Broadens Access for Underserved Communities
In partnership with the organizations it supports, the NEA is
dedicated to improving public access to the arts. The Challenge America
grant category offers support primarily to small and mid-sized
organizations for projects that extend the reach of the arts to
underserved populations--those whose opportunities to experience the
arts have been limited by geography, economics, or disability.
Challenge America grantee Northwest Symphony Orchestra will present a
concert and related educational programming with a focus on
Northwestern classical composers and musicians. Koichiro Yamamoto,
principal trombonist of the Seattle Symphony Orchestra, will perform
for the public, as well as participate in Symphony for Students, the
orchestra's program serving low-income students in South King County.
Yamamoto will lead master classes for underserved youth, and orchestra
musicians will visit 10 schools to provide clinics and master classes
to more than 200 students in the Highline School District. Youth
participants will also receive free tickets to attend the public
performance at the Highline Performing Arts Center, which will include
music by Northwest composers Samuel Jones and Sumi Tonooka.
The Great Falls Symphony will use its Challenge America grant to
produce performances, a public post-concert question-and-answer
session, and various activities featuring pianist Sean Chen and one of
the symphony's resident string ensembles, the Cascade Quartet. In
addition to the main performance, Chen and the Cascade Quartet will
participate in concerts and lead master classes for rural high school
students. Further broadening their reach, they will perform in a
concert preview that will be aired on Montana's public radio station as
well as perform during an open rehearsal for local piano students and
piano teachers. With just two full-time and two part-time staff, and
three conductors, the orchestra and its musicians present a wealth of
services to their community each year, from coaching sessions to
education concerts in schools across Montana, as well as mainstage
concerts. Great Falls Symphony also includes a youth orchestra and the
Chinook Winds quintet, which performs throughout the country.
The NEA is Committed to Artistically Rich Youth Development
Opportunities
Many of the NEA's grants directly support programs involving the
development of young artists and musicians, such as an Art Works grant
to support the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras' Intensive Community
Program (ICP). This rigorous string instrument training program began
in 1998 to serve inner-city youth by offering weekly music lessons,
ensemble classes, instrument rentals, and performance opportunities to
students who are exceptionally interested in music but are faced with
financial and/or cultural barriers to participation. After a few years
of intensive study, ICP students are prepared to pass the audition into
the youth symphony's entry-level orchestra. Historically, 98 percent of
ICP students successfully audition into the highly competitive BYSO
orchestras; once admitted, ICP students receive a tuition subsidy,
weekly lessons, use of an instrument, and ongoing mentorship until they
graduate high school. The BYSO, with a staff of 12 full-time and 24
part-time employees, prides itself on the ICP having provided this deep
and focused experience to more than 150 students, with 100 percent of
its graduates going on to college.
On the opposite coast, similarly rich and intensive youth
development is offered by the Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles at Heart
of Los Angeles (YOLA at HOLA). This after-school music program, in
partnership with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, is inspired by the
Venezuelan El Sistema movement and, with NEA support, provides free
instruments, ensemble-based classical music instruction, and
performance opportunities to underserved and at-risk youth, ages 6-18,
in central Los Angeles. YOLA at HOLA students participate in up to 15
hours each week of sectional, ensemble, and orchestra rehearsals,
specialized music classes, community performances, academic tutoring
and intervention, and wrap-around support. YOLA at HOLA is led by a
knowledgeable and passionate corps of 19 music educators who teach and
mentor HOLA's students and contribute to an international conversation
about high-intensity music education. Through HOLA's and the LA
Philharmonic's partnership with the Longy School of Music of Bard
College's Master of Arts in Teaching program, the next generation of
music educators also hone their skills in YOLA at HOLA's classrooms.
The NEA Supports Celebrating the Arts and Our Natural Resources
The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra (SLSO), employer of 93 musicians
and 61 full-time staff, won an ``Imagine Your Parks'' grant in this
year's joint celebration of the NEA's 50th anniversary and the
centennial of the National Park Service. SLSO paired French composer
Olivier Messiaen's ``Des canyons aux etoiles . . . (From the canyons to
the stars . . .)'' with visual imagery by photographer Deborah O'Grady.
Programming explored the relationship between art and nature,
incorporating images of the National Parks that inspired the composer
for the original 1971 commission to celebrate the bicentennial of the
United States. O'Grady literally followed in Messiaen's footsteps to
capture the breathtaking images from Cedar Breaks, Zion, and Bryce
Canyon, among other locations. The cross-disciplinary concerts were
presented in St. Louis, and then in Berkeley and Los Angeles as part of
the SLSO's four-city California tour.
The Boulder Philharmonic, which employs 73 musicians and a staff of
eight people, is using its ``Imagine Your Parks'' grant to commission
and premiere a new orchestral work by composer Stephen Lias, which will
accompany projected images that showcase Rocky Mountain National Park.
Concerts will take place in Boulder, Colorado, as well as at the
Kennedy Center in Washington, DC next spring as part of the SHIFT
Festival of American Orchestras. Ancillary events in both Colorado and
DC will include interpretive musical hikes and public talks featuring
the composer that examine the national parks legacy through a musical
lens. For the inaugural SHIFT Festival, the Boulder Philharmonic is one
of four orchestras, with each participant presenting education events,
symposia, and community events in venues around Washington, DC, along
with full-orchestra performances in the Kennedy Center Concert Hall.
NEA Funding Supports Bringing World-Class Artistry to Communities
With the help of an Art Works grant, The Saint Paul Chamber
Orchestra--comprising 38 full-time and 6 part-time staff members, and
26 full-time musicians--will present contemporary works by an
international array of composers such as George Crumb, Bryce Dessner
and Nico Muhly (U.S.), Georges Enesco (Romania), Sir Michael Tippett
(U.K.), Erkki-sven Tuur (Estonia), and Alberto Ginastera, Mauricio
Sotelo and Manuel De Falla (Spain). The orchestra's 3-week performance
project will feature guest artists Finnish violinist Pekka Kuusisto,
Moldovan violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja, Spanish mezzo-soprano Nerea
Berraondo, and Spanish Flamenco dancer Ruben Olmo, and the project will
be highlighted by the world premiere of Mauricio Sotelo's Red Inner
Light Sculpture, a new work for solo violin, strings, and Flamenco
dancer. Several pre-concert educational lectures will be offered as
well, to provide audiences with additional context for and deeper
engagement with the programming.
The Louisville Orchestra, with a staff of approximately 21
employees and 55 full-time musicians, will use its Art Works support to
bring exceptional guest artists for a 3-week Festival of American Music
created, curated, and conducted by music director, Teddy Abrams. The
Festival will feature the orchestra alongside artists from across the
country, encompassing a variety of musical genres including jazz,
contemporary, popular music, and local music of the Kentuckiana region.
The Festival will include concert previews before each show addressing
the role of American orchestras and composers in the 21st century, as
well as several community engagement events with schools and local
businesses. The final week of the festival will include a world
premiere of a piano concerto by Chase Morrin, featuring the composer as
soloist.
Showcasing the world-class musicianship of their home State, the
Eugene Symphony will utilize its Art Works grant to present a series of
new composition, performance, and mentorship opportunities for Oregon
composers. In celebration of its 50th anniversary, the Eugene
Symphony--which employs seven full-time and four part-time staff, and
83 part-time musicians--will present the world premiere of a new piano
concerto by Oregon composer Robert Kyr featuring Eugene-based pianist
Alexandre Dossin. Kyr is also planning an integrated composition
project for high school and graduate students, which will culminate in
the creation of an orchestral theme and variations based on ``Ode to
Joy'' from Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. The premiere of the jointly
composed work will take place on a regular subscription program and for
students at a youth concert in November 2016.
Celebrating both local and international talent, the Dallas
Symphony Orchestra received Art Works support for world premieres of
works by two celebrated American composers, Jeremy Gill and Christopher
Rouse. Gill's composition is written for the Dallas Symphony
Orchestra's principal oboe Erin Hannigan, while Rouse's composition is
a co-commission led by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and shared with
the Aspen Music Festival and the Nashville Symphony. Educational
activities include participation by the composers in workshops, master
classes, and school programs. Both works will be conducted by Jaap van
Zweden, music director of the orchestra, which employs 65 full-time and
20 part-time staff, and 91 musicians.
Thank you for this opportunity to convey the tremendous value of
NEA support for the communities served by orchestras throughout our
country. Orchestras provide countless innovative collaborations,
thoughtful programming for underserved communities, and lifelong
learning opportunities in service to adults and children from all walks
of life. As orchestras continually strive to bring the power and
benefits of music to more people, we applaud the NEA's national
leadership in promoting excellence and engagement with high quality
artistry. Advancing the highest expectations for accessibility and
artistry are among the strongest arguments for a Federal role in
support of the arts, therefore we urge you to increase creativity and
access to the arts by approving $155 million in funding for the
National Endowment for the Arts in fiscal year 2017.
______
Prepared Statement of the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians
Chairman Murkowski, respected members of the subcommittee:
The Little River Band of Ottawa Indians (LRBOI) is honored to
present this testimony on behalf of our Nation and people, regarding
our views and priorities for the fiscal year 2017 President's annual
budget request.
LRBOI is pleased with the ongoing commitment of the administration
to Indian Country. President Obama's commitment to establishing a
legacy respecting the sacred relationship forged by our treaties is
evident in the appropriations requests for the Bureau of Indian Affairs
(BIA) at $2.9 billion, and the Indian Health Services (IHS) of $5.2
billion; fully $138 million and $377 million above the fiscal year 2016
enacted levels. The increases demonstrate a long-standing commitment to
promoting tribal sovereignty, and for LRBOI, it aligns with our mission
to secure and promote the prosperity of future generations. LRBOI would
like to thank the subcommittee for hearing the concerns of tribal
leadership and our views regarding the impact of the administration's
budget requests on our Nation's efforts to reach the outcomes we are
all wishing to achieve--successful, safer and prospering `Native First
Nations'.
LRBOI would like to acknowledge the importance of the recently
signed MOU between the Census Bureau and the BIA. We believe tribal
communities have long been undercounted and inaccurately represented in
Census data. We support the $12 million increase to the BIA to address
these gaps in Indian Country and believe this measure is a key
component to formulating a realistic budget.
Since Reaffirmation in 1994, LRBOI has prioritized its economic
development efforts, programs, and service delivery to enhance the
standard of living of its members. Assisting LRBOI members to achieve a
middle class economic standard has been an overarching goal since
reaffirmation, and while gains are being made, persistent issues remain
as reported in the previous fiscal year:
--over half (56 percent) of tribal member households earn less than
$30,000 annually, compared to a mean household income of just
over $64,500 for Michigan residents;
--less than 40 percent of LRBOI tribal members adults have achieved
education beyond a high school diploma, compared to nearly 60
percent of Michigan adults reporting some degree of higher
education;
--\1/3\ of tribal members access one or more tribal assistance
programs annually--current enrollment stands at just over 4200
persons.
LRBOI understands the challenges we face to assist our population
out of poverty and into true individual self-determination. LRBOI is
pleased with the ongoing commitment to make affordable housing
available through the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-
Determination Act (NAHASDA); we have built 55 high quality housing
opportunities as a result of this Act to address the needs of our
Elders, lower income and working families. LRBOI requests that the
subcommittee continue to make these funds available to us, as our needs
are increasing year to year with the return of our people to our
homelands; we presently have an unmet need of 35 homes for our
returning families.
LRBOI was also pleased with the increases to healthcare,
specifically the commitment to fully fund contract support costs, which
reduces the need to redirect other program funds to meet our costs of
providing services. LRBOI appreciates the administration's move of
Contract Support Costs from discretionary to a mandatory appropriation.
This change presents an opportunity for the Federal Government to
comply at long last with the decisions in the Cherokee, Arctic Slope
and Ramah Supreme Court cases. LRBOI cautions that the proposed proviso
limiting carry-over is not consistent with the Indian Self-
Determination and Education Assistance Act and should be eliminated. In
addition, the increases to patient services will allow us to continue
to implement direct services; we are on schedule to implement pharmacy
service to our members in 2016--a direct result of services and
contract support cost increases.
LRBOI also notes that funds dedicated to Generation Indigenous,
``Gen-I'' will assist us to build stronger programs to address our at-
risk youth populations and strengthen our family support systems. You
heard us when we asked that these types of funds become a formula-based
tribal priority allocation putting all tribes within reach of this
needed assistance. Creating government-wide collaboration placing
priority on ``all of the Federal Government'' to assist in the
preservation of our most precious resource, Native American Youth, is
achievable and commendable.
There are some areas that are near and dear to us; and we wish to
bring them to the attention of the Committee.
Language and culture are the cornerstone of the unique identity of
Indian peoples; the protection of our way of life is critical to our
individual identities, our Community prosperity and most importantly,
our children's future. These are the guides of our governance as
nations. The preservation of our sacred lands and objects, including
the repatriation of our ancestors to our homelands is our highest
responsibility. LRBOI would like to see future appropriations for the
Tribal Historic Preservation Officer (THPO) increase to allow tribes to
appropriately staff and more importantly, continue to provide
opportunities for our people to engage in language-immersion
instruction and culturally based community events that reinforce our
identity as Little River Band Ottawa; the Anishinabek peoples. The
beauty of our culture is found in our language; it guides our daily
life, preserves our identity and provides a foundation for our youth in
the development of who they are as individual Anishinabek persons. Our
language and culture keeps us strong, drug and alcohol free and family
oriented. The present budget request of $15 million towards language
and culture preservation is not enough for 566 federally recognized
Tribes. LRBOI must write a successful grant proposal to even access
funds to assist our efforts. A better approach to ensuring the
preservation of the unique language, culture, sacred lands and objects
that make us who we are, would be to implement a government wide
initiative similar to Gen-I. It's time to rewrite the priorities and
place emphasis on the United States' `First Nations.' It's time to
restore the very things that were taken from us by assimilation. It's
time to repatriate our language and ceremonies back to us by increasing
the appropriation to $30 million. We also need a set aside to allow our
THPO officer to meet our requirements and respond to inquiries
regarding the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) Section 106
matters. We are pleased to inform the subcommittee that our THPO
Officer has been recognized by the Governor of Michigan for our
government to government collaboration. LRBOI responds to nearly 300
inquiries annually with one THPO Officer and two staff. Section 106
requirements are a full-time obligation that could easily employ the
skills of an engineer and archaeologist. I'm proud to say our staff
fill those roles, and manage to provide cultural education, ceremonial
and language opportunities for our people in addition to Section 106
compliance.
Our LRBOI Anishinabek culture's foundation is in the
``KchiiGaamii'' or Great Lakes that surround our lands. LRBOI is part
of the Three Fires Nations; we live in the area on our `Turtle Island'
as directed to us long ago--`settle in the place where food grows on
water.' This food is critical to our people; it is known as wild rice.
Our current efforts to preserve wild rice beds, restore wild rice
habitat and enhance growing opportunities for LRBOI member harvests is
also impacted by three factors; the quality of the fresh water it grows
in, the overall climate of the region and the invasion of non-native
plant species such as purple loose-strife and phragmytes. Presently,
LRBOI receives an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) multi-year
grant under the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) that assists
our wild rice re-introduction, restoration and existing source
management efforts. Combined with Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) funds,
LRBOI is making an effort to protect existing wild rice beds within our
Ceded Territory watersheds, establish harvesting education programs and
reduce the incidence of invasive species and their impact on the
habitat. LRBOI recommends increasing the existing EPA GLRI
appropriation to $10 million from the $3 million requested in the
fiscal year 2017 budget as there are 36 tribes in our region with
similar cultural preservation aspirations. LRBOI also recommends
increasing the BIA Invasive Species Program from $10 million to $15
million. The biologists working on our wild rice and habitat
restoration efforts have indicated the biggest threats to our region
for all Natural Resources are climate change, land management, farming
and the siphoning of fresh water for activities such as fracking for
gas and oil exploration. LRBOI asks the subcommittee to consider the
protection of water quality to be a long-term priority. We are very
aware of the crisis this year in Flint, Michigan and the threat to
clean, safe drinking water--LRBOI donated $10,000.00 to the Flint
Children's Fund to assist with ongoing lead testing for Flint's
children as they continue to discover the far reaching impact of the
contaminated water the people of Flint were consuming. We are very
proud of our effort to assist the children of Flint and ask the
subcommittee to take measures in this budget request to protect the
fresh water resource that is the Great Lakes Basin.
Finally, by its own admission, the administration's funding request
for the Road Maintenance Program for fiscal year 2017 will permit
tribes to maintain only 16 percent of BIA-owned roads and 62 percent of
BIA-owned bridges in ``acceptable'' condition. In Michigan, the
condition of our roads and bridge infrastructures impacts our economy,
the quality of life in or territory and the communities surrounding it.
The current appropriation requests would leave 8 out of 10 BIA-owned
roads and nearly 4 out of 10 BIA-owned bridges with funds to maintain
them in their current poor or failing condition. This is a life-safety
issue. Most of these routes are gravel and earthen school bus routes
that require more frequent maintenance than paved roads. We urge the
subcommittee to add an additional $9 million to the Road Maintenance
Program out of planned increases for the Interior Department for fiscal
year 2017. Doing so will increase the percentage of BIA-owned roads and
bridges maintained to an ``acceptable'' condition. In our territory,
encompassing over 70,000 `reservation set-aside' acres, and just over
13 million acres of `Ceded Territory' over which we have Natural
Resources enforcement jurisdiction, failing roads impact our watersheds
and habitats. The additional funds if appropriated would do much to
protect those resources and habitats.
LRBOI appreciates many of the proposed increases in the President's
fiscal year 2017 budget. We see the positive impact of ongoing
meaningful consultation that is occurring through the Tribal Interior
Budget Council and National Budget Formulation Workgroup. We urge the
subcommittee to continue to support the efforts of these tribally
driven bodies to inform the work of the administration and, ultimately,
Congress. We also believe in the partnership that continues to evolve
out of the Federal Indian trust relationship. The United States and its
`Native First Nations' truly do share a ``sacred bond'' borne from
treaties--a mutual exchange for the benefit of both, our respective
lands and nations.
Little River Band appreciates the opportunity to present this
testimony to the subcommittee on these important matters.
KchiMiigwech (Many Thanks)
Gdagaanaagaanik (All Our Relations)
______
Prepared Statement of the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe
Chairman Calvert, members of the subcommittee and the distinguished
gentleman from Washington State, Congressman Kilmer. I am Frances
Charles, Chairwoman of the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, an elected
position that I have been honored to hold for the past 11 years. Thank
you for providing me this opportunity to testify on the Bureau of
Indian Affairs (BIA) and Indian Health Service (IHS) budgets for fiscal
year 2017. My testimony identifies our most urgent tribal-specific
funding needs at the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe. We are also supporting
some regional and national budget requests which will also benefit the
Lower Elwha citizens and community.
tribal-specific requests for lower elwha klallam tribe
Bureau of Indian Affairs $5.43 Million
1. $4.972 Million Dam Removal and Fisheries Restoration--Public
Law 102-495, Elwha River Ecosystem and Fisheries Restoration Act
a. $702,000--Salmon Hatchery O&M
b. $270,000--Flood Control Levee O&M
c. $4 million--Land Acquisition
2. $267,000--Tribal Court Enhancement and Implementation of TLOA
and VAWA.
3. $191,000--Tiwahe Initiative--Tribe seeks to assert jurisdiction
in its own court system over all cases arising under the ICWA and to
become a licensing agency for foster homes.
Indian Health Service $500,000--Mental Health and Chemical Dependency
programs
fiscal year 2017 regional requests
The Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe supports the fiscal year 2017 budget
priorities of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission, Affiliated
Tribes of Northwest Indians and the Northwest Portland Area Indian
Health Board.
fiscal year 2017 national requests
The Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe supports the fiscal year 2017 budget
priorities of the National Congress of American Indians and National
Indian Health Board.
Contract Support Costs--Past, Present and Future
As a Self-Governance Tribe, Lower Elwha has been impacted by the
Federal Government's refusal to pay full contract support costs (CSC)
to tribes for contracted and compacted programs for the past two
decades. In 2014 and 2015, the Supreme Court determined that tribes
were entitled to CSC. The IHS and BIA began to settle past claims with
tribes. In addition Congress directed the agencies to find a long-term
solution to CSC as well as directed them to pay full CSC for 2014 and
2015. The game-changer going forward was the ground breaking decision
by Congress in Public Law 114-113, Consolidated Appropriations Act,
2016 to support the administration's proposal to create a new account
in the appropriations bill specifically for CSC in 2016 and 2017. While
we are truly grateful for the progress to date in paying past, present
and future CSC to tribes, there is a proviso in the fiscal year 2017
budget proposal which counters current law. The proviso states that
``CSC amounts that are not expended by a tribe or tribal organization
in the current fiscal year be applied to contract support costs
otherwise due in subsequent fiscal years.'' This language should be
removed because the Indian Self-Determination Education and Assistance
Act (ISDEAA) already address use and disposition of unexpended contract
and compact funds. Therefore, Lower Elwha requests that the
subcommittee deem this provision unnecessary and discontinue it.
We also support the administration's proposal to fully fund CSC on
a mandatory basis in fiscal year 2018-2020, though we would prefer that
it begin in fiscal year 2017 and, of course, that it be a permanent,
indefinite appropriation.
The Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe
The Lower Elwha Indian Reservation is located at the mouth of the
Elwha River where it empties into the Strait of Juan de Fuca on the
North Coast of the Olympic Peninsula, about 8 miles west of the City of
Port Angeles, Washington. We are a small tribe, with roughly 1,000
members, and a total land base--reservation and adjacent trust lands--
of about 1,000 acres. To date, our economic development opportunities
have been limited and we believe our long-term prospects are tied to
natural resources restoration and preservation in an ecologically rich
region where an extraction-based economy is well past its prime.
$5.43 Million--Bureau of Indian Affairs Elwha
1. $4.972 Million--Dam Removal and Fisheries Restoration--Lower
Elwha is a salmon people with fishing rights reserved in the 1855
Treaty of Point No Point. We fish in marine waters and in the rivers
and streams throughout our usual and accustomed treaty fishing area,
including the Elwha River. We are strongly committed to the restoration
of fisheries, fish habitat, streams and rivers, and the Port Angeles
Harbor. We are the leading advocate for the removal of the two hydro-
electric dams on the Elwha River--which is now nearly complete--and in
accordance with Congress's direction in the Elwha River Ecosystem and
Fisheries Restoration Act of 1992 (Elwha Act), Public Law 102-495, we
are working closely with the National Park Service and other agencies
to remove the dams, and restore the once famously abundant Elwha River
runs of salmon and steelhead. Unfortunately, removal of the dams caused
a short term threat to the salmon runs (due to sediment released from
behind the former dam sites) and has adversely impacted our small
tribal land base and our tribal budgets. We urgently need increased
Self-Governance funds to support the operation of dam removal
mitigation and restoration features and to revive our other Self-
Governance activities from which we have been forced to transfer funds
to support dam removal mitigation.
a. $702,000--Salmon Hatchery O&M Costs--Fish Hatchery Operations
Budget for the ongoing operation and maintenance (O&M) of our state-of-
the-art hatchery, which went online in 2011. This is a significant
increase of $601,929 annually, but one that is amply justified by the
crucial role that our hatchery serves in dam removal and fishery
restoration. Our hatchery is a genetic preserve for native Elwha
salmonids, which have been on the verge of extirpation from the impacts
of the dams and which have been further threatened by the enormous
sediment load unleashed by the removal of the dams. The National Marine
Fisheries Service (NMFS) would not have approved dam removal under the
Endangered Species Act without the hatchery's native salmonid programs.
The tribe should not have to bear the O&M cost of this important
restoration facility that in fact benefits the entire region.
b. $270,000--Flood Control Levee O&M Costs--The levee on our lands
had to be expanded prior to dam removal in order to protect tribal
lands from the newly unleashed Elwha River and to conform to post-
Hurricane Katrina standards--clearly it is a mitigation feature of the
dam removal project. In passing the Elwha Act in 1992, Congress
intended that courts should not be asked to address problems where
legislative solutions would be far superior in covering all the bases.
Factoring in the inflation rate since 1992 compared to 2016, it is not
fathomable that we currently receive only $10,400 annually to operate
this levee.
c. $4 million for Land Acquisition--The Elwha people have struggled
for a century from the harm to their culture and economies caused by
the Elwha River dams. We had to endure the delays in starting the dam
removal process, we watched the destruction of not only the fisheries
but the treaty fishers themselves with the loss of our traditional and
cultural livelihood, and we have lost an opportunity--which will only
return after another generation--to teach our children the ways of
their ancestors and the Elwha life as designed by the Creator. We
struggle every day to maintain a lifestyle that has been altered
forever because of the impact this has had on our community. Section
7(b) of the Elwha Act authorized the appropriation of $4 million so
that the Secretary could acquire trust lands for the tribe in
reservation status in Clallam County, Washington, for economic
development and housing. These funds have not yet been appropriated and
the lands they could provide are desperately needed to revive the lives
of the Elwha people.
In 1934, an Interior Department report concluded that the
reservation should be 4,000 acres (for far fewer tribal members than we
have today), but currently we have only 1,000 acres, several hundred of
which (on the river's side of the levee) have to be maintained in
undeveloped state as floodplain habitat. In addition, we need
legislative direction to ensure that former hydro-project lands are
transferred to the tribe as contemplated in Section 3(c)(3) of the
Elwha Act.
2. $267,000--Funding for Tribal Court Enhancement and to implement
TLOA and VAWA. Although the Interior Department and the tribe have
identified tribal court enhancement as a high priority, Lower Elwha has
been unable to adopt the enhanced sentencing provisions authorized by
the 2010 Tribal Law and Order Act of 2010 or to exercise expanded
Domestic Violence Criminal Jurisdiction under the 2013 Violence Against
Women Act because of the lack of adequate base funding for its tribal
court development. Requested funding will enable our tribe to do so by
providing for: (a) mandatory criminal defense representation (including
basic legal assistance for domestic violence victims and representation
for parents); (b) detention services; (c) probation services that focus
on solutions and restorative justice by sharing coordinated case
management and re-entry referrals; and (d) basic court security. Fully
funding of TLOA mandated provisions and increased base funding for our
tribal court will enable Elwha to benefit from: BIA regional
assessments using the Trial Court Program Standards; specific technical
assistance and training identified through assessments; targeted
training initiatives for specific tribal court personnel (judges;
prosecutors; public defenders); development of tribal court bench
books; identification of funding sources for pilot court programs;
captured data covering criminal pre-trial matters to post-conviction
issues, and including, any collateral civil legal issues.
3. $191,000--Funding for ICW-related services from BIA's Tiwahe
(Family) Initiative. Lower Elwha is facing a community crisis with the
increasing number of child abuse/neglect cases, which stem from
inordinately high rates of drug/substance abuse by parents or
caregivers. Services in all facets of tribal government are severely
impacted by this reality. A coordinated community response must be
based on multi-disciplinary, culturally informed case planning and
service delivery, coupled with a strong commitment to restorative
justice ideals and solutions-based sentencing (in criminal cases). A
major obstacle to implementing this approach is our lack of
infrastructure to assume jurisdiction over all local cases clearly
arising under the Indian Child Welfare Act; in addition, because we are
dependent on an inadequate State system for licensing foster care
providers, we are often unable to make proper placements to assist our
families. The tribe currently receives only $45,000 in Self-Governance
for Indian Child Welfare matters. We seek $191,000 additional annual
funding from the BIA's Tiwahe (Family) Initiative, which would enable
the tribe to assert jurisdiction in its own court system over all cases
arising under the ICWA and to become a licensing agency for foster
homes.
Indian Health Service Elwha Tribal-Specific Funding Requests--$500,000
for Elwha Health Department Programs.
Lower Elwha faces a drug abuse and mental health crisis of epidemic
proportions that threatens to destroy the potential and the cultural
connections of many tribal members. In fiscal year 2015, the Tribe's
Mental Health and Chemical Dependency programs served 272 American
Indian or Alaskan Native patients and have the potential to reach
approximately 1,500 AI/AN beneficiaries within Clallam and Jefferson
County. The tribe currently subsidizes its chemical dependency program
with third-party revenue and gaming revenue to fund prevention health
initiatives and chemical dependency programs, leaving these critical
health epidemics severely underfunded. To remedy this, the Center for
Medicare and Medicaid Services formula must be expanded to inpatient
chemical dependency treatment programs at the current encounter rate of
$350 per day, with annual increases.
conclusion
The Lower Elwha Tribe has unique needs arising from our leading
role in fisheries restoration, which will provide long-term economic
benefit to the entire North Olympic Coast region. We have been a strong
partner with numerous Federal agencies but the agencies have not fully
addressed the unique impacts on our tribe of the dams and their
removal.
Thank you for your consideration.
______
Prepared Statement of Laurain Magilacutty
Dear Senators:
As an American citizen and taxpayer, I strongly oppose the BLM's
proposal to conduct dangerous sterilization experiments on wild mares
at the Wild Horse Corral Facility in Hines. According to the
Environmental Assessment (EA), the BLM is deciding whether or not to
proceed with one or more of the proposed sterilization procedures. The
weight of scientific evidence and public opinion clearly supports a BLM
decision NOT to proceed with any of these sterilization procedures.
The sterilization procedures that BLM is proposing to conduct on
federally protected wild mares are dangerous, costly and impractical
for use in the field, due to the serious health risks they pose to the
horses and their unborn foals, and also due to the great expense of
purchasing the equipment and training the number of veterinarians
necessary to implement these procedures on the range.
It makes no sense to spend millions of taxpayer dollars on these
risky invasive experiments when proven, humane, and relatively
inexpensive fertility control technology in the form of the PZP vaccine
is readily available but vastly underutilized by the BLM.
The EA is completely inadequate in analyzing the impacts of these
experimental procedures on mares. In addition, the BLM has deliberately
avoided public opposition to this controversial and grotesque research
proposal by skipping the scoping stage of the environmental analysis
process. As a result, the public has been deprived of the opportunity
to provide input into the impacts of and alternatives to these
procedures that must be analyzed under the rules of the National
Environmental Policy Act.
1. Ovariectomy via Colposcopy
This is an outdated and archaic procedure that has been supplanted
by more modern laparoscopic surgery. The EA fails to analyze the
impacts of and alternatives to this procedure to mares and never once
mentions the availability of more modern techniques! This proposed
sterilization experiment is an intra-vaginal complex surgical
procedure, which is hardly ever performed in domestic horses (never
mind in wild ones), due to its inherently dangerous risks.
--The blind nature of this surgery increases the risk of intra-
abdominal hemorrhage, but the EA never even addresses this
issue or the availability of more modern laparoscopic
techniques that allow the surgeon to visualize the abdominal
structures.
--The lack of a sterile environment subjects the mares to a high risk
of infection, something that is ignored by the EA.
--The procedure carries with it a significant risk of hemorrhage and
evisceration (protrusion of the intestines through the surgical
incision), which is why it requires strict follow-up care when
used in domestic horses, including pain relief and 4-7 days of
stall rest, the first 48 hours of which is spent in crossties
to prevent the mare from lying down. It is not possible to
provide this required post-operative care to wild mares, yet
the EA minimizes the impacts of this fact, citing the opinion
of an un-named veterinarian, instead of the published science
and National Research Council review, which clearly indicate
the risks and impacts of this outdated procedure on wild mares.
--The procedure will cause mares in early stages of pregnancy to
abort their fetuses and may cause loss of pregnancy for mares
in the mid-stage of pregnancy as well. This is unacceptable.
This pursuit of ovariectomy research is directly counter to the
recommendations of the National Academy of Sciences National Research
Council (NRC) in its 2013 report, ``Using Science to Improve the BLM
Wild Horse and Burro Program: A Way Forward.'' That NRC report
concluded that: ``The possibility that ovariectomy may be followed by
prolonged bleeding or peritoneal infection makes it inadvisable for
field application.''
2. Minimally Invasive Sterilization Techniques
The other sterilization procedures that BLM proposes to research,
while less invasive than ovariectomy, should also be abandoned due to
the inability to provide post-operative care and the impracticality of
implementing these procedures--which have never before been done in
wild or domestic horses--on a broad scale in a field setting. The EA
fails to analyze the impacts of precedent-setting procedures that have
never before been performed in horses, and as well as the inability to
provide required post-operative care. The EA also omits analysis of the
economic impacts and practicalities of implementing these procedures on
the range.
In proceeding with these experiments, the BLM has ignored the NRC
recommendation that these techniques should first be perfected in
domestic mares, who can be easily handled and will be accessible for
close monitoring and post-operative care, before attempting them in
wild horses.
It is unconscionable that the BLM is proceeding with these
draconian experiments that endanger the lives of the un-consenting
equine subjects and their unborn foals, particularly when a proven non-
invasive and safe fertility control method exists in the readily
available PZP birth control vaccine. Instead of wasting millions of tax
dollars to fund experiments on inhumane and impractical sterilization
experiments, the agency should instead focus resources on vaccinating
sufficient numbers of mares with the PZP fertility control vaccine,
which is documented through 30 years of experience and published
science, to be safe, effective, cost-effective and successful in
managing wild horse populations.
Again, as a taxpayer and wild horse lover, I am outraged that the
BLM is even considering pursuing such inhumane, barbaric and wasteful
experimentation on wild horses and I find the BLM's Environmental
Analysis of its impacts to be woefully inadequate. As a result, I
strongly urge the BLM to abandon these proposed experiments in favor of
using proven, more cost-effective and humane fertility control methods.
______
Prepared Statement of the Maniilaq Association
Summary. The Maniilaq Association is an Alaska Native tribal
organization representing 12 tribes in Northwest Alaska. We provide
health services through a self-governance agreement with the Indian
Health Service (IHS) and social services through a self-governance
agreement with the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). We make the
following recommendations regarding fiscal year 2017 IHS and BIA
funding:
--Increase funding for the Village Built Clinic leases in Alaska by
at least $12.5 million and make it a line item in the IHS
budget.
--Make full Contract Support Costs funding for the IHS and BIA
mandatory, and ensure there are no provisos on indefinite CSC
funding that conflict with the carryover funding authority
provided by the Indian Self-Determination and Education
Assistance Act.
--Fund the IHS budget on an advanced appropriations basis.
--Support the proposed increases in mental health, suicide prevention
and substance abuse spending in the IHS and BIA budgets.
Village Built Clinics
For many years now, Maniilaq has submitted testimony to the
subcommittees regarding the need to address the chronic underfunding of
our Village Built Clinic (VBC) facilities. We appreciate the inclusion
of language in the fiscal year 2016 Consolidated Appropriations Act,
providing that ``. . . $2,000,000 shall be used to supplement funds
available for operational costs at tribal clinics operated under an
Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act compact or
contract where healthcare is delivered in space acquired through a full
service lease, which is not eligible for maintenance and improvement
and equipment funds from the Indian Health Service[.]'' While the
language is not specific to VBCs, we understand that the $2 million was
intended for VBCs.
We also appreciate that the administration has also requested for
fiscal year 2017 a $9 million increase for tribal clinic leases, on top
of the $2 million provided in fiscal year 2016 funds. Approval of this
request would finally help stabilize the desperately needed village-
based care that is crucial in Alaska.
The VBCs are essential for us to maintain the Community Health Aide
Program (CHAP) in Alaska. As you know, CHAP is mandated by Congress as
the instrument for providing basic health services in remote Alaska
Native villages and often provides the only local source of healthcare
for Alaska Native people in rural areas. We cannot overstate the
critical role of village built clinics in Alaska. Lease rental amounts
for the VBCs have failed to keep pace with costs--the majority of the
leases for VBCs have not increased since 1989 and the IHS until this
year resisted proposals to increase their funding. As a result, many of
the VBCs are unsafe or have had to be closed, leaving some villages in
Alaska without a local healthcare facility.
In addition, the President's proposed fiscal year 2017 clinic lease
bill language may need some clarification, depending on IHS's
interpretation, concerning the references that healthcare be delivered
in a space acquired through a ``full service lease''. In some cases
tribes--including the Maniilaq Association--receive VBC funding as part
of their recurring base, and so the IHS no longer has ``full service
leases'' in place for those clinics. We know that the Appropriations
Committees do not intend to limit VBC eligibility based on unclear
terminology.
In sum, these amounts are a step in the right direction but the
2105 ANHB study that analyzed the funding deficiency statewide for
these facilities identified an increased need of $12.5 million
increase. We urge that the full amount needed be appropriated. We also
support maintaining this funding as a line item in the bill.
Contract Support Costs Mandatory Funding
Maniilaq appreciates the bipartisan support of the Interior
appropriations subcommittees for full funding of Contract Support Costs
(CSC). We very much appreciate the funding of CSC in fiscal year 2016
at an indefinite (``such sums as necessary'') amount, which has helped
to ensure that CSC would be fully funded without having to reprogram
funding for critical healthcare services and other programmatic funding
to cover the CSC need. Maniilaq continues to believe that the
indefinite appropriation of CSC funding must be made mandatory and
permanent. We thus support the administration's proposal to move CSC
funding to a mandatory funding basis, although we would like it to
begin in fiscal year 2017 rather than waiting until fiscal year 2018.
We plan to reach out to and work together with the Senate Committee on
Indian Affairs and the House Natural Resources Committee in order to
determine the best way to reach our goal for CSC funding to be made
indefinite, permanent and mandatory. We ask for this subcommittee's
support for such mandatory CSC funding.
Should CSC funding not be made mandatory in fiscal year 2017, we
otherwise are supportive of the President's request for an
appropriation of ``such sums as may be necessary,'' with an estimated
$800 million for CSC for the IHS, and an estimated $278 million for the
BIA, in separate accounts in both the IHS and BIA discretionary
budgets. However, we do not agree with the continued insertion of a
proviso that could effectively deny the carryover authority granted by
the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act for fiscal
year 2017 and thereafter. We thus request the removal of the following
proviso: ``amounts obligated but not expended by a tribe or tribal
organization for contract support costs for such agreements for the
current fiscal year shall be applied to contract support costs
otherwise due for such agreements for subsequent fiscal years.''
IHS Advance Appropriations
The Maniilaq Association continues to work toward a transition of
the IHS budget to an advance appropriations basis. Over the past
several fiscal periods, appropriations have been enacted well after the
beginning of the Federal fiscal year: 2.5 months in both fiscal years
2016 and 2015, 3.5 months in fiscal year 2014, and 6 months in fiscal
year 2013. Following enactment, it takes a few months before funds are
cleared through the Office of Management and Budget, allocated to the
IHS Area Offices, and then finally provided to the tribes and tribal
organizations.
Both the tribal and IHS programs suffer under this situation. We
need to be able to do the best job possible in planning, decisionmaking
and administering programs, but we are impeded in our ability to do so
because we do not know how much funding will be made available or when
we will receive it. This uncertainty requires us to constantly re-work
our budget and delay recruiting and hiring decisions, when we should be
devoted to providing the best health services possible. These delays
also ultimately cost us more money, since we are not able to take full
advantage of buying items in bulk for lower cost, such as our heating
fuel.
We are asking that Congress appropriate IHS funds on an advance
basis, just as it does for the Veterans Administration (VA) medical
accounts funding. In the proposed fiscal year 2016 budget (fiscal year
2017 advance appropriations) for the VA, the administration justifies
advance funding for the VA on the basis of providing timely, high-
quality healthcare for the Nation's veterans, and reiterates this
justification in the proposed fiscal year 2017 budget. Our need for
timely and predictable funding is no less great than it is for the VA.
Alcohol & Substance Abuse Treatment, and Behavioral Health, Suicide
Prevention
The administration's request includes $25 million in program
increases for mental health. Of that amount, $21.4 million would be for
a behavioral health integration initiative, for which tribes and tribal
organizations would be eligible to seek funding for the expansion of
their behavioral health services to areas outside of the traditional
healthcare system; training; hiring behavioral health staff; and
community-based programs. Another $3.6 million in the proposal would be
for funding pilot projects to implement the ``Zero Suicide
Initiative.'' The overwhelming majority of the people we lose to
suicide suffer from diagnosable, treatable mental health or substance
abuse problems. However, the waiting list for treatment averages nearly
9 months, and due to lack of funding there is often no place to refer
people, particularly young people. We therefore request your support
for funding the $25 million program increase for these critical
programs.
We also appreciate the $10 million appropriated in fiscal year 2016
for the Generations Indigenous (Gen-I) initiative, which provides
increased resources for tribes to address youth behavioral, mental
health and substance abuse issues. This funding is critical for the
hiring of staff to provide more services and prevention programs for
our youth. We ask for your support to fund the expansion of the Gen-I
program in fiscal year 2017. For the IHS, the administration is
requesting a $16.8 million increase focused on youth: $15 million to
expand Gen-I for additional staffing and $1.8 million for a pilot
program that would provide a continuum of care for youth after
discharge from a Youth Regional Treatment Center. For the BIA the
proposal includes an increase of $21 million to expand the Tiwahe
Initiative designed to address the inter-related problems of poverty,
violence and substance abuse faced by Native communities, including
$12.3 million for social services programs designed to provide
culturally appropriate care. We ask for your support for this funding.
The President's proposal also includes 2-year mandatory funding of
$10 million in fiscal year 2017 to expand the number of behavioral
health professionals providing services in Indian communities, and $15
million to provide assistance ``to prevent reoccurrences to tribes
experiencing behavioral health crises including specialized crisis
response staffing, technical assistance, and community engagement.''
This funding and these programs are desperately needed in our
communities. Increased behavioral health staffing is a necessity in
order to save lives. We are committed to working together with the
Senate Committee on Indian Affairs and the House Natural Resources
Committee and any others to develop legislation to support these
proposals.
Other
We wish to join others in Indian Country in supporting the
permanent authorization of the Special Diabetes Program for Indians;
funding for annual built-in costs for medical and non-medical
inflation, pay increases, and population growth; and the establishment
of Medicare-like Rates for non-hospital services, thus stretching our
otherwise limited Purchased/Referred Care funds.
Thank you for your consideration of our views.
______
Prepared Statement of the Metlakatla Indian Community
Summary. The requests of the Metlakatla Indian Community for fiscal
year 2017 are:
--Support Contract Support Cost (CSC) funding as being a separate,
indefinite appropriation; remove the proviso potentially
limiting carryover authority for CSC; and support permanent and
mandatory CSC funding.
--Exempt the IHS from any future sequestration, as Congress has done
for the Veterans Health Administration programs.
--Permanently authorize the Special Diabetes Program for Indians.
--Substantially increase funding for BIA Natural Resources
Management.
The Metlakatla Indian Community (Tribe) is located on the Annette
Island Reserve in southeast Alaska, a land base of 87,000 acres.
Through our Annette Island Service Unit we provide primary health
services at our outpatient facility through funding from the IHS as a
co-signer to the Alaska Tribal Health Compact under the Indian Self-
Determination and Education Assistance Act. We have significant fish
and forestry resources, but as noted elsewhere in this testimony, we
require more resources to fully manage them.
Contract Support Costs (CSC).--We appreciate the change made to
funding of CSC in the fiscal year 2016 appropriations act, which made
the fiscal year 2016 CSC funding for an indefinite amount. This shift
helped to ensure that CSC would be fully funded without having to
reprogram funding for critical healthcare services and other
programmatic funding to cover the CSC need.
For fiscal year 2017, we support the President's request for an
appropriation of ``such sums as may be necessary,'' with an estimated
$800 million for CSC for the IHS, and an estimated $278 million for the
BIA, in separate accounts in both the IHS and BIA discretionary
budgets. However, we request the removal of the following proviso:
``amounts obligated but not expended by a tribe or tribal organization
for contract support costs for such agreements for the current fiscal
year shall be applied to contract support costs otherwise due for such
agreements for subsequent fiscal years.'' This proviso, which we
understand the IHS proposed be included in the fiscal year 2016
appropriations language, is problematic because it could be misread to
effectively deny the carryover authority granted by the Indian Self-
Determination and Education Assistance Act. We thus ask that the
proviso be removed for fiscal year 2017 and thereafter.
The Tribe's long-term goal, however, remains that the indefinite
appropriation of CSC funding be made mandatory and permanent. Under the
Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act, the full
payment of CSC is not discretionary; it is a legal obligation, affirmed
by the U.S Supreme Court. Funding of CSC on a discretionary basis has
placed the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations, in their own
words, of being in the ``untenable position of appropriating
discretionary funds for the payment of any legally obligated contract
support costs.'' We are committed to working together with the Senate
Committee on Indian Affairs and the House Natural Resources Committee
to determine how best to achieve that goal. We also ask for the
subcommittees' intervention with the Budget Committee and any others
that may influence this proposal for mandatory CSC funding.
Sequestration.--We continue to ask that IHS funding be exempt from
sequestration, as is the Veterans Health Administration (VA) programs.
We understand that a number of members of Congress previously indicated
that it was an oversight that IHS was not exempt from sequestration in
the past and that the oversight should be corrected. The VA was made
fully exempt from sequestration for all programs administered by the
VA. See Sec. 255 of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control
Act (BBEDCA), as amended by Public Law 111-139 (2010). Also exempt are
State Medicaid grants and Medicare payments, which are held harmless
except for a 2 percent reduction for administration of the program. We
thus strongly urge the subcommittee to support an amendment to the
BBEDCA to fully exempt the IHS from any future sequestration.
Special Diabetes Program for Indians.--While we understand that the
Special Diabetes Program for Indians (SDPI) is not part of the IHS
appropriations process, the SDPI funds are administered by the IHS. The
current authorization and funding for the SDPI expires at the end of
fiscal year 2017. The SDPI provides crucial funding for diabetes
treatment and prevention programs for Alaska Natives and American
Indians, among whom diabetes is an epidemic. As we have expressed in
the past, the SDPI is an indispensable program that has shown
identifiable, significant outcomes--both in terms of access to
treatment and prevention. We support the administration's proposal that
the SDPI be permanently authorized, and hopefully at an increased
amount. SDPI has been flat funded at $150 million for many years. We
ask for your support of the efforts to pass such an authorization as
quickly as possible--well in advance of the SDPI's expiration in
September, 2017--so that these critical programs can continue to
provide uninterrupted care and our contracts can be renewed without
disruption and loss of expertise.
BIA Natural Resources Funding.--Metlakatla has the only reservation
(Annette Island Reserve) within the State of Alaska--87,000 acres, plus
the marine waters 3,000 feet out from the shorelines of Annette
Islands. We did not participate in the Alaska Native Claims Settlement
Act (ANCSA), though were given the opportunity to do so. Instead we
communicated to the congressional drafters of ANCSA the need for the
reservation to stay intact. Section 19 of ANCSA thus excludes the
Tribe, preserving the Tribe's trust land and reservation intact.
The Alaska congressional delegation sent a joint letter on December
16, 2015 to Assistant Secretary Washburn at the BIA requesting
information and a response to a significant issue: the BIA has, for
decades, underfunded our natural resource programs. The BIA, thus far,
has not responded.
The Alaska congressional delegation acknowledges that we have
produced a detailed analysis of not only the funding we currently
receive to carry out BIA natural resource programs ($957,205), but an
analysis of the funding necessary to adequately protect the trust
assets (our lands, waters, habitat, minerals, and fish and wildlife),
and also to steward those trust assets to meeting tribal needs on an
ongoing basis. We determined that our BIA natural resource programs
require a total funding of $3,118,050 on an annual basis, which means
additional appropriations in the amount of $2,160,845.
This breaks down as additional funds needed for the Tribe in the
following budgetary accounts: BIA Hatchery Operations (+$1,155,900);
Fisheries Management and Development & Wildlife Management and
Development (+$201,456); Forestry (+$439,772); Other Rights Protection
(including water) (+$208,123); and Mineral Development (+$155,594). All
of these funds have been requested directly from the BIA in a recent
Title I Self-Determination contract request, but during negotiations on
February 8, 2016, the BIA indicated there are no new funds available
for these programs. The Tribe is awaiting the official written contract
declination from the BIA.
We urge the subcommittee to fully fund these needs so that the
Tribe can adequately carry out responsibilities that are critical to
ensure that the Tribe's natural resources programs are adequately
funded. We have a water shortage crisis at the Tribe currently, and
there is no doubt that greater natural resources program funding would
assist us in better understanding its causes and implementing
solutions. I discuss below two of these program areas--Fisheries and
Forestry--to greater illustrate all that is involved in carrying out
these natural resource programs, the existing inequitable share of
these funds that the Tribe receives in comparison with other Tribes in
the Northwest, and why this funding is so critical to the Tribe.
Fisheries.--Because State-managed waters surround the reservation's
waters, and because there is no court-ordered co-management
relationship between the Tribe and the State, Tribal fisheries must be
managed in a way that accounts for the Tribe's fishing effort, as well
as the State's. This must be done without having any influence over the
State's management strategies, which, at times, have been preemptive of
our subsistence and harvest rights. In order to properly manage our
fishery resources, we need to bring our own scientists and resource
managers to the table, but have insufficient funding to do so.
We manage the following commercial fisheries (subject to
Secretarial approval): Salmon--The Tribe's fishery is the largest
tribally managed salmon fishery in the Nation. In fact, the Tribe
annually harvests more salmon than the five top fishing tribes in
western Washington combined; Herring--we manage the second largest
herring stock in southeast Alaska (second only to the Sitka fishery),
the largest (almost certainly the only) tribally managed herring
fishery in the Nation; Halibut--our halibut fishery is comparable to
the tribal halibut fisheries in western Washington; and Dive Fisheries
for Sea Cucumber and Geoduck--Comparable to tribal fisheries in western
Washington.
The tribes of western Washington, which conduct fisheries that are
most similar to the Tribe's, also have complex managerial, technical
and scientific needs. Yet, their funding, although substantially
greater than the Tribe's, is still inadequate to cover the costs of
retaining staff in each of the individual disciplines that, in
combination, make up a legitimate fishery management program. However,
Congress, through the BIA, makes millions of dollars available to the
Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission (NWIFC) for that very purpose.
The NWIFC, like the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, is
able to draw on economies of scale and consortia staff, so that when
tribes meet with the State, or other management authorities, they are
supported by expertise that the State cannot ignore. By contrast, the
Tribe not only does not have the funds necessary to hire its own
experts, we are also not able to draw upon the expertise of an inter-
tribal consortium.
Our Tamgas Creek Hatchery is possibly the largest tribally operated
hatchery in the Nation, but it inexplicably receives $0 in the Hatchery
Operations line item in the BIA budget, while Oregon and Washington
tribes receive substantial funding. Because of the role that hatcheries
play in sustaining tribal fishing rights, every significant tribal
hatchery in Washington State receives Hatchery Operations funding
through the BIA budget, but Metlakatla receives none. Since the Tribe
cannot compel the State to consider the Tribe's needs, the Tribe's only
recourse is to increase the production of fish at its hatchery that
will return to the Reserve, trusting that enough fish will get through
the harvest gauntlet to meet the Tribe's needs. Our Tribe is very much
on its own. When considered in this light, the disparity between the
fishery management support available to western Washington tribes and
the support available to us is enormous. As a result, we are severely
handicapped in efforts to protect our fishing rights and conserve our
fishery resources.
Forestry.--A second example of critically needed funding to meet
tribal natural resource program needs is in the forestry program. We
receive $62,278 for our forestry program. This is insufficient funding
to hire even one position in the program, let alone plan, design, and
implement silvicultural prescriptions, forest harvest, conservation,
and wildfire prevention and control strategies on the 21,172 acres of
commercial forestland, and 54,197 acres of non-commercial forestland
and associated muskeg habitat. Using the formula developed by the IFMAT
III team in 2011, the Tribe's forestry program should receive a minimum
of $646,223.32 in Federal funding in order to ensure forest health and
Federal trust obligations are met. Without this funding, we cannot
maintain healthy forests that are not susceptible to fire risk, nor can
we count on our forests for any jobs and income going forward. We have
requested less than this full amount, or only an additional $439,772.
We are glad to provide any additional information you may request.
Thank you for your consideration of our concerns and needs.
______
Prepared Statement of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern
California
Chairman Murkowski, Ranking Member Udall, and members of the
subcommittee:
The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California
(Metropolitan) encourages the subcommittee's support for the U.S.
Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) Subactivity: Soil, Water & Air
Management. This Subactivity includes Colorado River Salinity Control
as a primary focus area. For fiscal year 2017, a funding level of $1.5
million for salinity specific control projects is needed in this
primary focus area to prevent further degradation of Colorado River
water quality and increased downstream economic damages.
The salt concentration in the Colorado River causes over $300
million in damages to water users each year. While this figure is
significant, had it not been for the efforts of the Salinity Control
Program, damages would be much higher. Salinity Control Program actions
have reduced salinity concentrations of Colorado River water by 90
milligrams per liter (mg/L) from what they would have been without the
actions. That reduction of 90 mg/L has avoided additional damages of
approximately $200 million per year.
Metropolitan is the regional water supplier for most of urban
southern California, providing supplemental water to retail agencies
that serve approximately 19 million people. Water imported via the
Colorado River Aqueduct has the highest salinity level of all of
Metropolitan's sources of supply, averaging around 630 mg/L since 1976.
This salinity level causes economic damages to all sectors. For
example, high salinity leads to:
--A reduction in the useful life of galvanized water pipe systems,
water heaters, faucets, garbage disposals, clothes washers, and
dishwashers, and an increased use of bottled water and water
softeners in the household sector;
--An increase in the cost of cooling operations, additional need for
and cost of water softening, and a decrease in equipment
service life in the commercial sector;
--An increase in the use of water and the cost of water treatment,
and an increase in sewer fees in the industrial sector;
--A decrease in the life of treatment facilities and pipelines in the
utility sector;
--Difficulty in meeting wastewater discharge requirements to comply
with National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit
terms and conditions, an increase in desalination and brine
disposal costs due to accumulation of salts in groundwater
basins, and fewer opportunities for recycling due to
groundwater quality deterioration;
--Increased cost of desalination and brine disposal for recycled
water in the municipal sector; and
--A reduction in the yield of salt sensitive crops and increased
water use for leaching in the agricultural sector.
Concern over salinity levels in the Colorado River has existed for
many years. To deal with the concern, the International Boundary and
Water Commission signed Minute No. 242, Permanent and Definitive
Solution to the International Problem of the Salinity of the Colorado
River in 1973, and the President signed the Colorado River Basin
Salinity Control Act of 1974 (Act) into law. To further foster
interstate cooperation and coordinate the Colorado River Basin States'
efforts on salinity control, the seven Basin States formed the Colorado
River Basin Salinity Control Forum (Forum). The Forum is charged with
reviewing the Colorado River's water quality standards for salinity
every 3 years. In so doing, it adopts a Plan of Implementation
consistent with these standards. The Plan of Implementation, as adopted
by the States and approved by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
calls for additional salinity control measures to be implemented by
BLM.
BLM is the largest landowner in the Colorado River Basin. Due to
geological conditions, much of the lands that are controlled and
managed by the BLM are heavily laden with salt. Past management
practices have led to human-induced and accelerated erosion processes
from which soil and rocks, heavily laden with salt have been deposited
in various stream beds or flood plains. As a result, salts are
dissolved into the Colorado River system causing water quality problems
downstream.
The Salinity Control Program reduces salinity by preventing salts
from dissolving and mixing with the River's flow. Irrigation
improvements (sprinklers, gated pipe, lined ditches) and vegetation
management reduce the amount of salt transported to the Colorado River.
Point sources such as saline springs are also controlled.
The Salinity Control Program, as set forth in the Act, benefits the
Upper Colorado River Basin water users through more efficient water
management, increased crop production, benefits to local economies
through construction contracts, and through environmental enhancements.
The Salinity Control Program benefits Lower Basin water users, hundreds
of miles downstream from salt sources in the Upper Basin, through
reduced salinity concentration of Colorado River water. California's
Colorado River water users are presently suffering economic damages in
the hundreds of millions of dollars per year due to the River's
salinity.
Congress has charged Federal agencies, including the BLM, to
proceed with programs to control the salinity of the Colorado River.
Salt reduction is achieved by controlling both point and nonpoint
sources of salt contributions; however, the majority of salt derived
from public lands is of non-point-source origin. Salt loading from non-
point sources is mainly reduced by minimizing soil erosion. BLM
achieves salinity control goals through managing land use practices.
BLM's rangeland improvement programs can lead to some of the most cost-
effective salinity control measures available. Metropolitan supports
BLM's current drafting of a comprehensive strategy to improve the
implementation of salinity control and outreach efforts within the
Colorado River Basin. BLM's measures significantly complement programs
and activities being considered for implementation by the U.S. Bureau
of Reclamation through its Basin-wide Program and by the U.S.
Department of Agriculture through its on-farm Environmental Quality
Incentives Program.
Over the past years, the Salinity Control Program has proven to be
a very cost effective approach to help mitigate the impacts of
increased salinity in the Colorado River. Continued Federal funding of
this important Basin-wide program is essential. The program change
proposed by BLM in the 2017 budget request for the Soil, Water & Air
Management Subactivity to enhance core capability is welcomed. This
enhancement to support monitoring and analysis of soil, water and air
resources, including sediment and salinity reductions within the
Colorado River Basin, is needed.
Metropolitan encourages the subcommittee's support for sufficient
funding in the Subactivity: Soil, Water & Air Management to allow for
general water quality improvement efforts in the Colorado River Basin
and $1.5 million for salinity specific control projects in 2017. This
amount is needed to prevent further degradation of the quality of the
Colorado River and increased downstream economic damages.
______
Prepared Statement of the Minerals Science and Information Coalition
On behalf of the undersigned members of the Minerals Science and
Information Coalition, thank you for the opportunity to submit a
written statement for the record on fiscal year 2017 appropriations for
the Mineral Resources Program within the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).
The Minerals Science and Information Coalition (MSIC or the
Coalition) is a broad-based alliance of minerals and materials
interests united in advocating for reinvigorated minerals science and
information functions in the Federal Government. Our group is comprised
of trade associations, scientific and professional societies, groups
representing the extractive industries, processors, manufacturers,
other mineral and material supply-chain users, and other consumers of
Federal minerals science and information.
MSIC supports the President's request for $49 million for the U.S.
Geological Survey's Mineral Resources Program, and respectfully
requests that Congress add $5 million in new funding to create minerals
forecasting capabilities as well as new investments in the USMIN
project to continue development of a comprehensive national mineral
resource database.
Minerals are part of virtually all the products we use every day,
acting as the raw materials for manufacturing processes or as the end
products themselves. Minerals are critical ingredients in specialized
applications for national defense and energy technologies, as well as
essential building blocks for buildings, roads and civic infrastructure
projects. They are used in the manufacture of paper, glass, ceramics,
plastics, refined metals, and a host of intermediary materials. These,
in turn, find their way into the manufactured products that make up our
daily lives, such as automobiles, mobile phones, and computers. Every
sector of industry relies on a variety of minerals to generate their
end products, making a stable and reliable supply of minerals vital for
the continued growth and success of our economy.
The recent crisis in the global supply of rare earth elements
caused by Chinese export restrictions is a case study in the importance
of a stable mineral supply chain. Supply chains can be long, complex,
and vulnerable to disruption for many reasons. The restrictions in the
supply of rare earth elements threatened the production of components
essential for U.S. defense systems, in addition to a vast array of
communications, clean energy, electronics, automotive, and medical
products. Both the private and the public sectors realize that we must
reduce risks to key minerals supply chains. However, we cannot do this
without accurate, timely information on the nature, location, and
characteristics of our domestic mineral resources, and on the worldwide
supply of, demand for, and flow of minerals and materials. This
information is the foundation for identifying and anticipating existing
and emerging vulnerabilities, and for sound decisionmaking by business
leaders and policy makers.
usgs mineral resources program
The USGS plays a central role in providing the fundamental
information that allows our business leaders and government
institutions to make informed natural resource decisions. It is the
Minerals Science and Information Coalition's belief that prioritizing
both the science and information components of USGS's Mineral Resources
Program is vitally important to our national defense and economic well-
being.
Minerals science covers the full life cycle of minerals from the
discovery of mineral deposits to the disposal of mineral products,
including understanding how mineral deposits are formed, the nature and
location of mineral deposits, and the environmental issues associated
with responsible mineral extraction. The Mineral Resources Program has
a long and distinguished history of research and assessment of our
Nation's mineral resources. According to a National Science and
Technology Council \1\ report issued in March this year, an overarching
trend in mineral production between 1996 and 2013 has been the
concentration of production in countries with higher governance
(geopolitical and regulatory) risk. This means that the risk of
possible disruption to our mineral supply is rising. Therefore, it is
vital that we invest in understanding our domestic resources to build
resilient supply chains.
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\1\ National Science and Technology Council, Committee on
Environment, Natural Resources, and Sustainability, Subcommittee on
Critical and Strategic Mineral Supply Chains. 2016. Assessment of
Critical Minerals: Screening Methodology and Initial Application.
Office of Science and Technology Policy, 57 p.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The National Minerals Information Center (NMIC) is the premier
source of information on the worldwide supply of, demand for, and flow
of minerals and materials. The consistency and reliability of NMIC's
data over decades is one of its greatest strengths. Its data and
products are used throughout the Federal Government to support
economic, national security, and land-use decisionmaking. It is also
critical to private sector investment and financial institutions.
However, in spite of our expanding use of a range of critical and
strategic mineral commodities that are essential to keep up our
defense, economy, and wellbeing, NMIC does not have the resources
needed to develop a robust forecasting function for the minerals
sector. Therefore, we strongly urge additional new funding of $5
million for NMIC to support advanced mineral flow analysis and the
development of minerals forecasting capability within the U.S.
Geological Survey.
Thank you for the opportunity to present this testimony to the
subcommittee.
American Chemical Society
American Exploration & Mining Association
American Geosciences Institute
American Physical Society
Industrial Minerals Association--North America
Materials Research Society
National Mining Association
National Stone, Sand and Gravel Association
Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration, Inc.
______
Prepared Statement of the Mississippi Interstate Cooperative Resource
Association
My name is Ron Brooks. I am the Director of the Fisheries Division
of the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. I am
submitting written testimony on behalf of the Mississippi Interstate
Cooperative Resource Association--an interstate partnership known as
MICRA--regarding the priorities and budgets of two agencies within the
Department of Interior, specifically the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)
and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). The following testimony
includes three appropriations requests totaling $4,460,000 in
additional funding to the USFWS's Fish and Aquatic Conservation fiscal
year 2017 budget (Activity: Aquatic Habitat and Species Conservation;
Subactivity: Aquatic Invasive Species).
MICRA is an organization of my fellow State agency fish chiefs in
the 28 States that have management jurisdiction of the fisheries
resources in the Mississippi River Basin. The Mississippi River Basin
is the largest watershed in the Nation, covering 41 percent of the
continental U.S. and draining all or part of 31 States and 2 Canadian
Provinces. The Mississippi River Basin States formed the MICRA
partnership in 1990 to cooperatively manage the interjurisdictional
fisheries and aquatic resources in the basin. Recreational and
commercial fishing in the Mississippi River Basin generates more than
$19 billion in economic output annually.
MICRA supports the increases in the President's fiscal year 2017
budget for National Fish Hatchery System Operations and Maintenance,
and for the Aquatic Habitat and Species Conservation's Fish Passage
Improvements and Aquatic Invasive Species Programs. Two of the primary
basin-wide issues impacting our native fisheries and aquatic resources
are the loss of diverse habitats and aquatic invasive species. The
National Fish Hatchery System mitigation program, Aquatic Invasive
Species Program, National Fish Passage program, and the National Fish
Habitat Partnerships are all programs that MICRA strongly supports and
would like to see remain priorities for the USFWS and Congress.
Aquatic Nuisance Species (ANS) impact water resources, businesses,
waterway users, native ecosystems, and the public in every State
throughout the Nation. Management and control of nuisance fish--such as
Asian carps and lion fish; mussels--such as quagga mussels, zebra
mussels, New Zealand mud snails, and applesnails; plants such as
Brazillian elodea, hydrilla, water hyacinth, and Eurasian water
milfoil; and a plethora of other organisms cost the United States
billions of dollars each year.
The Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force (ANS Task Force), composed
of 13 Federal agencies and 13 ex-officio organizations, serves as the
only intergovernmental organization dedicated to preventing and
controlling ANS. The ANS Task Force provides a national forum for
collaboration on critical issues that can impact prevention, control,
and management of ANS. Regional coordination among Federal, State, and
local partners is accomplished through the work of six Regional Panels.
MICRA is an ex-officio member on the ANS Task Force and the host
organization for the Mississippi River Basin Panel on Aquatic Nuisance
Species--the largest Regional Panel in the country.
Funding for the Regional Panels is provided through the USFWS's
Aquatic Invasive Species Program, specifically as part of `NISA
Implementation' (i.e. National Invasive Species Act of 1996). Funding
for the six Regional Panels is authorized in the Nonindigenous Aquatic
Nuisance Prevention and Control Act of 1990 (NANPCA) at $300,000,
providing a mere $50,000 in annual operations to each Regional Panel
when fully appropriated. Beginning in 2013, the USFWS reduced annual
funding to the Regional Panels by 20 percent. MICRA requests that
Congress restore Regional Panel funding to at least the previously
appropriated level of $300,000, but preferably to $600,000 which would
provide each Regional Panel with $100,000 for annual operations.
Leadership of the six Regional Panels has repeatedly stated that a
minimum annual operational budget of $100,000 is needed for each
Regional Panel to meet its legislated responsibilities under NANPCA.
As part of the Federal-State partnership to address the myriad of
ANS issues, 40 State and 2 interstate ANS management plans have been
developed to identify needed actions to address each State's priority
ANS issues. Funding for implementation of these 42 ANS Task Force
approved State and interstate ANS management plans is administered
through the USFWS and is authorized by NANPCA at $4 million annually.
Funding for State ANS management plans allows States to leverage funds
and implement the highest priority actions to prevent the continued
spread of ANS and minimize their impacts on the public. Initial funding
levels (fiscal year 2000 and fiscal year 2001) provided more than
$100,000 annually per approved plan; however, as the number of approved
State ANS management plans has increased each year, the amount of
funding received by each State has steadily decreased, severely
limiting the ability of States to effectively manage ANS.
Thankfully, Congress increased funding for implementation of State
ANS management plans to $2 million in fiscal year 2016 and this
increase is included in the President's fiscal year 2017 budget. This
much needed increase will result in each State with an approved plan
receiving approximately $47,000 for implementation. The total funding
requested by States to implement approved plans in fiscal year 2012 was
more than $14 million. MICRA requests Congress increase funding for
implementation of approved State ANS management plans to the fully
authorize level of $4 million in fiscal year 2017. This increase of $2
million for implementation of approved State and interstate ANS
management plans is critically needed and long overdue. It is an
investment in the States' collective ability to prevent introductions
of new ANS and manage and control existing ANS populations that cause
millions of dollars in losses each year.
State management plan and Regional Panel funding are included with
USFWS operational costs in the agency's budget for Aquatic Invasive
Species as NISA implementation. We encourage appropriations language
that clearly articulates the level of funding for State management plan
implementation and Regional Panel operations as is intended by the
subcommittee to prevent the continued loss of funds from these programs
to USFWS operational costs. MICRA also recognizes the increased cost
for USFWS operations each year, and underscores the importance of
additional funding in the USFWS's Fish and Aquatic Conservation budget
for these important programs to the States.
Asian carp have been spreading throughout much of the Mississippi
River Basin over the past two decades impacting new waters each year.
The States assisted the USFWS in the development of the national
`Management and Control Plan for Bighead, Black, Grass, and Silver
Carps in the United States' that was approved by the national ANS Task
Force in 2007. The Mississippi River Basin States have long advocated
for national strategies to prevent and control Asian carps, recognizing
that comprehensive efforts to address Asian carp throughout the
Mississippi River Basin are necessary to achieve success in preventing
Asian carp from becoming established in the Great Lakes, Upper
Mississippi River, upper Ohio River, and elsewhere. Congress has made a
significant investment over the last several years to prevent Asian
carp from becoming established in the Great Lakes, first through Great
Lakes Restoration Initiative (or GLRI) funding and more recently
through base funding allocations to Federal agencies.
Beginning in fiscal year 2014 the USFWS and USGS began receiving
base funding to address Asian carp outside the Great Lakes, however
this funding has been focused on preventing Asian carp from becoming
established in the Upper Mississippi River and Ohio River basins. In
addition to protecting uninvaded waters in every Mississippi River
Basin State, many States in the Mississippi River Basin are attempting
to reduce established populations of Asian carp and minimize their
impacts on the businesses and recreational users that rely on these
waters. The fiscal year 2017 President's budget includes base funding
for USFWS to ``to prevent the spread of Asian carp in the Great Lakes
Basin, and the upper Mississippi and Ohio rivers.'' Such language has
prevented Federal agencies from implementing a national strategy for
this issue and has kept Asian carp prevention and control technologies
developed with Great Lakes Asian carp funding from being implemented
and evaluated in parts of the Mississippi River Basin beyond the upper
Mississippi and Ohio rivers where the results would have meaningful
local and national benefits. For example, the Mississippi Department of
Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks has coordinated with USFWS, USGS, and
the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to identify potential tools
and locations to prevent the interbasin transfer of silver carp from
the Tennessee River to the Mobile River Basin via the Tennessee-
Tombigbee Waterway. Despite the collaboratively agreed upon potential
application of USGS developed technologies to prevent an inter-basin
transfer of Asian carp, the Federal agencies have informed the
Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks that Asian
carp funding is not available to implement and evaluate these
technologies in the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway.
The President's fiscal year 2017 budget for USFWS includes $7.9
million in base funding for Asian carp; however $5.3 million is
designated to be used for the Great Lakes and $2.6 million is
designated for the Upper Mississippi River and Ohio River basins. MICRA
supports these Federal agency base funding increases to enable the
USFWS, in partnership with USGS and USACE, to lead national efforts to
manage and control Asian carps in the United States. Greater focus on
national priorities and increased funding for Asian carp prevention and
control beyond the Great Lakes is desperately needed. MICRA urges the
subcommittee to include an additional $2.1 million in USFWS base
funding for Asian carp and to include language that the agency's Asian
carp base funds are to be used for ``implementation of the national
`Management and Control Plan for Bighead, Black, Grass, and Silver
Carps in the United States' and associated collaborative multi-State
Asian Carp Control Strategy Frameworks and Action Plans to protect the
Great Lakes, Mississippi River and tributaries, and other priority
watersheds.'' Similar wording is recommended for USGS and other Federal
agencies receiving base funding for implementation of Asian carp
programs. This wording is recommended to enable current work in the
Great Lakes, Upper Mississippi River, and Ohio River basins to continue
at their current levels, and to provide Federal agencies with the
flexibility to implement additional work where needed based on national
priorities.
The Regional Frameworks/Action Plans for the Mississippi River
Basin were developed with flexibility to use creative solutions to
control existing populations of Asian carp and prevent further range
expansion. Much of the work identified in the Asian Carp Regional
Frameworks/Action Plans for the Mississippi River, Ohio River, and
other parts of the Mississippi River Basin are State-led actions. The
States are critical partners to the Federal agencies in the battle
against Asian carp, but most States lack funding to implement actions
and address priority needs. Federal grants to States for implementation
of priority actions in support of the `Management and Control Plan for
Bighead, Black, Grass, and Silver Carps in the United States', and
Regional Frameworks/Action Plans is needed to enable the States to
engage as equal partners in addressing Asian carp. Funding increases to
USFWS for Asian carp should include a specific amount or a percentage
for grants to States for implementation of State-led priority needs
identified in Asian Carp Regional Frameworks/Action Plans. Such a
program could be administered by the USFWS and implemented in a similar
manner as the State ANS management plan program.
Thank you for the opportunity to provide written testimony on the
fiscal year 2017 budget for the Department of Interior and for
considering the recommendations and requests submitted by MICRA on
behalf of our 28 Mississippi River Basin member States. I am happy to
provide clarification or additional information to the subcommittee or
its individual members regarding any of MICRA's recommendations and
requests presented in this written testimony.
______
Prepared Statement of the Mountain Pact
Dear Chairman Murkowski and Ranking Member Udall:
The Mountain Pact represents mountain communities across the
American West, approximately 250,000 permanent residents and 40 million
visitors each year. Positioned in rural mountain areas and often
surrounded by Federal land, Western mountain communities are especially
vulnerable to economic, public health, and environmental damages from
catastrophic wildfire.
It is not news to anyone living in the Western United States that
wildfires have become a major threat to our communities. Many factors
contribute to the increase in wildfire frequency and severity,
including build-up of hazardous fuels, increasing populations in the
wildland urban interface, and ongoing drought. This past decade fires
have burned 50 percent more land than in the previous four decades; the
fire season has expanded by 2 months; and the average size of fires has
increased by a factor of five since the 1970s. Just this summer,
impacts from one of the worst western fire seasons on record have had
far-reaching effects. The frequency and severity of these wildfires has
and will have a disastrous effect on local economies, natural
resources, and our communities and needs to be matched by significant
levels of funding to protect people, water, and wildlife.
In addition to the threat of the actual wildfires, critical
landscape management activities are often postponed or canceled as a
result of fire transfers from non-suppression agency accounts once
annual wildfire suppression funds are depleted. Currently, the USDA
Forest Service (USFS) and Department of Interior (DOI) are the only
agencies required to pay for natural disaster response out of their
annual discretionary budgets. Since 2000, these agencies have run out
of money to fight emergency fires eight times and in the last 2 years,
more than $1 billion was `borrowed' from USFS programs to cover fire
suppression shortfalls. Unfortunately and again in fiscal year 2015,
the 10-year average was not enough to meet the USFS suppression needs,
forcing the agency to transfer $700 million from non-suppression
accounts to make up for the shortfall.
The current wildfire suppression funding model and cycle of
transfers and repayments has negatively impacted the ability to
implement forest management, among many other activities. Additionally,
the increasing 10-year average has not met annual suppression needs
since before fiscal year 2002, which is why we are thankful to the
subcommittee for the full transfer repayment and increased suppression
funding in fiscal year 2016. However, we understand this is not
expected to occur every year.
DOI and USFS need a long-term fire funding solution that would
result in stable and predictable budgets. Our local economies are
incredibly vulnerable to the effects of underfunded Federal land
management.
We respectfully request a bipartisan fire funding solution that
would (1) access disaster funding, (2) minimize transfers, and (3)
address the continued erosion of agency budgets over time, with the
goal of reinvesting in key programs that would restore forests to
healthier conditions.
[This statement was submitted by Diana Madson, Executive Director.]
______
Prepared Statement of the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies
Chairman Murkowski, Ranking Member Udall and members of the
subcommittee, thank you for the invitation to prepare this testimony
regarding Federal appropriations for the National Endowment for the
Arts in fiscal year 2017. I am Pam Breaux, Chief Executive Officer of
the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies (NASAA), the organization
representing the State and jurisdictional arts agencies of the United
States. Today, I urge the subcommittee to support funding the National
Endowment for the Arts (NEA) at $155 million in fiscal year 2017.
In fiscal year 2016, this subcommittee supported an increase of $2
million in funding for the agency. The States and NASAA are extremely
grateful to the subcommittee for this, particularly given the
limitations Congress faces as a result of sequestration. As you look to
the next budget, NASAA hopes you will once again consider increasing
funding for the NEA, which continues to make a substantial impact in
communities throughout the United States, even while operating with a
budget that is more than $19 million (12 percent) lower than in fiscal
year 2010.
In asking for an increase in funding for the NEA, it is important
to acknowledge the continued bipartisan support that this subcommittee,
and Congress as a whole, has demonstrated for State arts agencies. As
you know, through a highly effective Federal-State partnership, the NEA
distributes 40 percent of its programmatic funds to State and regional
arts agencies each year. The resulting $47.3 million in fiscal year
2016, helped to leverage additional public and private investment in
the arts, empowered States and regions to address their unique
priorities, and served far more constituents than Federal funds alone
could reach. The report accompanying last year's Consolidated
Appropriations Act affirmed Congress's support for this important
partnership and the 40 percent allocation. We sincerely thank the
subcommittee for this acknowledgement.
State arts agencies use their share of NEA funds ($39 million last
year), combined with funds from State legislatures, to support
approximately 21,000 grants to arts organizations, civic organizations,
schools and artists in more than 4,400 communities across the United
States. Twenty-five percent of State arts agencies' grant awards go to
nonmetropolitan areas, supporting programs that strengthen the civic
and economic sustainability of rural America. Twenty-nine percent of
State arts agencies' grant dollars go to arts education, fostering
student success in and out of school and providing the critical
thinking, creativity and communications skills needed to meet the
demands of today's competitive work force.
Congress's continued support of the 40 percent formula is essential
to State arts agencies, boosting their ability to drive innovation in
their States. Throughout the country, State arts agencies play
significant roles in shaping education policy, stimulating economic
growth and helping communities thrive as rewarding and productive
places to live, conduct business, visit and raise a family. Should
Congress support an increase for the NEA, State arts agencies will be
in a position to expand their meaningful role helping in every
congressional district have full opportunities to experience the
economic, civic, educational and cultural benefits that the arts offer.
NASAA and State arts agencies also applaud the work of the NEA in
its direct program areas and partnerships with other Federal agencies.
The NEA's direct grants support thousands of concerts, performances,
readings and exhibitions, with annual live attendance of nearly 20
million people. Especially noteworthy partnerships include the NEA's
work with the Department of Defense (to support arts therapy in healing
programs at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and the
National Intrepid Center of Excellence) and the Department of
Commerce's Bureau of Economic Analysis (to track the economic
contributions of arts and cultural production to the U.S. gross
domestic product and export portfolio).
In the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2016 Committee Report,
this subcommittee urged State arts agencies to explore opportunities to
work with the military. NASAA's newly released study on State arts and
military initiatives recounts that numerous States are either already
implementing or considering such programs. In fact, a significant
majority (45) of State arts agencies are pursuing at least one program,
policy, service or partnership related to serving military and veteran
populations through the arts. Further, 72 percent are actively engaged
in or considering partnerships to facilitate the work. We look forward
to supporting States as they continue this important, ground-breaking
work.
Thank you for your consideration. NASAA looks forward to continuing
to work productively with this subcommittee, and we stand ready to
serve as a resource to you.
______
Prepared Statement of the National Association of Clean Air Agencies
On behalf of the National Association of Clean Air Agencies
(NACAA), thank you for this opportunity to provide testimony on the
fiscal year 2017 proposed budget for the United States Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA), particularly grants to State and local air
pollution control agencies under Sections 103 and 105 of the Clean Air
Act, which are part of the State and Tribal Assistance Grant (STAG)
program. Specifically, NACAA makes three requests of Congress: (1)
State and local air pollution control agencies should be provided with
Federal grants in the amount of the President's request--$268.2
million--which is an increase of $40 million over fiscal year 2016
levels; (2) the $40-million increase should not be earmarked for any
particular activity (e.g., climate change); rather, agencies should be
given the flexibility to use the additional resources on the highest-
priority activities in their areas; and (3) grant funds for fine
particulate matter (PM2.5) monitoring should remain under
Section 103 authority, rather than being shifted to Section 105
authority, as EPA is proposing.
NACAA is a national, non-partisan, non-profit association of air
pollution control agencies in 40 States, the District of Columbia, four
Territories and 116 metropolitan areas. The members of NACAA have the
primary responsibility under the Clean Air Act for implementing our
Nation's clean air program. The air quality professionals in our member
agencies have vast experience dedicated to improving air quality in the
United States. These observations and recommendations are based upon
that experience. The views expressed in this testimony do not
necessarily represent the positions of every State and local air
pollution control agency in the country.
Air Pollution Is Still a Serious Problem in the United States
Air pollution continues to be a significant public health concern.
Every year tens of thousands of people die prematurely as a result of
breathing polluted air. Millions are exposed to unhealthful levels of
air contaminants, which results in many health problems, such as cancer
and damage to respiratory, cardiovascular, neurological and
reproductive systems.\1\ The evidence of adverse health impacts
continues to mount. For example, in October 2013, the International
Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) of the World Health Organization
classified outdoor air pollution as carcinogenic to humans. The IARC
evaluated particulate matter separately and also classified it as a
human carcinogen.\2\
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\1\ Fiscal Year 2014-2018 EPA Strategic Plan (April 10, 2014), page
8.
\2\ https://www.iarc.fr/en/media-centre/iarcnews/pdf/pr221_E.pdf.
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The programs that Federal, State and local agencies have undertaken
to address air pollution under the Clean Air Act have been hugely
successful. For example, EPA data show that between 2003 and 2014,
population-weighted ambient concentrations have declined by 29 percent
for PM2.5 and 18 percent for ozone.\3\
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\3\ Fiscal Year 2017 EPA Budget in Brief (February 2016), page 14.
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In spite of these strides, significant problems still exist, posing
threats to public health and welfare. According to EPA, in 2014
approximately 57 million people in this country lived in counties that
exceeded one or more of the Federal health-based air pollution
standards.\4\ With respect to hazardous air pollutants (HAPs), the
newly released data from EPA's National Air Toxics Assessment (NATA)
indicate that in 2011 ``all 285 million people in the U.S. ha[d] an
increased cancer risk of greater than 10 in one million,'' while one-
half million people have an increased risk of cancer of over 100 in a
million, due to exposure to the HAPs included in the NATA analysis.\5\
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\4\ Fiscal Year 2017 EPA Budget in Brief (February 2016), page 14.
\5\ http://www.epa.gov/national-air-toxics-assessment/2011-nata-
assessment-results.
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The task Congress faces of balancing many competing needs is
daunting. However, we doubt any of the issues this subcommittee
addresses pose more of a public health problem than that of air
pollution. This body has the chance to take aim at this critical public
health and welfare problem by providing additional Federal grants to
those fighting on the front lines--State and local air quality
agencies.
The Proposed Increase Is Needed Even Without the Clean Power Plan
Requirements
The proposed budget for fiscal year 2017 calls for an increase of
$40 million in grants for State and local air quality agencies, for a
total of $268.2 million. The $40-million increase was originally
intended to include $25 million for implementation of the Clean Power
Plan (CPP) and $15 million for what we consider to be ``core''
activities, such as ongoing and day-to-day elements of our programs. As
you know, after the budget was proposed, the Supreme Court stayed the
CPP (February 9, 2016) so many State and local agencies' obligations
related to this program will not be required during fiscal year 2017.
However, we nevertheless urge Congress to provide the full $40-million
increase to State and local air agencies because our needs are far
greater than the total proposed additional grants could address, even
without the requirements of the CPP. Moreover, if given flexibility on
how the additional funds are used, State and local air agencies can
target the resources to address the issues that are most pressing to
their communities.
State and Local Agencies Programs Face Significant Deficits
State and local air pollution control agencies have done their best
to operate with insufficient resources for many years, but it has been
a struggle. State and local air programs face an annual shortfall of
$550 million in Federal grants,\6\ which has caused many of these
agencies to reduce or eliminate important air pollution programs,
postpone necessary air monitoring expenditures and even reduce their
workforces. In light of economic hardships, States and localities
increasingly rely on Federal grants provided by the Clean Air Act.
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\6\ Investing in Clean Air and Public Health: A Needs Survey of
State and Local Air Pollution Control Agencies, (April 2009), NACAA,
www.4cleanair.org/Documents/reportneedssurvey042709.pdf.
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The Clean Air Act's Section 105 authorizes Federal grants to cover
up to 60 percent of the cost of State and local air programs and
requires States and localities to contribute a 40-percent match. In
reality, however, State and local air agencies provide over 75 percent
of their budgets (not including permit fees under the Federal Title V
program). Exacerbating the situation is the fact that Federal grants
have decreased by nearly 17 percent in purchasing power since 2000 due
to inflation.
State and local air quality programs carry out a host of essential
activities to attain and maintain healthful air quality. These include
ongoing, day-to-day responsibilities that constitute the foundation or
core of our programs, as well as additional efforts designed to address
new problems and changing regulatory requirements. While the list of
our responsibilities is too lengthy to include in this brief testimony,
just a few examples for fiscal year 2017 include continued
implementation of the health-based national ambient air quality
standards (NAAQS) for multiple pollutants; development and/or revision
of State Implementation Plans (SIPs) for the ozone, PM2.5
and sulfur dioxide standards; implementation of air toxics standards,
including revisions to Maximum Achievable Control Technology (MACT)
standards resulting from Risk and Technology Review updates; and
implementation of control measures related to visibility and regional
haze.
These tasks require many resource- and labor-intensive activities
including, among other things, air quality planning; compiling
comprehensive emission inventories; carrying out complex modeling;
analyzing extensive data; adopting regulations; inspecting facilities
and enforcing regulations; addressing complicated transport issues;
issuing minor source permits; and informing and involving the public in
air quality decisions and issues.
A major responsibility that State and local agencies face relates
to air quality monitoring. This piece of our program is critical for
determining the extent and location of air quality problems and
assessing the efficacy of our programs. As in previous years, our
monitoring program in fiscal year 2017 will call for ongoing monitoring
as well as revisions to address new and changing requirements.
Additionally, it has become obvious that one result of the financial
crises of recent years is the postponement of necessary activities
related to essential upkeep and maintenance for State and local air
monitoring networks. Moreover, the loss of monitoring staff has
hampered the program significantly. Simply stated, our monitoring
program is in dire need of additional funds for essential
infrastructure investments and additional personnel.
I have articulated just some of the difficult fiscal issues facing
State and local air pollution control agencies in order to emphasize
how important it is for Congress to provide these agencies with the
$40-million increase included in the administration's request, even
without the requirements of the CPP, and to also allow State and local
agencies the flexibility to spend the funds on the highest priority
activities in their areas.
NACAA Recommends That Monitoring Grants Remain Under Section 103
Authority
As in previous years, the administration's request proposes to
begin to shift the PM2.5 monitoring grant program from
Section 103 authority to Section 105 authority. When funds are provided
under Section 103, no State or local matching funds are needed, while
Section 105 grants call for matching funds. We request that these funds
remain under Section 103 authority. There are some State and local air
quality agencies that are unable to provide additional matching funds.
If the program is shifted to Section 105 authority, these agencies
could have to refuse critical monitoring grants because they are unable
to afford the required match. We have made this recommendation in
previous years and State and local air quality agencies are very
appreciative that Congress has been agreeable to our request in the
past.
NACAA Supports Resources for the ``Climate Infrastructure Fund''
NACAA supports the proposed ``Climate Infrastructure Fund,'' which
includes $1.65 billion over 10 years to, among other things, retrofit,
replace or repower diesel equipment, especially school buses. It is
critically important that diesel emissions be reduced and this program
will support important efforts to address this problem.
NACAA Supports Diesel Emission Reduction Act (DERA) Funds
NACAA is pleased that the proposed budget includes funding for the
Diesel Emission Reduction Act (DERA) program ($10 million). Diesel
pollution poses significant threats to public health and the DERA
program is an important effort to address emissions from the large
legacy fleet of diesel engines. We are concerned that in fiscal year
2016 it appears that the DERA program was increased above the
President's request at the expense of the Section 103/105 grants and we
strongly urge that any future funding for DERA not be in lieu of
increases to State and local air grants.
Conclusion
In summary, NACAA supports the administration's proposal to provide
$268.2 million in grants to State and local air pollution control
agencies under Sections 103 and 105 of the Clean Air Act for fiscal
year 2017, which is an increase of $40 million above fiscal year 2016.
NACAA also asks that Congress not ``earmark'' these funds for specific
activities and instead provide State and local air pollution control
agencies with the flexibility to use the additional resources on the
highest priority activities in their areas. Finally, NACAA requests
that that grants for PM2.5 monitoring remain under Section
103 authority, rather than being shifted to Section 105 authority.
Thank you for this opportunity to provide testimony on these
critically important issues and for your consideration of the funding
needs of State and local air quality programs.
______
Prepared Statement of the National Association of Clean Water Agencies
As the appropriations subcommittee begins to develop legislation to
fund EPA in the 2017 fiscal year, the National Association of Clean
Water Agencies (NACWA) appreciates your support of strong funding for
programs that help provide clean and safe water infrastructure while
making local utility investments more manageable for ratepayers.
As you know, the ongoing water crisis in Flint, Michigan has
focused national attention on the needs of our water infrastructure.
This has prompted welcome proposals by some Members of Congress to
dramatically boost water infrastructure spending next year. One such
proposal would provide $2 billion each to the Clean Water and Drinking
Water State Revolving Funds (SRFs), well-established programs that
deliver funding to all States to help communities improve their water
and wastewater infrastructure to protect public health. NACWA strongly
supports these higher proposed funding levels to dramatically increase
SRF appropriations in the 2017 fiscal year while bringing parity to
Clean Water and Drinking Water SRF funding levels.
We also recognize that the budgetary situation faced by Congress
may prevent total SRF appropriations from reaching these levels in
fiscal year 2017. If that is the case, at minimum we urge Congress to
reject any cuts to the Clean Water SRF in 2017--including those
proposed in the President's budget--and to bring the Drinking Water SRF
to an equal level of funding.
The Clean Water SRF is heavily utilized across the United States to
help clean water utilities meet their many regulatory requirements
under the Clean Water Act through more affordable financing terms which
help ensure local ratepayers can afford their clean water bills. Clean
Water SRF funds have been instrumental in many communities' successes
in complying with National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System
(NPDES) permits, implementing secondary (biologic) treatment of
wastewater, and reducing the frequency and size of sewer overflows
during wet weather events. Clean Water SRFs are also increasingly used
for innovative stormwater and nutrient management projects and to
implement green infrastructure, which can provide cost-effective water
quality improvements while also providing green spaces and improving
community quality of life.
Clean water utilities will also be looking to leverage low-cost
financing from the Clean Water SRF to implement controls to maintain
compliance with new and updated regulatory requirements from EPA.
Regulatory and guidance changes ranging from updated water quality
standards for ammonia to new air emission standards for Sewage Sludge
Incinerators impose costs for clean water utilities. On the enforcement
side, municipal wet weather issues will continue to be an enforcement
priority for EPA in fiscal year 2017. This is anticipated to likely
lead to new Federal consent decrees for which communities will need to
finance hundreds of millions of dollars in additional improvements.
Many POTWs are also facing increasingly stringent nutrient limits,
which can similarly impose compliance costs in the hundreds of millions
of dollars for individual communities. The Clean Water SRF serves as an
essential tool helping utilities meet their new requirements and
limits.
While attaining strong SRF funding levels is clearly essential, in
light of the massive costs clean water utilities face we also urge
Congress to deliver robust funding to other important water
infrastructure programs. In particular, we urge at least $6.5 million
to continue EPA's Integrated Municipal Stormwater and Wastewater
Planning Approach (Integrated Planning), which helps communities
address their EPA regulations cost-effectively and strategically.
Integrated Planning allows clean water utilities and their communities
to strategically prioritize clean water investments to provide greater
``bang for the buck'' in addressing environmental and public health
issues more holistically and cost-effectively.
Additionally, providing more robust SRF funding levels will help
our Nation's water and wastewater systems begin to address the billions
of dollars of investment needs they face in the coming decades. EPA has
reported that our wastewater systems face $271 billion in documented
needs over the next 20 years--investments in publicly owned wastewater
conveyance and treatment facilities, sewer overflow correction, and
stormwater management. Drinking water systems require $384 billion in
infrastructure rehabilitation and improvements over the same timeframe
according to an EPA report. And these numbers likely do not reflect the
true investment needs facing communities around the Nation. With the
crisis in Flint renewing national attention on water infrastructure,
now is the time to take a stand by appropriating strong funding to the
programs that help our communities ensure the ongoing delivery and
treatment of clean and safe water.
Thank you for your thoughtful consideration, and please do not
hesitate to contact NACWA for additional information.
______
Prepared Statement of the National Association of State Energy
Officials
Chairman Murkowski, Ranking Member Udall, and members of the
subcommittee, I am David Terry, Executive Director of the National
Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO), which represents the 56
State and Territory Energy Offices. NASEO is submitting this testimony
in support of funding for the ENERGY STAR program (within the Climate
Protection Partnership Division of the Office of Air and Radiation) at
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). NASEO supports funding
of at least $55 million, including specific report language directing
that the funds be utilized only for the ENERGY STAR program. The ENERGY
STAR program is successful, voluntary, and cost-effective. The program
has a proven track record--it makes sense, it saves energy and money
and Americans embrace it. With a slowly recovering economy, ENERGY STAR
helps consumers and businesses control expenditures over the long term.
The program is strongly supported by product manufacturers, utilities
and homebuilders, and ENERGY STAR leverages the States' voluntary
efficiency actions. Voluntary ENERGY STAR activities are occurring in
public buildings, such as schools, in conjunction with State Energy
Offices, in Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Delaware,
District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois,
Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri,
Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New
York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon,
Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah,
Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
The ENERGY STAR program is focused on voluntary efforts that reduce
the use of energy, promotes energy efficiency and renewable energy, and
works with States, local governments, communities and business to
achieve these goals in a cooperative, public-private manner. NASEO has
worked very closely with EPA and approximately 40 States are ENERGY
STAR Partners. With very limited funding, EPA's ENERGY STAR program
works closely with the State Energy Offices to give consumers and
businesses the opportunity to make better energy decisions and
catalyzes product efficiency improvements by manufacturers without
regulation or mandates.
ENERGY STAR focuses on energy efficient products as well as
buildings (e.g., residential, commercial, and industrial). Americans
purchased more than 320 million ENERGY STAR certified products in 2014
across more than 70 product categories for a cumulative total exceeding
5.2 billion products since 1992. The ENERGY STAR label is recognized
across the United States. In 2014, 89 percent of households recognized
the ENERGY STAR label when it was shown to them. This constitutes an
increase of 48 percent since the Consortium for Energy Efficiency first
conducted the National Awareness of ENERGY STAR survey in 2000. It
makes the work of the State Energy Offices much easier, by working with
the public on easily recognized products, services, and targets. In
order to obtain the ENERGY STAR label a product has to meet established
guidelines. ENERGY STAR's voluntary partnership programs include ENERGY
STAR Buildings, ENERGY STAR Homes, ENERGY STAR Small Business, and
ENERGY STAR Labeled Products. The program operates by encouraging
consumers and working closely with State and local governments to
purchase these products and services. Marketplace barriers are also
eradicated through education. State Energy Offices are working with EPA
to promote ENERGY STAR products, ENERGY STAR for new construction,
ENERGY STAR for public housing, etc. A successful example of how State
Energy Offices are leveraging this key national program is the Nebraska
Energy Office, which since 2005, has utilized ENERGY STAR as the
standard for certifying home and office electronics that are eligible
under the State's successful and long-running Dollar and Energy Savings
Loan program.
In 2014, millions of consumers and 16,000 voluntary partners, that
included manufactures, builders, businesses, communities and utilities,
tapped the value of ENERGY STAR and achieved impressive financial and
environmental results. Their investments in energy-efficient
technologies and practices reduced utility bills by $34 billion.
An estimated 93,000 homes were improved through the whole house
retrofit program, Home Performance with ENERGY STAR (HPwES) in 2014.
This work was performed by 48 locally sponsored programs and more than
2,100 participating contractors across the Nation. Since the program's
inception, more than 400,000 homes have been improved through HPwES.
Over 30 States, including Alabama, California, Kentucky, Minnesota,
Nevada, and Pennsylvania, operate or support the Home Performance with
ENERGY STAR programs.
The State Energy Offices are very encouraged with progress made at
EPA and in our States to promote programs to make schools more energy
efficient, in addition to an expanding ENERGY STAR Business Partners
program. In Kentucky, the State has partnered with school districts and
engineering firms to advance ENERGY STAR rated schools, resulting in
more than 325 ENERGY STAR rated schools in the State, a 67 percent
increase since 2012. Over the past few years, Kentucky has moved
aggressively to promote and build zero-net energy schools. Other States
that have over 150 ENERGY STAR rated schools include Arizona,
California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota,
New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah,
Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin. Over 27 percent of Utah's K-12
schools are certified as ENERGY STAR.
EPA provides technical assistance to the State Energy Offices in
such areas as ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager (how to rate the
performance of buildings), setting an energy target, and financing
options for building improvements and building upgrade strategies.
ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager is used extensively by State Energy
Offices to benchmark performance of State and municipal buildings,
saving taxpayer dollars. Portfolio Manager is the industry-leading
benchmarking tool used voluntarily by more than 325,000 commercial
buildings. Portfolio Manager is used to measure, track, assess, and
report energy and water consumption.
Additionally, the industrial sector embraces ENERGY STAR and
companies such as GM, Eastman Chemical, Nissan, Raytheon, Boeing and
Toyota are recognized for sustained energy excellence by the program.
At the close of 2014, the number of industrial sites committed to the
ENERGY STAR Challenge for Industry grew, while 306 sites met or
exceeded their targets by achieving an average 20 percent reduction in
industrial energy intensity.
The State Energy Offices are working cooperatively with our peers
in the State environmental agencies and State public utilities
commissions to ensure that programs, regulations, projects and policies
are developed recognizing both energy and environmental concerns. We
have worked closely with this program at EPA to address these issues.
We encourage these continued efforts.
conclusion
The ENERGY STAR program saves consumers billions of dollars every
year. The payback is enormous. NASEO supports robust program funding of
at least $55 million in fiscal year 2017. Funding for the ENERGY STAR
program is justified. It's a solid public-private relationship that
leverages resources, time and talent to produce tangible results by
saving energy and money. NASEO endorses these activities and the State
Energy Offices are working very closely with EPA to cooperatively
implement a variety of critical national programs without mandates.
______
Prepared Statement of the National Association of State Foresters
The National Association of State Foresters (NASF) appreciates the
opportunity to submit written public testimony to the Senate and House
Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and
Related Agencies regarding our fiscal year 2017 appropriations
recommendations. Our priorities focus primarily on appropriations for
the USDA Forest Service (Forest Service) State and Private Forestry
(S&PF) programs.
State Foresters deliver technical and financial assistance, along
with forest health, water and wildfire protection for more than two-
thirds of the Nation's 751 million acres of forests. The Forest Service
S&PF mission area provides vital support to deliver these services,
which contribute to the socioeconomic and environmental health of rural
and urban communities. The comprehensive process for delivering these
services is articulated in each State's Forest Resource Assessment and
Strategy (State Forest Action Plan), authorized in the 2008 Farm Bill
and continued in the Agriculture Act of 2014.
Your support of the following programs is critical to helping
States address the many and varied challenges outlined in Forest Action
Plans.
Wildland Fire and Forest Fuels
Wildland Fire Funding: State Foresters ask for your continued
support to pass legislation that fixes the broken wildfire funding
system and addresses much-needed forest management reforms, either
separately or in tandem.
The current wildfire suppression funding model and cycle of fire
transfers and repayments continues to the challenge the Forest
Service's ability to achieve its overall mission and negatively impacts
Agency programs of priority to State Foresters. Additionally, the
increasing 10-year average has not met annual suppression needs since
before fiscal year 2002. We are thankful to the subcommittee for the
full transfer repayment and increased suppression funding in fiscal
year 2016. However, we understand this is not expected to occur every
year. The Department of the Interior and the Forest Service need a
long-term fire funding solution that would result in stable and more
predictable budgets.
In addition to the wildfire funding challenges are the challenges
posed by the Nation's unhealthy, overgrown and fire-prone Federal
forests. We support environmentally responsible forestry reforms on
Federal lands as part of the funding remedy or as a separate effort.
State Fire Assistance (SFA): More people living in fire-prone
landscapes, high fuel loads, drought, and unhealthy landscapes are
among the factors that led most State Foresters to identify wildland
fire as a priority issue in their State Forest Action Plans. We now
grapple with increasingly expensive and complex wildland fires--fires
that frequently threaten human life and property. In 2015 there were
68,151 wildfires with a record-breaking more than 10 million acres
burned. Eighty percent of the total number of fires were where State
and local departments had primary jurisdiction. Twenty-seven percent of
the total acres burned were on State and private lands. In 2015, 85
percent of all local and State crews and engine dispatched outside of
their geographic area were responding to Federal fires, primarily on
initial attack.
Attacking fires when they are small is the key to reducing
fatalities, injuries, loss of homes and cutting Federal fire-fighting
costs.
SFA and Volunteer Fire Assistance (VFA) are the fundamental Federal
mechanisms for assisting States and local fire departments in
responding to wildland fires and in conducting management activities
that mitigate fire risk on non-Federal lands. SFA helps train and equip
local first responders who are often first to arrive at a wildland fire
incident and who play a crucial role in keeping fires and their costs
as small as possible. A small investment of SFA funds supports State
forestry agencies in accessing and repurposing equipment from the
Federal Excess Personal Property and the Firefighter Property programs.
In fiscal year 2015, these two programs delivered more than $169
million in equipment for use by State and local first responders. NASF
supports funding the State Fire Assistance program at $87 million and
Volunteer Fire Assistance at $15 million in fiscal year 2017. These are
the 2011/12 enacted levels. The need for increased funding for fire
suppression has broad support and the administration's budget
recommends a 12 percent funding increase to meet the anticipated fire
threat. The need to increase fire suppression funding for State and
private lands, where 80 percent of wildfires occur, is just as urgent.
Forest Pests and Invasive Plants
Also among the greatest threats identified in the State Forest
Action Plans are native and non-native pests and diseases. These pests
and diseases have the potential to displace native trees, shrubs and
other vegetation types in forests; the Forest Service estimates that
hundreds of native and non-native insects and diseases damage the
Nation's forests each year. They are also devastating the trees and
forests of America's cities and towns. (The cost of replacing a single
street tree is approximately $1000.) The growing number of damaging
pests and diseases are often introduced and spread by way of wooden
shipping materials, movement of firewood, and through various types of
recreation. In 2010, approximately 6.4 million acres suffered mortality
from insects and diseases \1\ and there is an estimated 81.3 million
acres at risk of attack by insects and disease over the next 15
years.\2\ These losses threaten clean and abundant water availability,
wildlife habitat, clean air, and other environmental services.
Furthermore, extensive areas of high insect or disease mortality can
set the stage for large-scale, catastrophic wildfire.
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\1\ Man, Gary. 2011. Major Forest Insect and Disease Conditions in
the United States: 2010 Update. Last accessed on March, 5, 2015 at:
http://www.fs.fed.us/foresthealth/publications/
ConditionsReport_2011.pdf.
\2\ Tkacz, Bory, et al. 2014. NIDRM 2012 Report Files: Executive
Summary. Last accessed on March, 5, 2015 at: http://www.fs.fed.us/
foresthealth/technology/pdfs/2012_RiskMap_Exec_
summary.pdf.
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The Cooperative Forest Health Management program supports
activities related to prevention, monitoring, suppression, and
eradication of insects, diseases, and plants through provision of
technical and financial assistance to States and Territories to
maintain healthy, productive forest ecosystems on non-Federal forest
lands. Forest pests know no bounds. Controlling pests on private lands
can stop millions of dollars in damage much of which would occur on
public lands. The Cooperative Forest Health Management program plays a
critical part in protecting communities already facing outbreaks and in
preventing exposure of more forests and trees to the devastating and
costly effects of exotic and invasive pests and pathogens. NASF
supports funding the Forest Health Management--Cooperative Lands
Program at $48 million in fiscal year 2017. (2012 enacted level.)
Assisting Landowners and Maintaining Working Forest Landscapes--Forest
Stewardship Program
Working forest landscapes are a key part of the rural landscape,
providing an estimated 900,000 jobs, clean water, wood products, and
other essential services to millions of Americans. Private forests make
up two-thirds of all the forestland in the United States and support an
average of eight jobs per 1,000 acres.\3\ However, the Forest Service
estimates that 57 million acres of private forests in the U.S. are at
risk of conversion to urban development over the next two decades.
Programs like the Forest Stewardship Program and Forest Legacy Program
are key tools identified in the State Forest Action Plans for keeping
working forests intact and for providing a full suite of benefits to
society. Almost 90 percent of those who have stewardship plans,
implement them. Almost 50 percent of the Nation's wood supply comes
from small landowners who are the target of this program. Last year
this program assisted over 323,000 landowners. Again fires and diseases
know no bounds. A robust program has positive impacts on the Nation's
watersheds, wildlife habitat and neighboring public lands. NASF
supports funding the Forest Stewardship Program at $29 million in
fiscal year 2017. $29 million is the fiscal year 2012 enacted amount.
The need for increased funding on Federal lands for more active
management has broad support and the administration's budget recommends
an 8 percent increase over last year's enacted budget line item. The
need to increase funding on State and private lands is just as urgent.
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\3\ Forest2Market. The Economic Impact of Privately-Owned Forests.
2009.
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Forest Legacy Program
This program provides critical Federal assistance to States and
private landowners to keep working forests working through permanent
conservation easements and in some cases, fee acquisitions. Each
easement acquisition is required to have a long-term forest stewardship
plan.
Working forests play an important role to sustain the economic,
ecological, and social well-being of America's rural and urban areas
through the jobs they support and the benefits they provide, such as
wildfire threat reduction, clean air and water, wildlife habitat, and
outdoor recreation space. NASF supports funding the Forest Legacy
Program at $62 million in fiscal year 2017. (NASF supports the program
being fully funded from the Land and Water Conservation Fund and not be
included in the discretionary budget cap. NASF also recommends report
language requiring coordination with State Foresters prior to
recommendation and selection of easements and acquisitions due to land
management considerations and tax implications.)
Urban and Community Forest Management Challenges
Urban forests are important to achieving energy savings, improved
air quality, neighborhood stability, aesthetic value, reduced noise,
and improved quality of life in municipalities and communities around
the country. There are demonstrable studies that show positive impacts
urban trees and forests have on: childhood asthma, mitigating the
impacts of auto exhaust, reducing home heating and air conditioning
costs, providing economically viable solutions for storm water
absorption, and even reducing crime rates. In fact, urban forests have
been shown to provide environmental, social, and economic benefits to
the more than 80 percent of Americans living in urban areas.\4\ Yet,
urban and community forests face serious threats, such as development
and urbanization, invasive pests and diseases, and fire in the wildland
urban interface (WUI).
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\4\ United States Census Bureau, Growth in Urban Population
Outpaces Rest of Nation, Census Bureau Reports. Available at https://
www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/2010_census/cb12-50.html.
Last Accessed March 5, 2015.
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Since its expansion under the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act
of 1990 (CFAA), the Forest Service's Urban and Community Forestry
(U&CF) Program has provided technical and financial assistance to
promote stewardship of urban forests in communities of all sizes across
the country. The program is delivered in close partnership with State
Foresters and leverages existing local efforts that have helped
thousands of communities and towns manage, maintain, and improve their
tree cover and green spaces. The program directly serves more than
7,000 communities across the United States. In terms of climate change
mitigation and effectiveness, urban and community activities including
tree planting have virtually no detractors. The program has over a 2:1
match for Federal dollars provided for this program. NASF supports
funding the Urban and Community Forestry program at $31 million in
fiscal year 2017.
Importance of Forest Inventory Data in Monitoring Forest Issues
The Forest Inventory and Analysis program (FIA) enables forest
managers and the natural resource community to understand the scope and
scale of trends and changes in forest conditions and to make
projections of future conditions. Funding for FIA supports State and
private lands, which account for two-thirds of America's forests and
provide public benefits such as clean air and water, wildlife habitat,
outdoor recreation, jobs and wood products.
NASF is concerned with the recent proposed and realized reductions
to the USDA Forest Service Research and Development budget and
recommends a total R&D funding level of $303 million--$83 million
allocated to FIA. NASF supports funding the Forest Inventory and
Analysis program at $83 million in fiscal year 2017.
Landscape Scale Restoration
National priority Landscape Scale Restoration (LSR) projects are a
key way that States, in collaboration with the USDA Forest Service and
other partners, address critical forest priorities across the
landscape. LSR projects focus only on the most critical priorities
identified in each State's Forest Action Plan and on achieving national
goals as laid out in the State and Private Forestry national themes. As
a result, LSR contributes to achieving results across the landscape and
to making meaningful local, regional, and national impacts.
Competitive allocation of Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act funds
was codified in the 2008 Farm Bill. The LSR budget line item was
subsequently included in the fiscal year 2014 appropriations bill as
the funding mechanism for a competitive process aimed at addressing
critical priorities identified in State Forest Action Plans and based
on the tenets of the State and Private Forestry redesign effort--
conserve working forest landscapes, protect forests from harm, and
enhance public benefit from trees and forests.
LSR allows State forestry agencies to target resources toward the
highest priority forest needs in a State, group of States, or region,
while also meeting national priorities.
Regional review teams comprised of State and Federal officials with
knowledge of the on-the-ground realities within the region carry out a
rigorous review process to select the LSR projects that will receive
funding within their region. Selected LSR projects are, as a result,
the best and most ground-truthed landscape-scale, cross-boundary,
outcome-driven projects.
NASF supports funding the Landscape Scale Restoration program at
$23 million in fiscal year 2017. NASF does not support increases in
this program coming at the expense of other programs described above.
NASF also supports report language which requires additional funding
over fiscal year 2016 levels for LSR to be allocated for the highest
national priorities as identified in each of the State Forest Action
Plans as determined by each State Forester.
______
Prepared Statement of the National Center for American Indian
Enterprise Development
Chairman Murkowski, Ranking Member Udall, and members of the
subcommittee, I am Gary Davis, Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma tribal
member, and President/CEO of the National Center for American Indian
Enterprise Development (NCAIED or the National Center). The National
Center appreciates this opportunity to express support for fiscal year
2017 funding requests within the Interior appropriations bill that will
support access to capital, and business, economic and energy
development in Indian Country.
Now in its 5th decade of operations, the National Center assists
Indian tribes, tribal enterprises, Alaska Native regional and village
corporations, Native Hawaiian Organizations, and American Indian,
Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian business owners and entrepreneurs
with their business, financing and contracting needs, including
trainings, business development and other guidance, marketing tools,
access to capital, and procurement technical assistance. In addition to
providing these offerings 24 hours, 7 days a week through our new
Native Edge Web portal, we host national and regional Reservation
Economic Summits (RES). During March 21-24, we presented our 30th
Anniversary National RES in Las Vegas, featuring Business Boot Camp and
many other training sessions focused on business and economic
development, a full day of procurement and business matchmaking, and a
2-day trade show. Several sessions addressed access to capital, the
focus of this statement.
Overview of Fiscal Year 2017 Budget Requests for Indian Programs
The National Center views the President's fiscal year 2017 budget
requests as quite responsive to Indian tribes' call for increases in
myriad tribal programs, representing roughly 5 percent and 8 percent
hikes in funding for the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and Indian
Health Service, respectively, as well as fully funding Contract Support
Costs. We are excited about the significant emphasis on Native youth
through the Generation Indigenous Initiative, especially the components
focused on Youth Entrepreneurship. The National Center hosted a
successful ``Youth Entrepreneurship Summit'' (YES!) at our regional RES
New Mexico in November, 2015 for over 200 students who traveled from
nearby Pueblos and Indian tribes from out of State. Our RES Oklahoma
conference in July, 2016 will feature another full day of YES! sessions
for students from tribes in Oklahoma and surrounding States.
Properly Fund Interior's Indian Loan Guarantee Program
One major shortcoming in the fiscal year 2017 budget requests is
the paltry funding for the Indian Loan Guarantee Program of the
Department of the Interior (DOI). Congress must increase the funding
for this important program, as the National Center has testified
repeatedly at several hearings conducted by the Senate Committee on
Indian Affairs over the last 2 years, and urged at a special Committee
briefing hosted for its staff and professional staff of the House and
Senate Interior Appropriations Subcommittees last June.
The fiscal year 2017 budget request provides only $7.57 million for
a tiny increase to cover inflation, but reduces the current level, $113
million, to $105.9 million for the aggregate value of loans than can be
guaranteed--despite the huge demand for this program. Instead, we urge
the subcommittee to approve $15 million, a $7.4 million increase that
would be modest compared to the huge jump in total value of private
sector guaranteed loans that are needed to meet demand for capital in
Indian Country. Aggregate loan value could be $225-$250 million,
depending on what the Office of Management and Budget would allow.
The DOI loan guarantee program has proven to be a very successful
leveraging tool that incentivizes private sector lenders to finance
tribal projects, tribal enterprises, and businesses owned by Native
Americans. Yet the current funding prevents the program from keeping
pace with burgeoning demands for business and economic development
capital in Indian Country where most private banks will not lend
because they deem the risks too high. The banks (several tribal owned)
that DOI has certified to receive these guarantees will lend to tribes
and Indian businesses on Indian lands that cannot be used as loan
collateral, and will consent to tribal court jurisdiction to resolve
disputes or claims (which are rare). While the Small Business
Administration (SBA) and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) loan
guarantee programs may be larger sources of guarantee support, they are
not a substitute for the DOI program, for several reasons: (1) the
guarantee is lower; (2) SBA's loan documents are not feasible in Indian
Country; and (3) loan purpose and USDA product offering are not as
flexible as offered by DOI. USDA does not offer a revolving line of
credit for working capital, seasonal or cyclical needs. In one recent
case, a USDA loan guarantee's terms would have resulted in a default
had DOI's program not stepped in with a guarantee structure that
allowed the loan to fund a project that will create more than 100 jobs
over the loan's term.
Recognizing the need to expand the Indian Loan Guarantee Program,
Congress authorized a major increase in 2006 for the aggregate limit on
guaranteed loans from $500 million to $1.5 billion. However, due to
insufficient funding for the program's credit subsidy, the annual
aggregate of guaranteed loans has hovered around only $100 million. In
fiscal year 2015, the program was funded at about $7.7 million, and the
entire guarantee allocation was exhausted 4 months before the end of
the fiscal year--leaving a backlog of pending loan applications
approaching another $100 million. At the current funding level, the
guarantee allocation likely will be exhausted even earlier in fiscal
year 2016!
The DOI program has a good track record of successful projects,
less than a 2.5 percent default rate (lower than those of SBA and
USDA), and could infuse hundreds of millions more dollars into Indian
Country if expanded significantly, as requested. In Senate Committee on
Indian Affairs testimony on June 17, 2015, National Center Board
Chairman Derrick Watchman listed six successful projects financed with
the support of Indian loan guarantees, and the many jobs those projects
created. Below are additional examples:
--A $12 million guaranteed loan enabled Alaska Native village Huna
Totem Corporation, Inc. to redevelop an old cannery site into a
new dock and tourist destination for visiting cruise ships,
creating about 130 year-round and summer jobs--Grand Opening
May 23;
--A $2.65 million guaranteed loan to Alaska Native village, Kwethluk,
to construct a general store, adding 2-3 jobs, space for small
engine repair operations, and greater storage for larger food
quantities to afford offering lower prices to village
customers;
--Five guaranteed loans, totaling $15 million over many years, helped
build the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, owned by 19 Pueblos in
New Mexico, and create 200 jobs;
--A series of 10 new guaranteed loans (totaling $47 million) to 5
separate borrowers will finance projects on Navajo Nation,
including: a gasoline stop with a convenience store on Navajo,
creating 50 temporary and 30 permanent jobs; the Navajo Tribal
Utility Authority headquarters building construction and
infrastructure improvements, creating over 200 temporary and
100 permanent jobs; and several $150,000+ lines of credit for
seasonal working capital for Navajo businesses;
--Two new loans totaling $7.3 million to Big Lagoon Rancheria in
California to construct a wellness center to serve the tribe
and surrounding area, creating 8-12 additional jobs;
--A $12 million guaranteed loan for a California tribe's resort
construction, creating an estimated 100+ jobs;
--A $6.6 million guaranteed refinance for improvements and added
services for a Native family's three convenience stores, one on
the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota;
--A $5.5 million guaranteed loan to construct a new hotel on the
Blackfeet Reservation in Montana near Glacier National Park,
adding tourism, retail traffic, and 25 jobs;
--Pending loans subject to guarantee for projects in North Dakota:
one in Belcourt for a startup hardware/lumber business; and the
other for business expansion and start up of a new procurement
division of a tribal enterprise of the Three Affiliated Tribes;
and
--A $10 million guaranteed loan for a Nevada tribe's economic
development project.
As the program produces a remarkable return of $15 in private
sector funds for every $1 of Federal funds invested, Congress should
appropriate $15 million for the Indian Loan Guarantee Program for
fiscal year 2017 to support private lending in a range of $225-$250
million.
Funding for the Indian Loan Guarantee Programs at $15 million is
supported by the National Center, National Congress of American
Indians, Native American Finance Officers Association and many other
national and regional Native American organizations representing Indian
tribes, Alaska Native regional and village corporations, tribal
enterprises and Native American-owned businesses nationwide.
Other Programs Facilitating Business and Economic Development in Indian
Country
The National Center also urges approval of the following fiscal
year 2017 budget requests as modest initiatives that leverage or spur
substantial development in Indian Country:
Carcieri: The Interior budget requests include general provisions
to restore parity among tribes striving to protect and enhance their
original land base, or to reacquire some of the lands they lost, by
confirming the Secretary of Interior's authority to acquire land in
trust for any federally recognized tribe. Approval is imperative.
Streamlining and Capacity Building: Approving the requested
increases for the following initiatives will help streamline delivery
of technical and financial assistance to accelerate business, economic
and energy development in Indian Country:
--$4 million for the BIA's ``Native-One-Stop'' initiated in 2015 to
facilitate tribes' search for and access to Federal resources;
--$1 million to assist tribes in adopting uniform commercial codes to
strengthen their legal infrastructure and promote credit and
other capital transactions that will spur business and economic
development; and
--$5 million for the Indian Energy Service Center for its Tribal
Energy Program to provide technical and financial assistance to
tribal communities to deploy small to medium-scale renewable
energy generation projects.
Support for the Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development:
In addition to the increases requested for the energy components of
this important Office, we recommend that some additional funding be
provided for activities of the Economic Development Division.
In closing, I want to thank the subcommittee for the opportunity to
present these requests to increase support for the above programs that
invest Federal dollars as leverage to multiply exponentially the amount
of private capital invested in business, economic and energy
development in Indian Country.
______
Prepared Statement of the National Ground Water Association
The National Ground Water Association (NGWA) requests that $5
million be allocated in the fiscal year 2017 Department of Interior
budget to the United States Geological Survey (USGS) account in its
Groundwater and Streamflow Information Program to continue
implementation and maintenance of the National Ground-Water Monitoring
Network (NGWMN). NGWA is the world's largest association of groundwater
professionals, representing public and private sector engineers,
scientists, water well contractors, manufacturers, and suppliers of
groundwater related products and services.
Water is one of the most critical natural resources to human,
ecosystem and economic survival. Nationally, nearly 50 percent of the
drinking water supply comes from groundwater and in some locations it
is relied on by 80 percent of Americans for drinking water. Groundwater
also serves as a key source of agricultural irrigation water.
However, this vital unseen resource--on which the Nation's people,
food supply, economy and ecosystems rely--is not monitored on a
consistent basis across States, nor is most data publicly available.
Groundwater levels and quality change over time, and the continued
implementation of the NGWMN will allow water resources to be better
utilized, managed and protected through data-sharing on an online
portal.
As with any valuable natural resource, our groundwater reserves
must be monitored to assist in planning and minimizing potential
impacts from shortages or supply disruptions. Just as one cannot
effectively oversee the Nation's economy without key data; one cannot
adequately address the Nation's food, energy, economic, and drinking
water security without understanding the extent, availability and
sustainability of a critical input--groundwater.
Congress acknowledged the need for enhanced groundwater monitoring
by authorizing a national groundwater monitoring network with passage
of Public Law 111-11 (Omnibus Public Land Management Act) the SECURE
Water Act of 2009 and viability of the network was proven through the
completion of pilot projects in six States--Illinois, Indiana,
Minnesota, Montana, New Jersey, and Texas. These States voluntarily
pilot tested concepts for a national groundwater monitoring network as
developed by the Federal Advisory Committee on Water Information's
(ACWI) Subcommittee on Ground Water (SOGW).
$2.6 million in funding was provided in fiscal year 2015 and an
additional $3.6 million was provided in fiscal year 2016. The funds are
being used to begin implementation of the national network through the
creation of cooperative agreements with new and existing data
providers. However, this funding will only allow implementation to
begin across a handful of States. Additional funding for fiscal year
2017 is requested to allow for implementation across more States.
Once implemented nationwide, the NGWMN would provide consistent,
comparable nationwide data that would be accessible through a public
Web portal for Federal, State, local government and private sector
users. In these tight fiscal times, the proposed network would build on
existing State and Federal investments, maximizing their usefulness and
leveraging current dollars to build toward systematic nationwide
monitoring of the groundwater resource.
Funding from the NGWMN will be used for two purposes:
1. Provide grants to regional, State, and tribal governments to
cost share increased expenses to upgrade monitoring networks for the 50
States to meet the standards necessary to understand the Nation's
groundwater resources.
2. Support the additional work necessary for USGS to manage a
national groundwater monitoring network and provide national data
access through an Internet Web portal.
Though the amount requested is small in the context of the
Department of Interior's annual budget request, funding is vital when
we understand that for a small investment we can begin finally to put
in place adequate monitoring of the hidden resource that provides
nearly 50 percent of the Nation's drinking water supply and serves as a
key driver for our agricultural economy.
Thank you for your considering this testimony.
----------------------------------------------------------------
The National Ground Water Association is a not-for-profit
professional society and trade association for the groundwater
industry. NGWA is the largest organization of groundwater professionals
in the world. Our more than 11,000 members from all 50 States and 72
countries include some of the leading public and private sector
groundwater scientists, engineers, water well contractors,
manufacturers, and suppliers of groundwater related products and
services. The Association's vision is to be the leading community of
groundwater professionals that promotes the responsible development,
use and management of groundwater resources.
----------------------------------------------------------------
______
Prepared Statement in Support of the National Groundwater Monitoring
Network
Dear Chairman Murkowski and Ranking Member Udall:
On behalf of the undersigned organizations, we ask for your
continued support of the National Groundwater Monitoring Network
(NGWMN) in the fiscal year 2017 Interior and Environment Appropriations
bill. Groundwater is a critical source of drinking water for more than
40 percent of the country, and in some locations is relied on by more
than 80 percent of the population. It is a primary source of irrigation
water for high-quality agricultural products and an important economic
driver for the U.S. economy. Therefore, we the undersigned ask Congress
to fund the NGWMN at a level of $5 million for fiscal year 2017.
Drought conditions persist throughout the West, and groundwater
depletion has expressed itself through subsidence, lowering of aquifer
water-levels below well intakes, and impacts on water quality. Drought
conditions underscore the need to develop a comprehensive and publicly
accessible groundwater monitoring network.
The NGWMN was authorized in the 2009 SECURE Water Act and is at the
beginning stages of implementation, providing Federal support for pilot
programs in six States--Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Montana, New
Jersey, and Texas and initial appropriations of $2.6 million and $3.6
million provided in fiscal year 2015 and fiscal year 2016. This support
allowed for cooperative agreements to be signed between the United
States Geological Survey (USGS) and several States. However, support
must continue and be expanded to enable broader implementation at a
time when stresses to water supplies across the country are felt daily.
The NGWMN is designed to expand and enhance many existing
monitoring efforts, but these efforts are not presented in a common
platform and often require extensive analysis in order to use the data
collected on a national scale, limiting the data's usability. The
NGWMN, through a Federal-State cooperative program, provides for the
collection of groundwater data from representative wells meeting common
criteria, assuring the usability and quality of the data contributed to
the network.
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) maintains and updates
the network, providing public access through a web portal, allowing
anyone with a web browser to see groundwater level and water quality
trends for wells in the network. States and other contributors to the
NGWMN retain ownership of the collected data.
Ultimately, the network will provide the data required to assess
baseline conditions and long-term trends in groundwater levels and
water quality in important aquifers at national, multistate, and
regional scales--even aquifers shared with Canada and Mexico. The
network will also provide data for national, State, and aquifer-level
management decisions to help determine the long-term viability of these
groundwater sources.
Groundwater's role in securing our Nation's future is invaluable,
which is why we request that Congress fund the NGWMN at $5 million for
fiscal year 2017. To ensure that the funding fulfills the intent of the
NGWMN as authorized by the SECURE Water Act, we also request the
following report language be included:
Within Water Resources, the bill includes $5 million for
continuation of a National Groundwater Monitoring Network, as
requested. The Committee intends at least 50 percent of these
funds to be used to provide cost-share grants to State and
local entities to upgrade monitoring networks to national
standards and to incorporate wells into the network. The
funding will also support additional work by the USGS necessary
to manage and provide data access through an Internet web
portal.
Sincerely,
Alaska Water Well Association
American Geosciences Institute
Arizona Water Well Association
Association of American State Geologists
California Groundwater Association
Colorado Water Well Contractors Association
Empire State Water Well Drillers Association
Florida Ground Water Association
Georgia Association of Groundwater Professionals
Groundwater Resources Association of California
Ground Water Protection Council
Illinois Association of Groundwater Professionals
Irrigation Association
Louisiana Ground Water Association
Michigan Ground Water Association
Minnesota Water Well Association
Montana Water Well Drillers Association
National Ground Water Association
National Utility Contractors Association
Nebraska Well Drillers Association
Nevada Groundwater Association
North Carolina Ground Water Association
South Carolina Ground Water Association
Tennessee Water Well Association
Oregon Ground Water Association
Washington State Ground Water Association
Water Systems Council
Water Quality Association
Wyoming Water Well Association
______
Prepared Statement of the National Horse & Burro Rangeland Management
Coalition
The National Horse & Burro Rangeland Management Coalition
appreciates the opportunity to submit testimony regarding the fiscal
year 2017 appropriations for the Bureau of Land Management Wild Horse &
Burro Program. The National Horse & Burro Rangeland Management
Coalition includes a wide range of sportsmen's, livestock, wildlife,
and land conservation organizations and professional societies.
Collectively, we represent millions of Americans and focus on
commonsense, ecologically sound approaches to managing horses and
burros to promote healthy wildlife and rangelands for future
generations.
Our coalition is concerned about the exponentially growing
population of wild horses and burros on our Nation's rangelands and the
minimal efforts proposed in the President's fiscal year 2017 budget to
reduce their impacts.
As of March 1, 2015, wild horse and burro populations surpassed
58,000 animals on BLM rangelands. This threshold exceeds the BLM
estimated ecologically sustainable level of 26,715 horses and burros by
more than 31,000. This extreme level of overpopulation negatively
impacts the country's rangelands, risking the future of the ecosystem.
By continuing to allow horses and burros to exceed sustainable levels,
the BLM and Congress are placing the future of wildlife, rangelands,
livestock operations, and the horses and burros themselves in jeopardy.
The focus of the BLM Wild Horse & Burro program should revert to
its original purpose and stated goal of achieving appropriate
management levels (AML). Direct removal of horses and burros from
impacted regions will aid in AML being achieved while simultaneously
reducing their impact on the supporting ecosystem.
The President's fiscal year 2017 budget proposal plans for the
removal of only 2,500 horses and burros from the country's rangelands.
Wild horse populations typically grow by 18-20 percent per year and
double in size every 4-5 years. This means that even with fiscal year
2016 removals reaching the proposed amount of 2,500 individuals, the
current on-range population is likely around 66,000. This is an
unacceptable rate of increase for a population that already greatly
exceeds AML. Such population numbers will continue to cause an
unacceptable level of damage to a valuable asset for our country.
We appreciate the BLM's increased attention to fertility control
methods through research partnerships with universities and the U.S.
Geological Survey, as we believe that scientifically based use of
fertility control and implementation of non-reproducing herds can be an
important component of the solution to this problem. However, fertility
control alone does not solve the problem and should not be the primary
approach. About 85 percent of Herd Management Areas (HMA) are already
over AML, some reaching more than 500 percent of their AML. Fertility
control methods, if they are effective in reducing pregnancies, will
only help maintain population levels in the short term, not reduce
them.
Direct removal of wild horses and burros from the range is the only
way to achieve AML in a reasonable amount of time. The BLM's efforts to
transfer corralled horses and burros to more cost effective eco-
sanctuaries and holding facilities as well as the BLM's request for
authority to transfer horses and burros to local, State, and Federal
agencies are steps in the right direction to free up space for further
removals. They will not, however, come close to providing the space
needed for the removal of 31,000 excess horses and burros currently on
the range.
We are hopeful that these small initiatives will highlight the need
for drastic legislative changes to the BLM's management of wild horses
and burros. Without an increase in the rate of removal of horses and
burros, populations will continue to expand and our Nation will witness
not only growing degradation to its rangeland ecosystem, but also
growing costs to its taxpayers.
We urge this subcommittee and other Members of Congress to address
this increasing problem for our Nation's valuable rangelands by
directing the BLM to remove horses at a rate substantial enough to
produce significant results and protect our resources.
Thank you for considering the input of our coalition. We invite
your questions and welcome the opportunity to discuss this ongoing
issue and possible solutions with the subcommittee.
American Farm Bureau Federation
American Sheep Industry Association
Masters of Foxhounds Association
Mule Deer Foundation
National Association of Conservation Districts
National Cattlemen's Beef Association
National Rifle Association
National Wildlife Refuge Association
Public Lands Council
Public Lands Foundation
Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation
Safari Club International
Society for Range Management
The Wildlife Society
______
Prepared Statement of the National Humanities Alliance
Mr. Chairman and members of the subcommittee:
On behalf of the National Humanities Alliance, with our more than
150 member organizations, I write to express strong support for the
National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH).
overview
For fiscal year 2017, we respectfully urge the subcommittee to fund
the National Endowment for the Humanities at $155 million.
We would like to thank the subcommittee for appropriating $147.9
million to the NEH for fiscal year 2016, thereby increasing the
Endowment's funding by nearly $2 million. This increase was a first
step in rebuilding the capacity of NEH, which has been severely eroded
in recent years. Despite the increase for fiscal year 2016, the
Endowment's current funding is 20 percent below its fiscal year 2010
level, when adjusted for inflation. Modestly increasing NEH's budget to
$155 million would allow the Endowment to regain its capacity to
support the humanities at a time when the humanities are increasingly
called upon to meet national needs.
While we recognize the seriousness of the fiscal situation faced by
Congress and the administration, and we understand the difficult
choices that are before this subcommittee, we believe that expanding
the capacity of NEH should be a priority. In the remainder of this
testimony, I will highlight some of the many ways that NEH serves
national needs and describe the ways in which the humanities, more
generally, have been called upon to help accomplish critical national
goals.
neh serves national needs
The National Endowment for the Humanities' funding is distributed
to the Federal/State Partnership, which supports humanities councils in
every State and Territory; Competitive Grants divisions, which award
peer-reviewed grants in Research, Education, Preservation, Digital
Humanities, Challenge Grants, and Public Programs; and the Common Good
Initiative, which harnesses the power of the humanities to address
society's pressing challenges. I will highlight just three examples of
how NEH grants serve clear national needs.
1. NEH's Standing Together program aids veterans' assimilation into
civilian life and deepens the public awareness of the
experience of war.
In the past 3 years, the NEH has added the Standing Together
program to its already critical work. Last year's increased
appropriation was critical to expanding this program, although much
unmet demand continues to exist. The initiative funds reading groups
for veterans that help them process their experiences through
discussions of literature on war and homecoming; writing programs for
veterans suffering from PTSD; intensive college-preparation programs;
and training for Veterans Affairs staff to help them understand the
experiences of veterans. One key example is Missouri's Veteran's
Writing Workshops, sponsored by the Missouri Humanities Council and
executed in collaboration with the VA St. Louis Medical System at
Jefferson Barracks, the St. Louis Public Library, and Drury University.
These workshops are designed for veterans and their families--helping
them to process and better express their experiences through writing
and narrative. The fiction, non-fiction, and prose composed in these
workshops has been compiled into an anthology series entitled Proud to
Be: Writing by American Warriors, published by Southeast Missouri State
University Press, which allows the broader American public to more
fully understand the experience of military service.
2. NEH plays a key role in the preservation of native languages and
cultures.
NEH supports the documentation and teaching of native languages,
history, and culture. A recent grant supported the creation of an
online digital archive of approximately 700 objects, art works, and
photographs representing the cultural heritage of the Chugach people of
southern Alaska. Another grant provided support to make Ojibwe cultural
artifacts--including beadwork, recorded songs, historical photographs,
and census rolls--accessible online to tribal members, teachers, and
the public. NEH's Office of Challenge Grants awarded funding to the
Northwest Indian College in Bellingham, Washington to develop programs
to preserve the culture and revitalize the language of the Salish
people. These are just a few examples of NEH's long-term commitment to
sustaining, revitalizing, and preserving Native American languages and
cultures.
3. NEH works in underserved regions.
Through NEH on the Road, NEH brings museum exhibitions to
underserved regions. Between 2014 and 2017, House & Home, the flagship
installation at the National Building Museum, will travel to Belton,
Texas; Townsend, Tennessee; and Carthage, Missouri among 25 sites
total. The Humanities in the Public Square program, launched in late
2015, also promises to play a key role in building rural and
underserved communities. One grant awarded under this program to North
Dakota State University in Fargo, entitled ``Telling Stories, Creating
Community: Understanding the Legacies of War at Home,'' will foster
community building through dialogues between veterans, families of
veterans, and the larger community in Fargo-Morehead.
In addition to these highlighted programs, each year NEH awards
hundreds of competitive, peer-reviewed grants to individual scholars
and a broad range of nonprofit educational organizations around the
country. Grantees include universities, 2- and 4-year colleges,
humanities centers, research institutes, museums, historical societies,
libraries, archives, scholarly associations, K-12 schools, local
education agencies, public television/film/radio producers, and more.
Through its competitive grants programs, NEH supports the preservation
of collections that would be otherwise lost, path-breaking research
that brings critical knowledge to light, programs for teachers that
enrich instruction in schools, and public programs that reach
individuals and communities in every district in the country.
Overall, NEH's support is crucial for building and sustaining
humanities' infrastructure in all 50 States, serving American citizens
at all stages of life.
importance of the humanities to national needs
The humanities are increasingly called upon to play critical roles
in our efforts to achieve four national goals: opportunity for all
Americans, innovation and economic development, productive global
engagement, and strong communities.
Opportunity for All Americans
Many Americans lack access to opportunity because they are
deficient in a number of critical skills that are sought by employers.
In a recent study conducted by the Conference Board, Corporate Voices
for Working Families, the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, and the
Society for Human Resource Management, employers ranked reading and
writing as top inadequacies in new hires. More than a third of
employers found high school graduates ``deficient'' in reading
comprehension, and ``written communications'' topped the list of
applied skills found lacking in high school and college graduates.
These deficiencies not only limit the economic mobility of individuals,
they also carry an economic burden for society as annual spending on
remedial writing courses is estimated at more than $3.1 billion for
large corporations and $221 million for State employers.
Innovation and Economic Growth
Employers increasingly seek employees who can combine the cultural
knowledge and analytical ability fostered by humanities programs with
technical knowledge and scientific research fostered by STEM education
to create innovation and economic growth. In an effort to serve this
demand, the Committee on the Engineer of 2020, a group convened by the
National Academy of Engineering, recommends increased interdisciplinary
education--including the humanities--in order to train engineers with
the broad perspective necessary for 21st century innovation. Similarly,
a substantial number of medical schools have integrated humanities
coursework into their programs to enhance the cultural knowledge and
observational abilities of their graduates with the goal of providing
higher quality, more efficient care. Recognizing the role that the
humanities play in fostering innovation, countries such as China and
India have begun to integrate the humanities into their own education
systems.
Productive Global Engagement
As they deal with increasingly complex international relationships,
business and military leaders look to the humanities to provide
critical knowledge about communities throughout the world. These
leaders argue that our ability to engage productively with the world
depends on the deep knowledge of the languages, cultures, and histories
of rapidly changing areas of the world that the humanities cultivate
and maintain. Historians, linguists, anthropologists, archaeologists,
and scholars of literature and religion, among others, spend years
learning about communities and their deep roots, thereby gaining
expertise that informs those who seek to work in these geographic
areas. In 2013, former Ambassador to Afghanistan, Karl Eikenberry,
described the critical role of the humanities in preparing our citizens
for global engagement, ``We need a strong cadre of Americans in our
government, military, business, civil society, academe, and beyond who
have the right skills and experience to help America stay connected
with the world and shape outcomes that secure our national interests.''
Strong Communities
Finally, with the well-documented decline in critical, community-
based social institutions, communities throughout our own country are
trying to foster a sense of shared identity and responsibility. In
doing so, they rely on the humanities to preserve and explore their
history and traditions in order to promote the understanding of common
ideals, enduring civic values, and shared cultural heritage. To
strengthen communities, humanities councils, museums, libraries, and
universities produce vital programs that promote understanding among
diverse communities through the cultivation and exchange of knowledge
about cultural heritage and history.
conclusion
We recognize that Congress faces difficult choices in allocating
funds in this and coming years. We ask the subcommittee to consider
modestly increased funding for the humanities through NEH as an
investment in opportunity for all Americans, innovation and economic
growth, productive global engagement, and strong communities. Thank you
for consideration of our request and for your past and continued
support for the humanities.
Founded in 1981, the National Humanities Alliance advances national
humanities policy in the areas of research, preservation, public
programming, and teaching. More than 150 organizations are members of
NHA, including scholarly associations, humanities research centers,
colleges, universities, and organizations of museums, libraries,
historical societies, humanities councils, and higher education
institutions.
[This statement was submitted by Stephen Kidd, Executive Director.]
______
Prepared Statement of the National Indian Child Welfare Association
The National Indian Child Welfare Association (NICWA) is a national
American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) nonprofit organization. NICWA has
provided leadership in the development of public policy that supports
tribal self-determination in child welfare and children's mental health
systems for over 30 years. This testimony will provide recommendations
for the following programs administered by the Bureau of Indian Affairs
(BIA) in the Department of the Interior: Indian Child Protection and
Family Violence Prevention ($43 million), Social Services ($57.3
million), Welfare Assistance ($80 million), Indian Child Welfare Act On
or Near Reservation Program (Tribal Priority Allocation--$18.9
million), and Indian Child Welfare Act Off-Reservation Program ($5
million).
Congress has unequivocally recognized that there is nothing ``more
vital to the continued existence and integrity of Indian tribes than
their children.'' (25 U. S. C. Sec. 1901[3] [2006]). Congress must
promulgate a budget that empowers tribes to provide the programs and
services necessary to safeguard their children and strengthen their
families. A recent report from the Attorney General's Advisory
Committee on American Indian/Alaska Native Children Exposed to Violence
emphasized this very point:
Congress and the executive branch shall direct sufficient
funds to AI/AN tribes to bring funding for tribal criminal and
civil justice systems and tribal protection systems into parity
with the rest of the United States and shall remove barriers
that currently impede the ability of AI/AN nations to
effectively address violence in their communities. The Advisory
Committee believes that treaties, existing law, and trust
responsibilities are not discretionary and demand this
action.\1\
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\1\ U. S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office
of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. (2014). Attorney
General's Advisory Committee on American Indian/Alaska Native Children
Exposed to Violence: Ending violence so children can thrive (p. 51).
Retrieved from http://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/
defendingchildhood/pages/attachments/2014/11/18/finalaianreport.pdf.
As this recommendation suggests, Congress must prioritize the
safety and well-being of all children. According to the advisory
committee, ``AI/AN children are generally served best when tribes have
the opportunity to take ownership of the programs and resources they
provide.'' \2\ The recommendations below suggest funding increases that
will provide tribes with sufficient child welfare funding and avoid
unnecessary restraint on tribal decisionmaking. We urge Congress, as
they make budgetary decisions for fiscal year 2017, to not forget AI/AN
children and families.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ Ibid.
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priority program recommendation
Indian Child Protection and Family Violence Prevention Act
Recommendation.--Appropriate for the first time $43 million for the
three grant programs under this law--$10 million for the Indian Child
Abuse Treatment Grant Program, $30 million for the Indian Child
Protection and Family Violence Prevention Grant Program, and $3 million
for the Indian Child Resource and Family Service Centers Program to
protect AI/AN children from child abuse and neglect.
The Indian Child Protection and Family Violence Prevention Act
(ICPFVPA), Public Law No. 101-630 (1991), was enacted to fill gaps in
tribal child welfare services--specifically child protection and child
abuse treatment--and to ensure better coordination between child
welfare and domestic violence programs. The act authorizes funding for
two tribal programs: (1) the Indian Child Protection and Family
Violence Prevention Program, which funds prevention programming and
supports investigations of family violence and emergency shelter
services; and (2) the Treatment of Victims of Child Abuse and Neglect
program, which funds treatment programs for victims of child abuse. It
also authorizes funding to create Indian Child Resource and Family
Service Centers at each of the BIA regional offices.
Child abuse prevention funding is vital to the well-being and
financial stability of AI/AN communities. Beyond the emotional trauma
that maltreatment inflicts, victims of child maltreatment are more
likely to require special education services, more likely to be
involved in the juvenile and criminal justice systems, more likely to
have long-term mental health needs, and have lower earning potential
than their peers.\3\ Financially, child maltreatment costs tribal
communities and the United States $210,012 per victim.\4\ Child abuse
prevention funding is essential, therefore, to the well-being of
families and the social and economic development of tribal communities.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\3\ Fang, X., Brown, D. S., Florence, C. S., & Mercy, J. A. (2012).
The economic burden of child maltreatment in the United States and
implications for prevention. Child Abuse & Neglect, 36, 156-65. doi:
10.1016/j.chiabu.2011.10.006.
\4\ Ibid.
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Therefore, tribes, like States, need adequate resources to
effectively prevent and respond to family violence in their
communities. However, unlike States, tribes do not have access to the
key Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) child protection
programs, the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) Basic
Funding Program and the Social Services Block Grant (Title XX). The
programs authorized under ICPFVPA were created to fill this gap but,
without appropriation, tribes are left without funding for child
protection and child abuse prevention services.
other program recommendations
Social Services Recommendation.--Increase funding by $12.1 million
as recommended by the President's proposed Tiwahe Initiative for a
total appropriation of $57.3 million so that child and family programs
in Indian Country can be strengthened and expanded.
The Social Services Grant Program provides a wide array of family
support services filling many funding gaps for tribal programs, and
ensuring Federal staff and technical assistance for these programs.
These funds are desperately needed. A recent assessment of BIA social
services found that, in large part due to inadequate funding:
BIA and tribal social services staff prepare, authorize, and
document various social services activities as part of their
daily activities. Some tribes reported frequent vacancies and
staff turnover in social services programs and mentioned a need
for BIA to provide basic guidance and supporting materials to
ensure continuity of services throughout tribal communities . .
.
Technical support is one area where roles and
responsibilities remain unclear, as demonstrated by BIA's
social services contracts with tribes. The contracts, or annual
funding agreements, state that BIA will provide technical
support with social services issues as needed. Contrary to
these agreements, we uncovered reports of insufficient or
nonexistent technical support. In some cases, tribes could wait
up to three weeks before receiving a response, or they might
receive no response at all.\5\
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\5\ Department of the Interior, Office of Inspector General.
(2012). Management of social services in BIA: Opportunity for action
(Report No. WR-EV-BIA-0001-2012). (pp. 5-6) Retrieved from http://
www.doi.gov/oig/reports/upload/WR-EV-BIA-0001-2012Public.pdf.
As this assessment describes, the program is drastically
underfunded, and tribal programs, families, and children suffer as a
result. In fiscal year 2016 this program saw a $5 million increase.
This is to be commended and the momentum must continue. Another $12.1
million must be appropriated for this program, as suggested in the
President's budget to support the Tiwahe (family) Initiative--children
and families depend on it.
Welfare Assistance Recommendation.--Increase current funding levels
to $80 million to provide a safety net for Native families and assist
grand families and other kinship caregivers in tribal communities.
The Welfare Assistance line item provides five important forms of
funding to AI/AN families: (1) general assistance, (2) child
assistance, (3) non-medical institution or custodial care of adults,
(4) burial assistance, and (5) emergency assistance. These programs
often provide the assistance necessary to help a family make ends meet,
prevent neglect, and keep their children safely in the home. Currently
the need far exceeds the funding provided by this program.
AI/AN adults on reservations--including parents and kinship
caregivers--are unemployed at a rate more than two times the
unemployment rate for the total population.\6\ Thirty-four percent of
AI/AN children live in households with incomes below the poverty line
as compared to 20.7 percent of children nationwide.\7\ AI/AN families
live much closer to financial crisis than the average American family.
AI/AN child welfare programs and social service agencies need to have
the resources necessary to support families in times of crisis and
uncertainty to promote stability and prevent abuse. In light of these
identified needs and current underfunding, funds should be increased by
$5.2 million to provide tribal governments the resources they need to
support families and children in crisis.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\6\ Stegman, E. & Ebarb, A. (2010). Sequestering opportunity for
American Indians/Alaska Natives. Center for American Progress. (Para.
1). Retrieved from https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/poverty/
news/2013/11/26/80056/sequestering-opportunity-for-american-indians-
and-alaska-natives/.
\7\ U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources
and Services Administration, Maternal and Child Health Bureau. (2013).
Child health USA 2012 (p. 9). Rockville, MD: Author.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
ICWA Funding Recommendation.--Increase the ICWA On or Near
Reservation Program (TPA) appropriations by $3.4 million to help tribes
meet the needs of their communities. Appropriate an additional $5
million for the authorized, but unfunded, Off-Reservation ICWA Program
to ensure ICWA protects all children.
As the Attorney General's Advisory Committee on American Indian/
Alaska Native Children Exposed to Violence recently stated ``If AI/AN
children today are to be provided with a reliable safety net, the
letter and spirit of [the Indian Child Welfare Act] must be enforced.''
\8\ ICWA provides protections to AI/AN families in State child welfare
and judicial systems. It also recognizes the sovereign authority of
tribal nations to provide child welfare services and adjudicate child
welfare matters. To effectuate these provisions, ICWA authorized grant
programs to fund child welfare services on or near reservations and for
ICWA support in off-reservation, urban Indian programs.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\8\ U. S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office
of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. (2014). Attorney
General's Advisory Committee on American Indian/Alaska Native Children
Exposed to Violence: Ending violence so children can thrive (p. 75).
Retrieved from http://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/
defendingchildhood/pages/attachments/2014/11/18/finalaianreport.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
ICWA funding is the foundation of most tribal child welfare
programs. Compliance with the letter and spirit of ICWA necessitates
adequate funding so that tribal child welfare programs can monitor
State court proceedings and provide community-based, culturally
appropriate services to children and families. At the time that ICWA
was passed in 1978, Congress estimated that between $26 million--$62
million would be required to fully fund tribal child welfare programs
on or near reservations (S. Rep. No. 95-597, p. 19 (1977)). Even after
an important fiscal year 2015 increase, for which we thank Congress,
current funding levels fall far short of this estimate--especially
after adjusting for inflation. Funding must be increased by an
additional $3.4 million for the On or Near Reservation ICWA Program
(TPA).
According to the 2010 Census, 67 percent of AI/AN people lived off-
reservation. These children and families are best served when State
child welfare systems are not only working with the child's tribe, but
also with urban Indian child welfare programs. These programs provide
assistance to States and the child's tribe, and provide culturally
appropriate child welfare services. For this reason, ICWA authorizes
child welfare funding for urban Indian programs. From 1979-1996,
funding was allocated to urban organizations serving Native children
and families. When funded, off-reservation programs provided important
services such as recruitment of Native foster care homes, child abuse
prevention efforts, and culturally appropriate case management and
wraparound services. When funding stopped, the majority of these
programs disintegrated even as the population of AI/AN children off-
reservation increased. This funding must be reinstated. We recommend a
$5 million appropriation to support AI/AN children and families living
off-reservation.
______
Prepared Statement of the National Indian Health Board
Chairman Murkowski, Ranking Member Udall and members of the
subcommittee, thank you the opportunity to offer this testimony. On
behalf of the National Indian Health Board and the 567 federally
recognized tribes we serve, I submit this testimony on the Indian
Health Service fiscal year 2017 budget.
The Federal promise to provide Indian health services was made long
ago. Since the earliest days of the Republic, all branches of the
Federal Government have acknowledged the Nation's obligations to the
tribes and the special trust relationship between the United States and
American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/ANs). The United States assumed
this responsibility through a series of treaties with tribes,
exchanging compensation and benefits for tribal land and peace. The
Snyder Act of 1921 (25 U.S.C. 13) legislatively affirmed this trust
responsibility. Since its creation in 1955, IHS has worked to fulfill
the Federal promise to provide healthcare to Native people. In 2010, as
part of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act, Congress reaffirmed the
duty of the Federal Government to AI/ANs, declaring that ``it is the
policy of this Nation, in fulfillment of its special trust
responsibilities and legal obligations to Indians--to ensure the
highest possible health status for Indians and urban Indians and to
provide all resources necessary to effect that policy.'' \1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Indian Health Care Improvement Act, Sec. 103 (2009).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Devastating consequences from historical trauma, poverty, and a
lack of adequate treatment resources continue to plague tribal
communities. AI/ANs have a life expectancy 4.2 years less than other
Americans, but in some areas, the life expectancy is far worse. For
instance, in Montana, ``white men . . . lived 19 years longer than
American Indian men, and white women lived 20 years longer than
American Indian women.'' \2\ In South Dakota, in 2014, ``for white
residents the median age [at death] was 81, compared to 58 for American
Indians.'' \3\ AI/ANs also suffer significantly higher mortality rates
from suicide, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease than other Americans.
According to CDC data, 45.9 percent of Native women experience intimate
partner violence, the highest rate of any ethnic group in the United
States. American Indian/Alaska Native children have an average of six
decayed teeth, when other U.S. children have only one. These health
statistics are no surprise when you compare the per capita spending of
the IHS and other Federal healthcare programs. In 2015, the IHS per
capita expenditures for patient health services were just $3,136,
compared to $8,097 per person for healthcare spending nationally.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ ``The State of the State's Health: A Report on the Health of
Montanans.'' Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services.
2013. p. 11.
\3\ ``2014 South Dakota Vital Statistics Report: A State and County
Comparison of Leading Health Indicators.'' South Dakota Department of
Health. 2014. P. 62.
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The following testimony reflects the IHS Tribal Budget Formulation
Workgroup recommendations for fiscal year 2017.\4\ Tribes recommend $30
billion to fully fund IHS. This includes amounts for personal health
services, wrap-around community health services and facility capital
investments. Within this $30 billion is: $15.82 billion for Medical
Services; $1.66 billion for Dental and Vision Services; $3.71 billion
for Community and Public Health Services; $8.77 billion for facility
upgrades and upfront costs (non-recurring investments).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\4\ The full fiscal year 2017 Tribal Budget Request is available at
http://nihb.org/legislative/budget_formulation.php.
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Fiscal year 2017 President's Budget Request.--The administration
has proposed $5.2 billion for IHS for fiscal year 2017. This is $377
million (7.28 percent) above the fiscal year 2016 level. NIHB
appreciates the bipartisan work this subcommittee has undertaken since
fiscal year 2008 to ensure that meaningful increases have been awarded
to the IHS. However, when considering staffing for new facilities,
inflation, medical inflation, population growth, and Contract Support
Cost obligations, the effective increase is minimal. For example, of
the $377 discretionary increase requested for IHS, almost half ($159
million) is just what is needed to maintain current services, and $82
million is for Contract Support Costs, leaving actual program expansion
with just $136 million. We implore this subcommittee, to take the
courageous step forward and recommend a budget for Indian Health that
truly lives up to the Federal trust responsibility and gives AI/ANs a
chance at achieving better health outcomes.
To begin the 12 year phase-in of the full $30 billion request,
tribes recommend $6.2 billion in fiscal year 2017. All areas of the IHS
budget are important, and we hope to see a strong increase across the
IHS budget fiscal year 2017. However, the tribes have identified
several priorities including Purchased/Referred Care (PRC); Hospitals &
Clinics; Alcohol & Substance Abuse Services; Mental Health; and Dental
Services.
Purchased/Referred Care (PRC).--In fiscal year 2017, tribes
recommend $1.2 billion for the Purchased/Referred Care (PRC) program.
This is $270.4 million over the fiscal year 2017 President's request
and $318.6 million above the fiscal year 2016 enacted level. The PRC
budget supports essential healthcare services from non-IHS or non-
tribal providers and includes inpatient and outpatient care, emergency
care, transportation, and medical support services such as diagnostic
imaging, physical therapy, laboratory, nutrition, and pharmacy
services. In fiscal year 2015, PRC denied over $645 million for an
estimated 132,000 services needed. It is critical that this account
continue to be prioritized by Congress. Tribal leaders have voiced
concern that PRC was flat-funded in fiscal year 2016. This core funding
is still a top priority for the tribes, as some areas rely heavily on
PRC dollars, and we hope to see continued prioritization by the
subcommittee in fiscal year 2017.
Hospitals and Clinics.--In fiscal year 2017, tribes recommend $2.3
billion for Hospitals and Clinics (H&C) which is $300 million over the
fiscal year 2016 President's request and $422.8 million over the fiscal
year 2016 enacted level. This core budget line item provides for the
direct service delivery to AI/ANs. IHS/Tribal/Urban Indian (I/T/U)-
managed facilities are often located in rural settings with service at
many locations limited to primary care, due to inadequate funding. IHS
H&C faces tremendous challenges. Some of these factors include: an
increased demand for services related to trends in significant
population growth, an increased rate of chronic diseases, rising
medical inflation, difficulty in recruiting and retaining providers in
rural healthcare settings, and the lack of adequate facilities and
equipment. For many AI/ANs, IHS represents the healthcare access in its
entirety, both in terms of monetary resources but also facility access.
Consequently, any underfunding of H&C equates to no healthcare. For
many in Indian Country, there are no alternatives.
Quality of Care Issues--Direct Service Facilities.--Perhaps even
more disturbing than the severe lack of resources at IHS, is recent
findings by the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) at
several hospitals in the Great Plains Area of IHS. In the last year,
three hospitals serving tribes in the region have lost, (or received
threats of revocation) their ability to bill CMS. This not only
severely hampers the critical 3rd Party Revenue on which these
facilities depend, but more importantly these findings raise serious
questions about the quality of healthcare provided by IHS. At the
Winnebago Indian Hospital, Pine Ridge Indian Hospital and the Rosebud
Indian Hospital the deficiencies in question are simply unacceptable
and more must be done to ensure that IHS management never allows this
to happen again. Just last week, NIHB learned that Rosebud Indian
Hospital was told it will lose this CMS certification on March 16,
despite the fact that an IHS team has been on the ground for the last
several months trying to prevent this. While it is our understanding
that the agency has recently reached an agreement with CMS to keep the
accreditation until at least May 16, we are continued to be troubled by
the situation on the ground. NIHB believes that IHS should certainly be
held to task by Congress for the poor management of these facilities,
but it is also incumbent on Congress to provide IHS with sufficient
funding so that the Service is able to safely and effectively carry out
its mission. As one tribal leader stated at a Senate hearing on
February 3, 2016: ``[IHS] is all we have to count on. We don't go there
because they have superior healthcare. We go there because it is our
treaty right. And we go there because many of us lack the resources to
go elsewhere. We're literally at the mercy of IHS.''
Mental Health.--In fiscal year 2017, tribes are recommending $154.9
million. This is $43.75 million above the President's fiscal year 2017
request and $72.8 million above fiscal year 2016. Expansion of mental
health services are critically needed. Nowhere is the issue of poor
coordination perhaps more acute than when it comes to mental and
behavioral health services. AI/AN children and communities grapple with
complex behavioral health issues at higher rates than any other
population. Destructive Federal Indian policies and unresponsive or
harmful human service systems have left AI/AN communities with
unresolved historical and generational trauma.\5\ But access to
behavioral health services is limited. In a study of 514 IHS and tribal
facilities, 82 percent report providing some type of mental health
service such as psychiatric services, behavioral health services,
substance abuse treatment, or traditional healing practices, and to
improve access 17 percent (87) have implemented telemedicine for mental
health services.\6\ However, none provide inpatient psychiatric
services.\7\ Without access to care, persons in psychiatric distress
often end up at the hospital emergency room.\8\ We support the
administration's request for $21.4 million in behavioral health
integration as well as the $3.6 million for the Zero Suicide
Initiative. We also support the administration's mandatory funding
requests for the Behavioral Health Professions Expansion Fund ($10
million) and the Tribal Crisis Response Fund ($15 million).
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\5\ Braveheart, M. Y. A., & DeBruyn, I. M. (1998). The American
Indian Holocaust: healing historical unresolved grief. American Indian
and Alaska Native Mental Health Research, 8(2).
\6\ Urban Indian Health Institute. (2012). Addressing depression
among American Indians and Alaska Natives: A literature review.
Seattle, Washington: Urban Indian Health Institute.
\7\ Indian Health Service. (2011). Inpatient mental health
assessment. Retrieved from http://www.ihs.gov/newsroom/includes/themes/
newihstheme/display_objects/documents/
FINAL_IHCIA_InpatientMH_Assessment_Final.pdf.
\8\ Ibid.
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Alcohol and Substance Abuse.--In fiscal year 2017, tribes recommend
$312.3 million for the Alcohol and Substance Abuse budget. This is $79
million above the President's request and $107 million above the fiscal
year 2016 enacted level. Of the challenges facing AI/AN communities and
people, no challenge is more far reaching than the epidemic of alcohol
and other substance abuse. Now that tribes manage a majority of alcohol
and substance abuse programs, IHS is in a supportive role to assist the
tribes plan, develop, and implement a variety of treatment modalities.
The collaboration has resulted in more consistent evidenced-based and
best practice approaches to address substance abuse disorders and
addictions. Successful treatment approaches include traditional healing
techniques that link the services provided to traditional cultural
practices and spiritual support. NIHB strongly supports the
administration's request for an extra $15 million for the Substance Use
and Suicide Prevention Program.
Dental Health.--For fiscal year 2017, tribes recommend $218.6
million for Dental Health. This is $31.8 more than the President's
request and $40.3 million above the fiscal year 2016 level. These
critical funds are desperately needed to improve the oral health of AI/
ANs. Over 80 percent of AI/AN children ages 6-9 suffer from dental
caries, while less than 50 percent of the U.S. population ages 6-9 have
experienced cavities. The IHS Dental program supports clinic-based
treatment and prevention services, oral health promotion and disease
prevention activities. However, access is one of the key issues in
improving oral health for tribal communities. Half of AI/AN youth live
in a dental shortage area. NIHB and the tribes continue to support the
expansion of Dental Therapists (DTs) to tribes outside of Alaska as a
safe, reliable, cost-effective means for tribal members to access oral
health services. Sadly, provisions in the Indian Healthcare Improvement
Act (IHCIA) \9\ have made it difficult to use IHS programs to use these
effective midlevel providers. We encourage the subcommittee to work
with the relevant authorizing Committees to repeal this prohibitive
section of the law so that IHS and tribes can utilize scarce
discretionary dollars in the most cost-effective way possible.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\9\ 25 U.S.C. 1616l(d).
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Contract Support Costs.--NIHB and tribes were pleased to see the
separate funding account for contract support costs (CSC) that was
created in fiscal year 2016. However, we continue to support the
administration's request for mandatory CSC and encourage Congress to
work to enact this change as soon as fiscal year 2017.
Other Recommendations.--Tribes have also proposed other budget-
related recommendations for IHS in fiscal year 2017. One of these
priorities is support for advance appropriations for IHS which would
allow tribes to have predictability on the IHS budget and place IHS on
parity with other Federal health providers.
The implementation of the IHCIA remains a top priority for Indian
Country. IHCIA provides new authorities for Indian healthcare, however
additional funding is needed to fully implement the Act. This year,
tribes have set priorities for funding the additional provisions of
IHCIA as follows: Section 205: Funding for Long-term Care Services ($37
million); Section 704: Comprehensive Behavioral Health Prevention and
Treatment Program ($20 million); Section 204: Diabetes Prevention,
Treatment, and Control ($20 million); Section 123: Health Professional
Chronic Shortage Demonstration Project ($15 million); Section 705:
Mental Health Technician Program ($5 million).
As noted above, the trust responsibility for health extends beyond
the IHS. We also encourage this subcommittee to work with other
agencies at the Department of Health and Human Services to ensure that
funds reach tribal communities. Specific funding ``set asides'' for
tribes or language directing the HHS to fund tribal communities
specifically could be ways to ensure that appropriated dollars reach
tribes.
Thank you for the opportunity to offer this statement. We look
forward to working with the Appropriations Committee as Congress
considers fiscal year 2017 appropriations. If you have any questions,
please do not hesitate to contact the National Indian Health Board.
______
Prepared Statement of the National Opera Center of America (OPERA
America)
Madam Chairman and distinguished members of the subcommittee, I am
grateful for the opportunity to submit testimony on behalf of OPERA
America, its board of directors and its more than 2,000 organizational
and individual members. We strongly urge the Subcommittee on Interior,
Environment, and Related Agencies in the Committee on Appropriations to
designate a total of $155 million to the National Endowment for the
Arts (NEA) for fiscal year 2017. This testimony and the funding
examples described below are intended to highlight the importance of
Federal investment in the arts, so critical to sustaining a vibrant
cultural community throughout the country.
The NEA makes it possible for everyone to enjoy and benefit from
the performing arts. Before the establishment of the NEA in 1965,
funding for the arts was mostly limited mostly larger cities. The NEA
has helped to strengthen regional dance, opera, theater and other
artistic disciplines that Americans enjoy. NEA funding provides access
to the arts in regions with histories of inaccessibility due to
economic or geographic limitations. The NEA envisions a ``nation in
which every American benefits from arts engagement, and every community
recognizes and celebrates its aspirations and achievements through the
arts.'' The agency has helped the arts become accessible to more
Americans, which in turn has increased public participation in the
arts.
Opera is a continuously growing art form that can address the
diverse needs and backgrounds of our communities. New opera companies
are being established in communities that have never before had access
to live performances. OPERA America's membership includes 141
professional company members representing 42 States, as well as 5
Canadian provinces and 3 countries. Sixty-seven percent of these
companies were established after 1970 and over 43 percent were
established since 1980, indicating the growth of opera throughout
America over the last 45 years.
In the 2013-2014 season, OPERA America members were involved with
37 world premieres. Since 1900, 950 new operatic works have been
produced by professional opera companies in North America. Of that, 478
new operatic works have been produced since 2000. The growth in number
and quality of American opera corresponds directly to the investment of
the NEA's earlier investment in the New American Works program of the
former Opera-Music Theater Program.
Beyond the opera house, opera companies are finding new and
exciting ways to bring the essence of opera to other local theaters and
community centers, frequently with new and innovative works that
reflect the diverse cultures of the cities they serve. Strong
partnerships with local schools extend the civic reach of opera
companies as they introduce children to a multi-media art form and
discover promising young talent.
The NEA is a great investment in the economic growth of every
community. Despite diminished resources, including a budget that is $20
million less than it was in 2010, the NEA awarded 2,139 grants in 2015,
totaling $103.47 million in appropriated funds. These grants nurture
the growth and artistic excellence of thousands of arts organizations
and artists in every corner of the country. NEA grants also preserve
and enhance our Nation's diverse cultural heritage. The modest public
investment in the Nation's cultural life results in both new and
classic works of art, reaching the residents of all 50 States and in
every congressional district.
The return of the Federal Government's small investment in the arts
is striking. In 2013, the American creative sector was measured by the
Federal Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). The BEA and the NEA
developed an ``Arts and Cultural Production Satellite Account'' which
calculated the arts and culture sector's contributions to the gross
domestic product (GDP) at 4.2 percent (or $704.2 billion) of current-
dollar GDP in 2013. Additionally, the nonprofit performing arts
industry generates $135.2 billion annually in economic activity,
supports more than 4.13 million full-time equivalent jobs in the arts,
and returns $9.59 billion in Federal taxes (Arts and Economic
Prosperity IV, Americans for the Arts).
On average each NEA grant leverages at almost $10 from other State,
local, and private sources. Few other Federal investments realize such
economic benefits, not to mention the intangible benefits that only the
arts make possible. Even in the face of cutbacks in the recent years,
the NEA continues to be a beacon for arts organizations across the
country.
The return on investments is not only found in dollars. In 2012,
2.2 million people volunteered 210 million hours with arts and cultural
organizations, totaling an estimated value of $5.2 billion--a
demonstration that citizens value the arts in their communities.
nea grants at work
Past NEA funding has directly supported projects in which arts
organizations, artists, schools and teachers collaborated to provide
opportunities for adults and children to create, perform, and respond
to artistic works. NEA funding has also made the art form more widely
available in all States, including isolated rural areas and inner
cities.
The more than 2,000 Art Works grants were awarded to nonprofit arts
organizations for projects that encourage artistic creativity and that
bring the arts to millions of Americans. In a striking example of
Federal/State partnership, 40 percent of NEA's program dollars are
granted to State arts agencies, conditional on each State devoting its
own appropriated funds. These grants, combined with State legislative
appropriations and other dollars, are distributed widely to strengthen
arts infrastructures and ensure broad access to arts.
NEA grants are awarded to opera organizations through its core
programs: Art Works; Challenge America Fast Track Grants; and Federal/
State Partnerships. In fiscal year 2015, the NEA awarded 68 grants to
the opera field through the Art Works category, totaling $2,095,000.
Opera Memphis
$30,000
Memphis, Tennessee
To support ``30 Days of Opera.'' Launched in 2012 as an outreach
initiative with the goal of breaking down barriers that prevent new
audiences from attending opera, the festival has successfully reached
more than 50,000 people with more than 100 performances in at least 80
different locations. The project includes admission-free concerts,
opera performances for schools, an original children's opera, pop-up or
guerilla opera performances, and a family day at the opera.
Intermountain Opera Bozeman
$12,000
Bozeman, Montana
To support performances of Puccini's ``Suor Angelica'' and Gianni
Schicchi.'' Conducted by Christopher Allen, the cast included soprano
Maria Kanyova and baritone Levi Hernandez. Educational and outreach
activities to build audiences included a public workshop, a performance
for elementary school students, a class for students at Bozeman High
School, and a class for adults at Montana State University.
Shreveport Opera
$13,000
Shreveport, Louisiana
To support the Shreveport Opera Xpress educational and touring
program. The program serves as the educational programming arm of the
company through which performances and activities reach public school
students. Interactive residencies in which public school music teachers
will select students for instruction in vocal technique, acting,
singing, and stage direction by Shreveport Opera Xpress (SOX) artists
are an integral part of the program. Elementary through high school
students throughout central and south Louisiana were reached during the
2015-2016 academic year.
The Industry
$12,000
Los Angeles, California
To support artistic and production fees for the premiere of
Hopscotch, a mobile opera. Multiple Los Angeles-based composers and
librettists were commissioned to each develop three short pieces. The
opera was experienced in several ways: via a limited audience inside
limousines with the artists as they drive around Los Angeles; at a
large central hub where all of the limousine journeys were streamed
live; and through the finale of the work when the two audiences
converged. The project's multidisciplinary collaborations continued the
organization's mission of creating new works that honor the origins of
the genre while pushing to expand its traditional boundaries. The
performances included a free component at the work's central location,
allowing a large audience to experience the performance.
Over 50 million people experienced opera on stage, via radio and
TV, in cinemas, and at stadiums, parks and alternative venues through
one of OPERA America's Professional Company Members in the 2012-2013
season. The collective expenses of member opera companies totaled over
$1 billion. Total government support, including city, county, State,
and Federal, amounted to $118 million, representing 10 percent of total
operating income.
Despite overwhelming support by the American public for spending
Federal tax dollars in support of the arts, the NEA has never recovered
from a 40 percent budget cut in the mid-nineties, leaving its programs
seriously underfunded. We urge you to continue toward restoration and
increase the NEA funding allocation to $155 million for fiscal year
2017.
On behalf of OPERA America, thank you for considering this request.
[This statement was submitted by Marc A. Scorca, President and
CEO.]
______
Prepared Statement of the National Parks Conservation Association
Chairman Murkowski, Ranking Member Udall, and members of the
subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to submit testimony on
behalf of National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA). Founded in
1919, NPCA is the leading national, independent voice for protecting
and enhancing America's National Park System for present and future
generations. I appreciate the opportunity to provide our views
regarding the National Park Service (NPS) fiscal year 2017 budget.
National parks protect America's heritage and deliver robust
economic returns of $10 in economic benefits nationally for every
dollar invested in the NPS. NPCA polling indicates the vast popularity
of national parks and strong bipartisan support for adequately funding
them.
We acknowledge the tremendous challenge the subcommittee faces in
setting thoughtful spending priorities, so we are grateful for your
consistent support for national parks. NPCA and our partners in the
National Parks Second Century Action Coalition commend your
subcommittee for supporting a needed increase for the National Park
Service in fiscal year 2016, the Service's Centennial year. This level
will make an important difference in recovering from years of cuts and
inadequate funding. As there are still many needs, we urge you to do
your best to build on this support as the System enters its next
century of service to the American people.
Fiscal Year 2017 Priorities: NPCA requests appropriated funding for
NPS of $3,111,829,000, which is equal to the President's appropriated
request, but rejecting his proposal to reduce Heritage Partnership
Programs funding. This level includes--but is not limited to--NPCA's
priorities of meeting the President's request for:
--$2,524,362,000 for park operations;
--$252,038,000 for construction; and
--$35,000,000 in appropriated funds for the Centennial Challenge.
My testimony outlines these and several other issues:
--The Budget Control Act, overarching budget concerns and the
subcommittee's allocation;
--Park operations and construction funding and their connection to
the maintenance backlog;
--The Centennial Challenge program;
--The Land and Water Conservation Fund and Historic Preservation
Fund;
--National Heritage Areas;
--The Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act;
--Policy riders
Budget Control Act (BCA) and budget process: We've been dismayed to
see the many challenges to the budget and appropriations process in
recent years, and the threat and harm they have brought to national
parks. We were deeply dismayed in fiscal year 2013 when the BCA, due to
the failure of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction to
identify offsets, mandated sequester cuts that were so damaging to
national park operations that they resulted in shuttered facilities and
thousands of ranger positions going unfilled. We were consequently
pleased that the Bipartisan Budget Acts (BBA) of 2013 and 2015 provided
needed relief from that indiscriminate and damaging instrument with
spending levels that are already austere absent the sequester.
We were alarmed to see the draconian out-year cuts to nondefense
discretionary spending proposed in the recent House budget and the
challenges that struggle is posing to the appropriations process. Thus
we are grateful that the Senate instead deferred to the BBA, fostering
a more orderly and functional budget process in your chamber.
The Interior allocation: NPCA believes the allocation provided to
the subcommittee in recent years has been insufficient and emblematic
of the austere constraints on domestic discretionary investments. In
part to address this concern, we continue to urge legislation to
address the dysfunctional system of catastrophic wildfire funding that
burdens the Interior allocation. We support a clean fire funding fix, a
bipartisan solution that would (1) access disaster funding, (2)
minimize transfers, and (3) address the continued erosion of agency
budgets over time, with the goal of reinvesting in key programs that
would restore forests to healthier conditions.
Further, we feel that the Interior subcommittee allocation is
unlikely to ever be sufficient to meet the full needs of the Land and
Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), the National Park System backlog, or
the Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) and Secure Rural Schools (SRS)
programs, all of which should receive mandatory funding support outside
of the Interior bill.
We were disappointed to see the reduction in your fiscal year 2017
302(b) suballocation and understand the deep challenges this will pose
in meeting the needs of national parks and other priorities. Therefore,
in this context, we are grateful in advance to you and your
subcommittee staff for doing what you can to continue the trajectory to
restore funding for America's treasures as they begin the next century
of service to the American people.
Park operations and the maintenance backlog: The subcommittee's
fiscal year 2016 investment will be very helpful for national parks--
but we regret to acknowledge that more is needed. The fiscal year 2016
increase in park operations, after adjusting for inflation, still
leaves a level $90 million--or 3.6 percent--below levels in fiscal year
2010, when NPCA analysis indicated an annual operations shortfall of
approximately a half billion dollars. Many parks remain understaffed:
between fiscal year 2010 and fiscal year 2015, discretionary FTEs for
the park service were reduced by 2,006 FTEs--an 11.2 percent reduction
in staff. As you know, these losses can be damaging, with impacts such
as less day-to-day maintenance, less scientific inventory and
monitoring, reduced hours or even closed public facilities, fewer
visitor programs, and other challenges to parks fulfilling their
mission.
The operations request would support $96 million in cyclic
maintenance and repair needs. Support for this request would help
address the $12 billion deferred maintenance backlog. The backlog
continues to threaten the protection of nationally significant
resources and, eventually the experience of visitors. In February 2015,
NPS estimated that it needed $820 million annually just to keep up with
the backlog, but only received $473 million, or less than 60 cents for
every dollar needed. While this number also included park
transportation infrastructure that is not within the jurisdiction of
this subcommittee, funding to deal with the non-roads backlog remains
vastly insufficient, and both short- and long-term solutions are
needed.
Construction and the backlog: The NPS construction account is a
principal mechanism for addressing major repair needs, yet even after
the fiscal year 2016 increase in that account, it remains 48 percent
below levels of a decade ago after adjusting for inflation. This is why
the requested increase for this account is so important to address
needed projects throughout the park system.
Mandatory backlog funding: We respect that it can be very difficult
to identify budgetary offsets for mandatory programs, yet urge Congress
to recognize that a more realistic long-term solution is needed to
address the maintenance backlog. Under current allocations established
by the BCA, it is difficult to see how this subcommittee will be able
to address even the $2.4 billion highest priority non-transportation
facilities' needs. NPCA supports enacting legislation to begin reducing
the backlog through a mandatory account and encourages Congress to
pursue this approach to paying down the backlog's most critical
projects over the initial years of the system's new century of service.
Centennial Challenge: We commend this subcommittee for restoring
the Centennial Challenge program in fiscal year 2015, and for the
increase for the program in fiscal year 2016. This support has
leveraged more than 2 dollars for every 1 dollar invested for signature
projects across the National Park System that enhance the visiting
experience. Many more philanthropic opportunities await, so we hope the
subcommittee can support the request for an increase in this exciting
program that enjoys strong bipartisan support. Further, we look forward
to movement of a centennial bill that includes more robust funding for
this important program, and urge members of this subcommittee to
support such a bill that we hope will enjoy the bipartisan backing it
deserves. That legislation would also include an endowment, another
idea helpful in fostering a sustainable long-term funding model for NPS
that supplements--but does not supplant--important appropriated
dollars.
Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF): The acquisition of
inholdings is directly related to better managing the places in which
our Nation already has made a significant investment. Thus we support
the administration's appropriated request of $68.2 million for the NPS
Federal land acquisition and management portion of LWCF, a critical
tool for protecting our national parks. This appropriated request would
help prevent incompatible development in 10 NPS units, including Grand
Teton National Park. We were pleased the fiscal year 2016 omnibus
included better funding for the LWCF program and a 3-year
reauthorization. We urge support for the administration's proposal to
partially fund LWCF with mandatory funds in fiscal year 2017 and then
phase in full and mandatory funding for the program, to provide this
successful program with the dependability it deserves.
Historic Preservation Fund (HPF): The funding authorization for HPF
was allowed to expire on October 1, 2015; we were disappointed the
authorization was not extended in the omnibus as it was with LWCF. The
HPF provides the primary source of funding for State Historic and
Tribal Historic Preservation Offices in all 50 States. The HPF also
supports the Historic Tax Credit program, responsible for the
rehabilitation of over 40,000 buildings, the creation of 2.5 million
jobs and the leveraging of $117 billion in private investments in
historic preservation projects. H.R. 2817, the bipartisan National
Historic Preservation Amendments Act, would both restore the funding
authorization for the HPF and extend it through fiscal year 2028. NPCA
urges passage of this bill to support continued preservation and
rehabilitation of historic sites and structures.
National Heritage Areas (NHAs): The president's proposed 50 percent
cut to the National Heritage Area program is an unwarranted attack on a
program with a successful track record. In 2013, the 49 existing NHAs
generated $13 billion in economic activity and $1.2 billion in tax
revenues, and generated over 900,000 volunteer service hours. This
mighty program with a modest budget ($19.8 million in fiscal year 2016)
deserves support from both Congress and the President.
Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (FLREA): We are grateful
that this subcommittee has supported multiple short-term extensions of
FLREA, now extended through fiscal year 2017. Reauthorization is
critical for NPS to retain needed funds of nearly $200 million
annually. As NPCA continues to support a long-term reauthorization of
FLREA with the respective authorizing committees, we hope this
subcommittee will continue to support annual extensions.
Policy Riders: Efforts to attach environmentally damaging policy
riders only further threatens the appropriations process, so we were
grateful that the final fiscal year 2016 bill was free of riders that
threaten parks, their ecosystems, and the health of visitors and
wildlife within them. We are deeply concerned to see riders threatening
clean water in national parks and their ecosystems in the Senate fiscal
year 2017 Energy and Water appropriations bill and urge that fiscal
year 2017 and future appropriations bills be free of these damaging and
controversial riders.
In conclusion: NPCA has emphasized to this subcommittee and its
House counterpart over the years the importance of providing more
adequate funding for America's treasures. As the subcommittee has
acknowledged, the National Park Service and System are deeply popular
with the American public and are important for local economies. As we
emphasize the importance of providing staff to serve record numbers of
visitors, and staff and resources to address the repairs backlog, we
should not forget the profound importance of park sites in preserving
and interpreting our natural and cultural heritage--a heritage that
defines America's very identity. Outstanding wildlife habitat, geysers,
cliffs, Civil War sites that commemorate our fallen ancestors, the
places we celebrate--and where we have suffered: this is America's
extraordinary National Park System. This subcommittee has recognized
these places as priorities; we again commend you for supporting their
needs and urge your continuing support.
This subcommittee and its House counterpart have also emphasized
the importance of a sustainable funding model for NPS. As you know,
NPCA has long explored ideas to support such a model and advocate for
mechanisms that, very importantly, do not supplant the Federal
responsibility to appropriate funding for our Nation's parks, but
supplement these needed funds.
Again, respectfully recognizing your constrained allocation, we
urge you to provide the best appropriated level possible for NPS to
help the agency recover from years of underfunding. We ask you to
support a centennial bill that provides an endowment and more robust
support for the Centennial Challenge program. We will seek to leverage
new fee opportunities, historic leasing, and other innovative
approaches. But we also urge this and future sessions of Congress to
identify mandatory support and/or other robust mechanisms to address
the deferred maintenance backlog, as well as the backlog of land
acquisition needs. As the National Park Service prepares to celebrate
its Centennial and to embark on its next century of service to the
American people who collectively own these national treasures, we stand
to work with you to provide needed support to recover, restore and
bolster America's National Park System.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify.
______
Prepared Statement of the National Recreation and Park Association
Thank you Chairwoman Murkowski, Senator Udall, and other honorable
members of the subcommittee for the opportunity to submit written
testimony pertaining to funding for the Land and Water Conservation
Fund's (LWCF) State Assistance Program and Urban Parks and Recreation
Recovery Program (UPARR) in the fiscal year 2017 Interior
appropriations bill.
Overview of Funding Request
As outlined below, we encourage you to renew the Federal investment
in the LWCF. However, given that the purpose of the Act is to help
preserve, develop, and assure access to outdoor recreation facilities
to strengthen the health of U.S. citizens, we urge you to make a
greater investment in States and local communities by:
--Allocating a minimum of 40 percent of fiscal year 2016 LWCF
appropriations to the State Assistance Program;
--Continuing the innovative, ``Outdoor Recreation Legacy
Partnership'' (ORLP) competitive grant program in the amount of
$12 million;
--Allocating up to $30 million in funding for Urban Park and
Recreation Recovery program (UPARR) out of total fiscal year
2017 LWCF appropriations; and,
--Ensuring that any amount allocated to either the ORLP or UPARR
program is not done at the expense of the existing core formula
grants distributed to the States for conservation and active
recreation.
About the National Recreation and Park Association
The National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA), is a nonprofit
organization working to advance parks, recreation and environmental
conservation efforts nationwide. Our members touch the lives of every
American in every community every day. Through our network of more than
50,000 citizen and professional members we represent park and
recreation departments in cities, counties, townships, special park
districts, and regional park authorities, along with citizens concerned
with ensuring close-to-home access to parks and recreation
opportunities exist in their communities. Everything we support and do
is focused through our three pillars: Conservation; Health & Wellness
and Social Equity.
40 Percent Allocation of Total LWCF Appropriations to the State
Assistance Program
The LWCF State Assistance Program provides dollar-for-dollar
matching grants to States and local communities for the construction of
outdoor recreation projects. The land purchased with LWCF State
Assistance funding remains the property of the State or local
government, and the resources developed through the LWCF remain
publicly accessible in perpetuity.
The LWCF provides numerous benefits to local communities across
America, and it does so through a dedicated funding source--namely oil
and gas leasing revenues from the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). As
much as $9 billion has been generated from these leases annually, with
only a small fraction provided to the LWCF. Unfortunately an even more
miniscule amount is provided to the State Assistance Program. This is
in large part due to the fact that current law mandates that a minimum
of 40 percent of the total LWCF annual appropriations must be provided
to the Federal land acquisition program without specifying an amount
for the State Assistance Program. As a result, States and local
communities have historically received a very disproportionate share of
the total LWCF appropriations, with less than 15 percent of total LWCF
funding going to the State Assistance Program since 1998.
With this as background, we thank you very much for your efforts in
fiscal year 2016, which led to the highest total appropriation for LWCF
in years. You also realized that a higher percentage of overall LWCF
dollars should be allocated to the States for the purpose of meeting
the ever increasing need for safe and accessible close-to-home
recreation. The $110 million for State Assistance in fiscal year 2016
represents approximately one-quarter of overall LWCF appropriations for
the year.
While this amount signifies a major improvement over the long-term
average of, again, less than 15 percent of total LWCF spending, we call
upon the subcommittee to seek a permanent solution to funding the LWCF
with the State and Local Assistance Program receiving at least 40
percent of overall LWCF expenditures each year. With four-out-of-five
Americans now living in our larger communities, and the fact the
original LWCF Act called for 60 percent to State Assistance, it's
reasonable that the formula grants to the States for outdoor recreation
should receive a more equitable distribution of LWCF dollars annually.
We agree on the importance of preserving and providing access to
our national treasures for all to enjoy--and congratulate and recognize
the National Park Service as it celebrates its centennial--we'd like to
remind you that many treasured public areas are NOT located on Federal
property.
For the reasons outlined below, we are asking you to empower States
and local communities to do more to preserve, develop, and assure
access to outdoor recreation facilities to strengthen our Nation by
allocating 40 percent of total LWCF appropriations to the State
Assistance Program in fiscal year 2017.
LWCF State Assistance's Return on Investment and Return on Objective
One of the key aspects of the LWCF State Assistance Program is the
ability to create jobs. The outdoor recreation industry, as such is
supported by LWCF State Assistance, is an economic powerhouse in the
United States. According to the Outdoor Industry Association, the
industry generates $646 billion in consumer spending and supports over
6 million jobs annually.\1\ In fact, our own research has determined
that America's local and regional public park agencies generated nearly
$140 billion in economic activity and supported nearly 1 million jobs
from their operations and capital spending alone in 2013.\2\
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\1\ Outdoor Industry Association, ``The Outdoor Recreation Economy
Report 2012.''
\2\ NRPA, ``The Economic Impact of Local Parks'' published 2015.
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Considering there are 7,800 State and over 100,000 locally managed
parks throughout the country, it is obvious that outdoor recreation is
most prevalent at the State and local level, and it is the LWCF State
Assistance Program which provides the vast majority of places, spaces,
and opportunities for outdoor recreation which stimulates the outdoor
economy.
When viewed through the lens of the importance of the American
outdoor recreation industry, the LWCF State Assistance Program has, for
more than four decades, achieved a proven return on investment (ROI)
demonstrated by the fact that $4.1 billion in Federal support has been
matched and leveraged to provide more than $8.2 billion in total public
investment. But the benefits of this program, don't stop there, as the
State Assistance Program has not only provided a ROI, but has also done
a tremendous job of providing an outstanding ``return on objective''
for the American taxpayer by ensuring access for all.
Not everyone has the ability to visit one of our treasured national
parks, and even those who do so are unable to on a regular basis. Their
visits are often destination vacations or once-in-a-lifetime trips. To
the average American, however, the neighborhood park--down the street,
open and accessible to the public, and without an admission fee--is the
most important public space in their lives. The State Assistance
Program has played a critical role in the creation of these important
places, with more than 40,400 grant projects covering nearly every
county across America.
The LWCF State Assistance Program is dedicated to ensuring that
Americans have access to close-to-home public recreation opportunities.
It is a means by which the subcommittee can provide investment to
critically important local park infrastructure, including: a new soccer
field at Sisterhood Park in Anchorage, Alaska; enhancements at
Bluewater Lake State Park near Perwitt, New Mexico; and an accessible
playground at Fall Creek Falls State Park in Spencer, Tennessee. Each
of the aforementioned communities benefited from State Assistance grant
funding since 2013.
LWCF State Assistance Provides Health and Environmental Benefits
In addition to creating jobs and ensuring access for all, the LWCF
State Assistance Program delivers tangible health benefits,
contributing to the overall health and well-being of Americans. The
National Park Service recognizes this through its ``Find Your Park''
initiative, which aims to increase public recognition of parks and
public lands (including State, local, and regional park and trail
systems) as places for the promotion of physical, mental, and social
health. The CDC reports obesity is now a leading cause of chronic
disease and identifies increased access to parks, green space, and
recreation opportunities is essential to becoming a healthier nation
and reducing unsustainable healthcare costs.
The LWCF State Assistance Program also significantly contributes to
protecting the environment and promoting environmental stewardship.
LWCF State Assistance projects have a historical record of contributing
to reduced and delayed storm water runoff volumes, enhanced groundwater
recharge, storm water pollutant reductions, reduced sewer overflow
events, increased carbon sequestration, urban heat island mitigation
and reduced energy demands, resulting in improved air quality,
increased wildlife habitat, and increased land values on the local
level.
Revitalizing Urban Parks and Recreation through Funding of UPARR
While the LWCF has indeed benefited virtually every community in
the country, many of our Nation's cities and urbanized counties face
distinct challenges that require additional resources. Recognizing this
fact as well as the importance of public parks and recreation to larger
urban renewal and community development efforts, Congress established
the Urban Parks and Recreation Recovery Program (UPARR) to provide
matching grants directly to localities in metropolitan areas. Over the
course of two decades UPARR provided $272 million for nearly 1,500
projects in 380 communities. This enabled neighborhoods across the
country to restore both outdoor and indoor recreation facilities;
support innovative recreational programming and enhance delivery of
services and programs that provided constructive alternatives to at-
risk youth.
Despite its successes, UPARR has not been funded since fiscal year
2002, yet many of the urban open space and recreation challenges still
exist today. NRPA is very pleased to see UPARR in the President's
fiscal year 2017 budget and calls on Congress to update and fund this
needed program to enable metropolitan areas to address quality of life,
health and wellness, and conservation issues as they work to make their
communities more attractive for families and businesses alike. Both
LWCF State Assistance and UPARR are critical to providing Americans
close to home recreation opportunities. The programs complement each
other and NRPA implores Congress to fund UPARR from total LWCF
appropriations but not at the expense of the already underfunded State
Assistance Program.
Maintaining The Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership Competitive Grant
Program
With UPARR now dormant for over a decade, we appreciate greatly
your recognition for the need to target some State Assistance dollars
to assist our most underserved, urban communities. Your support has led
to the development of what is now known as the ORLP. This national
competitive grant program complements the traditional State Assistance
formula grants program by focusing on national priorities, specifically
helping urban communities to acquire or develop land to create or
reinvigorate public parks and other outdoor recreation spaces in ways
that significantly improve local communities and encourage people to
connect (or re-connect) with the outdoors.
NRPA is pleased to have worked with NPS to help develop the pilot
for this initiative and believes it will prove successful in
highlighting the innovative projects and partnerships the State
Assistance Program provides across America. This year, NPS intends to
award as many as 40 ORLP grants to support the revitalization and
protection of close-to-home parks and recreation opportunities in
underserved areas.
We ask that you maintain funding for the ORLP at $12 million for
fiscal year 2017. Also, as this program is included as part of the
overall funding for the State Assistance Program, we ask the
subcommittee to ensure that any continued funding for the ORLP does not
negatively impact the total amount provided to the critical formula
grants to the States for conservation and outdoor recreation.
Madam Chair and members of the subcommittee, few programs can
address so many national priorities as effectively as the LWCF State
Assistance Program. This subcommittee and Congress have the rare
opportunity to achieve national goals, all without costing the
individual American taxpayer a penny, and can do so by adopting three
simple recommendations: Allocate a minimum of 40 percent of LWCF
funding to the State Assistance Program; continue the innovative ORLP
grant program, and address the need for improved infrastructure in
urban areas by allocating a portion of the total LWCF funding to UPARR.
Thank you again for the opportunity to share NRPA's recommendations
and your consideration of our request.
______
Prepared Statement of the National Tribal Contract Support Cost
Coalition
My name is Lloyd Miller and I am a partner in the law firm of
Sonosky, Chambers, Sachse, Miller and Munson, LLP. I submit outside
written testimony on behalf of the National Tribal Contract Support
Cost (NTCSC) Coalition. The Coalition is comprised of 21 tribes and
tribal organizations situated in 11 States. Collectively, they operate
contracts to administer almost $500 million in IHS and BIA programs on
behalf of over 250 Native American Tribes.\1\ The NTCSC Coalition was
created to assure that the Federal Government honors the United States'
contractual obligation to add full contract support cost funding to
every contract and compact awarded under the Indian Self-Determination
Act. I also litigated the Supreme Court Cherokee and Arctic Slope cases
against the Indian Health Service, and co-litigated the Ramah class
action case against the Bureau of Indian Affairs, all of which held
that IHS and BIA contracts with Indian Tribes are true, binding
contracts which must be paid in full no less than any other government
contract. As a direct result of these litigations, the government since
2012 has agreed to pay over $1.75 billion in contract damages to Native
American Tribes and tribal organizations, and close to $2 billion if we
include judgments awarded in earlier years.
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\1\ The NTCSCC is comprised of the: Alaska Native Tribal Health
Consortium (Alaska), Arctic Slope Native Association (Alaska), Central
Council of Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes (Alaska), Cherokee Nation
(Oklahoma), Chickasaw Nation, Chippewa Cree Tribe of the Rocky Boy's
Reservation (Montana), Choctaw Nation (Oklahoma), Confederated Salish
and Kootenai Tribes (Montana), Copper River Native Association
(Alaska), Forest County Potawatomi Community (Wisconsin), Kodiak Area
Native Association (Alaska), Little River Band of Ottawa Indians
(Michigan), Pueblo of Zuni (New Mexico), Riverside-San Bernardino
County Indian Health (California), Shoshone Bannock Tribes (Idaho),
Shoshone-Paiute Tribes (Idaho, Nevada), Southeast Alaska Regional
Health Consortium (Alaska), Spirit Lake Tribe (North Dakota), Tanana
Chiefs Conference (Alaska), Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation
(Alaska), and Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board (43 tribes in
Idaho, Washington, Oregon).
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No single enactment has had a more profound impact on tribal
communities than the Indian Self-Determination Act of 1975. Since its
enactment, tribes and inter-tribal organizations have taken control
over vast portions of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Indian
Health Service, including services previously provided by the Federal
Government in the areas of healthcare, education, law enforcement and
land and natural resource protection. Today, not a single tribe in the
United States is without at least one self-determination contract with
the IHS or the BIA. Collectively, the tribes administer nearly $3
billion in essential Federal Government functions employing an
estimated 35,000 people.
Under all of these contracts, the tribes must cover contract
support costs--essentially overhead--to responsibly manage their
programs. They have to make payroll. They have to manage their finances
and their information technology systems. They have to buy insurance.
They have to procure goods and services. All of the same things the
Government has to do, the tribes have to do--and even more: the tribes
must complete costly annual audits, negotiate indirect cost rates, and
comply with a raft of unfunded Federal mandates.
Full payment of contract support costs is essential to keeping
faith with the Government's contractual commitments, honoring the
Government's trust responsibility, and permitting the tribes to
prudently carry out the contracted programs, from law enforcement to
range management to full-on hospital operations. And since these costs
are fixed, when the Government does not pay them, tribes pay them out
of program funds or tribal trust funds. For many years, appropriators
have well understood the nature of the Government's obligation in this
area:
The Committee believes that both the Bureau [of Indian Affairs]
and the Indian Health Service should pay all contract support
costs for which it has contractually agreed and directs the
Service to include the full cost of the contract support
obligations in its fiscal year 2013 budget submission.
H.R. Rep. No. 112-151, at 98 (2011). See also id. at 42 (addressing
the BIA). The Supreme Court has agreed with Congress's assessment:
``Consistent with longstanding principles of Government contracting
law, we hold that the Government must pay each tribe's contract support
costs in full.'' Salazar v. Ramah Navajo Chapter, 132 S. Ct. 2181, 2186
(2012). See also Arctic Slope Native Ass'n, Ltd. v. Sebelius, No. 2010-
1013, Order at 6, 2012 WL 3599217 (Fed. Cir. Aug. 22, 2012), on remand
from 133 S. Ct. 22 (2012) (applying the Ramah ruling to the Indian
Health Service). Today it is beyond any debate that the payment of
contract support costs is a binding contractual obligation owed to all
tribes that operate BIA and IHS contracts. The only issue remaining has
been how to meet that obligation.
Thanks to the vision and decisive action of congressional
appropriators, fiscal year 2014 was the first year in which contract
support costs were paid in full through the ordinary appropriations
process. For the agencies, particularly IHS, it was a rocky start, as
early mistaken estimates gave way to the reality that the agency had
missed the mark by millions of dollars. A major reprogramming action
was necessary to make tribes whole, threatening direct services.
Although IHS weathered the storm with a minimum of disruption to direct
service operations, doing so required diverting nearly all of the
increases that Congress had appropriated that year for program
services.
The 2014 disruptions were avoided in fiscal year 2015, thanks to
better planning and more accurate agency projections. Even still, the
threat to ongoing program operations was palpable, given the prior
year's experience. That threat led directly to bold and unprecedented
action for fiscal year 2016 in establishing an entirely separate
contract support cost account, and to allocate to that account an
uncapped amount for the payment of these costs. The solution was as
elegant as it was brilliant: (1) it avoided the substantial
difficulties of transferring these payments to the mandatory side of
the ledger; (2) it removed any possible threat to ongoing program
operations; and (3) at the same time it assured full payment of the
Government's contract obligations to the tribes. The tribal experience
in 2014, 2015 and 2016 is that the new system is now working, and even
working quite well. The National Tribal Contract Support Cost Coalition
fully supports this approach and encourages the subcommittee, with one
modification, to continue this year's approach in future years.
The one modification we strongly request is to eliminate the
agency-requested ``proviso'' that was included in these new IHS and BIA
accounts. The proviso addresses contract funds that go unspent in a
given fiscal year. Existing law already addresses that issue. See 25
U.S.C. 450(a)(4) (``For each fiscal year during which a self-
determination contract is in effect, any savings attributable to the
operation of a Federal program, function, service, or activity under a
self-determination contract by a tribe or tribal organization
(including a cost reimbursement construction contract) shall (A) be
used to provide additional services or benefits under the contract; or
(B) be expended by the tribe or tribal organization in the succeeding
fiscal year, as provided in section 13a of this title.''). At the risk
of stating the obvious, all funds paid under self-determination
contracts or compacts must be spent under those contracts to deliver
(or support the delivery of) healthcare to Indian people. The new
proviso is somewhat in conflict this existing law. Worse yet, it will
require new accounting rules to track subaccounts across fiscal years,
at significant expense but with no discernible benefit to the taxpayer,
the Treasury, or Indian people. Nothing in the new mechanism for
contract support cost payments justifies changing the longstanding
rules controlling how those funds are accounted for and spent. We
therefore respectfully request that the subcommittee delete the proviso
going forward.
As it did last year, the administration has also proposed to
transfer CSC appropriations from the discretionary side of the budget
to the mandatory side of the budget, starting in fiscal year 2018. The
National Tribal Contract Support Cost Coalition strongly supports the
President's proposal, and indeed would prefer a proposal to make such a
provision permanent.\2\ That said, we recognize that the proposal will
have difficult sledding without an offset, and unfortunately none has
been proposed by the administration. We stand ready to work with the
subcommittee this year and next to explore how best to move forward
with a mandatory appropriation.
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\2\ A time-limited mandatory appropriation is ill-suited to paying
a permanent obligation, because each renewal is subject to the vagaries
of the political process. The best example of those vagaries is
reflected in the history of the time-limited mandatory appropriation
enacted for the Special Diabetes Program for Indians (SDPI). Public Law
No. 105-33, Sec. 4922, 111 Stat. 251 (1997) (5 years); Public Law No.
107-360, Sec. 1(b), 116 Stat. 3019 (2002) (6 years); Public Law No.
110-173, Sec. 302(b), 121 Stat. 2492, 2515 (2007) (one year); Public
Law No. 110-275, Sec. 303(b), 122 Stat. 2494, 2594 (2008) (2 years);
Public Law No. 111-309, Sec. 112(2), 124 Stat. 3285, 3289 (2010) (2
years); Public Law No. 112-240, Sec. 625(b), 126 Stat. 2313, 2352-
53(2014) (1 year); Public Law No. 113-93, Sec. 204(b), 128 Stat. 1040,
1046 (2014) (1 year). This instability is orders of magnitude more
destabilizing when it comes to the payment of contract support costs
for the delivery of core governmental functions, including the annual
operation of police departments, schools and entire hospitals and
clinics serving many of the Nation's most vulnerable populations. It is
one thing for a discrete program to end; it is quite another for an
entire hospital or police department to close or be substantially cut
back because contract support cost payments suddenly cease. One can
imagine the grave instability that would ensue if by March 2020,
Congress had not yet renewed a 3-year measure and yet the Budget
Committee was developing its discretionary caps for the coming year and
the subcommittee elected to hold hearings.
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We applaud the IHS and BIA for their efforts over the past several
months to work closely with tribes in the development of internal
guidelines for calculating and reconciling CSC payments. Each agency
now has a draft policy ready for tribal consultation, and we are
encouraged by these efforts. That said, the Coalition is quite
concerned that the IHS approach remains terribly over-complicated,
partly due to the agency's insistence on maintaining what we believe
are untenable legal positions that the Office of General Counsel
prefers to litigate.
For instance, IHS wants to litigate the proposition that a tribe
may not receive any contract support costs for an activity (say,
information technology costs or facility support costs) if that
activity was already partly funded in the program budget that was paid
to the tribe under the contract. But Congress has already stated
precisely the opposite--that if program funds for given costs are
insufficient as compared to what is necessary and reasonable under the
circumstances, then contract support costs are to be paid to make up
the difference. See S. Rep. No. 103-374, at 9 (1994) (``[I]n the event
the Secretarial amount under [Sec. 450j-1(a)(1)] for a particular
function proves to be insufficient in light of a contractor's needs for
prudent management of the contract, contract support costs are to be
available to supplement such sums.'')
We respectfully urge the subcommittee to underscore these
instructions, direct the agencies to further simplify the contracting
process, and instruct the agencies not to seek to reduce tribal
contract support cost entitlements.
To further simplify and streamline contracting activities, we also
respectfully suggest that the subcommittee urge the agencies to explore
using multi-year arrangements for fixed rates or fixed lump-sum amounts
subject to inflationary adjustments.
Finally, the Coalition respectfully urges the subcommittee to
clarify once and for all that other funds under this subcommittee's
jurisdiction that are paid to tribes and tribal organizations that
contract with IHS under the Indian Self-Determination Act, shall be
paid to the tribes under those contracts and compacts--not under
separate grant agreements--and that tribal contract support cost
requirements are to be calculated on such funds. Although this was the
agency's practice between 2008 and 2012, the agency changed course
after the 2012 Ramah decision and, for the last 2 years, has only
awarded methamphetamine and suicide prevention initiative (MSPI) funds
and domestic violence prevention initiative (DVPI) funds under grant
instruments. Not only does using grants instead of existing contracts
and compacts considerably over-complicate the accounting and reporting
process; denying tribes contract support costs on these funds and
future behavioral health funds forces tribes to divert scarce program
dollars to cover overhead costs. On average, IHS's change in position--
undertaken without any tribal consultation whatsoever--has reduced
these behavioral health program funding amounts nationwide by 25
percent. Congress should not tolerate this irrational, arbitrary and
capricious change to these programs.
I thank the subcommittee for the opportunity to provide written
testimony on behalf of the National Tribal Contract Support Cost
Coalition concerning the fiscal year 2017 budget.
______
Prepared Statement of the National Trust for Historic Preservation
Madame Chairman, Senator Udall, and members of the subcommittee, I
appreciate this opportunity to present the National Trust for Historic
Preservation's recommendations for fiscal year 2017 appropriations. My
name is Tom Cassidy and I am the Director of Government Relations and
Policy. The National Trust is a privately-funded nonprofit organization
chartered by Congress in 1949. We work to save America's historic
places to enrich our future.
The Nation faces a challenging fiscal environment. The National
Trust recognizes there is a need for fiscal restraint and cost-
effective Federal investments. However, we do not believe that
preservation, conservation and recreation programs should suffer from
disproportionate funding reductions. We look forward to working with
you, Madame Chairman, as you address the ongoing needs for investments
to sustain our Nation's rich heritage of cultural and historic
resources that generate lasting economic vitality for communities
throughout the Nation.
Historic Preservation Fund.--The Historic Preservation Fund (HPF)
is the principal source of funding to implement the Nation's historic
preservation programs. Like the Land and Water Conservation Fund, its
dedicated revenues are generated from oil and gas development on the
Outer Continental Shelf.
The National Park Service distributes HPF grants that are matched
by State Historic Preservation Offices (SHPOs) and Tribal Historic
Preservation Offices (THPOs). Inadequate HPF funding limits support for
preservation activities such as survey, nomination of properties to the
National Register of Historic Places, public education, project review
required by the National Historic Preservation Act and for the Federal
Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit (HTC). The HTC is the largest
Federal investment in historic preservation. It has catalyzed the
rehabilitation of more than 41250 buildings. Since its creation more
than 30 years ago, the HTC has created 2.5 million jobs and leveraged
more than $117.6 billion in private investment.
The National Trust applauds the administration's request of $87.41M
for the HPF. Most of the increase over fiscal year 2016 enacted is
attributable to the $25 million for competitive grants to preserve the
sites and stories of the Civil Rights movement and $3 million for
grants to Historically Black Colleges and Universities. In addition,
the administration requested an additional $2 million over fiscal year
2016 enacted for grants to Tribal Historic Preservation Officers. There
are presently 158 THPOs recognized by NPS--a dramatic increase from the
12 tribes who received funding in fiscal year 1996, the first year of
THPO funding. The National Trust enthusiastically endorses these well-
deserved increases for preservation activities. The request would also
continue for a fourth year the successful $500,000 competitive grants
program for the survey and nomination of properties associated with
communities currently underrepresented in the National Register of
Historic Places and National Historic Landmarks. Recent studies have
documented that less than 8 percent of such listings identify
culturally diverse properties.
However, the National Trust is disappointed that the administration
did not request any funding increase to the SHPOs. We will work with
the preservation community to urge the appropriations subommittee to
provide much needed increases for SHPOs to ensure that they can provide
essential preservation services to businesses and communities
throughout the Nation.
National Park Service: Operation of the National Park System and
Cultural Resources Stewardship.--The National Park Service (NPS) is
responsible for 411 units of the National Park System ranging from the
battlefields where our ancestors fought and died to places that stir
the soul like the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, the gateway for
millions of new Americans. Three-quarters of our parks were created to
protect our most important historic and cultural resources. Over the
past 20 years, more than 40 new parks have been added to the park
system, many of which preserve historic places and themes that have
been underrepresented within the system.
We support the President's budget proposal of $154 million above
the fiscal year 2016 enacted level for National Park Service
Operations. The increase includes several Centennial Initiative
requests of great importance to the preservation community, including
increases of $49.2 million for repair and rehabilitation projects,
$46.6 million for cyclic maintenance, and $2 million for the Cultural
Resource Challenge.
Repair and Rehabilitation.--The Repair and Rehabilitation Program
is a part of the overall service wide deferred maintenance strategy
that directs funds to high priority mission critical and mission
dependent assets with deferred maintenance projects less than $1
million. Approximately $4.5 billion of the overall deferred maintenance
backlog is for the 27,000 properties listed on the National Register of
Historic Places within National Park units. The deferred maintenance
backlog on these properties is the result of repair and rehabilitation
maintenance not being performed in a timely manner.
Cyclic Maintenance.--Investing in cyclic maintenance required to
maintain historic structures is essential to abate the continued growth
of the deferred maintenance backlog. The kind of projects addressed by
cyclic maintenance funding includes roofing of buildings, re-pointing
masonry walls, painting, sealing and stabilizing archaeological sites.
Leasing Historic Structures in National Parks.--In recent years,
the Committee has repeatedly included report language encouraging the
NPS to utilize leases as a means to mitigate the main The Service
continues to move slowly to implement the policy changes he Service is
slow to implement the policy changes necessary to facilitate more
leasing and catalyze even broader use of this important authority. We
recommend that the subcommittee request the NPS to report on its
actions to expand this public-private approach to bring private
investment into the parks.
Visitor Services: New Responsibilities and Critical Needs.--We
support the requested $3.2 million increase to support the operations
of newly established units of the National Park System including the
recently established Pullman National Monument in Illinois and
Honouliuli National Monument in Hawaii. The requested increase would
also support the critical operating needs of parks with Civil Rights
stories, including the Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail and
the Carter G. Woodson Home National Historic Site.
Visitor Services: Centennial Initiatives, Every Kid in a Park.--We
support the administration's ongoing efforts to increase the exposure
of our national park to young people, particularly those from
underserved communities, through the Every Kid in a Park campaign.
As part of our commitment, and assist the NPS reduce the
maintenance backlog of historic properties, the National Trust launched
the HOPE (Hands-On Preservation Experience) Crew initiative in 2014 to
train young adults in preservation skills while helping protect and
restore historic sites. Youth and veterans are trained in the
preservation skills necessary to perform preservation work in the parks
and other Federal lands through a cooperative agreement between the
NPS, other Federal land management agencies, and several NGOs including
the Student Conservation Association and The Corps Network. In the
first 2 years of the program, HOPE Crew has engaged over 300
Corpsmembers (youth and veteran), spent 60,000 hours completing 67
projects and supporting over 8 million dollars of preservation work,
including rehabilitating structures at Martin Luther King, Jr. National
Historic Site, Little Big Horn Battlefield National Monument, Golden
Gate National Recreation Area, and Shenandoah National Park. Projects
like these help reduce the maintenance backlog while also providing job
skills and education for the next generation of stewards of America's
most important historic sites.
National Park Service: Construction.--We support the requested
increase of $37 million over fiscal year 2016 enacted for the Line Item
Construction program. This account addresses the deferred maintenance
for the NPS' highest priority non-transportation assets with projects
larger than $1 million. We also support the President's request that
this fund be used for the repair and stabilization of important
historic structures as opposed to new construction. Of the 6,735
highest priority non-transportation assets approximately 4,000 have
deferred maintenance needs. Examples of these needs include critical
health and safety issues in the lobby of the Many Glacier Hotel in
Glacier National Park; the rehabilitation of historic cottages, and
reroofing Ebenezer Church and seven historic houses at Martin Luther
King, Jr. National Historic Site; and the rehabilitation of the Lincoln
Memorial to provide accessible spaces, restrooms and pathways.
National Park Service: National Heritage Areas.--We recommend
funding for National Heritage Areas (NHAs) at the fiscal year 2016
enacted level or higher. The administration's repeated proposals to
reduce NHA funding, justified as ``encouraging self-sufficiency,''
would severely impair the sustainability of the program and most likely
have the exact opposite effect by rendering many NHAs not self-
sufficient, but rather unable to function. National Park Service
Director Jon Jarvis has described National Heritage Areas as ``places
where small investments pay huge dividends.'' We agree.
National Park Service: Centennial Challenge.--We support the $35
million Centennial Challenge to provide dedicated Federal funding to
match donations for signature National Park Service projects and
programs. This funding will allow the NPS to leverage private
contributions to enhance visitor services and improve cultural and
natural resources across the parks in the Service.
Bureau of Land Management: Cultural Resources Management.--The BLM
oversees the largest, most diverse and scientifically important
collection of historic and cultural resources on our Nation's public
lands as well as the museum collections and data associated with them,
including 10 million artifacts and specimens, 366,232 documented
cultural sites, 3,965 monitored archaeological sites, 431 maintained
historic structures and 108 properties listed on the National Register
of Historic Places. This program funds National Historic Preservation
Act (NHPA) Section 106 review of 13,000 land use proposals each year,
compliance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation
Act and Government-to-Government consultation with Indian Tribes and
Alaska Native Governments. Since fiscal year 2003 this program has lost
19 FTEs while the demand for Section 106 compliance has remained even
or increased. The loss of personnel has diminished the BLM's ability to
review land proposals like transmission lines, energy development and
recreation permits.
We support the administration's fiscal year 2017 request of $17.3M,
a modest increase of $1.2M above fiscal year 2016 enacted. The
increased support is necessary to fulfill BLM's statutory requirements
for Section 106 reviews of land use proposals, and NHPA's Section 110
requirements for inventory and protection cultural resources. The
increase would support 60 on-the-ground surveys of sensitive areas,
site protection and stabilization projects for priority sites
vulnerable to unauthorized activities and damage due to fire, erosion
and changing water levels. Projects will also update predictive
modeling and data analysis to enhance the BLM's ability to address
large-scale, cross jurisdictional land-use projects.
Bureau of Land Management: National Landscape Conservation
System.--The Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) National Landscape
Conservation System (National Conservation Lands) includes 31 million
acres of congressionally and presidentially designated lands, including
National Monuments, National Conservation Areas, Wilderness, Wilderness
Study Areas, National Scenic and Historic Trails, and Wild and Scenic
Rivers.
As the Nation's newest system of protected lands, the National
Conservation Lands encompass some of our country's most significant
historic and cultural resources, yet the BLM's ability to steward these
resources is undermined by insufficient funding. The National
Conservation Lands are just one-tenth of BLM managed lands but they
host one-third of all BLM's visitors. Without sufficient funding, the
BLM struggles to complete essential resource protection, such as
signing trails, inventorying and protecting cultural sites from looting
and vandalism.
We support the administration's fiscal year 2017 request of $83.1
million, a $14 million increase over fiscal year 2016 enacted, in order
to prevent critical damage to the resources found in these areas,
ensure proper management and provide for a quality visitor experience.
This funding level would enable BLM to hire essential management and
law enforcement staff, monitor and protect natural and cultural
resources, close unauthorized routes that damage fragile cultural sites
and undertake needed ecosystem and species restoration projects.
Land and Water Conservation Fund.--The National Trust supports
robust funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund. Many of the
Nation's most significant historic and cultural landscapes have been
permanently protected through LWCF investments, including Martin Luther
King Jr. National Historic Site, Canyons of the Ancients National
Monument and Harpers Ferry National Historic Park. Culturally
significant projects in the fiscal year 2017 request include Aqua Fria
National Monument (Arizona), Galisteo Basin ACEC (New Mexico), Palo
Alto Battlefield National Historical Park (Texas), Hawaii Volcanoes
National Park (Hawaii), Appalachian Trail (West Virginia), Lewis &
Clark National Historic Park (Oregon/Washington) and the Captain John
Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail (District of Columbia/
Delaware/Maryland/Virginia). We strongly support the administration's
request for the American Battlefield Protection Program Grants.
Thank you for the opportunity to present the National Trust's
recommendations for the fiscal year 2017 Interior, Environment and
Related Agencies appropriations bill.
______
Prepared Statement of the National Wildlife Refuge Association
Chair Murkowski, Ranking Member Udall, and members of the
subcommittee:
On behalf of the National Wildlife Refuge Association and its
membership of representatives from Refuge Friends organizations and
concerned citizens, thank you for your support for the National
Wildlife Refuge System (NWRS), particularly for the funding increase
for fiscal year 2016. We appreciate the opportunity to offer comments
on the fiscal year 2017 Interior appropriations bill and respectfully
request:
--$506.6 million for the Operations and Maintenance (O&M) accounts of
the NWRS, including $5 million for the Pacific Marine
Monuments;
--$900 million for the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), with
$150 million allocated for the FWS, including these high
priority requests:
--$10 million for Everglades Headwaters NWR and Conservation Area
(Florida);
--$5 million for Silvio O. Conte NFWR (Connecticut, New Hampshire,
Vermont, Massachusetts);
--$3 million for Cache River NWR (Arizona);
--$2 million for Bear River Watershed Conservation Area (Wyoming,
Idaho, Utah);
--$2 million for Blackwater NWR (Maryland);
--$1.4 million for Balcones Canyonlands NWR (Texas);
--$2 million for Clark River NWR (Kentucky);
--$6.2 million for Hakalau Forest NWR (Hawaii); and
--$8 million for the Dakota Grasslands Conservation Area (North
Dakota, South Dakota);
--$50 million for the Refuge Fund;
--$75 million for the FWS Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program;
--$15 million for the FWS Coastal Program;
--$60 million for FWS for Preparedness and Hazardous Fuels Reduction
(under DOI);
--$70 million for the State and Tribal Wildlife Grants Program;
--$47.6 million for the North American Wetlands Conservation Fund;
--$6 million for the Neotropical Migratory Bird Fund; and
--$13 million for the Multinational Species Conservation Fund.
We understand our Nation's challenging fiscal constraints, but
cutting funding to programs that are economic drivers and job creators
in local communities only exacerbates an already difficult situation.
For example, the NWRS averages almost $5 in economic return for every
$1 appropriated. Budgets have not kept pace with rising costs, and the
gap between the funding needed to maintain these programs and the
funding appropriated has widened dramatically.
Now, with the expansion of the Pacific Remote Islands Marine
National Monument, the Refuge System is responsible for over half a
billion acres of land and water and therefore must have adequate
funding to keep pace with this newly expanded area of responsibility.
The Service is also expanding their outreach by working to make
conservation more accessible to the American public via urban refuges
and urban partnerships. To begin bridging these gaps, the Refuge
Association urges Congress to fund these critical programs that
leverage Federal dollars and serve as economic drivers.
national wildlife refuge system--operations & maintenance
The Refuge Association chairs the Cooperative Alliance for Refuge
Enhancement (CARE), a diverse coalition of 23 sporting, conservation,
and scientific organizations representing more than 16 million
Americans that supports increased funding for the Refuge System. CARE
estimates the NWRS needs at least $900 million annually to manage its
150 million acres and 418 million acres of national marine monuments,
yet it is currently funded at roughly half that amount--at less than $1
per acre. The Refuge System cannot fulfill its obligation to the
American public, our wildlife, and 48.5 million annual visitors without
increases in maintenance and operation funds.
Funding for the Refuge System has declined substantially from a
funding level of $503 million in fiscal year 2010 to its current $481
million--$77 million below what it needs to keep pace with inflation
and salary increases. This has forced the Service to cut back on
programs and create efficiencies whenever possible. Because of these
new efficiencies, the Service has cut its deferred maintenance backlog
in half from $2.7 billion to $1.17 billion as of the end of fiscal year
2015. But budget cuts also led to the loss of 500 positions since
fiscal year 2011 and thus an increase in the operations backlog, now at
$735 million. Because most refuge lands and waters are highly managed,
this deterioration in staffing has had a dramatic impact resulting in
significant declines in habitat protection and management, hunting,
fishing, volunteerism and scientific research.
For instance, visitor services staff has declined by 15 percent,
forcing a reduction in public programs and hours of operation, yet
there is more demand than ever for recreational opportunities on
refuges. Hunting visits are up 2 percent since fiscal year 2011 and
fishing visits are down 5 percent, but photography participation is up
52 percent and auto tour visits are up 14 percent. Visitation to all
refuges since fiscal year 2011 has increased by 9 percent. Overall,
more people are looking to recreate on wildlife refuges, but fewer
staff is available to provide those opportunities.
Reductions in visitor services can be extremely troubling to
constituencies who want to visit. At Tualatin NWR in Oregon,
elimination of the visitor services position cut all teacher training
workshops and community outreach. Prior to this loss, over 100 teachers
were trained each year at the refuge. Patuxent Research Refuge in
Maryland--the refuge closest to the Nation's capital --has closed its
visitor's center every Thursday due to budget shortfalls, reduced
programs for schools, and lost half its visitor services staff.
Equally troubling is a 15 percent drop in the number of volunteers
since fiscal year 2011. At a time when record numbers of Americans are
retiring and have the capability to give back, the Service's ability to
oversee their efforts has been curtailed. Volunteers provide an
additional 20 percent of work on our national wildlife refuges, yet
they are being turned away when the System needs them the most.
During these years of challenging budgets, the Refuge System's
potential to drive local economies and create jobs is of paramount
importance. Banking On Nature, a report issued by the FWS in 2013,
shows that even during the worst recession since the Great Depression,
the Refuge System saw economic output in local communities increase 20
percent to $2.4 billion, visitation increase 30 percent to 46.5
million, an average return on investment increase of 22 percent to
$4.87 for every $1 appropriated, and supported jobs increase 23 percent
to 35,000.
Not included within the request of $506.6 million is the need for
an additional $6 million to recoup costs related to the armed
occupation of the Malheur NWR in Oregon. For 40 days this winter, armed
occupiers took over the refuge, causing injury to infrastructure and
habitat. This funding includes costs already incurred by the Service
for additional law enforcement as well as the cost to repair damages in
order to open the refuge. Without these additional funds, all costs
will come out of the Service's operating budget, reducing the amount
available to the rest of the System.
In addition, invasive species control is critically required at the
Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee NWR in Florida. This refuge is owned by
the State of Florida and managed by the Service, and invasive weeds
have degraded much of the 230 square mile refuge. $5 million annually
is required each year for 5 years to remove invasive species, plus an
additional $3 million each year thereafter to maintain invasive species
control.
The Refuge Association appreciates the subcommittee's consideration
of our request of $506.6 million for fiscal year 2017 for National
Wildlife Refuge System Operations and Maintenance. We additionally
request $6 million for costs related to the Malheur NWR occupation and
$5 million for invasive species control at the Arthur R. Marshall
Loxahatchee NWR.
strategic growth--land and water conservation fund (lwcf)
The Land and Water Conservation Fund is an essential tool for
protecting the integrity of the Refuge System and is the primary
funding source for land and conservation easement acquisition by
Federal land agencies. Some in Congress have argued that public lands
like the Refuge System can't manage what they have and thus, all land
acquisition should end. However, in the past 20 years, lands contained
within the Refuge System have only grown by 5.6 percent, while at the
same time, visitation has grown by 30 percent. The real cause of rising
operations and maintenance costs is that the public is hungry for more
opportunities to recreate.
Increasingly, LWCF is being used to conserve working lands and
local culture through the acquisition of easements that secure
conservation protection while leaving the land in private ownership and
on the tax rolls. Easements are powerful tools that foster public-
private partnerships with ranchers, farmers and foresters to conserve
wildlife, habitat and a uniquely American way of life. Innovative
landscape-scale initiatives using easements have broad community and
State support in New England's Connecticut River Watershed, the
Everglades Headwaters, the Bear River Watershed, and the Dakota
Grasslands. These iconic landscapes remain privately managed,
generating tax income for local communities, securing our Nation's
food, and balancing resource use and resource protection for wildlife.
In many cases, however, land acquisition is required to conserve
intact and functional natural habitat. The Refuge System is responsible
for safeguarding population levels of a range of species, including
many that require specific habitat conditions, such as beaches for sea
turtles and isolated springs for endemic desert fish. Others require
multiple habitat types during their life cycle. By acquiring critical
habitat areas and linking conserved lands, the Refuge System enhances
the integrity of the System and strengthens our network of habitat to
give wildlife space and time to respond to changes, whether from
climate or changing land use patterns.
The Refuge Association calls on Congress to fund LWCF at $900
million per year, with $150 million provided in fiscal year 2017 to the
USFWS for conservation easements and refuge in-holdings, including the
projects enumerated at the beginning of this statement and those
advocated by Refuge Friends.
commitment to refuge communities--refuge fund
The Refuge System uses net income derived from permits and timber
harvests to make payments to local communities to offset property tax
revenue lost when the federally acquired lands are removed from local
tax rolls. The System relies on congressional appropriations to the
Refuge Fund to compensate for the shortfall between revenues and tax
replacement obligations. However, declining revenues and lack of
appropriations have resulted in the Service paying less than 50 percent
of its tax-offset obligations since 2001. The negative impact on local
communities is felt even more starkly in difficult economic times and
reduced funding threatens the partnerships that are so important for
successful conservation.
The Refuge Association requests $50 million for the Refuge Fund. We
also call for a review of the Refuge Revenue Sharing Act of 1935 as
amended, and consideration of conversion to a Payment-in-Lieu of Taxes
(PILT) program to be consistent with other Federal land management
agencies and to provide Refuge communities with more equitable
payments.
partnerships--partners for fish and wildlife program (partners program)
With 75 percent of all fish and wildlife species dependent upon
private lands for their survival, the Partners Program is one of the
most powerful tools for protecting wildlife where it lives. By building
effective partnerships between public agencies and private landowners
to conserve America's expansive working landscapes, the Partners
Program has implemented nearly 29,000 restoration projects in the past
25 years, restoring over one million acres of wetlands, three million
acres of uplands, and 11,000 miles of streams. The Partners Program
leverages Federal dollars, generating nearly $16 in economic return for
every $1 appropriated for projects.
The Partners Program is playing a key role in conserving greater
sage-grouse habitat in the intermountain west. To this end, we request
an additional $78 million for the Interior agencies to implement
sagebrush steppe habitat conservation and monitoring efforts that will
leverage $300 million in Department of Agriculture investments.
The Refuge Association and the landowner-led Partners for
Conservation request $75 million for fiscal year 2017. Such a funding
level would result in an additional $400 million worth of conservation
across the Nation.
We believe that with sound conservation policy, adequate funding,
and the power of more than 40,000 dedicated volunteers, the Refuge
System can fulfill its mission to provide wildlife dependent recreation
for Americans and protect the habitat for more than 700 species of
birds, 220 species of mammals, 250 reptile and amphibian species and
more than 1,000 species of fish.
We look forward to working with Congress in 2016 to accomplish this
goal and appreciate your consideration of our requests. Please let our
staff know if you have any questions.
______
Prepared Statement of the Nature Conservancy
Chairman Murkowski, Ranking Member Udall and members of the
subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to submit recommendations
for fiscal year 2017 appropriations. The Nature Conservancy is an
international, non-profit conservation organization working around the
world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and
people. Our mission is to conserve the lands and waters upon which all
life depends.
As we enter the fiscal year 2017 budget cycle and another year of a
challenging fiscal environment, the Conservancy continues to recognize
the need for fiscal austerity. The Conservancy also wishes to thank
this subcommittee for the final fiscal year 2016 funding levels for
Department of Interior conservation programs. Our budget
recommendations this year reflect a balanced approach with funding
levels consistent in most cases with fiscal year 2016 funding levels
or, in rare instances, reflecting specific program needs. Of particular
note, we wish to work with this subcommittee and the authorizing
committees on identifying permanent funding solutions for wildfire
funding, the Land and Water Conservation Fund, the Payment in Lieu of
Taxes Program and Secure Rural Schools. The Conservancy is concerned
about the increasing impacts of wildfire suppression funding on
Interior funding levels and urges the subcommittee to adopt a
bipartisan fire funding solution. The Interior Bureaus (and USDA Forest
Service) need a stable and efficient budgeting process that provides
firefighters with the necessary upfront resources to address wildfire
disasters, while also providing the stability to perform activities
that restore forests and reduce fire risk and costs to communities. A
solution to the current fire funding problem must include all three of
the following: (1) accesses disaster funding, (2) minimizes impacts
from transfers/borrowing, and (3) addresses the increasing costs of
suppression over time. We also strongly support the emphasis on funding
for sage grouse conservation in the fiscal year 2017 budget request.
Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF).--The fiscal year 2017
President's budget again proposes the establishment of a dedicated
source of long-term funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund.
In the proposal, the President's budget includes $475 million for LWCF
activities through ``current authority'' or discretionary
appropriations and then an additional $425 million in ``permanent
authority'' or mandatory funding for LWCF. The budget then proposes to
reach the $900 million funding level in fiscal year 2017 through this
blend of current and permanent funding. The Conservancy supports this
phased shift to mandatory funding for the LWCF Program. However,
consistent with prior years and as noted above, we believe the
administration must work closely with the relevant appropriations and
authorizing committees to move this proposal forward. Additionally, the
Conservancy supports the balanced approach in the budget on both
``core'' and ``collaborative'' LWCF projects. Projects in the Upper Rio
Grande landscape in Colorado and New Mexico, Rivers of the Chesapeake
in Maryland and Virginia, and the Island Forests at Risk landscapes of
Hawaii will benefit greatly from the collaborative emphasis. Our core
priorities this year include the Silvio O. Conte NFWR (New Hampshire/
Vermont/Connecticut/Massachusetts) and the working ranches and
agricultural production areas of Florida's Everglades Headwaters NWR &
Conservation Area, North Dakota and South Dakota's Dakota Grasslands
Conservation Area, Utah, Idaho and Wyoming's Bear River Watershed
Conservation Area, Kansas's Flint Hills Legacy Conservation Area and
Montana and Washington's Great Western Checkerboard.
Forest Legacy.--We support a minimum of $62 million for the Forest
Legacy Program in current discretionary funding and the $38 million in
permanent, mandatory funding (with our aforementioned caveats),
totaling $100 million for Forest Legacy Programs.
Endangered Species.--The Conservancy supports a funding level of at
least $53 million for the Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation
Fund (CESCF), and also requests the subcommittee give consideration to
the additional fiscal year 2017 President's budget request for
permanent funding per our earlier request for negotiations to occur
between the administration and relevant congressional committees on a
path forward for this funding. We also request your continuing support
for Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) funding, specifically HCP Land
Acquisition Grants where the need has greatly outpaced available
resources in recent years.
Wildlife Planning.--The Conservancy continues to support the
Western Governors' Association's (WGA) and this subcommittee's efforts
to recommend Federal land management agencies utilize State fish and
wildlife data and analyses to inform the land use, land planning and
related natural resource decisions of those agencies. As an example of
strong State-led data systems, WGA has partnered in recent years with
State wildlife agencies and the Federal Government to develop statewide
GIS mapping tools to identify crucial wildlife habitat and migratory
corridors. These geospatial mapping tools, which provide access to
credible, broad-scale scientific data--compiled and analyzed by the
States--are designed to reduce conflicts and surprises while ensuring
wildlife values are better incorporated into land use planning,
particularly for large-scale linear projects.
State and Tribal Wildlife Grants.--The Conservancy supports the
President's fiscal year 2017 funding request of $67 million for this
program. Strong Federal investments are essential to ensure strategic
actions are undertaken by State, tribal and Federal agencies and the
conservation community to conserve wildlife populations and their
habitats and to prevent species from being listed as threatened or
endangered.
Wildlife Conservation Programs.--The variety of wildlife
conservation programs conducted by the US Fish and Wildlife Service
(FWS) continue a long and successful tradition of supporting
collaborative conservation in the U.S. and internationally. We urge the
subcommittee to fund the President's request for such established and
successful programs as the North American Wetlands Conservation Act
(NAWCA), Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Fund (NMBCA), and the
FWS Coastal Program. We support the President's request for the
Migratory Bird Joint Ventures and the FWS Migratory Bird Management
Program. For the latter, we are particularly supportive of FWS' efforts
at developing updated eagle permitting regulations which will both
support the development of renewable energy in our country and
contribute to sustainable and growing populations of these iconic North
American species. We support the President's fiscal year 2017 request
for the Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program and the requested
funding for Cooperative Landscape Conservation and Adaptive Science at
$17.87 million. The latter will help support DOI's overall commitment
to Landscape Conservation Cooperatives and will contribute to
collaborative problem solving for some of our Nation's most challenging
issues. We also request strong funding this year for the National Fish
Habitat Initiative.
International Programs.--The international conservation programs
appropriated annually within the Department of Interior are relatively
small but are effective and widely respected. They encompass the U.S.
Fish & Wildlife Service's (FWS) Multinational Species Conservation
Funds, the FWS Wildlife Without Borders regional and global programs,
and the U.S. National Park Service International Program. We urge that
fiscal year 2017 levels for these programs remain equivalent to fiscal
year 2016 levels at a minimum.
National Wildlife Refuge System.--The Conservancy supports the
President's budget request of $506.6 million for the Refuge System's
Operations and Maintenance accounts. Found in every U.S. State and
Territory, national wildlife refuges conserve a diversity of America's
environmentally sensitive and economically vital ecosystems, including
oceans, coasts, wetlands, deserts, tundra, prairie, and forests. This
represents the funding necessary to maintain management capabilities
for the Refuge System.
DOI Wildland Fire Management.--The Wildfire Disaster Funding Act
(WDFA) must be approved prior to an fiscal year 2017 appropriations
package to adequately fund suppression and provide flexibility for
activities that reduce fire risk and long-term suppression costs in
fiscal year 2017. The Conservancy greatly appreciates the
subcommittee's support of this much-needed fire funding fix.
Hazardous Fuels and Restoration.--Strategic, proactive hazardous
fuels treatments have proven safer and more cost-effective in reducing
risks to communities and forests by removing overgrown brush and trees,
leaving forests in a more natural condition resilient to wildfires.
Additionally, drought conditions increase the need for investment in
this program. The Conservancy recommends investing in DOI's Hazardous
Fuels Program at levels of $178 million, in addition to investing $30
million into the new Resilient Landscapes program designed to restore
and maintain fire adapted landscapes and habitats and repeating the
subcommittee's fiscal year 2012 instructions for allocating funds to
priority landscapes in both WUI and wildland settings.
Sage Grouse Conservation.--This budget requests additional
investment to provide needed resources for ongoing efforts to restore
and conserve sagebrush habitat and the greater sage-grouse across
Federal, State, tribal and private lands. We support the President's
budget request for $90 million for sage-grouse conservation at Interior
agencies ($79 million--BLM, $4 million--FWS, $4.2 million--USGS and
$2.8 million--WFM). The additional budgetary support is needed to
implement on-the-ground projects and monitor habitat treatments,
address rangeland fire and broader wildland fire prevention,
suppression and restoration efforts, and support the partnership and
science necessary for effective conservation. The BLM is facing perhaps
the single most challenging effort in its history in conserving key
sagebrush habitat, addressing identified threats to sage-grouse and
promoting sustainable economic development across some 165 million
acres in coordination with State and local managers and private land
owners. Additional resources for the FWS will be used, inter alia, for
developing voluntary prelisting conservation agreements with private
landowners who are ready and willing to undertake critical conservation
work for the sagebrush steppe ecosystem on large blocks of private
lands.
BLM Landscape Approaches to Land Management and Renewable Energy
Development.--The Conservancy supports the administration's recommended
fiscal year 2017 funding for BLM's initiatives to implement landscape
approaches to land management which include Rapid Ecoregional
Assessments, Resource Management Planning and the Planning 2.0
initiative, Regional Mitigation Planning, coordination with LCCs, and
the Assessment, Inventory, and Monitoring (AIM) Strategy. Many BLM
programs contribute to these cross-cutting initiatives including:
National Landscape Conservation System--($50.65 million); Resource
Management Planning program ($65.2 million); Wildlife and Fisheries
management ($108.7 million request); and Threatened & Endangered
species management ($21.6 million request). Additionally, the
Conservancy supports continued funding for BLM's renewable energy
development program at $29 million which includes implementation of the
Western Solar Energy Program. Collectively, these efforts will help BLM
manage its lands efficiently and effectively for energy development,
species and habitat conservation, recreation, and other uses to
maximize the public benefit from these lands.
Environmental Protection Agency.--EPA's ``geographic'' programs
including the Chesapeake Bay, Great Lakes, Gulf of Mexico, Puget Sound
and Mississippi River programs make a significant contribution to
protecting habitat and water quality in the large landscapes where they
work. The Conservancy urges the subcommittee to continue strong funding
for these programs.
Colorado River Basin Recovery Programs.--The Upper Colorado River
Endangered Fish Recovery Program and San Juan River Basin Recovery
Implementation Program take a balanced approach to recovering four
endangered fish species in the Colorado River basin. The Upper Colorado
and San Juan recovery programs are highly successful collaborative
conservation partnerships involving the States of New Mexico, Colorado,
Utah, and Wyoming, as well as Indian tribes, Federal agencies, and
water, power and environmental interests. These programs provide
critically important Endangered Species Act (ESA) compliance for over
2,450 Federal, tribal, State, and private water projects across the
Upper Colorado River Basin. Through these efforts, water use and
development has continued in growing western communities in full
compliance with the ESA, State water and wildlife law, and interstate
compacts. Implementation of the ESA has been greatly streamlined for
Federal agencies, tribes and water users. The Conservancy supports the
President's fiscal year 2017 Budget request of $1.532 million for FWS
for the Colorado River Basin recovery programs, including recovery
funds for both the Upper Colorado River Endangered Fish Recovery
Program and San Juan River Basin Recovery Implementation Program, as
well as fish hatchery needs associated with the recovery plans.
Thank you for the opportunity to submit the Nature Conservancy's
recommendations for the fiscal year 2017 Interior, Environment and
Related Agencies Appropriations bill.
______
Prepared Statement of the Nature Conservancy
usda forest service
Thank you Chairman Murkowski, Ranking Member Udall, and members of
the subcommittee for the opportunity to submit recommendations for
fiscal year 2017 appropriations. The Nature Conservancy is an
international non-profit conservation organization whose mission is to
conserve the lands and waters upon which all life depends.
America's public forests have tremendous national importance but
their health puts them at severe risk unless we invest in proper
stewardship and forestry. America's forests store and filter more than
half of our Nation's water supply, provide jobs to nearly 1 million
forest product workers, generate $13.6 billion in recreation based
economic activity, are habitat to thousands of forest-dependent
wildlife and plant species, offer a million square miles to sportsmen
and families for outdoor recreation, and are a major carbon sink that
sequester 15 percent of all fossil fuel emissions in the United States.
However megafires, pests, drought, and sprawl place forests at
great risk; approximately 62 million acres are in immediate need of
urgent restoration to return forests to healthier conditions--and that
is on national forests alone. Unfortunately, forest restoration is
significantly obstructed by ballooning fire suppression costs.
Again in fiscal year 2015, the 10-year average was not enough to
meet Forest Service suppression needs, forcing the agency to transfer
$700 million from non-suppression accounts to make up for the
shortfall. The current wildfire suppression funding model and cycle of
transfers and repayments has negatively impacted the ability to
implement forest management, among many other activities. Additionally,
the increasing 10-year average continues to constrain the agency's
relatively flat budget, which is why we are thankful to the
subcommittee for both the full fiscal year 2015 transfer repayment and
increased suppression funding in fiscal year 2016.
The Conservancy understands this increased suppression funding
level is not guaranteed every year. The Department of the Interior and
Forest Service need a long-term fire funding solution that would result
in stable and predictable budgets. We respectfully request a bipartisan
fire funding solution be included in an appropriations package that
would (1) access disaster funding, (2) minimize transfers, and (3)
address the continued erosion of agency budgets over time, with the
goal of reinvesting in key programs that would restore forests to
healthier conditions.
Investing in the following USDA Forest Service programs is critical
to meeting forest restoration goals:
Increase funding for Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration
(CFLR) to $60 million.--The CFLR program is demonstrating that
collaboratively developed forest restoration plans can be implemented
at a large scale with benefits for people and the forest. This is a
model approach that brings citizens, local government and Federal staff
together to determine effective management that is locally appropriate
and provides jobs, sustains rural economies, reduces the risk of
damaging fires, addresses invasive species, improves wildlife habitat,
and decommissions unused, eroding roads. The funding increase will
guarantee the existing 23 successful projects can continue, and
additional critical projects across America can begin.
Fund the Hazardous Fuels programs at no less than $479 million (and
$178 million for Fuels Treatment under the Department of the
Interior).--Strategic, proactive hazardous fuels treatments have proven
safer and more cost-effective in reducing risks to communities and
forests by removing overgrown brush and trees, leaving forests in a
more natural condition resilient to wildfires. Drought conditions
increase the need for investments in this program to restore and
maintain fire adapted landscapes and habitats.
The Conservancy additionally recommends funding levels that support
critical restoration programs on national forests. Effective and
durable restoration requires integrated approaches that address threats
and improve forest health and habitat values while supporting forest-
dependent communities:
--Wildlife & Fisheries Habitat Management maintained at a $140
million funding level to restore, recover, and maintain
wildlife and fish and their habitats on all national forests
and grasslands.
--Vegetation & Watershed Management funded at $185 million to promote
restoration through watershed treatment activities, invasive
plant species control, and reforestation of areas impacted by
wildfire and other natural events.
--Legacy Road and Trail Remediation (LRT) maintained at $50 million
to restore river and stream water quality by fixing or removing
eroding roads, while providing construction jobs, supporting
vital sportsmen opportunities, and reducing flooding risks from
future extreme water flow events.
--Land Management Planning, Inventory and Monitoring funded at $201
million, including consolidating the two previously separate
budget items. Consolidation will be more efficient for land
managers, while supporting the collaborative, community and
science based planning featured by the Forest Service 2012
Forest Planning regulation.
Fund Forest Health programs at a total of $111 million ($63 million
for Federal and $48 million for Cooperative).--Forest health programs
work to protect forests by minimizing the impacts caused by invasive
species. Across the Nation large-scale, non-native insect, disease, and
invasive plant outbreaks are damaging forest health. These programs
help reduce invasions of non-native pests that destroy iconic American
trees such as ash, hemlock, and California oaks.
Fund State Fire Assistance (SFA) at $86 million.--SFA provides aid
to communities for fuels treatments, firefighter capacity building,
fire prevention education, and pre-fire planning. The SFA program is an
important complement to the Hazardous Fuels program for Federal lands.
Fund Landscape Scale Restoration (LSR) at $24 million.--Through
LSR, non-Federal lands have access for competitively selected projects
that leverage State funding, restore forests of national importance,
and, whenever possible, complement CFLR and other landscape scale
restoration efforts.
Fund Forest & Rangeland Research at $293 million.--Forest and
Rangeland Research offers scientific basis for policies that improve
the health and quality of urban and rural communities. This program is
vital for the long-term health and utility of our American forests and
rivers, particularly as we face an uncertain climatic future.
Maintain funding for the Joint Fire Science Program at $7 million
and maintain funding under Wildland Fire Management (and $6 million
under the Department of the Interior).--This small, yet key, program
has proven a great success in supporting practical science that reduces
fire risk and enhances economic, ecological, and social outcomes
nationwide.
Fund Forest Legacy at a minimum of $62 million for the Forest
Legacy Program in current discretionary funding and $38 million in
permanent, mandatory totaling $100 million.--The Forest Legacy program,
in partnership with States, supports efforts to acquire conservation
easements and fee simple interests on privately owned forest lands from
willing sellers. These acquisitions leverage non-Federal dollars and
support long-term sustainable forestry while protecting other
ecological, watershed and recreational values for local communities at
risk of development or conversation to other uses.
[This statement was submitted by Cecilia Clavet, Senior Policy
Advisor.]
______
Prepared Statement of the Nez Perce Tribe
Honorable Chairman and members of the subcommittee, as a member of
the Nez Perce Tribal Executive Committee, I would like to thank you for
the opportunity to provide testimony on behalf of the Nez Perce Tribe
to this subcommittee as it evaluates and prioritizes the appropriations
for IHS, BIA, EPA, the Forest Service and the Fish and Wildlife Service
in relation to the needs of tribal nations for fiscal year 2017.
First, on behalf of the Nez Perce Tribe, I want to acknowledge and
thank this subcommittee for your efforts on a longstanding bipartisan
basis to understand the needs of Indian Country and advocate for
increased appropriations to the many programs in your jurisdiction that
benefit our citizens, our tribal governments and all members of our
communities.
As with any government, the Nez Perce Tribe does a wide array of
work and provides a multitude of services to its tribal membership as
well as the community at large. The Nez Perce Tribe has a health clinic
with a satellite office, a tribal police force, a social services
department, a comprehensive natural resource program that does work in
forestry, wildlife management, land services and land management,
habitat restoration, air quality and smoke management, water quality
and sewer service, and also one of the largest fisheries departments of
any tribe in the Nation working on recovery of listed species under the
Endangered Species Act. The Nez Perce Tribe conducts its extensive
governmental functions and obligations through a comprehensive
administrative framework, which is necessary for a sovereign nation
that preserves and protects the treaty rights of the Nez Perce People
in addition to providing the day to day governmental services to its
members and the surrounding communities. The Nez Perce Tribe has long
been a proponent of self determination for tribes and believes our
primary obligation is to protect the treaty-reserved rights of the Nez
Perce Tribe and our members. All of the work of the tribe is guided by
this principle. As a result, the tribe works extensively with many
Federal agencies and proper funding for those agencies and their work
with, for and through tribes is of vital importance. This work cannot
be accomplished unless the United States continues to affirm and follow
through on its trust responsibility to Indian tribes and properly fund
programs.
indian health services
The Nez Perce Tribe currently operates a healthcare clinic on the
Nez Perce Reservation, Nimiipuu Health. The main clinic facility is
located in Lapwai, Idaho with a satellite facility located 65 miles
away in Kamiah, Idaho. Nimiipuu Health provided annually services at
least 3,000 patients each year. These patients annually compute into
40,000 visits which does not include pharmacy and laboratory visits but
only medical provider visits. This workload is quite expensive to
maintain. Our expenditure total for fiscal year 2014 was $13,942,622.
Our Purchased/Referred Care costs for outpatient services for fiscal
year 2014 was $4,125,475.
The Nez Perce Tribe supports the $248.7 million increase in funding
over the fiscal year 2016 enacted levels proposed in the President's
fiscal year 2017 budget. The tribe appreciates that the budget request
includes an increase of $159 million for current services, so that the
IHS, tribal and urban programs and facilities can keep up with medical
and non-medical inflation, population growth and pay costs. Also, the
tribe supports the recommendation of a $48.2 million increase in
funding proposed for purchased and referred care, which will help to
meet the purchased and referred care spending needs of the Nez Perce
clinic and others like ours.
The tribe supports $800 million to be allocated for contract
support costs so that they are fully funded. In addition, because full
funding of these obligations is so important to Indian Country, the
tribe supports the administration's innovative proposal to reclassify
contract support costs for the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Indian
Health Service as mandatory and not discretionary beginning in fiscal
year 2018. The tribe believes this reclassification should be
permanent. Also, such a change in funding should not be accomplished or
be off-set by reducing other funding for these agencies that would
adversely affect services or programs. Also, this funding should not be
unnecessarily reduced by excessive set-asides for administration.
The tribe also supports the administration's legislative proposal
for permanent mandatory funding of the Special Diabetes Program at $150
million.
bureau of indian affairs
The tribe supports the total of $278 million requested for contract
support costs proposed in the President's budget, and as stated above,
the reclassification of these costs from discretionary to mandatory as
well as the 5 percent increase in overall funding for the Bureau of
Indian Affairs. The tribe also supports the Presidential budget request
to include a ``Carcieri fix'' to address legal issues that have arisen
related to the transfer of land into trust which has created
uncertainty over the status of lands. This uncertainty only stifles and
impedes economic development in Indian Country. A legislative amendment
to clarify the sovereign status of these lands is needed now.
In relation to the Bureau of Indian Affairs Public Safety and
Justice account, the tribe advocates for at least the $348 million in
funding for Law Enforcement that was provided in fiscal year 2016. The
Nez Perce Reservation spans 1,200 square miles and covers five counties
and has a mixture of tribal and non-tribal residents. The tribe
provides a full service law and justice program. The Tribe has a fully
trained and staffed police force of 26, a fully staffed tribal court, a
prosecutor and public defender, and other personnel to perform related
administrative functions. Currently, the Nez Perce Tribe contributes
over $1,682,998 annually to cover the shortfall in BIA funding for the
tribe's law enforcement, $383,019 for judicial services/probation,
$319,360 for prosecutorial services, $163,107 for public defender
services and $325,000 for prisoner boarding. This funding comes from
tribal taxes and tribal gaming revenues that would otherwise be used
for other governmental services. The funding for these programs needs
to be increased to account for the shortfalls in funding the tribe has
to absorb to continue the operation of these vital services on the
reservation. The tribe supports the administration's requested increase
of $2.6 million for base funding for tribal courts.
In relation to education, the tribe supports the proposed fiscal
year 2017 increase of $3.8 million for the Johnson O'Malley program,
and the proposed increases totaling $7 million for Scholarships and
Adult Education and Special Higher Education Scholarships. These latter
increases will help address the rising costs of attending college. The
tribe also supports continued level funding (if not increases) for
Tribal Education Departments and for Tribal Colleges and Universities
that would support institutions such as the Northwest Indian College
that operates a satellite campus on the Nez Perce Reservation.
The tribe also relies on the BIA for funding for our work related
to endangered species and protection of the tribe's treaty resources
including Chinook and steelhead salmon. The funding has also been used
to supplement the research efforts of the tribe relative to other
sensitive species. We are very appreciative that the administration's
fiscal year 2017 budget request proposes increases for ALL Natural
Resources Management accounts except Resource Management Program
Oversight for the Central Office. Particularly helpful and important to
the Nez Perce Tribes is the proposed $1 million increase over fiscal
year 2016 for the BIA Endangered Species Program. This account provides
tribes, like Nez Perce, with the technical and financial assistance to
protect endangered species on trust lands, and this proposed increase
is most welcome. Also, the proposed increase of $2.8 million for BIA
Natural Resource Tribal Priority Allocations will help increase tribal
land and management capabilities.
In addition, the funding provided under the BIA Rights Protection
implementation monies are critical to support the exercise of treaty
reserved off-reservation hunting and fishing for tribes like the Nez
Perce, so we support the proposed $2.5 million increase in fiscal year
2017 for a total of $40.1 million. The BIA single-line dollars do
provide the foundation for core program administration and treaty
rights protection activities, such as harvest monitoring. And of
course, these efforts are central to the tribe's fisheries management
responsibilities as established in the treaties and further delineated
in litigation regarding implementation of hunting and fishing treaty
rights. It is important to understand that this funding is not for
equipment but is used for job creation.
The tribe also supports continued funding for the BIA Wildlife and
Parks Tribal Priority Allocations. As stated earlier, the tribe has
invested a large amount of our personnel and resources in the
restoration of salmon through our fisheries programs. The States of
Oregon, Washington and Idaho directly benefit from this work as well
through sports fisheries. These programs have been successful with
funding under the Tribal Management and Development Program which is
critical for fish and wildlife management of the tribe. We support the
proposed fiscal year 2017 increase of $5 million to the Tribal
Management and Development Program.
fish and wildlife service and forest service
The tribe relies heavily on funding sources within the Fish and
Wildlife Service and the Forest Service. First, the Tribal Wildlife
Grants program administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is a
cost effective expenditure for the Government. This small pot of money
has resulted in huge returns from the tribe's perspective. Since 2005,
we have received five such grants that have allowed us to work on such
diverse issues as gray wolf monitoring, bighorn sheep research, and
rare plant conservation. Continued funding for the Tribal Wildlife
Grant program will allow recipient tribes to build capacity and
maintain involvement in key conservation issues. It should be noted
that this competitive grant does not simply dole out funds for projects
but awards grants based on the quality of the proposal. The tribe
strongly urges this subcommittee to support the administration's $6
million increase of funding for the Tribal Wildlife Grant program as it
provides a large return in work for a small investment. It is also one
of the few sources of funds tribes can tap into for wildlife research.
Related to forest management, the tribe supports wildfire disaster
funding legislation that treats wildfires like other natural disasters
and emergencies to help prevent funds from having to be diverted from
forest management.
The Nez Perce Reservation and its usual and accustomed areas are
rich in natural resources and encompass eleven different national
forests. The tribe works closely with each forest administration to
properly manage its resources on behalf of the tribe. These range from
protecting and properly managing the products of the forest to managing
the vast wildlife in each one such as elk, deer, bighorn sheep and
wolves. Increased funding is necessary so that the Forest Service can
meet these trust obligations and continue to work with tribes such as
the Nez Perce on a government to government basis. With regard to
management of bighorn sheep, the tribe would like to note the
subcommittee has included report language over the last several years
that encourages research related to disease transmission between
domestic sheep and bighorn sheep. The tribe encourages this type of
research mandate to be restricted to laboratory settings and not be
allowed to occur in the field where impact and harm would be harder to
control. The bighorn sheep populations within the tribe's aboriginal
territories are too fragile and too important to be put at risk.
environmental protection agency
On behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Nez Perce
Tribe currently implements the Federal Air Rules for Reservations
program (FARR) and receives funding from the State and Tribal
Assistance Grants Program and Tribal General Assistance Grants. The
tribe supports the proposed increase of $30.9 million for these grants
because of the importance of these funds for tribal governance. The
FARR program monitors air quality and regulates field burning
throughout the Nez Perce Reservation. The tribe is located in Region 10
of the EPA and this increase in funding is needed for tribes to meet
their air quality needs and operate programs under the delegation of
the EPA.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify today. As you can see, the
Nez Perce Tribe does a tremendous amount of work in a variety of areas.
It is important that the United States continue to fund this work and
uphold and honor its trust obligations to tribes.
______
Prepared Statement of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission
The Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission (NWIFC) is comprised of
the 20 tribes that are party to the United States v. Washington.\1\ We
are pleased with the President's fiscal year 2017 budget request, which
includes and builds on the support of the subcommittee. It contains
funding to support the tribal treaty right, including research and
analysis for critical and sustainable management of our natural
resources. Our treaty-reserved rights are at risk today as the
resources they are dependent on are disappearing and the reason our
tribes brought to the Federal Government our Treaty Rights at Risk
Initiative.
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\1\ United States v. Washington, Boldt Decision (1974) reaffirmed
Western Washington Tribes' treaty fishing rights.
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On behalf of our member tribes, I am providing testimony for the
record in support of our fiscal year 2017 natural resources and
environmental program funding requests for the Bureau of Indian Affairs
(BIA) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). To meet the many
natural resources management responsibilities required of the tribes, I
submit the following requests for the BIA and EPA.
summary of fiscal year 2017 appropriations requests
Bureau of Indian Affairs
--Provide $56.5 million for Rights Protection Implementation
(collective request)
--Provide $17.146 million for Western Washington Fisheries
Management
--Provide $3.082 million for Washington State Timber-Fish-Wildlife
--Provide $4.844 million for U.S./Canada Pacific Salmon Treaty
--Provide $2.4 million for Salmon Marking
--Provide $4.5 million for Climate Change
--Provide $10.38 million for BIA Fish, Wildlife & Parks Projects
--Provide $273.0 million for Contract Support
--Provide $30.355 million for Tribal Climate Resilience
--Provide $830,000 for Watershed Restoration
Environmental Protection Agency
--Provide $96.4 million for General Assistance Program
--Provide $50.0 million for Puget Sound
--Provide $5.0 million for Beyond GAP
justification of requests
Bureau of Indian Affairs
Rights Protection Implementation Subactivity
The 41 tribes in the Great Lakes and Pacific Northwest with similar
treaty-reserved rights have collectively identified that no less than
$52.0 million for Rights Protection Implementation (RPI) is necessary
for essential tribal treaty rights management. The President's fiscal
year 2017 budget includes $40.161 million for RPI, an increase of
$2.523 million over the fiscal year 2016 enacted level of $37.638
million. The NWIFC has identified an addition need of $4.5 million for
RPI Climate Change, bringing our total request for RPI to $56.5
million. A summary of the accounts of interest to us within RPI are
further identified below. A breakdown of these accounts in the BIA's
Greenbook is not provided for fiscal year 2017.
Provide $17.146 million for BIA Western Washington Fisheries
Management.--We respectfully request $17.146 million, an increase of
$8.614 million over the fiscal year 2016 enacted level of $8.532
million. Funding for this program allows for continued treaty harvest
management, population assessment, habitat protection and data
gathering for finfish, shellfish, groundfish, wildlife and other
natural resource management needs. Funds provide the necessary capacity
for the treaty tribes to co-manage the resources with the State of
Washington and to continue to meet court mandates and legal
responsibilities.
Provide $3.082 million for BIA Washington State Timber-Fish-
Wildlife.--We respectfully request $3.082 million, an increase of
$346,000 over the fiscal year 2016 enacted level of $2.736 million.
Funding for this program is provided to improve forest practices on
State and private lands while providing protection for fish, wildlife
and water quality. This will provide the necessary funding for tribal
TFW programs to fully participate in the TFW process.
Provide $4.844 million for BIA U.S./Canada Pacific Salmon Treaty.--
We respectfully request $4.844 million, an increase of $564,000 over
the fiscal year 2016 enacted level of $4.28 million. The Pacific Salmon
Treaty (PST) Act of 1985 charges the United States Section of the
Pacific Salmon Commission with the responsibility for implementation of
the PST, a bilateral treaty with Canada. Tribes assist in meeting the
Federal Government's obligations in implementing the treaty by
participating in cooperative research and data gathering activities.
This will provide sufficient funding to ensure that the tribes can
continue to participate effectively in the bilateral PST process.
Provide $2.4 million for BIA Salmon Marking.--We respectfully
request $2.4 million, an increase of $1.332 million over the fiscal
year 2016 enacted level of $1.068 million. Funding for this program was
mandated in 2003 by Congress that required all salmon released from
federally funded hatcheries be marked so they could be identified for
conservation purposes. This allows tribes to mark salmon at tribal
hatcheries and to use these marked fish to scientifically monitor
salmon populations and watersheds in western Washington.
Provide $4.5 million for BIA Climate Change.--We respectfully
request $4.5 million for Climate Change for our member tribes, an
increase of $2.118 million over our fiscal year 2016 allocation. The
fiscal year 2016 appropriations provided a collective (Great Lakes and
Pacific Northwest) total of $5.442 million, of which our member tribes
received $2.382 million. Funding for this program will provide tribes
the capacity to identify, respond and adapt to the impacts of our
changing climate. There is a glaring need to assess the potential
impacts to resources in the face of climate change, which brings
different challenges for every tribal community. It is important that
tribes be provided the maximum flexibility to develop specific science-
based activities to meet their particular needs.
Fish, Wildlife & Parks Projects/Fish, Wildlife and Parks
Subactivity
Provide $10.38 million for BIA Fish, Wildlife & Parks Projects.--We
support the President's request of $10.38 million, an increase of
$2.002 million over the fiscal year 2016 enacted level of $8.378
million. Funding for this program is for Fish Hatchery Operations and
Fish Hatchery Maintenance. Funding is provided to tribal hatcheries to
support the rearing and releasing of salmon and steelhead for harvest
by Indian and non-Indian fisheries in the U.S. and Canada. Tribal fish
hatcheries in western Washington are part of the largest fish hatchery
system in the world. Hatcheries are a necessary component of fisheries
management because of the lack of wild salmon production due to habitat
degradation. A critical component to fisheries management is the
hatchery production, which play a vital and necessary role in
supporting tribal fisheries. They are now essential for maintaining the
treaty right to harvest fish. Without hatcheries tribes would lose
their most basic ceremonial and subsistence fisheries that are central
to our tribal culture. Hatcheries also play a large role in recovering
pacific salmon, many of which are listed under the Endangered Species
Act.
Funding for Fish Hatchery Maintenance is provided to tribes
nationwide based on the ranking of annual maintenance project
proposals. A comprehensive needs assessment study for our Western
Washington tribes was conducted in fiscal year 2006 by the BIA at the
request of Congress, which identified a need of over $48.0 million in
necessary hatchery maintenance and rehabilitation costs.
Other Subactivities and Accounts
Provide $273.0 million for BIA Contract Support.--We support the
President's request of $273.0 million, an increase of $1.0 million over
the fiscal year 2016 enacted level of $272.0 million. We also support
the President's legislative proposal to reclassify CSC as mandatory
funding beginning in fiscal year 2018. Funding for this function is
provided to tribal organizations to ensure they have the capacity to
manage Federal programs under self-determination contracts and self-
governance compacts. These funds are critical as they directly support
our governmental functions, which allow us to fully exercise our right
to self-govern.
Provide $30.355 million for BIA Tribal Climate Resilience.--We
respectfully request $30.355 million, an increase of $20.4 million over
the fiscal year 2016 enacted level of $9.955 million. Funding for this
program will contribute to the tribal capacity needed to participate
and provide input on climate change issues. It will assist tribes in
being able to provide their perspective on climate change adaptation in
the form of traditional ecological knowledge necessary to protect their
treaty rights.
Provide $830,000 for BIA Watershed Restoration.--We respectfully
request $830,000, an increase of $455,000 over the fiscal year 2016
operating plan. The fiscal year 2016 operating plan provided a total of
$375,000 to the western Washington treaty tribes. Funding is contained
in the Forestry Subactivity--Forestry Projects--Watershed Restoration
account and supports our Salmon and Steelhead Habitat Inventory and
Assessment Program. This provides environmental data management,
analysis, and reporting support and maintains on-going efforts to
develop information sharing and exchange tools. It also supports our
tribes' ability to adequately participate in watershed resource
assessments and salmon recovery work.
Environmental Protection Agency
Provide $96.4 million for EPA General Assistance Program.--We
support the President's request of $96.4 million, an increase of
$30.924 million over the fiscal year 2016 enacted level of $65.476
million. This funding has built essential tribal capacities and remains
critical to the tribes' ability to sustain important environmental
protection programs central to the protection of treaty-reserved
resources and healthy communities. Funding for this program continues
to provide the base capacity for tribal environmental protection
programs nationwide.
Provide $50.0 million for EPA Puget Sound.--We respectfully request
$50.0 million, an increase of $19.966 million over the President's
request of $30.034 million. The Puget Sound Geographic Program provides
essential funding that will help protect, restore and enhance Puget
Sound, an estuary of national significance. Funding for this program
will allow the tribes to participate in the necessary scientific work,
implementation measures, and policy discussions on issues that affect
our treaty rights. It allows the tribes to participate in implementing
the Puget Sound Action Agenda.
Provide $5.0 million for EPA Beyond GAP.--We respectfully request
$5.0 million. The President's fiscal year 2017 budget did not include
any proposed funding for this new initiative. We request that
legislative language be incorporated into the appropriations bill to
specifically allow for implementation of tribal programs. We further
request an increase to the tribal allocations of program funding in EPA
CWA 104, 106 and 319, and CAA 103 and 105 budgets to allow for media-
specific implementation priorities. Increasing tribal allocations will
allow for an immediate expansion and response to specific
implementation needs identified in our Beyond GAP request. The Beyond
GAP initiative would advance the EPA/tribal partnership from capacity
building and limited programmatic support to more comprehensive and
consistent funding supportive of tribal environmental programs capable
of implementing a broad range of necessary environmental activities
while improving both efficiency and accountability.
conclusion
We respectfully urge the subcommittee to continue to support our
efforts to protect and restore our treaty-reserved rights that in turn
will provide for thriving communities, cultures and economies. Thank
you.
______
Prepared Statement of the Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board
The Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board (NPAIHB) is a
Public Law 93-638 tribal organization that advocates on healthcare
issues of 43 federally recognized tribes in the States of Idaho,
Oregon, and Washington. Our member tribes operate healthcare programs
that provide healthcare to over 100,000 American Indian and Alaska
Natives (AI/AN) people. NPAIHB appreciates the opportunity to offer the
following testimony on the Indian Health Service (IHS) budget in the
Department of Health and Human Services.
The Federal trust responsibility for healthcare and the government-
to-government relationship between tribes and the Federal Government,
by definition, requires a partnership in the development of the budget.
The President's fiscal year 2017 IHS budget continues a positive
maintenance of effort for a budget that has suffered a heavy burden of
neglect over the past 20 years. Following a fiscal year 2001 increase
of 10 percent, from fiscal year 2002 to fiscal year 2008 the average
IHS budget increase was less than 2.5 percent. A growing population and
medical inflation eroded the purchasing power of Indian health
programs. There is no denying that budget shortfalls resulted in
greater healthcare disparities between Indian people and the general
population over the past 15 years. This gap was addressed in the budget
increases of this administration, however, additional funding is needed
to improve the health status of AI/AN.
overall
While the President's budget provides a $377 million increase, a
7.9 percent increase above fiscal year 2016 enacted budget, it is not
adequate to cover inflation and population growth. In addition, the
distribution of the increase within the IHS accounts will not maintain
current services as presented. Purchased and Referred Care (PRC), in
particular, has lost purchasing power over the last 2 years and this
year's funding increase following flat funding in 2016 is inadequate
despite the reasonable overall increase in the 2017 budget request.
The NPAIHB requests $482.7 million or a 10 percent increase over
the fiscal year 2016 enacted budget. NPAIHB estimates it will take a
$296.7 million increase in the fiscal year 2017 budget to fund pay
increases, inflation, and population growth in order to maintain
current services. In addition, the fiscal year 2016 increase to PRC of
$46 million that was eliminated in the enacted budget needs to be
restored. Finally, the NPAIHB recommends an additional $140 million in
program increases to the PRC Catastrophic Health Emergency Fund (CHEF)
($30 million), dental health ($20 million), mental health ($15
million), alcohol and substance abuse ($20 million), sanitation
facilities construction ($10 million), maintenance and improvement ($10
million), small ambulatory facilities ($25 million) and urban Indian
health programs ($10 million).
The NPAIHB also makes a plea to fully exempt the IHS budget from
sequestrations. Because of the Federal trust responsibility and the
chronic and severe underfunding of the Indian health systems, along
with the significant health disparities of Indian people, the Congress
and administration must exempt the IHS appropriation from discretionary
funding budget reductions, and; enact an amendment to the Budget
Control Act of 2011 to fully exempt the IHS budget from future
sequestrations.
health services account
Hospitals & Health Clinics: The Hospitals and Clinics (H&C) item
would receive $1.98 billion under the administration's request, a
proposed increase of $122.7 million or 6.6 percent over the enacted
fiscal year 2017 budget. Staffing costs and program increases will
reduce the increase to $63.6 million for current services, $95.8
million is needed, and the President's request will fall short by over
$32.1 million. NPAIHB agrees with the $20 million for health
information technology (HIT) associated with electronic health records
(EHR) and in order to meet Stage 3 meaningful use. The NPAIHB also
recommends permanent funding for Tribal Epidemiology Centers at a level
that will enable them to be fully functional epidemiological and
surveillance centers. The $4.9 million request, a $194,000 increase,
for Tribal Epicenters in fiscal year 2017 ignores the fact that funding
over the last 10 years has remained flat.
Dental Services: The President's increase for Dental Health
services is $8.5 million, a 4.8 percent increase over last year's
level. Staffing costs of $2.6 million for new facilities will reduce
the overall increase down to $5.9 million. NPAIHB estimates it will
take at least $9.2 million to maintain current services. The
President's request is $3.3 million less than needed to fund a
maintenance budget. Northwest Tribes further recommend an additional
$20 million to address the significant oral health disparities in
tribal communities.
Mental Health: The President requests $111 million, an increase of
$29 million (35.4 percent) over last year's budget, to cover the mental
health needs of IHS and tribal health programs. The President's request
is close to maintaining current services. The budget leaves only $2.8
million to maintain current services when the $1.2 million required to
staff new facilities and $25 million for program increases are
considered. NPAIHB estimates that it will take $4.2 million to fund
mandatory cost increases for inflation and population growth. Program
increases proposed by the President means the request is adequate to
meet current service needs and to address some unmet need and is
supported by the NPAIHB. The Northwest Tribes further recommend an
additional $15 million to address the significant mental health issues
in tribal communities.
Alcohol & Substance Abuse: The President's budget requests an
increase of 13.6 percent for Alcohol and Substance abuse programs. This
is one of the larger increases in the history of the alcohol and
substance abuse program. It includes $16.8 million for program
increases to fund significant new initiatives, including the General
Indigenous Initiative ($15 million) and Pilot Project for Youth ($1.8
million). In fiscal year 2017, NPAIHB estimates that it will take $10.6
million to fund current services. The President proposed increase of
$28 million is $3 million less than needed to fund current services
since, in addition to new initiatives, $3.6 million is needed to fund
staffing at new facilities. The Northwest Tribes further recommends an
additional $20 million to address alcohol and substance abuse issues in
tribal communities.
Purchased and Referred Care: PRC is the most important budget line
item for Northwest Tribes. The President's requested 2017 increase of
$48 million is not sufficient to address inflation and population
growth of $62.3 so the President's budget falls short by $60. $60
million in additional funding is needed to maintain the purchasing
power of the PRC budget and to restore 2016 current services and
maintain that level in fiscal year 2017.
The PRC budget includes a Catastrophic Health Emergency Fund (CHEF)
that funds catastrophic healthcare cases with large expenses. Northwest
Tribes have always urged the Congress to consider fully funding CHEF
since these cases are all well-documented and critical to the financial
stability of the small programs that exist in the Portland Area and
many other IHS Areas. In fiscal year 2012, the CHEF was increased to
$51 million. Following the administration budget sequester it fell to
$48.9 million. This year's President's request for CHEF is $53 million,
a $1.5 million increase over fiscal year 2016. The NPAIHB supports this
proposed increase and requests an additional increase of $30 million to
ensure CHEF funding remains available.
Public Health Nursing: The President's request for Public Health
Nurses (PHNs) is $82 million, an increase of 7.1 percent over last
year's amount. With $1.7 million for staffing new facilities, the
balance is not sufficient to fund current services and falls short by
$226k.
Health Education: The President's request of $19.5 for fiscal year
2017 is adequate to fund inflation and population growth and is
supported by the Northwest Tribes.
Community Health Representatives: The President's request for $62.4
million for fiscal year 2017 is adequate to maintain the current levels
of care provided by CHRs and is supported by the Northwest Tribes.
Urban Indian Health Program: The President proposes $48.1 million
for the Urban Indian Health Program (UIHP). NPAIHB estimates that it
will take $3 million to maintain current services in the UIHP; thus,
for this year alone, funding is adequate to maintain the current
program, unfortunately more is needed to amend for past years of
neglect. The UIHPs provide over 1 million health services to an
eligible population of over 650,000 urban Indian people living in 34
locations across the United States. In addition, the NPAIHB recommends
additional funding of $10 million for UIHPs.
Indian Health Professions: The President's fiscal year 2017 budget
requests an increase that is $351,000 less than needed to maintain the
current level of funding for the health professions program. The Indian
health system has high vacancies in many of its health professions and
will need to begin to grow and train its work force to keep pace with
the rest of the Nation. Otherwise, vacancy rates will become even
higher.
Tribal Management: The President requests $2.5 million for Tribal
Management, which is nearly the same amount that was funded last year.
It is less than is needed by $22,000 to maintain current service
funding. NPAIHB believes the funding for this program could easily be
doubled and the scope of its funded activities expanded.
Direct Operation: The Direct Operations line item funds the cost of
management at IHS headquarters and the 12 Area Offices. This year the
President's request proposes a decrease in Direct Operations funding by
$2.7 million. NPAIHB estimates that $2 million will be needed to
maintain current services. Thus, the President's request falls short by
$4.7 million.
Self-Governance: The President's request for the Self-Governance
item is $5.8 million, a 1.8 percent increase. NPAIHB estimates that it
will take at least an additional $243,000 to maintain current services
in fiscal year 2017. This will result in a shortfall in unfunded
mandatory costs of $141,000. While this may not seem like much, 7 years
ago, Congress reduced the Self Governance line item by $4.7 million, a
loss of over 43 percent from the previous year.
contract support costs
NPAIHB supports the President's request in fiscal year 2017 is $800
million, an increase of $82 million above fiscal year 2016 enacted
level. This is an estimate of additional funds needed to ensure the
full CSC need is funded for each tribe. The estimate will be adjusted
to reflect the amount necessary to fund the full CSC need when updated
information is available. NPAIHB supports the President's request that
Congress establish a mandatory appropriation for CSC in fiscal year
2018 with sufficient increases year over year to fully fund the
estimated need of the program.
health facilities
Maintenance and Improvement: The President's request for M&I is $77
million, an increase of $3.3 million over last year's enacted budget.
Recognizing the serious need for M&I funds in Indian Country, NPAIHB
supports the President's request. The Northwest Tribes also request an
additional $10 million for M&I.
Sanitation Facilities Construction: The fiscal year 2017 budget
requests $103 million for the Sanitation facilities program. The
increase, following last year's $20 million increase, falls short of
maintaining the purchasing power of the program by $593,000.
Approximately 7.5 percent of all AI/AN homes lack safe water in the
home compared to less than 1 percent average nationally. Sanitation is
an integral component of disease management.
Health Care Facilities Construction: Northwest Tribes continue to
support a moratorium on facilities construction until an equitable
funding methodology can be implemented by the IHS. This position has
been recommended for the past 8 years so that savings from facilities
construction can be redirected to the health services accounts. In
addition, Northwest Tribes recommend that the IHS and Congress include
appropriation language in the fiscal year 2017 appropriation bill to
allow staffing and equipment funding for the small ambulatory
construction authorities (Public Law 102-573). In addition, $25 million
is requested by the Northwest Tribes for small ambulatory facilities
grants.
Facilities & Environmental Support: The President's request of
$233.9 million provides a $11 million increase over the fiscal year
2017 level that is adequate to maintain current services and is
supported by the NPAIHB.
Equipment: The President's request of $23.6 million is adequate to
maintain current services in fiscal year 2017 after last year's $20
million increase and is supported by the NPAIHB.
mandatory proposals
NPAIHB requests an increase in fiscal year 2017 of $50 million for
the Special Diabetes Program for Indians and supports funding for the
proposed behavioral health initiatives--Tribal Crisis Response Fund at
$15 million and Behavioral Health Professions Expansion Fund at $10
million.
conclusion
The NPAIHB requests a 10 percent increase over the fiscal year 2016
enacted level, or $482.7 million, to maintain current services, and
funding of mandatory proposals for diabetes and behavioral health.
Thank you for the opportunity to provide testimony.
______
Prepared Statement of the Norton Sound Health Corporation
The requests of the Norton Sound Health Corporation (NSHC) for the
fiscal year 2017 Indian Health Service (IHS) budget are as follows:
--Direct the IHS to fully fund the Village Built Clinic (VBC) leases
and allocate an additional $12.5 million to VBC leases, for a
total of $17 million.
--Place contract support costs on a permanent indefinite funding
basis and eliminate any provisos on the funding that conflicts
with the carryover funding authority in the Indian Self-
Determination and Education Assistance Act (ISDEAA).
--Remove restrictions on the Joint Venture Program to allow staffing
packages for clinics that are in the process of construction
and also to allow behavioral health service agencies to be
eligible for the Program.
--Support at a minimum the administration's request of $10 million
for the small ambulatory clinics program.
--Provide the requested $25 million increase for behavioral health.
--Shield the IHS from sequestration and provide advance
appropriations.
NSHC is the only regional health system serving northwestern
Alaska. It is on the edge of the Bering Sea, just miles from the
Russian border. We are not connected by road with any part of the State
and are 500 air miles from Anchorage--about the distance from
Washington, DC to Portland, Maine. Our service area encompasses 44,000
square miles, approximately the size of Indiana. We are proud that our
system includes a tribally owned regional hospital which is operated
pursuant to an ISDEAA agreement, and 15 Village Built Clinics
(VBCs).\1\
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\1\ We serve the communities of: Brevig Mission, Council, Diomede,
Elim, Gambell, Golovin, King Island, Koyuk, Mary's Igloo, Nome, St.
Michael, Savoonga, Shaktoolik, Shishmaref, Solomon, Stebbins, Teller,
Unalakleet, Wales, and White Mountain.
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End Chronic Underfunding of Village Built Clinics. The NSHC has
testified in prior years about the chronic underfunding of our VBCs. We
thank Congress for providing in fiscal year 2016 $2 million in
supplemental funding (supplemental to the $4.5 million already being
provided) for these clinic leases and for the Administration's request
of $11 million in supplemental funds for tribal clinic leases in fiscal
year 2017. The bill language provides that these are supplemental
funds, while the explanatory language lists the bill funding as a total
amount.
The NSHC healthcare system includes 15 VBCs that are essential for
us to maintain the Community Health Aide Program (CHAP) in Alaska. As
you know, CHAP is mandated by Congress as the instrument for providing
basic health services in remote Alaska Native villages and often
provides the only local source of healthcare for Alaska Native people
in rural areas. We cannot overstate the importance of village built
clinics in Alaska. Lease rental amounts for the VBCs have failed to
keep pace with costs--the majority of the leases for VBCs have not
increased since 1989 and the IHS until this year resisted proposals to
increase their funding. As a result, many of the VBCs are unsafe or
have had to be closed, leaving some villages in Alaska without a local
healthcare facility.
In addition, the President's proposed fiscal year 2017 clinic lease
bill language may need some clarification, depending on IHS's
interpretation, concerning the references that healthcare be delivered
in a space acquired through a ``full service lease''. In some cases
tribes receive VBC funding as part of their recurring base, and so the
IHS no longer has ``full service leases'' in place for those clinics.
We know that the appropriations committees do not intend to limit VBC
eligibility based on unclear terminology.
In sum, these amounts are a step in the right direction but the
2015 ANHB study that analyzed the funding deficiency statewide for
these facilities identified an increased need of $12.5 million. We urge
that the full amount needed be appropriated. We also support
maintaining this funding as a line item in the bill.
Remove Restrictions on the Joint Venture Construction Program
(JVCP) to Support Projects Already in Progress. NSHC has completed the
final designs to replace the Village Built Clinics in Gambell and
Savoonga on St. Lawrence Island. The total project cost is $12.5
million and NSHC has raised 50 percent of the necessary funds to date.
A Notice to Proceed was issued in January 2016 to start construction
this summer. Both clinics will be 5200 square feet, doubling the size
of the existing clinics. Both sites are shovel-ready. NSHC already
contributed $1,900,000 to complete the foundation and $279,521 to
complete the final design. The Denali Commission contributed $120,479
toward the final design. NSHC has $600,000 in hand from grant awards
secured as of January 4, 2016, and another $3,350,000 in hand as
approved by the Board of Directors during 2015 for a total amount of
$6,250,000 secured.
NSHC is still fundraising for the other half of the project. Under
JVCP regulations, we are not eligible to apply for the next round of
JVCP funding for staffing because a Notice to Proceed has been issued.
We had no choice but to move the clinic construction forward and could
not wait for the next round of JCVP applications to be released. In the
Bering Strait Region of Alaska, construction projects must be planned
in advance to meet the seasonally limited construction window.
NSHC Request: Allow Tribal Health Organizations to apply for JVCP
funding even though a Notice to Proceed has been issued.
Fund the Small Ambulatory Clinic Program to Help with Construction
of Replacement Clinic. The Small Ambulatory Clinic Fund has not been
funded in years and we appreciate the administration's request of $10
million for this purpose. It would give tribes an option to
competitively compete for construction funds. As noted above NSHC has
two shovel-ready projects on St. Lawrence Island, with site work and
piling installation completed. NSHC has raised 50 percent of the
necessary funds to date, with another $6,250,000 needed to finish
construction.
NSHC Wellness and Training Center: Remove the Restriction on
Behavioral Health Service Agencies' JVCP Eligibility. The cost of
substance abuse remains exorbitant in all aspects of service in the
Norton Sound region. The region's law enforcement, correctional centers
(prison and a halfway house), women's shelter, and protective services
all report 95-100 percent of its cases involve substance abuse.
Healthcare costs related to substance abuse and substance-related
diagnoses, school and vocational drop-outs, loss of productivity, and
loss of life continue to skyrocket as addiction numbers rise.
From 2006 through 2014, 5,008 people presented at the Norton Sound
Regional Hospital emergency room for alcohol-related encounters. Of
those people, 169 of them returned anywhere for 6-65 visits. Of those
169, more than 55 percent of them also presented as suicidal. Suicides
in the region are approximately six times higher than the national
average per 100,000 people (74.5 vs. 12.6, respectively) and almost
four times higher than the State average (74.5 vs. 19.6, respectively).
Unfortunately, the Norton Sound Region also has the highest suicide
completion rate in the State. Between 2005 and July 2015, the Norton
Sound region (9,400 people (2010 Census) had 76 suicide completions, an
average of almost 7 per year. Of those, 67 were male and 9 were female;
and 74 of the 76 were Alaska Natives. In all but three cases, substance
abuse was a factor.
Treatment services require people within the region to leave their
homes and families, and often their treatment is delayed while a bed is
secured. The waiting list for treatment averages 6 to 9 months and
there is often no other place to refer people. Residents of the Norton
Sound Region are often referred to treatment facilities in the lower
48. These facilities are not culturally relevant and the distance is
counter-productive to the healing process given the absence of familial
and environmental supports. To best support the treatment needs of the
people of the region, NSHC has developed a Wellness and Training Center
to be located across from the Norton Sound Regional Hospital. This
Center has been designed by a local cultural committee and uses an
intensive behavioral health outpatient model with a full continuum of
care including a sober housing component. It provides for social detox,
long-term rehabilitation, and vocational rehabilitation.
NSHC has committed over $600,000 towards planning and designing of
the Wellness and Training Center and is committed to seeing this
through. Additionally, the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority has
awarded NSHC $400,000 over the last 4 years for a Wellness and Training
Center planner to facilitate the facility's programmatic development.
Current concept and architectural plans estimate the final cost for the
facility at $18,000,000.
In addition to requesting capital funding to complete construction
of the Center, NSHC submitted a Joint Venture Construction Program pre-
application last year to support the staffing component for Center
operations. Unfortunately, the current IHS appropriation for this
program does not allow for Behavioral Health Services agencies to apply
for the funding.
NSHC would like to see IHS support the full spectrum of Behavioral
and Mental Health Program needs. The Joint Venture Construction Program
would help us fund the additional 10 personnel essential to making the
Wellness and Training Center a reality in our region, which will keep
people near their home, offer culturally relevant services, and,
ultimately, save lives.
NSHC Request: For fiscal year 2017, we ask for advocacy to change
regulations for the Joint Venture Construction Program so Behavioral
Health Service Projects administered by Tribal Health Organizations can
apply.
Contract Support Costs Mandatory Funding. We wish to thank Congress
for fully funding Contract Support Costs (CSC) in fiscal year 2016. For
fiscal year 2017, we support the President's request for an
appropriation of ``such sums as may be necessary,'' with an estimated
$800 million for CSC for the IHS in a separate account in the IHS's
discretionary budget. However, we disagree with the proviso that was
included in the fiscal year 2016 appropriations language and which is
also included in the administration's proposed fiscal year 2017 budget,
which states: ``amounts obligated but not expended by a tribe or tribal
organization for contract support costs for such agreements for the
current fiscal year shall be applied to contract support costs
otherwise due for such agreements for subsequent fiscal years.'' This
proviso is concerning to us because it could be misread to effectively
deny the carryover authority granted by the Indian Self-Determination
and Education Assistance Act. We thus ask that the proviso be removed
for fiscal year 2017 and not included in future appropriations for CSC.
We also support the administration's proposal to fully fund CSC on a
mandatory basis in fiscal years 2018-2020, though we would prefer that
it begin in fiscal year 2017 and, of course, that it be a permanent,
indefinite appropriation. We ask for your active help in working with
the Budget Committee and any others on this proposal for mandatory CSC
funding.
Funding for Behavioral Health. We appreciate and support the
administration's much-needed request of a $25 million increase for a
Behavioral Health Integration Initiative. The goal is to integrate
behavioral health services into the primary health systems and also to
collaborate with services that may be provided outside the primary
healthcare delivery system such as substance abuse and mental health
services. A portion of the funds ($3.6 million) are to be used for
tribes and tribal organizations to establish Zero Suicide programs
focusing on the role of medical and behavioral health systems in the
prevention of suicide. We know all too well of the high rate of
suicides among Native people in Alaska, and young Native people in
particular.
Conclusion. Due to page limit constraints we will not repeat our
testimony from the last few years in support of protecting the IHS
budget from sequestration and also placing the IHS budget on an advance
appropriations basis. We hope, however, that these two issues will be
addressed in this Congress. Thank you for your consideration of the
concerns and requests of the Norton Sound Health Corporation.
______
Prepared Statement of the Oregon Coalition Supporting USGS National
Streamgage Network
u.s. geological survey national streamflow information program
As a collection of water stakeholders in Oregon we are concerned
about ongoing lack of available data on water in our State and we urge
your support of the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) National Streamflow
Network (formerly known as the National Streamflow Information Program
(NSIP) and Cooperative Water Program). We are a diverse group of water
stakeholders with a common goal: to advocate for common sense water
policies that move Oregon's economy, communities, and environment
toward a secure water future. In order to achieve our goal, the members
we represent need consistent, accurate and real time data on streams in
our State. While we are encouraged by the $150 million increase in the
President's request over 2015 enacted levels, and specifically the $1.3
million increase for stream flow information, it is not enough of an
increase to fully fund, even with cost-share partners, this immensely
important program.
fiscal year 2017 appropriations
We recognize that our country continues to face difficult economic
times and that we must make strategic investments with scarce
resources. However, that statement rings true not just in regards to
funding, but also our natural resources and more precisely, water. In
2015 the American west suffered from a severe drought and like many
other Western States, the conditions in 2015 have deeply impacted
Oregon communities, (25 of 36 counties had formal drought
declarations). For Oregon, the drought stems from a lack of snowpack
that serves as the natural water storage throughout the year for many
farms, communities, and fish and wildlife.
The impacts may take longer to show, but drought can be as
devastating as earthquakes, hurricanes, and other natural disasters.
And like other natural disasters, the best way to survive and help
communities recover is through coordinated planning and developing
diverse tools to use when these crises occur. However, our communities
cannot adequately plan for any water year without accurate streamflow
data. While we all have different ideas about the best paths forward,
we agree on one thing: the need for increased accurate streamflow data.
The funding for the National Streamflow Network could be leveraged
with the current proposal from the Oregon Water Resources Department
(OWRD) to reestablish OWRD's engagement in the Cooperative Water
Program with USGS. Within the water advocate community in Oregon the
need for additional gauges and more readily available data is an issue
that is on the forefront of discussions regarding how to best manage
our waterways. The funding dollars spent on the National Streamflow
Network are dollars that will work toward better data and provide
valuable information needed as we work toward a secure water future for
Oregon and the Nation.
conclusion
In conclusion, we applaud the administration on their willingness
to increase funding for the USGS National Streamflow Network and we
would like to see even more funding allocated to this important
program. As we continue to navigate in an uncertain climate, we need
the valuable streamflow data this program provides to aid in all our
work in developing water management solutions. We respectfully request
adequate funding to fully implement the USGS National Streamflow
Network for fiscal year 2017.
Sincerely,
Michael Freese Rob Kirschner
Associated Oregon Industries The Freshwater Trust
Tracy Rutten Jeff Stone
League of Oregon Cities Oregon Association of Nurseries
JR Cook Mark Landauer
Northeast Oregon Water Association Special Districts Association of
Oregon
April Snell
Oregon Water Resources Congress
______
Prepared Statement of the Oregon Water Resources Congress
u.s. environmental protection agency's clean water state revolving fund
loan program
The Oregon Water Resources Congress (OWRC) is concerned about
continued reductions to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's
(EPA) Clean Water State Revolving Fund Loan Program (CWSRF) and is
requesting that appropriations for this program be increased to at
least $2 billion in fiscal year 2017. The CWSRF is an effective loan
program that addresses critical water infrastructure needs while
benefitting the environment, local communities, and the economy.
However, OWRC is concerned by the recent exclusion of irrigation
districts from receiving principal forgiveness under the CWSRF and we
urge the subcommittee to address this terminology issue and allow
irrigation districts to utilize this valuable tool under the program so
that they are able to execute projects that are beneficial to both the
environment and the local economy.
OWRC was established in 1912 as a trade association to support the
protection of water rights and promote the wise stewardship of water
resources statewide. OWRC members are local governmental entities,
which include irrigation districts, water control districts, drainage
districts, water improvement districts, and other agricultural water
suppliers that deliver water to roughly 1/3 of all irrigated land in
Oregon. These water stewards operate complex water management systems,
including water supply reservoirs, canals, pipelines, and hydropower
production.
fiscal year 2017 appropriations
We recognize that our country is facing difficult economic times
and that we must make strategic investments with scarce resources. The
CWSRF is a perfect example of the type of program that should have
funding increased because it creates jobs while benefitting the
environment, and is an efficient return on taxpayer investment. Oregon
is facing record levels of unemployment and the CWSRF funded projects
provide much needed construction and professional services jobs.
Moreover, as a loan program, it is a wise investment that allows local
communities to leverage their limited resources and address critical
infrastructure needs that would otherwise be unmet.
Nationally, there are large and growing critical water
infrastructure needs. In EPA's most recent needs surveys, The Clean
Watersheds Needs Survey 2008: Report to Congress and Drinking Water
Infrastructure Needs Survey and Assessment: Fourth Report to Congress,
the estimated funding need for drinking water infrastructure totaled
$335 billion (in 2007 dollars) and wastewater infrastructure needs
totaled $298 billion (in 2008 dollars). Appropriations for water
infrastructure, specifically CWSRF, should not be declining but
remaining strong in order to meet these critical needs. In 2015
appropriations for the CWSRF program was approximately $1.448 billion
and declined to $1.394 billion in fiscal year 2016. The President's
fiscal year 2017 budget proposes only $979.5 million for the CWRSF
program; a $414.5 million reduction from fiscal year 2016 levels. We
are concerned as we see this negative downward trend continuing while
the infrastructure needs only become more critical.
OWRC is supportive of the President's Climate Action Plan and
related efforts to support actions that help address, mitigate, and
adapt to severe weather events, like drought, that are related to
climate change. It is important that climate issues are addressed
through programs like the CWSRF, and to date, despite a direct
connection to water infrastructure the CWSRF funding continues to
diminish. In fact, there has not been an increase in funding for CWSRF
since 2009; meanwhile, both infrastructure needs and the costs to
address those needs continue to grow each year. Continued funding
reductions has led to delaying repairs or upgrades which in turn
increase the potential for catastrophic failure and is
counterproductive to the administration's desire to encourage asset
management and sustainable water infrastructure. To the extent
practicable, funding for climate change should be incorporated into
existing programs with proven successes like the CWSRF.
We also continue to be highly supportive of the administration's
desire to expand ``green infrastructure,'' in fact, irrigation
districts and other water suppliers in Oregon are on the forefront of
``green infrastructure'' through innovative piping projects that
provide multiple environmental benefits, which is discussed in greater
detail below. However, continually reducing the amount of funds
available for these types of worthwhile projects is counterproductive
to the administration's desire and has created increased uncertainty
for potential borrowers about whether adequate funding will be
available in future years. CWSRF is often an integral part of an
overall package of State, Federal and local funding that necessitates a
stronger level of assurance that loan funds will be available for
planned water infrastructure projects. Reductions in the CWSRF could
lead to loss of grant funding and delay or derail beneficial projects
that irrigation districts have been developing for years.
Additionally, OWRC is pleased to see that EPA will continue
``strategic partnerships'' with the USDA's Natural Resources
Conservation Services (NRCS) and other Federal agencies to improve
water quality and address nonpoint source pollution. Oregon had two
priority watersheds eligible for funding through the National Water
Quality Initiative in 2014 and anticipates that additional watersheds
will be included in the future. As Oregon is a delegated State, OWRC
also feels strongly that the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality
(DEQ) is best situated to develop and implement activities to improve
these and other impaired waterways in the State. DEQ and its
administration of the CWSRF has been an extremely valuable tool in
Oregon for improving water quality and efficiently addressing
infrastructure challenges that are otherwise cost-prohibitive.
cwsrf needs
What is being proposed for fiscal year 2017 is far short of what is
needed to address critical water infrastructure needs in Oregon and
across the Nation. This will lead to fewer water infrastructure
projects, and therefore a reduction in improvements to water quality.
DEQ's most recent ``Proposed Intended Use Plan Update #1--State Fiscal
Year 2016,'' lists 22 projects in need of a total of $182,066,339 in
Oregon alone. The Federal capitalization grant funding awarded fiscal
year 2015 will total $15,758,000, which is wholly inadequate to address
and complete these much needed projects.
Unfortunately, due to recent cutbacks and lack of availability of
funds, only one water improvement district submitted an application for
funding in 2016, Rock Creek District Improvement Company. Rock Creek
requested $270,786 for the design and construction of HDPE piping along
1.76 miles of main canal, and qualifies for water efficiency green
project reserve funding. OWRC is hopeful that with an increase in money
available, more districts will apply for funding to complete projects
that will not only benefit the environment and the patrons served by
the water delivery system, but also benefit the economy.
cwsrf exclusion of irrigation districts from principal forgiveness
OWRC and our members are highly supportive of the CWSRF, including
promoting the program to our members and annually submitting Federal
appropriations testimony to support increased funding for the CWSRF. We
are supportive because it is important funding tool that irrigation
districts and other water suppliers are using for innovative piping
projects that provide multiple environmental benefits. However, the
CWSRF is often an integral part of an overall package of State, Federal
and local funding that necessitates a stronger level of assurance that
loan funds will be available for planned water infrastructure projects.
Irrigation districts are often located in rural communities and have a
small number of farmers with limited capacity to take on loan debt.
Even a small reduction in the principal repayment obligations can make
the difference in whether or not a district can move forward with a
project. Reductions in eligibility for principal forgiveness in the
CWSRF could lead to loss of grant funding and delay or derail
beneficial projects that irrigation districts have been developing for
years.
Six OWRC member districts have successfully received loans from the
CWSRF over the last several years and many more will apply if eligible
to receive some principal forgiveness. Numerous irrigation districts
and other water suppliers need to pipe currently open canals, which
reduces sediment and water temperature and provides other water quality
improvements as well as increasing water availability for fish and
irrigators by reducing water loss from the delivery system. In 2009,
four irrigation districts received over $11 million funding in Oregon
from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) through the
CWSRF for projects which created valuable jobs while improving water
quality. These four projects were essential to DEQ not only meeting but
exceeding the minimum requirement that 20 percent of the total ARRA
funding for the CWSRF be used for ``green'' projects. Without the
irrigation district projects, it is likely that Oregon's CWSRF would
not have qualified for ARRA funding.
By excluding irrigation districts from principal forgiveness under
the CWSRF, the loan funds become another expensive piece to the funding
puzzle and will simply cost too much for districts to take on. If DEQ
eliminates the ability of irrigation districts to fund water quality
improvement projects, our State will fall short of what is needed to
address critical water infrastructure needs in Oregon and across the
Nation. It will lead to fewer innovative water infrastructure projects,
and therefore a reduction in improvements to water quality. OWRC is
hopeful that this terminology issue can be resolved at the Federal
level, and allow irrigation districts to apply for funding with
principal forgiveness to complete projects that will not only benefit
the environment and the patrons served by the water delivery system,
but also benefit the economy.
the importance and success of local watershed planning
Oregon's success in watershed planning illustrates that planning
efforts work best when diverse interests develop and implement plans at
the local watershed level with support from State government. Oregon
has recently revised their CWSRF rules; thus making conservation easier
and its benefits to be better achieved in the State. As the national
model for watershed planning, Oregon does not need a new Federal agency
or executive branch office to oversee conservation and restoration
efforts. Planning activities are conducted through local watershed
councils, volunteer-driven organizations that work with local, State
and Federal agencies, economic and environmental interests,
agricultural, industrial and municipal water users, local landowners,
tribes, and other members of the community. There are over 60
individual watershed councils in Oregon that are already deeply engaged
in watershed planning and restoration activities. Watershed planning in
Oregon formally began in 1995 with the development of the Oregon Plan
for Salmon Recovery and Watershed Enhancement, a statewide strategy
developed in response to the Federal listing of several fish species.
This strategy led to the creation of the Oregon Watershed Enhancement
Board (OWEB), a State agency and policy oversight board that funds and
promotes voluntary and collaborative efforts that ``help create and
maintain healthy watersheds and natural habitats that support thriving
communities and strong economies'' in 1999.
conclusion
In conclusion, we applaud the CWSRF program for allowing Oregon's
DEQ to make targeted loans that address Clean Water Act issues and
improve water quality but also help incentivize innovative water
management solutions that benefit local communities, agricultural
economies, and the environment. This voluntary approach creates and
promotes cooperation and collaborative solutions to complex water
resources challenges. Conversely, exclusion of irrigation districts
from principal forgiveness under the CWSRF program has a very negative
effect on jobs and local economies. We respectfully request the
appropriation of at least $2 billion for the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency's Clean Water State Revolving Loan Fund for fiscal
year 2017.
______
Prepared Statement of the Outdoors Alliance for Kids
Chairmen Murkowski and Calvert, Ranking Members Udall and McCollum,
and Members of the Interior Appropriations Subcommittee:
We, the undersigned members of the Outdoors Alliance for Kids
(OAK), thank you for your past support of programs to connect children
and youth with the outdoors, and we urge you to sustain funding for
fiscal year 2017 programs at the U.S. Department of the Interior,
Environmental Protection Agency, and U.S. Forest Service that increase
engagement in the outdoors. We also urge you to maintain sufficient
funding for agencies to adequately manage our public lands and waters.
OAK is a national strategic partnership of businesses and
organizations representing more than 30 million individuals from
diverse sectors of the economy with the common interest in expanding
the number and quality of opportunities for children, youth, and
families to connect with the outdoors. OAK supports public policies and
investments that expand outdoor and environmental education
opportunities, promote community health and wellness, and engage more
youth in environmental stewardship.
We understand that we are in difficult fiscal times, but balancing
the budget at the expense of programs and initiatives that ensure
children and youth have opportunities to learn, get physically active,
and increase their volunteerism in the outdoors will be a detriment to
our Nation. Environmental education provides critical tools for a 21st
century workforce by giving students the skills to understand complex
environmental systems and issues, and prepares students to compete
globally and address environmental challenges and opportunities that
impact our economy, health, and national security. Community health and
wellness investments are critical for the local economy, as well. The
prevention of chronic diseases can save lives, as well as promote the
physical and mental well-being of all Americans.
Environmental stewardship programs provide young people with
opportunities to spend more time outdoors while obtaining job skills at
a time when youth unemployment rates are skyrocketing. In addition to
contributing to our Nation's robust outdoor recreation economy, youth
national service and work programs help address the backlog of
maintenance needs piling up on our public lands, address record youth
unemployment, and prepare a diverse group of youth to be the next
generation of natural resource stewards.
These areas are vital to the success of the United States in the
global economy, and to our ability to create a 21st century workforce
that is healthy, skilled, and prepared to be the next generation of
leaders. The outdoor industry alone provides 6.1 million jobs and $646
billion in direct consumer spending each year. Outdoor recreation, as
enjoyed in national, State, and local parks and public lands, provides
millions of America's children, youth, and families an opportunity to
hike, bike, swim, paddle or simply connect with nature. The outdoor
recreation economy generates $39.9 billion in Federal revenue and
another $39.7 billion in State and local revenue annually.
OAK supports funding and initiatives to increase outdoor and
environmental education, promote community health and wellness, and
provide young people with jobs, training, and service and volunteer
opportunities that connect them to the outdoors and recreation. We urge
the subcommittee to restore funding to allow land management agencies
to adequately manage our public lands and waters and to provide robust
funding for the following programs that get youth outdoors:
Department of the Interior: OAK supports the Department of the
Interior's goal of building the next generation of conservation and
community leaders by supporting efforts to get young people to play,
learn, serve, and work outdoors. By September 30, 2017, the Department
of the Interior hopes to get millions of kids outside engaged in
environmental education and to have provided 100,000 work and training
opportunities for young adults. To this end, we urge you to support the
administration's budget requests of $102.5 million for youth programs
across the Department of the Interior, a $37.7 million increase from
the fiscal year 2016 enacted level. This includes:
--$38,200,000 for the National Park Service
--$26,300,000 for the U.S. Geological Survey
--$19,000,000 for the Fish and Wildlife Service
--$13,500,000 for the Bureau of Indian Affairs
--$1,000,000 for the Bureau of Land Management
--$3,500,000 for the Bureau of Reclamation
--$1,000,000 for the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and
Enforcement
Of the $38.2 million for NPS, $20 million is included for the Every
Kid in a Park initiative. The funding would support transportation to
bring more than one million students from Title I schools in urban
areas to nearby national parks, and support park level youth engagement
coordinators that would ensure park units have programming tailored for
young people and their families, especially at high visitation and
urban parks. OAK strongly supports this initiative, which will also
provide every fourth grader in America and their families with free
entrance to National Parks in the 2015-2016 school year. We urge you to
support funding within the National Park Service for transportation
grants and for dedicated youth coordinators to welcome fourth graders
and their families to our National Parks and public lands.
Another key component of the Department's youth efforts will be
partnering with Service & Conservation Corps (Corps) and other youth
organizations through the 21st Century Conservation Service Corps
(21CSC) initiative. The opportunities provided by 21CSC allow youth and
veterans to become stewards of America's great outdoors through
conservation service, help them obtain important job skills and
credentials at a time when youth unemployment is high and young people
are missing out on critical job experiences, and improve public health
by helping young people develop and maintain active lifestyles. We also
urge you to sustain funding for the operational, management, and
construction-related accounts of the National Park Service, Bureau of
Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Fish
and Wildlife Service, and the U.S. Forest Service, all of which could
fund cost-effective public-private partnerships with Corps.
In addition, we urge support of the National Park Service
Centennial Initiative, including $35 million requested for the
Centennial Challenge, to support thousands of veterans, youth, and
others to work to upgrade the park system for its 100th anniversary in
2016. The Centennial Challenge is an economically wise program that
leverages private dollars to match Federal funds, with at least one
private dollar for each Federal dollar, to support projects to improve
the visiting experience to our national parks. It is a proven effective
program initially launched during the George W. Bush administration,
when it leveraged nearly $50 million in donations after an initial
Federal investment of $40 million. The $35 million requested for the
Centennial Challenge will reinvest in that initiative, and will be
instrumental in garnering partner support to prepare park sites across
the country for the centennial and the second century of NPS.
OAK also supports permanent reauthorization and full and dedicated
funding of the Land and Water Conservation Fund. The Federal land
acquisition program and the State and local assistance programs
supported by LWCF over the years have created countless opportunities
for youth and families to enjoy the outdoors, both in their communities
and on Federal public lands. LWCF also supports the new Outdoor
Recreation Legacy Partnership Program which will create new
opportunities for outdoor play as well as development or enhancement of
outdoor recreation partnerships in our larger urban communities.
Environmental Protection Agency: OAK urges the subcommittee to fund
the National Environmental Education Act (NEEA) programs at the
Environmental Protection Agency at $11.1 million. This program
implements highly successful, nationwide environmental education
programs. These programs support life-long environmental education and
stewardship through several highly-leveraged, but under-resourced
programs, including the National Environmental Education Training
Program to provide professional development for teachers, the National
Environmental Education Foundation to leverage public/private
partnerships, and an environmental education grant program to support
local environmental education providers.
OAK also supports the Urban Waters Federal Partnership, a 14 agency
collaboration spearheaded by the Environmental Protection Agency, to
restore and connect youth with their waterways in 19 pilot urban
locations. While the EPA has not placed a line item in its budget for
the UWFP, we commend the EPA for utilizing scarce resources to support
this important effort to ensure children, youth and families in urban
areas have close to home opportunities to experience nature.
U.S. Forest Service: OAK supports the U.S. Forest Service efforts
to engage youth with their natural surroundings, whether that be in
urbanized or rural areas. The U.S. Forest Service's multiple
conservation education initiatives and outreach activities are
integrated throughout the agency. In addition to this outreach, it is
also important that children have access to nature nearby. Therefore,
OAK supports the following funding levels for two programs within the
U.S. Forest Service that ensure children have access to nature:
--$5,000,000 for the Community Forest and Open Space Program (CFP)
--$31,300,000 for the Urban and Community Forestry Program (U&CF)
CFP has made substantial progress in preserving forests by
increasing opportunities for Americans to connect with forests in their
own communities and fostering new public-private partnerships. CFP has
supported 27 community forest projects in cities and towns across 15
States and Territories. U&CF served more than 200 million people in
over 7,700 communities across the United States through the development
and maintenance of local urban forestry programs. Both of these
programs ensure that children can experience forests and trees in their
communities.
OAK also supports other programs within the Forest Service that
provide opportunities for youth to connect with nature. Conservation
Education programs, Children's Grants programs including More Kids in
the Woods and Children's Forests, and the USFS partnership with the
21st Century Conservation Service Corps are all important programs that
help the next generation connect with and build an appreciation for the
outdoors.
We thank you in advance for your support for these critical
programs and look forward to working with you and your staff in the
coming year.
Thank you for your consideration of this request.
This testimony is submitted on behalf of the following members of
the Outdoors Alliance for Kids:
Alliance for Childhood
American Camp Association
American Forests
American Hiking Society
Appalachian Trail Conservancy
Children & Nature Network
Choose Outdoors
Conservation Legacy
Hipcamp
IslandWood
Kids4Trees
Latino Outdoors
Montana Conservation Corps
National Interscholastic Cycling Association
National Recreation and Park Association
National Wildlife Federation
NatureBridge
North American Association for Environmental Education
O'Neill Sea Odyssey
Outdoor Outreach
Outdoors Empowered Network
Public Lands Service Coalition
REI
Sierra Club
SOS Outreach
The Corps Network
The North Face
The Wilderness Society
The Woods Project
TYO: Transforming Youth Outdoors
Wilderness Inquiry
YMCA of the USA
______
Prepared Statement of the Partnership for the National Trails System
Madame Chairwoman and members of the subcommittee:
The Partnership for the National Trails System appreciates your
support over the past 20 years, through operations funding and
dedicated Challenge Cost Share funds, for the national scenic and
historic trails administered by the National Park Service. We also
appreciate your increased allocation of funds to support the trails
administered and managed by the Forest Service and for the trails in
the Bureau of Land Management's National Landscape Conservation System.
To continue the progress that you have fostered, the Partnership
requests that you provide annual operations funding for each of the 30
national scenic and historic trails for fiscal year 2017 through these
appropriations:
--National Park Service: $16.233 million for administration of 23
trails and for coordination of the long-distance trails program
by the Washington office. Construction: $357,200 for the Ice
Age Trail and $250,000 for the Pacific Crest Trail.
--USDA Forest Service: $85 million for trails construction and
maintenance (CMTL) with $7.796 million of it to administer 6
trails and $1.3 million to manage parts of 16 trails
administered by the NPS or BLM. $600,000 for Iditarod Trail
construction and maintenance.
--Bureau of Land Management: $2.812 million to administer three
trails and for coordination of the National Trails program and
$7.14 million to manage portions of 13 trails administered by
the Park Service or the Forest Service and for operating five
National Historic Trail interpretive centers. Construction:
$300,000 for the Iditarod Trail. Maintenance: $300,000 for the
Iditarod Trail and $250,000 for the Pacific Crest Trail,
--We ask that you create a $1.5 million National Trails System
Challenge Cost Share Program for the National Park Service.
--We ask that you restore the Bureau of Land Management's Challenge
Cost Share Program with $3 million of funding and allocate
$500,000 of it for the national scenic and historic trails it
administers or manages.
We ask that you appropriate $64,208,000 from the Land and Water
Conservation Fund for the acquisition of 72 tracts along seven national
scenic and six national historic trails described in the National
Trails System Collaborative Landscape Planning proposal and allocate
this funding to the:
--Bureau of Land Management: $9,022,000
--U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: $7,879,000
--U.S. Forest Service: $21,523,000
--National Park Service: $25,784,000.
national park service
The $16.233 million we request for Park Service operations includes
increases for some of the trails to continue the progress and new
initiatives made possible by the additional funding Congress provided
several years ago. An increase of $570,000 for the Old Spanish Trail
will enable the Park Service to begin implementing the Trail's new
Comprehensive Management Plan working with the Old Spanish Trail
Association to increase volunteer participation in signing,
interpreting, and educating the public about the trail. The Park
Service will be better able to collaborate with the Bureau of Land
Management in administering the trail and to consult with other
agencies to protect the cultural and natural resources along it from
destruction by energy projects.
We request an increase of $660,000 to expand Park Service efforts
to protect cultural landscapes at more than 200 sites along the Santa
Fe Trail, to develop GIS mapping, and to fund public educational and
community outreach programs of the Santa Fe Trail Association.
Increases of $313,224 for the Oregon Trail and $255,192 for the
California Trail will enable the Park Service to work with the Oregon-
California Trails Association to develop digital and social media to
connect with youth in the cities along these trails providing
information about their many layers of history and to better protect
the historical and cultural heritage sites and landscapes along them
from destruction by energy development in the West. We request an
increase of $300,000 to $833,000 for the Ala Kahakai Trail to enable
the Park Service to work with E Mau Na Ala Hele, the Ala Kahakai Trail
Association, and other community organizations to care for resources on
the land and with the University of Hawaii to conduct archaeological
and cultural landscape studies along this trail.
The $1,020,000 we request for the 4,200 mile North Country Trail
will enable the Park Service to provide greater support for the
regional GIS mapping, trail building, trail management, and training of
volunteers led by the North Country Trail Association. The $1,278,000
we request for the Ice Age Trail includes a $443,000 increase to build
partner and citizen capacity for building new and maintaining existing
trail, protecting the natural and cultural resources on the lands
purchased for the trail, and to provide the Park Service with a planner
to accelerate planning of the land protection corridor for the trail.
Construction: We request that you provide $357,200 for the Ice Age
Trail to build 30 miles of new trail and several trailhead parking lots
and $250,000 for the Pacific Crest Trail for trail construction
projects.
Challenge Cost Share programs are one of the most effective and
efficient ways for Federal agencies to accomplish a wide array of
projects for public benefit while also sustaining partnerships
involving countless private citizens in doing public service work. We
request that you restore the Bureau of Land Management Challenge Cost
Share program, appropriate $3 million to fund it, and allocate $.5
million of that to fund projects along the national scenic and historic
trails. We ask you to create a National Park Service National Trails
System Challenge Cost Share program with $1.5 million funding to
continue the steady progress toward making these trails fully available
for public enjoyment as a wise investment of public money that will
generate public benefits many times greater than its sum.
usda--forest service
We ask you to appropriate $85 million for trails construction and
maintenance (CMTL) to begin to address the considerable maintenance
backlog on the trails in the National Forest System. Within this
appropriation we request that you provide $7.796 million as a separate
budgetary item specifically for the Arizona, Continental Divide,
Florida, Pacific Crest, and Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trails
and the Nez Perce National Historic Trail within the over-all
appropriation for Capital Improvements and Maintenance for Trails.
Recognizing the on-the-ground management responsibility the Forest
Service has for 1024 miles of the Appalachian Trail, more than 650
miles of the North Country Trail, and sections of the Ice Age, Anza,
Caminos Real de Tierra Adentro and de Tejas, Lewis & Clark, California,
Iditarod, Mormon Pioneer, Old Spanish, Oregon, Overmountain Victory,
Pony Express, Trail of Tears and Santa Fe Trails, we ask you to
appropriate $1.3 million specifically for these trails.
The Partnership's request of $7.796 million includes $1.5 million
to enable the Forest Service and Florida Trail Association to continue
trail maintenance, to control invasive species, do ecosystem
restoration, and otherwise manage 4,625 acres of new Florida Trail
land. The $7.996 million request also includes $2.1 million for the
Pacific Crest Trail, $2 million for the Continental Divide Trail, $1
million for the Pacific Northwest Trail, $826,000 for the Nez Perce
Trail, and $570,000 for the Arizona Trail. Some of the additional funds
requested will enable the Forest Service to develop Comprehensive
Management Plans for the latter three trails. We also request $600,000
of additional funding for construction and for maintenance of sections
of the Iditarod Trail.
bureau of land management
Although considerably more money is needed to fully administer the
National Conservation Lands System and protect its resources, we
request that you appropriate $83.099 million in base funding for the
System. We ask that you appropriate as new permanent base funding
$250,000 for National Trails System Program Coordination, $1,000,000
for the Iditarod Trail, $230,000 for El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro
Trail, $1,332,000 for the Old Spanish Trail, and $4,000,000 for the
Bureau to manage 4,645 miles of 13 other national scenic and historic
trails. We request $300,000 to construct new sections of the Iditarod
Trail and to maintain these trails: Iditarod Trail--$300,000 and
Pacific Crest Trail--$250,000. We also request $3,140,000 to operate
five historic trails interpretive centers.
We ask you to restore the Bureau's Challenge Cost Share program,
provide $3 million for it and, direct $500,000 for National Trails
System projects.
To promote greater management transparency and accountability for
the National Trails and the whole National Landscape Conservation
System, we urge you to request expenditure and accomplishment reports
for each of the NLCS Units for fiscal year 2016 and fiscal year 2017
and to direct the Bureau to include unit-level allocations within major
sub-activities for each of the scenic and historic trails, and wild and
scenic rivers--as the Bureau has done for the national monuments,
wilderness, and conservation areas--within a new activity account for
the National Landscape Conservation System in fiscal year 2018. The
Bureau's lack of a unified budget account for National Trails prevents
the agency from efficiently planning, implementing, reporting, and
taking advantage of cost-saving and leveraging partnerships and
volunteer contributions for every activity related to these national
resources.
land and water conservation fund
The Partnership strongly supports the President's budget proposal
to fully fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund at the authorized
$900 million, with $475 million from discretionary sources and $425
million in mandatory funds for the component programs funded under
LWCF. Within this amount we request that you appropriate $64,208,000
for the National Trails System Collaborative Landscape Planning
proposal to acquire 72 parcels along 13 national scenic and historic
trails detailed here:
Bureau of Land Management
$9,022,000
12 parcels
7,409 acres
Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail (Montana): $1,750,000 for
preservation of pristine trail, landscape, and habitat and to provide
recreation access along the Upper Missouri National Wild and Scenic
River.
Nez Perce National Historic Trail (Idaho): $3,100,000 for trail and
resource conservation of sage grouse and pronghorn habitat at one of
the last remaining working ranches at Henry's Lake.
Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail (Oregon, California):
$3,172,000 for trail and resource protection within the Cascade
Siskiyou National Monument in Southern Oregon and in the Mojave Desert
in Southern California.
Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail (Maryland):
$1,000,000 for preservation of threatened and endangered species
habitat, increased recreation access and watershed connectivity.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
$7,879,000
13 parcels
6,510 acres
Appalachian National Scenic Trail (Pennsylvania): $4,000,000 to
connect conservation habitats for bog turtles, black bear, Indiana
bats, flying squirrels, and bald eagles along the Kittatinny Ridge.
California National Historic Trail (Idaho): $2,500,000 to protect
the largest breeding concentration of Sandhill Cranes, as well as, a
haven for other waterfowl from a current farming threat.
Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail (Washington): $1,379,000 to
preserve unique ecosystems while increasing public recreational access
near Julia Butler Hansen, Ridgefield, Franz Lake, Lewis and Clark, and
Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuges.
U.S. Forest Service
$21,523,000
29 parcels
7,930 acres
Appalachian National Scenic Trail (Georgia, North Carolina,
Tennessee, Virginia): $4,588,000 to relocate trail, preserve trail view
sheds, provide ecological connectivity, and protect watersheds near or
adjacent to the Pond Mountain Wilderness, the Roan Highlands, Rice
Creek Valley, and George Washington and Jefferson NFs.
Continental Divide National Scenic Trail (Montana): $2,400,000 to
protect pristine riparian habitat within the Gila National Forest and
increase public recreational access via multi-user trails.
Florida National Scenic Trail (Florida): $42,000 to close a trail
gap and provide connectivity and public access between protected areas
along the Withlacoochee River adjacent to Suwanee River State Park.
Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail (California, Washington):
$14,493,000 to provide critical scenic protection to the hiker
experience, improve trail location and protect wildlife habitats in the
Shasta-Trinity National Forest and provide recreational access adjacent
to the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area.
National Park Service
$25,784,000
18 parcels
6,398 acres
Ala Kahakai National Historic Trail (Hawaii): $6,000,000 to protect
444 archaeological sites at an ancient coastal indigenous gathering
area that hosts a wealth of native plants and wildlife both above and
below ground in lava tubes.
Appalachian National Scenic Trail (New York, Massachusetts):
$2,982,000 to support connectivity of riparian and forest habitats in
the Hinsdale Flats of the Berkshire-Taconic landscape and to preserve
iconic scenic viewsheds.
Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail (Virginia):
$4,250,000 to provide public access to the site of a major encounter
between John Smith and indigenous peoples and protect a major migratory
bird stopover habitat.
Ice Age National Scenic Trail (Wisconsin): $1,200,000 to close gaps
in the trail and provide urban access in the City of St. Croix and
preserve pristine northern hardwood forest and riparian habitat along
tributaries to the St. Croix National Scenic River.
North Country National Scenic Trail (Michigan, Pennsylvania):
$6,722,000 to protect over 2,500 acres along the Sturgeon River
downstream from the Ottawa National Forest in Upper Michigan and to
connect Moraine and McConnell's Mill State Parks in Pennsylvania
providing recreational access via the NCNST.
Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail (Tennessee):
$1,430,000 to protect the historically significant Shelving Rock
Encampment site, preserve the original roadbed, and facilitate
interpretation of the site.
Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail (New York): $3,000,000 to
protect the Potomac and Shenandoah River corridors, provide
connectivity of wetland and forest habitats, and optimal location for
new trail.
private sector support for the national trails system
Public-spirited partnerships between private citizens and public
agencies have been a hallmark of the National Trails System since its
inception. These partnerships create the enduring strength of the
Trails System and the trail communities that sustain it by combining
the local, grass-roots energy and responsiveness of volunteers with the
responsible continuity of public agencies. They also provide private
financial support for public projects, often resulting in a greater
than equal match of funds.
The private trail organizations' commitment to the success of these
trail-sustaining partnerships grows even as Congress' support for the
trails has grown. In 2015 the trail organizations fostered 1,073,026
hours of documented volunteer labor valued at $24,754,710 to help
sustain the national scenic and historic trails. The organizations also
raised private sector contributions of $12,396,728 for the trails.
______
Prepared Statement of the Performing Arts Alliance
Mr. Chairman and distinguished members of the subcommittee, we
thank you for the opportunity to submit this testimony on behalf of the
Performing Arts Alliance (PAA). We urge the subcommittee to appropriate
$155 million to the National Endowment for the Arts for fiscal year
2017. PAA member organizations include:
Alternate ROOTS National Alliance for
American Composers Forum Musical Theatre
Association of Performing National Association of
Arts Presenters Latino Arts and Cultures
Chamber Music America National Performance
Chorus America Network
Dance/USA Network of Ensemble
Fractured Atlas Theaters
League of American New Music USA
Orchestras OPERA America
Theatre Communications
Group
The Performing Arts Alliance is a national network of more than
33,000 organizational and individual members comprising the
professional, nonprofit performing arts fields. We submit this
testimony to highlight the importance of Federal investment in the
arts.
For 50 years, the National Endowment for the Arts has held a
significant Federal leadership role for the arts and culture in
America. Its grants reach every congressional district and support arts
organizations serving their communities in a variety of ways. Through
the support of direct NEA grants and NEA partnerships with State arts
agencies, arts organizations are helping people experience high-quality
artistic presentations, access arts education and opportunities for
artistic development, find their voices and share their stories, and
have critical dialogue about important social issues.
The following examples of recent NEA grantees within the PAA
network are a sample of the significant ways performing arts
organizations are able to serve their communities with the support of
the NEA.
-- NEA grants support arts education projects that offer professional
development to educators and arts learning opportunities for
students.
Chamber Music America member Community Music Works in Providence,
Rhode Island received fiscal year 2015 Art Works support to provide
free lessons in instrumental music, music theory, and improvisation to
local at-risk children and youth. The organization also provided a
leadership development program for advanced students as well as
performance opportunities.
AXIS Dance Company in Oakland, California, recently received Art
Works support for its Dance Access Education and Outreach programs to
be offered in the Bay Area and in cities nationwide as the company
tours. AXIS' events--such as dance classes, teacher trainings and youth
dance camps--will be offered to youth and adults with and without
disabilities. Included in the offerings are a dance apprentice program
for students with spinal cord injuries and movement experiences for
veterans. AXIS is a member of Dance/USA.
The Integration of the Arts and Literacy Academy was developed by
the Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts in Louisville, Kentucky to
offer professional development programs for arts teachers and teachers
of literacy, reading, and English language arts. Supported by fiscal
year 2016 Art Works funding, this project will help teachers from
rural, urban, and suburban Kentucky schools learn to integrate music,
dance, drama, and visual arts with creative writing and interactive
storytelling based on children's books. The Center for the Performing
Arts is a member of the Association of Performing Arts Presenters.
-- With the support of NEA funds, arts organizations are developing
works that address current affairs and create safe spaces for
community dialogue on social Issues.
Metro Theater Company in St. Louis, Missouri, a member of Theatre
Communications Group, is addressing issues of race and social justice
in its production of ``And in This Corner . . . . Cassius Clay'' by
Idris Goodwin. The presentation is supported by fiscal year 2016 Art
Works funding. Set in Louisville, Kentucky, during the 1950s and early
1960s, the play portrays prize-fighter Cassius Clay's boyhood through
his mid-20s, during the Jim Crow era in the South. As contemporary St.
Louis communities process the aftermath of the present-day shooting
events in Ferguson, aspects of the play may resonate, such as the
police officer who mentors Clay and introduces him to boxing. Outreach
activities associated with this production will encourage civic
engagement and youth empowerment.
Sandglass Theatre in Putney, Vermont received fiscal year 2015 Art
Works support for its biannual International Puppets in the Green
Mountains Festival, which will feature performances by international
puppet artists around the theme of immigration and humanization, as
well as the Voices of Community Series, a theater series exploring
issues of diversity with residencies by visiting artists. Sandglass is
a member of the National Performance Network.
-- NEA funds benefit every congressional district, expanding access to
exemplary artistry to all people in all U.S. communities.
With the support of fiscal year 2016 Challenge America funding, Pro
Musica in Joplin, Missouri is able to offer free public performances
and outreach activities by artists such as Project Trio and the Harlem
Quartet, intended to serve rural communities. This organization is a
member of Chamber Music America. The Quartet's outreach activities
include audience talk-backs about the music, instrumentation, and
composers whose work is being performed.
The St. Louis Children's Choir--a member of Chorus America--has
used fiscal year 2016 Art Works funding to support its Serving St.
Louis through Song community engagement project. The choir will bring
its music to St. Louis Area elementary, middle, and language-immersion
schools, the St. Louis Juvenile Detention Center, the St. Louis
Children's Hospital, and residential care facilities for senior
citizens.
Manship Theatre in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, a member of Dance/USA,
received fiscal year 2016 Challenge America support for residency
projects with tap dance artists Savion Glover, Marshall Davis, Jr., and
jazz drummer Jack Dejohnette. Glover and Davis will give a lecture and
demonstration at Family Youth Services Center, in partnership with the
East Baton Rouge Department of Juvenile Services. Together, all three
artists will perform at a public concert at Manship Theatre.
Great Falls Symphony in Great Falls, Montana, is able to offer
outreach concerts and lead master classes for rural high school
students with the support of an fiscal year 2016 Challenge America Fast
Track grant. The Symphony, a member of the League of American
Orchestras, will also perform in a concert preview that will be aired
on Montana's public radio station and perform during an open rehearsal
for local piano students and piano teachers.
-- NEA grants support projects that help people from different
communities share their stories and histories, helping
audiences make connections across cultures.
Knoxville Opera, a member of OPERA America, received an fiscal year
2016 Challenge America Fast Track Grant to support OPERAtion Outreach!,
a series of free public performances, in-school productions, and
education programs intended to engage underserved audiences of East
Tennessee. In addition to presentations of classic works such as
Puccini's ``Tosca,'' Knoxville Opera will present its African-American
Voices Series, highlighting the importance of diversifying the opera
field. The series will feature African-American opera artists
discussing their careers, achievements, and experiences as minorities
within the field.
Miracle Theatre Group (Milagro), in Portland, Oregon, received
fiscal year 2016 Art Works support for the West Coast premiere of
``Contigo Pan y Cebolla'' by Hector Quintero. The tragic comedy is set
in Havana during the late 1950s just prior to the Cuban revolution. It
centers on a poor family struggling to make ends meet as costs increase
but wages remain stagnant. The play is a popular work of Cuban realism
and will be produced in its original Spanish. The theater will host a
series of bilingual post-play conversations with community members and
local scholars to illuminate Cuban history. Milagro is a member of the
National Association for Latino Arts and Cultures.
Portland Playhouse, in Portland, Oregon (a member of Theatre
Communications Group), received Artworks Support for the development
and West Coast premiere of ``You for Me for You'' by Mia Chung. The
play tells the story of two North Korean sisters facing starvation at
the hands of a corrupt regime who are separated when they decide to
flee the country. The work invites audiences to rethink perceptions of
North Korea and the immigrant experience. In partnership with the
Korean American Coalition and Asian American Network of Oregon, the
theater plans to stimulate public dialogue around the themes of the
play by hosting talkback discussions with artists.
-- NEA grants support projects that provide valuable opportunities for
artistic development for young and emerging artists.
The NOCCA Institute (New Orleans Center for Creative Arts), a
member of Chamber Music America, received fiscal year 2016 Art Works
funding for its Artists-in-Residence Program. Visiting artists convened
for master classes, concerts, and other activities with youth, emerging
and mid-career artists, and the general public.
With the support of fiscal year 2016 Art Works funds, Dorset
Theatre Festival in Dorset, Vermont--a member of Theatre Communications
Group (TCG) --administered its New Play Development Program. Via a new
works incubator to nurture new voices in theatre, the program will
mentor playwrights in the development of new plays from conception to
production. A similar effort to support new voices is underway at the
Nashville Repertory Theatre due in part to support from Art Works
funding. The Theatre's Ingram New Works Project will aid the creation
of new plays by participating playwrights who will write plays of their
choice, rather than a play chosen by the institution. This theatre is
also a member of TCG.
The artistic programming of the arts organizations supported by the
National Endowment for the Arts gives vitality to their communities in
numerous ways beyond the examples provided here. The Federal investment
in the NEA places value on the role of arts and culture in our society,
and it realizes significant returns that are both measurable and
intangible. We celebrate the NEA's fiscal year 2016 budget increase--
the first since fiscal year 2011--and urge you to please support no
less than $155 million to the National Endowment for the Arts in fiscal
year 2017. Thank you for considering our request.
[This statement was submitted by Mario Garcia Durham, Chair, and
Cristine Davis, General Manager.]
______
Prepared Statement in Support of Federal Programs to Conserve and
Improve America's Forests
Dear Chairman Murkowski and Ranking Member Udall:
The President's fiscal year 17 budget reflects the difficult budget
decisions that the ever increasing costs of wildfires and budget
constraints present. Even in this tight budget climate, the undersigned
organizations believe that investments in key Federal programs to
conserve and improve America's forests--rural and urban, private and
public--are critically important. These investments create jobs,
mitigate pollution and carbon emissions, enhance and protect our
drinking water, contribute to healthy, livable communities, and
encourage forest product innovation and utilization, helping the Nation
to foster strong economic growth in rural areas.
The U.S. Forest Service State and Private Forestry Deputy Area
(S&PF) serves as a lynchpin for the conservation of America's forests.
S&PF supports a broad range of programs in partnerships with State and
national forestry and conservation organizations interested in
America's forests. Providing this important technical and financial
assistance to private landowners and the resource managers responsible
for managing more than 60 percent of America's forests helps to
increase the pace and scale of landscape scale restoration work,
improve the resilience of the Nation's forests, and protect communities
and the environment from forest pests, invasive species and wildland
fires.
Fiscal year 2017 funding for the following S&PF programs will help
improve the health of the Nation's forests and encourage economic
growth in a sector that sustains more than one million jobs in the
United States. Our funding level requests include:
--$29 million for the Forest Stewardship Program: Administered in
cooperation with State forestry agencies, this program plays a
fundamental role in keeping forests as forests. Forest Insects,
diseases and wild fire know no bounds between Federal and non-
Federal forests. Assisting some of the 22 million private
landowners in managing non-Federal forests can help minimize
the impacts to Federal lands saving the Federal taxpayer
millions of dollars. Almost 90 percent of those who have
stewardship plans are actively implementing them to manage for
wildlife, clean water, climate mitigation, and forest products.
--$100 million for the Forest Health Management Programs--$52 million
Federal Lands and $48 million Cooperative Lands: Pests and
disease area national problem affecting private and public
lands. The USFS Forest Health Management Program supports
efforts to prevent, contain, and eradicate these costly and
dangerous pests and pathogens affecting trees and forests.
--$31 million for the Urban and Community Forestry Program:
Benefiting more than 220 million people, this program provides
assistance to communities managing local, urban, and community
forestry resources to keep trees and forests in our communities
healthy. These urban forests provide quantifiable energy
savings, stormwater impact reduction, and human health benefits
in return.
--$87 million for State and $15 million for Volunteer Fire Assistance
Programs: Initial attack is the key to reducing large fire
costs and these programs are critical to these suppression
efforts. State and volunteer fire crews are deployed to assist
on Federal fires and other emergency or disaster situations, in
compliance with national safety and training standards.
--$23.5 million for Landscape Scale Restoration: S&PF works
collaboratively with States and other partners using State
Forest Action Plans to target resources to the highest priority
forest needs across ownerships to achieve results with
meaningful local, regional, and national impacts.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
American Forests
American Forest Foundation
CarbonVerde
Forest Business Network
National Association of Conservation Districts
National Association of Forest Service Retirees
National Association of State Foresters
National Wild Turkey Federation
National Woodland Owners Association
The National Wildfire Institute
The Nature Conservancy
The Pinchot Institute for Conservation
Society of American Foresters
______
Prepared Statement of the Puyallup Tribe of Indians
Thank you for the opportunity to provide written testimony
concerning the fiscal year 2017 appropriations for American Indian and
Alaskan Native programs within the BIA and IHS. My name is David Z.
Bean, Tribal Council Member for the Puyallup Tribe of Indians.
The Puyallup Tribe is an independent sovereign nation having
historically negotiated with several foreign nations including the
United States in the Medicine Creek Treaty of 1854. This relationship
is rooted in Article I, Section 8, of the United States Constitution,
Federal laws and numerous Executive orders. The governing body of the
Puyallup Tribe of Indians is the Puyallup Tribal Council which upholds
the Tribe's sovereign responsibility of self-determination and self-
governance for the benefit of the 5,006 Puyallup tribal members and the
25,000 plus members from approximately 355 federally recognized tribes
who utilize our services. The Puyallup Reservation is located in the
urbanized Seattle-Tacoma area of the State of Washington. The 18,061
acre reservation is a ``checkerboard'' of tribal lands, Indian-owned
fee land and non-Indian owned fee land. Our reservation land includes
parts of six different municipalities (Tacoma, Fife, Milton, Puyallup,
Edgewood and Federal Way).
The following written testimony being submitted to the Senate
Appropriations Subcommittee documents the Puyallup Tribe's views on the
President's fiscal year 2017 Federal budget. The focus of the written
testimony will be on the President's proposed budget for the Bureau of
Indian Affairs (BIA) and the Indian Health Service (IHS). Within the
BIA budget, $2.9 billion is proposed for fiscal year 2017, an increase
of $138 million above the fiscal year 2016 levels. For the IHS, $5.2
billion is proposed, an increase of $378 million over the fiscal year
2016 enacted level. Included in both budgets the President proposes to
fully fund Contract Support Costs (CSC) in fiscal year 2017. The budget
provides $278 million for BIA CSCs and $800 million for IHS CSCs. We
appreciate the increased funding being proposed for the BIA and IHS and
funding CSCs at 100 percent. However, years of inadequate funding and
the effects of inflation have impacted the tribe's ability to fully
exercise self-determination and self-governance. As negotiations
proceed on the fiscal year 2017 budget and future appropriations, it is
paramount that Congress fully fund Indian program needs.
department of interior--bureau of indian affairs
Public Safety & Justice: The fiscal year 2017 budget request
includes $373.5 million for BIA Public Safety & Justice. This
represents a $4 million decrease over the fiscal year 2016 enacted
level. Funding for detention facilities is of great importance to the
Puyallup Tribe. In fiscal year 2009, we received a Department of
Justice ARRA grant, in the amount of $7.9 million to construct a 28 bed
adult corrections facility. Construction on the facility was completed
in February 2014 and came online in May 2014. Over the past years the
Puyallup Tribe has worked closely with the BIA Office of Justice
Services to identify the operating and staffing costs associated this
facility. The agreed upon estimated cost of operating the facility was
set at $2.6 million annually. The BIA base funding offered to the tribe
in fiscal year 2015 was $704,198 or 27 percent of actual need, with no
increases to base funding in fiscal year 2016 or fiscal year 2017.
Thus, while we support the $1.0 million increase in the President's
proposed fiscal year 2017 funding for Detention & Corrections, this
increase is not sufficient to fund the staffing and operating needs of
Indian Country detention facilities, some of which lie vacant due to
lack of funds. We are requesting support from the subcommittee to
include Committee report language that would direct Office of Justice
Services to submit a plan for funding the staffing and operating needs
of the detention facilities in Indian country.
In addition, we operate a tribal court program through a Public Law
93-638 contract with the BIA. In fiscal year 2015, our base funding was
increased from $45,000 to $194,996 and remains this amount for fiscal
year 2017. While the increase to our tribal court base funding was
appreciated, it does not equal the amount of tribal funds necessary to
fully operate the tribal court program. In fiscal year 2016, the tribe
has allocated $1.172 million of tribal funds for the tribal court
budget. Again, while the Puyallup Tribe supports the $2.5 million
increase for tribal court funding for fiscal year 2017, we agree with
the National Congress of American Indian's request that an additional
$82.0 million be allocated to BIA to increase base funding for tribal
courts. This increase would assist with the implementation of the
Tribal Law and Order Act and the Violence Against Women Act. Further,
we are strongly opposed to the $8.2 million decrease proposed for the
tribal courts initiative to better support tribal courts in Public Law
280 States.
Natural Resources Management: The Puyallup Tribe has treaty and
governmental obligations and responsibilities to manage its natural
resources for uses beneficial to the tribal membership and the regional
communities. Despite our diligent program efforts, the fisheries
resource is degrading and economic losses are incurred by Native and
Non-native fishermen and surrounding communities. Our resource
management responsibilities cover thousands of square miles in the
Puget Sound region of the State of Washington.
For fiscal year 2017, a minimum funding level of $8.5 million is
necessary for the Rights Protection Implementation--BIA Western
Washington (Bolts) Fisheries Management program. However, we agree with
the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission and the National Congress of
American Indians that an overall $52 million increase for the Rights
Protection Implementation funding is necessary to ensure compliance
with Federal court orders through effective tribal self-regulatory and
co-management systems. This increase in funding would provide new
monies for harvest management, habitat protection, stock enhancement,
shellfish, enforcement, wildlife and other natural resource management
needs. As the aboriginal owners and guardians of our lands and waters
it is essential that adequate funding is provided to allow tribes to
carry-out our inherent stewardship of these resources.
The Puyallup Tribe continues to operate a number of salmon
hatcheries that benefit Indian and non-Indian commercial and sport
fisheries in the Pacific Northwest/Puget Sound. We work cooperatively
with the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission, neighboring tribes,
Federal agencies and State fishery managers to insure the success and
sustainability of our hatchery programs. The tribe supports the
President's fiscal year 2017 budget request of $10.38 million for Fish
Hatcheries Operations and Fish Hatchery Maintenance.
The Timber, Fish and Wildlife (TFW) Supplemental and U.S./Canada
Pacific Salmon Treaty programs has allowed for the expansion of tribal
participation in the State forest practice rules and regulations and
participation in inter-tribal organizations to address specific
treaties and legal cases which relate to multi-national fishing rights,
harvest allocations and resource management practices. We request
subcommittee support the funding recommendations of the NWIFC for the
fiscal year 2017 TFW Supplemental program and the U.S./Canada Pacific
Salmon Treaty program.
The Puyallup Wildlife Management program has been the lead agency
in management activities to benefit the South Rainier elk herd since
2004. The South Rainier elk herd is the primary stock of elk harvested
by the Puyallup Tribe. The tribe has not only established more reliable
methods for population monitoring, but has also been proactive in
initiating habitat enhancement projects, research and land acquisition
to ensure sustainable populations of elk for future generations. Funds
that are available to the tribe have been on a very competitive basis
with a limited amount per program via USFWS Tribal Wildlife grants and
the BIA Unresolved Hunting and Fishing Rights grant program. We request
subcommittee support to provide base funding to the tribes' Wildlife
Management Program in the amount of $150,000 through the BIA Unresolved
Hunting and Fishing Rights program in fiscal year 2017 appropriations.
Education: The Puyallup Tribe operates the pre-K to 12 Chief Leschi
Schools which included a verified 2014-2015 School student enrollment
of 910+ students, including ECEAP and FACE programs. With an increasing
number of pre-kindergarten enrollment, Chief Leschi Schools will exceed
design capacity in the near future. Additional space will be necessary
to provide quality educational services to the students and tribal
community. Additionally, the cost of operation and maintenance of the
Chief Leschi School facilities continues to increase in the areas of
supplies, energy and student transportation costs. The fiscal year 2017
budget request for the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) is $912
million, an increase of $60 million over the fiscal year 2016 enacted
level. While this increase is appreciated, once again the funding level
does not meet the actual operational needs of tribal education
programs. The tribe will continue to work with Congress, BIE and the
National Congress of American Indians to increase funding in fiscal
year 2017, including: Tribal Grant Support Cost for Tribally Operated
Schools--$78 million; Student Transportation--$73 million; School
Facilities Accounts--$109 million in facilities operations and $109
million in facilities maintenance, Indian School Equalization Program
(ISEP)--$431 million and Construction/Repair of BIE Schools--$263.4
million.
Operations of Indian Programs & Tribal Priority Allocations: The
President's fiscal year 2017 budget is in drastic need for increased
funding for the BIA Operations of Indian Programs. Within the
Operations of Indian Programs is the Tribal Priority Allocations (TPA).
The TPA budget functions include the majority of funding used to
support on-going services at the ``local tribal'' level, including:
natural resources management, child welfare, other education, housing
and other tribal government services. These functions have not received
adequate and consistent funding to allow tribes the resources to fully
exercise self-determination and self-governance. Further, the small
increases that ``TPA'' has received over the past few years has not
been adequate to keep pace with inflation. Specifically we support the
$3.4 million requested increase for Indian Child Welfare funding; the
$12.3 million requested increase for social services; and finally we
support the $3 million requested increase for natural resource programs
within TPA.
department of health and human services--indian health service
The Inadequate funding of the Indian Health Service (IHS) is the
most substantial impediment to the current Indian Health system. The
Puyallup Tribe has been operating healthcare programs since 1976
through the Indian Self-determination Act, Public Law 93-638. The
Puyallup Tribal Health Authority (PTHA) operates a comprehensive
ambulatory care program to the Native American population in Pierce
County, Washington. The current patient load exceeds 9,000, of which
approximately 1,700 are tribal members. There are no IHS hospitals in
the Portland Area so all specialties and hospital care have been paid
for out of our contract care allocation. The Purchased/Referred Care
(PRC) allocation to PTHA remains inadequate to meet the actual need. In
fiscal year 2004, the Puyallup Tribe subsidized PRC with a $2.8 million
dollar contribution. In fiscal year 2016, the tribal PRC subsidy has
grown to $6.2 million. Given that the PTHA service population is only
comprised of 17 percent Puyallup tribal members, tribal budget
priorities in fiscal year 2011 through fiscal year 2016 have made
continued subsidies to the PTHA financially difficult for the Puyallup
Tribe. The fiscal year 2017 budget requests $5.2 billion in
discretionary budget authority for the Indian Health Service. This
represents a $378 million increase over the fiscal year 2016 enacted
level. For Health Services programs the fiscal year 2017 budget
requests funding for Clinical Services ($3.47 billion), Purchased/
Referred Care ($962 million), Facilities Maintenance & Improvement ($77
million) and Contract Support ($800 million). The Puyallup Tribe fully
supports funding increases for existing IHS programs and will work with
Congress to continue efforts to increase funding for IHS and the
critical programs administered by the agency which so many Indian
tribes perform under Indian Self-Determination Act contracts and
agreements.
______
Prepared Statement of the PVC Pipe Association
The Uni-Bell PVC Pipe Association is a not-for-profit organization
representing 95 percent of the manufacturing capacity of the North
American PVC pipe industry. Our pipe producing members operate over 90
facilities in the U.S. and our associate members (suppliers) hundreds
more. PVC pipe extrusion facilities are found in 32 States across the
United States: California has the most plants (9), followed by Texas
(6), Arizona (5) and Pennsylvania (5).
The PVC pipe industry serves a vast and complex market including
54,000 drinking water systems, 10,000 wastewater facilities and 15,000
sewer and wastewater contracting firms. PVC water and sewer pipe
producers contribute in excess of $14 billion annually to the U.S.
economy and support over 25,000 jobs.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) manages taxpayer dollars
under the State Revolving Fund's (SRF's) for water and wastewater
projects in every State. It is important for all States and
municipalities receiving Federal funding to use open and free bidding
processes and to consider all approved piping materials so that the
most cost effective, longest lasting and best performing piping is
used.
According to the U.S. Conference of Mayors, underground pipes
represent 60 percent ($2.28 trillion) of the $3.8 trillion needed in
investments for water and wastewater infrastructure over the next 20
years. As a result, it is here that open procurement policies and
practices should be focused.
Since the 1970s the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Rural
Development Program has required that the funding it provides rural
municipalities for water and sewer projects be spent in an open and
competitive manner. It is time for the EPA to have similar
requirements.
Richard Anderson, Ph.D., Senior Advisor to U.S. Conference of
Mayors Water Council, who is also a proponent of procurement reform for
underground infrastructure, reports that water and sewer pipelines are
deteriorating faster than the rate at which they can be replaced
because of corrosion, which is the leading cause of the water main
break epidemic in North America (estimated at some 300,000 breaks
annually). According to a 2002 congressional study, corrosion is also a
drag on the economy, costing U.S. drinking water and wastewater systems
over $50.7 billion annually. As a result, any comprehensive and truly
sustainable underground infrastructure strategy must address corrosion.
Today's corrosion crisis is due to the materials used in America's
piping networks over the last hundred years. At first, cast iron was
used, with ductile iron gradually replacing it as the material of
choice. Both now suffer from corrosion. In fact, studies have shown
that newer iron pipes do not last as long as older versions because of
their thinner walls.
The burden of old technology materials is not limited to the cost
of repairing and replacing failed pipelines. It includes the cost of
losing treated water from leaking systems. Leaking pipes made from old
technology materials lose an estimated 2.6 trillion gallons of drinking
water annually, or 17 percent of all treated water pumped in the United
States.
The solution to these problems begins with sustainability,
durability and corrosion resistance, and this is why more utilities
must actively consider all approved piping materials like PVC in their
bidding processes. Increased durability means fewer leaks, better water
conservation and lower costs. As a result, any comprehensive action
plan for water and wastewater infrastructure renewal must also include
reform of municipal procurement practices that limit competition,
shackle innovation and increase costs.
We believe that to get the most efficient and sustainable use of
Federal money for water and wastewater projects, free and open
competition must be the operating standard. Federal grants provided to
municipalities should have open competition stipulations similar to
those required by the USDA Rural Development Program for water and
sewer projects. In this way Federal dollars obtain maximum value for
taxpayers. When products are excluded from bidding, taxpayers suffer as
does the efficiency of our infrastructure.
With over 2 million miles in service, PVC pipe has been celebrated
by Engineering News Record as one of the top 20 engineering
advancements of the last 125 years. A study by the American Water Works
Research Foundation recently quantified the life expectancy of PVC pipe
at more than 110 years--making it excellent for long-term asset
management and sustainability. Furthermore, PVC pipe is more efficient
to manufacture, taking four times less energy to make than concrete
pressure pipe, and half that used for iron pipe.
As well, PVC pipe is cost effective, has watertight joints and its
lightweight reduces transportation and installation costs, yielding
additional greenhouse gas reductions. It is also totally recyclable,
though most of it has yet to enter the recycling stream given its great
durability.
The PVC pipe industry has published the first North American
industry-wide environmental product declaration (EPD) for PVC water and
sewer piping, which has been verified by NSF Sustainability, a division
of global public health organization NSF International. PVC pipe is
designed to minimize environmental impacts due to its corrosion
resistance, enabling long-term durability. This third-party verified,
ISO 14025 compliant EPD was the next step in validating the safety and
sustainability of PVC piping products. With the completion of this EPD,
the PVC pipe industry has demonstrated its continued commitment to
product safety and transparency.
--Environmental Product Declaration for PVC Water and Sewer Piping--
NSF international
http://www.uni-bell.org/communication/images/
environmental_product_
declaration_for_water_and_sewer_piping.pdf
Numerous organizations have published studies on the need to update
procurement practices to more cost effectively finance our underground
infrastructure. Below are links to some of these reports:
--Procurement Process Improvements Yield Cost-Effective Public
Benefits
http://www.uni-bell.org/communication/images/
uscm_muncipalprocurement_
onepage.pdf
--Reforming Our Nation's Approach to the Infrastructure Crisis: How
Competition, Oversight, and Innovation Can Lower Water and
Sewer Rates in the United States
http://www.uni-bell.org/kcfinder/upload/files/
NTU%20Report%281%29.pdf
--Lowering Costs in Water Infrastructure through Procurement Reform:
A Strategy for State Governments
http://www.uni-bell.org/resources/
Lowering%20Costs%20in%20Water%20
Infrastructure_ALEC%20FINAL.pdf
--Fixing America's Crumbling Underground Water Infrastructure:
Competitive Bidding Offers a Way Out
http://www.uni-bell.org/resources/
FixingAmericasWaterInfrastructure.pdf
Also please find links to water main break rate and pipe longevity
studies by Utah State University's Buried Structures Laboratory, which
determined that PVC has the lowest break rate of all water piping
materials and the longest lifespan:
--Water Main Break Rates in the USA and Canada: A Comprehensive Study
http://www.uni-bell.org/kcfinder/upload/files/
UtahStateWaterBreakRates_
FINAL_TH_Ver5lowrez.pdf
--PVC Pipe Longevity Report: A Comprehensive Study on PVC Pipe
Excavations, Testing, & Life Cycle Analysis
http://www.uni-bell.org/communication/images/
unibell_24_page_low_
res1.pdf
The PVC pipe industry thanks you for letting us submit a statement
for this important hearing and we will be pleased to answer any
questions you may have.
[This statement was submitted by Bruce Hollands, Executive
Director.]
______
Prepared Statement of the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa
Testimony Addresses: Bureau of Indian Affairs
Lake Superior Co-Management Program Write-up for the Tribal Management/
Development Program (TMDP) Funding
This write-up was developed in conjunction with BIA Central Office
staff
Of the proposed increase to TMDP, $750,000 will be provided to
support Lake Superior Co-Management (LSCM) tribes (Red Cliff, Bad
River). The LSCM tribes are experiencing the effects of climate change
disproportionately due to their cultural and functional reliance on
Lake Superior, as well as their inability to relocate treaty-defined
reservations. The reservations of the LSCM tribes border Lake Superior
coastal shoreline, and the tribes actively participate in commercial
and subsistence fish harvest across six management units and 7,051,090
surface acres of Lake Superior. The reservations' economies are
fundamentally based and inextricably linked to the continued
sustainable harvest of wild, native fish stocks in the 1842 ceded
waters of Lake Superior.
Tribal commercial fishing on Lake Superior under the Treaty of 1842
(7 Stat. 591) and Treaty of 1854 (10 Stat.1109) with the Chippewa was
affirmed in State v. Gurnoe, 53 Wis. 2d 390 (1972), which dismissed
State prosecution against tribal fishermen and initiated the current
system of self-regulation. The U.S. District Court for the Western
District of Wisconsin also dismissed allegations against tribal
fishermen in U.S. v. Peterson, 82CR7OU (1984), in light of the
regulatory provisions contained in the Lake Superior Fishing Agreement,
first adopted in 1981, between the Red Cliff and Bad River Tribes and
State of Wisconsin. While the rights of these tribes to manage the Lake
Superior fishery was made clear in court decisions, the exact
jurisdictional boundaries and roles of each tribe in cooperation with
the State was determined through negotiated efforts. Prior to, and
since the Federal court's decision in U.S. v. Peterson, the tribes have
maintained sovereign rights to regulate Treaty harvest and to
cooperatively manage the shared fishery resource in Lake Superior
through subsequent negotiated renditions of the Lake Superior Fishing
Agreement in coordination with the State of Wisconsin in 1991, 1995,
and 2005. LSCM tribes (Red Cliff and Bad River) each currently receive
base TMDP funding for on-reservation management of fish and wildlife
resources. Funding of LSCM will provide the funding required for Red
Cliff and Bad River to co-manage tribal resources in compliance with
the Lake Superior Fishing Agreement within the jurisdictions also
managed by the State. This increase to LSCM (Red Cliff and Bad River)
is needed to improve conservation enforcement, commercial monitoring,
and data-driven fishery management activities within the co-managed
jurisdictions of Lake Superior in cooperation with the State.
Since the Gurnoe Decision (1972) reaffirmed the rights of the
Chippewa tribes to engage in reservation-based fish harvest, LSCM
tribes have developed natural resource programs to demonstrate their
co-management authority on Lake Superior and ensure sustainable fishery
management. The core functions of these programs, namely fish stock
assessments, conservation enforcement and harvest monitoring, have
resulted in the most spatially and temporally comprehensive database to
quantify climate change impacts. The LSCM has regional and national
benefit as vulnerability assessments and climate resiliency strategies
are developed for the world's greatest freshwater ecosystem.
Justification
--A major funding shortfall of Tribal Management and Development
funding to the Bad River and Red Cliff Tribes has resulted in
an unmet obligation by BIA to support treaty harvest and
management responsibilities by the tribes across 7,000,000
surface acres of ceded territory on Lake Superior.
--Red Cliff and Bad River operate exclusively in Wisconsin waters of
Lake Superior and directly negotiate terms under the Lake
Superior Fishing Agreement, first signed in 1981, with the
State of Wisconsin. Subsequent renditions of the Agreement
occurred in 1991, 1995, and 2005; a 2016 Agreement is currently
being negotiated.
--U.S. District Court dismissed allegations on Red Cliff commercial
fishermen in U.S. v. Peterson, 82CR7OU (1984),\4\ in light of
the regulatory provisions contained in the 1981 Lake Superior
Fishing Agreement. The Federal decision relied upon the
standing Agreement with the State in dismissing the case.
--Fish stock assessments, on-board harvest monitoring and
conservation enforcement are the foundation of the Lake
Superior Co-Management program. These activities are not
supported through the assistance of an intertribal agency in
Wisconsin waters.
--History and tradition are important to us:
The Red Cliff Reservation, A third member of the La Pointe
Agency Group, is about 24 miles by rail from Ashland. It contains 191
Indians, a particularly industrious and deserving lot of people. A good
many of the Red Cliff Indians obtain their chief employment at the
Bayfield sawmills, and many others have until recently earned a fair
subsistence by fishing with nets in the bay along the border of the
reservation. Their fish they would pack and ship in kegs to the market,
working on a cooperative system. Now the State of Wisconsin has adopted
laws which forbid their net fishery, although the Treaty of 1854
between the Tribe and the United States Government guarantees them this
privilege. They cannot understand the conflict of State laws with
Federal treaties, and still consider themselves entitled to fish,
though they have made no attempt to assert their rights aggressively
since some of the fishermen were arrested by the State authorities.
-- 28th Annual Report of the Board of Indian commissioners, 1896.
But modern tribal fisheries require conscientious, data-driven
management. Please support us.
______
Prepared Statement of Restore America's Estuaries
Restore America's Estuaries is a nonpartisan, nonprofit
organization that has been working since 1995 to restore our Nation's
greatest estuaries. Our mission is to restore and protect estuaries as
essential resources for our Nation. Restore America's Estuaries is an
alliance of community-based coastal conservation organizations across
the Nation that protect and restore coastal and estuarine habitat. Our
member organizations include: American Littoral Society, Chesapeake Bay
Foundation, Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana, Save the Sound--a
program of the Connecticut Fund for the Environment, Galveston Bay
Foundation, North Carolina Coastal Federation, EarthCorps, Save The
Bay--San Francisco, Save the Bay--Narragansett Bay, and Tampa Bay
Watch. Collectively, we represent over 250,000 members nationwide.
As you develop the fiscal year 2017 Interior, Environment and
Related Agencies appropriations bill, Restore America's Estuaries and
our members encourage you to provide the following funding levels
within the Department of Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
(USFWS) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) for core
programs that significantly support coastal community and ecosystem
resilience and local economies:
--$15 million for USFWS Coastal Program
(Interior: USFWS: Resource Management: Habitat Conservation:
Coastal Program)
--$27.2 million for USEPA National Estuary Program
(USEPA: Water: Ecosystems: National Estuary Program/Coastal
Waterways)
These non-regulatory investments strengthen and revitalize
America's coastal communities by protecting and restoring habitat,
improving local water quality, and enhancing resilience. Healthy
coastlines protect communities from flood damage and extreme weather,
improve commercial fisheries, safeguard vital infrastructure, and
support tourism and recreational opportunities.
usfws coastal program
The Coastal Program (CP) is a voluntary, incentive-based program
that provides technical and financial assistance to coastal communities
and landowners to protect and restore fish and wildlife habitat on
public and private lands in 24 priority coastal ecosystems throughout
the United States, including the Great Lakes. The Coastal Program works
collaboratively within the USFWS to coordinate strategic priorities and
make landscape-scale progress with other Federal, State, local, and
non-governmental partners and private landowners. Since 1985, the
Coastal Program has:
--Partnered with more than 5,000 Federal, tribal, State, and local
agencies, non-governmental organizations, corporations, and
private landowners.
--Restored 546,390 acres of wetland and upland habitat and 2,590
miles of stream habitat.
--Protected more than 2.1 million acres of coastal habitat.
--Provided technical assistance to a diverse range of conservation
partners.
Our coastal communities and ecosystems are on the front lines of
changing coastal conditions and increasing extreme weather. Support for
the USFWS Coastal Program helps interested communities and partners
address the new set of challenges facing coastal communities. The
Coastal Program is the USFWS's key conservation tool delivering on-the-
ground habitat restoration and technical assistance. Despite the
Program's relatively small cost, it has a tremendous impact. In 2015
alone, the Coastal Program, along with 455 local partners, completed
266 projects restoring or protecting more than 90,000 acres of wetlands
and uplands and 194 miles of stream habitat. A recent estimate by USFWS
Coastal Program staff shows that the program leverages, on average, $8
non-Federal dollars for every Federal dollar spent. This makes the
Coastal Program one of the most cost-effective habitat restoration
programs within the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The Coastal Program stimulates local economies by supporting jobs
necessary to deliver habitat conservation projects, including
environmental consultants, engineers, construction workers, surveyors,
assessors, and nursery and landscape workers. These jobs generate
indirect economic activities that benefit local hotels, restaurants,
stores, and gas stations. In total, the Coastal Program estimates that
the average project supports 60 jobs and stimulates 40 businesses
resulting in nearly 13 dollars in economic returns for each dollar of
Federal investment. Additionally, restoration jobs cannot be outsourced
and $0.90 of every dollar spent on restoration stays within the State.
In Puget Sound, Washington, the Coastal Program invested $20,000 to
support a project to clean up and remove old and abandoned fishing gear
from the water, resulting in a direct economic impact to the local
economy of $51,000. Lost and abandoned fishing gear like nets, lines,
crab and shrimp traps pose many problems for people, fish and marine
animals. Each year, derelict crab pots are estimated to trap and kill
372,000 Dungeness crabs, resulting in losses to the fishery of $1.2
million--30-40 percent of the value of the annual commercial catch of
Dungeness crab in Puget Sound. This project removed 84 gillnets--
preventing the loss of approximately 370,000 crabs and returning an
estimated value of well over $1.5 million to the crab fishery alone.
In San Diego Bay, California, the Coastal Program provided funding
and technical assistance to project partners to restore 300 acres of
wetland, mudflat, and upland habitat to benefit more than 90 species of
resident and migratory birds. Project partners transformed highly
degraded salt ponds into lush habitat by breaching levees, regrading
soils, and planting native vegetation. Just days after the completion
of the project, tens of thousands of birds descended on the newly-
restored habitat to rest, roost, and feed. Not only did this project
restore a ``Globally Important Bird Area,'' as designated by the
American Bird Conservancy, but it also created 130 jobs and generated
$13.4 million for the local economy.
At recent funding levels of approximately $13.3 million, the
Coastal Program is able to provide technical assistance and support to
partners, but can only provide limited project dollars. A modest
increase over the President's budget request would help the Coastal
Program increase their capacity to leverage willing and interested
partners to deliver highly-effective habitat conservation and
restoration programs that prevent Federal listing of species, promote
species recovery, enhance coastal resilience, and boost local
economies.
Restore America's Estuaries urges your continued support and
funding for the USFWS Coastal Program and asks that you provide $15
million for fiscal year 2017.
usepa national estuary program
The National Estuary Program (NEP) is a non-regulatory network of
voluntary community-based programs that safeguards the health of
important coastal ecosystems across the country. The program utilizes a
consensus-building process to identify goals, objectives, and actions
that reflect local environmental and economic priorities.
Currently there are 28 estuaries located along the Atlantic, Gulf,
and Pacific coasts and in Puerto Rico that have been designated as
estuaries of national significance. Each NEP focuses its work within a
particular place or boundary, called a study area, which includes the
estuary and surrounding watershed.
Each National Estuary Program demonstrates real environmental
results through on-the-ground habitat restoration and protection. Their
efforts reflect local environmental and economic priorities and involve
the community as equal partners throughout the decisionmaking process.
Collectively, NEPs have restored and protected more than 1.5 million
acres of land since 2000.
Restore America's Estuaries urges your continued support of the
National Estuary Program and asks that you provide $27.2 million for
USEPA National Estuary Program/Coastal Waterways. Within this amount
for fiscal year 2017, no less than $600,000 should be directed to each
of the 28 NEPs in the field.
conclusion
Restore America's Estuaries greatly appreciates the support this
subcommittee has provided in the past for these important programs.
These programs effectively accomplish on-the-ground restoration work
which results in major benefits:
1. Economic Growth and Jobs.--Coastal habitat restoration creates
between 17 and 33 direct jobs for each million dollars invested,
depending on the type of restoration. That is more than twice as many
jobs as the oil and gas sector and road construction industries
combined. The restored area supports increased tourism and valuable
ecosystem services, including flood mitigation, shoreline protection,
and enhanced fisheries, among others.
2. Leveraging Private Funding.--In 2015, Federal investment in the
USFWS Coastal Program leveraged non-Federal dollars at a ratio of 34 to
1. The NEPs leveraged non-Federal dollars at a ratio of 15 to 1. In a
time of shrinking resources, these are rates of return we cannot afford
to ignore.
3. Resiliency.--Restoring coastal wetlands knocks down storm waves
and reduces devastating storm surges before they reach the shore,
protecting lives, property, and vital infrastructure for the nearly 40
percent of Americans that live in coastal communities.
We greatly appreciate you taking our requests into consideration as
you move forward in the fiscal year 2017 appropriations process. We
stand ready to work with you and your staff to ensure the health of our
Nation's estuaries and coasts.
______
Prepared Statement of the Riverside-San Bernardino County Indian
Health, Inc.
My name is Brandie Miranda Greany and I am a member of the Pechanga
Band of Luiseno Indians and the Treasurer of Riverside-San Bernardino
County Indian Health, Inc. Thank you for the opportunity to submit
outside written testimony concerning the 2017 appropriations for the
Indian Health Service.
Riverside-San Bernardino County Indian Health is a consortium of
nine tribes located in Riverside and San Bernardino counties. Our
member tribes are the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians, the Cahuilla
Band of Indians, the Santa Rosa Band of Cahuilla Indians, the Ramona
Band of Cahuilla Indians, the Soboba Band of Luiseno Indians, the
Torres-Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians, the Agua-Caliente Band of
Cahuilla Indians, the Morongo Band of Mission Indians, and the San
Manuel Band of Mission Indians. We operate several health centers under
a self-governance compact with the Indian Health Service and we are
very proud of the vast array of services offered at our clinics,
including medical, dental, optical, behavioral health, pharmacy,
laboratory, environmental health, community health representative, and
nutrition services.
We serve over 15,000 Native Americans and 3,000 related family
members, and experience over 100,000 patient visits each year. Our
service area includes two of the largest counties in the contiguous
United States, so our member tribes have joined together to develop a
way to economically and efficiently provide healthcare services for our
people. We also provide healthcare for three other local tribes: the
Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians, the Cabazon Band of Mission
Indians, and the Augustine Band of Cahuilla Indians. Almost two-thirds
of our patients come either from these three local tribes or from
members of other non-consortium tribes who reside in our two-county
service area.
Given the number of patients we treat, our IHS dollars can only go
so far. But we are thankful for the support of Congress and the funding
provided to ensure our people are healthy. We were very appreciative
that Congress heard our voices last year, and we hope that the
subcommittee will continue to pressure IHS to honor the Government's
trust responsibility to provide culturally competent and high-quality
healthcare for Native Americans.
mandatory csc appropriations
I want to take this opportunity to express my sincerest gratitude
for this subcommittee's heroic work to achieve full funding for our
compact with IHS. We were only able to find a path forward on this
contentious issue because of the subcommittee's unrelenting
determination to make full funding of Contract Support Costs (CSCs) a
key priority in its work to uphold the trust responsibility and
contractual obligations of the United States to our Native Nations.
The subcommittee heard our request and included critical language
moving CSC to a separate account and providing uncapped appropriations
to ensure that our contracts would be fully honored. The subcommittee's
action eliminates the threat from IHS--a threat realized in fiscal year
2015--to cut direct care services in order to fully honor our
contracts. Fortunately, this subcommittee took the steps necessary to
protect tribal programs and services from this threat, and we agree
with the subcommittee's approach for dealing with this issue.
There is one aspect of the administration's new CSC language which
we hope will be changed moving forward. At the agency's insistence, a
proviso was included which addresses the tracking of unspent CSC funds.
Unintentionally, this proviso will lead to serious problems, and it
should be removed. First, it creates an extremely complicated
accounting for those funds, with no value to the Federal Government,
the taxpayer, or the tribes. Second, existing law (namely, the Indian
Self-Determination Act of 1975) already addresses how to account for
unspent funds and commands that such funds must be spent in the next
year to carry out the compact or contract. Existing law has worked well
for over 40 years, and we therefore strongly urge that the subcommittee
remove this provision in fiscal year 2017 and future years.
Lastly we respectfully request that the Committee direct the
Secretary of Health and Human Services to promptly file her annual CSC
shortfall reports. Reports have not been filed for fiscal year 2012-
2015, and the last data published for fiscal year 2011 is over 5 years
old.
rpms computer system
For decades, the Indian Health Service has utilized the Resource
and Patient Management System (RPMS) computer system as both a practice
management software and an electronic health record (EHR). It serves as
the patient registration, scheduling, healthcare record, and population
management tool, and also as the third party billing system. Although
IT technology has rapidly transformed healthcare in the United States,
the IHS RPMS system has failed to keep up. The Federal Government has
invested billions to incentivize hospitals and providers to digitize
health records, but IHS's RPMS computer system struggles to develop and
make products available that are functional. The roll out to the users
and the utility of the RPMS system lags far behind systems found in the
private sector.
In short, IHS's RPMS system is falling far behind standard
healthcare industry requirements. It has always been cumbersome, but
now is so difficult to use that our doctors are unable to document
their services accurately, timely, or completely. This is a red flag
that the patients and providers who depend on the IHS system of care
are in serious jeopardy.
IHS leadership insists that the RPMS shortcomings are caused by a
lack of resources. This may be true. After all, the IHS budget for
research and development is zero, while only $20 million was requested
for IHS IT upgrades in 2017. The VA has 2,000 computer programmers, or
more than 16 times the number of IHS programmers, compared to IHS's 120
computer programmers. Worse yet, IHS has a 3-year backlog for user
requests which grows every year. Simply stated, IHS has not invested
adequate resources into the RPMS system and this failure is adversely
impacting the ability of the tribes to provide healthcare services to
Native Americans.
The most recent disaster related to this issue was the failed
implementation of the new ICD-10 codes that were to be in place last
October 1, 2015. IHS was unprepared with the RPMS computer system and
its roll out to tribes. Even more frustrating for the tribes is that
IHS seems to be unable to correct these problems for many years to
come. IHS states that it does not have the resources to make these
changes within the next few years, yet it doesn't ask Congress for the
necessary help to remedy the problem. This leaves the tribes in an
untenable position.
Today, tribes are left to their own solutions, which includes
considering outside vendors to purchase an Electronic Health Record
system that includes Patient Records, Dental, Optical, Pharmacy,
Behavioral Health Services, Registration, Coding, and Billing. But
these EHR software systems are very expensive, and most Tribes simply
do not have the financial resources needed to purchase them. Most
tribes have therefore been left with no choice but to keep the IHS RPMS
computer system, despite its failure to properly transition to the
required ICD-10 conversion.
Overall, the impact to patient care is unacceptable, and the impact
to program operations and the distribution of costs is untenable.
Rather than invest in software solutions that would allow the programs
to operate efficiently, the poorly designed RPMS system multiplies the
cost of delivering healthcare. While America's healthcare industry is
massively improving the functionality of EHR systems, IHS lags far
behind and patient care is suffering.
We recommend that this subcommittee direct IHS to purchase an
outside Electronic Health Record (EHR) system that will bring the
tribes into the 21st Century for medical recordkeeping. IHS must stop
throwing good money into an old, out-dated RPMS system. IHS could spend
millions to try to upgrade the RPMS over the next few years, but that
effort is doomed to fail because the RPMS platform is simply ill-suited
to today's demands. The far less costly option is to direct IHS to do
an open market purchase of a modern-day EHR system. We recommend that
the subcommittee direct that IHS provide an estimate and a spending
plan for what it would cost to purchase and install such an EHR system
within 90 days of enactment of the fiscal year 2017 appropriations
measure and to include a funding request in the fiscal year 2018 budget
for the agency.
Thank you for affording us the opportunity to submit written
testimony.
______
Prepared Statement of Mary C. Robinson
Dear Senators:
As an American citizen and taxpayer, I strongly oppose the BLM's
proposal to conduct dangerous sterilization experiments on wild mares
at the Wild Horse Corral Facility in Hines. According to the
Environmental Assessment (EA), the BLM is deciding whether or not to
proceed with one or more of the proposed sterilization procedures. The
weight of scientific evidence and public opinion clearly supports a BLM
decision NOT to proceed with any of these sterilization procedures.
The sterilization procedures that BLM is proposing to conduct on
federally protected wild mares are dangerous, costly and impractical
for use in the field, due to the serious health risks they pose to the
horses and their unborn foals, and also due to the great expense of
purchasing the equipment and training the number of veterinarians
necessary to implement these procedures on the range.
It makes no sense to spend millions of taxpayer dollars on these
risky invasive experiments when proven, humane, and relatively
inexpensive fertility control technology in the form of the PZP vaccine
is readily available but vastly underutilized by the BLM.
The EA is completely inadequate in analyzing the impacts of these
experimental procedures on mares. In addition, the BLM has deliberately
avoided public opposition to this controversial and grotesque research
proposal by skipping the scoping stage of the environmental analysis
process. As a result, the public has been deprived of the opportunity
to provide input into the impacts of and alternatives to these
procedures that must be analyzed under the rules of the National
Environmental Policy Act.
1. Ovariectomy via Colposcopy
This is an outdated and archaic procedure that has been supplanted
by more modern laparoscopic surgery. The EA fails to analyze the
impacts of and alternatives to this procedure to mares and never once
mentions the availability of more modern techniques! This proposed
sterilization experiment is an intra-vaginal complex surgical
procedure, which is hardly ever performed in domestic horses (never
mind in wild ones), due to its inherently dangerous risks.
--The blind nature of this surgery increases the risk of intra-
abdominal hemorrhage, but the EA never even addresses this
issue or the availability of more modern laparoscopic
techniques that allow the surgeon to visualize the abdominal
structures.
--The lack of a sterile environment subjects the mares to a high risk
of infection, something that is ignored by the EA.
--The procedure carries with it a significant risk of hemorrhage and
evisceration (protrusion of the intestines through the surgical
incision), which is why it requires strict follow-up care when
used in domestic horses, including pain relief and 4-7 days of
stall rest, the first 48 hours of which is spent in crossties
to prevent the mare from lying down. It is not possible to
provide this required post-operative care to wild mares, yet
the EA minimizes the impacts of this fact, citing the opinion
of an un-named veterinarian, instead of the published science
and National Research Council review, which clearly indicate
the risks and impacts of this outdated procedure on wild mares.
--The procedure will cause mares in early stages of pregnancy to
abort their fetuses and may cause loss of pregnancy for mares
in the mid-stage of pregnancy as well. This is unacceptable.
This pursuit of ovariectomy research is directly counter to the
recommendations of the National Academy of Sciences National Research
Council (NRC) in its 2013 report, ``Using Science to Improve the BLM
Wild Horse and Burro Program: A Way Forward.'' That NRC report
concluded that: ``The possibility that ovariectomy may be followed by
prolonged bleeding or peritoneal infection makes it inadvisable for
field application.''
2. Minimally Invasive Sterilization Techniques
The other sterilization procedures that BLM proposes to research,
while less invasive than ovariectomy, should also be abandoned due to
the inability to provide post-operative care and the impracticality of
implementing these procedures--which have never before been done in
wild or domestic horses--on a broad scale in a field setting. The EA
fails to analyze the impacts of precedent-setting procedures that have
never before been performed in horses, and as well as the inability to
provide required post-operative care. The EA also omits analysis of the
economic impacts and practicalities of implementing these procedures on
the range.
In proceeding with these experiments, the BLM has ignored the NRC
recommendation that these techniques should first be perfected in
domestic mares, who can be easily handled and will be accessible for
close monitoring and post-operative care, before attempting them in
wild horses.
It is unconscionable that the BLM is proceeding with these
draconian experiments that endanger the lives of the un-consenting
equine subjects and their unborn foals, particularly when a proven non-
invasive and safe fertility control method exists in the readily
available PZP birth control vaccine. Instead of wasting millions of tax
dollars to fund experiments on inhumane and impractical sterilization
experiments, the agency should instead focus resources on vaccinating
sufficient numbers of mares with the PZP fertility control vaccine,
which is documented through 30 years of experience and published
science, to be safe, effective, cost-effective and successful in
managing wild horse populations.
Again, as a taxpayer and wild horse lover, I am outraged that the
BLM is even considering pursuing such inhumane, barbaric and wasteful
experimentation on wild horses and I find the BLM's Environmental
Analysis of its impacts to be woefully inadequate. As a result, I
strongly urge the BLM to abandon these proposed experiments in favor of
using proven, more cost-effective and humane fertility control methods.
______
Prepared Statement of the Sac and Fox Nation
On behalf of the Sac and Fox Nation thank you for the opportunity
to present our requests for the fiscal year 2017 budgets for the Bureau
of Indian Affairs (BIA), the Indian Health Service (IHS), and for
Tribal Environmental Funding. The Sac and Fox Nation is home of Jim
Thorpe, one of the most versatile athletes of modern sports who earned
Olympic gold medals for the 1912 pentathlon and decathlon.
The Nation supports and appreciates the President's fiscal year
2017 budget proposal for an overall increase of 5 percent for BIA over
the fiscal year 2016 enacted level to provide for a total of $2.9
billion dollars. In turn, the Indian Health Service (IHS) would receive
a little more than a 13 percent increase bringing the total IHS budget
up to $5.2 billion dollars.
Moreover, It is extremely important to express our support of the
President's treatment of Contract Support Costs (CSC) as it relates to
tribal nations. The President's budget provides for a total of $278
million for the BIA and $800 million for the IHS to fully fund the
contract support costs incurred by government contacts. This is a good
step in the right direction and provides a substantial increase of $87
million in total over the 2016 appropriations. This increase is
critical to meet the demand for the full payment of contract support
costs for all of the Nations who are owed a trust responsibility by the
United States.
In general, all tribal programs including BIA and IHS line items
should be exempt from any budget recessions and discretionary funding
budget reductions. Further, the Nation is extremely concerned about the
consequences of the 2013 sequestration and similar future reductions to
tribal program funding. We strongly urge Congress to fully restore
sequestration cuts from fiscal year 2013 since it threatens the trust
responsibility and reduces portions of the budget that are not major
contributors to the deficit.
TRIBAL SPECIFIC REQUESTS
I. NATIONAL REQUESTS--BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS
1. Authorize mandatory funding and fully fund Contract Support
Costs (CSC).--The President's budget request for contract support costs
is $278.0 million, providing a dramatic increase from the fiscal year
2017 enacted level. This amount is similar to the $277 million
recommended in fiscal year 2016 President's budget which was not fully
enacted. The second piece of this ongoing budget proposal is to request
that strong consideration and support be given to the long term
proposal made by the President's budget which would, beginning in 2018,
reclassify contract support costs as mandatory funding separated from
the rest of the appropriations. This proposal was also included in the
fiscal year 2016 proposal but has not yet been approved. We strongly
urge you to consider that proposal and approve what has been presented
by the President on this particular issue because Contract Support
Costs has been a major and ongoing issue for the better part of a
decade. It is time to put the issue to rest by providing enough funding
and creating the mandatory funding classification.
2. Public Safety and Justice--Law and Order--Detention/
Corrections: Fully fund all provisions of the Tribal Law and Order Act
of 2010 and the Tribal Provisions in the Violence against Women Act
Reauthorization.--The Tribal Law and Order Act of 2010 and the Violence
Against Women Act Reauthorization of 2014 were substantial and
effective pieces of legislations which changed the face of tribal
courts, tribal justice and tribal jurisdiction. The Sac and Fox Nation
is proud to have embraced these significant changes to provide a better
quality of justice to our jurisdiction. Accordingly, we have enacted
the expanded jurisdiction and penalty enhancement provisions into our
own laws and started a campaign for awareness to help promote reporting
of crimes that may have a serious effect on our Native Women and
Children. However, the funding levels for these significant advances
have consistently fallen short of the needs. Each year, we have an
approximate incarceration budget of $12,000. This budget is eaten up
time and again when a person is convicted because we do not have our
own facilities or access to Bureau of Prison Facilities to house the
inmates. Instead, we rely on our county facilities who charge us a rate
of $33-$78 dollars per day to house a prisoner. At these costs, our
annual budget is eaten up in a flash. With a lack of funding, we are in
the same position we were before our abilities were expanded because we
cannot house those persons we convict.
Moreover, in putting the provisions of the Violence Against
Women Reauthorization of 2014 in place, we now have serious burdens on
the tribal justice programs which were not originally present. We must
provide for bar licensed public defenders in any case where a non-
indian has come under our jurisdiction. This is both costly and, on
occasion, prohibitive to our process because we are not funded enough
to have a full time public defender on call whenever there is a need. A
serious increase in funding is required in this arena to help ensure
that the intent expressed by Congress in enacting these provisions is
met. Without an increase in funding, there is no hope of these programs
succeeding and taking the burden of these prosecutions off the State or
U.S. Attorneys.
3. Restore 2013 Sequestered Cuts ($119 million) to Tribal Program
Funding
4. Office of Self-Governance (OSG)--Provide increased funding to
the OSG to fully staff the office for the increase in the number of
tribes entering Self-Governance.
II. NATIONAL REQUESTS--INDIAN HEALTH SERVICE
1. Authorize mandatory funding and fully fund Contract Support
Costs (CSC).--The President's fiscal year 2017 budget proposal fully
funds the estimated need for CSC at $800 million, a significant
increase over the levels of funding from fiscal year 2016. The
estimated increase includes funding for new and expanded contracts and
compacts. The budget also requests that CSC be reclassified to a
mandatory appropriation beginning in fiscal year 2018. We at the Sac
and Fox Nation strongly urge you to consider allocating all the
requested funds in this area and making these appropriations mandatory
and separate in the future. Our health and the access of our Native
People to healthcare is a serious and major concern all around Indian
Country. It is always prominent for us because we have so many people
in rural communities who need greater access to medical care. Fully
funding contract support costs and making them mandatory serves to take
pressure off tribal nations who have a lack of certainty in their
medical services when they are not sure if the funding will be there or
not. When there is certainty, it allows programs like ours to expand
both services and locations to provide better care within reach of our
people.
2. Restore 2013 Sequestered Cuts ($220 Million) to Tribal Health
Services;
3. +$377 million over the fiscal year 2016 President's proposal
budget for IHS Mandatory Funding (maintain current services and improve
access to healthcare).--Mandatories are unavoidable and include medical
and general inflation, pay costs, contract support costs, phasing in
staff for recently constructed facilities, and population growth.
Providing the increase in funding in this area is critical to the
provision of preventive care and addressing the growing issues tribal
nations are having with aging populations and diabetes. We also
strongly encourage you to consider and approve this increase to provide
tribal nations with a level of funding that is necessary to maintain
care of the millions of members who come to our clinics. It is critical
to remember that we care for the medical needs of these patients from
start to finish. Their vision, dental and medical services are seen to
with our funds. If they need a specialist or surgery for a critical
issues, we contract out those services and make sure that they are
getting what they need and have a continuity of care that will give
them certainty and improve their quality of life. Funding is critical
to meet all the demands in this area;
4. Restore $6 million to the Office of Tribal Self-Governance
(OTSG) to fulfill legal requirements under Title V of Public Law 106-
260 which increased the responsibilities of OTSG.
III. NATIONAL REQUEST--ENVIRONMENT ISSUES
1. Tribal General Assistance Program (GAP).--The Presidents fiscal
year 2017 budget provides for the much needed increase in the GAP
Funding. It sets the level of funding for this program at $96.4 million
from the EPA which is a dramatic increase of $31 million over the
fiscal year 2016 funding levels. The EPA has decided to enforce a new
interpretation of the General Assistance Program (GAP) which prohibits
tribal nations from using any GAP money from being used for labor,
handling, sorting, weighting and transportation of waste and
recyclables. This means that the tribal nations recycling programs are
in jeopardy because there will no longer be funds to carry out these
functions. These programs benefit the tribal complexes but also provide
for drop off points for members and the community along with special
community outreach events dealing with e waste and other recyclables.
Specifically, we would like to ask for a reversal of this
interpretation or a line item dedicated to funding recycling
departments work to allow these programs to continue. $10,000 would be
sufficient.
2. Funding for Tribal Capacity to Regulate by Building Sanitation
Facilities.--The President's fiscal year 2017 budget proposal provides
that $103 million dollars be allocated, through the EPA, to assist
tribal nations in building out their capacity and infrastructure for
health and environmental regulation. This money is currently being
proposed for the construction of sanitation facilities. I bring this up
on behalf of the Sac and Fox Nation because we are one of the tribes
that may be directly affected by this funding. It is desperately
needed. Currently the SFN is not able to receive a large amount of
funding because there are not houses located on or around our complex.
The reason that homes have not been located here is the toxic water
which was polluted by oil companies. Our land was used for years by oil
companies, like Tenneco, in an unsafe manner. Their leakage of
chemicals in the ground water made it highly toxic. A state that is
unlikely to be naturally cleared up for another 100 years. Because of
that, our entire complex has to run from water pumps on other pieces of
property which get transmitted to a water tower. Should our pumps go
down for any reason, our complex would be completely without water.
Moreover, In order to build homes on our land, we need to have a waste
water treatment plan that could service our community. However, the SFN
is subject the ``midnight rider'' restrictions which force us to go
through the State system and allows the State to monitor all of our
environmental issues. We would like to ask for action on that midnight
rider which is a direct attack on our sovereignty and for funding to
make this treatment plants construction, operation and training
possible.
3. Allowing Tribal Nations to Compact with the EPA Under ISDEAA
Title VI.--Similar to the new legislation allowing tribal nations to
compact and directly receive funds for transportation, we need to be
able to compact for the EPA programs and funding with an appropriate
compact that would allow us the flexibility to put the monies allocated
on environmental issues to the best use in our areas without
interference from the States or the Federal bureaucracies.
IV. TRIBAL SPECIFIC REQUEST--$4.95 Million to Fully Fund Operations of
the Sac and Fox Nation Juvenile Detention Center (SFNJDC)--
Bureau of Indian Affairs--Public Safety and Justice--Office of
Justice Services--Detention/Corrections Account
In 1996, the Sac and Fox Nation Juvenile Detention Center (SFNJDC)
opened its doors as the first regional juvenile facility specifically
designed for American Indians/Alaska Natives, as well as the first
juvenile facility developed under Public Law 100-472, the Self-
Governance Demonstration Project Act.
At that time, the Bureau of Indian Affairs made a commitment to
fully fund the SFNJDC operations; however this commitment was never
fulfilled. Even though the Nation continues to receive and use Federal
dollars to address the issue of juvenile delinquency and detention for
tribes in the Southern Plains Region and Eastern Oklahoma Region, it
has never received sufficient funds to operate the facility at its
fullest potential.
Full funding would allow the Nation to provide full operations
including (but not limited to):
--Juvenile detention services to the 46 tribes in Oklahoma, Kansas
and Texas;
--Rescue more of our at-risk youth and unserved youth in need of a
facility like the SFNJDC;
--Re-establish programs we have lost due to inadequate funding such
as: On-site Mental Health Counseling; Transitional Living,
Vocational Training, Horticulture, Life Skills, Arts and
Crafts, Cultural Education and Activities, Spiritual Growth and
Learning;
--Offer job opportunities in an area that is economically depressed;
and,
--Fully staff and expand staff training to address high volume of
staff turnover which will allow for continuity in operations
and service delivery.
At the fiscal year 2016 Regional Budget Formulation Session, these
tribes continue to support and endorse full funding for operation of
the SFNJDC and included it as a priority in their ``Top 10 Budget
Increases'' for the fiscal year 2016 BIA Budget.
The current funding level represents only approximately 10 percent
of what is needed to fully fund the Juvenile Detention Center
operations and maintenance. Additional funding in the amount of $4.95
million, over what Sac and Fox already receives in base funding
($508,000), would fully fund the facility at a level to address the
need of juvenile delinquency in the tristate area and create
opportunities for employment for more tribal members.
The SFNJDC is a 50,000+ square foot, full service, 24 hour, 60 bed
(expandable to 120 beds) juvenile detention facility that provides
basic detention services to all residents utilizing a classification
system based on behavioral needs to include special management, medium
and minimal security. Our facility was designed to provide programs
including behavioral management, alcohol and substance abuse, spiritual
and cultural growth and learning, self-esteem, arts and crafts, health
and fitness, horticulture, nutrition, life skills, vocational technical
training, counseling, educational programs and a Transitional Living
Center.
Through a partnership with the local high school, students are
afforded an education at the public school level, including a
graduation ceremony and issuance of a certificate upon successfully
achieving the State requirements. Additionally, the Sac and Fox Nation
has an on-site Justice Center providing Law Enforcement and Tribal
Court services and the Nation also operates an on-site health clinic
which provides outstanding medical services that include contract
service capabilities for optometry, dental and other health-related
services.
The lack of adequate funding from the BIA and decreases in base
funding have mushroomed into underutilization and erosion of the
programs our facility was built to offer. Our current funding levels
only allow us to provide an alcohol and substance abuse program, some
health and fitness activities and a basic education program. We have
lost our programs for vocational training, horticulture, life skills,
arts and crafts, on-site counseling and transitional living. The
passage of the 2010 Tribal Law and Order Act was applauded by the Sac
and Fox Nation because we saw this as an opportunity for the Federal
Government to finally step up to its pledge to fully fund the SFNJDC
and honor its treaty and trust obligations to our people. However, the
lack of funding is also impeding the implementation of TLOA!
In 1996, the SFNJDC was built as a model facility in Indian
Country. And nearly 20 years later there is still a need for such a
facility to help our youth return to their traditional healing and
spiritual ways. As a Self-Governance Tribe we operate our tribal
government on the premise that we are the best provider of the services
and know which services are most needed in our communities. We saw the
increasing need in the 1990's for a facility like the SFNJDC and we
acted on our instincts to help our youth by giving them a place to turn
their lives around and the access to programs, services and holistic
care they needed to recover and heal. Sadly, the number of Native
American youth, and juveniles overall requiring detention has not
decreased. The Sac and Fox Nation Juvenile Detention Center was built
with the same intentions as the Tribal Law and Order Act Long Term Plan
to Build and Enhance Tribal Justice Systems today. The SFNJDC has the
facility, staffing, ability, commitment and capacity to provide
superior detention and rehabilitation services to Native American
youth, as well as any youth in the tristate area in need of our
services. We do not understand the Federal Government's desire to fund
the construction of more detention facilities while our beds remain
empty.
Thank you for allowing me to submit these requests on these fiscal
year 2017 budgets.
[This statement was submitted by Hon. Chief Kay Rhoads, Principal
Chief.]
______
Prepared Statement of the Shoshone-Paiute Tribes of the Duck Valley
Reservation
My name is Lindsey Manning. I am Chairman of the Shoshone-Paiute
Tribes of the Duck Valley Indian Reservation. Thank you for inviting
outside witness testimony concerning the fiscal year 2017 budget for
the BIA, BLM and IHS. The Shoshone-Paiute Tribes are grateful for the
Senate appropriations subcommittee's long standing support of Indian
tribes and for sharing its understanding of Indian Country with your
Senate colleagues.
The Duck Valley Reservation is a large, rural and very remote
reservation that straddles the Idaho-Nevada border. It encompasses 450
square miles in Elko County, Nevada and Owyhee County, Idaho. The
reservation is 140 miles from Boise, Idaho, and 100 miles from Elko,
Nevada. Many of our 2,000 tribal members make their living as farmers
and ranchers, though a number of them are employed by the tribes. We
assume most duties of the BIA and IHS under self-governance compacts,
although the BIA continues to provide law enforcement and detention
services on our reservation.
In too many instances, however, our success in these areas is
largely dependent on Federal appropriations which, in turn, determine
whether economic and social conditions on the Duck Valley Indian
Reservation improve or worsen. While we contribute tribal resources to
these endeavors as best we can, we look to our Federal partner for
support. If we fall short in available funding, our members suffer. For
this reason, we support the President's fiscal year 2017 budget request
for the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
and Indian Health Service (IHS). Without sustained growth in these
Federal programs, we cannot meet the needs of our reservation. We
encourage this subcommittee to build on the proposed increases in the
President's budget for these essential tribal programs.
Our priorities for fiscal year 2017 include:
1. Increase BIA Road Maintenance Program funds (Eastern Nevada BIA
Roads Program of the Western Regional Office).--We respectfully ask for
at least a $9 million increase in the BIA Road Maintenance Program from
within planned increases to the Indian Affairs budget so that the BIA
Eastern Nevada Agency Roads Department may purchase a road grader,
backhoe and 10-wheel dump truck. The 1980's blade road grader has
broken down again and needs replacing. Likewise, the 1980's backhoe is
also outdated and parts are a challenge to find. The employees are
embarrassed to haul the backhoe in for repairs when needed because it
is so old and worn (40 years old--like the grader). They need a dump
truck because they do not have one. A modern 10-wheel dump truck is
needed. Our region has the largest percentage of BIA-owned roads at 21
percent. The program increase we request will help our region
tremendously.
Even the administration acknowledges in its fiscal year 2017 Budget
Justification that current Road Maintenance Program appropriations
allow the BIA and tribes to maintain only 16 percent of BIA-owned roads
in ``acceptable'' (fair or better) condition. That leaves no money to
purchase equipment or improve the road condition of poor and failing
public BIA-owned roads.
The BIA Eastern Nevada Agency covers the roads maintenance need for
the 600 miles of public roads on the Duck Valley Reservation and the
road maintenance needs on the Goshute Indian Reservation, the South
Fork Reservation, Wells Colony, Battle Mountain Colony and the Elko
Colony. All these Indian lands and public roads are hundreds of mile
apart and cover all the area of north eastern Nevada. Increased Road
Maintenance funding will improve road safety.
The BIA Eastern Nevada Agency is responsible for the roads of the
colonies and reservations. The Colonies and South Fork Reservation
receive funds from the Agency for tending to maintenance needs as best
as possible (only approx. $70,000 total for all annually), which is
woefully inadequate. The BIA Roads crew is called upon to maintain the
roads through asphalt and gravel patch work in the summer and snow
removal in the winter months. This year the blade broke down and is
still in need of repairs--which are constant.
2. Increase funding for the BIA Public Safety and Special
Initiatives Program.--The BIA struggles to provide adequate law
enforcement on our remote reservation. For that reason, we don't
understand the administration's proposal to cut Public Safety and
Justice funding. We need more police and corrections officers, yet the
administration proposes only a $9,000 increase for the Indian Police
Academy budget of $4.8 million. Nor do we understand how a cut of $4
million to the Public Safety and Justice programs advances capacity
building among tribes to improve law enforcement and tribal justice. We
are one of three tribes in a pilot program funded under the BIA's ``Law
Enforcement Special Initiatives'' program. Under this program, we
receive $250,000 in additional recurring funding to reduce recidivism
on the Duck Valley Reservation. The Special Initiatives program is
essentially funded at the same level for fiscal year 2017 as it was for
fiscal year 2016. If we are to address public safety, we need more
police, tribal courts and adequately staffed and operated detention
centers.
We further urge the subcommittee to include statutory language to
make clear that ``Law Enforcement Special Initiatives'' funds may be
used for the purchase or lease of temporary trailers or modular units
to house personnel associated with law enforcement, corrections,
probation, tribal courts and other professionals serving tribal
offenders. For rural communities like Duck Valley, housing is often the
linchpin to program success. This request will give us the flexibility
we need to use Special Initiatives funding for housing law enforcement
personnel.
3. Fund the Owyhee Initiative within the Bureau of Land Management
(BLM).--The Owyhee Initiative is a joint effort by ranchers,
recreationalists, county and State officials, and the Shoshone-Paiute
Tribes to protect, manage and appropriately use public lands in Owyhee
County, Idaho. In 2009, Congress passed the Omnibus Public Land
Management Act, Public Law 111-1. Since 2010, we have worked jointly
with BLM to protect cultural resources and increase public
understanding and appreciation of these resources. Increased
recreational use and encroachment by Boise residents within the Owyhee
River Wilderness Area and other Federal lands, however, place these
resources under stress. Let us help understaffed BLM officials.
One-time BLM funding a number of years ago allowed us to purchase
two Cessna planes and ATV equipment and hire one Chief Ranger and a
Cultural Resources Director to patrol public lands and report
violations of cultural and religious sites to BLM officials. We work
closely with BLM and Owyhee County officials to coordinate compatible
recreation use within BLM lands in Owyhee County, especially within the
wilderness areas where we seek to protect cultural resource sites
important to our tribes. The Ranger and Director also spot and report
wildfires to BLM officials before the fires can do great damage to
sensitive, remote public lands.
We seek recurring BLM funds to continue this important work to
protect cultural sites and establish a Reserve Ranger Program to engage
tribal youth in cultural and related activities during the summer. The
Chief Ranger and Cultural Resources Director are near retirement and it
is essential that we hire and train replacement staff, including a
pilot, to continue their important work for our tribes. We need funds
to hire an Assistant Director, one adult Tribal Ranger and two part-
time Youth Rangers, train a qualified applicant as an additional pilot,
purchase two more ATVs and two camp trailers to permit tribal personnel
to remain in the field and overhaul the two Cessna planes per FAA
regulations. We are currently constructing a hanger at the Owyhee
Airport to centralize our operation and increase surveillance flights
over Owyhee County. We contribute nearly 50 percent of the required
budget but cannot sustain this important program without Federal
support. Our plan requires $600,000 to fully fund the above activities.
We also support the administration's $1.0 million increase for BLM
Cultural Resources Management and other BLM accounts used to manage and
protect archaeological and historic properties on public lands. BLM
lands contain the remnants of campsites, villages, hunting blinds and
rock inscriptions that tell the story of the Shoshone-Paiute and other
tribes. After speaking with Shoshone-Bannock Tribal officials, together
with northern tier Nevada tribes (including the Te-Moak, Battle
Mountain, South Fork and Goshute tribes), we seek BLM funds to form a
tribal work group to spread best practices for cultural resources
management and protection that we have learned over the last 20 years.
We would be a good candidate for a BLM grant. It would be a wise
investment to fund a multi-tribal task force to propose and design
strategies for on the ground protection of Native American cultural
resources for the Upper Great Basin and High Plateau of the tri-State
area of Nevada, Oregon and Idaho.
4. Telecommunications (fiber optics).--The tribes continue to need
fiber infrastructure over five miles for connectivity among Fish,
Wildlife & Parks, Tribal Headquarters, Detention Center, Fire Station
and the Owyhee Community Health Facility. The health center serves as
the Wide Area Network (WAN) hub for the tribes' and health center's
computer network. Connectivity among these facilities and programs
would alleviate the long-term monthly recurring cost we pay to an
Ethernet Circuit provider ($96,000 annually). We require $500,000 in
Federal funding to construct new fiber networks and cover construction
inspection fees. We do not have BIE-funded schools on Duck Valley so
our children will not benefit from the administration's $16.7 million
increase to extend broadband to BIE schools. We urge the subcommittee
to increase appropriations within the BIA and IHS budgets so that Duck
Valley can improve our telecommunications networks. Education IT is not
the only program in need of an upgrade.
5. East Fork Owyhee Salmon Steelhead Recovery and Reintroduction
Project.--We seek to permanently return Chinook salmon and steelhead
trout to Duck Valley through an innovative ``trap-and-haul'' program.
Dam construction along the Columbia and Snake Rivers eliminated salmon
from our reservation for 87 years. Duck Valley is unique in that it
supports two major tributaries to the Snake River. In 2014, we financed
a pilot study that found that habitat in the East Fork of the Owyhee
River supports a summer rearing capacity of between 3,300 and 43,000
juvenile steelhead trout and from 3,600 to 41,000 Chinook salmon. This
summer, we returned 200 Chinook salmon to Duck Valley and spear fished
nearly all of them. It was a joyous event to have salmon return to the
reservation. With $210,000 in funding for the next 3 years we can
complete our habitat surveys of the East Fork Owyhee River, including
obtaining data on non-summer river conditions, as well as an assessment
of the Bruneau River habitat.
We propose to transport adult fish from Lower Granite Dam or Hells
Canyon Dam and release the fish above China Dam into the East Fort
Owyhee River to spawn. Emigrating juvenile fish would later be captured
and released downstream from passage carriers on the Snake River to
complete their migration to the Pacific Ocean. Adult salmon originating
from the East Fork Owyhee River would later be captured in the lower
Snake River and transported upstream.
We urge the Senate subcommittee to support the President's $24
million increase to the BIA's Trust-Natural Resources Management
program budget, including the Tribal Management/Development Program and
Fish, Wildlife & Parks program. Tribes contract a significant part of
the Natural Resources Management funds. An increase to the BIA's budget
can help us with this innovative project to return salmon and steelhead
trout to the Duck Valley Reservation.
6. Native Plant Program/Greenhouse.--In cooperation with BLM, the
tribes gather, propagate and make available seed and other native plant
materials that are indigenous to the region. Through a series of
assistance agreements with BLM, we built three greenhouses and are
growing seedlings (including sagebrush and bitterbrush seedlings) for
planting on adjacent public lands. This program assists BLM and other
agencies in their efforts to restore lands damaged by wildfires and
helps employ tribal members. For fiscal year 2017, we seek funding to
build a facility to house equipment to dry, clean and store seed and
hire part-time greenhouse staff to focus on marketing and finances. We
plan to have 80,000 containerized grasses and shrub seedlings available
for sale, together with willow and other riparian plant cuttings and
local vegetables for sale and distribution through our ``Honor Our
Elders'' program. We seek Interior Department appropriations of
$205,000 over the next 5 years to expand our program and be a reliable
supplier of native plants and seedlings on BLM-managed public lands.
7. IHS.--We fully support the President's fiscal year 2017 budget
increase of $377 million to the Indian Health Service (IHS), especially
in the area of clinical services, including Purchased/Referred Care,
Contract Support Costs (CSC) and facilities construction. We also
support the administration's request to shift CSCs to a ``mandatory''
appropriation but would want to ensure that the shift is permanent in
nature.
We urge the Senate appropriations subcommittee to build on the
President's fiscal year 2017 budget request to meet tribal health and
safety needs that strengthen our community. Thank you for affording the
Shoshone-Paiute Tribes the opportunity to submit written testimony.
______
Prepared Statement of the Skokomish Tribe of Washington State
The Skokomish Tribe would like to thank the subcommittee for the
opportunity to present written testimony on the fiscal year 2017
appropriations for the Interior Department, Indian Health Service and
Environmental Protection Agency.
The Skokomish Indian Tribe is responsible for providing essential
governmental services to the residents of the Skokomish Indian
Reservation. We are a rural community located at the base of the
Olympic Peninsula with a population of over 2,000 people, including
approximately 700 tribal members. The tribe provides services through
various departments including Tribal Administration, Community
Development, Information Services, Early Childhood Education (including
Head Start), Education, Health Clinic, Housing, Legal, Natural
Resources, Public Safety, Public Works, and Tuwaduq Family Services.
Adequate Federal funds are critical to the tribe's ability to address
the extensive unmet needs of our community.
i. bureau of indian affairs
Law Enforcement.--The Skokomish Department of Public Safety (SDPS)
provides 24/7 law enforcement services for the tribe. SDPS is
responsible for patrolling and enforcing justice both within the
tribe's 5,300-acre reservation, and throughout the tribe's 2.2 million-
acre treaty area where the tribe has treaty-protected hunting, fishing
and gathering rights.
Today, 7 officers are available for day-to-day patrol duties. As a
result, individual officers are spread far too thin over an 8-hour
shift and often work alone. During the salmon harvest season, SDPS must
post officers simultaneously at several on and off reservations sites.
Some of these sites require multiple officers. This taxes staffing
levels dramatically and exposes both community members in need of
assistance and SDPS officers to increased risks of harm. Unfortunately,
this is a daily reality for SDPS officers. To meet mandated
responsibilities, we must increase staffing. Vacancies due to illness,
training and other leave continue to force the Chief of Police to
respond to calls for service and to fill patrol shifts. A very active
Community Policing program suffers as budget limitations severely
restrict overtime and officer availability. With the limited amount we
receive as a self-governance tribe, we have to use tribal funds to hire
the 6 officers we use for regular patrol and natural resource
enforcement.
Thus, the tribe urges the subcommittee to appropriate additional
funding for criminal investigations and police services. The BIA has
requested essentially level funding in this program when the need
throughout Indian Country is far greater.
Tribal Courts.--We are deeply concerned that the BIA has proposed
an $8.2 million cut in tribal court funding for tribes in Public Law
280 States. For too long the BIA failed to provide funding to tribes in
Public Law 280 States and we suffered from a lack judges, prosecutors,
defense attorneys and probations officers. Last year, Congress
recognized this deficiency and provided $10 million for the first time
to address our need. We urge Congress to maintain this funding level in
fiscal year 2017. With regard to the fiscal year 2016 funding, we are
concerned that the BIA has yet to engage in consultation with tribes as
to how this funding will be allocated. We have heard that one proposal
the BIA is considering is to use this funding to build capacity within
the BIA. We would urge the subcommittee to tell the BIA to develop a
plan to allocate the fiscal year 2016 funds to a greater number of
tribes and not keep it for itself.
The Skokomish Tribal Court handles several different kinds of
cases. These include Civil, Criminal and Indian Child Welfare cases.
The tribal court distinguishes four kinds of criminal cases: Juvenile,
Fishing, Traffic and other criminal cases. As of January 1, 2015, there
were 11 open Juvenile Criminal cases, 51 open Criminal Traffic cases,
65 open fishing cases, and 68 open General Criminal cases. Indian Child
Welfare cases include Child in Need of Care cases and Guardianships
(long-term). In February 2016, the tribe passed revisions to the ICW
ordinance and passed a new School Attendance ordinance. The school
attendance ordinance focuses on efforts to encourage school attendance
and enforce mandatory attendance requirements. The new ordinance
includes provisions to bring matters to tribal court for enforcement.
This means more cases will be filed in tribal court. As of January 1,
2016, the tribal court has 31 active Child in Need of Care cases and 53
active Dependency cases.
Natural Resources.--We strongly support the President's proposal
for funding Trust-Natural Resources Management programs. Increased
funding to foster sustainable stewardship and development of natural
resources and support fishing, hunting and gathering rights on and off-
reservation is essential to our people who depend on natural resources
for their livelihood.
Fish hatchery maintenance and fish hatchery operations funds are
invaluable for supporting the Federal Government's investment in tribal
hatcheries. Most tribal hatcheries are underfunded and each year brings
more decay to the facilities. Adequate funding for hatchery maintenance
is imperative to prevent these important pieces of the salmon
restoration puzzle from crumbling away. Because of habitat destruction,
the only reason we continue to have salmon for treaty-harvest
activities is through the operation of salmon hatcheries. Congress
cannot allow the main pillar of this all important treaty right to take
a reduction in funding. We urge Congress to increase funding for this
critical tribal program.
A few years ago the tribe was able to cobble together a wildlife
program consisting of one biologist and one technician. The program is
partially funded by Timber, Fish, and Wildlife funds of about $41,000,
with the tribe scratching to find the remaining $82,000. Wildlife
grants are few and far between because the focus is so much on salmon.
We obviously cannot reduce salmon funding; rather, the United States
must be less myopic and realize that tribes also need wildlife program
funds not only to support biologists, but additional funding is
required to dedicated wildlife enforcement officers who will not only
enforce the tribes' regulations, but ensure that poaching of the
wildlife resources does not occur from outside entities who sometimes
fail to recognize tribal treaty rights. We request additional funds for
tribes in the Stevens Treaty Areas to have a base wildlife program
funding in the amount of $240,000. Without a more robust program, the
wildlife populations will continue to decline.
The tribe has been under attack by shellfish growers who blatantly
steal the treaty-protected oyster and clam resources in Hood Canal. It
is imperative that the Federal Government provide monetary support so
the tribe may increase its enforcement presence and seek reparations
though the courts. As with wildlife, shellfish issues are often
overlooked because of the popularity of salmon, but the availability of
this equally important resource to the tribe is dwindling and action
must be taken now to prevent a further decline. We suggest an increase
to allow for each ``Bolt'' tribe an additional $250,000 for shellfish
management and rights protection in fiscal year 2017. This would allow
for additional population surveyors, harvest monitors, and enforcement
officers.
ii. indian health service
The Skokomish Tribe supports the President's fiscal year 2017
budget proposal for an overall funding increase of $402 million for the
Indian Health Service. We support the increase of $82 million for
contract support costs. This is a major victory for tribes and the
support of the Congress and administration is greatly appreciated. The
next step is to adopt a permanent funding policy that is not overly
complex and burdensome for tribes.
We operate a small ambulatory health program with a staff of 28
people. As a tribally run clinic, we provide direct care services as
well as purchased/referred care, formerly known as contract healthcare.
Our health program integrates medical, dental, and behavioral health
services (mental health and substance use disorder) and we are
therefore very supportive of the $21.4 million request to support the
integration of these services. We have identified a need to support the
full implementation of Electronic Health Records (EHR) as part of this
effort and hope these funds will support that endeavor. This year we
will begin to provide some mental health services using the Indian
Health Service's Tele-Behavioral Health Center of Excellence and are
glad to see the continued funding for this program.
We fully support the budget's request of $48 million increase for
Purchased and Referred Care. For the current fiscal year, Congress was
not able to increase funding for the program and now we are forced to
reduce referrals due to medical inflation costs.
We are pleased to see the funding increase ($15 million) under the
Gen-I (Generation Indigenous) initiative with increased funding for
youth substance abuse and suicide prevention. We continue to see the
effects of heroin use and opioid abuse in all ages at an alarming rate.
The Skokomish Tribe struggles to find the resources to adequately
address the treatment and long term needs of those members struggling
with addiction. We see the need for more long term treatment facilities
to address the needs of individuals who can benefit from such treatment
programs so that they may continue their journey of wellness far beyond
the current 30 to 45 day in-patient treatment process. This short-term
stay is often not adequate time to be healed from addiction and our
tribal members often return to the community only to re-establish their
old habits and slip back into addiction. If the tribe is to reduce
recidivism and spare tribal youth from witnessing self-destructive
behavior, Congress must provide greater resources to programs with a
proven track record of success.
We support the small ambulatory facility increase of $10 million
since this is the only IHS funding that Northwest Tribes have access to
due to the current facilities priority system that favors larger health
programs.
iii. tribal historic preservation programs
In 1995, Congress began encouraging tribes to assume historic
preservation responsibilities as part of self-determination. These
programs conserve fragile places, objects and traditions crucial to
tribal culture, history and sovereignty. As was envisioned by Congress,
more tribes qualify for funding every year. Paradoxically, the more
successful the program becomes, the less each tribe receives to
maintain professional services, ultimately crippling individual tribal
programs. Interior anticipates there will be 155 tribes operating the
program in fiscal year 2017 with each tribe receiving less than
$55,000. This amount is barely enough to fund one position. We support
the $2 million proposed increase for this important program.
iv. environmental protection agency
We concur with the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) and
the request to permanently lift the funding cap on the Clean Water
State Revolving Fund Tribal Set-Aside for wastewater facilities. The
Skokomish Tribe needs approximately $12 million to fully build our core
reservation wastewater plant which will service approximately 85
percent of the on-reservation housing. The tribe has had to put on hold
design of the Core Reservation Wastewater Treatment plant until we can
identify possible funding sources.
v. contract support costs--bia and his
We fully support a permanent, indefinite appropriation for contract
support costs that ensures full funding for contract support costs
without the reduction of direct services to any tribe.
vi. generation indigenous
We have placed a high emphasis on our youth and their education.
Through collaborative efforts by our departments and with other tribes,
we have been able to sponsor culture camps, sports and leadership
camps, and other positive activities that allow our youth to experience
various activities. We are proud that this year we have 13 tribal and
community members who are working steadfastly to graduate from our
local high schools while being active in extra-curricular activities.
We support the White House initiative to improve the lives of Native
Youth who are our future.
In 2008, the National Congress of American Indians, the National
Indian Health Board, the National Indian Education Association, the
National Indian Child Welfare Association, and the National Council of
Urban Indian Health created a joint policy initiative. The initiative
proposed specific recommendations to improve the social, emotional,
mental, physical, and economic health of children and youth, allowing
them to achieve their learning and developmental potential. Using the
First Kids 1st strategies and recommendations, the tribe has put
together a workgroup to identify areas where programs can assist tribal
families. The workgroup provides data and ideas to the tribe's grants
writers to research possible funding sources to implement new programs
to help families and youth. Thank you for affording the Skokomish Tribe
the opportunity to submit written testimony.
______
Prepared Statement of the Society of American Foresters
The Society of American Foresters (SAF), with 12,000 professionals
representing all disciplines in the forestry profession, promotes
science-based, sustainable management and stewardship of the Nation's
public and private forests. SAF appreciates this opportunity to submit
written public testimony on fiscal year 2017 appropriations because
sufficient funding for the USDA Forest Service (USFS) and the
Department of Interior (DOI) is vital to conserving and improving the
health and productivity of our Nation's forests.
The American public relies on the 751 million acres of public and
private forests in the United States to provide clean and abundant air
and water, forest products, fish and wildlife habitat, recreational
opportunities, forage and range resources, energy, and scenic beauty.
Managing these legacy resources for multiple uses and important
ecosystem services is increasingly difficult with the unprecedented
threats posed by wildfire, drought, insects, disease, and invasive
species. Maintaining a balance demands that land managers and partner
organizations work together to identify innovative ways to maximize
values and improve the health of our forests.
SAF's priorities in the fiscal year 2017 budget process impact a
range of programs within USFS and DOI. Recognizing fiscal constraints,
these requests will assist forest managers in sustaining our Nation's
forests and providing a multitude of benefits for generations to come.
saf top priorities
1. Adopt a long-term solution to wildfire suppression funding
that: (1) allows access to disaster funding; (2) minimizes budget
transfers; and (3) addresses the compounding erosion of agency budgets
over time, with the goal of reinvesting in key programs that would
restore forests to healthier conditions.
2. Increase funding levels for USFS Forest and Rangeland Research
to no less than $303 million, with no less than $83 million for the
Forest Inventory and Analysis Program.
3. Support Bureau of Land Management Public Domain Forestry and
Oregon & California Railroad Grant Lands funding levels at no less than
$10 million and $113.7 million, respectively.
SAF is the premier national scientific and educational organization
representing forestry and related natural resources professionals in
the United States. Founded in 1900 by Gifford Pinchot, SAF is the
largest professional society for foresters in the world. Our members
include public and private sector natural resource professionals,
researchers, CEOs, administrators, educators, and students. Just as
forests are fundamental to our Nation, so too are the professionals who
study, manage, and protect these precious resources. SAF is eager to
work with Congress, Federal agencies, and partners to identify
reasonable solutions to increase the pace and scale of management on
Federal lands, find new ways to work with private landowners, keep
forests as forests, incentivize active management, and deliver
practical innovations to meet future challenges and market demands.
SAF is pleased with the administration's continued commitment to
increasing the pace and scale of management on Federal lands with a
USFS harvest target of 3.2 billion board feet for fiscal year 2017.
However, with up to 82 million acres in the National Forest System
(NFS) still in need of restoration, SAF urges this subcommittee to
encourage the agency to use all available tools to implement more
projects on Federal lands. USFS can work with rural communities,
partners, and industry through collaboratives and other partnerships to
meet management goals outlined in forest plans and possibly exceed
expectations. New authorizations in the 2014 Farm Bill have the
potential to facilitate quicker responses to areas devastated by
insects and disease, expand the use of Stewardship Contracting, and
take advantage of Good Neighbor Authority and other mechanisms that
work across boundaries to achieve shared objectives. In addition,
increased investments in NFS Forest Products, Capital Improvement and
Maintenance, and the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program
could also help to restore more watersheds and support thriving local
communities.
Likewise, SAF encourages this subcommittee to recognize the
importance of USFS State and Private Forestry (S&PF) programs. The
Urban and Community Forestry, Forest Stewardship, Forest Health
Management, and Landscape Scale Restoration programs provide important
technical and financial assistance to private landowners and the
resource managers responsible for managing more than 60 percent of
America's forests. Investments in these programs are leveraged by
landowners and local organizations, and help to build healthy and
thriving forest resources that benefit all citizens and communities
across the Nation.
saf budget recommendations
While wildfires predominantly threaten western landscapes and
communities, the financial impacts weigh heavily on our whole Nation.
All agencies and programs funded through the Interior appropriations
bill suffer as wildfire suppression costs continue to rise under the
current funding model. The rolling 10-year average has not met annual
suppression cost needs since before fiscal year 2002, and the resulting
shortfalls--both anticipated and actual-- significantly disrupt
important forest management projects across the country. We are
thankful to the subcommittee for full transfer repayment and increased
suppression funding in fiscal year 2016. However, agencies and first
responders need a long-term solution that results in stable and
predictable budgets. SAF respectfully requests a solution that: (1)
allows access to disaster funding; (2) minimizes transfers; and (3)
addresses the compounding erosion of agency budgets over time, with the
goal of reinvesting in key programs that would restore forests to
healthier conditions.
A comprehensive approach to averting wildfire threats and improving
forest resilience is imperative. The Hazardous Fuels and Fire Risk
Management line items in the USFS and DOI budgets are integral to
restoring forest health and reducing the costs of wildfire suppression.
Through restoring and maintaining fire-resilient landscapes and
communities, these programs support the goals of the National Cohesive
Wildland Fire Management Strategy. SAF appreciates this subcommittee's
consistent support for wildfire management and encourages it to
allocate funds to address wildfire risks inside and outside the
wildland urban interface. While fuels treatments in and around
communities and infrastructure are important for the protection of life
and property, recent research suggests that backcountry treatments are
equally important to prevent large and destructive wildfires.\1\ In
addition to preventing and mitigating wildfire risks, these programs
serve as an important source of jobs, especially in rural communities,
and expand markets for the use of biomass residuals as renewable energy
through efforts like the USFS Woody Innovations Grant Program. SAF
supports funding the USFS Hazardous Fuels Program at $479 million and
DOI Hazardous Fuels and Resilient Landscapes at $178 million. We also
ask that the subcommittee include report language encouraging Federal
agencies to coordinate their fuels plans with other planning efforts
such as State forestry and conservation plans to facilitate cross-
boundary activities and increase the effectiveness of this program.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ ``The Efficacy of Fuels Treatments: A Rapid Assessment of the
Economic and Ecological Consequences of Alternative Hazardous Fuel
Treatments'', Northern Arizona University Ecological Restoration
Institute, May 2013.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Investments in forestry research are essential for the future
health and sustainability of the Nation's forests. Although this
testimony focuses on USFS Forest and Rangeland Research programs, SAF
also recognizes and supports the full array of forestry research
efforts led by the Bureau of Land Management, US Fish and Wildlife
Service, US Geologic Survey, and others including land-grant
institutions and other universities. USFS Research and Development
(USFS R&D) research conducted at the five USFS research stations, the
International Institute of Tropical Forestry, and in the Forest
Products Laboratory is undeniably important--functioning as an
incubator for new products and ideas; exploring forest ecosystem
disturbance response and forest resilience; responding to shifting
social demands and demographic changes; quantifying the contributions
of forests to air and water quality; and driving practical innovation.
In many cases without USFS leadership, investigation of these critical
research needs would be left unfulfilled. Having clear and relevant
research can also help build consensus on management actions, which
allows for more efficient allocation of resources to on-the-ground work
if debates over scientific uncertainties and litigation of proposed
actions can be avoided.
If forest research capacity in the U.S. continues to decline, SAF
is concerned that forest managers will not be properly equipped to meet
tomorrow's challenges with current science and technical information.
Continuing the trend of reductions in the USFS R&D budget will result
in significant gaps in knowledge and mismanagement of resources at a
time of unprecedented threats posed by wildfire, drought, insects,
disease, and invasive species. SAF supports a funding level of $303
million for USFS R&D, with particular emphasis on prioritization of
research projects uniquely suited to R&D expertise furthering agency
and partner objectives.
SAF strongly supports the funding increase suggested for the USFS
R&D Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program. FIA is the backbone of
U.S. forestry--providing the only national census of forests across all
ownerships. Through FIA, USFS (partnering with State forestry agencies,
universities, and the private sector) collects and analyzes forest data
to assess trends on issues such as forest health and management,
fragmentation and parcelization, and forest carbon sequestration. The
data and information collected by FIA serves as the basis for:
identifying trends in forest ownership; assessing fish and wildlife
habitat; evaluating wildfire, insect, and disease risk; predicting the
spread of invasive species; determining capital investment in existing
forest products facilities and selecting locations for new forest
product facilities; and identifying and responding to priorities
identified in State Forest Action Plans. The critical need for current
information about the condition of our forests, with greater emphasis
on the role of forests in maintaining and improving air quality,
underlies the need for FIA program capacity to be increased in fiscal
year 2017 and beyond. SAF requests additional investment in FIA with a
funding level of at least $83 million and urges the subcommittee to
ensure that this increase not come at the expense of other research
programs, and provide direction for future increases to allow the
program to keep pace with ever-growing and diverse information needs.
SAF is concerned with the administration's restructuring of the
Joint Fire Science Program (JFSP). As proposed, the JFSP would no
longer receive $6.9 million in funding from the Wildland Fire
Management budget line item, and would instead receive $3 million in
support from the USFS R&D Inventory and Monitoring line item. This
shift results in a significant decrease of 3.9 million in program
funding. The proposed cuts would negatively impact the research done in
collaboration with over 200 Federal agency, university, and
nongovernmental partners. Diverting funds from the already constrained
USFS R&D budget will reduce JFSP effectiveness, limit cross-deputy area
interaction, and hinder exploration of fire research questions
important to the USDA, DOI, and partner organizations. SAF urges the
subcommittee to restore the JFSP funding level to $6.9 million under
Wildland Fire Management.
In closing, SAF is encouraged by the recognition of the important
work of the BLM Public Domain Forestry (PD) program with a funding
increase in the President's budget and extension of the Forest
Ecosystem Health and Recovery Fund authorization through 2020 in the
2015 Omnibus Appropriations Bill. However, SAF is concerned with the
proposed funding reduction for the Oregon & California Railroad Grant
Lands (O&C). Though the resource-intensive management plans for the O&C
will be released soon, SAF encourages this subcommittee to appropriate
robust funding to support efficient and effective plan implementation
and monitoring, and help the agency address the administrative and
legal challenges that almost always accompany new management plans. SAF
supports the funding level of $10 million for the PD program and $113.7
million for the O&C program. We also urge this subcommittee to extend
authorization of the Forest Ecosystem Health and Recovery Fund beyond
2020.
Thank you for your consideration of these important requests. SAF
and its extensive network of forestry and natural resources
professionals stand ready to assist with further development and
implementation of these efforts and ideas.
______
Prepared Statement of the Southcentral Foundation
My name is Douglas Eby and I am the Vice President of Medical
Services at Southcentral Foundation (SCF). SCF is a tribal organization
that compacts with the Secretary of Health and Human Services under
Title V of the Indian Self-Determination Act (ISDA) to provide primary
care services to Alaska Native patients within the Anchorage area and
throughout the region. SCF acts pursuant to tribal authority granted by
Cook Inlet Region, Inc., an Alaska Native regional corporation
designated by Congress as an Indian tribe for contracting purposes
under the ISDA.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify on behalf of the
Southcentral Foundation and the 150,000 Native American people we
serve. For more than 25 years SCF has carried out Indian Health Service
(IHS) programs under ISDA agreements. SCF provides medical, dental,
optometry, behavioral health, and substance abuse treatment services to
over 52,000 Alaska Native and American Indian beneficiaries living
within the Municipality of Anchorage, the Matanuska-Susitna Borough to
the north, and nearby villages. SCF also provides services to an
additional 13,000 residents of 55 Alaska villages covering an area
exceeding 100,000 square miles. Finally, SCF provides statewide
tertiary OB/GYN and pediatric services for approximately 150,000 Alaska
Native people. To do all this, SCF employs 2,000 people.
SCF requests that in fiscal year 2017 Congress (1) focus on general
IHS program increases especially related to Purchased and Referred
Care; (2) support increases in behavioral health including funding for
the Substance Use and Suicide Prevention Program (currently called the
Methamphetamine and Suicide Prevention Initiative); (3) clarify these
programs are entitled to contract support costs when operated by
tribes; and (4) support existing language for fully funding contract
support costs, while removing a disruptive ``proviso'' from the bill.
IHS has divided its budget request into two parts: (1) an
additional $159 million for current services to fully fund medical
inflation and pay raises, and to partially fund population growth, and
(2) $89.7 million to fund specific program increases, including a $48
million increase in purchased and referred care. While we support all
these increases, Purchased and Referred Care (PRC) is especially
important in the continuum of services we currently offer. When one of
our patients needs specialty care outside our capacity, we use PRC
funding to contract with outside clinics and hospitals to provide the
service. Although we strive to provide as many services as possible
within SCF, we still rely on non-SCF providers. Unfortunately, PRC
funding does not keep pace with the rising costs of healthcare in other
systems. As a result, sometimes we are unable to provide the necessary
care. We encourage the subcommittee to support the PRC increase.
SCF also strongly supports the proposed Substance Use and Suicide
Prevention Program (combining the Methamphetamine and Suicide
Prevention Initiative and the Domestic Violence Prevention Initiative.)
These initiatives provide crucial support for our efforts to combat two
blights that disproportionately afflict our community. At SCF we
implemented the Family Wellness Warriors Initiative to provide a means
for organizations and individuals to effectively address the spiritual,
emotional, mental and physical effects of domestic violence, abuse and
neglect. MSPI and DVPI funding has been critical to SCF's success in
this area.
On a related note, SCF also strongly supports the President's
requested increases for behavioral health, especially given our focus
on youth. As the subcommittee knows, SCF's Pathway Home is a voluntary,
comprehensive, and individualized mental health program for adolescents
from 13 to 18 years old. Its mission is to create a loving and
supportive community environment where Alaska Native children can
develop into independent, service-minded and productive leaders.
Referrals come from a variety of sources, including clinicians, case
managers, social workers, counselors, parents, teens or State agencies.
The Pathway Home team of clinicians and employees helps youth improve
their mental and behavioral health, physical and spiritual wellness,
and academic and/or vocational skills. Through a combination of
individual, group and educational settings, youth learn healthier
methods of managing their behavior, handling conflict and anger,
progressing in their recovery, and improving relationships with family
members.
Another youth-focused program is our RAISE Program, which provides
opportunities for on-the-job work experience in a setting focused on
Alaska Native cultural values. RAISE is designed to develop leadership
skills in Alaska Native and American Indian youth, and offers summer,
winter and graduate sessions. Each session exposes participants to
health-related careers and workplace expectations, while supporting
youth in both personal and professional development. The President's
proposed behavioral health increases will enable RAISE and Pathway to
continue making progress with our Alaska Native youth.
One aspect of the MSPI/DVPI (or new Substance Use and Suicide
Prevention Program) that warrants special discussion concerns how these
funds are currently handled. Congress first appropriated MSPI funds in
2008, and first appropriated DVPI funds in 2009. Congress directed that
both of these funds should go to the areas that needed them the most,
and IHS distributed these funds to contracting and compacting tribes
and tribal organizations through amendments to each tribe's ISDA
contract or compact. These amendments always occurred late in the
fiscal year, long after the CSC appropriations had already been spent,
so the agency always recognized the tribe's CSC need associated with
these programs but it could never actually pay that need. But 2 years
ago, just when full CSC funding became a reality, IHS changed course
and declared that these programs were ``special initiatives'' for which
contract support costs were not available. This cost us hundreds of
thousands of dollars. Almost as badly, IHS stopped adding these funds
to our compact and started issuing a separate grant with its own
reporting and accounting rules. So now the program is more even costly
and complicated to run, and still we receive no contract support cost
dollars. All this is deeply contrary to both the spirit and the letter
of the Indian Self-Determination Act. We join many other tribes in
asking the subcommittee to eliminate the ``notwithstanding'' clause and
direct IHS to treat these funds just like other IHS program funds
operated under the ISDA.
Finally, SCF wants to specially thank this subcommittee for all the
good work you have done to make history on fully funding contract
support costs. We applaud your success in creating a separate CSC
account in the 2016 Omnibus, and in providing an indefinite
appropriation so that CSC will always be fully funded without
threatening other programs. These two steps ensure that the Nation will
not be jeopardizing other important health services in order to fully
pay for CSC, as mandated by statute and affirmed by the Supreme Court.
Southcentral Foundation deeply appreciates the stance you have taken on
CSC to fully honor the United States' contractual obligations to tribes
and organizations like ours. SCF is committed to providing health
services on behalf of IHS at a level that far exceeds the quality of
what the agency provides directly, and we appreciate that the
subcommittee is equally committed to honoring the Government's
contractual obligations to SCF.
I do need to point out one accounting problem created by the
Appropriations Act's inclusion of a new ``proviso'' addressing the
tracking of unspent contract support cost funds. This proviso makes
accounting for those funds far more complex than it was, without any
countervailing benefit to the Federal Government. It is also
unnecessary, because existing law already addresses unspent funds and
requires that those funds must be spent in the following year to carry
out the contract. Existing law is sufficient, and the proviso about
unspent funds should therefore be removed in fiscal year 2017.
On a related note, we also respectfully request that the
subcommittee direct the Secretary of the Health and Human Services to
promptly file all late Contract Support Cost Shortfall Reports. The
last report to Congress on this matter covered fiscal year 2011 and is
more than 5 years old. This information is not only critical; it is
congressionally mandated by section 106(c) of the Indian Self-
Determination Act.
Thank you again for the opportunity to provide testimony on behalf
of Southcentral Foundation and the 150,000 people we serve.
______
Prepared Statement of the Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium
My name is Charles Clement and I serve as the President/CEO for the
Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium (SEARHC). I am honored for
the opportunity to provide testimony about SEARHC's priorities for the
fiscal year 2017 appropriations for the Indian Health Service, and I
thank Chairwoman Murkowski, Ranking Member Udall, and all members of
the subcommittee for the opportunity to do so.
SEARHC is an inter-tribal consortium of 15 federally recognized
tribes situated along the southeast panhandle of Alaska. Our service
area stretches over 35,000 square miles, and with no roads connecting
many of the rural communities we serve, we work hard to provide quality
health services to our communities. These services include medical,
dental, mental health, physical therapy, radiology, pharmacy,
laboratory, nutritional, audiology, optometry and respiratory therapy
services. We also provide supplemental social services, substance abuse
treatment, health promotion services, emergency medical services,
environmental health services and traditional Native healing. We
provide these services through a network of community clinics and the
Mt. Edgecumbe Hospital located in Sitka, Alaska.
The urgent healthcare needs across Indian Country are well known
and the challenges in meeting those needs are heightened in areas like
southeast Alaska where communities are isolated and transportation and
facilities costs are high. SEARHC applauds the administration for
recognizing these needs by increasing the IHS budget. It is vital that
these increases be preserved. But even these increases will not be
enough to allow SEARHC and other tribal organizations to meet the
healthcare needs of the people we serve. We will meet these challenges,
but to do so we will need your help.
facilities funding
Our greatest need is for increased facilities funding. We have
repeatedly reported to this subcommittee on this topic, and another
year of use has only increased those needs. At 67 years old, the Mt.
Edgecumbe Hospital is the oldest facility in Alaska and one of the
oldest in the Nation. It was constructed toward the end of World War II
by the War Department and focused largely on tuberculosis treatment
through the 1950s. The hospital is in poor condition and ill-suited to
a 21st century model of healthcare dominated by primary and ambulatory
care facilities. Replacing or repairing Mt. Edgecumbe should be a
priority, together with developing a critical access hospital to serve
the Prince of Wales Island communities (including Craig and Klawock).
According to IHS's Facilities Engineering Deficiency System, the
cost to update SEARHC's facilities alone is $29,600,000. And we are not
unique. Estimates place IHS facilities funding needs at $8.13 billion,
a number that keeps rising because IHS lacks sufficient funding to
maintain these facilities. We do our best to patch the problem, but the
bottom line is that without adequate facilities, SEARHC cannot provide
adequate services.
We request the Committee do four things.
Replace aging IHS facilities. We need a commitment from Congress to
start replacing aging IHS facilities. This will require reordering the
current facilities priority list, which was created on a first come,
first served basis. All rankings should be based on true need.
Increase facilities funding in the current budget proposal. The
President's budget contains modest funding increases for facilities
needs, totaling $46.7 million. This proposed increase, while welcome,
would address only a tiny fraction of the $8.13 billion needed.
Similarly, the President's budget proposal for increasing Maintenance
and Improvement funds by $3.4 million for a total of $77 million in M&I
funding fails to address the overwhelming need. With the critical
maintenance backlog of $467 million, this means that $390 million of
critical maintenance is not going to be addressed. We strongly
encourage the subcommittee to increase the facilities funding in the
IHS budget.
The Indian Health Care Improvement Act (IHCIA) renovation program.
We recommend the subcommittee provide funding for tribally renovated
IHS buildings, pursuant to section 1634 of the IHCIA. The IHCIA allows
tribes to renovate IHS facilities and authorizes IHS to provide
staffing and equipment for the newly renovated structure. However,
Congress has never funded this program. We strongly urge the
subcommittee to realize the promise of this program by providing $10
million to fund it. We would be delighted to do an Alaska demonstration
project for this new initiative.
Joint Venture Projects. The JV project provides IHS funds to staff
facilities built with tribal funds. SEARHC submitted a proposal in the
most recent Joint Venture project funding round. Despite receiving a
very high score, our proposal to build a facility on Prince of Wales
Island was not selected. And in fact, of the 37 applications submitted,
only 13 were put on a list to eventually receive funding. The fact that
qualified projects were not selected is evidence that the need for such
facilities far outstrips IHS's ability to enter into these agreements.
Our situation is a good example. Currently, our hospital in Sitka
serves people living as far away as Klawock. Travel to Sitka requires a
lengthy combination of automobile, ferry, and airplanes and takes at
least a day and often is an overnight trip. If weather is bad, as it
often is in southeast Alaska, it can take even longer. The only
alternative are costly air ambulance flights. We proposed to construct
a Critical Access Hospital in Klawock. This would have strengthened the
primary care service in the area, while for the first time also
offering complex diagnostic services and acute and emergency care to
one of the remotest, most rural areas of the Nation. Despite this
substantial need for these services, our project was rejected.
In order to provide funding for this project, as well as the other
JV projects that were not selected in the last round, we urge this
subcommittee to support IHS's effort to enter into more Joint Venture
Agreements.
contract support costs
In recent years, much progress has been made on the issue of
contract support costs, thanks in large part to this subcommittee.
Congress's decision to fully fund contract support costs since 2014
recast the issue from one of contention to one of cooperation. Further,
last year's work to create a new account for CSC to ensure that other
critical programs are not impacted by this mandatory obligation only
strengthens the relationships between tribal organizations and the
Federal Government. We know it is because of this subcommittee's work
that this has happened and we thank you for it.
Last year's contract support cost language creating a new account
was ground breaking, and we applaud the subcommittee for its foresight,
leadership and creativity in finding a workable solution within a
difficult budget environment. This year, we only ask that the
subcommittee not repeat the proviso concerning carryover funds because
it is counter to existing law. The proviso directs that CSC amounts
that are not expended by a tribe in the current fiscal year be applied
to contract support costs otherwise due in subsequent fiscal years.
This language should be deleted because the Indian Self-Determination
Act already addresses the use and disposition of unexpended contract
and compact funds. The proviso conflicts with that language and also
creates unnecessary and complicated accounting issues. For these
reasons, the proviso is unnecessary and should be discontinued.
Finally, we once again urge the subcommittee to include language in
the appropriations act making clear that IHS must pay contract support
costs on MSPI and DVPI program funds. Despite years of acknowledging
that CSC are due on these program funds, IHS recently reversed course
and required tribes to cover CSC costs with program funds. This is
contrary to Congress's clear directive in the Indian Self-Determination
Act. There is no reason these programs should be treated any
differently than any other program within the Indian Health Service.
Thank you for the opportunity to present to the Committee on
SEARHC's priorities.
______
Prepared Statement of the Squaxin Island Tribe
On behalf of the Tribal Leadership and citizens of the Squaxin
Island Tribe, it is an honor to provide our funding priorities and
recommendations for the fiscal year 2017 budgets for the Bureau of
Indian Affairs (BIA) and Indian Health Service (IHS). Squaxin Island
Tribe requests that tribal program funding throughout the Federal
Government be exempt from future sequestrations, rescissions and
disproportionate cuts.
We applaud the subcommittee for its foresight, leadership and
creativity in seeking a long-term resolution to fully fund Contract
Support Cost (CSC). Although full funding in 2014 and 2015 was risky
and did impact some other tribal funding, in the fiscal year 2016
enacted spending bill you included an estimated amount to fully fund
the needs. We support the proposed fiscal year 2017 CSC full funding
for both BIA and IHS and the inclusion of separate CSC accounts for
both. Unfortunately, a proviso in the fiscal year 2017 proposed budget
regarding the use and disposition of unexpended CSC contract and
compact funds presents a problem and is contrary to current law. The
Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (ISDEAA) address
this issue and we ask that you hear from tribes in advance of acting on
this proposal. We have made great strides with CSC and it would defeat
your intentions to resolve this matter without fully realizing how
complicated and misleading this provision can be to the progress you
have made to date.
THE FISCAL YEAR 2016 SQUAXIN ISLAND TRIBAL SPECIFIC REQUESTS:
1. $500,000 Shellfish Management Program--BIA
2. $2 Million to Build and Operate an Oyster and Clam Nursery for
Southern Puget Sound--BIA
3. $1.5 Million Increase for Northwest Indian Treatment Center
(NWITC) Residential Program in IHS
THE FISCAL YEAR 2016 SQUAXIN ISLAND REGIONAL REQUESTS:
1. +$4.7 million increase for Rights Protection
2. Fully support the budget requests from the Affiliated Tribes of
Northwest Washington (ATNI) and the Northwest Portland Area Indian
Health Board (NPAIHB) and the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission
NATIONAL REQUESTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS--BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS
1. +$1 million increase over 2016 enacted level of $277 million to
fully fund CSC
2. Authorize reclassification of BIA CSC to Mandatory [Permanent]
Funding beginning in fiscal year 2018
3. +$5 million increase Sustainable Stewardship/Natural Resources
4. +$30.9 million increase for Tribal Priority Allocations to be
provided via tribal base funding agreements
5. +$4 million for Native One-Stop to leverage Federal resources
for tribes
6. Fully fund all the provisions of the Tribal Law and Order Act
of 2010 and the Violence Against Women Act
NATIONAL REQUESTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS--INDIAN HEALTH SERVICE
1. +$82 million increase for CSC above fiscal year 2016 enacted
level
2. Authorize reclassification of IHS CSC to Mandatory [Permanent]
Funding beginning in fiscal year 2018
3. +$482.4 million IHS Mandatory Funding (maintaining current
services)
4. +$42 million increase for Purchased and Referred Care (PRC)
Squaxin Island Tribes supports the Regional Budget Priorities of
the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission, the Affiliated Tribes of
Northwest Indians and the Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board.
Squaxin Island Tribe supports the National Budget Priorities of the
National Congress of American Indians and the National Indian Health
Board.
SQUAXIN ISLAND TRIBE BACKGROUND
We are native people of South Puget Sound and descendants of the
maritime people who lived and prospered along these shores for untold
centuries. We are known as the People of the Water because of our
strong cultural connection to the natural beauty and bounty of Puget
Sound going back hundreds of years. The Squaxin Island Indian
Reservation is located in southeastern Mason County, Washington and the
tribe is a signatory to the 1854 Medicine Creek Treaty. We were one of
the first 30 federally recognized tribes to enter into a Compact of
Self-Governance with the United States.
Our treaty-designated reservation, Squaxin Island, is approximately
2.2 square miles of uninhabited forested land, surrounded by the bays
and inlets of southern Puget Sound. Because the Island lacks fresh
water, the tribe has built its community on roughly 26 acres at
Kamilche, Washington purchased and placed into trust. The tribe also
owns 6 acres across Pickering Passage from Squaxin Island and a plot of
36 acres on Harstine Island, across Peale Passage. The total land area
including off-reservation trust lands is 1,715.46 acres. In addition,
the tribe manages roughly 500 acres of Puget Sound tidelands.
The tribal government and our economic enterprises constitute the
largest employer in Mason County with over 1,250 employees. The tribe
has a current enrollment of 1,040 and an on-reservation population of
426 living in 141 homes. Squaxin has an estimated service area
population of 2,747; a growth rate of about 10 percent, and an
unemployment rate of about 30 percent (according to the BIA Labor Force
Report).
TRIBAL SPECIFIC REQUESTS JUSTIFICATIONS:
1. $500,000--Shellfish Management
The Squaxin Island Tribes faces a budget deficit to maintain and
operate the shellfish program at the current level. To effectively grow
and develop the program, an annual minimum increase of $500,000 to
address the shortfall and ensure the continuance of this program is
requested.
Shellfish have been a mainstay for the Squaxin Island people for
thousands of years and are important today for subsistence, economic
and ceremonial purposes. The tribe's right to harvest shellfish is
guaranteed by the 1854 Medicine Creek Treaty. It is important to
remember that these rights were not granted by the Federal Government.
They were retained by the tribe in exchange for thousands of acres of
tribal lands. On December 20, 1994 U.S. District Court Judge Edward
Rafeedie reaffirmed the tribe's treaty right to naturally occurring
shellfish. Rafeedie ruled that the tribe(s) has the right to take up to
50 percent of the harvestable shellfish on Washington beaches.
The Squaxin Island Natural Resources Department (SINRD) is charged
with protecting, managing and enhancing the land and water resources of
the tribe, including fish and shellfish habitat and species. In so
doing, the Department works cooperatively with State and Federal
environmental, natural resources and health agencies. The shellfish
management work of the SINRD includes working with private tideland
owners and commercial growers; surveying beaches; monitoring harvests;
enhancing supply (prepping, seeding, monitoring beds) and licensing and
certifying harvesters and geoduck divers. We estimate that 20 percent
of treaty-designated State lands and 80-90 percent of private tidelands
are inaccessible to us due to insufficient funding.
In fiscal year 2011, the shellfish program represented only
$250,000 of the $3.3 million budget. The result is we are unable to
fully exercise our treaty rights due to lack of Federal support for
shellfish.
2. $2 Million--Build and Operate an Oyster and Clam Nursery for
Southern Puget Sound
In the past few years, problems with seed production have developed
in the shellfish industry. These problems have been primarily caused by
weather and or other environmental factors, and their effects on the
industry have resulted in the lack of viable and large enough seed for
growers. The Squaxin Island Tribe recognizes that it is uniquely
positioned to develop a new nursery to serve the shellfish growers of
the South Puget Sound region. A shellfish nursery is a capital project
that is both proven and a cost effective technology that takes small
oyster and clam seeds and provides a safe and controlled environment
for the seeds to grow to a size that can survive integration onto a
regular beach placement. We have an ideal location for a nursery
because it will not be disturbed by residents or recreational boaters.
Our efforts will be an extension of another project that was
created through a U.S. Department of Agriculture appropriation nearly
two decades ago for the Lummi Tribe, which created an oyster and clam
hatchery in Northern Puget Sound. The Lummi project over years has been
very successful and they have supplied not only their own beaches but
other tribes' in their region as well. The project would benefit not
just Squaxin Island Tribe. It would further improve the quality and
quantity of seed and make the seed process more effective for tribal
and non-tribal growers. The users of the facility would be the Squaxin
Island Tribe, other tribes, and non-tribal clam and oyster businesses
that have been largely unable to find sites for this type of operation.
The tribe's project will be a joint venture with the Lummi Nation,
in that Lummi would be a primary larvae supplier. The project, with the
expected grow-out and expansion of the industry attributable to the
improved supply of seed, would offer jobs in a depressed employment
area. Once established, the venture would be fully self-sustaining
through sales of the product grown and at the nursery.
This project would be a capital cost of approximately $2 million.
The tribal in-kind contribution to the efforts would include land and
shoreline and operating costs. Comparable land and shoreline, if
privately owned, would be easily valued in the millions.
3. $1.5 Million Increase for Northwest Indian Treatment Center (NWITC)
Residential Program in IHS
``D3WXbi Palil'' meaning ``Returning from the Dark, Deep Waters
to the Light''--NWITC has not received an adequate increase in
its base Indian Health Service budget since the original
congressional set-aside in 1993.
The Squaxin Island Tribe has been operating the Northwest Indian
Treatment Center (NWITC) since 1994. Ingenious in creativity, the
center offers a wide variety of cultural activities and traditional/
religious ceremonies, making it a natural place to heal--body, mind and
soul. Fittingly, the center was given the spiritual name ``D3WXbi
Palil'' meaning ``Returning from the Dark, Deep Waters to the Light.''
Since the original congressional set-aside in 1993, NWITC has not
received an adequate increase in the base Indian Health Service budget.
It is critical to increase the NWITC's annual base in order to sustain
the current services to the tribes of the Northwest. An increase of
$1.5 million would restore lost purchasing power and meet the need to
add mental health and psychiatric components to the treatment program
through other funding agents. This increase would allow NWITC to
continue its effective treatment of Native Americans.
NWITC is a residential chemical dependency treatment facility
designed to serve American Indians from tribes located in Oregon,
Washington and Idaho who have chronic relapse patterns related to
unresolved grief and trauma. NWITC is unique in its integration of
tribal cultural values into a therapeutic environment for co-occurring
substance abuse and mental health disorders. It is a 28 bed, 30-60 day
residential facility.
Welcomed and hailed by tribal leaders who felt the urgent need for
such a facility, NWITC is centrally located in Grays Harbor County
between Olympia and Aberdeen, on 2.5 acres in the small rural town of
Elma, Washington. NWITC accepts patients that are referred through
outpatient treatment programs, parole and probation services,
hospitals, assessment centers and child and family service centers.
Medical care is provided through local Indian Health Service clinics
and other medical service providers. NWITC has responded with an
overwhelming success rate of nearly 65 percent.
In 2011, the NWITC served 225 patients from 28 tribes and added
intensive case management and crisis support to alumni in order to
continue to promote positive outcomes for clients. Despite funding
challenges, NWITC has continued to develop and deliver innovative,
culturally appropriate services to meet increasingly complex demands.
The Treatment Center's traditional foods and medicines program is
supported through a partnership with the Northwest Indian College and
is funded through grants from the Washington Health Foundation, the
National Institute of Food and Agriculture, The Potlatch Fund and
several tribes. Weekly hands-on classes focus on traditional foods and
medicines, including methods for growing, harvesting, processing, and
preparation. Twice a month, tribal elders, storytellers, and cultural
specialists speak as part of the program. A monthly family class allows
patients to share what they are learning with their loved ones.
Patients gain hands-on experience by working in three on-site teaching
gardens. This program serves as a model for other tribal communities.
It is ironic that we were forced into a lifestyle and to give up
our land, and that which we retained or have since regained is
threatened by the promises you made and have since recanted!
Thank you for inviting us to present this Testimony.
______
Prepared Statement of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe
On behalf of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, I submit this testimony
concerning the President's fiscal year 2017 budget for the Indian
programs within the Department of the Interior and the Indian Health
Service. I would like to express our appreciation to this subcommittee
for its support of Indian tribes. I will focus my remarks on public
safety, education, housing, healthcare, and infrastructure.
The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe has a government to government
relationship with the United States of America, reflected in our
treaties which were signed in 1851 and 1868. These treaties underscore
the ongoing promises and obligations of the United States to the tribe,
and our testimony today is submitted with those promises and
obligations in mind.
The Standing Rock Sioux Reservation encompasses 2.3 million acres
in North and South Dakota. The reservation's population--approximately
8,500 tribal members and 2,000 non-members--reside in eight districts,
and in smaller communities. The tribe's primary industries are cattle
ranching and farming. The tribe struggles to provide essential
governmental services to our members. The tribe's desire is to provide
jobs and improve the economic standard of living on our reservation. We
operate two modest tribal casinos, and a small number of additional
tribal businesses, including Standing Rock Propane and Standing Rock
Telecommunications, which provide needed services on the reservation.
Casino revenue is used to help the tribe supplement services and
programs for our members, but those revenues are modest and our
challenges and needs are far greater than our resources. Despite the
tribe's best efforts, our unemployment rate remains above 50 percent.
In fact, over 40 percent of Indian families on our reservation live in
poverty--more than triple the average U.S. poverty rate. The disparity
is worse for children, as 52 percent of the reservation population
under age 18 lives below poverty, compared to 16 percent and 19 percent
in North and South Dakota, respectively. The Federal programs
established and promised by treaty to aid tribes and their members are
essential. We ask the Government to honor its commitments by adequately
funding these Federal programs enacted for our benefit, so that our
members may enjoy a standard of living comparable to that enjoyed by
the rest of the Nation. Our specific requests are as follows:
BIA--Public Safety and Justice.--Public safety is a priority for
the tribe. We strongly disagree with the President's proposal to
decrease funding for Public Safety and Justice by $4 million below the
2016 enacted level, and urge the subcommittee instead to support an
increase by at least that amount. A decrease in funding contradicts
Interior's promises to make our homelands safer. Funding is also
essential for law enforcement equipment and facilities maintenance.
Youth Corrections.--In December 2010, the tribe successfully
completed construction of a secure 18-bed juvenile detention facility
so that tribal youth offenders may remain on the reservation and
receive culturally appropriate services if they must be incarcerated.
For reasons beyond the tribe's control, the facility has not been used
for the past 5 years. This endeavor by the tribe is named the Youth
Services Center, however, only the secure portion of the plan was
completed due to inadequate funds to truly provide for all youth
services as the name suggests. The tribe contributed $2 million of
tribal funds to supplement $5 million in Justice Department funds to
build this facility. Over time this tribally owned facility will save
the BIA a great deal of money that now pays other contract facilities
to house our youth offenders. Unfortunately, while the BIA, in January
2011 and many times thereafter, advised the tribe that the facility
would become operational, it is still not open despite the BIA
receiving staff funding as well as operations and maintenance funding.
BIA was unable to provide staffing to open the facility in a timely
manner when it was completed in 2010 and as a result, problems within
the idle building have surfaced and have already cost the tribe
additional dollars in repairs. Although the tribe is currently working
with the BIA to address those matters remaining in the facility, the
building remains unoccupied and our youth are still being taken
hundreds of miles off reservation. Additional construction dollars, and
greater discretion concerning the allowable use of public safety
services funds, are critical to providing detention and associated
services to all troubled youth, especially when tribes are seeking
alternatives to incarceration, such as probation with mandatory
counseling and substance abuse counseling and treatment.
Adult Corrections.--BIA OJS operates an antiquated 48 bed adult
detention center for male and female inmates in Fort Yates on our
reservation. The detention center is a linear style facility which,
because of its design, is very staff intensive. The jail was built in
the 1960's and has long outlived its utility. Renovated in the 1980's
and again in the 1990's, the jail fails to comply with most
contemporary detention standards. The jail population is frequently two
to three times over the rated bed capacity. To alleviate jail crowding,
BIA OJS contracts bed space for long term adult inmates in a facility
that is a 772 mile round trip from the reservation. Our tribal court is
forced to release prisoners early to alleviate jail crowding just to
make room for more prisoners. This sends the wrong message to
criminals.
Law Enforcement.--The tribe has seen firsthand that adequate law
enforcement funding was key to reducing crime. A number of years ago,
the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe was selected to participate in the High
Priority Program Goals initiative, which dramatically increased law
enforcement positions on our reservation. This had a significant
positive impact in reducing crime. Increased numbers of police officers
allowed pro active policing rather than reactive policing. This
initiative enabled officers to be assigned within each reservation
community, which meant quicker response time to calls and more positive
relationships between law enforcement officers and the communities they
served. The increased law enforcement presence and patrols has deterred
crime and resulted in our members feeling safer. The data confirms
this. When compared to the number of violent crimes (homicide, rape,
robbery, assault) that occurred between 2007 and 2009, the additional
staffing reduced such crimes by approximately: 7 percent in 2010, 11
percent in 2011, and 15-19 percent in 2012. These initiatives
demonstrated the critical importance that adequate law enforcement
staffing can have in our community. But HPPG ended after fiscal year
2013 and the tribe's law enforcement personnel were reduced from the
numbers that served us so well. We strongly support an increase in
funding for law enforcement personnel. It makes no sense that these
programs would not be funded in perpetuity since they have been
demonstrated to work to reduce crime in Indian Country.
Tribal Courts.--We support an increase to the modest funding
appropriated for the Tribal Courts Program. The Standing Rock Tribal
Court is an independent branch of government consisting of a supreme
court, civil court, criminal court, and children's court. Key positions
in the tribal court require licensed attorneys--the chief judge;
associate chief judge; chief prosecutor; and public defender. The
supreme court consists of three Justices, two of whom must be a
licensed attorney. Our tribe cannot effectively support these courts
with our small BIA allocation, even when heavily subsidized by the
tribe. And yet in order to use our tribe's authorities provided under
the Violence Against Women Act of 2013, Sex Offender Registration and
Offender Act, and the Tribal Law and Order Act, we must continue to
meet appropriate standards. Our tribal courts are also crowded, even
when spread across three separate buildings. The main courthouse
outgrew its ability to meet our needs years ago and the lack of space
severely limits our ability to adequately handle the tribal court case
load of 2,000 to 3,000 cases per year. Funding is critical to providing
a safe and secure center to house justice programs.
Bureau of Indian Education (BIE).--We support an increase to fiscal
year 2017 funding for BIE programs. Standing Rock relies on BIE funding
for three tribal grant schools--the Standing Rock Community School (K-
12), Sitting Bull School (K-8), and Rock Creek School (K-8). The
Standing Rock Community School is operated through a Joint Powers
Agreement between the Standing Rock Tribal Grant School and the Fort
Yates Public School District. The Fort Yates Public School District,
like other public schools on the reservation (Cannonball, Selfridge,
McLaughlin, McIntosh, and Wakpala), depends on Federal impact aid to
cover the costs of the public school's share of the school operations.
The children in the schools on the reservation are among the most at-
risk students in the Nation. At seven out of eight public and tribal
grant schools on our reservation, 100 percent of the students are
eligible for the Free or Reduced Lunch Program. At the remaining
school, 90 percent of students are eligible for the Free or Reduced
Lunch Program. The high rate of our student eligibility for the Free or
Reduced Lunch Program documents that the majority of our families live
at or below poverty level.
A critical source of funds for the operation of our tribal grant
schools are the Indian School Equalization Program (ISEP) Formula
funds. The funds cover the costs of the schools' instructional
programs, including salaries for teachers, teacher aides, school
administrative staff and other operational costs. ISEP has not seen any
meaningful increase in years, and as a result, there has been a
significant negative impact on the effectiveness of the schools'
instructional programs. Academic programs are marginal at best and
provide limited services to the students. It has become more difficult
to attract and retain qualified staff. Despite the clear need, the
administration proposes to cut ISEP funding by $16.4 million,
apparently to offset the cost of a new pilot program. We do not object
to a new pilot program, but it should not be created at the expense of
existing needs. If the schools serving Indian children are to be
effective and if our students are to succeed and be college and career
ready, ISEP funding must be increased.
The administration's near flat line funding for virtually all
aspects of BIE programs does not account for population growth,
increased costs, or inflation. Student Transportation funding, intended
to cover the costs of buses, fuel, maintenance, vehicle replacements,
and drivers, has stayed at the same level for years. The substantial
increases in fuel costs alone make it impossible to cover these costs.
For Standing Rock, funds are further strained because we are a rural
community, where bus runs for many of our students may take 1\1/2\ to 2
hours each way and can include travel on unimproved roads. These
factors result in higher maintenance costs and shorter vehicle life. A
substantial increase in funds for Student Transportation is long
overdue.
The same is true for School Facility Operations and Maintenance
which is drastically under-funded. In fact, O&M budgets are currently
constrained at 40 percent of need. This also holds true for School
Improvement and Repair. We urge this subcommittee to strongly support
an increase, not only for Facility Operations and Maintenance and
School Improvement and Repair, but for School Construction as well.
Indeed, one of our tribal grant schools, the Rock Creek School, is more
than 100 years old and badly needs to be replaced. Federal funds to
replace ancient schools--like Rock Creek--are essential. Funding for
School Facility Operations and Maintenance and School Improvement and
Repair, as well as School Construction should be substantially
increased. We are also very concerned about the list of new schools
which have been slated to be constructed. Not a single school from the
Great Plains made that list. It is clear that the Bureau of Indian
Education has discretion to select these schools, and they have used
that discretion to effectively shut out schools in our region for the
next decade. We would like the subcommittee to better understand how
these schools are selected.
We also urge the subcommittee to support an increase in funding for
scholarships. Because of the unmet need, the tribe spends $1 million in
tribal funds annually to supplement this program and gives grants of
$3,000-$3,500 to aid our students attending colleges and vocational
schools. But even with this, the majority of our scholarship recipients
have unmet financial need varying from $100 to $17,000.
Indian Health Service.--We support the administration's fiscal year
2017 requested increase in IHS funding. We depend on IHS to care for
our 16,000 enrolled tribal members, many of whom suffer from diabetes,
heart disease and hypertension. We are especially concerned about our
region. Although we are not at risk of losing certification under the
Center for Medicaid Services, we hope the Indian Health Service can
continue to provide quality support and timely processing of the basics
such as human resources, budget responses, and procurement. We also
fully support the IHS' efforts to increase funding for behavioral
health by $46 million, especially the youth focused programming.
We recommend that Congress prioritize the IHS preventive healthcare
service programs, such as the diabetes grant program, and increase
funding for these programs above the administration's $150 million,
while supporting and protecting the administration's other IHS funding
priorities, especially funding for healthcare personnel. In many
instances, if additional funding for clinical services and preventive
health programs can be made available, illnesses and injuries could be
treated at their initial stages, or prevented altogether. This is
especially important at Standing Rock, where many of our members'
health problems could be addressed if timely preventive care were
available. We also support the administration's request for increases
in Dental Health and Purchased/Referred Care (previously known as
Contract Health Services), which has been historically underfunded.
Road Maintenance.--Proper road maintenance on the reservation is
essential for the safety and health of our community, and for promoting
economic opportunities. BIA Road Maintenance is responsible for 29,700
miles of BIA owned roads. The administration request of $27 million
only funds 16 percent of the level of need for BIA road maintenance.
Thus, 84 percent of the roads in the BIA systems will continue to be at
poor or failing condition. These are roads used by school buses and
first responders. In any other community this would be unacceptable. We
urge the subcommittee to increase funding for the maintenance program
by at least $9 million. This level of funding would allow a greater
percentage of the roads to be properly maintained.
Tribal Historic Preservation Offices.--We strongly support the $2
million increase for Tribal Historic Preservation Offices out of the
National Park Service. This modest increase will help us to protect
historic and culturally significant resources throughout the region.
______
Prepared Statement of Dawn Stockwell
Dear Senators:
As an American citizen and taxpayer, I strongly oppose the BLM's
proposal to conduct dangerous sterilization experiments on wild mares
at the Wild Horse Corral Facility in Hines. According to the
Environmental Assessment (EA), the BLM is deciding whether or not to
proceed with one or more of the proposed sterilization procedures. The
weight of scientific evidence and public opinion clearly supports a BLM
decision NOT to proceed with any of these sterilization procedures.
The sterilization procedures that BLM is proposing to conduct on
federally protected wild mares are dangerous, costly and impractical
for use in the field, due to the serious health risks they pose to the
horses and their unborn foals, and also due to the great expense of
purchasing the equipment and training the number of veterinarians
necessary to implement these procedures on the range.
It makes no sense to spend millions of taxpayer dollars on these
risky invasive experiments when proven, humane, and relatively
inexpensive fertility control technology in the form of the PZP vaccine
is readily available but vastly underutilized by the BLM.
The EA is completely inadequate in analyzing the impacts of these
experimental procedures on mares. In addition, the BLM has deliberately
avoided public opposition to this controversial and grotesque research
proposal by skipping the scoping stage of the environmental analysis
process. As a result, the public has been deprived of the opportunity
to provide input into the impacts of and alternatives to these
procedures that must be analyzed under the rules of the National
Environmental Policy Act.
1. Ovariectomy via Colposcopy
This is an outdated and archaic procedure that has been supplanted
by more modern laparoscopic surgery. The EA fails to analyze the
impacts of and alternatives to this procedure to mares and never once
mentions the availability of more modern techniques! This proposed
sterilization experiment is an intra-vaginal complex surgical
procedure, which is hardly ever performed in domestic horses (never
mind in wild ones), due to its inherently dangerous risks.
--The blind nature of this surgery increases the risk of intra-
abdominal hemorrhage, but the EA never even addresses this
issue or the availability of more modern laparoscopic
techniques that allow the surgeon to visualize the abdominal
structures.
--The lack of a sterile environment subjects the mares to a high risk
of infection, something that is ignored by the EA.
--The procedure carries with it a significant risk of hemorrhage and
evisceration (protrusion of the intestines through the surgical
incision), which is why it requires strict follow-up care when
used in domestic horses, including pain relief and 4-7 days of
stall rest, the first 48 hours of which is spent in crossties
to prevent the mare from lying down. It is not possible to
provide this required post-operative care to wild mares, yet
the EA minimizes the impacts of this fact, citing the opinion
of an un-named veterinarian, instead of the published science
and National Research Council review, which clearly indicate
the risks and impacts of this outdated procedure on wild mares.
--The procedure will cause mares in early stages of pregnancy to
abort their fetuses and may cause loss of pregnancy for mares
in the mid-stage of pregnancy as well. This is unacceptable.
This pursuit of ovariectomy research is directly counter to the
recommendations of the National Academy of Sciences National Research
Council (NRC) in its 2013 report, ``Using Science to Improve the BLM
Wild Horse and Burro Program: A Way Forward.'' That NRC report
concluded that: ``The possibility that ovariectomy may be followed by
prolonged bleeding or peritoneal infection makes it inadvisable for
field application.''
2. Minimally Invasive Sterilization Techniques
The other sterilization procedures that BLM proposes to research,
while less invasive than ovariectomy, should also be abandoned due to
the inability to provide post-operative care and the impracticality of
implementing these procedures--which have never before been done in
wild or domestic horses--on a broad scale in a field setting. The EA
fails to analyze the impacts of precedent-setting procedures that have
never before been performed in horses, and as well as the inability to
provide required post-operative care. The EA also omits analysis of the
economic impacts and practicalities of implementing these procedures on
the range.
In proceeding with these experiments, the BLM has ignored the NRC
recommendation that these techniques should first be perfected in
domestic mares, who can be easily handled and will be accessible for
close monitoring and post-operative care, before attempting them in
wild horses.
It is unconscionable that the BLM is proceeding with these
draconian experiments that endanger the lives of the un-consenting
equine subjects and their unborn foals, particularly when a proven non-
invasive and safe fertility control method exists in the readily
available PZP birth control vaccine. Instead of wasting millions of tax
dollars to fund experiments on inhumane and impractical sterilization
experiments, the agency should instead focus resources on vaccinating
sufficient numbers of mares with the PZP fertility control vaccine,
which is documented through 30 years of experience and published
science, to be safe, effective, cost-effective and successful in
managing wild horse populations.
Again, as a taxpayer and wild horse lover, I am outraged that the
BLM is even considering pursuing such inhumane, barbaric and wasteful
experimentation on wild horses and I find the BLM's Environmental
Analysis of its impacts to be woefully inadequate. As a result, I
strongly urge the BLM to abandon these proposed experiments in favor of
using proven, more cost-effective and humane fertility control methods.
______
Prepared Statement of United States Senator Susan M. Collins
March 18, 2016.
Hon. Thad Cochran Hon. Barbara Mikulski
Chairman Vice Chairwoman
Committee on Appropriations Committee on Appropriations
United States Senate United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510 Washington, DC 20510
Hon. Lisa Murkowski Hon. Tom Udall
Chairman Ranking Member
Subcommittee on Interior, Subcommittee on Interior,
Environment, Environment,
and Related Agencies and Related Agencies
Committee on Appropriations Committee on Appropriations
United States Senate United States Senate
Washington , DC 20510 Washington, DC 20510
Dear Chairman Cochran, Vice Chairwoman Mikulski, Chairman
Murkowski, and Ranking Member Udall:
I respectfully submit the following requests for funding and
language to be included in the fiscal year 2017 Interior, Environment,
and Related Agencies Appropriations bill and report:
department of the interior
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM)
BOEM, Renewable Energy
I request that you provide level funding, $24.3 million, for the
Renewable Energy program. The United States has nearly 4,000 GW of
offshore wind capacity within 50 miles of the coastline, enough to
power the United States four times over. Approximately two-thirds of
this capacity is in deepwater. In order to foster the development of
ocean energy resources, other countries, such as the United Kingdom,
Canada, Germany, and Portugal, have established test sites for ocean
energy. These countries have funded environmental permitting studies
and provided electrical infrastructure, including undersea cabling and
grid interconnection, for these test sites. Working with research
institutions, private industry has used these ``ready'' sites to build
and test advanced offshore wind turbines and other ocean energy
harvesting devices, spurring further commercial developments. The
President's budget request includes $23.9 million.
To ensure that the United States does not lose momentum in
advancing this promising technology, I request that you include the
following language in your report:
Renewable Energy.--The Committee provides $24.3 million for
renewable energy leasing activities, including program
development, environmental analysis, and consultation with
Federal, State, and local stakeholders. The Bureau should
continue to work with the Department of Energy to identify and
permit a national offshore wind test site that incorporates new
technology related to the structural material of transitional
depth and floating wind turbines. The Bureau should also make
funding available for installation of electrical infrastructure
for such a test site. The Committee expects the Bureau to
continue working with coastal States and other stakeholders to
study new wind energy areas, including those in shallow,
transitional, and deep (over 200 feet) waters. The Secretary
should work with the Secretary of Energy and States to exchange
information about the development of new technology related to
the structural material, environmental, and design safety
criteria, as well as design and performance standards of
transitional depth and floating wind turbines.
national park service
Land and Water Conservation Fund, State Grants
I request continued support for the Land and Water Conservation
Fund (LWCF), including the LWCF State grant program and the Forest
Legacy Program. Within the funding provided for LWCF, I request level
funding for the State grant program. The LWCF is one of the most
important Federal programs for assisting in the preservation of
recreational resources. According to the National Park Service, 92
percent of States reported an annual unmet funding need of 90 percent
or greater, which funding for the State grant program would help
address. State grants received $106.8 million in fiscal year 2016. The
President's fiscal year 2017 budget request includes $106 million in
discretionary funding.
Facility Operations and Maintenance
I request continued support for the facility operations and
maintenance of our National Park System, including for the base budget
of Acadia National Park. The facility operations and maintenance
activities at our national parks play key roles in ensuring continued
protection and use of park facilities. Funding will help address the
deferred maintenance backlog, which at the end of fiscal year 2015
totaled more than $11.9 billion. The President's fiscal year 2017
budget request includes $842.5 million for facility operations and
maintenance, and $738.5 million was allocated in fiscal year 2016.
Roosevelt Campobello International Park
I urge the subcommittee to provide $1.66 million for the Roosevelt
Campobello International Park Commission, the level requested by the
Commission in its budget request. The President's budget request
includes $1.5 million. I appreciate the subcommittee's willingness to
work with me on language to help ensure the unique arrangement between
the United States and Canada in operating the Roosevelt-Campobello
International Park (RCIP) is maintained. I request that report language
from the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016 (Public Law 114-113),
which would clarify congressional intent that the RCIP budget request
be transmitted by the Office of Management and Budget to Congress
without changes by the National Park Service, be retained in the fiscal
year 2017 subcommittee report. To address what had become a perennial
issue for NPS to reduce the budget request for RCIP, including the
following language from fiscal year 2016 remains very important:
Roosevelt-Campobello International Park Commission.--Funding
for Roosevelt-Campobello International Park Commission (the
Commission) on the Maine-Canada border is jointly and equally
supported by the U.S. and Canadian governments pursuant to the
1964 Agreement between the two nations, which was recognized
and codified by Congress in 1964 (Public Law 88-363). While the
Administration has a responsibility to consider priorities
within overall budget constraints and submit an annual budget
request to Congress, the Committee is concerned with recent
requests for the Park from the Service. Congress observed in
1986 the following: ``The managers agree that hereafter the
Service should use its internal reprogramming authority so that
there will be no diminution of the amount provided for the
Roosevelt Campobello International Park Commission, unless
reduced by the House or Senate in a report accompanying the
appropriations bill.'' (CR-H10497, October 15, 1986).
Therefore, the Committee directs that the budget request
prepared by the Roosevelt Campobello International Park
Commission shall be submitted by the Administration directly to
the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations without any
changes. The Administration, in its National Park Service
budget justification, may comment on the Commission's budget
request and make such additions and subtractions that it may
propose. However, the amounts requested by the National Park
Service shall be consistent with its obligations under
international agreements. The Committee will consider the
proposal from the Commission and the Administration will
allocate the overall appropriation as specified in the report
accompanying the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies
Appropriations Act.
u.s. fish and wildlife service
State and Tribal Wildlife Grants
I request that you provide at least level funding, $60.6 million,
for the State and Tribal Wildlife Grants program and maintain the ratio
of formula and competitive grants. This program provides Federal
funding to develop and implement conservation programs that protect
wildlife and habitats, prioritizing the species most in need of
conservation and helping to avoid listings under the Endangered Species
Act. The President's budget request includes $67 million.
u.s. geological survey
Water Resources Research Institute
I request that you provide at least $6.5 million--level funding--
for the Water Resources Research Institute, which provides vital
research, public information, and educational opportunities on water
availability, pollution, and use issues nationwide. The President's
budget request for fiscal year 2017 includes $6.5 million for this
program.
Groundwater and Streamflow Information Program
I support continued funding for the Groundwater and Streamflow
Information Program (GWSIP), which collects, manages, and disseminates
consistently high-quality and reliable hydrologic information in real-
time and over the long-term. The purpose of this important program is
to minimize loss of life and property from water hazards and to
protect, manage, and sustain water that is safe and available for
drinking. The GWSIP is one of the primary sources of data needed for
timely water decisions, as the streamgage data collected provide
critical flood warning information to local, State, tribal, and
national stakeholders. Groundwater data also help landowners monitor
their irrigation activities and aquatic habitats. In fiscal year 2016,
the program received $71.5 million. The President's fiscal year 2017
budget request includes $72.957 million for GWSIP.
environmental protection agency
General Provision--Carbon Neutrality of Biomass
I request that the fiscal year 2017 bill include the language below
to address EPA' s treatment of carbon emissions related to forest
biomass. The carbon benefits of forest biomass are clearly established,
yet current policy uncertainty is jeopardizing existing investments in
biomass and discouraging new investment to build or upgrade facilities.
Legislative clarity is required to secure the carbon benefits of--and
remove uncertainty surrounding--this renewable energy resource. I look
forward to working with you to achieve this necessary clarity and
suggest the following bill language:
carbon neutrality of forest biomass
Sec. __. (a) Carbon Emissions From Forest Biomass--
``(1) In general. The Administrator of the Environmental
Protection Agency shall provide in agency policies,
regulations, and actions regarding carbon dioxide emissions
that forest biomass carbon dioxide emissions including, but not
limited to, biogenic carbon dioxide emissions from facilities
that combust forest biomass for energy, do not require
regulation, controls or actions, if--
``(A) the Chief of the Forest Service determines,
based on the most recent assessment of forest and
timberland carbon stocks derived from the Forest
Inventory and Analysis data of the Department of
Agriculture, that timberland carbon stocks in the
relevant region, described in paragraph (2), are stable
or increasing relative to carbon stocks assessment for
the region for 2005; or
``(B) the forest biomass is derived from forest
products manufacturing residuals, harvest residues,
bio-wastes, including used wood products, or forest
management activities conducted--
``(i) for stand improvement;
``(ii) to increase yield; or
``(iii) to maintain or enhance forest
health.
``(2) For purposes of this section, the Chief of the Forest
Service shall identify regions as follows:
(i) The North Region: CT, DE, IL, IN, IA,
KS, MA, ME, MD, MI, MN, MO, NE, 27 NH, NJ, NY,
ND, OH, PA, RI, SD, VT, WV, WI;
(ii) The South Region: AL, AR, FL, GA, KY,
LA, NC, OK, SC, MS, TN, TX, VA;
(iii) The Southwest Region: AZ, NM, CO, UT,
NV, and WY;
(iv) The Pacific Coast/Northwest Region:
CA, OR, WA, ID, and MT; and
(v) States not identified in the above
regions shall be considered individually.
``(3) Annual determination of applicability.--Not less
frequently than annually, the Administrator shall review the
most recent assessment of the Chief of the Forest Service
described in paragraph (l)(A) to determine the applicability of
paragraph (1).
(b) Forest Carbon Stocks.--Subject to appropriations, the Chief of
the Forest Service shall update the measurement of forest and
timberland carbon stocks not less frequently than once every 5 years.
Additionally, I request that the following language be included in
the report to accompany the fiscal year 2017 bill:
Carbon Neutrality of Forest Biomass.--``Forest management
activities'' in this section include activities to improve the
composition, structure, condition, health, and growth of
stands; increase yield after stand establishment; and maintain
or enhance forest health including fuel, pest infestation, and
disease treatments. Forest management activities maintain or
increase forest carbon stocks over time.
National Estuary Program
I support at least level funding, $26.7 million, for the National
Estuary Program (NEP), which works with communities to craft
stakeholder driven restoration solutions at the watershed level.
Congress created the NEP in 1987 to restore designated estuaries of
national significance, and today there are 28 estuaries in the program.
The President's fiscal year 2017 budget request includes $27.2 million.
Rural Water Technical Assistance Grant Program
I request that you provide $15 million for the Environmental
Protection Agency's Rural Water Systems Training and Technical
Assistance Grant Program and the continuation of report language to
ensure that this funding is awarded on a competitive basis. Rural water
systems have an enormous responsibility to provide safe drinking water.
Authorized under the Safe Drinking Water Act, these grants assist water
system operators in understanding and achieving compliance with
increasingly complex Federal regulations. The program received $12.7
million for fiscal year 2016. The President's fiscal year 2017 budget
request does not include funding for this program.
Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds (SRF)
I request that you provide at least level funding for the Clean
Water SRF and the Drinking Water SRF. These programs provide critical
infrastructure funding to water quality protection projects for
wastewater treatment, nonpoint source pollution control, watershed and
estuary management, and to protect our ground and drinking water. In
fiscal year 2016, the CWSRF received $1.393 billion and the DWSRF
received $863 million. The President's fiscal year 2017 budget requests
$979 million for the CWSRF and $1.02 billion for the DWSRF,
representing a total combined cut of $257 million. It is estimated that
between 13,000 and 24,000 jobs result from every billion dollars in SRF
funding.
National Priorities Research Grant Program
I request that you provide at least level funding--$4.1 million--
for the National Priorities Research Grant Program. This grant program
funds drinking water and wastewater-related research through the
Environmental Protection Agency, managed by water non-profit
foundations, and conducted in partnership with local wastewater and
drinking water utilities. The President's fiscal year 2017 budget
request does not include funding for this program.
forest service
Community Forest and Open Space Conservation Program--$2 million
I request that you provide at least $2 million for the Community
Forest and Open Space Conservation Program. This program provides
grants to eligible local governments, tribal governments, and qualified
non-profit organizations to create community forests. The program
received $2 million in fiscal year 2016--the same level that the
President's budget request proposes for fiscal year 2017.
State and Private Forestry--Forest Resource Pilot Program
I request that the subcommittee report include language to support
a pilot program that would leverage existing and ongoing research on
forest carbon. Maine's economy depends in large part on the condition
of its forest, as the forest products industry accounts for more than 6
percent of the State's total gross domestic product and has an
estimated total economic impact of $8 billion. Further coordinated
research is needed. With this in mind, I request that you include the
following language in the subcommittee report:
Forest Resource Pilot Program.--Within the funding provided for
State and Private Forestry, the Committee directs the
Department to fund a pilot program on forest carbon research.
Such a pilot should be carried out in natural forested regions
of the United States and link research on forest carbon to
forest landowners and managers by establishing the methods and
developing tools needed to quantify forest carbon as a resource
that can be managed for economic and ecological benefits.
offices of inspectors general
Offices of Inspectors General (OIGs) are an indispensable tool in
the fight against waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement. Through its
partnership with OIGs across the Government, Congress has been able to
identify and reduce inefficient, ineffective and improperly functioning
Federal programs. Given their importance, I support adequately funding
all the OIGs contained in your bill , including the OIGs for the
Department of the Interior and the Environmental Protection Agency, to
ensure proper oversight is conducted over every taxpayer dollar spent
by the Federal Government.
Recognizing the significant budget challenges facing the country, I
appreciate your consideration of these requests and look forward to
working with you as you develop the fiscal year 2017 Interior and
Environment funding bill.
Sincerely,
Susan M. Collins
United States Senator
[Note: See table on next page for priorities, agencies, accounts,
programs, President's budget, Member requests, and request
descriptions.]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Program (if President's Member Request Request
Priority State Member Agency Account applicable) Budget ($) ($) Description
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1............................ ME Collins EPA Carbon ............... n/a n/a Request bill
Neutrality of language to
Biomass. recognize that
forest biomass
emissions are
carbon neutral
and to be
treated as
such by the
EPA, and to
require the
Chief of the
Forest Service
to update
measurements
of forest and
timberland
carbon stocks
at least once
every five
years. Request
accompanying
report
language.
2............................ ME Collins EPA State Revolving Clean Water SRF $979,000,000 $1,393,000,000 Request at
Funds. least fiscal
year 2016
level of
$1.393 billion
ME Collins EPA State Revolving Drinking Water $1,020,000,000 $863,000,000 Request at
Funds. SRF. least fiscal
year 2016
level of 863
million
3............................ ME Collins NPS Land and Water State Grants... $106,000,000 $106,800,000 Request
Conservation continued
Fund. support for
LWCF, Forest
Legacy
Program, and
fiscal year
2016 level of
106.8 million
for the state
grant program
4............................ ME Collins EPA Environmental Rural Water $0 $15,000,000 Request an
Programs and Technical increase of
Management. Assistance 2.3 million
Grant Program. over fiscal
year 2016
level
5............................ ME Collins USFS State and Forest Carbon n/a n/a Request report
Private Pilot Program. language.
Forestry. Forest Carbon
Pilot
Program.--With
in the funding
provided for
State and
Private
Forestry, the
Committee
directs the
Department to
fund a pilot
program on
forest carbon
research. Such
a pilot should
be carried out
in natural
forested
regions of the
United States
and link
research on
forest carbon
to forest
landowners and
managers by
establishing
the methods
and developing
tools needed
to quantify
forest carbon
as a resource
that can be
managed for
economic and
ecological
benefits.
6............................ ME Collins DOI BOEM............ Renewable $23,900,000 $24,300,000 Request fiscal
Energy. year 2016
level of $24.3
million and
report
language.
Renewable
Energy.--The
Committee
provides $24.3
million for
renewable
energy leasing
activities,
including
program
development,
environmental
analysis, and
consultation
with Federal,
State, and
local
stakeholders.
The Bureau
should
continue to
work with the
Department of
Energy to
identify and
permit a
national
offshore wind
test site that
incorporates
new technology
related to the
structural
material of
transitional
depth and
floating wind
turbines. The
Bureau should
also make
funding
available for
installation
of electrical
infrastructure
for such a
test site.The
Committee
expects the
Bureau to
continue
working with
coastal States
and other
stakeholders
to study new
wind energy
areas,
including
those in
shallow,
transitional,
and deep (over
200 feet)
waters. The
Secretary
should work
with the
Secretary of
Energy and
States to
exchange
information
about the
development of
new technology
related to the
structural
material,
environmental,
and design
safety
criteria, as
well as design
and
performance
standards of
transitional
depth and
floating wind
turbines.
7............................ ME Collins NPS Facility ............... $842,500,000 n/a Request
Operations and continued
Maintenance. support for
the facility
operations and
maintenance of
our NPS.
8............................ ME Collins USFS Community Forest ............... $2,000,000 $2,000,000 Request at
and Open Space least fiscal
Conservation year 2016
Program. level of 2
million
9............................ ME Collins NPS Roosevelt ............... $1,492,000 $1,657,897 Request
Campobello retaining
International report
Park. language
included in
fiscal year
2016 Omnibus.
Roosevelt-
Campobello
International
Park
Commission.--F
unding for
Roosevelt-
Campobello
International
Park
Commission
(the
Commission) on
the Maine-
Canada border
is jointly and
equally
supported by
the U.S. and
Canadian
governments
pursuant to
the 1964
Agreement
between the
two nations,
which was
recognized and
codified by
Congress in
1964 (Public
Law 88-363).
While the
Administration
has a
responsibility
to consider
priorities
within overall
budget
constraints
and submit an
annual budget
request to
Congress, the
Committee is
concerned with
recent
requests for
the Park from
the Service.
Congress
observed in
1986 the
following:
``The managers
agree that
hereafter the
Service should
use its
internal
reprogramming
authority so
that there
will be no
diminution of
the amount
provided for
the Roosevelt
Campobello
International
Park
Commission,
unless reduced
by the House
or Senate in a
report
accompanying
the
appropriations
bill.'' (CR-
H10497,
October 15,
1986).
Therefore, the
Committee
directs that
the budget
request
prepared by
the Roosevelt
Campobello
International
Park
Commission
shall be
submitted by
the
Administration
directly to
the House and
Senate
Committees on
Appropriations
without any
changes. The
Administration
, in its
National Park
Service budget
justification,
may comment on
the
Commission's
budget request
and make such
additions and
subtractions
that it may
propose.
However, the
amounts
requested by
the National
Park Service
shall be
consistent
with its
obligations
under
international
agreements.
The Committee
will consider
the proposal
from the
Commission and
the
Administration
will allocate
the overall
appropriation
as specified
in the report
accompanying
the Interior,
Environment,
and Related
Agencies
Appropriations
Act.
10........................... ME Collins EPA National Estuary ............... $27,200,000 $26,700,000 Request at
Program. least fiscal
year 2016
level of $26.7
million
11........................... ME Collins USGS Water Resources ............... $6,500,000 $6,500,000 Request at
Research least fiscal
Institute. year 2016
level of $6.5
million
12........................... ME Collins USGS Groundwater and ............... $72,957,000 n/a Request
Streamflow continued
Information funding for
Program. the
Groundwater
and Streamflow
Information
Program
13........................... ME Collins USFWS State and Tribal ............... $67,000,000 $60,600,000 Request fiscal
Wildlife Grants. year 2016
level funding
of $60.6
million
14........................... ME Collins EPA National ............... 0 $4,100,000 Request at
Priorities least fiscal
Research Grant year 2016
Program. level of $4.1
million
15........................... ME Collins OIG Offices of ............... ............... adequate Include
Inspectors funding adequate
General. funding for
all OIGs
contained in
the bill
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Prepared Statement of the Sustainable Urban Forest Coalition
Dear Chairman Murkowski, Ranking Member Udall, and honorable
subcommittee members:
The Sustainable Urban Forests Coalition (SUFC) represents more than
30 national organizations and corporations who care and advocate for
sustainable trees and green infrastructure where people live.
Collectively, we are asking for your support for several programs under
the Interior Subcommittee's jurisdiction that support urban forests and
green infrastructure.
Our Nation's 138 million acres of urban forests are vital to
creating and maintaining healthy, livable communities of all sizes by
providing scientifically proven social, economic, and environmental
benefits to people living in populated areas. The National Urban and
Community Forestry Advisory Council unveiled its Ten-Year Action Plan
to advance urban forests nationwide. A key goal of the plan is to
improve urban forest management, maintenance and stewardship. Caring
for trees and landscapes in cities and towns creates a substantial
demand for greencollar jobs in a sector poised for rapid growth. With a
projected 90 percent of Americans living in urbanized areas by 2050,
investing in livable communities needs to happen now.
SUFC is conscious and respectful of the Federal budget challenges.
It is critical that decision makers are aware that the relatively small
investment in our funding requests result in a leveraged positive
return through matching funds, preventive measures, and community
health and welfare benefits.
usda forest service: state and private forestry
Urban and Community Forestry Program (U&CF)
U&CF plays an integral part in promoting sound stewardship of our
Nation's urban and community forests and trees. By providing important
technical and financial support, U&CF helps cities, suburbs, and towns
across the Nation enhance tree and forest cover, prepare for storms and
other disturbance events, contain threats from native and invasive
pests, and maximize the economic, social, and ecological benefits of
their tree resources. In fiscal year 2015, U&CF again increased its
impact--reaching over 200 million people in over 7,700 communities
across all 50 States, the District of Columbia, U.S. Territories, and
affiliated Pacific Island Nations. U&CF is a high-impact program and a
smart investment as Federal support is often leveraged 2:1 (or in many
cases significantly more) by States and partner organizations. As a
model Federal program, U&CF consistently increases communities served,
brings together diverse partners and resources, and shows that Federal
investment can have huge and lasting impacts on communities of all
sizes.
SUFC is very concerned with the significant decrease (16 percent)
in the U&CF program in the President's fiscal year 2017 budget. In
testimony before the House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on
the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies, U.S. Forest Service
Chief Tidwell attributed the U&CF decrease to the increase in funding
for the Landscape Scale Restoration (LSR) program. While U&CF projects
have the opportunity to compete for grant funding under LSR, the SUFC
does not support shifting funds from U&CF to LSR. LSR is a complement
to the U&CF program, not a replacement. The proposed 16 percent
reduction in U&CF will have negative impacts in States and Territories
across the country, affecting many local public and private partners
and collaborative projects in which Federal assistance has been
essential. The decrease will erode the capacity that has been developed
in cities and towns of all sizes through the technical and financial
assistance delivered by State forestry agencies in partnership with the
U&CF program. SUFC recommends the Urban and Community Forestry Program
be funded at $31.3 million in fiscal year 2017.
Community Forests and Open Space Conservation Program (CFP)
CFP has made substantial progress in preserving forests by
increasing opportunities for Americans to connect with forests in their
own communities and fostering new public-private partnerships. CFP has
supported 27 community forest projects in cities and towns across 15
States and Territories. In the latest round of CFP grants, project
partners leveraged $8.7 million in Federal funds to secure $31.8
million in non-Federal funding. As a result of these partnerships, more
than 14,000 acres of private forestlands have been or soon will be
acquired to create new or expand existing community forests. SUFC
recommends an increase in funds to $5 million.
Forest Health Management
Forests across the country are threatened by insects and disease
pathogens introduced from abroad as an unwanted side effect of
international trade. The damage usually starts in urban forests because
most imported goods go to cities. As a result, municipal governments
across the country are spending an estimated $3 billion each year to
remove trees on city property killed by non-native pests. Homeowners
are spending an additional $1 billion to remove and replace trees on
their properties and are absorbing an additional $1.5 billion in
reduced property values. The pests do not stay in the cities, however.
They spread to the rural and wildland forests and threaten their many
values. Examples include the emerald ash borer--now killing forest
trees from New England to the Great Plains; and the polyphagous and
Kuroshio shot hole borers now killing trees in southern California
riparian areas. While preventing introductions is the desired approach,
it is essential that the Forest Service initiate programs countering
these pests as soon as they are detected. Forest Health Management
program provides essential expertise and assistance to State and
municipal agencies and private landowners working to prevent these
pests' spread and to develop effective strategies to minimize the
damage they cause. SUFC recommends $48 million for cooperative lands
programs under the Forest Health Management program.
usda forest service: forest and rangeland research
SUFC urges the subcommittee to provide funding of $303 million for
the overall R&D program.
Urban Forestry Research
The Forest Service Research and Development (R&D) program provides
critical financial support for urban forestry research activities to
develop information and tools for understanding conditions and trends
in our Nation's urban and community forests. Forest Service researchers
have made huge strides in recent years through collaborative efforts to
develop new tools, such as i-Tree, for mapping current tree cover,
assessing trends, developing local strategies, and building greater
understanding of the environmental, economic, and social services that
trees and forests provide to communities. We urge the subcommittee to
continue including language in Interior Appropriations reports
encouraging the Forest Service to maintain a strong and vibrant urban
forest research program.
Non-native Insects and Diseases Research
Among the major research challenges facing R&D, SUFC believes, is
the destruction of our Nation's urban forests caused by non-native
insects and diseases. People who value urban forests join supporters of
rural and wildland forests in depending on Forest Service R&D to
develop better tools for pest detection and protective strategies
including chemical and biological controls and breeding of trees
resistant to pests. Currently, however, R&D provides only about $5
million for research on non-native insects and diseases--less than 2
percent of its total budget. In the absence of a budget line item for
invasive species research, we urge the subcommittee to include language
in its Interior Appropriations report encouraging the Forest Service to
increase funding for research targeting non-native insects and
pathogens.
Urban Forest in Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA)
The SUFC also wishes to call the subcommittee's attention to our
collaborative efforts with the Forest Service to bring urban forest
data into the mainstream of the agency's national data-collection
program. FIA has long provided the Nation's forest census, but it has
not historically included urban areas because of its definition of
forests. We ask the subcommittee to encourage the Forest Service to
continue and strengthen its efforts to integrate urban forest data into
FIA so that its critical data-collection efforts address all of our
Nation's forests, including our current and expanding 138 million acres
of urban forest.
environmental protection agency
Clean Water State Revolving Funds (CWSRF)
Green infrastructure, of which urban forests play a significant
part, is a cost-effective and resilient approach to stormwater
infrastructure needs that provides many community co-benefits:
improving water and air quality; reducing a community's infrastructure
cost and promoting economic growth. SUFC supports the EPA's goal of
strengthening green infrastructure activities by incorporating green
infrastructure and enhancing stormwater management. In fiscal year
2016, funding was reduced in the President's budget but restored by
Congress to $1.39 billion, resulting in only a small reduction for the
current fiscal year. In fiscal year 2017, the President's budget
proposes an unprecedented cut to the CWSRF to just $979.5 million. SUFC
asks the subcommittee to restore the CWSRF to the enacted fiscal year
2015 level of $1.45 billion. SUFC also supports efforts to expand the
use of green infrastructure to 20 percent to meet Clean Water Act goals
through the CWSRF.
Urban Waters Federal Partnership
The Partnership is a unique 13 agency coordinated effort that helps
stimulate local economies, create jobs, improve quality of life, and
protect health by revitalizing urban waterways and the communities
around them, focusing on underserved urban communities of all sizes.
Partnership projects serve as a laboratory for developing and
implementing innovative approaches to using Federal resources more
efficiently and effectively--targeting investments and leveraging local
leaders and community partners. SUFC supports the Urban Waters Federal
Partnership, coordinated by the Environmental Protection Agency Office
of Water.
the national park service
Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership Program (ORLPP)
SUFC supports robust funding for the Land and Water Conservation
Fund (LWCF) as reflected in the President's fiscal year 2017 budget.
The State and Local Assistance Program provides matching grants to
States and localities for protection and development of parks and
recreation resources and is the primary Federal investment tool to
ensure that families have easy access to urban forests in parks and
open space, and neighborhood recreation resources. This nationally
competitive program complements the existing State and local assistance
program by creating opportunities for outdoor play as well as
developing or enhancing outdoor recreation partnerships in cities. SUFC
supports the President's fiscal year 2017 request of $110 million for
the State and local assistance program, which includes $12 million for
ORLPP.
Urban Parks Recreation Recovery Program (UPARR)
The reestablishment of UPARR within the National Parks Service,
proposed to be funded through LWCF, is essential to bring nature to the
urban communities. These competitive grants focus on engaging and
connecting communities, especially young people, to their neighborhood
parks through projects that would revitalize and rehabilitate park and
recreation opportunities. SUFC supports the President's fiscal year
2017 request of $25 million for the Urban Park and Recreation Recovery
Program (UPARR).
the fish and wildlife service
Urban Wildlife Refuges
With 101 refuges within 25 miles of 250,000 or more people, the
Refuge System is a vital component of our urban forests. FWS also
engages with 17 urban communities not directly connected to FWS
refuges. SUFC agrees that the more engagement of individuals with their
surrounding urban forests, the more they will come to understand and
appreciate nature in and around their communities. SUFC supports the
Refuge Visitor Service at $80.38 million with the additional $5.5
million above fiscal year 2016 enacted level to support the Urban
Wildlife Refuges.
Sincerely,
Alliance for Community Trees
American Forests
American Planning Association
American Public Works Association
American Rivers
American Society of Consulting Arborists
American Society of Landscape Architects
Arbor Day Foundation
Bartlett Tree Foundation
California ReLeaf
Center for Chesapeake Communities
Center for Invasive Species Prevention
International Society of Arboriculture
National Association of Clean Water Agencies
National Association of Conservation Districts
National Association of Landscape Professionals
National Association of State Foresters
National Recreation and Parks Association
Outdoor Power Equipment Industry
Society of American Foresters
Society of Municipal Arborists
Student Conservation Association
The Davey Foundation
The Nature Conservancy
Tree Care Industry Association
Trust for Public Lands
Utility Arborist Association
Water Environment Federation
______
Prepared Statement of the Tanana Chiefs Conference
The Tanana Chiefs Conference (TCC) would like to thank Chairwoman
Murkowski, Ranking Member Udall, and all the members of the
subcommittee for the opportunity to provide testimony about TCC's
priorities.
TCC is a non-profit intertribal consortium of 37 federally
recognized Tribes and 41 communities located across Alaska's vast
interior. TCC serves approximately 13,000 Alaska Natives in Fairbanks
and the surrounding rural villages. Our traditional territory and
current service area occupy a mostly roadless region that is nearly the
size of Texas. It stretches from Fairbanks clear up to the Brooks Range
and over to the Canadian border.
Remoteness poses many challenges, but I can assure you TCC meets
those challenges every day. TCC's priorities over the coming years
include substantially expanding public safety and court services,
improving healthcare quality with a renewed focus on wellness and
prevention, growing tribal influence in fish and game management,
ensuring responsible economic development, and increasing employment in
the villages. The fiscal year 2017 appropriations process provides this
subcommittee with the opportunity to provide vital resources to help us
achieve these goals. Today, I would like to highlight a few key areas,
including the need for additional funds for the Indian Health Service,
the importance of funding for tribal courts and hunting and fishing
management, and the critical role of the Federal Government in funding
responses to climate change in in-river--not just coastal--Alaska.
ihs budget
TCC was very pleased to see that the President's budget contains a
6.5 percent increase over 2016 enacted levels. These additional funds
are vital to addressing the critical need for health services for
Alaska Natives and we hope the subcommittee is able to find the funds
to meet these targets.
Similarly, TCC supports the $48 million increase targeted to
Purchased and Referred Care (PRC). These funds are used to buy
healthcare when a tribal organization or IHS cannot provide the
services. As we reported to you over the last several years, the demand
on PRC funding has increased as healthcare costs, especially provider
fees, have increased. These dollars will provide much needed relief to
PRC programs across the country and especially for TCC-one of the only
tribal health entities in Alaska that does not have a regional hospital
and relies heavily on PRC.
TCC supports the President's budget request for IHS which includes
$10 million in small health clinic funding for the Small Ambulatory
Program. In remote Alaska, where hub clinics are sometimes hundreds of
miles from a patient--the village clinics play an integral role in
providing not only the everyday healthcare, but the emergency care
needed to support the healthcare impacts from an area that contains the
highest rates of accidents and violence in the Nation. The funding
would be used for grants to 8-10 tribes to construct new small
ambulatory health clinics, and we are optimistic that some of these
funds will be used to create additional healthcare facilities in the
villages we serve.
And finally, TCC is relieved to see that, unlike last year, the
President's budget contains an increase of $4 million for the Domestic
Violence and Prevention Initiative (DVPI). These funds support efforts
to reduce the incidence of domestic violence, which affects Alaska
Native women at a much higher rate than other populations. The
statistics are not new. The Indian Law and Order Commission's report
made clear just how bad the situation was: Women in Alaska's rural
villages report rates of domestic violence up to 10 times higher than
in the rest of the United States. Physical assault victimizations rates
are 12 times higher. We request that you meet the President's request
for expansion of this very successful and urgently needed program.
tribal courts funding
One of TCC's strongest priorities is to see that our villages
receive adequate public safety services. As the Indian Law and Order
Commission's report made clear, there is a lot of work to be done to
ensure public safety in Alaska's rural communities. Alaska is one of
six States, called Public Law 280 States, in which jurisdiction over
crimes in Native American communities rests mainly with the States. The
BIA doesn't have enough funding to go around and so it prioritizes its
public safety efforts in non Public Law 280 States on the assumption
that Public Law 280 States are investing sufficiently in public safety
and law enforcement in Native and rural communities. But this is simply
not so. The Alaska Department of Public Safety, which has primary
responsibility for providing law enforcement in rural Alaska, provides
only 1.0 to 1.4 field officers for every one million acres. This means
that at least 75 communities in Alaska lack any law enforcement
presence at all. In most Alaska villages, the tribal courts are the
only meaningful judicial voice for anything other than the most serious
and violent of crimes.
Tribal courts allow our villages to address public safety concerns
in a way that is more responsive, more culturally appropriate, more
attuned to local concerns than the State system, and most importantly
seeks to heal and end criminal actively through a holistic community
approach rather than incarceration which perpetuates criminal activity
and creates more victims. Therefore, TCC was very disappointed to see
that the President's budget requests an $8 million reduction in funding
for tribal courts in Public Law 280 States. The BIA estimated that it
would need around $17 million in funding to maintain parity in Federal
funding--which is itself only a fraction of actual need--for tribal
courts in Public Law 280 and non-Public Law 280 States. Reducing this
funding further will only exacerbate this disparity and is a terrible
step in the wrong direction. We ask that the subcommittee find the
funds necessary to maintain and expand this important initiative.
climate change
As this subcommittee has long heard from TCC and other tribes and
tribal organizations, Indian and Alaska Native communities are bearing
the brunt of the existing--and accelerating--effects of climate change.
For us, this is not about future effects. We are being impacted now.
Therefore, we are pleased to see that the President's budget includes
$3.1 million in additional funds for Tribal Climate Resilience.
However, the budget justification for this request places a strong
emphasis on combating the effects of climate change on coastal Arctic
villages, such as coastal erosion, and notes that the proposed increase
``will be set aside to support Alaska Native Villages in the Arctic and
other critically vulnerable communities to improve the long-term
resilience of their communities.'' Although we understand the serious
difficulties faced by our fellow Alaska Native communities on the
coast, it is important to understand that our communities are currently
facing a massive increase in wildfires, riverbank erosions, spring
flooding, substantial changes to flora and fauna distributions, and
other major threats to physical and food security in our communities,
all due to climate change.
It can be stated with certainty that in the spring and summer
months, with flooding threats and millions of acres on fire at a given
time, Interior Alaska experiences the most impacts of climate change of
any place in the Nation. Senator Murkowski and I visited the hub
village of McGrath this past October and saw first-hand how the already
vulnerable Kuskokwim River bank is threatened by erosion and the
community's response. This past summer, wildfires came literally within
feet of destroying the villages of Nulato and Tanana and today there is
a lot of work to be done towards rehabilitation of specific burned
sites which impact these two villages. Therefore we ask the
subcommittee to direct the BIA to make sure that this much-needed
increase is also used to combat the effects of climate change on in-
river villages as well.
subsistence management
The number one priority for not only Athabascans of Interior, but
for all Alaska Natives is to continue traditional hunting and fishing
practices which promote the social, cultural and spiritual well-being
of our people. TCC and the Tribes along with Doyon and Fairbanks Native
Association have partnered to ensure Alaska Natives and tribes have an
increased role in hunting and fishing management. King Salmon have been
a staple food source for many rural Alaskans across the State, yet
failed management has recently prevented adequate subsistence harvests
to meet our well-being needs. Tribal ability to manage hunting and
fishing resources has been crippled by the Alaska Native Claims
Settlement Act, but because of our dedicated unity towards this issue,
tribes are increasingly proving to fill a necessary role in order for
the State and Federal managers to achieve success.
TCC has endeavored to take a stronger role in oversight and
management of subsistence resources, including taking an active part in
the establishment of intertribal fish commissions for the Yukon and
Kuskokwim rivers respectively. The sole reason, the State of Alaska
achieved for the first time in years, its Yukon River salmon treaty
obligations to Canada is because the Yukon River Intertribal Fish
Commission called for a river-wide moratorium on King Salmon fishing.
The tribes are the most dedicated stakeholders in the efforts to
save the King Salmon and should be given the proper funding and
authority to carry out those stewardship duties that we will never turn
our backs to. Therefore, TCC supports proposed increase of $5 million
for the Tribal Management/Development Program, with $2 million of this
increase to address subsistence management in Alaska. We ask that you
meet this important request and ensure the funding will go towards
tribal projects rather than State, Federal or other projects that have
continued to disenfranchise those most dependent on the resources--the
rural Alaska Native people.
contract support costs
Finally, let me address the contract support cost issue. It has
long been recognized that TCC provides far better services to our
communities than the BIA or IHS ever did, and this is why supporting
and honoring our TCC contracts with the BIA and IHS is so important.
Our ability to maximize the results of our self-governance and to run
robust programs depends on our receiving full contract support cost
(CSC) reimbursements.
In the past few years, significant strides have been made in this
area. Thanks in large part to this subcommittee, we are now in an era
of full CSC funding. We were delighted that the President's budget
estimate for CSC again provides for full funding. However, we ask that
the Committee discontinue a proviso that was included in last year's
bill and in the President's request because it is counter to existing
law. Specifically, the proviso would direct that CSC amounts that were
obligated but not expended by a tribe for the current fiscal year be
applied to CSCs otherwise due in subsequent fiscal years. The Indian
Self-Determination Act already addresses the use and disposition of
unexpended contract and compact funds. Therefore, the proviso is
unnecessary. Further, the proviso will cause unnecessary accounting
difficulties.
On a related note, we ask the subcommittee to include language in
the appropriations act making clear that IHS must pay contract support
costs on MSPI and DVPI program funds. Despite years of acknowledging
that CSCs are due on these program funds, IHS in 2013 reversed course
and started requiring tribes to cover these CSC costs with program
funds. This position is in clear conflict the Indian Self-Determination
Act, and nothing separates these programs from any other program within
the Indian Health Service. Further, these program funds should be
transferred to us through our existing self-governance compact, and it
shouldn't be necessary for us to execute separate grant agreements with
IHS. The whole idea of the 1988 and 1994 amendments to the Indian Self-
Determination Act was to get away from having multiple different
contracts and grants, and to consolidate and streamline our
relationship with IHS.
Thank you again for the opportunity to testify on behalf of TCC. We
believe that the proposed increases will have a deep, meaningful,
impact for the tribal members of Interior Alaska, and for the
betterment of all Alaskans.
______
Prepared Statement of the Theatre Communications Group
Mr. Chairman and distinguished members of the subcommittee, Theatre
Communications Group--the national service organization for the
American theatre--is grateful for this opportunity to submit testimony
on behalf of our 523 not-for-profit member theatres across the country
and the nearly 33 million audience members that the theatre community
serves. We urge you to support funding at $155 million for the National
Endowment for the Arts for fiscal year 2017.
The entire not-for-profit arts industry stimulates the economy,
creates jobs, and attracts tourism dollars. The not-for-profit arts
generate $135.2 billion annually in economic activity, support 4.13
million jobs, and return $22.3 billion in government revenue. Art
museums, exhibits, and festivals combine with performances of theatre,
dance, opera, and music to draw tourists and their consumer dollars to
communities nationwide. Federal funding for the arts creates a
significant return, generating many more dollars in matching funds for
each Federal dollar awarded, and is clearly an investment in the
economic health of America. In an economy where corporate donations and
foundation grants to the arts are diminished and increased ticket
prices would undermine efforts to broaden and diversify audiences,
these Federal funds simply cannot be replaced. Maintaining the strength
of the not-for-profit sector, along with the commercial sector, is
vital to supporting the economic health of our Nation.
Our country's not-for-profit theatres develop innovative
educational activities and outreach programs, providing millions of
young people, including ``at-risk'' youth, with important skills for
the future by expanding their creativity and developing problem-
solving, reasoning, and communication abilities--preparing today's
students to become tomorrow's citizens. Our theatres present new works
and serve as catalysts for economic growth in their local communities.
These theatres also nurture and provide artistic homes for the
development of the current generation of acclaimed writers, actors,
directors, and designers working in regional theatre, on Broadway, and
in the film and television industries. At the same time, theatres have
become increasingly responsive to their communities, serving as healing
forces in difficult times and producing work that reflects and
celebrates the strength of our Nation's diversity.
Here are some recent examples of NEA grants and their impact:
Actors Theatre Of Louisville in Louisville, Kentucky, received
$50,000 to support the Humana Festival of New American Plays. The
festival is a showcase of new theatrical work featuring American
playwrights. The company will produce several full-length plays,
multiple 10-minute plays, and a commissioned work to be performed by
its Acting Apprentice Company. Outreach activities will include panels
and community forums. The event always attracts national theatre
industry professionals from the United States and abroad.
The Coterie Theatre in Kansas City, Missouri, was awarded $10,000
to support the development and production of Imaginary Friends by
Laurie Brooks. The theater commissioned Brooks to write a play for
teens and families that is adapted from a short story by her brother
and award-winning fantasy author, Terry Brooks. The story centers on a
young teen with a serious illness who must face a demon alone.
Playwright Brooks will further develop the play and add a new work of
fantasy to the canon of dramatic literature available for young
audiences. Residencies in schools and interactive post-show forums will
prepare students for its challenging themes and topic. The Coterie may
partner with Children's Mercy Hospital to benefit youth and families
who are or have been recent patients.
Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, Oregon, received $70,000 to
support productions of Vietgone by Qui Nguyen, directed by May Adrales,
and The Winter's Tale by William Shakespeare, directed by Desdemona
Chiang. The productions, which will play opposite each other in
repertory, will be directed by Asian-American women and feature
primarily Asian-American actors. Vietgone recounts the story of
Vietnamese refugees who escaped the fall of Saigon and made it to the
United States. The Winter's Tale will be set at the turn of the 20th
century in dynastic mainland China. The productions will be accompanied
by educational activities as part of the annual conference of the
National Association of Asian-American Theatre Artists.
Trinity Repertory Company in Providence, Rhode Island, was awarded
$20,000 to support a production of To Kill a Mockingbird, based on the
novel by Harper Lee and adapted for the stage by Christopher Sergel.
Directed by Brian McEleney and using color-blind casting, the
production will be designed to reflect not only the Civil Rights Era in
which the novel was written, but also the contemporary post-Ferguson
world in which we live. The production will be supported by a wide
range of in-school and community engagement activities such as artist-
led classroom workshops, panel discussions, and post-show discussions
with actors and artists.
These are only a few examples of the kinds of extraordinary
programs supported by the National Endowment for the Arts. Indeed, the
Endowment's Theatre Program is able to fund only 50 percent of the
applications it receives, so 50 percent of applying theatres are turned
away because available funds are insufficient. Theatre Communications
Group urges you to support a funding level of $155 million for fiscal
year 2017 for the NEA; to maintain citizen access to the cultural,
educational, and economic benefits of the arts; and to advance
creativity and innovation in communities across the United States.
The arts infrastructure of the United States is critical to the
Nation's well-being and economic vitality. It is supported by a
remarkable combination of government, business, foundation, and
individual donors and represents a striking example of Federal/State/
private partnership. Federal support for the arts provides a measure of
stability for arts programs nationwide and is critical at a time when
other sources of funding are diminished. Further, the American public
favors spending Federal tax dollars in support of the arts. The NEA was
funded at $148 million in the fiscal year 2016 budget; however, it has
never recovered from a 40 percent budget cut in fiscal year 1996, and
its programs are still under-funded. We urge the subcommittee to fund
the NEA at a level of $155 million to preserve the important cultural
programs reaching Americans across the country.
Thank you for considering this request.
______
Prepared Statement of the Tohono O'odham Nation of Arizona
summary of budget requests
1. Funding for Interior's implementation of SAWRSA/AWSA water rights
settlement.
2. Increased funding for BIA Law Enforcement programs.
3. Increased funding for BIA Roads Maintenance.
4. Increased funding for Indian Health Service Facilities Construction.
introduction & background
Good afternoon, Chairman Murkowski, Ranking Member Udall and
distinguished members of the subcommittee. My name is Edward Manuel and
I am the Chairman of the Tohono O'odham Nation, a federally recognized
tribe with more than 32,000 members. The Tohono O'odham Reservation
consists of more than 2.8 million acres in the Sonoran Desert, shares a
75-mile border with Mexico, and is one of the largest Indian
reservations in the United States.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify about the Nation's Federal
funding priorities. Let me begin by saying that the Nation appreciates
the subcommittee's dedication to providing Indian Country with much-
needed resources in a very challenging fiscal climate. My testimony
will focus on the following priorities: funding to implement our 1982
water rights settlement, law enforcement, roads, and healthcare.
i. funding to implement the nation's 1982 water rights settlement
The President's fiscal year 2017 budget request contains no request
for funding to implement the Nation's historic water settlement, the
Southern Arizona Water Rights Settlement Act of 1982, Public Law 97-293
(``SAWRSA''), as amended in 2004 by the Arizona Water Settlements Act,
Public Law 108-451 (``AWSA''). The Nation is facing a serious water
crisis because of the United States' continued failure to fund this
water settlement, despite statutory authorization and clear direction
to Interior to do so. Under SAWRSA, as amended through the AWSA, the
Nation gave up significant superior claims to ground water and surface
water in the Upper Santa Cruz Basin. In exchange for releasing these
claims, the United States promised that the Nation would receive
reliable, affordable and long-term access to Central Arizona Project
(CAP) water.
In SAWRSA, Congress created the Cooperative Fund to pay for water
deliveries: The parties to the settlement recognized there would be
costs associated with the delivery of the Nation's CAP water. To
address these ongoing delivery charges in 1982 Congress created the
Cooperative Fund and authorized $16 million in Federal contributions
toward the Fund. But in fact, the United States has never made this
contribution to the Fund. In 2004, Congress doubled the United States'
promised contribution to $32 million, and explicitly identified the
Lower Colorado River Basin Development Fund as an additional source for
this funding. SAWRSA as amended provides that Interior must provide
notice to Congress of the funding amounts necessary to carry out the
United States' obligations under the Act. However, despite repeated
efforts to spur the Department into action, Interior has never
requested any of the $32 million authorized under SAWRSA.
Failure to make Federal contributions leaves the Cooperative Fund
severely undercapitalized: The settlement provided that the Federal
Government can only use the interest (and not the principal) for the
Nation's water delivery costs. Had the two $16 million Federal
contributions been deposited as intended, the principal and accrued
interest on these deposits would total more than $90 million today.
Instead, as of March 4, 2016, there is only $34,393,003 in the Fund,
less than $14 million of which is expendable interest. Again, despite
repeated efforts to urge the Department to act, Interior has never
officially notified Congress of the Fund shortfall.
Federal projections show that the Cooperative Fund will run out of
interest within 3 years: Because these key Federal contributions were
never made, the Cooperative Fund is in jeopardy--Interior modeling
shows that the Fund will run out of expendable interest within 3 years
if the Nation uses the CAP water entitlement guaranteed by its
settlements. At present, the delivery costs chargeable to the
Cooperative Fund are approximately $4.5 million per year. These
delivery costs continue to rise with the increase in the cost of energy
needed to deliver the CAP water. In the absence of swift action to
rectify the implementation problems under SAWRSA and AWSA, the Nation
will not be able to receive the benefits of the substitute water supply
promised to the Nation in the settlements.
If the Cooperative Fund runs out of interest, the Nation will be
unable to take delivery of its CAP replacement water, and the
consequences will be severe: Unless SAWRSA is funded as Congress has
authorized and directed, the Nation will not receive the benefit of its
bargain and may lose access to its water entitlements--resulting in the
closure of long-operating farms in which the Nation has invested tens
of millions of tribal dollars, layoffs for dozens of employees, default
on crop loans, and the breach of related water settlement agreements.
Interior must act to begin to adequately capitalize the Cooperative
Fund: The Nation respectfully requests that this subcommittee direct
Interior to provide formal notice of the Cooperative Fund shortfall and
that funding be included in the fiscal year 2017 budget for the Bureau
of Indian Affairs. Without water, water settlements are meaningless,
and we ask the Congress to ensure the agreement the United States made
with the Nation is fully implemented.
ii. law enforcement
The President's fiscal year 2017 budget requests $341 million for
Bureau of Indian Affairs Law Enforcement, which is a decrease of over
$6 million from the fiscal year 2016 enacted level. The Nation requests
that Congress increase funding for BIA law enforcement, not decrease
it.
The Nation faces significant and unique law enforcement challenges:
The location and size of the Nation's reservation presents unique and
difficult law enforcement challenges. The Tohono O'odham Police
Department (TOPD) must cover a huge geographic area, including many
remote and isolated areas that are difficult to access. Communication
among law enforcement agencies is also a challenge. In addition, our
reservation includes a 75-mile southern border with Mexico, which is
the longest shared international border of any Indian tribe in the
United States. In addition, there are fourteen O'odham communities with
a population of 1,800 members located across the border. These tribal
members living in Mexico present unique border issues and challenges
for the Nation. Because of the Nation's location at the border, drug
trafficking, illegal immigration and border security divert tribal
police force resources. The Nation spends millions of dollars annually
from tribal revenues to help meet the United States' border security
responsibilities.
Current funding is utterly inadequate to meet the needs of tribal
law enforcement: As NCAI has noted, ``The Bureau of Indian Affairs
recently conducted an analysis of law enforcement needs pursuant to the
Tribal Law and Order Act, and found that current funding meets only 42
percent of the need for law enforcement, and an additional $337 million
is needed to bring staffing up to median county government law
enforcement levels based on population.'' (NCAI Budget Request fiscal
year 2017). The Nation's unique law enforcement needs require even
greater resources. In 2015 TOPD officers handled 92,887 calls for
service--a 5.26 percent increase in calls over 2014 figures. During the
same year, TOPD and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) seized over
368,000 pounds of marijuana on the Nation. These increased law
enforcement needs have led to significant capacity challenges at the
Nation's Corrections Center, where a facility with a rated capacity of
107 beds serves an average daily population of 140 inmates. Millions of
dollars in additional funding is desperately needed to address
improvements at the Corrections Center ($2.1 million) and to hire and
train officers, purchase vehicles, and to improve the security of the
police station ($5.9 million).
The Nation strongly supports NCAI's funding recommendations: The
National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) recommends an increase in
funding for BIA law enforcement by at least $200 million over the
fiscal year 2015 funding level of $328 million (the fiscal year 2016
enacted level was $347.9 million), including an increase in funds for
officer recruitment and training and for tribal detention facilities
operations and maintenance. The Tohono O'odham Nation strongly supports
and concurs in that request.
iii. roads funding
For fiscal year 2017 the President has requested $26.8 million for
BIA Road Maintenance, an increase of only $90,000 from the fiscal year
2016 enacted level. NCAI has advocated for a significantly greater
funding level, at $40 million.
The BIA Road Maintenance Program is responsible for maintaining
approximately 29,400 miles of roads in Indian Country, and the funding
for that program has been woefully inadequate for years. According to
NCAI, the current deferred maintenance for BIA roads is in the
neighborhood of $300 million.
The Nation has hundreds of miles of poorly maintained roads: The
Tohono O'odham Nation's reservation encompasses over 4,500 square
miles. There are hundreds of miles of roads on the Nation, including
approximately 500 miles of arterial and collector roads (roads with
significant traffic and higher speed limits), plus many more local and
dirt and gravel roads used by the Nation's members. Maintaining the
reservation's vast road system is a major challenge. Our roads are in
very bad condition, due in large part due to inadequate BIA funding for
repair and maintenance. The poor condition of the roads is further
exacerbated by heavy monsoon rains and flooding. The roads are marred
by sink holes, pot holes, broken and cracked pavement, and weakened and
washed out bridges. During monsoon season, the flooding often
completely inundates the roads and makes them impassable; it also
washes out bridges, isolating communities, stranding children on school
buses and preventing access for emergency vehicles. A number of our
people have been killed by flooding while traveling on these roads.
Bureaucratic red tape further exacerbates road damage: The Nation's
already deteriorated roads suffer further damage from heavy usage by
CBP vehicles, which have increased dramatically in number on the
Nation's reservation in response to border security issues. The poor
conditions of these roads negatively affects CBP's and TOPD's ability
to respond to emergencies and support mission critical operations, and
tribal members' ability to undertake simple day-to-day activities like
driving to the grocery store or doctor's office. Both the Nation and
CBP need roads that are accessible and safe to travel, and that ensure
the safety and security of tribal citizens, TOPD law enforcement, and
CBP patrol officers.
The Nation has attempted to work with CBP to repair these damaged
roads, but BIA objects to these repairs because of liability concerns
while at the same time acknowledging that the BIA does not have the
funding to repair them. Despite years of discussion, BIA and CBP have
not been able to reach agreement on how they can use their existing
appropriations and authorities to fund the repair of the roads damaged
by CBP vehicles--effectively endangering the safety of both CBP and the
Nation's citizens using those roads.
We ask that the subcommittee work with the HSGAC Subcommittee to
make clear in both appropriations bills that both agencies have
authority and responsibility to use their funding to repair and
maintain the Nation's roads that have been damaged by CBP vehicles.
The Nation strongly supports NCAI's funding recommendations: In
sum, the Nation strongly supports NCAI's recommendation that Congress
provide $40 million for the BIA Road Maintenance Program--as NCAI has
made clear, this is the minimum amount needed ``to begin to address the
most critical maintenance needs of BIA roads in Indian Country.'' (NCAI
Budget Request 2017).
iv. health care
The President's fiscal year 2017 budget request includes $132
million for Health Care Facilities Construction, an increase of $27
million from the fiscal year 2016 enacted level. The increase will
provide an additional $11.4 million for construction projects from the
Health Care Facilities Construction Priority List. This will provide
funding for the six Health Care Facilities Construction projects in
fiscal year 2017, none of which are on the Nation.
The Indian Health Service Unit that serves the Nation in Sells,
Arizona is over 50 years old and one of the oldest facilities within
IHS: The Sells IHS Unit can handle only minor medical issues, and is
completely inadequate to serve the Nation's needs. The Sells
replacement hospital has been on the IHS facilities construction list
for more than 20 years. There are several projects ahead of the
Nation's Sells IHS Unit on the priority list, totaling hundreds of
millions of dollars. Even with the requested budget increase, the Sells
Unit still will not be funded, although it will be closer to being
funded. This illustrates the need for additional funding for Health
Care Facilities Construction. Additional funding is needed for IHS to
work its way down the ``priority list'' and eventually begin work on a
replacement facility for the Nation.
We ask that the Committee provide substantial increases to the IHS
Facilities budget.
______
Prepared Statement of The Trust for Public Land
Chairwoman Murkowski, Ranking Member Udall, and distinguished
members of the Interior subcommittee:
Thank you very much for the opportunity to submit testimony on
behalf of The Trust for Public Land in support of programs under your
jurisdiction for the fiscal year 2017 appropriations process. The Trust
for Public Land (TPL) is a national nonprofit land conservation
organization working to protect land for people in communities across
the Nation. We are extremely grateful for the support members of this
subcommittee and other conservation leaders in Congress have shown for
Federal conservation programs during these challenging fiscal times. We
recognize that the subcommittee will again face enormous challenges in
meeting the broad range of priority needs in the Interior and
Environment bill this year. Our work in many of your States and
elsewhere around the country shows that there is tremendous support for
conservation and access to recreation at the local, State and Federal
level, and the programs under your jurisdiction play a critical role in
bringing those community visions to reality. Thank you for your
support.
Federal funding is an absolutely critical part of the conservation
toolbox and provides manifold benefits to the American people. Given
the limited public conservation funding at all levels of government,
TPL works to leverage Federal conservation dollars, bringing to bear
private philanthropic support as well as State and local funding to
forge solutions to sometimes complex conservation funding challenges.
The major programs under your jurisdiction that we count on year in and
year out are the entire suite of Land and Water Conservation Fund
(LWCF) programs--including BLM, FWS, NPS and USFS acquisitions, NPS
State and local grants, the Forest Legacy Program, the Cooperative
Endangered Species Conservation Fund and the American Battlefield
Protection Program--as well as the USFWS North American Wetlands
Conservation Act and the USFS Community Forest Program.
Land and Water Conservation Fund.--The Land and Water Conservation
Fund (LWCF) celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2014. In the fiscal year
2016 omnibus appropriations bill, Congress took an important step by
reauthorizing the program for three additional years until 2018 and
appropriating $450 million, an increase from $306 million. These two
actions were a major achievement. We are extremely grateful to the
members of the subcommittee for their critical role in this successful
effort, which will result in important conservation and outdoor
recreation investments at the local, State and Federal levels.
Investments in conservation and outdoor recreation make sound economic
sense. The Outdoor Industry Association estimates that active outdoor
recreation contributes $646 billion annually to the U.S. economy,
supports nearly 6.1 million jobs across the country, and generates
$39.9 billion in annual national tax revenue.
We strongly support the fiscal year 2017 President's budget
proposal to fully fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund at $900
million, with $475 million from discretionary sources and $425 million
in mandatory funds, for the various component programs funded under
LWCF. In the fiscal year 2017 bill, we respectfully request that you
allocate at least the $475 million in discretionary funding to support
essential community-based conservation and outdoor recreation needs. We
recognize that the mandatory funding request requires additional
legislative action, and we appreciate the support of the subcommittee
as that process moves forward. Continued annual investment in the
entire suite of LWCF programs as proposed in the budget is essential
and we are ready to work with the subcommittee to ensure that dollars
invested are well spent on our Nation's most urgent needs. We greatly
appreciate the key role your subcommittee plays in ensuring that
program dollars are used for high-priority strategic investments and
appreciate that in challenging budgetary times you have maintained a
commitment to this bipartisan program.
LWCF's programs bring specific and complementary conservation
benefits to the American public. These key programs are:
BLM/FWS/NPS/USFS Land Acquisitions.--Every year tens of millions of
Americans, as well as visitors to our country, enjoy our Federal public
lands--national parks, forests, wildlife refuges and BLM conservation
lands. Recent data shows that National Park Service units were visited
by larger numbers than in the past 20 years. Strategic inholding and
other acquisitions in these Federal areas through LWCF ensure
recreation access and nature education; foster vital economic growth;
protect clean water and other community resources; enhance the
incomparable natural and scenic treasures that belong to all Americans;
and frequently resolve complex land-use conflicts and produce
management savings. Without adequate funding, the unfortunate
alternative often is an irretrievable loss of public use and enjoyment
of these areas and irreversible damage to the resources we all care
about.
This is precisely the choice for numerous outdoor recreation and
natural resource protection projects budgeted in fiscal year 2017,
including lands in the Tahoe and Eldorado national forests in
California, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, and the Appalachian Trail
near Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. The Trust for Public Land is working
in these and other areas identified in the President's budget and looks
forward to working with the subcommittee as you consider these critical
needs.
We applaud the inclusion of recreational access line items in the
fiscal year 2016 omnibus appropriations bill for each of the four land
management agencies--with particular emphasis on BLM and USFS--and
support similarly focused funding in the fiscal year 2017 bill to
address opening up and improving public access to the outdoors.
We urge the subcommittee to allocate at least the discretionary
funding levels for each land management agency as proposed in the
fiscal year 2017 President's budget: BLM--$32.301 million; FWS: $35.884
million; NPS: $37.314 million; USFS: $49.703 million.
USFS: Forest Legacy Program.--For 25 years, the Forest Legacy
Program has been an extraordinarily effective program, providing
assistance to States and localities seeking to preserve important
working forests. It has protected over 2.5 million acres of forestland
and has leveraged more than the required 25 percent match. For fiscal
year 2017, the President's budget recommends projects that provide
multiple public benefits through forest protection--clean water,
wildlife protection, climate change adaptation and mitigation, public
access to recreation, economic development and sustainable forestry. We
urge your continued support for sustained investment in this strategic
and successful program. Included in the fiscal year 2017 budget
proposal are numerous projects where TPL is working with States,
landowners and other partners to protect recreation access for
snowmobilers and hikers, ensure jobs in the woods, buffer important
Federal and State conservation areas and provide strategic land
conservation that fits a larger goal. Among these are the Whitefish
Lake Project which will protect the recreational access, a municipal
water supply and critical wildlife habitat near Whitefish and Columbia
Falls in Montana; a 3,714-acre tract in the Rio Brazos watershed in New
Mexico; and a 1,533-acre property at Wallowa Lake in northeastern
Oregon. We support a minimum of $62.347 million in discretionary
funding for the Forest Legacy Program in fiscal year 2017.
USFWS: Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund.--We are
grateful for the subcommittee's historic support for USFWS grant
programs, including the Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation
Fund (CESCF), which leverages State and private funds and has protected
threatened and endangered species habitat across the Nation. Two
components of this program are funded via LWCF: the Habitat
Conservation Plan (HCP) Land Acquisition program and the Recovery Land
Acquisition (RLA) program. The CESCF has been critical to communities
in Montana, California, and Hawaii where landowners and public wildlife
managers are working together through integrated HCP's to foster
species recover and appropriate economic development. We support at
least the enacted level of $30.8 million for the HCP and RLA programs.
NPS: State and Local Assistance grants.--Since 1965, the State and
local assistance grant program has provided over $4 billion in Federal
funds for more than 42,000 projects in States and local communities for
park protection and development of recreation facilities. This program
reaches deep into communities across our Nation, supporting citizen-led
efforts to conserve places of local importance and opportunities for
close-to-home recreation. Through our Parks for People Program, The
Trust for Public Land works with local communities to create, build,
design, fund and care for parks, trails and playgrounds. As we continue
our work with many of these communities to meet these needs, we hope
the subcommittee will fully fund the administration's discretionary
request for stateside grants and that a mandatory full-funding LWCF
solution will provide much-needed additional funding for this important
program. We also strongly support the allocation of a portion of LWCF
State and local assistance funds to the nationwide competitive program,
the Outdoor Recreation Legacy Program, which has now been included in
three consecutive appropriations bills. Last year Congress demonstrated
a deeper commitment to this program by bringing its funding level up to
$12 million, for which we are extremely grateful. We greatly appreciate
the subcommittee's leadership in setting aside these funds and support
an allocation of no less than $12 million for ORLP in fiscal year 2017.
NPS: American Battlefield Protection Program.--We applaud the
subcommittee for its longstanding commitment to this important program,
which complements acquisitions of threatened Civil War, Revolutionary
War, and War of 1812 properties in national park units with non-Federal
land protection of key battlefield sites. We hope that Congress can
fully fund the program again at the enacted $10 million level.
Beyond LWCF, we urge the subcommittee to provide adequate funding
to other conservation programs including:
USFWS: North American Wetlands Conservation Act.--We respectfully
request your support for program funding at the enacted and proposed
level of $34.1 million in fiscal year 2017. The North American Wetlands
Conservation Act (NAWCA) provides much-needed matching grants to carry
out wetlands conservation, restoration and enhancement projects. A
recent NAWCA grant will help ensure protection of a 215-acre property
in the growing suburbs of Portland, Maine, including a 46 acre pond
that provides habitat for waterfowl and migratory birds. NAWCA is a
highly leveraged program with a substantial record of success and is
another important Federal conservation tool to support critical wetland
habitat.
USFS: Community Forest Program.--We urge your continued support for
the Community Forest Program (CFP), which complements existing
conservation programs by helping communities and tribes identify,
purchase, and manage locally important forestlands that are threatened
with development. These community forests can be tailored to local
needs, from timber revenue for municipal or county budgets to
recreation access and outdoor education. Every Federal dollar from CFP
is evenly matched by funding from State, local, and private sources.
The Forest Service has now approved 27 grants in 15 States for
innovative local and tribal projects, and the program has generated
significant interest from local entities concerned about the future of
their close-to-home forests. Given the strong interest in community
forests from coast to coast, we urge you to include $5 million in the
fiscal year 2017 bill for this innovative conservation tool.
Wildfire Disaster Funding Act.--We also support efforts to improve
budgeting for forest fire management that will provide Federal agencies
the means to fight fires without raiding other important Federal
programs, like LWCF. America's forests and forest-dependent communities
are at risk from outbreaks of pests and pathogens, persistent drought,
and the buildup of hazardous fuels. Urbanization and development
patterns are placing more homes and communities near fire-prone
landscapes, leading to more destructive and costly wildfires.
Unfortunately and again in fiscal year 2015, the 10-year average was
not enough to meet the USFS suppression needs, forcing the agency to
transfer $700 million from non-suppression accounts to make up for the
shortfall. The current wildfire suppression funding model and cycle of
transfers and repayments has negatively impacted the ability to
implement forest management, among many other activities. Additionally,
the increasing 10-year average to has not met annual suppression needs
since before fiscal year 2002, which is why we are thankful to the
subcommittee for the full transfer repayment and increased suppression
funding in fiscal year 2016. However, we understand this is not
expected to occur every year. DOI and USFS need a long-term fire
funding solution that would result in stable and predictable budgets.
We appreciate the subommittee's support of the bipartisan Wildfire
Disaster Funding Act, which addresses Federal fire funding challenges
as well as other bipartisan congressional efforts in this regard. We
respectfully request a bipartisan fire funding solution that would (1)
access disaster funding, (2) minimize transfers, and (3) address the
continued erosion of agency budgets over time, with the goal of
reinvesting in key programs that would restore forests to healthier
conditions.
The programs highlighted here are critical to the future of
conservation at the local, State and Federal levels; reflect the
continued demand on the part of the American people for access to
outdoor recreation; and help sustain our economy and reflect the true
partnership that exists in Federal conservation efforts. As ever, we
are deeply thankful for the subcommittee's recognition of the
importance of these programs and urge you to maintain robust funding
for them in the fiscal year 2017 Interior, Environment and Related
Agencies bill. Thank you for your help and support, and for your
consideration of our requests.
______
Prepared Statement of the USGS Coalition
The USGS Coalition appreciates the opportunity to provide testimony
about the fiscal year 2017 budget for the United States Geological
Survey (USGS). The USGS Coalition supports the administration's budget
request of $1.2 billion for the USGS. The requested funding would allow
the agency, by advancing scientific discovery and innovation, to
sustain current efforts and make strategic investments that will
produce the impartial knowledge and decision support tools needed by
decision-makers across the country.
Few modern problems can be addressed by a single scientific
discipline. The USGS is uniquely positioned to provide information and
inform responses to many of the Nation's greatest challenges. The USGS
is an agency that has a unique capacity to deploy truly
interdisciplinary teams of experts to gather data, conduct research,
and develop integrated decision support tools that improve ecosystem
management, ensure accurate assessments of our water quality and
quantity, reduce risks from natural and human-induced hazards, deliver
timely assessments of mineral and energy resources, and provide
emergency responders with accurate geospatial data and maps.
The USGS Coalition is an alliance of over 70 organizations united
by a commitment to the continued vitality of the United States
Geological Survey to provide critical data and services. The Coalition
supports increased Federal investment in USGS programs that underpin
responsible natural resource stewardship, improve resilience to natural
and human-induced hazards, and contribute to the long-term health,
security, and prosperity of the Nation.
essential services for the nation
Established by Congress as a branch of the Department of the
Interior in 1879, the United States Geological Survey has a national
mission that extends beyond the boundaries of the Nation's public lands
to positively impact the lives of all Americans. The agency plays a
crucial role in protecting the public from natural hazards, assessing
water quality and quantity, providing geospatial data, and conducting
the science necessary to manage our Nation's biological, mineral, and
energy resources. Through its offices across the country, the USGS
works with partners to provide high-quality research and data to
policymakers, emergency responders, natural resource managers, civil
and environmental engineers, educators, and the public. A few examples
of the USGS' valuable work are provided below.
The USGS plays an important role in reducing risks from natural
hazards that jeopardize human lives and result in billions of dollars
in damages annually. Seismic networks and hazard analysis are used to
formulate earthquake probabilities and to establish building codes. The
continued efforts on an earthquake early warning system, ShakeAlert,
can provide advance notice of ground shaking from an earthquake to
allow for the protection of life and property. USGS volcano monitoring
provides warnings to avian officials about impending eruptions. Data
from the USGS network of streamgages enable the National Weather
Service to issue flood and drought warnings. The bureau and its Federal
partners map seasonal wildfires and assess the potential spread of
fires.
The Survey collects scientific information on water availability
and quality to inform the public and decision-makers about the status
of freshwater resources and how they are changing over time. During the
past 130 years, the USGS has collected streamflow data at over 21,000
sites, water-level data at over 1,000,000 wells, and chemical data at
over 338,000 surface-water and groundwater sites. This information is
needed to effectively manage freshwaters--both above and below the land
surface--for domestic, public, agricultural, commercial, industrial,
recreational, and ecological purposes.
USGS assessments of mineral and energy resources--including rare
earth elements, coal, oil, unconventional natural gas, and geothermal--
are essential for making decisions about the Nation's future. The
Survey identifies the location and quantity of domestic mineral and
energy resources, and assesses the economic and environmental effects
of resource extraction and use. The agency is mapping domestic supplies
of rare earth elements necessary for widespread deployment of new
energy technologies, which can reduce dependence on foreign oil. The
USGS is the sole Federal source of information on mineral potential,
production, and consumption.
USGS science plays a critical role in informing sound management of
natural resources on Federal and State lands. The USGS conducts
research and monitoring of fish, wildlife, and vegetation--data that
informs management decisions by other Interior bureaus regarding
protected species and land use. Ecosystems science is also used to
control invasive species and wildlife diseases that can cause billions
of dollars in economic losses. The Survey provides information for
resource managers as they develop adaptive management strategies for
restoration and long-term use of the Nation's natural resources in the
face of environmental change.
Research conducted by the USGS is vital to predicting the impacts
of land use and climate change on water resources, wildfires, and
ecosystems. The Landsat satellites have collected the largest archive
of remotely sensed land data in the world, allowing for access to
current and historical images that are used to assess the impact of
natural disasters and monitor global agriculture production. The USGS
also assesses the Nation's potential for carbon sequestration. Other
Interior bureaus use USGS research on how climate variability affects
fish, wildlife, and ecological processes to inform natural resource
management decisions.
funding
Over the years, Congress has worked in a bipartisan fashion to
provide essential funding to the USGS. These efforts have paid
dividends and helped the USGS provide answers to the challenging
questions facing decision-makers across the country.
The funding level proposed for fiscal year 2017 for the USGS would
allow the agency to invest in mission critical areas, including:
--Support for development of the Landsat 9 ground system;
--Development of methods to assess regional and national water use
trends during drought;
--New research on native pollinators, which are essential to our
Nation's agricultural and natural systems;
--Establishment of a real-time water quality monitoring capabilities
along the Northeast Coast to further a prototype contaminant
detection network;
--Improvement of earthquake monitoring in the Central and Eastern
United States;
--Development of new tools to detect and control new and emerging
invasive species;
--Establishment of a new Great Lakes Climate Science Center to
improve research in this distinctive region;
--Accelerate assessments of domestic unconventional oil and gas
resources;
--Expand use of rapid deployable streamgages to improve data
collection during floods;
--Enhanced research in the Artic on sea-level rise, severe storms,
and/or melting permafrost; and
--Provide support for 3DEP to provide lidar coverage for the country
and increased support for topographical mapping for the United
States.
We are also pleased to see the proposed increases for Core Science
Systems, Science Support, and facilities. These parts of the USGS
budget are essential to the success of scientific research and
monitoring conducted by other programs in the bureau. All three budget
lines were lower in fiscal year 2016 than they were in fiscal year
2011. Currently, the USGS is faced with approximately $400 million in
deferred maintenance to facilities and research centers. Continued
deferment is creating situations in which one-of-a-kind and mission
critical samples and data are being lost.
Through careful management and deferring staff travel and training,
the USGS has survived the recent budget cuts resulting from
sequestration. Staff training and participation in scientific meetings,
however, are necessary investments that help USGS maintain its
technical capacity. It is through exchanges at scientific meetings and
workshops that new ideas emerge and scientific analyses are shared,
challenged by colleagues, and honed prior to submitting research for
publication in peer-reviewed journals. We encourage Congress to work
with the USGS to ensure that scientists are able to fully participate
in scientific meetings.
As a science agency, much of the USGS budget is dedicated to
salaries and equipment that must be maintained and updated to ensure
the continuity of data acquisition and that the data gathered are
reliable and available for future scientific investigations. We believe
that the leadership of the USGS is doing all it can, and has been for a
number of years, to contain costs while continuing to deliver high
quality science.
conclusion
We recognize the financial challenges facing the Nation, but losing
irreplaceable data can increase costs to society today and in the
future. Data not collected and analyzed today is data lost forever.
This is particularly significant for environmental monitoring systems,
where the loss of a year's data can limit the scope and reliability of
long-term dataset analysis. The USGS Coalition requests that Congress
work to provide $1.2 billion for fiscal year 2017.
The USGS Coalition appreciates the subcommittee's past leadership
in strengthening the United States Geological Survey. Thank you for
your thoughtful consideration of this request.
______
Prepared Statement of the United States Section of the Pacific Salmon
Commission
Mr. Chairman, and honorable members of the subcommittee, I am Ron
Allen, the Alternate Tribal Commissioner and Chair of the Finance and
Administration Committee for the U.S. Section of the Pacific Salmon
Commission (PSC). The U.S. Section prepares an annual budget for
implementation of the Pacific Salmon Treaty. The integrated budget
details program needs and costs for tribal, Federal, and State agencies
involved in the treaty. Tribal participation in the treaty process is
funded in the Bureau of Indian Affairs budget.
In order meet the increased obligations under the 2009-2018
Pacific Salmon Treaty Agreement the 25 affected tribes
identified costs at $4,800,000 for tribal research projects and
participation in the U.S.-Canada Pacific Salmon Treaty process,
an increase of $520,000 over fiscal year 2015 enacted level.
The funding for tribal participation in the Pacific Salmon
Treaty is a line item in the BIA's budget under Rights
Protection Implementation.
Under U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service programs, the U.S. Section
identified needs as follows:
USFWS participation in the treaty process is funded at
$372,362 for fiscal year 2015. The Pacific States Marine
Fisheries Commission's Regional Mark Center (PSMFC) receives
support from the USFWS to provide data services to the PSC
process at a level of $236,189 for fiscal year 2015. The total
for the two programs is $608,551. This represents a decrease
from fiscal year 2010 levels, which were $417,673 for USFWS and
$315,000 for PSMFC, for a grand total of $732,673. The U.S.
Section recommends increasing the fiscal year 2017 funding for
these programs by $50,000, which partially restores both
programs to previous funding levels.
This base funding for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service supports
critically important on-going work. The funding for Pacific States
Marine Fisheries Commission's Regional Mark Center is utilized to meet
treaty requirements concerning data exchange with Canada. These program
recommendations are integrated with those of the State and Federal
agencies to avoid duplication of effort and provide for the most
efficient expenditure of scarce funds.
Funding to support activities under the Pacific Salmon Commission
comes from the Departments of Interior, State, and Commerce. The U.S.
Section can provide a cross-9cut budget summary to the Committee.
Adequate funding from all three Departments is necessary for the U.S.
to meet its treaty obligations. All of the funds are needed for
critical data collection and research activities directly related to
the implementation and are used in cooperative programs involving
Federal, State, and tribal fishery agencies and the Department of
Fisheries in Canada. The commitment of the United States is matched by
the commitment of the Government of Canada.
The U.S. Section of the PSC is recommending an adjustment to
support the work carried out by the 24 treaty tribes' participating in
implementation of the treaty. Programs carried out by the tribes are
closely coordinated with those of the States and Federal agencies.
Tribal programs are essential for the United States to meet its
international obligations. Tribal programs have taken on additional
management responsibilities due to funding issues with State agencies.
All participating agencies need to be adequately supported to achieve a
comprehensive U.S. effort to implement the treaty.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service activities are necessary so the
United States can maintain the critical database to implement the
treaty. The work of the Regional Mark Processing Center includes
maintaining and updating a coastwide computerized information
management system for salmon harvest data as required by the treaty.
This work has become even more important to monitor the success of
management actions at reducing impacts on ESA-listed salmon
populations. Canada has a counterpart database. The U.S. database will
continue to be housed at the Pacific States Marine Fisheries
Commission.
Mr. Chairman, the United States and Canada established the Pacific
Salmon Commission, under the Pacific Salmon Treaty of 1985, to conserve
salmon stocks, provide for optimum production of salmon, and to control
salmon interceptions. After 30 years, the work of the Pacific Salmon
Commission continues to be essential for the wise management of salmon
in the Northwest, British Columbia, and Alaska. For example, upriver
bright fall Chinook salmon from the Hanford Reach of the Columbia River
are caught in large numbers in Alaskan and Canadian waters. Tribal and
non-tribal fishermen harvest sockeye salmon from Canada's Fraser River
in the Strait of Juan de Fuca and in Puget Sound. Canadian trollers off
of the west coast of Vancouver Island catch Washington coastal Coho
salmon and Puget Sound Chinook salmon. In the Northern Boundary area
between Canada and Alaska, fish from both countries are intercepted by
the other country in large numbers. The Commission provides a forum to
ensure cooperative management of salmon populations. The agreements in
the current Annex Chapters for management of chinook, coho, chum, and
transboundary populations expire at the end of 2018. The Annex Chapter
for management of Fraser River sockeye and pink chapter expires at the
end of 2019. The United States and Canada are negotiating revisions to
the current agreements. Based on past experience, the negotiation
process will require additional meetings to reach a successful
conclusion. It is important to have adequate resources for U.S.
participants to negotiate the best outcome.
Before the treaty, fish wars often erupted with one or both
countries overharvesting fish that were returning to the other country,
to the detriment of the resource. At the time the treaty was signed,
Chinook salmon were in a severely depressed state as a result of
overharvest in the ocean as well as environmental degradation in the
spawning rivers. Under the treaty, both countries committed to rebuild
the depressed runs of Chinook stocks, and they recommitted to that goal
in 1999 when adopting a coastwide abundance based approach to harvest
management. Under this approach, harvest management will complement
habitat conservation and restoration activities being undertaken by the
States, tribes, and other stakeholders in the Pacific Northwest to
address the needs of salmon listed for protection under the Endangered
Species Act. The 2008 Chinook agreement continued these commitments.
The combination of these efforts is integral to achieving success in
rebuilding and restoring healthy, sustainable salmon populations.
Finally, you should take into account the fact that the value of
the commercial harvest of salmon subject to the treaty, managed at
productive levels under the treaty, supports the infrastructure of many
coastal and inland communities. The value of the recreational
fisheries, and the economic diversity they provide for local economies
throughout the Pacific Northwest and Alaska, is also immense. The value
of these fish to the 24 treaty tribes in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho
goes far beyond their monetary value, to the cultural and religious
lives of Indian people. A significant monetary investment is focused on
salmon as a result of listings of Pacific Northwest salmon populations
under the Endangered Species Act. Given the resources, we can continue
to use the Pacific Salmon Commission to develop recommendations that
help to ensure solutions that minimize impacts on listed stocks,
especially if we are allowed to work towards the true intent of the
treaty: mutually beneficial enhancement of the shared resource.
Mr. Chairman, that concludes my written testimony submitted for
consideration by your subcommittee. I want to thank the subcommittee
for the support that it has given the U.S. Section in the past. Please
feel free to contact me, or other members of the U.S. Section to answer
any questions you or subcommittee members may have regarding the U.S.
Section of the Pacific Salmon Commission budget.
______
Prepared Statement of the United Tribes Technical College
United Tribes Technical College (UTTC) has for 47 years, and with
the most basic of funding, provided postsecondary career and technical
education and family services to some of the most impoverished high
risk Indian students from throughout the Nation. Despite such
challenges we have consistently had excellent retention and placement
rates and are a fully accredited by the Higher Learning Commission
(HLC). We are proud to be preparing our students to participate in the
energy economy in North Dakota and to be part of building a strong
middle class in Indian Country by training the next generation of law
enforcement officers, educators, medical providers, and administrators.
We are governed by the five tribes located wholly or in part in North
Dakota. We are not part of the North Dakota University System and do
not have a tax base or State-appropriated funds on which to rely. The
funding requests of the UTTC Board for fiscal year 2017 Bureau of
Indian Education (BIE)/Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) are:
--$11 million for the line item, Tribal Technical Colleges, which is
$3.6 million over the administration's request. Of this amount,
$6.8 million is BIE funding for our Indian Self-Determination
Act contract.
--Place Contract Supports Costs on a permanent, full, mandatory-
funded basis.
--Provide full funding for Tribal Grant Support Costs for tribally
operated elementary/secondary schools.
--Establishment of a tribally administered Northern Plains law
enforcement training center at UTTC.
First of all, we thank you for placing the Tribal Technical
Colleges account that provides core operational funds to our
institution and Navajo Technical University (NTU) on a forward funded
basis as of fiscal year 2016. We also support your interest in
providing forward funding for the three remaining colleges who not yet
forward funded: Haskell Indian Nations University, Southwestern Indian
Polytechnic Institute, and the Institute of American Indian Arts.
The extended length of time to achieve forward funding for UTTC and
NTU and the fact that three Indian higher education institutions are
still not forward funded highlights the carefulness with which tribal
college references need to be made. We are authorized under differing
titles of the Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities Act and
then there are other statutory authorities for the three institutions
administered through the Bureau of Indian Education.
Base Funding.--UTTC administers our BIE funding under an Indian
Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act agreement, and has done
so for 39 years. We appreciate that the administration is requesting a
$500,000 increase for Tribal Technical Colleges, but our need far
exceeds that amount. The UTTC portion of the Tribal Technical Colleges
line item should be $6.8 million based on an $11 million appropriation.
Acquisition of additional base funding is critical. We struggle to
maintain course offerings and services to adequately provide
educational services at the same level as our State counterparts. Our
BIE funding provides a base level of support while allowing us to
compete for desperately needed discretionary contracts and grants. Very
little of our other funds can be used for core career and technical
educational programs; they are competitive, often one-time funds that
help us provide support services but cannot replace core operational
funding.
We highlight several relatively recent updates of our curricula to
meet job market needs. Indeed, the ramifications of the North Dakota
Bakken oil boom are apparent as we have seen faculty and students leave
education in pursuit of jobs in the Bakken region. At the certificate
level, we saw the need for more certified welders in relation to the
oil boom and expanded our certified welding program in response to the
workforce need. We are now able to train students for good paying in-
demand welding employment with a focus on career rather than just a
job. And we recently received HLC approval to offer a Bachelor's Degree
in Environmental Science that will provide experiential research
opportunities for our students.
Funding for United Tribes Technical College is a good investment. We
have:
--Renewed unrestricted accreditation from the Higher Learning
Commission for July 2011 through 2021, with authority to offer
all of our full programs on-line. We offer 16 Associate
degrees, 5 Certificates, and 3 Bachelor degree programs of
study (Criminal Justice; Elementary Education; Business
Administration). Six of the programs are offered online.
--Services including a Child Development Center, family literacy
program, wellness center, area transportation, K-6 elementary
school, tutoring, counseling, family and single student
housing, and campus security.
--A projected return on Federal investment of 20-1 (2005 study).
--A semester retention rate of 58 percent and a graduate placement
rate of 82 percent.
--Students from 37 tribes represented; 67 percent of our
undergraduate students receive Pell Grants.
--An unduplicated count of 536 undergraduate degree-seeking students:
828 continuing education students; and 24 dual credit
enrollment students for a total of 1,283 students for 2014-
2015.
--A dual-enrollment program targeting junior and senior high school
students, providing them an introduction to college life and
offering high school and college credits.
--A critical role in the regional economy. Our presence brings at
least $34 million annually to the economy of the Bismarck
region. A North Dakota State University study reports that the
five tribal colleges in North Dakota made a direct and
secondary economic contribution to the state of $181,933,000 in
2012.
Contract Support Costs.--As mentioned above, we administer our BIE
funding through an Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance
Act contract, and thus Contract Support Costs (CSC) are vital to us. We
thank this subcommittee and the administration for the recognition of
the legal obligation the Federal Government has to pay tribal
contractors their full CSC. This has been an enormously important
development for Indian tribes. We appreciate that the fiscal year 2016
appropriations act places Contract Support Costs for both the BIA and
the Indian Health Service (IHS) in their own accounts and is funded at
an indefinite amount, thus assuring full funding. That circumstance
applies only to the fiscal year 2016 appropriations and we join with
others in Indian Country in supporting a long-term legislative solution
that will provide full and permanent funding for Contact Support Costs.
Placing CSC funding on a mandatory basis is the logical resolution to a
long-term solution for CSC that will also protect the programs funded
on a discretionary basis in the BIA and IHS budgets.
Tribal Grant Support Costs for K-12 Tribally-Operated Schools.--We
have a BIE-funded elementary school on our campus, the Theodore
Jamerson Elementary School, and thus many of our college students and
their children attend school on the same campus. For these elementary
schools, Tribal Grant Support Costs are the equivalent of Contract
Support Costs for tribes although authorized under different statutory
authorities. We thank you for providing what is estimated to be full
funding for Tribal Grant Support Costs in fiscal year 2016 ($73.3
million), and we support the administration's fiscal year 2017 request
of $75.3 million, estimated to be full funding.
A Northern Plains Indian Law Enforcement Academy.--We again ask
Congress to seriously look at the problem of addressing crime in Indian
Country with an eye toward the establishment of a campus-based academy
for training of law enforcement officers at UTTC. We ask that you
direct the Secretary of Interior and the Bureau of Indian Affairs to
work with the Northern Plains tribes and others on the timely
development of a plan for the establishment of an academy to better
serve the tribes residing in the Northern tier of the United States.
Establishment of such an academy at UTTC continues to be strongly
supported by the Great Plains Tribal Chairman's Association (GPTCA) via
Resolution 5-1-20-16. The Resolution requests that the Secretary of
Interior and the BIA consult with the tribes on the details of a plan
for establishment of the Academy. Cultural and legal differences
further support why such training should be tribally directed in order
to be appropriate for the realities of tribal communities within
different parts of the Indian Country. The need is critical and
continues to grow with the methamphetamine, opioid and heroin crises
and the resulting social ills from these epidemics. North Dakota and
other northern border regions have special problems relating to drug
and human trafficking. Additionally, the expanded tribal authorities
under the Tribal Law and Order Act and the Violence Against Women Act
only further the importance of trained law enforcement officers within
our tribal communities. State and national training resources would
have an important role in this new endeavor.
The UTTC Criminal Justice program currently offers 2- and 4-year
degrees, and prepares graduates for employment as Federal, State or
tribal law enforcement, correction, parole and probation, and
transportation safety officers; victim advocates; U.S. Customs,
Homeland Security, and Military Investigative services; and private
security agents. A pre-law program is currently in development to
address the shortage of law trained personnel within tribal judicial
systems. We want to expand our endeavors to help meet law enforcement
needs in Indian Country. Given our Criminal Justice program, our
location and our campus resources, we propose the establishment of a
Northern Plains Indian Law Enforcement Academy.
Basic law enforcement training is currently provided through the
BIA's Indian Police Academy in Artesia, New Mexico, which often has
waiting lists. The BIA is depending on the basic training provided by
State academies to supplement what is provided at Artesia. UTTC is well
positioned with regard to providing both basic and supplemental law
enforcement training. An academy at UTTC would allow tribal people in
the Great Plains and other nearby regions a more affordable choice for
training locations while minimizing the distance and long separation of
trainees from their families.
The fiscal year 2017 Indian Affairs budget (p. IA-PSJ-12) notes
that training initiatives for the Indian Police Academy include
developing a pre-Academy training program for candidates; developing a
mid-level manager training program; and establishing an on-line
distance learning program for recertification, among other things.
These are things that we could do as part of an academy at UTTC or in
partnership with the Indian Police Academy.
In short, the BIA should be utilizing and enhancing the resources
of UTTC to make a real difference in the law enforcement capability in
Indian Country. We can offer college credit to trainees, and our
facilities include the use of a state-of-the-art crime scene simulator.
Maintaining safe communities is a critical component of economic
development for our Tribal Nations, and local control of law
enforcement training resources is a key part of that effort.
The Duplication or Overlapping Issue.--As you know in March 2011,
the Government Accountability Office issued two reports regarding
Federal programs which may have similar or overlapping services or
objectives (GAO-11-474R and GAO-11-318SP). Funding from the BIE and the
DOEd's Carl Perkins Act for Tribally Controlled Postsecondary Career
and Technical Education were among the programs listed in the reports.
The full GAO report did not recommend defunding these programs; rather,
it posed the possibility of consolidation of these programs to save
administrative costs. We are not in disagreement about possible
consolidation of our funding sources, as long as program funds are not
cut.
BIE funds represent over half of our core operating budget. The
Perkins funds supplement, but do not duplicate, the BIE funds. Both
sources of funding are necessary to the frugal maintenance of our
institution. We actively seek alternative funding to assist with
academic programming, deferred maintenance, and scholarship assistance,
among other things. The need for career and technical education in
Indian Country is so great and the funding so small that there is
little chance for duplicative funding. There are only two institutions
targeting American Indian/Alaska Native career and technical education
and training at the postsecondary level--UTTC and NTU. Combined, these
institutions received only $15.1 million in fiscal year 2016 Federal
operational funds ($8.2 million from Perkins; $6.9 million from the
BIE). That is not an excessive amount for two campus-based institutions
who offer a broad array of programs geared toward the educational and
cultural needs of their students and who teach job-producing skills.
We know members of this subcommittee have made a point to visit
places in Indian Country and we would love to be able to arrange for
you to visit United Tribes Technical College. Thank you for your
consideration of our requests. Mitakuye Owasin (All my relatives)
______
Prepared Statement of the Western Governors' Association
Mr. Chairman and members of the subcommittee, the Western
Governors' Association (WGA) appreciates the opportunity to provide
written testimony on the appropriations and activities of the Bureau of
Land Management (BLM), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), National
Park Service (NPS), U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA). My name is James D. Ogsbury and I am the
Association's Executive Director. WGA is an independent, non-partisan
organization representing the Governors of 19 Western States and 3
U.S.-flag islands.
The agencies within the subcommittee's jurisdiction wield
significant influence over vast areas of the American West, as 94
percent of all Federal lands are situated in the western States and the
Federal Government owns over 46 percent of the land within active WGA
States. The work of this subcommittee is of vital importance to Western
Governors, as it helps establish how these lands are managed and how
Federal agencies interact with other levels of government and the
public.
Western Governors recognize that there is a certain tension between
State and Federal governments, one that is embedded in the very fabric
of our Constitution. It is equally clear that these different layers of
government must have a close and productive working relationship if our
citizens are to prosper and thrive. Western Governors believe that such
cooperation is only possible when States are regarded as full and equal
partners with the Federal Government.
The promotion of greater partnership between States and the Federal
Government is central to the mission of WGA and represents a key theme
of the WGA Species Conservation and Endangered Species Act Initiative,
a signature project of the Association's Chairman, Governor Matt Mead
of Wyoming. The goal of wildlife conservation is essential to
preserving the heritage of the West. This is possible only through the
cooperative efforts of State and Federal officials across multiple
disciplines, including data sharing and species management.
For the past 3 years, the subcommittee has adopted report language
directing Federal land managers to use State fish and wildlife data and
analyses as principal sources to inform land use, land planning and
related natural resource decisions. Western Governors are deeply
appreciative of your assistance in encouraging a positive relationship
between the States and the Federal Government in the use of wildlife
data. Federal managers need data-driven science, mapping and analyses
to effectively manage wildlife species and habitat, and in many cases
States generate the best available wildlife science.
This direction from the subcommittee is having a positive effect
with Federal agencies. For example, in their recent rulemaking on
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Revisions to the
Regulations for Petitions [80 FR 29286, May 21, 2015], FWS and the
National Marine Fisheries Service recognized the important role of
State data and proposed common-sense process reforms. Western Governors
view this progress as a direct result of the subcommittee's efforts to
urge Federal agencies to use State data, and are grateful for your
steadfast commitment to this principle. With this encouraging progress,
WGA urges you to maintain this position and reiterate it in your fiscal
year 2017 report.
Remaining on the topic of species conservation, Western States
routinely invest enormous amounts of time, money and manpower in the
management of wildlife and habitat conservation. It is appropriate for
Federal agencies to provide sufficient resources for species
protection, particularly on Federal lands. When Federal lands are
inadequately managed, State and local efforts to protect habitat and
species will not be sufficient to assure the success of species.
Federal agencies must demonstrate their commitment to species
preservation and recovery by committing sufficient funding for
conservation efforts on Federal lands, and Western Governors encourage
you to adequately fund these habitat management activities.
Western Governors believe that States should be full and equal
partners in the implementation of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and
should have the opportunity to participate in pre-listing and post-
listing ESA decisions. The Act is premised on a strong State-Federal
partnership. Section 6(a) of the ESA states that, ``In carrying out the
program authorized by the Act, the Secretary shall cooperate to the
maximum extent practicable with the States.'' WGA submits that such
cooperation should include partnership with States in the establishment
of quantifiable species recovery goals, as well as in the design and
implementation of recovery plans.
ESA listing decisions can have dramatic impacts on vital State
interests, influencing a State's ability to conduct almost any
activity--from road siting to new home construction to environmental
projects. Consequently, States should have the right to intervene in
proceedings regarding the ESA. Western Governors urge the subcommittee
to support the legal standing of States to participate in
administrative and judicial actions involving ESA that, by their
nature, implicate State authority and resources. This is not a new
concept: several Federal statutes--including the Clean Water Act, the
Clean Air Act and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act--already
vest the States with the role of co-regulator with the EPA.
With respect to funding levels of appropriated programs, WGA
recommends the enactment and full funding of a permanent and stable
funding mechanism for the Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) program
administered by the Department of the Interior (DOI). PILT funding does
not represent a gift to local jurisdictions; rather it represents
important compensation for the disproportionate acreage of non-taxable
Federal lands in the West. Similarly, payments under the Secure Rural
Schools and Community Self-Determination Act (SRS) are critical to
compensating communities whose timber industries have been negatively
impacted by actions and acquisitions of the Federal Government. Western
Governors hope that you will consider full funding for both PILT and
SRS payments in fiscal year 2017.
The subcommittee knows very well the pressing problem of ``fire
borrowing,'' by which funding for routine Forest Service management
activities is transferred to emergency firefighting activities. By
diverting funding from management activities that reduce wildfire
threats, this practice increases the overall fire risk and all but
ensures that future wildfires will be more damaging and costly. WGA
strongly supports efforts to solve the issue of fire borrowing, and
would like to see the Federal Government use a funding structure
similar to that used by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
in its response to natural disasters.
The 2014 Farm Bill accorded Governors the opportunity to request
that National Forest System lands within their States be considered for
insect and disease (I&D) designation, and the Forest Service responded
by designating 46.7 million acres of land for expedited treatment. The
Farm Bill authorized the appropriation of $200 million to accomplish
the work required under the statute. This work will reduce the threat
of wildfires in areas of high risk, and WGA requests that funding be
appropriated at a reasonable and sustainable level for I&D designation
projects.
Data for water management and drought response planning is critical
to western States. Western Governors request adequate funding levels
for the Cooperative Water Program and National Streamflow Information
Program, both administered by the DOI's U.S. Geological Survey. This
data is integral to the water supply management decisions of States,
utilities, reservoir operators and farmers. They are also used for
flood forecasts, making them essential to risk assessment as well as
water management. These two programs are important elements of a robust
water data management framework in the western States, and provide
needed support for drought mitigation efforts throughout the West.
Infrastructure management is another crucial element of drought
response. EPA's Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds
(SRFs) provide necessary support for communities to maintain and
enhance their water infrastructure. The Western Governors' Policy
Resolution 2014-04, Water Quality in the West, encourages adequate
funding for SRFs.
The following recommendations are intended to help ensure that
taxpayers realize a healthy return on the investment of limited
discretionary resources. This goal will be more readily achieved to the
extent that Federal agencies better leverage State authority, resources
and expertise.
Western Governors continue to be concerned about the number of wild
horses and burros on BLM lands, which is presently estimated to be
almost double the current Appropriate Management Level (AML).
Overpopulation can degrade rangeland, causing harmful effects on
wildlife and domestic livestock and threatened and endangered species
habitat. WGA supports a process to establish, monitor and adjust AMLs
for wild horses and burros that is transparent to stakeholders,
supported by scientific information (including State data), and
amenable to adaptation with new information and environmental and
social change.
While the EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' proposed rule
expanding the definition of ``waters of the United States'' is
currently being resolved in Federal court, WGA continues to view the
development of this proposal as an example of process failure. Congress
intended for the States and EPA to implement the CWA in partnership and
delegated authority to the States to administer the law as co-
regulators with EPA. States should be fully consulted and engaged in
any process that may affect the management of State waters. While
Western Governors appreciate the outreach from EPA and the Corps since
the release of the proposed rule, we note that the agencies did not
engage the States in substantive consultation prior to the release.
Western Governors encourage congressional direction to EPA to engage
the States in the creation of rulemaking, guidance or studies that
threaten to redefine the roles and jurisdiction of the States.
States have exclusive authority over the allocation and
administration of rights to groundwater located within their borders
and are primarily responsible for protecting, managing, and otherwise
controlling the resource. The regulatory reach of the Federal
Government was not intended to, and should not, be applied to the
management and protection of groundwater resources. WGA encourages the
subcommittee not to permit the use of appropriated funds for any
activity that would implement a directive on groundwater management or
otherwise subvert States' primacy over water management. Federal
agencies should work through existing State authorities to address
their groundwater-related needs and concerns. Such collaborative
efforts will help ensure that Federal efforts involving groundwater
recognize and respect State primacy and comply with Federal and State
statutory authorities.
States also have delegated authority from EPA to manage air quality
within their borders. Last year the EPA tightened the National Ambient
Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for ozone to .070 parts-per-million, a
level equal to background ozone levels in much of the West. Attaining
the revised ozone standard will present significant challenges for many
western States--challenges exacerbated by factors such as wildfire,
transported ozone, and background ozone. For decades eastern States
have enjoyed the benefit of financial and technical support from EPA
for ozone research and mitigation. Given the attainment challenges
presented, and the unique character of the West, funding should be
appropriated for EPA to assist western States in discharging their
ozone responsibilities.
Western Governors and Federal land management agencies deal with a
complex web of interrelated natural resource issues. It is an enormous
challenge to judiciously balance competing needs in this environment,
and Western Governors appreciate the difficulty of the decisions this
subcommittee must make. The foregoing recommendations are offered in a
spirit of cooperation and respect, and WGA is prepared to assist you as
you discharge these critical and challenging responsibilities.
Again, thank you for the opportunity to provide written testimony.
Please feel free to contact WGA if you have any questions about the
content of these remarks.
______
Prepared Statement of the White Earth Reservation Tribal Council
Dear Chair Murkowski and Ranking Member Udall:
The White Earth Tribal Council supports President Obama's fiscal
year 2017 budget. These funding increases for Indian Country will move
our people forward in many positive steps.
We know the subcommittee is aware of the challenges we face in
Indian Country. However, the White Earth Band of Ojibwe has unique
issues as its largest band of the Ojibwe in Minnesota. On aggregate
American Indians in Minnesota suffer the following economic
disparities:
--38 percent of the Ojibwe live at or below poverty
--50 percent of Ojibwe children live in poverty
--48 percent of Ojibwe 16-64 are unemployed or not in labor force
--20 percent of Ojibwe households exist with no wage earner
The President's proposal directly affects these economic
disparities and we strongly support his budget.
The White Earth Tribal Council recognizes that the subcommittee has
asked Tribal Nations to highlight several areas of the President's
fiscal year 2017 budget that would be critically important to them.
While we consider his overall proposal extremely important, the
following budget areas best represent our interests at this time:
1. $109 million increase for the Department of Justice and Bureau
of Indian Affairs public safety and justice programs for Indian
Country. The DOJ funding provides additional grants to address criminal
justice issues. The BIA funding continues investments to reduce violent
crime and repeat incarcerations.
2. $204 million increase for social services in Indian Country,
$164 million increase for HHS Administration of Children and Families,
$231 million for Head Start, $194 million for Tribal TANF, $55 million
for Tribal Child Support, $212 million for Child Care programs, $106
million for child welfare and other programs. In addition, $55 million
in SAMHSA to reduce the incidence of suicide among Native youth.
3. $60 million increase for BIE to support enhanced Native
language and cultural curricular programming.
4. $55 million in HHS Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
to expand for Native youth.
5. The Department of Energy's Office of Indian Energy with $18
million for financial and technical assistance for renewable energy
projects and energy efficiency projects.
Thank you for the opportunity to provide written testimony on these
issues. The White Earth Tribal Council invites you and members of your
subcommittee to visit our reservation to see the positive work being
performed in Indian Country.
______
Prepared Statement of the Wilderness Land Trust
Chairman Murkowski, Ranking Member Udall and members of the
subcommittee, my name is Reid Haughey and I am the President of the
Wilderness Land Trust. Thank you for the opportunity to submit
testimony. My testimony focuses on a very small portion of the Land and
Water Conservation Fund (LWCF)--funding for the Inholding Acquisition
Accounts for the four land management agencies. Continued modest
funding--between $3 and $5 million--of the Inholding Accounts is vital
to the success of securing and preserving wilderness already designated
by Congress, while treating private landowners within these areas
fairly.
The Trust is a small not-for-profit organization focused on
protecting designated wilderness. To do this, we work in partnership
with landowners who own private property within designated and proposed
wilderness areas and the agencies that manage these areas. We acquire
properties from willing sellers with the intent to transfer ownership
to the United States.
We recently marked the 50th Anniversary of the Wilderness Act of
1964 that established our National Wilderness Preservation System. As
part of our celebration of the 50th anniversary, the Trust commissioned
a national inventory of private lands within wilderness. The results
are startling. The report determined that within the lower 48 States,
175,863 acres of private lands still remain in 2,883 parcels. There are
also 440,000 acres of State owned lands. Alaska is home to 47 percent
of the total nonFederal lands--predominantly Native corporation lands
stemming from ANCSA--comprising 693,641 acres in 686 parcels.
When the Trust started work 24 years ago, we estimated there were
400,000 acres of private land within designated wilderness in the lower
48 States. It has taken steady work to reduce that by more than half.
Large appropriations for the Inholding Accounts did not accomplish this
success--just reliable, modest funding so that lands can be purchased
when landowners want to sell. This is the level of funding we are
hoping to continue.
Thank you for funding the Inholdings Accounts in fiscal year 2016
and I ask for that support once again. An appropriation of between $3
and 5 million to each of the land management agencies, the Forest
Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the Fish and Wildlife Service
and the National Park Service, is sufficient to enable the agencies to
acquire high priority inholdings from willing sellers.
Our work, along with that of many other organizations and
facilitated by funding of the Inholding Accounts, aims to give the
Federal Government less work. Eliminating private inholdings within
designated wilderness:
--Saves Federal dollars
--Solves management and resource problems
--Helps private landowners, and
--Increases recreational access and economic development
Saving Federal dollars
The management of human development activities in wilderness is
expensive for the agencies. The potential resource damage to the
protected lands and waters is enormous. While steady progress has been
made reducing private inholdings in wilderness areas in the lower 48
States, our wilderness areas remain riddled with private inholdings
that greatly threaten the wilderness that surrounds them and creates a
``Swiss cheese'' effect. While The Wilderness Act defines Wilderness as
places where ``where man himself is a visitor who does not remain,''
private landowners retain their rights to build roads, homes and other
buildings, extend utilities, extract minerals and timber, and block
public access. There are numerous cases where such inholdings have been
developed in ways that seriously degrade wilderness values on the
adjacent public lands. All of these activities pose challenges for
Federal managers of the lands surrounding private inholdings and create
significant and costly management inefficiencies. By contrast, the cost
of acquiring these properties when they are offered for sale is
relatively small. That is why continued modest appropriations for the
inholding acquisition program are important.
For example, the Trust acquired a property in the Hells Canyon
Wilderness in Arizona several years ago that ended 38 years of on and
off litigation over access. This saved the agency a lot of ongoing
costs. It made the landowner happy and completed the wilderness that
surrounded it.
Further, as you are well aware, the costs associated with
firefighting on public lands are enormous. The Wilderness Land Trust
may be the only landowner within designated wilderness that can say it
has experienced both sides of reducing firefighting costs. A property
we owned in the heart of California's Yolla Bolly Wilderness burned
while we owned it. Significant resources were spent to protect the
structures on it, risking life and limb, as well as money.
On the other hand, the Trust's Hells Canyon Wilderness property in
Idaho burned 1 week after it was transferred to Federal ownership. No
one cared; no one came out to protect it. It burned as part of the
natural process of wilderness and firefighting efforts rightly
concentrated at the edges of the wildland-urban interface.
Specific data on firefighting expenses are difficult to get. The
Western Forestry Leadership Coalition, a State and Federal Government
partnership whose members include 23 State and Pacific Island
Foresters, 7 Western Regional Foresters, 3 Western Research Station
Directors, The Forest Products Lab Director of the USDA Forest Service,
published a report: The True Cost of Wildfire in the Western U.S. in
April 2009. Among the case studies reviewed, the lowest total cost per
acre firefighting expense was the Canyon Fire Complex in Montana
(2000). The total cost was $411 per acre. There were only six
structures involved. The highest cost per acre was the 2000 Cerro
Grande fire in New Mexico. It cost $22,634 per acre. There were 260
residences involved. This is strong evidence that the presence of
private lands and structures within public landscapes exponentially
increases the cost of firefighting.
Not all the costs of managing these isolated parcels fall on the
Federal Government. As the manager of Pitkin County, Colorado I learned
firsthand that the expenses of providing services to these isolated and
far-flung properties far exceed the tax revenues received and do not
come close to offsetting the cost of providing fire protection,
emergency services, road, school buses and general government services.
It costs more to serve these isolated single properties than the tax
revenue they generate.
Solves management and resource problems
The Inholding Accounts have been used to acquire mines from private
owners, private retreats, and various properties that include the
spectrum of non--wilderness uses. We are currently readying for
transfer to Federal ownership a former mine in the Frank Church River
of No Return Wilderness. We've closed the former un-reclaimed mine on
the banks of the Wild and Scenic Salmon River. The transfer will remove
a private home and no trespassing signs on one of the few flat spots on
that stretch of river. It will be returned to the public, who can enjoy
being able to stop and learn about past mining days, camp or fish from
land on which the abandoned and open mine is now reclaimed and closed--
no longer a threat to the public, or to the Wild and Scenic River from
its open shafts deep into the alluvium of the river.
Recent purchases funded from the Inholding Accounts have secured
access to the east side of the Ventana Wilderness in California,
secured trails through the Wabayuma Peak Wilderness in Arizona and the
Glacier Peak Wilderness in Washington and created access to a recently
designated wilderness in Idaho. More are on the way.
Helps private landowners
Landowners who are ready to sell deserve to have their properties
purchased. Their isolated properties are primarily the result of 19th
century Congressional policy when homesteads, mining operations and
timber production were encouraged without the balance of conservation.
As a result, wilderness areas now dedicated by Congress are pockmarked
with islands of private ownership that compromise the wilderness
resource, become expensive management issues for the agencies and often
befuddle landowners who wish to sell these properties for the benefit
of their companies or families.
If the opportunity to acquire these when offered is lost, the
management issues and inefficiencies that result from private lands
remaining within designated wilderness continue. This is why consistent
funding for the Inholding Accounts is vital. We have learned that these
lands become available about once a generation. It has been our
experience that these critical inholdings come on the market at a
steady rate as owners make decisions based on their family or business
needs. About 3 to 5 percent come on the market every year--once a
generation. If the opportunity to meet the seller's need is missed, it
averages another 20 years before the opportunity comes again. Without
consistent funding, numerous opportunities to acquire these private
parcels will be lost. Not for a year, but often for at least another
generation.
Increases recreational access and economic development
On the east side of the Castle Crags Wilderness in California is a
wall of private land that blocks access from Interstate 5. The nearby
communities of Dunsmuir and Mt. Shasta are wholly supportive of
transferring these lands to Federal ownership and opening up the Crags
to visitation. The towns anticipate visitors that will come to the
community and its climbing, biking and skiing shops it is hoped will
grow to replace the loss of logging jobs. Dunsmuir has been suffering
under an unemployment rate of 18 percent and looks forward to having
the recreational asset of the Crags' world class climbing only one mile
off Interstate 5 and just outside their community--rather than a 7-mile
hike around the private lands that now block access.
Finally, it is also important to recognize that wilderness
inholdings come in many shapes, sizes and prices depending on the real
estate market in a particular area. A number of projects that fall in
the agency project lists are inholdings. Thus, we ask that you give the
highest level of support possible for Federal LWCF acquisitions.
In summary, continued consistent funding of the Inholding Accounts
is vital. Without such funding, significant opportunities to acquire
private parcels within our designated wilderness areas will be lost for
at least another generation. We urge your support of continued funding
for these accounts and as much support for Federal LWCF acquisitions as
possible. Support for these accounts:
--Saves money by eliminating management inefficiencies that
frequently exceed the cost of acquisition;
--Helps private landowners within federally designated wilderness and
other conservation areas;
--Allows the agencies to act when opportunities occur to acquire
inholdings, often only once a generation; and
--Completes designated wilderness areas, removing threats from
incompatible and harmful development within their boundaries.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify. We greatly appreciate
your time and consideration and the support of the subcommittee in
securing these appropriations.
______
Prepared Statement of the Wilderness Society
The Wilderness Society (TWS) represents more than 700,000 members
and supporters who share our mission to protect wilderness and inspire
Americans to care for our wild places. When deciding on funding that
affects hundreds of millions of Americans, we urge you to take into
account the full economic, social, environmental and cultural value of
the many programs overseen by our land management agencies.
Additionally, we urge that in crafting the Interior and Environment
Appropriation bill you avoid harmful policy riders that damage our
land, air, water and wildlife. Must-pass appropriations legislation is
not the appropriate venue for unpopular policy provisions which
undermine bedrock environmental laws like the Wilderness Act,
Antiquities Act and Land and Water Conservation Fund Act. In
particular, we strongly oppose riders which would authorize a road
through the Izembek Wilderness Area or prevent the Bureau of Land
Management from implementing the collaboratively developed sage-grouse
conservation strategy. The laudable goal of returning to regular order
on appropriations must not continue to be undermined by the attempted
inclusion of harmful policy riders which would damage the environmental
protections all Americans value. Their inclusion only serves to further
compromise an already challenging appropriations process.
Prudent investments in critical conservation programs will provide
jobs and protect the health and economic wellbeing of local
communities. We urge bold action in support of conservation funding for
fiscal year 2017. Specifically, TWS recommends:
wilderness management
America's National Wilderness Preservation System, now over 50
years old, is suffering from a serious lack of funding. Trail
maintenance, law enforcement, monitoring, and user education have been
significantly underfunded, leading to an erosion of wilderness values
and a diminution of the experience for visitors. We recommend that
funding for agency wilderness management accounts be restored to
support much needed trails maintenance, update signage, fight invasive
species, restore watersheds, and monitor effects of climate change,
among other critical needs. Specifically, we recommend:
--Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Wilderness
TWS supports restoring BLM Wilderness funding to the fiscal year
2011 level of $19.663 million. The fiscal year 2017 budget proposal of
$18.392 million for BLM wilderness management is strong, but still 6
percent lower than the fiscal year 2011 enacted level. To just keep the
fiscal year 2011 level on pace with inflation the fiscal year 2017
request would need to be $20.830 million.
--Forest Service Recreation, Wilderness and Heritage
We urge Congress to support wilderness and recreation by
restoring funding to the fiscal year 2010 level of $285.1 million for
the Recreation, Heritage and Wilderness Program. Recreation is the most
ubiquitous use of our forest lands, and accounts for more than half of
all job and income effects attributable to Forest Service programs
(over 190,000 jobs and $11 billion in spending effects by visitors).
land and water conservation fund
Having recently celebrated its 50th Anniversary year and been
reauthorized until 2018, LWCF remains the premier Federal program to
conserve our Nation's land, water, historic, and recreation heritage.
It is a critical tool to protect national parks, national wildlife
refuges, national forests, BLM lands, and other Federal areas. The
companion LWCF State grants program provides crucial support for State
and local parks, recreational facilities, and trail corridors. LWCF
also funds two other important State grant programs--the Forest Legacy
Program and Cooperative Endangered Species programs--that ensure
permanent conservation of important forest lands and threatened and
endangered species' habitat, as well as important wildlife and
recreational habitat and ensures that public lands stay public for
hunters, anglers, and other outdoor recreationists for generations to
come.
--TWS strongly supports fully funding LWCF at the proposed $900
million, with a discretionary funding level of $475 million.
Full funding for LWCF will allow land management agencies to
manage our public lands more efficiently and cost-effectively.
This is in part achieved through strategic inholdings
acquisition which reduces internal boundary line surveying,
right-of-way conflicts and special use permits.
sage grouse initiative
If successful, implementation of the sage-grouse conservation
strategy will lead to recovery of this important western game species
without the necessity of a listing under the Endangered Species Act.
--The Wilderness Society supports the administration's $89.7 million
request to conserve and restore sage steppe habitat.
blm onshore oil and gas policy
The BLM is implementing important management reforms of its oil and
gas program that is leading toward a better balance between oil and gas
development on public lands and the protection of the numerous natural
resource values that were put at risk by previous policies. It will
also lead to Federal lands that are fully and fairly valued for the
American people. TWS supports the following administration-proposed
reforms of the BLM's oil and gas program:
--A fee on onshore Federal operators to provide for a $48 million per
year inspection and enforcement program to implement
recommendations made by the GAO.
--An increase of $5.8 million in BLM to accelerate development and
completion of Master Leasing Plans to ensure proper planning
and conservation during siting and development of oil and gas
wells.
--An increase of $13.1 million to enact and implement important
revenue and environmental regulations including:
--Royalty reforms and improve revenue collection process to ensure
that resources on Federal lands are fully and fairly valued
and delivering fair taxpayer returns.
--Regulations to reduce natural gas waste from wells on Federal and
tribal lands.
--Implementation of regulations concerning hydraulic fracturing on
Federal and tribal lands.
--An increase of $2.1 million in BLM to strengthen and increase
efficiency for oversight of oil and gas permitting through the
Automated Fluid Minerals Support System (AFMSS).
--An increase of $2.6 million to retain and staff positions in the
oil and gas program to ensure safe and responsible development
in the right places.
TWS is also urging more funding for implementation and planning
regarding ongoing and new Master Leasing Plans to ensure that any time
development occurs, conservation is considered as part of the larger
planning efforts.
blm's national landscape conservation system
The National Landscape Conservation System (Conservation Lands)
comprises over 30 million acres of congressionally and presidentially
designated lands and waters, including National Monuments, National
Conservation Areas, Wilderness Areas and other designations.
Stewardship of the Conservation Lands provides jobs for thousands of
Americans while supporting vibrant and sustainable economies in
surrounding communities. The Conservation Lands provide immeasurable
public values from modest investments: outstanding recreational
opportunities, wildlife habitat, clean water, wilderness, and open
space near cities.
--TWS strongly supports the administration's fiscal year 2017
recommendation of $83.122 million. This is a strong funding
proposal for the Conservation Lands, and will help promote the
natural, cultural, and historical resource protection provided
by the NLCS for the American public.
renewable energy
TWS is a strong proponent of transitioning our country to a clean
energy economy by developing our renewable energy resources
responsibly. We believe renewable energy is an appropriate and
necessary use of public lands when sited in areas screened for habitat,
resource, and cultural conflicts. Identifying and avoiding conflicts
early helps ensure projects are permitted faster with limited impact on
wildlands. TWS hopes the Department will continue to support a program
that ensures our public lands play an important role in supporting
renewable energy infrastructure through environmental review,
suitability screening, and energy zone identification to find suitable
places for renewable energy projects. Specifically we would like to
see:
--Increased funding for renewable energy programs across Interior
from fiscal year 2016 enacted, up to $110.4 million total. This
increase would enhance training opportunities for staff to
fully implement the proposed wind and solar leasing rulemaking
and mitigation strategies as directed in the Western Solar
Plan.
blm's federal coal program
The BLM is commencing a long-term review of the Federal coal
program. For too long, the coal program has been plagued by a lack of
transparency, an outdated perception of energy responsibility, an
unfair return to taxpayers and a lack of consideration of Federal
coal's contribution to global climate change. By starting this review,
the BLM can ensure that the American people are selling their resources
at fair prices in the right ways, while understanding how the program
affects the climate. TWS supports the administration's comprehensive
review of the BLM's Federal coal program and will be working to ensure
that a future coal program corrects the inadequacies of the current
model and that the Federal coal program is fit for the 21st century
vision of energy development on Federal lands.
implementation of landscape level management
The Wilderness Society supports the Department of Interior's
philosophy of looking at development on a landscape level with proper
mitigation policies. The recently released draft of the Desert
Renewable Energy Conservation Plan in the California Desert is a prime
example.
--It is crucial that the Department is fully funded to put in place
processes that designate areas for energy development, both
traditional and renewable, at the same time setting aside
important areas for wildlife, cultural, and recreational
values.
legacy roads and trails
The Legacy Roads and Trails (LRT) program provides the Forest
Service essential funding to restore watersheds, improve recreational
access, protect aquatic species and advance collaborative restoration
projects. LRT funding was slashed 50 percent in fiscal year 2011 and 22
percent in fiscal year 2014. Given the recent evaluation of the
Integrated Resource Restoration (IRR) program we recommend that LRT be
removed from IRR, to enable it to operate as a complementary program to
IRR, similar to CFLR. We also do not recommend that the IRR pilot
program be expanded until the test regions have proven that IRR can
improve restoration without a loss of transparency and accountability.
Specifically, TWS recommends:
--Funding Legacy Roads and Trails at $50 million, distinct from IRR.
forest service planning
The Land Management Planning Program funds amendments and revisions
to Land Management Plans, the overarching documents that guide the
management of individual forests and grasslands. By providing adequate
and consistent funding we advance plans and projects, avoid bad
decisionmaking and unnecessary costs, and reduce risks to water quality
and quantity, wildlife, and recreation.
--We support funding USFS Land Management Planning at the running 10-
year average of $45,712,600.
national forest trails
There are 158,000 miles of trails in the National Forest System.
These trails provide 50 million visitor days of cross-country skiing,
hiking, horseback riding, mountain biking, and off-road vehicle use
each year. Annual visitor days have grown 376 percent since 1977, and
the total mileage of trails has grown 56.9 percent to accommodate this
use. Unfortunately, the trails maintenance and reconstruction line item
has remained essentially flat since 1980, after adjusting for
inflation. In fiscal year 2015 the trails budget was cut 9 percent
compared to fiscal year 2010, despite the fact that GAO has reported a
$500 million trail maintenance backlog. Currently, the Forest Service
is only able to maintain a quarter of its trail miles to a minimum
standard condition.
--We urge Congress to fund Capital Improvement and Maintenance Trails
at its fiscal year 2010 level of $85,381,000 in fiscal year
2017.
national wildlife refuge system
The National Wildlife Refuge System is the only Federal
conservation system with a mission that prioritizes wildlife and
habitat conservation alongside wildlife-dependent recreation.
--We urge the subcommittee to provide a funding level of $506.6
million for the Operations and Maintenance accounts of the
National Wildlife Refuge System for fiscal year 2017.
______
Prepared Statement of the Wildlife Conservation Society
The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) would like to thank
Chairwoman Murkowski, Ranking Member Udall and the members of the
subcommittee for providing this opportunity to provide public testimony
on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's (FWS) proposed 4(d) rule on the
African elephant and in support of sufficient funding in the fiscal
year 2017 Interior, Environment and Related Agencies (Interior)
Appropriations Act to meet the President's request for the
Multinational Species Conservation Fund (MSCF), Office of International
Affairs (IA), Office of Law Enforcement (OLE) Cooperative Landscape
Conservation Program (CLCP) and State & Tribal Wildlife Grants (STWG)
accounts at FWS, and the International Forestry program at the U.S.
Forest Service (FS-IF).
WCS was founded with the help of Theodore Roosevelt in 1895 with
the mission of saving wildlife and wild places worldwide. Today, WCS
manages the largest network of urban wildlife parks in the United
States led by our flagship, the Bronx Zoo. Globally, our goal is to
conserve the world's largest wild places in 15 priority regions, home
to more than 50 percent of the world's biodiversity. We manage more
than 200 million acres of protected lands around the world, employing
4,000 staff including 170 PhD and DVM scientists.
The American conservation tradition is based on promoting
sustainable use of our natural resources in order to preserve the
world's species and environment for future generations. In recognition
of the current fiscal constraints, it is important to note that
effective natural resources management and conservation has indirect
economic benefits, including contributing to local economies through
tourism and other means. Internationally, by supporting conservation,
the U.S. is increasing capacity and governance in developing nations
and improving our own national security as a result.
No Harmful Rider on Ivory: On July 29, 2015, the FWS issued a
proposed rule to close loopholes in the existing ban on commercial
ivory sales that have allowed illegal ivory to be sold in the United
States for decades. The proposed rule would require sellers to
demonstrate that ivory items qualify for an exemption from the law so
consumers may be assured they are purchasing a legal product. It also
tightens the existing, congressionally-mandated ban on the import and
export of most ivory, with some narrow exceptions, including ones for
sport-hunted trophies and musicians travelling with instruments that
contain ivory. The proposal continues to allow the domestic sale of
items such as bona fide antiques and, to accommodate the concerns
voiced by many stakeholders, also allows the sale of items like
firearms, knives, instruments and artworks that contain only a small
amount of ivory. It is also important to note that nothing in the
proposed rule would make the possession of ivory illegal, and that
States maintain the right to regulate commercial sales occurring
entirely within their borders.
Last year's Interior bill in the House contained a provision that
would have blocked FWS from proceeding on this rule, forcing the
continuation of a system that we know does not work and has been a
contributing factor in the poaching of 100,000 elephants over the past
3 years. Given the broad accommodation of most stakeholders that FWS
has provided in its proposed rule, WCS encourages the subcommittee not
to include the same or a similar rider in the fiscal year 2017 bill.
On the ground in Africa and elsewhere, WCS scientists are seeing,
first-hand, the devastating impact poaching is having on elephants,
rhinos, tigers and other iconic species. A study published by WCS found
that in 2012 alone, 35,000 African elephants were killed for their
ivory--that is an average of 96 elephants per day or one killed every
15 minutes. This finding is supported by a subsequent study which also
found that 100,000 elephants were poached between 2011 and 2013. Both
studies show that conditions are dire for African forest elephants,
which has declined by about two-thirds in a little more than a decade.
Continued poaching at these rates may mean the extinction of forest
elephants in the wild within the next 10 years and the potential loss
of all African elephant species in the wild in our lifetimes. Action
must be taken now to prevent this catastrophe from occurring.
There is broad consensus that the stunning increase in poaching is
due to one factor--the illegal sale of poached ivory in commercial
markets around the world. The illegal trade in elephant ivory and other
products, like rhino horns and tiger skins, is worth at least an
estimated $8 to $10 billion annually, and because of the lucrative
nature of this industry, evidence is showing increasingly that
transnational criminal organizations and terrorist groups that are
involved in other major trafficking operations--drugs, humans and
weapons--are engaged in wildlife trafficking as well.
There is no question that China is the largest market for illegal
ivory. However, the United States is also one of the larger
destinations, both for domestic consumption and as a transshipment hub
for Asia. As part of Operation Crash, FWS and Department of Justice
have successfully arrested criminals and prosecuted cases in several
States over the last few years involving millions of dollars illegal
ivory and rhino horn. These busts, although few in number, are strong
evidence that there is a domestic problem with illegal ivory, all of
which is smuggled in from overseas and which frequently crosses State
lines, placing it firmly under Federal jurisdiction.
The problem with ivory is that you cannot differentiate legal ivory
antiques, which are exempt from the underlying Federal laws and
regulation, from illegal ivory without costly lab tests that can damage
the piece. Accordingly, once raw or worked ivory from recently poached
elephants is smuggled into the United States, it can easily be placed
in the marketplace right alongside genuine antiques. A survey conducted
in 2008 of 24,000 pieces of ivory being sold in antique stores in 16
cities in the U.S. and Canada concluded exactly this point, finding
that almost a third of these items were potentially illegal. However,
due to an unusual quirk in Federal regulations, Federal law enforcement
agents must prove a piece is not exempt from the law in order to
determine it is illegal--an impossible task for the FWS and its small
team of special agents and wildlife inspectors tasked with enforcing
all U.S. wildlife laws. Essentially, the cost of enforcement was simply
prohibitive. The proposed rule is essential to closing these loopholes
and protecting U.S. consumers from unwittingly purchasing products with
ivory from poached elephants.
FWS--Multinational Species Conservation Fund--$11.1 Million: Iconic
species such as tigers, rhinos, African and Asian elephants, great apes
and marine turtles, face constant danger from poaching, habitat loss
and other serious concerns. MSCF programs have helped sustain wildlife
populations by controlling poaching, reducing human-wildlife conflict
and protecting essential habitat--all while promoting U.S. economic and
security interests in far reaching parts of the world. These programs
are highly efficient, granting them an outsized impact because they
consistently leverage two to four times the Federal investment in
matching funds.
WCS has had great success on projects using funds from the MSCF.
One grant just awarded to WCS in fiscal year 2015 through the African
Elephant Conservation Fund will provide initial funding to use
innovative ivory anti-trafficking methods to protect elephants of South
Sudan. Among the key parts of the project are the deployment of a
sniffer dog team to detect ivory, firearms and other wildlife products
at key transit points and the establishment of a national ivory
management system for seized ivory to better ensure that confiscated
ivory does not reenter the marketplace.
WCS is grateful that the subcommittee appropriated $11.1 million
for the program in fiscal year 2016--its first increase in several
years--and supports an appropriation of the same amount in fiscal year
2017, which would also be equal to the President's fiscal year 2017
request.
FWS--International Affairs--$15.8 Million: The FWS International
Affairs (IA) program supports efforts to conserve our planet's rich
wildlife diversity by protecting habitat and species, combating illegal
wildlife trade, and building capacity for landscape-level wildlife
conservation. The program provides oversight of domestic laws and
international treaties that promote the long-term conservation of plant
and animal species by ensuring that international trade and other
activities do not threaten their survival in the wild. Within IA, the
Wildlife Without Borders program seeks to address grassroots wildlife
conservation problems from a broad, landscape perspective, building
regional expertise and capacity while strengthening local institutions.
WCS supports appropriations for this program at $15.8 million, the
level included in the President's fiscal year 2017 request.
FWS--Office of Law Enforcement--$75.1 Million: The U.S. remains one
of the world's largest markets for wildlife and wildlife products, both
legal and illegal. A small group of dedicated officers at the OLE are
tasked with protecting fish, wildlife, and plant resources by
investigating wildlife crimes--including commercial exploitation,
habitat destruction, and industrial hazards--and monitoring the
Nation's wildlife trade to intercept smuggling and facilitate legal
commerce. Many of the new responsibilities placed on FWS by the
National Strategy are enforced by the OLE, and WCS supports the
President's request for $75.1 million. Additional funding for the
program will support FWS efforts to maximize the scope and
effectiveness of FWS' response to the international wildlife
trafficking crisis by strengthening forensic capabilities and expanding
the capacity of their Special Investigations Unit. It will also ensure
OLE has an adequate number of law enforcement agents deployed to
enforce laws against wildlife trafficking in the U.S. effectively and
allow the agency to continue to support coordinated law enforcement
actions against wildlife trafficking overseas through the deployment of
FWS attaches in targeted U.S. embassies.
FWS--Cooperative Landscape Conservation--$17.8 Million: Many of the
domestic conservation programs in this bill provide funding to States
to implement their conservation goals. However, wildlife does not
recognize political boundaries, and scarce conservation dollars can
best be spent when effective planning and coordination takes place
across entire ecosystems. The CLCP funds a network of 22 Landscape
Conservation Cooperatives in the U.S. and Canada, which use a
collaborative approach between Federal, State, tribal and local
partners to identify landscape scale conservation solutions and work
collaboratively to meet unfilled conservation needs, develop decision
support tools, share data and knowledge, and facilitate and foster
conservation partnerships. Funding will support landscape planning and
design that will improve the condition of wildlife habitat and improve
resilience of U.S. communities. WCS encourages the subcommittee to meet
the President's request for $17.8 million for this program.
FWS--State and Tribal Wildlife Grants Program--$67 Million: The
State and Tribal Wildlife Grants program gives States and tribes
funding to develop and implement comprehensive conservation plans to
protect declining wildlife and habitats before protection under the
Endangered Species Act is necessary. This important program is
supported by more than 6,200 organizations that have formed a national
bipartisan coalition called Teaming with Wildlife, of which WCS is a
steering committee member. WCS recommends Congress provide strong and
continued support for the program by meeting the President's request
for $67 million in the fiscal year 2017 Interior bill.
USFS--International Forestry--$8 Million: The U.S. economy has lost
approximately $1 billion per year and over 200,000 jobs due to illegal
logging, which is responsible for 15-30 percent of all timber by
volume. The FS-IF program works to level the playing field by reducing
illegal logging and improving the sustainability and legality of timber
management overseas, translating to less underpriced timber
undercutting U.S. producers. Through partnerships with USAID and the
Department of State, FSIP helps to improve the resource management in
countries of strategic importance to U.S. security.
With technical and financial support from FS-IF, WCS has been
working to conserve a biologically rich temperate forest zone called
the Primorye in the Russian Far East. The region hosts over a hundred
endangered species as well as numerous threatened species, including
the Far Eastern leopard and Amur tiger. FS-IF works with us to exchange
information and methodologies with Russian scientists, managers, and
students on a variety of wildlife-related topics to support
conservation and capacity building efforts and ensure the sustainable
management of forests and wildlife habitat. WCS supports meeting the
President's request of $8 million for fiscal year 2017, equal to the
amount appropriated in fiscal year 2016.
We appreciate the opportunity to share WCS's perspectives and make
a case for increased investment in conservation in the fiscal year 2017
Interior, the Environment and Related Agencies Appropriations Act.
Conservation of public lands is an American tradition and, as far back
as 1909, Theodore Roosevelt recognized that the management of our
natural resources requires coordination between all nations. Continued
investment in conservation will reaffirm our global position as a
conservation leader, while improving our national security and building
capacity and good governance in developing countries.
______
Prepared Statement in Support of the Wildfire Risk Reduction and
Protection Programs
Dear Chairman Murkowski and Ranking Member Udall:
The undersigned organizations are writing to express our strong
support for maintaining effective funding levels in the fiscal year
2017 appropriations process for essential wildfire risk reduction and
protection programs at the USDA Forest Service (Forest Service) and the
Department of the Interior (DOI). The important work accomplished
through the Hazardous Fuels programs and the State Fire Assistance and
Volunteer Fire Assistance programs help decrease total Federal
emergency wildfire suppression costs and reduce the threat of fire to
people, communities, and both public and private lands.
America's forests and forest-dependent communities are at risk from
outbreaks of pests and pathogens, persistent drought, and the buildup
of hazardous fuels. Urbanization and development patterns are placing
more homes and communities near fire-prone landscapes, leading to more
destructive and costly wildfires. In 2015, 68,151 wildland fires burned
more than 10.1 million acres. Once again in fiscal year 2015, the 10-
year average allocated to the USFS was not enough to meet the
suppression needs, forcing the USFS to transfer $700 million from non-
suppression accounts to make up for the shortfall. The current wildfire
suppression funding model and cycle of transfers and repayments has
negatively impacted the ability to implement forest management, among
many other activities. Additionally, the increasing 10-year average has
not met annual suppression needs since before fiscal year 2002, which
is why we thank the subcommittee for the full transfer repayment and
increased suppression funding in fiscal year 2016. However, we
understand this is not expected to occur every year and DOI and USFS
need a long-term fire funding solution that would result in stable and
predictable budgets.
We respectfully request a bipartisan fire funding solution be
included as part of the fiscal year 2017 Interior, Environment, and
Related Agencies' appropriations bill. A fire funding solution must
fund wildfires like natural disasters by (1) accessing disaster
funding, (2) minimizing transfers, and (3) dealing with the continued
erosion of agency budgets over time, with the goal of reinvesting in
key programs that would restore forests to healthier conditions.
We appreciate this subcommittee's attention to this increasing and
unsustainable natural resource challenge. The fiscal year 2017
appropriations bill can provide for both necessary wildfire suppression
and fire risk reduction activities that create jobs and reduce
firefighting costs in the long run. We are prepared to help and look
forward to assisting Congress in developing a sustainable and long-term
solution to fund emergency wildfire suppression.
The Hazardous Fuels Programs at the Forest Service and DOI are the
primary source of funding used to reduce wildfire risk on Federal
lands. In fiscal year 2017, we urge you to provide $479 million for the
Hazardous Fuels Program at the USDA Forest Service and $178 for
Hazardous Fuels and Resilient Landscapes at the Department of the
Interior. We are also asking that you include report language to
encourage the Federal Agencies to coordinate their fuels plans with
other planning efforts such as State forestry and conservation plans in
order to encourage cross-boundary efforts and increase the
effectiveness of this program.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fiscal Year
Fiscal Year 2017 Fiscal Year
2016 Enacted President's 2017 Request
Proposal
------------------------------------------------------------------------
USDA Forest Service Hazardous $375 $384 $479
Fuels........................
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Department of the Interior
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hazardous Fuels Management $164 $149
-----------------------------------------------------------
$178
Resilient Landscapes.. $30
------------------------------------------------------------------------
State Fire Assistance (SFA) is the fundamental Federal mechanism
for assisting States and local fire departments in responding to
wildland fires and in conducting management activities that mitigate
fire risk on non-Federal lands. SFA also helps train and equip local
first responders who are often first to arrive at a wildland fire
incident and who play a crucial role in keeping fires and their costs
as small as possible. A small investment of SFA funds supports State
forestry agencies in accessing and repurposing equipment from the
Federal Excess Personal Property and the Firefighter Property programs.
Between 2008 and 2012 these two programs have delivered more than $150
million annually in equipment for use by State and local first
responders.
In fiscal year 2015, SFA directly funded hazardous fuel treatments
on 148,020 acres (with another 126,368 acres treated with leveraged
funding from partners) and provided assistance to communities around
the country, supporting 2,998 risk assessment and fire management
planning projects and 10,160 prevention and education programs.\1\
Fires know no boundaries. In 2015, 80 percent of the total number of
wildfires were where State and local fire departments had primary
jurisdiction. 85 percent of all local and State crews and engines
dispatched outside of their geographic areas were responding to Federal
fires. In fiscal year 2017, we urge you to provide $87 million for the
State Fire Assistance program.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ USDA Forest Service Fiscal Year 2017 Budget Justification at
pg. 299.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Volunteer Fire Assistance Program provides support to rural
communities and is critical to ensuring adequate capacity to respond to
wildfires, reducing the risk to communities, people, homes and
property, and firefighters. This capacity is critical because these
State and local resources are the first responders to more than 80
percent of wildland fires--whether on State, Federal or private lands.
According to the Forest Service Fiscal Year 2017 Budget Justification,
the small investment in the Volunteer Fire Assistance program helped
provide assistance to 9,318 communities, helped to train 22,272
firefighters, expanded or organized 20 fire departments, and purchased,
rehabilitated or maintained more than $8.1 million in equipment. In
fiscal year 2017, we urge you to provide no less than $15 million for
the Volunteer Fire Assistance Program.
The Joint Fire Science Program is a relatively small budget for a
program that successfully yields important results which are directly
applied. These tools and technology products support the fire risk
reduction community. They help track the effectiveness of Forest
Service programs, such as vegetation management and hazardous fuels
reduction. Their applied research supports resilient landscapes and
communities, and provides key information on wildfire mitigation
impacts on water quality, atmospheric emissions, and other natural
resources and ecosystem services. We are concerned about the zeroing
out of this program under Wildland Fire Management in exchange for
funding a smaller portion from the Forest & Rangeland Research budget.
In fiscal year 2017, we request the Joint Fire Science Program maintain
a $7 million funding level.
We appreciate the difficult task the subcommittee faces in the
current budget climate. However, these vital, interrelated programs
safeguard human life, habitat, and property, and reduce the overall
cost of wildland fire management. The short-term savings realized by
cuts to any one of these programs is substantially outweighed by the
ultimate increase in suppression costs and damages caused by wildland
fires. Accordingly, we urge you to support funding for these critical
programs. Thank you for your consideration of this important request.
Sincerely,
American Forests
American Forest Foundation
Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies
Framing Our Community Inc.
National Association of RV Parks & Campgrounds
National Association of State Foresters
National Association of Forest Service Retirees
National Ski Areas Association
National Wild Turkey Federation
North American Bear Foundation
North American Grouse Partnership
Public Lands Foundation
Quality Deer Management Association
Ruffed Grouse Society/American Woodcock Society
Sustainable Northwest
The Conservation Fund
The Forest Stewards Guild
The International Association of Wildland Fire
The Mountain Pact
The National Wildlife Institute
The Nature Conservancy
The Society of American Foresters
Tread Lightly!
Whitetails Unlimited
______
Prepared Statement of the Wildlife Society
The Wildlife Society appreciates the opportunity to provide
testimony concerning the fiscal year 2017 budgets for the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service (FWS), Bureau of Land Management (BLM), U.S.
Geological Survey (USGS), and U.S. Forest Service (USFS). The Wildlife
Society was founded in 1937 and is an international non-profit
scientific and educational association representing nearly 10,000
professional wildlife biologists and managers. Our mission is to
inspire, empower, and enable wildlife professionals to sustain wildlife
populations and habitats through science-based management and
conservation. We respectfully request the following programmatic
funding in fiscal year 2017 to ensure that the Federal budget supports
the important work wildlife professionals do to manage and conserve our
Nation's wildlife resources.
u.s. fish and wildlife service
The State and Tribal Wildlife Grants Program (SWG) has been the
Nation's core program for preventing wildlife from becoming endangered
since 2001. SWG provides Federal funding assistance to State and tribal
wildlife agencies for implementing on-the-ground conservation programs
designed to ensure the sustainability of our fish and wildlife
resources. In order to receive Federal funds through SWG, each State
and Territory must develop a Wildlife Action Plan that examines the
health of wildlife, identifies issues of conservation concern, and
prescribes actions needed to conserve more than 12,000 at-risk species
and their vital habitats. These action plans encourage multi-partner
projects, have high accountability, and require matching-funds from
States. As the only Federal program focused on keeping common species
common, SWG alleviates the need to add more species to the Federal
Endangered Species List; thereby saving taxpayer dollars and reducing
regulatory uncertainty for businesses. Recent successes of SWG include
the New England cottontail rabbit and greater sage-grouse. The Wildlife
Society strongly recommends that Congress increase funding for State
and Tribal Wildlife Grants to at least $67 million in fiscal year 2017,
as per the Agency's request.
Previous budget reductions in SWG, though, have not allowed this
highly successful program to reach its full potential. A March 2016
report from the Blue Ribbon Panel on Sustaining America's Diverse Fish
and Wildlife Resources highlights the Nation's need for immediate and
robust long-term investment in science-based management, and recommends
that Congress dedicate $1.3 billion annually to ensure the effective
implementation of all Wildlife Action Plans. As a leading member of
Teaming With Wildlife, a multidisciplinary, bipartisan coalition of
more than 6,400 organizations supporting reliable fish and wildlife
conservation funding, The Wildlife Society encourages Congress to
consider the legislative solutions presented by this diverse and
distinguished panel.
As a member of the Cooperative Alliance for Refuge Enhancement
(CARE), The Wildlife Society supports the President's request for the
National Wildlife Refuge System's operations and maintenance accounts
at $506.6 million for fiscal year 2017. CARE estimates that the Refuge
System needs at least $900 million in annual operations and maintenance
funding to properly administer its 562 refuges and 38 wetland
management districts spanning over 150 million acres. At its highest
funding level in fiscal year 2010, the Refuge System received only $503
million--little more than half the needed amount. Without adequate
funding, habitats are not restored, invasive species are left
unchecked, poaching and other illegal activities occur, and our
Nation's wildlife suffers. Moreover, since 2009, the National Wildlife
Refuge System has lost over 500 employees (1/7 of all staff), despite
generating approximately $4.87 in economic activity for every $1
appropriated by Congress. The Wildlife Society also supports the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service Resource Protection Act, which would remove
taxpayer responsibility for damage deliberately caused by a third party
within the National Wildlife Refuge System by justly attributing those
damages to the guilty party.
The North American Wetlands Conservation Act is a cooperative, non-
regulatory, incentive-based program that has shown unprecedented
success in maintaining and restoring wetlands, waterfowl, and other
migratory bird populations. This program has remained drastically
underfunded despite its demonstrated effectiveness. We support the
Agency's request of $35.1 million and encourage Congress to match this
request for fiscal year 2017.
The Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act (NMBCA) Grants
Program supports partnership programs to conserve birds in the U.S.,
Latin America, and the Caribbean, where approximately 5 billion birds
representing 341 species spend their winters, including some of the
most endangered birds in North America. Reauthorization for
appropriations has expired under NMBCA, but the Agency recommends
funding the program at $3.9 million for fiscal year 2017 as a sub-
account of the Multinational Species Conservation Fund. The Wildlife
Society supports this funding, and recommends that Congress reauthorize
NMBCA at $6.5 million annually to achieve maximum conservation results
under the program.
Through the Ecological Services Program, FWS partners with Federal/
State agencies, tribes, local governments, the business community, and
private citizens, to help identify species on the verge of extinction
and reduce threats to their survival so that they can be removed from
Federal protection. FWS is working to implement new strategies to
increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the Ecological Services
Program and to reduce the regulatory burden on private landowners and
industry partners. To support these actions, and the increased emphasis
on consultation and recovery, we recommend Congress match the Agency's
request and provide $23 million for Listing, $105.7 million for
Planning and Consultation, $34.6 million for Conservation and
Restoration, and $89.2 million for Recovery in fiscal year 2017.
Through its International Affairs office, FWS works with many
partners and countries in the implementation of international treaties,
conventions, and projects for the conservation of wildlife species and
their habitats. Careful regulation of imports and implementation of
international policies is an important task, and represents our first
line of defense against the introduction of threats like the
potentially devastating infectious wildlife disease Bsal, which
threatens the integrity of our diverse and important native salamander
populations. We ask Congress to match the Agency's request of $15.8
million in support of FWS International Affairs in fiscal year 2017.
bureau of land management
Historically, the Wildlife and Fisheries Management (WFM) and the
Threatened and Endangered Species Management (TESM) programs have been
forced to pay for the compliance activities of BLM's energy, grazing,
and other non-wildlife related programs, eroding both their ability to
conduct proactive conservation activities and their efforts to recover
listed species. In order to allow BLM to effectively maintain and
restore wildlife and habitat amidst the tremendous expansion of energy
development across the BLM landscape, we recommend Congress appropriate
$108.7 million for BLM Wildlife Management within WFM in fiscal year
2017. We also support the proposed increase of $14.2 million for
greater sage-grouse conservation; this kind of broad-scale conservation
is necessary to manage/conserve greater sage-grouse across their entire
range.
To allow BLM to meet its responsibilities in endangered species
recovery plans, the Threatened and Endangered Species Management
Program (TESM), also needs increased funding. BLM's March 2001 Report
to Congress called for a doubling of the Threatened and Endangered
Species budget to $48 million and an additional 70 staff positions over
5 years. Now, over a decade later, this goal has yet to be met. In
light of this, we strongly encourage Congress to increase overall
funding for TESM to $48 million in fiscal year 2017.
The Wildlife Society, leader of the National Horse and Burro
Rangeland Management Coalition, appreciates the commitment of BLM to
addressing the problems associated with Wild Horse and Burro
Management. The Wildlife Society also thanks Congress for the much
needed increase in funding for fiscal year 2016 for continued research
and development on contraception and population control. The Wildlife
Society, however, remains concerned about BLM's emphasis on fertility
control alone. Horses and burros currently exceed the BLM's estimated
threshold of ecological sustainability by more than 31,000--over twice
BLM's Appropriate Management Level. With nearly 50,000 additional
horses living in Federal off-site long- and short-term holding
facilities, The Wildlife Society believes the current language limiting
the use of humane euthanasia for unwanted or unadoptable horses should
be removed. BLM needs to use all necessary management tools to bring
populations of on- and off-range wild horses and burros within
manageable levels. Therefore, The Wildlife Society supports the
Agency's request of $80.1 million for Wild Horse and Burro Management,
provided that BLM remove excess horses from the range at a reasonable
rate and focus additional resources on habitat restoration to correct
the habitat damage caused by these animals.
u.s. geological survey
The basic, objective, and interdisciplinary scientific research
that is supported by USGS is necessary for understanding the complex
environmental issues facing our Nation today. The Ecosystems Department
of USGS contains programmatic resources for fisheries, wildlife,
environments, invasive species, and Cooperative Research Units (CRU).
The Ecosystems program strives to maximize research and support for
comprehensive biological and ecosystem based needs. The Wildlife
Society supports the Agency's request of $174 million for USGS's
Ecosystems Department in fiscal year 2017. Furthermore, within the
Ecosystems Department, we support the specific request of at least
$18.2 million for the underfunded CRU program, which leverages Federal,
State, non-governmental organizations, and academic partnerships to
provide actionable science that supports management of wildlife and
fisheries resources.
The National Climate Change and Wildlife Science Center plays a
pivotal role in addressing the impacts of climate change on fish and
wildlife by providing essential scientific support. In order for this
role to be fully realized, we recommend that Congress fund the National
Climate Change and Wildlife Science Center at the requested $31 million
in fiscal year 2017.
u.s. forest service
Current mechanisms for calculating USFS appropriations have
resulted in funding shortfalls for proactive wildland fire and fuel
management practices, thereby leading to more destructive and costly
wildfires. The traditional 10-year moving average for forecasting fire
suppression costs for the upcoming fiscal year, has not met USFS
suppression needs since fiscal year 2002. In fiscal year 2015, USFS was
forced to transfer $700 million from non-suppression accounts to make
up for the emergency fire suppression deficit. This has negatively
impacted the ability of USFS to implement proactive forest research and
management projects and has resulted in the loss of 40 percent of non-
fire related USFS professionals. We are thankful to Congress for the
full transfer repayment and increased suppression funding in fiscal
year 2016. However, we understand this is not expected to occur every
year. DOI and USFS need a long-term fire funding solution that would
result in stable and predictable budgets. Therefore, we support
bipartisan congressional efforts, like the Wildfire Disaster Funding
Act, to address Federal fire funding challenges, minimize fund
transfers, and address the continued erosion of agency budgets over
time, with the goal of reinvesting in key programs that would restore
forests to healthier conditions.
For the fiscal year 2017 budget, USFS will transition from
Integrated Resource Restoration back to a more traditional budget
structure with separate line items, including Vegetation and Watershed
Management, Wildlife and Fisheries Habitat Management, and Forest
Products. We support this change for the accountability it provides
Congress, and support the request of $140.5 million for Wildlife and
Fisheries Habitat Management in fiscal year 2017.
Integral to management of our natural resources is a deep
understanding of the biological and geological forces that shape the
land and its wildlife and plant communities. The research being done by
the USFS is at the forefront of science, and essential to improving the
health of our Nation's forests and grasslands. We urge Congress to at
minimum match the Agency's request of $292 million in fiscal year 2017
for Forest and Rangelands to support this high-quality research.