[Senate Hearing 118-566]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
S. Hrg. 118-566
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, ENVIRONMENT, AND RELATED AGENCIES
APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2024
=======================================================================
HEARINGS
BEFORE A
SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE
COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS UNITED STATES SENATE
ONE HUNDRED EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
on
H.R. 4821/S. 2605
AN ACT MAKING APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,
ENVIRONMENT, AND RELATED AGENCIES FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING SEPTEMBER
30, 2024, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
__________
United States Forest Service
Department of the Interior
Environmental Protection Agency
Indian Health Service
Nondepartmental Witnesses
__________
Printed for the use of the Committee on Appropriations
Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.govinfo.gov
__________
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
50-521 PDF WASHINGTON : 2025
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
PATTY MURRAY, Washington Chairman
DIANNE FEINSTEIN, California SUSAN M. COLLINS, Maine, Vice
RICHARD J. DURBIN, Illinois Chairman
JACK REED, Rhode Island MITCH McCONNELL, Kentucky
JON TESTER, Montana LISA MURKOWSKI, Alaska
JEANNE SHAHEEN, New Hampshire LINDSEY GRAHAM, South Carolina
JEFF MERKLEY, Oregon JERRY MORAN, Kansas
CHRISTOPHER A. COONS, Delaware JOHN HOEVEN, North Dakota
BRIAN SCHATZ, Hawaii JOHN BOOZMAN, Arkansas
TAMMY BALDWIN, Wisconsin SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO, West
CHRISTOPHER MURPHY, Connecticut Virginia
JOE MANCHIN, III, West Virginia JOHN KENNEDY, Louisiana
CHRIS VAN HOLLEN, Maryland CINDY HYDE-SMITH, Mississippi
MARTIN HEINRICH, New Mexico BILL HAGERTY, Tennessee
GARY PETERS, Michigan KATIE BRITT, Alabama
MARCO RUBIO, Florida
DEB FISCHER, Nebraska
Evan Schatz, Staff Director
Elizabeth McDonnell, Minority Staff Director
------
Subcommittee on Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related
Agencies
JEFF MERKLEY, Oregon, Chairman
DIANNE FEINSTEIN, California LISA MURKOWSKI, Alaska, Ranking
JACK REED, Rhode Island Member
JON TESTER, Montana MITCH McCONNELL, Kentucky
CHRIS VAN HOLLEN, Maryland SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO, West
MARTIN HEINRICH, New Mexico Virginia
GARY PETERS, Michigan JOHN HOVEN, North Dakota
DEB FISCHER, Nebraska
KATIE BRITT, Alabama
Professional Staff
Melissa Zimmerman
Ryan Hunt
Rishi Sahgal
Anthony Sedillo
Angela Caalim
Emy Lesofski (Minority)
Lucas Agnew (Minority)
Nona McCoy (Minority)
Administrative Support
LaShawnda Smith (Minority)
C O N T E N T S
----------
hearings
Wednesday, March 22, 2023
Page
United States Forest Service..................................... 1
Wednesday, March 29, 2023
Department of the Interior....................................... 33
Wednesday, May 3, 2023
Environmental Protection Agency.................................. 93
Wednesday, May 10, 2023
Indian Health Service............................................ 143
Statements and Letters of Nondepartmental Witnesses
Nondepartmental Witnesses........................................ 195
----------
back matter
List of Witnesses, Communications, and Prepared Statements....... 449
Subject Index:
United States Forest Service................................. 453
Department of the Interior................................... 453
Environmental Protection Agency.............................. 454
Indian Health Service........................................ 454
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, ENVIRONMENT, AND RELATED AGENCIES
APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2024
----------
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 22, 2023
U.S. Senate,
Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations,
Washington, DC.
The subcommittee met at 9:59 a.m. in room SD-124, Dirksen
Senate Office Building, Hon. Jeff Merkley (chairman) presiding.
Present: Senators Merkley, Tester, Murkowski, Hoeven,
Fischer, and Britt.
UNITED STATES FOREST SERVICE
STATEMENT OF MR. RANDY MOORE, CHIEF, U.S. FOREST
SERVICE
opening statement of senator jeff merkley
Senator Merkley. Good morning. Chief Moore, welcome. And we
will have other colleagues who will be joining us. This is an
important hearing on the fiscal year 2024 President's Budget
for the United States Forest Service. It is great to have you
with us.
This is our first hearing of the year. I am excited that
the leadership on the Full Committee, Chair Murray and Vice
Chair Collins, are working in a bipartisan manner to move our
appropriation bills down the fiscal year 2024 path, through
committee and to the floor. They believe our committee members
have a lot of shared bipartisan priorities that will power us
through to enact appropriation bills this year, and I think it
is so important that we try to establish that rhythm. I think
we all agree that a continuing resolution, or government
shutdown, would be a disaster.
So we are ready to get to work. And here we are at our
first hearing.
I know a lot has been made of the split between the defense
and non-defense funding; it is something we grapple with every
year. I feel strongly that if we want to build a safer, more
competitive country, we can't give up on the need to invest
right here at home. And funding for the Forest Service is a
perfect example of why we need to invest in non-defense
spending, to defend our communities from wildfire, improve
public health, protect jobs, and increase the health and
resiliency of our forests.
Indeed, the budget request for fiscal year 2024 gives us
another stark reminder that our forests are in peril, and that
we need these investments. We know that climate chaos is
unrelenting. It is working through a cast of henchmen, drought,
invasive pests, diseases that, together, are causing an
inevitable scourge of catastrophic wildfire.
And we can no longer view these villains as natural
disasters, what they really are, are human-caused unnatural
disasters brought on by our collective failure to effectively
confront climate chaos, and the carbon dioxide that is warming
the planet.
When these unnatural disasters strike people lose their
homes, they lose their livelihood, they even lose their lives.
People who live even hours away lose their municipal water
source, suffer the health impacts of the smoke, and the
particulate matter in the air, and lose the joy of recreation,
and the peace of nature.
I will never forget traveling on Labor Day 2020, over 600
miles from the northern border to the southern border of Oregon
and back again, and never getting out of the smoke. And we have
seen town, after town, after town, burned to the ground, that
looked like World War II firebombed cities, and it has really
affected the psychology of my state, and concern of folks about
increasing the fire resilience of the forest, through thinning,
through mowing, through prescribed fire, and try to minimize
the chance of these types of catastrophes happening again.
Everywhere I go in Oregon I hear people say: Let us do
everything we can to make the forest more resilient, to defend
our communities, keep our towns from being wiped out by blow
torch style fires, and preventing these catastrophes is much
better than investing on the backend.
Looking back over the last 10 years, we have about doubled
our annual investments in the Forest Service. In fiscal year
2013 funding was $4.5 billion, of which $2.1 billion was for
fighting fires, and $2.4 billion for other forest management
activities.
Ten years later, fiscal year 2023, it is $8.2 billion, so
that is a big change over a decade, $4.3 billion for fire, and
$3.9 billion forest management. The entire pot is growing, but
certainly firefighting costs just continue to rise
exponentially.
So we need to double down on other forest management
activities critical to forest resilience and forest health,
watershed and habitat restoration, control of invasive species,
thinning, prescribed burns, and grants to states for their best
efforts.
There are three major pieces of legislation that will
provide an additional $12.6 billion over the course of a decade
on top of that annual funding; that will enable us to radically
step up our campaign to reinvigorate the resiliency of our
forested lands: The Great American Outdoors Act, the Bipartisan
Infrastructure Bill, and the Inflation Reduction Act. All three
provide transformative investment.
Of course, they are not permanent, so we have to make the
best use of every bit of those funds while they exist. And
focusing only on responding to wildfires does not and will not
help us take care of and restore our forests for the future. So
we have to bring balance to our forests through collaboration,
we need to work across the lines, the divisions of the timber
wars of the past.
I have to say, in Oregon, collaboration has greatly
expanded bringing together the timber community, the
environmental community, and the local stakeholders to work on
the management of the forest. And that is why the Collaborative
Forest Landscape Restoration Program is really such a success.
We have many collaboratives in Oregon, but now five that are
part of the Federal Program, and others that would like to be.
When those various groups can work out a prescription for
how to thin or treat the forest, their trust grows in each
other, it gets easier over time, and the result is effective
treatment of the forest, but also saw logs to the mill, and
projects that are staying out of the courts.
Hazardous fuels reduction continues to be very important,
and between the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act and Inflation
Reduction Act, Congress invested more than $3 billion in the
Forest Service's hazardous fuels work, huge increase over what
we were doing a decade ago. It will at least double the impact
of what we have done, even with just annual budgets alone.
The Forest Service is prioritizing multiple high-risk areas
in Oregon with these funds, around Mount Hood in the north,
Malheur National Forest in the east, in Central Oregon, and in
the Klamath Basin.
There are other areas that need more treatment, like the
Rogue Valley, and areas outside the wildland-urban interface,
that those programs weren't designed to deliver to. So we will
keep pushing for hazardous fuels reduction in the Interior Bill
to keep up the momentum.
One of the things I have talked to the Forest Service about
is; where the location is of the acres that have gone through
the environmental process and are ready for treatment, and
those acres are often not near the towns because they are often
the ones that were kind of the cheapest per acre to do. And
this is why we really have to push to map the acres around our
most vulnerable towns, and how we thin and treat those forests
even if they are more expensive per acre, it is more important
to slow down the fire close to town than it is far away.
The budget also proposes a new program, it is a program--
actually I can't say it is really new and that we funded it in
the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act--but it will be new to our
annual Appropriations, and that is Burned Area Rehabilitation.
And when we see things like the Bootleg Fire in Oregon, we see
just how important that is; post-wildfire restoration,
improving the watershed and forest conditions over a three-year
period after a fire.
Finally, touching back on wildland fire, I appreciate the
significant investment that the President proposes to properly
support the Federal Wildland Firefighting Force. This effort
really began with passage of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill
which boosted the pay of firefighters and built a more
professional, year-round, firefighting workforce.
And we are really looking at the model of how to keep
people employed year-round, so that when they are not fighting
fires they can be doing forest treatments, and thereby not have
the massive turnover, and really retain the expertise that are
developed. Our efforts in the Interior Appropriations Bill have
built a more permanent backbone to sustain those investments.
It is a credit to you, Chief Moore, for not just proposing
better pay for firefighters, but also proposing investments in
their health, and life--work, balance. Life--work, balance:
that is something we struggle with here all the time.
Our firefighters need support to combat the real danger of
injury and fatigue, another consequence of the more
catastrophic wildfires and never-ending fire seasons. While we
need our authorizing committees to establish a special salary
table, and other compensation reforms, we stand ready to
continue working toward a better cared-for firefighting
workforce.
Chief, I appreciate that the request continues the Wildfire
Suppression Reserve Fund at the authorized level of $2.65
billion. I am concerned that the levels agreed to in 2018 may
no longer be adequate based on the trend of wildfire costs in
the years since. So this is why we included an additional $450
million for Wildfire Suppression in the fiscal year 2023
Omnibus, depending on what happens with the fires this coming
summer, it may be very important for us to be able to do so
again.
And so I am looking towards the vision of planning for
that. And then if it is not needed, though, that would be
great. But we just don't know how this year is going to play
out yet, we have got a lot of intensive firefighting months to
come. So I hope we will have the administration's support for
doing so.
With all that, I will have a few questions about the
investments after your presentation. I am sure my colleagues
will as well.
And now I will turn to Senator Murkowski, the Co-Chair, for
any opening comments she would like to make.
statement of senator lisa murkowski
Senator Murkowski. Thank you Mr. Chairman. Appreciate the
opportunity to be back at work here on the Interior,
Environment, and Related Agencies; and to kick off our hearings
with the Chief of the Forest Service. So welcome to you.
You have appropriately focused on the issues related to
wildland fires and the impact that we see across the country,
and certainly appreciate the challenges that that faces from a
budget perspective, and how we do right there.
Before I turn, though, to speak about some of those issues
and the specifics in the fiscal year 2024 President's Budget
Request, Chief, I just want you to hear directly from me again,
on the record, my disappointment with the administration's
decision regarding the management of the Tongass National
Forest, our Nation's largest national forest.
This January this administration reinstated, the 2001
National Roadless Rule on the Tongass National Forest,
basically abandoning the Alaska-specific Rule, and all the data
and all the analysis that had supported it.
So now, rather than providing the access needed to
responsibly harvest timber, minimal amounts of timber, I might
add, and as well as developing other natural resources on a
fraction of the nearly 17 million acres within the Tongass, the
administration has made it virtually impossible to have a
sustainable, regional economy there, which is a far, far cry,
from what Secretary Vilsack promised me, and the Alaska
delegation, when he talked about a transition to harvesting
young growth timber, in which he said, the Tongass was going to
retain a small but a viable timber industry. That was the
commitment there.
We have come so far from that commitment unfortunately. And
it seems, sadly, that all those years of work by good people
has been cast aside, and it is especially bitter for those who
took an early leap of faith, collaborated with the agency, with
the environmental groups, and the tribes, and invested in his
promise to transition.
So all this work, all the timber program in the Tongass is,
effectively, all but dead. I have long said that I do not
believe that we have to choose between a healthy forest and a
healthy economy. I just continue to be amazed that the
administration does not agree that Southeast Alaska can and
should be allowed to have both.
So Chief, I am just going to ask you once again to work
with me to provide some level of opportunity for the people of
Southeast Alaska. I will be addressing that more in my
questions to follow here. But as the Chairman has pointed out,
certainly fire is at the top of his list of worries, certainly
for us in Alaska, it is as well. Last year, in my state, we had
the fastest start to the wildfire season on record, with over
one million acres burning in June alone. By July that number
leapt to well over two million acres.
So we are this. We are seeing this impact, climate change
has certainly focused--or manifesting itself through these
wildfire threats, and we are seeing them, undoubtedly, evolve.
All you need to do is drive through the Mat-Su Valley, or down
on the Kenai Peninsula to see the impact of the beetle kill,
the threat of fire that it poses to our Alaskan communities.
I know that my colleagues in the Lower 48 are dealing with
similar tree mortality issues, they have been long battling
drought, so I, too, I am going to be interested in the wildfire
outlook, and what the planning for this year looks like.
One thing I do want to applaud the Forest Service for is
working collaboratively with the Department of Interior on a
proposal to modernize and reform Wildland Fire Workforce pay.
It is so important that we make the pay competitive with other
firefighting agencies, as well as doing things, like investing
in housing, investing in mental health. We owe it to our
frontline firefighters to have a plan, have a strategic plan to
help them, and really to care for them as they engage in this
dangerous line of work.
In addition to a more full-time, permanent wildland
firefighters across the country, each of my colleagues who
interact with the Forest Service--are surely going to be
identifying their agency needs in their states. In Alaska we
need increased capacity to facilitate our robust recreation
industry. You hear me talk about the need for those permits,
support for critical mineral mining projects in the region,
broadband access, and of course, again a timber supply for our
withering timber industry.
And we believe that we must empower our Tribes to be
partners with the Federal Government as they are critical to
expanding that capacity. And so that is why I am interested in
hearing not only how the budget request proposes to address
these capacity issues, but also what the Forest Service is
actually, doing right, now to address them, especially in light
of the billions of dollars in annual appropriations, what we
have included in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill as well as
the Inflation Reduction Act.
The agency has received a lot of money going in that
direction, so interested in knowing: What are we seeing? How
are we seeing those dollars translate into action? Also,
knowing forward to hearing about your vision for the
President's fiscal year 2024, and to learn more about your
priorities for the Forest Service, and how those priorities can
improve the health and resilience of our Nation's forest.
So thank you for being here this morning; looking forward
to the opportunities for questions back and forth.
And with that, Mr. Chairman. Thank you.
Senator Merkley. Thank you very much.
And now, Chief Moore, we would like to hear from you.
summary statement of hon. randy moore
Mr. Moore. Okay, great. Thank you. Chair Merkley, Ranking
Member Murkowski, and Members of the Committee; thank you for
inviting me to testify before you today.
I appreciate the opportunity to share how the Forest
Service is putting America's money to work. The fiscal year
2024 request focuses on three primary areas: modernizing the
wildland fire management system, confronting the wildfire
crisis, and ensuring equitable access to and benefits from
National Forest System.
The people we serve deserve nothing less than to see the
value of their money at work and to see their benefits,
national forest and grasslands cover about 193 million acres,
some 180 million people, and over 68,000 communities rely on
these lands to capture and filter their drinking water. Our
work contributes to over 373,000 jobs, $40.3 billion to the
GDP, we work with tribes, states and local governments, private
landowners, and many other partners across the country to keep
forests and grasslands healthy and safe.
Today, America's forests face dire threats from wildfire,
climate change, and insects and disease, particularly in the
West. This is an emergency situation in many places and we are
acting with a sense of urgency in collaboration with
communities and with our partners.
Our top priority is to reduce wildfire threats by
safeguarding communities and critical infrastructure, and
creating healthy and resilient forests. Through our Wildfire
Crisis Strategy, we have ramped up to treat the right places at
the right scale using an All Lands/All Hands approach.
This past January we announced investments of $930 million
in 21 high-risk landscapes in the West, benefitting, roughly,
200 communities and many other resources that people value. In
addition, we have awarded nearly $200 million in Community
Wildfire Defense Grants towards 100 projects, to 22 states, and
seven tribes including $22.5 million in Oregon.
Recent investments by Congress give us a historic
opportunity to take bold and strategic actions. We are working
to do just that, to put every dollar to good use. We are
grateful to Congress and this Committee, in particular, for
investing foundational funding to do this work.
Sustained execution depends on continued Federal
investments. The proposed fiscal year 2024 budget responds to
this need. This budget also calls for a $1.4 billion investment
in salaries, health, safe, and wellbeing for firefighters. A
suite of new actions will permanently increase pay, improve
options for housing, and provide better care and support for
physical and mental health. It also increases the number of
firefighters. While firefighters represent the backbone of our
wildfire system we also need active and aggressive land
management to confront the wildfire crisis.
This budget invests $300 million in hazardous field
treatments, it supports execution of the Wildfire Crisis
Strategy, and it targets investments in burn area
rehabilitation of $56 million to expedite recovery on wildfire.
It supports use of the latest research, including grants to
universities to support educational and technical assistance
for innovative wood products.
National forests and grasslands belong to every American.
We are grateful for the Great American Outdoor Act funds that
reduced our $7.7 billion maintenance backlog and ensure
increase to--for public access.
We are also invested in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funds
to repair historic cabins in Alaska. Every person should feel a
personal invitation and connection to these lands. We remain
committed to removing barriers to, so all people can enjoy
National Forest System lands and services, particularly tribes
and underserved community.
We continue to focus policies, accountability, and training
to ensure an equitable, respectful, and harassment-free work
environment for all of our employees. We know what is at stake
if we don't address the effects of climate change and the
wildfire crisis, the health of our forests, and communities,
clean water, a vibrant wood product industry, and jobs, and
resources that Americans depend on.
We need to act now to meet the challenges before us.
Thank you. And I am grateful for your support. And I
welcome any questions that you may have.
[The statement follows:]
Prepared Statement of Hon. Randy Moore
Chair Merkley, Ranking Member Murkowski, and members of the
subcommittee, thank you for inviting me here today to testify on the
President's fiscal year (FY) 2024 Budget request for the U.S.
Department of Agriculture (USDA), Forest Service.
The fiscal year 2024 President's Budget for the USDA Forest Service
discretionary appropriations totals $7.4 billion for base programs and
$2.3 billion for the wildfire suppression cap adjustment (in the
Wildfire Suppression Operations Reserve Fund). The fiscal year 2024
request focuses on three primary areas: modernizing the wildland fire
management system; confronting the wildfire crisis; and ensuring
equitable access to and benefits from the National Forest System.
The investments highlighted below reflect services the Forest
Service delivers through work on National Forests, partnerships with
State, Private, and Tribal landowners, and our Research and Development
mission area. These investments enable the Forest Service to restore
long-term forest health and resiliency across landscapes the American
people rely-on while ensuring equitable access to the resources on
National Forest lands. Alongside our partners, the Forest Service will
continue to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires to communities in
FY 2024 through investments in the highest priority landscapes
identified within the Wildfire Crisis Strategy. The Forest Service will
maximize every dollar invested into our agency, making every dollar
work for the American people. The people we serve deserve nothing less
than to see the value of their money at work for their benefit.
The President's FY 2024 Budget Request for Specific Priorities to
Support Focal Areas
The following investments align with and enhance the agency's
efforts to modernize the wildland fire management system:
--$1.4 billion for Wildland Fire Manage me nt Salarie s and Expe
nses: Investing in our wildland firefighting workforce is a
matter of national security as critical infrastructure, homes,
communities, structures, and natural resources are at grave and
growing risk of catastrophic wildfire. The FY 2024 budget funds
a permanent increase in pay for the wildland firefighter
workforce, providing a more livable wage, enhancing
recruitment, and supporting retention. Specifically, this
request includes:
--$180 million for increasing base pay for Federal wildland
firefighters to ensure that this crucial workforce does not
face a pay cliff at the end of this year
--$69 million to support cost of living increases for FY 2024
--$259 million for increasing Federal firefighting capacity (an
estimated 970 additional Federal firefighters and
personnel) to expand our ability to address the wildfire
crisis and reduce the strain on our current workforce
--$10 million for vital health and well-being assistance to more
comprehensively support our wildfire firefighter workforce;
--$50 million to address the urgent need for wildland firefighter
housing through necessary maintenance and repairs of Forest
Service housing units that will support our recruitment,
hiring, and retention efforts.
--$323 million for Hazardous Fue ls Reduction: To mitigate wildfire
risk on 4.2 million acres in high priority and high-risk
firesheds, building on hazardous fuels funding from the
Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act and
aligned with the agency's 10-Year Wildfire Crisis Strategy.
The following investments ensure that national forests and
grasslands continue to provide experiences, services, and products to
the American public by focusing on the restoration, enhancement, and
resilience of the Nation's forests and grasslands:
--$56 million for the Burne d Area Re habilitation: to build on
capacity created with the $65 million per year seed money from
the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to rehabilitate burned areas
and free up existing funding for more proactive forest health
work.
--$94 million for Recreation, Heritage, and Wilde rne ss: to increase
support of critical recreation operations, planning, services,
and improvements, with particular emphasis on creating
welcoming, sustainable, and equitable recreation opportunities
for all Americans with a focus towards underserved and Tribal
communities.
--$50.5 million for Vegetation and Watershe d Manage me nt: to
support healthy and resilient watersheds and landscapes,
sustain the production of clean and abundant air and water,
assist with meeting the Administration's climate goals, and
contribute to healthy and productive communities and Tribal
Nations.
--$45 million for Mine rals and Geology Manage me nt: to locate and
prioritize orphaned oil and gas wells for remediation and the
inventory, environmental analysis, and clean-up of mine
reclamation sites.
--$7.8 million for Grazing Manage me nt: to support post-fire
restoration, provide for strategic incentives to grazing
permittees, and build vibrant rural economies.
--$55 million for Forest Health Management: to ensure healthy forests
and functional landscapes on Federal and non-federal lands in
support of the conservation priorities of the Administration.
--$80 million for Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program:
to invest in communities and regions with a collaborative,
common purpose in reducing wildfire risk and improving forest
health and resiliency.
--$1.7 billion for National Forest Syste m Salarie s and Expe nses:
to support the agency's 10-Year Wildfire Crisis Strategy as
well as critical non-fire programs, which have decreased in
funding over time as wildland fire response needs escalated.
Further investments ensure that the Forest Service relies on the
latest science and technology to deliver results on the ground and for
the people:
--$502 million for Information Technology Capabilitie s: to continue
modernization of our Information Technology systems that allow
the public to better access our services, sustain emergency
communication systems, and provide our workforce the tools they
need to carry out our conservation mission safely and
efficiently.
--$72 million for Zero Emissions Vehicle s: included across several
program funding requests to invest in replacing vehicles within
the agency fleet and to provide for employees and visitors with
charging infrastructure.
--$349 million for Forest and Rangeland Research: to continue
investments in research priorities, with a focus on climate
change-related research including reforestation, carbon
accounting, and fire and fuels research.
--$6 million for USDA Climate Hubs: to accelerate science production
and technology transfer that will aid management agencies,
private landowners, and agricultural producers adopt
scientifically sound climate adaptation practices.
confronting the wildfire crisis
The Forest Service's paramount focus continues to be combatting the
threat and impact of destructive wildfire to our Nation's communities,
critical infrastructure, forests, rangelands, water supplies, and
wildlife. Changing environmental conditions have lengthened fire
seasons into fire years and worsened wildfires across the West.
Expanding development into the wildland/urba n interface (WUI)
increasingly puts more homes into fire-prone landscapes and increases
the challenge and complexity of wildfire suppression and fuels
reduction work. Most wildfires that cause significant damage to a large
number of homes and other structures are human caused; 97% of wildfires
threaten homes; and almost one-third of American homes are within the
WUI.
The Forest Service has a historic opportunity now, between the
investments from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Inflation
Reduction Act, and our annual appropriations, to implement solutions at
a large scale. We are now entering our second year of carrying out our
10-Year Wildfire Crisis Strategy. The Wildfire Crisis Strategy aims to
increase science-based fuels treatments by up to four times previous
treatment levels, especially in those areas at highest risk. By working
in the right places at the right scale, our treatments can reduce
wildfire risk and better protect communities, infrastructure, and
natural resources while helping wildland firefighters respond to
wildfires safely and effectively.
The Forest Service cannot succeed in this alone. The highest risk
firesheds are typically in multiple land ownerships. The Forest Service
will continue to strengthen our long-standing work and relationships
with Tribes, States, local communities, private landowners, and other
stakeholders to adapt lessons learned into a coordinated and effective
program of work as outlined in the 10-Year Wildfire Crisis Strategy.
Through government-to-government consultation with Tribes, expanded
partnerships and co-stewardship, and broader community support, the
Forest Service will increase the use of prescribed fire, fuel
treatments, and the management of unplanned ignitions to reduce long-
term wildfire risks. Fortunately, we have decades of experience working
through collaborative partnerships based on common values and shared
goals across shared landscapes as set out in the National Cohesive
Wildland Fire
management strategy
ensuring equitable access to and benefits from the national forest
system
The Forest Service will continue to invest in actions that create
broad and efficient access to the vital resources our forests and
grasslands provide. This effort is twofold. First, we must ensure that
those who rely on these services and benefits can access those benefits
safely. Therefore, we are committed to improving the operation and
maintenance of our extensive infrastructure portfolio that includes
buildings, dams, communication sites, recreation sites, roads, trails,
and bridges. Second, to carry out this work effectively, the Forest
Service is committed to continued intentional internal and external
engagement with Tribal Nations whose ancestral homelands are within or
adjacent to federally managed public lands, and communities that live
by, visit, and depend on national forests. The Forest Service is
committed to identifying and removing barriers to access Forest Service
programs and services for historically underserved communities. This
will be done by integrating equity-centered criteria in the design,
funding, and prioritization of all policies, programs, and activities
to center equity considerations as part of the decision process. The
Forest Service will also work to advance mission critical work, remove
barriers and boost economic opportunities through improved access to
contracts, grants and agreements, and permits.
leveraging additional funding authorities
Along with the tools and investments proposed in the FY 2024
Presidents Budget, the Forest Service will leverage funding within the
Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) and the Inflation Reduction Act
(IRA) to confront the wildfire crisis, create new markets and
technology for wood products, promote economic development, and restore
forest health and resiliency through partnerships and collaboration
across landscapes.
Through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), Congress provided
a $1.4 billion down payment that greatly assists in putting our
Wildfire Crisis Strategy into action with investments on 10 landscapes
in eight Western States (Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana,
New Mexico, Oregon, and Washington). Through work on these landscapes
and others, we completed treatments on 3.2 million acres nationally in
2022. We also accomplished these treatments in 118 of the 250 high-risk
firesheds identified in the Wildfire Crisis Strategy. This work was
accomplished despite numerous challenges including workforce capacity
and high post-fire workloads from historic wildfire activity across the
country the past several years. The work on these acres directly
reduced risk to communities, infrastructure, and critical watersheds.
The Inflation Reduction Act provides the Forest Service an
additional $1.8 billion for hazardous fuels funding in the WUI. With
IRA funding, we recently selected 11 additional landscapes for
treatment in seven Western States (Arizona, California, Idaho, Nevada,
Oregon, Utah, and Washington). Combined with the initial BIL investment
landscapes, our actions will span nearly 45 million acres across 134 of
the 250 high-risk firesheds in the western U.S., with a total
investment to date of $930 million on 21 landscapes in 2023. These
investments will help reduce the risk of wildfire to at-risk
communities, Tribal lands, critical infrastructure, utility corridors,
and public water sources. We listened to our partners, the public we
serve, Tribes and many others regarding what mattered most to them,
where opportunity is, and where challenges remain. Their feedback and
our experience on these landscapes helped us identify both challenges
to implementation and enabling conditions for future success.
Through Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA) (Public Law 116-152)
funding for the National Parks and Public Land Legacy Restoration Fund,
the Forest Service continues to repair and upgrade vital infrastructure
and facilities in the National forests and grasslands. The GAOA also
permanently funds the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), with
which the Forest Service invests in conservation and recreation
opportunities in public and private lands through the Forest Legacy
Program and Federal Land Acquisition.
According to the agency's 2020 economic analysis, Forest Service
GAOA deferred maintenance projects are projected to support
approximately 4,400 jobs and contribute $420 million to the Gross
Domestic Product on an average annual basis over the 5-year
authorization of the National Parks and Public Land Legacy Restoration
Fund. In FY 2024, the Forest Service proposes $94.3 million for the
Forest Legacy Program, $123.9 million for Federal Land Acquisition, and
$285 million for the National Parks and Public Land Legacy Restoration
Fund. The FY 2024 project lists are included in the FY 2024 Budget
request.
In closing, the President's FY 2024 Budget request for the Forest
Service proposes a landmark investment in wildland fire, establishes
funding priorities for risk-based wildfire reduction, and improves
overall access and utilization of our National Forests System. The FY
2024 Budget request underscores our commitment to long-overdue
investments in our wildland firefighter workforce to provide them with
the compensation that they deserve, along with critical investments to
support health and wellbeing, and expanded options for housing. The FY
2024 Budget also highlights the importance of restoring and creating
resilient landscapes, improving infrastructure, and removing barriers
to access. We look forward to working with this subcommittee to fulfill
the President's goals and our key responsibilities for the long-term
benefit of the Nation's forests and grasslands, and for all Americans.
I will be glad to answer your questions.
Senator Merkley. Thank you very much, Chief Moore. And we
are going to have, I think, seven-minute rounds of questions,
and we will be able to go back through.
And a special welcome to Katie Britt, good to have you on
this subcommittee.
Let us dive into that firefighter workforce issue. Last
year the Forest Service's target for firefighters was 11,300.
How close did you get to that target? And what did we learn
about that challenge that will help us improve recruitment for
this coming year?
Mr. Moore. Senator we got about 10,965, or roughly 97
percent of that goal of 11,300 firefighters. What we learned is
that, because of the pressures of recruitment and retention,
that we were facing, really, an uphill battle. I would be happy
to tell you that the proposed fiscal year 2024 President's
Budget addresses a lot of the concerns and challenges we have
with the recruitment and retention.
Senator Merkley. So one of the issues I keep hearing about
is housing; any insights on that?
Mr. Moore. Yeah. In the President's Budget it does address
a number of things. It addresses the housing issue, so we have
money set aside there, about $45 million. It also looks at
about $10 million for the Forest Service, and $10 million for
Department of Interior to look at mental care and wellbeing.
And it also addresses, you know, just the challenges with the
pay gap between the Federal and non-Federal firefighters. So we
think it addresses a number of those issues that was really
affecting our ability to recruit, retain a lot of our
firefighters going forward.
Senator Merkley. So one of the things that we have talked
about is trying to increase the workforce by not having the
interruption of folks being on fires and then having to figure
out the rest of their life during the non-fire season, and thus
the potential synergy between being in the firefighter role and
being in the role of forest management. What do you see as the
prospects or possibilities for that helping to increase
retention from year to year?
Mr. Moore. Well, you know, my experience, you know, working
in the Forest Service for 40-plus years, you know, it varied
over the years. Lately, what we are seeing is, the primary
reason that I have been hearing, personally from firefighters,
is the pay gap.
You know, it is easier when you are a beginning firefighter
it used to be easier, I should say, but as you get older and
have families the salaries become even more important. And
Forest Service salaries--I should say, Federal salaries, in
many of the locations across the country is not holding up to
salaries in other non-Federal jobs.
When you have a minimum pay of $15 per hour, you would have
to be a minimum of a GS-5 to be comparable to that minimum
wage. And many of our locations the minimum wage is not enough
to sustain a fair way to live. And we are seeing more and more
of that pop up, particularly across the West, but it certainly
holds true all across the country, where the cost of living is
continuing to rise, and our salaries are staying, fairly, the
same.
Senator Merkley. So last year we set the floor at $15, but
are there plans for it to go higher than that?
Mr. Moore. Well, what happened, that is a temporary fix, we
looked at about a $20,000 bump in pay that stemmed the tide of
a lot of our employees leaving. I think the challenge now is
that if that is permanent, which is proposed in the President's
fiscal year 2024 budget, we think that that is going to be a
huge help.
One of the other things we have, in addition to the health
and wellbeing of our employees, is looking at the housing issue
that we are trying to address, which we have a severe shortage
in many of our small rural locations across the country. We
think that the budget that is proposed really addresses that
issue.
And then the other piece that I think is really significant
which I think will make a huge difference, is what we call
portal-to-portal pay, and not only does that pertains to our
full-time firefighters, but it is also what we call the Militia
Workforce in the Forest Service, it is our wildlife biologists,
our foresters who have certifications in certain parts of the
fire program that goes out to fight and suppress fires. And
that would pertain to all employees that have qualifications
and certifications to participate in fire suppression
activities.
Senator Merkley. So I want to shift gears. The Bipartisan
Infrastructure and Inflation Reduction Act provided for
investment in high-risk firesheds, and the Forest Service has
targeted areas of my State of Oregon in the North, South, East,
and Central Oregon. The Rogue Valley is considered the highest
risk fireshed, and it is not targeted by the Forest Service in
part because there is not a lot of Forest Service land there.
So a lot of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land, and other
multiple land-ownership.
The Forest Service does, however, have other funds that are
available to work with states, with private landowners, for
cross-boundary work with BLM. Is that flexible enough to
provide help with the Rogue Valley fireshed?
Mr. Moore. Yes. Senator, I am glad you have asked that
question, because it comes up fairly often. And you know, we of
course have focused on the 21 landscapes that have been
identified, but we have other dollars in the budget where we
work in other areas that are also at high fire risk, or those
important areas. The Collaborative Forest landscape Restoration
Program, we call it CFLRP, it is one of those areas where we
have a community of people coming together to look at those
areas that are important.
And those projects or programs are funded. So we have a lot
of work that has been done outside of the 21 landscape that
really gets at the issue of reducing, not only the potential to
high fire danger, but also for disease of insects, and some of
the other types of issues that we are dealing with in our
forest today.
You know, Secretary Vilsack just announced earlier this
week $197 million for Community Wildfire Defense Grants, six of
those grants have been awarded in Southern Oregon, which goes
directly into the areas that you have mentioned.
Senator Merkley. And thank you very much.
Mr. Moore. For the tune of $22.5 million. And so the point
that I am making is that we have other opportunities to work in
other areas outside of the 21 landscapes, because we know that
there are some important issues all across the National Forest
System. And that is why we are maximizing and utilizing our
dollars to the best.
Now, the other thing that I would just add on this
particular piece too is that, you know, we are trying to
leverage every dollar we get with partner-matching
contributions. And so far, our work with our partners has
really exceeded even the amount of money that we are getting
now, whether it is through a BIL, or IRA, or the appropriated
budgeted process, and even Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA)
dollars.
You didn't ask this question, but I will say that even
through GAOA dollars, our partners have brought in an
additional $200 million towards backlog, and deferred
maintenance, and restoration efforts.
Senator Merkley. Great. Thank you. Well, forest issues are
certainly an issue in Oregon and also in Alaska.
And so we will turn to Senator Murkowski, as Ranking
Member.
Senator Murkowski. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Chief, I want to start my questions with some of the issues
associated with tree mortality. As you know, we have been hit
really hard in Alaska with spruce bark beetle. It has been
observed on roughly 193,500 acres statewide, more than 98
percent of those acres mapped in 2021, being in South Central
Alaska, which of course is where our population is
concentrated.
The outbreak is estimated to be now in its seventh year, it
has affected over 1.6 million acres since first being
documented in 2016. It was around a lot earlier than that, but
I think that was when we started really mapping it, but it is a
huge issue, and one that we pay close attention to it because
of what it means, for not only the mortality, but then what
that might mean as regards to a fire threat.
How is Forest Service utilizing the funding that we
provided here through Congress to address the outbreak in
Alaska? I thought that we were going to be a little more
competitive, perhaps, in the Community Wildfire Defense Program
Grant, and especially in view of the vast need that we have,
but I have learned that only one community in Alaska has
received benefits from that grant.
So how do you get money to communities in these areas where
the beetle kill really does pose significant threat? And if
there is a challenge with the way we have written that, let me
know. So if you can speak to some of the threat that we are
seeing with the spruce bark beetle?
Mr. Moore. Sure. Senator Murkowski, you are correct; the
outbreak of the beetle has been devastating there in Alaska.
Well, what we are seeing is a little bit of a challenge because
even we are seeing a change, because even though last year's--
look, it was 198,000 acres, or so; we also did survey, aerial
survey analysis for fiscal year 2022, last year, and what we
are seeing is a rapid decline in the amount of acres that has
been affected. In fact, we only saw about 48,000 acres compared
to 197,000 the year before.
But even saying that, we have been working with some of the
locals there, putting together a plan, and we are planning to
work together to look and see: if there is really a continued
concern of the beetle; has it reached its peak? So we are going
to be monitoring that very closely. But what we are seeing is a
trend down currently.
In terms of the Wildfire Community Defense Grants, this was
only the first round. We will have many more rounds coming up.
In fact, this was the first $197 million, we have an additional
$800 million, where we are going to be looking at opportunities
to do a lot of work, and so I am sure Alaska will fit into some
of those future projects.
Senator Murkowski. So it is not necessarily a question of
the criteria for the grants themselves. Was it a matter of how
much was allocated in that first round and--it just, it is
inconceivable to me; I mean when you talk about 1.6 million
acres of a beetle kill, seems to me that our communities would
be eligible for more than one of these Community Grant
Programs.
So if there is--again, if there is an issue with how we are
competing for those let us talk about it. If it is an issue
that we haven't done much to provide for a bigger grant funding
pool, let us talk about that, or if it is, again, the criteria;
you know: Is it based on population that might be impacted?
Well, I will share with you, and if you haven't seen it, just
driving down the road, driving down the road.
Let me ask though, because I am talking about the impact in
South Central because of the spruce bark beetle, but down in
the Tongass we just--you know, spruce bark beetle really hasn't
been a significant threat or concern, and in just the past few
years now, we have seen the black-headed budworm that is just
absolutely wreaking havoc on the coastal hemlock, and the
spruce down there in southeast.
So this is new for us. And what we are seeing, it is
traveling like wildfire, and what you look at, as you are as on
the coast, or flying above, you can visually see the movement
there. Nobody is really talking about it, but it is an outbreak
that I am really concerned about. And again, as we are seeing
warmer temperatures, we never used to worry about wildfire in
the Tongass because the Tongass is a rainforest. Well, that
rainforest is not always wet, and if we are seeing this level
of mortality brought about by a different invasive species,
what is the plan here?
Mr. Moore. So Senator, we do have our researchers looking
at that area, particularly with the outbreak of insects, as
well as diseases there in the area. So we will be paying close
attention to that, and we will be working with the community
there. So we have not, and will not forget Alaska, and how it
fits into having some of these opportunities to get these grant
proposals. And like I said this first round was really looking
at high wildfire potential. And I hear you that there is
potential there that didn't used to be there, particularly
since it is supposed to be a rainforest, but not every year is
the same.
But just know that we are paying attention to Alaska, we do
intend, and I would say that, for sure, that there would be an
opportunity to fund some of those areas in Alaska. This was
really only the first go-round, and we were really focused on
high fire danger, and potential areas there.
The other thing that--and Alaska is starting to do this, is
working with community leaders, looking at areas to focus on.
And so when you are applying for these grants, we are looking
to see what the state has done to map out some of these areas;
and where this first go-round it went--a lot of those projects
went to states that have already done a lot of their mapping
throughout the state.
Alaska is working on that now. We have a group there that
we are working with, and I am confident that Alaska will be
competitive, going forward.
Senator Murkowski. Chief, my time has expired. But I do
want to impress upon you that right now the community leaders,
the mayors of the Borough of the Kenai Peninsula, as well as
within the Anchorage area, they are coming to me, not for more
in appropriations, because they are not counting on that, they
are counting on me for congressionally directed spending.
They want me to take care of their number one priority,
which is the fire threat to their region, very immediate, very
real, and so I would ask that we have a little better
understanding in terms of what more we can be doing to help
these threatened communities.
Thank you Mr. Chairman.
Senator Merkley. Senator Britt.
Senator Britt. Thank you so much, Mr. Chairman. Thank you,
Ranking Member. It is a pleasure to be with you all today.
Chief Moore, appreciate you being in front of this
committee, and the important work that you do. I also want to
say thank you for sending me a welcome letter, and welcoming
me, obviously, to the Senate and to this Committee. I certainly
look forward to being able to work with you.
As you know, forests are incredibly important to Alabama,
they are one of the main reasons our state is known by many as
``Alabama the Beautiful''. Alabama is home to over 23 million
forest land acres, the third-most in the Continental United
States. The people of Alabama are hard at work putting that
land to good use. In fact, forestry contributes to 1,100 jobs--
excuse me--over 100,000 jobs in our state. All of the work
leads to a total economic output of about $27.7 billion.
The state produces almost every wood product you could
possibly imagine, from lumber, to paper, to cabinetry, to
pallets, to flooring, to oriented strand board. These products
are used by Alabamians, by our neighbors, and all across the
globe. Thankfully, we are able to export about $1.3 billion in
products overseas.
With an industry this productive, and resources so crucial
to our state, Alabama forest owners know that we have to take
care of the gift that God gave us, and the greater forestry
community in Alabama has demonstrated that principally,
incredibly well.
Private landowners know that they must take care of their
land if they are going to leave things better than they found
them, leave things better for their kids and their grandkids.
And as I consistently say, there are no greater stewards of our
lands than our farmers, foresters, and cattlemen.
I think that is why over 91 percent of Alabama's forests
are privately owned, and the state still continues to add 2 to
2.5 percent of tree volume year over year. The administration's
fiscal year 2024 Budget for the Forest Service includes $60
million to install charging equipment for electric vehicles on
public lands, which is clear that the Green New Deal has
certainly made its way into the Forest Service budget.
However, that very same budget cuts $3 million from
Landscape Scale Restoration Grant funding. I believe this
funding, obviously, has supported efforts to reduce wildlife
fire risk, its improved forest conditions, and also mitigated
disease, and blight conditions that are facing our Nation's
forest. In Alabama we have found these funds to be useful to
expand the use of drones, and train drones, pilots, to combat
and prepare forest fires.
In your experience how effective have we been in using
drones to track the spread of forest fires? To use that
information to assist us as we fight forest fires in their
efforts in the future?
Mr. Moore. So Senator Britt, again, welcome and thank you
thank you question.
Senator Britt. Thank you.
Mr. Moore. I might add too, in terms of wood innovations,
you know, one of the things that we bragged about Alabama last
week, was that you also have a cross-laminated timber facility
there as well. And so I know Georgia would like to have their
own, but right now they are borrowing from Alabama, so good on
Alabama.
Senator Britt. Yes. We are proud to be a leader.
Mr. Moore. Yeah. The other part of your question, though, I
think Alabama, but as well as the South, in general, plays
prominently in how we look at wood, and how we look at the
innovations of wood, but also, you know, looking at the use of
drones.
The Forest Service had just recently gotten into the use of
drones to do a lot of different types of forest management,
including wildfire suppression, prescribed burning as well. In
fact, we call it: the southern region is right now it is
leading the nation in prescribed burning, but also using drones
to help with that facility. We know that there is always a
safety risk when we use helicopters to look at increasing the
amount of prescribed burning that we are doing, and so one of
the alternatives to mitigating that safety issue is to look at
drones to do prescribed burning.
So we are moving into that arena in a really rapid way, and
we have already started licensing and certifying a lot of our
employees to operate the drones. And so we are headed in that
direction, and we are going as quickly as we possibly can.
Senator Britt. Well, thank you. I hope that we continue to
use those resources to make smart decisions moving forward. And
I want to thank you for the work that you and the Forest
Service continue to put into Alabama and helping keep Alabama
beautiful, and obviously, protecting the many livelihoods that
you just referenced yourself.
I was happy to see the emphasis you placed when you wrote
me that welcome letter, on collaboration, and working to avoid
these catastrophic events, wildfires, and other things in areas
like Alabama, that would require robust local engagement to
make good land management decisions.
And so the Forest Service received about $10 billion in
fiscal year 2023. How are you using those funds to address and
mitigate threats of cross-boundary fires, you know, that start
on Federal lands and obviously cross over into private forests?
Mr. Moore. You know, one of the strategies of the plans we
have in the Wildfire Crisis Strategy that we have developed, is
to look at two pieces. We have said that we want to address 20
million acres of Federal lands, of Forest Service lands, as a
matter of fact, but an additional 30 million acres of other
Federal, tribal, and private lands throughout the country.
Senator Britt. Okay.
Mr. Moore. And so when we look at addressing to scale, we
are looking at landscapes, and when we look at landscapes it is
multiple jurisdictions.
Senator Britt. Okay.
Mr. Moore. And so we want to be able to deploy the work in
a way where it is effective. So we will be looking at
strategically placed treatments across the landscape. In fact,
our scientists are telling us that when you look at a fireshed,
as an example, which is about a 250,000-acre block, we only
need to treat anywhere between 20 to 40 percent of that to have
a positive effect on how that fire behaves when it moves
through that fireshed.
Senator Britt. Okay.
Mr. Moore. And so we are looking at that. We are using
science as a foundation for making decisions of how we approach
that, and we also know that the only way forward is to do it in
a collaborative manner, where we invite a community of people
into the decision space to talk about what we need to do out
there together.
Senator Britt. Thank you.
Mr. Moore. And so that is the direction that we are headed
in. We know that we need to invite the people into the decision
space not just, you know, in the position of giving us their
recommendation, but making them a part of the, deciding what
the problem is, defining what the problem is, but also helping
to pursue the solution together as well.
Senator Britt. No. I certainly appreciate that spirit of
collaboration, and letting everybody have a seat at the table.
I see that my time has expired, and so I will submit my
additional questions for the record, Mr. Chairman.
Senator Merkley. And if you have the time to stay
approximately 15 minutes from now, you will get another
opportunity.
Senator Britt. Okay sounds good.
Senator Merkley. Great. Thank you, Senator Britt.
So I want to jump into the complexity of the funding to
fight fires, we have the Base Funding, we have the Reserve
Fund, we have the Supplemental, and we have Carryover, all of
which can get very confusing. But the Reserve Fund is set up
under a legislation that essentially increases it by $100
million a year. So fiscal year 2024 request is $2.650 billion
rather than $2.550 billion.
And is it, given the accelerating costs of the wages, the
investments in housing, the expansion of the fire season, the
increased number of acres being burned, is that enough? Or do
we need to fix the Fire Fix?
Mr. Moore. First of all, I want to thank Congress for the
Fire Fix, because it certainly helped in terms of limiting our
ability, and really stopping our ability to use other non-fire
dollars to use toward fire suppression when we have exceeded
the cap. So we will always be grateful and thankful to Congress
for the Fire Funding Fix.
What we are seeing though, over the last 3 years, two of
those years we have exceeded $3 billion for fire suppression,
and when we looked at that legislation, Senator, we had no idea
that we would reach this point this early in time. And we
already are getting forecast from our researchers telling us
that between now and fiscal year 2027, that we are going to be
seeing those calls exceed, or up to $4 billion per year for
fire suppression.
And so if that continues, and if the legislation expires,
then we may be returning back to fire borrowing as we did in
the past, which would really be devastating to all of the
efforts that we are trying to put forward now, looking at
trying to reduce the wildfire crisis.
Senator Merkley. Yeah, absolutely. We are determined to try
to prevent that fire borrowing, which is why we are keeping the
window open for a supplemental of another $450 million. When
you have to shut down all the other things you do and then wait
for us to do an emergency supplemental to refund you before you
can pick up your other responsibilities; that is just
unacceptable in terms of the stewardship and management of our
forests.
The Civilian Conservation Corps folks, we have a number of
them in Oregon, and they really give a second chance to a lot
of folks, 16 through 24, who are looking to get their feet back
on the ground after maybe going off track. And the forestry
programs they offer are quite significant and popular. The
students can be paid when they work fighting fires, but they
are not--the Forest Service is not authorized to pay them when
they do non-fire work, in terms of forest stewardship, forest
maintenance, and yet they are working right alongside others
who are getting paid.
Do you support Congress giving you the authority so these
folks can be paid when they are doing forest management, as
well as when they are doing firefighting?
Mr. Moore. Yes. Senator I would always support justice and
equality. Yeah, we currently have limited authority to
compensate Job Corps students, primarily because they are not
Federal employees, they are not contractors, nor are they part
of a non-government organization. So our staff and our legal
counsel, right now, are completing their review of the proposed
language, and we will be responding shortly back to you on
suggested edits, if needed.
Senator Merkley. Great. We look forward to your suggestions
on that area. I want to turn to tribal co-management. The
Klamath Tribe in the southern part of Oregon, their reservation
was taken back by the Government when the tribe was terminated.
The tribe was restored but they did not get their reservation
back, but they would like to have co-management ability on the
Winema, and the Warm Springs Tribe would like to be able to do
that on the Mount Hood Forest.
What can we do to actually implement significant co-
management work that I find completely appropriate and
valuable?
Mr. Moore. Yeah. I would like for you to know that I share
your perspective on this. We have increased a number of shared
stewardship agreements with tribes, we are looking at plenty of
other opportunities where we can co-manage some of our
facilities. We are looking at one now up on the Pactola, up in
South Dakota, as an opportunity to co-manage that particular
area there.
So it is going to take time, but we agree with that
philosophy, that approach, that we would like to do more
working together with the tribes.
Senator Merkley. Good. Well, I really hope we can see that
unfold. I think it would be very significant to the tribe.
After all, these forests are on the traditional tribal lands,
and they have high unemployment rates, they have a lot of
Klamath forest management knowledge to bring to bear. And so it
could be a real win-win.
You had mentioned the work on staff housing, but right now
it is just kind of a line item. I mean we have buildings that
have to be reopened, or we have to build new buildings. Is
there a detailed plan? Certainly without places, where people
can stay, or afford to stay, it is very hard to relocate in a
lot of our rural areas where the Forest Service does its work.
Mr. Moore. Yes, Senator. I will check to see if we have a
detailed plan but we know that we have a lot of housing
facilities that need some significant remodeling and investing
in. And I am happy to report that the President's Budget has
put aside $50 million to look at this issue, and we think that
that is going to go a long ways in restoring a lot of our
facilities.
Senator Merkley. Great. I look forward to a detailed plan
on how we can use that effectively to expand the availability,
because I am just hearing from everyone that in terms of hiring
people, and retaining them in remote areas, it is almost
impossible, as there is no place to live. Somehow the prospect
of working for the Forest Service while you live in your car is
not such an entertaining one.
I noted with interest a recent request for proposals from
the Daniel Boone National Forest in Kentucky where they
required that all proposed designs utilize mass timber. Mass
timber is a very significant product in Oregon. And it
sequesters carbon in buildings, it has more earthquake
resistance, it really is a fabulous kind of engineering
advance. How about we make this requirement for all the Forest
Service RFPs?
Mr. Moore. Well, if Congress decides to do that we will
certainly give it our best shot to make it happen.
Senator Merkley. Well, I think it is actually something
that you would have the power to do without legislation, just
as we have seen the model in Kentucky, but I will keep raising
it.
Okay, let me turn to Senator Murkowski.
Senator Murkowski. I would like defer to, also another new
member of our committee. It is nice to have Senator Fischer on.
So before I go to my second round, I will defer to her.
Senator Merkley. A pleasure to have you Senator Fischer.
Sorry I didn't look over, and see you had arrived; welcome.
Senator Fischer. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you,
Senator Murkowski.
Nebraska has experienced a significant number of wildfires
the past couple of years, including the second-highest year on
record in 2022. In a rural state like mine, where nearly 94
percent of the fire departments, are entirely volunteer-run,
programs like the Volunteer Fire Assistance Program are
crucial.
The Nebraska Forest Service helped hundreds of fire
districts in my state, 475 in 2022 alone, improved their
ability to prepare for and suppress wildfires. While we
understand that this program did receive some Infrastructure
Bill funding, I was disappointed to see the program level
funded in your fiscal year 2024 budget request, along with
other important programs, like the State Fire Assistance
Program.
Given the increased threat that wildfires pose, and the
resources needed by these communities, like those in Nebraska,
can you discuss how that decision was made to level that
funding?
Mr. Moore. I cannot, Senator, tell you what went into the
decision to level that funding. What I can tell you, though, is
that as we look at many places like Nebraska, and certainly
Nebraska, there are many other opportunities where we are
working with the State National Association of State Foresters,
and in this case your State Forester, looking at other programs
that we work through the state, with the state, to look at
reducing the fire opportunities throughout.
Now, if you have a particular area, then I would address
that specifically, but I am not familiar enough with Nebraska,
and what we are doing specifically there, but I would be
certainly happy to work with you and to look further into this.
Senator Fischer. We have tens of thousands of acres of
Forest Service land, probably unusual from the Oregon land that
they have, because ours are grasslands, and they are sparsely
populated areas. So the Forest Service is very, very dependent
upon neighbors for ranchers to come in and help control those
fires, because as you can imagine, in the Sandhills of
Nebraska, in the grasslands that we have when it is--when we
are suffering drought, as we have been for several years, when
the winds are blowing, when you have fires started, they don't
just remain on Forest land.
Mr. Moore. Right.
Senator Fischer. They cover miles, and miles, and miles of
acres. And so our volunteer fire departments are essential to
helping to control fires that are on Federal lands as well. So
I hope you could get back to us on why we are not seeing an
increase in the funding to help those volunteer fire
departments that would be helpful for us?
Mr. Moore. Certainly.
Senator Fischer. Thank you. In your written testimony you
highlighted the fiscal year 2024 request for $72 million across
several areas of the Forest Service, for zero-emission vehicles
and charging infrastructure. When you think of all the
challenges that are facing the Forest Service, do you think
that electric vehicles and charging infrastructure should
really be an area that Federal funds are prioritized for?
Mr. Moore. So from my experience, Senator, you know, we try
and serve the American people, and what we have noticed is that
more and more people are buying electric cars and they are
visiting the national forest. And the ideal that you would be
able to visit the national forest and not worry about whether
you need to charge your car to get back home, you know, it is
an opportunity for us to try and respond to that part of
America. And so that is the ideal there.
Now, looking at the funding itself, it is for the
infrastructure as well as for the vehicles themselves, and I
believe the Federal Government is looking at: What are the
opportunities to look at having some of our Federal vehicles
that are electric, to look at this greener environment. So
there is a lot of reasons to want to support that.
Senator Fischer. You know, with all due respect, sir, I
would point out that the first two programs that I mentioned
were to help and prevent wildfires.
Mr. Moore. Yes.
Senator Fischer. I believe your duty is to properly manage
the land that is held by the Federal Government, and be able
to, as I said, manage it, and manage it properly. When we
looked at those other two programs, dealing with managing
wildfires which I pointed out in my area, can whip up in dry
conditions, devastating wildfires across grassland and across
private land as well. But yet we saw level funding, or a
decrease in funding in your budget request for that. I am
appalled by that.
I respect the tough decisions that you have to make on
where funds are allocated, but when you look at $72 million
requested for Electric vehicles (EVs) and charging
infrastructure, while only 21 million is being requested to
assist these volunteer fire departments, that are vital in
wildfire suppression, that does give me pause. And I will
continue to advocate for more funding for programs that truly
are able to take care of the land that the Federal Government
has.
We are looking at 97 percent of Nebraska's land that is
privately owned, so when we have partnerships with our Forest
Service, the state foresters, and local landowners, that is, to
me extremely important in keeping that land healthy, in keeping
that land productive.
The Nebraska Forest Service was able to help over 1,300
landowners receive educational or technical assistance in 2022.
So that is over 40,000 acres that are now covered by new or
revised forest stewardship plans, and 33,000 of those acres are
identified as important forest research areas.
So I was glad to be able to see the President's Budget
request ask for a slight increase in that funding to $14
million. As I said, my job I think is to be able to focus on
the land, and the care of that vital resource that the Federal
Government has control over. So I do thank you for that
request.
My time is up; but if I could submit a question for the
record? Thank you.
Senator Merkley. Absolutely.
Senator Fischer. Could you let us know how that program
which I just referenced would help private landowners to
develop management plans, and what you see as the importance,
in your decisionmaking, and making that slight increase in
funding? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Senator Merkley. Thank you, Senator.
And Senator Tester.
Senator Tester. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and Ranking Member
for holding this, what is a very important hearing. And thank
you for being here, Chief Moore.
Montana, we rely on access to our national forest to help
drive a $7 billion outdoor recreation economy. It is critically
important because it employs a lot of people. I am in
agriculture, and I am proud of the fact that agriculture is the
number one industry, but it could be argued and pretty
effectively, quite frankly, the outdoor recreation is the
number one issue, and our public lands rely on that. Our
forests, our watersheds, the collaborative relationships with
your agency, with partners, and responsibility to manage
timber, that drive the economy in many towns in Montana. And we
rely, our communities rely on your agency to protect
watersheds, shield them for the worst impacts of wildfire, and
I do look forward to hearing how the Forest Service are going
to do that.
But I want to talk a little bit about categorical
exclusions for a second. How do you see--Congress gave you
categorical exclusions, how do you see the Forest Service using
those?
Mr. Moore. We are using them quite extensively, Senator.
Senator Tester. Okay, for?
Mr. Moore. Well, a range of projects. Whether it is
primarily within the timber arena, we are certainly using
categorical exclusions there. We also have the ability to look
at, particularly where we have the emergency landscapes, to use
some of the emergency authorities that had been granted to us.
So the Secretary has given me the authority as Chief, to look
at using the emergency authorities on projects within those
high fire; firesheds.
Senator Tester. So I would say, by your description you
gave right now, that would be Congressional intent. That is how
I believe categorical exclusions should be used too.
Unfortunately, and I do say ``unfortunately'' with the
strongest of terms, a categorical exclusion was used not to cut
trees, or not to prevent forest fires, but to allow a
corporation to set up in our forested lands, in our national
forests, a facility that would include a lot of potential
devastating impacts. And it was done using the categorical
exclusion, which means no public input. Could you tell me why
that was done that way?
Mr. Moore. Well, categorical exclusion doesn't mean there
is no public input, categorical exclusion means that generally,
that the issues are not of a significant nature to warrant an
environmental assessment, an EA or an environmental impact
statement
Senator Tester. A very good point. They didn't think it
would have to have an environmental impact and what criteria
did they use on that, to allow a corporation to come into
Montana to set up and this was in the Seeley area--to set up a
huge recreation resort, and I can tell you, unequivocally, the
people were not heard and decisions were made by the Forest
Service, by folks on the ground, without taking public input.
And if the people wouldn't have stood up and said: Foul,
this is baloney, this project would have been built. Using a
categorical exclusion, by the way, that was meant for cutting
trees not for recreational purposes, at least that is why I
believe a categorical exclusion was put in.
Mr. Moore. So Senator, I will look into this and get back
with you. But you can use category exclusion for more than just
cutting trees.
Senator Tester. I got you.
Mr. Moore. Okay.
Senator Tester. The question is: Is that Congressional
intent? And I am going to tell you that I would never, ever,
ever have voted for a categorical exclusion for the purpose of
making some corporation rich off our public lands, never
happen, never going to happen. But if you want to use it to
protect the community due to wildfire, now that is why you have
a categorical exclusion.
And that is the point I am trying to make here, is that I
think--I will be honest with you, I am not saying it was you,
but you are the boss, so you have got to take the heat for
everybody below you. But I think somebody said they found a
loophole here, and they cut a deal. And the Government should
never be cutting a deal. They should be listening to the people
on the ground, because it is really important, especially, in a
state like Montana, where our national forests are so
critically important to our economy in a number of different
ways, both Recreation and through wood products.
And so I want you to go out and find out. This has been
something that has given Government a bad name. And it is in
the Forest Service's lap, and folks need to step up and say
look--and I think they have, but not without--it would never
happen without incredible public input, letters to the editor,
town hall public meetings. Where, by the way, Democrats,
Republicans, and Independents. I mean the Forest Service did a
great job uniting these folks, which is good we need--we have
got too much division in this country, but this isn't how we
should be doing it. Okay? And that is the point I am trying to
make.
So I appreciate you look into this, hold people
accountable, make sure that the folks that are on the ground
are listing to people on the ground because it is really
important.
Now, I want to talk a little bit about fuel mitigation and
priority landscapes, which we are spending hundreds of millions
of through IGA to proactively address the wildfire crisis
because of climate change, it truly is a crisis. I mean, we
have got beetle-killed trees, we have got longer and more
intense fire seasons. And I appreciate the work that you are
doing in the Kootenai, but at the end of the day we have got
tremendous need for hazardous fuel treatments to protect
wildland, urban interface, transmission lines, and municipal
watersheds.
And I would ask that that how were Montana landscapes, with
significant Bowie municipal watersheds, and standing dead trees
bypassed in this process, because they were bypassed? So how
could that happen?
Mr. Moore. So they were not bypassed. And this is not the
only opportunity that we have to do work in Montana.
Senator Tester. Yes.
Mr. Moore. We are doing a lot of work in Montana.
Senator Tester. Yes.
Mr. Moore. We will continue to do work in Montana, Senator,
and we just don't have, as good as the budget is, we don't have
the amount of money to go around to everyone, and do all of the
work that is really needed. And I would agree with you,
Montana, but so many other communities, has so much work and so
many areas that need attention.
And while I would hate to ever say that we can't get
everywhere, Senator, we can't go everywhere, but we are going
to try. We are paying attention to Montana. We are doing a lot
of work in Montana.
Senator Tester. So I would just say this. The Bipartisan
Infrastructure Bill that the Ranking Member and I helped write,
with eight other people, gave significant money to the Forest
Service. And for the forest in Montana, and we have many of
them, and you are intimately familiar with them to be bypassed
in this last round is--of IIJ dollars, does not does not make a
lot of sense to me, quite frankly, but I have got, you know,
this is, I am looking at it from a Montana point of view.
But I would just tell you, I look forward to working with
you, and the Kootenai, and Basin Creek, and all sorts of other
places, to get more hazardous fuel reduction, because I think
it is critically important. We have got too many dead trees.
I want to thank the Chairman for letting me go over. Thank
you.
Senator Merkley. Thank you very much, Senator Tester. And a
lot of your forest issues are similar to what we have
throughout the West, including Oregon.
Senator Murkowski.
Senator Murkowski. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Chief, I want to discuss the issue of opportunity between
the Forest Service and many of our tribes, specific to tribal
co-management. As you are aware, we had the this blueprint for
Southeast Alaska that was developed a couple years ago, issued
actually April of 2021, but it had a lot of actionable
priorities, including some strategies to extend to the 19
tribes in the region more decisionmaking through tribal
management and co-management opportunities, specifically to 638
contracts.
We are looking at the Farm Bill, moving forward and
different initiatives within that measure right now. But we
have got a situation with regards to opportunities with 638
contracts that we may need to address some of the language.
In the 2018 Farm Bill it authorized the use of Indian Self-
Determination and Education Assistance Act's Agreement, the 638
ISDEAA, for a few projects under the Tribal Forest Protection
Act, but under this Act tribes are restricted to contracting
only for projects on Federal lands that quote, ``Border or are
adjacent to the Indian forest or rangeland.''
So of course, this doesn't work in Alaska, and it is also
restrictive in the Lower 48. We have got folks in Alaska,
again, that are interested in this. We are going to have a
hearing in Indian Affairs this afternoon, it is a roundtable on
Farm Bill. But one of the witnesses there, Richard Peterson,
who is the President of Tlingit & Haida, Central Council, is
going to be speaking specifically to how the 638 Authorities
will be important for workforce development, for food security,
for increased economic opportunities. They are looking specific
to what can be done with regards to tribal management there at
Mendenhall Glacier.
So there is a lot of interest in this, but we have heard
that the 638 contracting needs to be broadened, as well as
including some technical assistance. Can you speak to this
issue on whether or not you see this as an opportunity?
Mr. Moore. So Senator, you described it accurately in terms
of what the concerns are, and what the issues are under the
2018 Farm Bill. And we will be more than happy to work with you
on this issue, looking at a potential new Farm Bill.
Senator Murkowski. So do you think then that we need to
address this language that limits it to these Federal lands
that are either bordering or adjacent to, because it is not
just Alaska, it would be throughout the Lower 48, where you
have got some challenges there.
Mr. Moore. Yeah. Senator, I think the word that was used
specifically there, is that they would have to have trust lands
that are adjacent to or border national forest, and since my
understanding, with the exception of one tribe, there are no
trust lands in Alaska. So as you look at the new Farm Bill that
is where we would be happy to work with you going forward on
this issue.
Senator Murkowski. Okay. So maybe you can work with us on
some of this TA that we are looking for?
Mr. Moore. Yes, absolutely.
Senator Murkowski. Okay. I appreciate that. Let me ask,
back to Southeast here, as you know, pretty much that entire
region is, thankfully, powered by hydropower, it helps with
offsetting some of the other high costs that they have right
there, but hydropower projects in the region are hard to
develop of course the Roadless Rule makes it even more
difficult.
One example is Thayer Creek. This is a hydro project that
needs limited road development that relies on rights-of-way
granted by the Forest Service to access the project, so what we
have got going now, is we have got state and Federal highway
funding that is available for the road development, but the
funds can't be used for roads with controlled access, which is
the very condition that Forest Service requires in order to
grant the necessary right-of-way.
So it puts everything at an impasse. We need some help
working through this because obviously you want to be able to
have these--I mean these are very small hydro projects which
are able to take communities off of their present power
generation which is diesel, which is nobody's alternative.
Mr. Moore. Right.
Senator Murkowski. But yet we have got this impasse. So I
don't know, again, if you can give me somebody to help us
through this. But if we are going to be looking at a situation
where the Roadless Rule is going to be this wet blanket on top
of us, we can't be in a situation where we have got an impasse
like this; would you agree?
Mr. Moore. Yeah. I certainly would agree. And I can give
you someone to work with, as we work through that. And let me
say, too though, we recognize that with the Federal lands that
is in Alaska that we need to be working across the aisles to
make sure that Alaskans have the necessary way of life, if you
will, to exist.
And so we will look into that. I will give you a point
person to work with, or your staff, and we will see what
opportunities we may have to pursue.
Senator Murkowski. Okay. Well, we don't want a project like
that to be the poster child for what most would look at and
say: There is a common sense, straightforward solution here to
getting communities off diesel power generation. And it is our
own policies that are blocking or impeding that.
As we are talking about opportunities within southeast, we
have got one project there that, again, kind of defies
understanding as to why we can't advance something as small as
this. The Hoonah Indian Association, working with the
Southeast--excuse me--the Sustainable Southeast Partnership,
and this is exactly what these things are designed to do. They
have they have got this idea that they can take the Icy
Strait's Lumber Mill, a small, little lumber mill to handle
young growth to establish locally sourced lumber for housing,
and a housing manufacture facility there in Hoonah.
So super-small scale, but basically designed to get a
little bit of product to meet the housing issues that the
Chairman has noted, are just very, very problematic, and
certainly within this region.
The bipartisan Infrastructure Bill provided 400 million for
financial assistance to facilities that use ecosystem
restoration byproducts. It is exactly what we are talking about
here. So I am not asking you to put your finger on the scale,
but projects like what we are talking about in Hoonah, the Icy
Strait's project would seem to me are just tailor-made for what
we are talking about with that program.
So I am hoping that Forest Service could potentially look
to projects like this. And again, if what we are trying to
address are some of the housing needs in the area we have the
opportunity for a locally sourced product there.
What more can we be doing working with Forest Service and
USDA for projects just like this? It is not only the housing it
is the jobs that come associated with a small mill project like
this?
Mr. Moore. You know, Senator, while I am not familiar with
this particular project, I am familiar, and I am aware that
there are many small communities, particularly small rural
communities in Alaska, that is having challenges to affordable
housing. And the conversation that you are bringing is one that
I think we need to have.
You know, what are the opportunities we have to really
address this whole affordable housing issue? And while I don't
have the answers yet, I would be keenly interested in working
with you, or your staff, to see what flexibility we might have
to look at addressing this issue, because I think that if we
can come up with a solution, it is a more widespread than
Alaska.
So I am very interested in seeing what is possible. And if
we can move the dial a little bit on this issue, I am in for it
100 percent.
Senator Murkowski. Mr. Chairman, I have I have two more
quick ones. But I will defer to you if you are going to go
forward with more rounds.
Senator Merkley. I will go ahead and do my final two.
Senator Murkowski. Okay. Go ahead.
Senator Merkley. And I will turn it back to you.
So Chief Moore, the budget proposes to move the Hazardous
Fuels Program from the National Forest System Account to the
Wildland Fire Management Account, and yet if I turn the clock
back a few years, the request was the reverse. And given that
year-round wildfire is becoming the norm, it is difficult to
understand how fuels projects would be completed if
firefighters are routinely called up for wildfire duty. Can you
just comment on this philosophical change, that would be
involving returning the fuels line to wildland fire management?
Mr. Moore. So Senator, I think, you know, you are you are
hitting on something that puzzles me as well. We have gone back
and forth on this issue, and each time we have gone back and
forth we have had really good rationale for making that
decision, and I do believe that no matter which way you go
here, if that is a good rationale for it.
One of the things that I support is putting it back into
the NFS side, because when you look at prescribed burning as an
example, it is about more than just the firefighters. We have a
large militia part of the workforce that are qualified and
certified to do the different fire activities. And so I think
we have to look at: how do we continue to cross integrate all
of our employees into an area that we are trying to increase a
lot of growth in? That is prescribed burning.
When we look at the Wildfire Crisis Strategy we say we need
to do a couple of things: One, we need to go in and do a lot of
forest thinning, and after the thinning we need to run a
prescribed burn through it. The Bootleg Fire is one of those
examples where we hold up as a model for how we should treat
the landscape to really get at this wildfire crisis issue.
And I don't know if you have seen the poster, or not, but
it is three, and it is a really good display of the different
treatment methods, or versus non-treatment methods, what helps
us most is our, what we call ADs Administrative Determined
employees. But also our non-firefighter workforce who has a lot
of skill sets to make that happen
Senator Merkley. Well, I can see the argument both ways,
and we will continue in that discussion. Certainly, the idea
that many folks do, it is appropriate for them to move into
forest management work when they are not fighting fires. It is
just one direction, your point, that these are two separate
functions. One, and sometimes separate training in which you
are doing the work to prevent fires versus fighting fires is
the other, and it is clear that that argument is going back and
forth.
Northwest Forest Plan Revisions. I understand the Forest
Service intends to establish a Federal Advisory Committee to
advise and recommend revisions of the current management plan.
And we were asked to nominate individuals. I have nominated
several. Can you tell me when the committee will be formally
seated to begin work on this important planning process?
Mr. Moore. Yes, we have just finished up our part of that
nomination, and we sent it over to the Secretary's Office for
him to make the final decision.
Senator Merkley. Great. Thank you.
Senator Murkowski. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I had mentioned in my last question there, Chief, the
Southeast Alaska Sustainable Strategy, $25 million spent so far
and, it is always described as quote, ``An initial
investment''. So I don't know if you have any update for me on
what more might be included. Will those funds be targeted
towards long-term economic sustainability?
It kind of ties into my question about the Hoonah modular
housing and manufactured Lumber proposal. You know, maybe
something like this, again, could be part of what you are
thinking about in terms of the Southeast Alaska Sustainable
Strategy (SASS).
Mr. Moore. Yeah. I don't have any information at this
point, Senator. But I would be happy to follow up with you to
go into a little bit more specifics on the SASS.
Senator Murkowski. Right. I would look forward to that. I
had an opportunity to meet with some folks from the Southeast
Alaska Economic Council, and part of Alaska Municipal League
(AML), talking about exactly, the initiatives that would be
available through the Sustainability Strategy.
So there is a lot of interest in knowing: All right, what
comes next? Because if what you are saying is that you are
going to take the entire Tongass off limits when it comes to
economic activity because of application of the Roadless Rule,
and you are saying $25 million is it. If we are talking initial
investment which is what the administration had indicated, then
let us talk about what comes after the initial investment. So I
would like to have more conversation with your team about that.
I do want to thank you for your assistance in finalizing
the Chugach Region Land Study, appreciate that. As always,
there is always one more thing to do after that, so I am hoping
that we can count on the same kind of can-do working
relationship on the Chugach land, exchange proposal, it may end
up requiring legislation.
The hope is that we can reach agreement on the contours of
the exchange in the coming year. So I would just really ask for
your commitment to work with me and Chugach to make this a
reality.
Mr. Moore. Absolutely, yes.
Senator Murkowski. Good, I thank you for that. And then a
project that I have been interested in and believe me there is
a lot of excitement about the prospects for the Alaska Long
Trail. This is a 500-mile trail to connect between Seward and
Fairbanks, a portion, includes the Southern Trek of the
Iditarod in the Chugach.
But a lot of our small communities are excited about this.
The businesses that depend on tourism and outdoor recreation
are excited about that. So as we do have portions of the trail
that cross Forest Service lands, just looking for a commitment
to work with me to maintain and improve the recreation
opportunities within this exciting project.
Mr. Moore. Yes. We are committed to working with you, and
particularly looking at improving recreational opportunities.
Senator Murkowski. Good. And then last point is the things
for what we are doing there, particularly in the Tongass, but
the Chugach as well, with regards to public use of cabins;
again, very, very popular in the region. This came to my
attention because the cabins were being destroyed, or removed
if they needed maintenance, instead of allowing for a more
cooperative effort.
So the $20 million that was included within the Bipartisan
Infrastructure Bill is important. I am hoping that you are
going to be able to provide us a little bit more of a plan, a
detailed plan so we can share with people in the region what
the status of those public-use cabins will be going forward?
Mr. Moore. Yes. We will be happy to provide that to you.
Senator Murkowski. Good, thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Senator Merkley. Thank you, Senator.
And thank you, Chief Moore. Obviously a lot of
responsibilities that end up affecting many different
communities, and many different forests, and look forward to
continuing the partnership and working with you and your team.
Any final comments you would like to make?
Oh, well. Here we are seconds from the gavel which was just
coming down.
Senator Hoeven. He thought he was safe.
Senator Merkley. Well, Senator, we will turn it over to
you.
Senator Hoeven. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And I know the
Chief thought he was in great shape, all done. I know he had
mastered all the questions just right. But one of the things I
want to start with.
And please--thank you, Mr. Chairman; and Ranking Member for
allowing me to ask my questions.
We are unique in terms of the Forest Service, and then we
have the grasslands in North Dakota, and it is very important
that you come out and see them because--just to get an
understanding, because it is different than traditional forest,
obviously. But also I think it is incredibly important for the
people that live, and work, and ranch out there, and because we
have the multiple uses out there, everything from, you know, of
course ranching, but also incredible energy development, like
the Ranking Member is very involved with, but also tourism, and
other things as well.
So I would like to ask you to work with us to bring you out
to--of course now it is spring--so you know, we haven't quite
gotten rid of winter yet, but we are getting to a real nice
time of year. And I would very much like you to come out. And
it is not only important in terms of your understanding of the
grasslands, but also they the folks out there need to see you.
Mr. Moore. Yeah.
Senator Hoeven. And know that you are finding out what is
going on, and listening to them. So that is kind of a long
invitation, but I would like you to come out to North Dakota,
and spend some time in the grasslands.
Mr. Moore. Senator, can I say that I would love to come out
to North Dakota. And you might be pleased to know that I used
to live in North Dakota.
Senator Hoeven. No way. Did you say that to every member,
that you used to live in their state?
Mr. Moore. I started my career in North Dakota, in
Dickinson, Lakota, lived that whole area. So I contoured North
Dakota. I was just out there about six weeks ago as well.
Senator Hoeven. Oh; fantastic.
Mr. Moore. Yeah. But I am very fond of North Dakota. It
used to be my home.
Senator Hoeven. Well, that is great. Then, you know how to
get there, and you will be welcomed. And it really is important
that, it makes such a difference in terms of the folks that
live and work out there, as you know, having been out there.
One of the things that we worked on is, we have really
worked to secure some funding and find ways to bring the
grazing associations together with the counties and the
townships, and your folks, the Forest Service folks, the State
of North Dakota, in an effort to make improvements out there.
And that is a bit of a challenge, because some folks want
improvements for ranching, some folks want improvements for
tourism. And you know, so there is a natural tug and pull
there. And we have set up a working committee to kind of
oversee some of the funding that we have put together for that
which includes both Federal, state, and local funding. And so
are you willing to commit to work with us on that?
Mr. Moore. Yes, I am; absolutely.
Senator Hoeven. Good. And so that that just dovetails very
well with a trip out there.
Staffing, how are you doing on your--I know you have real
challenges on staffing--how are you doing there? How can we be
helpful?
Mr. Moore. So you know, it is a really great question. I
will give you an ideal of the staff. And last year we hired
about 3,500 employees, but we lost 2,700 through attrition. And
so all of that hiring we did only netted about 800 in terms of
capacity. And so we are seeing that, we don't know how much of
a trend that is, but we are going back out again to advertise
for about 2,500 additional employees to see if we can't look at
getting our capacity up to really look at implementing the
Wildfire Crisis Strategy, but also to look at, say, implement
other parts of the program like, Great American Outdoor Act
Funds, as well as IRA and BIL Funds.
Senator Hoeven. Okay. And you feel you are going to make
some progress?
Mr. Moore. I do feel that we will make progress. Yes.
Senator Hoeven. The other thing I want to ask you, the
Joint Chiefs Program. So Senator Bennett and I, on a bipartisan
basis, have legislation, and it really provides for this
coordination, I think out there. And in respect of fire, for
example, as well as, the landscape restoration, actually we
called our legislation the Joint Chiefs' Landscape Restoration
Partnership Act, but again it is about, you know, a kind of a
joint effort out there. Because again, there is different
ideas, in terms of, if you are really tourism focused in some
of those groups they want a certain approach, and then our
grazers need another approach.
And so that was really the effort behind the Joint Chiefs'
Legislation that Bennett and I have. So talk a little bit how
that works, and particularly in regard to fire resilience, as
well as the, you know, the landscape restoration, and
maintenance, and so forth.
Mr. Moore. Yeah. So I will start by saying that Secretary
Vilsack has insisted that USDA operate as one, that fits quite
nicely with the Joint Chiefs' projects, my colleague, Chief
Cosby, for NRCS, and I, we have regular meetings to look at
opportunities to have Joint Chief projects.
So we just looked at a round of projects just not too long
ago to fund, and I don't have, at my fingertips, the number of
projects or the location of them yet, but we do feel that this
is an opportunity to really work across boundaries, to look at
both Federal, state, and private lands trying to improve the
work, that particularly those areas have been affected by fire,
or disease, and insects for some of those types of problems.
Senator Hoeven. And you would be supportive of
reauthorization of the Joint Chiefs' Program in the Farm Bill?
Mr. Moore. Yes.
Senator Hoeven. And the other thing we do a lot of, is we
were doing a lot with unmanned aerial systems, unmanned, and so
in terms of, you know, the grasslands, fire suppression, fire
management, any thoughts on you using some of that new
technology? But then also, are you really committed to work
again with the ranchers out there, because the control burns,
and that kind of thing can be a real problem if you are not
coordinating closely. And you know, most of the emergency
response out there is volunteer.
Mr. Moore. Yeah. So we are really moving into using the
drones for a lot of different purposes, fire is one of those
purposes. But just looking at natural resource management, we
are looking at how can we use drones more? We currently have
about 100 employees that have been certified for drones, and we
are going to continue to look in that arena, and to expand our
opportunities to utilize that type of equipment. We do believe
that that is the future, and we really want to lean into it.
Senator Hoeven. And close coordination with the people on
the land out there on fire management?
Mr. Moore. Absolutely, close coordination.
Senator Hoeven. Thanks, Chief, appreciate it very much. And
again, Thank to the Chairman and Ranking Member.
Senator Merkley. Thank you, Senator. You timed it just
perfectly.
ADDITIONAL COMMITTEE QUESTIONS
If there are no other statements, and I don't think there
are, the hearing record will be open until the close of
business on April 5th, 2023.
Thank you very much, Chief Moore.
SUBCOMMITTEE RECESS
This hearing is adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 11:35 a.m., Wednesday, March 22, the
subcommittee was recessed to reconvene subject to the call of
the Chair.]
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, ENVIRONMENT, AND RELATED AGENCIES
APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2024
----------
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 29, 2023
U.S. Senate,
Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations,
Washington, DC.
The subcommittee met at 9:30 a.m., in room 124, Dirksen
Senate Office Building, Hon. Jeff Merkley (chairman) presiding.
Present: Senators Merkley, Murray, Tester, Van Hollen,
Peters, Murkowski, Capito, Hoeven, Fischer, and Britt.
DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR
STATEMENT OF HON. DEB HAALAND, SECRETARY
OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR JEFF MERKLEY
Senator Merkley. The Interior Subcommittee of the Committee
on Appropriations will come to order. This hearing is titled, A
Review of the fiscal year 2024 President's Budget for the
Department of the Interior. And we are most privileged to have
with us today Secretary Haaland, welcome.
And we have with her also the Principal Deputy Assistant
Secretary for Policy, Management and Budget, Joan Mooney,
welcome. And also, the Department's Director of Budget, Denise
Flanagan. So, welcome to you. Today's hearing will review the
Department of Interior's fiscal year 2024 budget request.
As I commented at our first hearing, I fully support Chair
Murray and Vice Chair Collins in their resolve to move
appropriation bills through committee and onto the floor this
year. And I appreciate the aggressive schedule that they have
laid out with that goal in mind and look forward to getting to
work with my partner in this effort, Ranking Member Senator
Murkowski.
We must recognize as a Congress that non-defense funding is
just as important as defense spending. Non-defense funding
means investing in Americans, investing in childcare, in
housing, in transportation infrastructure. And in this
subcommittee, it means supporting tribal Governments,
preventing catastrophic wildfire, protecting our land and
waters from pollution and degradation. Madam Secretary, thank
you so much for journeying to Oregon two weeks ago.
It seems like longer, but we had quite an opportunity to
travel around the State. And you took the time not just to
travel, but to listen to various communities within Oregon and
the challenges they face.
It was very meaningful. Thank you for taking that trip. It
was fitting that, as we began our travels through the ancestral
homeland of many tribes, you visited with Oregon's tribal
leaders, leaders of tribal bands that struggled to survive a
century of devastating national policies and wars.
You listened to their concerns about public safety and
housing and health care and water infrastructure and heard how
their traditional ecological knowledge influences the tribe's
modern practices in forest management and land conservation,
and how it can inform better policies across the State of
Oregon and across the country.
Your position as the first Native American Cabinet
Secretary is historic, but the time that you took to make
personal connections with the community, including a special
session with the Klamath tribal community, was absolutely
inspiring and made a big impact on all present.
You also met with Oregon leaders in outdoor recreation to
discuss improving access to our Federal lands and outdoor
recreation as an economic driver. Outdoor recreation is indeed
an economic force in Oregon, generating $13 billion in our
economy. You took the opportunity to visit two of Oregon
special places, Crater Lake National Park, the deepest lake in
North America, and a reminder of the extraordinary power of the
Cascade volcanoes.
And you visited the Cascade Siskiyou National Monument,
where because of its location at the crossroads of the Cascade,
Klamath and Siskiyou Ranges, the monument is an ecological
wonder and absolutely deserving and needing protection.
It is a product of the Land and Water Conservation Fund, a
critical tool for creating pathways to protect habitat for
animals moving between these mountain systems such as deer,
elk, bear, cougar, foxes, and so forth. And over 100 different
butterflies in that monument, which is an indication of the
extraordinary diversity of those different ecosystems,
including the Great Basin that comes in there. And so, the
monument will increase public access, but we have to work to
make it so, and we heard a lot of suggestions on how to make
that happen. I appreciate the Interior Department's work on the
revised monument plan, the management plan for the monument,
and the scheduled completion by October of 2024. I certainly
urge, if anything, earlier, if possible.
One of the aspects of that planning will be wildfire risk
reduction. Wildfires are having such a big impact on our
natural lands and our communities, and Congress has provided
significant funding for wildfire risk reduction.
One of my goals, and I think it is shared by Senator
Murkowski, is that we invest on both ends on making our forests
healthier and more fire resilient on the front end with forest
management, and also investing to make sure we have the
resources to fight the fires on public lands as needed because
our fire season is longer, hotter, and more savage.
The funding was provided for this effort in the Bipartisan
Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act and in our
annual appropriation bills. But the Interior Department is
charged with making sure the funding is spent in the right
places. And one of the things that I wanted to just mention is
that the Rogue Valley is the highest risk fire shed in the
State of Oregon.
It desperately needs those investments from the Department,
and I will certainly be working with you towards that goal. A
factor aggravating the ferocity of these fires is climate
chaos, longer, hotter fire seasons, smaller average snowpacks
that affect the size and temperature of our streams and rivers.
It has a big impact, with smaller, warmer streams hurting
our trout and or our salmon, and it means a lot less water for
our ranchers, a lot less water for our farmers, and that has
just been a huge challenge in multiple regions suffering multi-
year droughts. And I wanted to show a picture from our visit to
Crater Lake.
We met with two volunteer park rangers, and I must say,
being assigned, and you get these volunteer park rangers work
for a period of several months, 3 months at a time, and they
have housing and food covered and work every day and have a
phenomenal experience.
I was kind of envious of their jobs. And this is a picture
of Ellie Paxson, and she was joined in a presentation by Cassie
Padula.
They both were incredibly knowledgeable about the ecosystem
of Crater Lake and about the impact of climate change, and
pointed out many of the changes that we could observe just from
where we were standing.
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
And then Ellie provided this chart, which is an indication,
and I have seen many, that the average snowpack in the Cascades
is dropping decade after decade, which is why we are having
troubles with our streams and with our irrigation water.
And she really dramatized it with this chart that I had not
seen before, where 90 years ago the average snowfall over the
decade was 614 inches, and it just drops decade after decade
after decade. We are down to now about 370 inches or
approaching half of what it was 90 years ago.
And that amount of water stored, and when we think about
some--well, we are looking at 240 inches lost. That is 20 feet
of snow, 20 feet of water stored that isn't there now that was
there before. And, of course, the IPCC report paints an even
bleaker picture of the challenges worldwide.
So, it is so important that we quickly and dramatically
pivot from a fossil fuel energy economy to a renewable energy
economy. I am disappointed that the Administration has issued
new leases for oil and gas or new projects, because it is so
important as we try to tackle this challenge that America lead
the way. And to lead the way, we have to have the power of our
example.
And we also need to be thoughtful about how we build out
the new energy economy. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management,
BOEM, it has a top-down process, and this is really a difficult
system for offshore wind because off the coast of Oregon, we
have all of these stakeholder communities. We have folks who
are trawling for groundfish, for whiting, for salmon, and for
shrimp.
We have a robust crab industry. And the concept of floating
turbines, which may end up being a huge contributor to
renewable energy, is untested and not well understood. And we
are being told that the anchors will have a 7 to 1 ratio, which
means if you go a mile deep in the ocean, you have a seven-
mile-long anchor.
How does that affect all these other industries? These
other industries are absolutely terrified. And we don't have
transparency. We don't have an understanding of the technology,
and how to make these various pieces fit cleanly together.
And so, my argument here is, let's have a process that
develops a full understanding of what those floating wind
turbines would look like and how to make them completely
compatible and in partnership with the existing stakeholders on
our offshore or sea life stakeholders.
So, appreciate any help you can give to develop a better,
more collaborative approach in that regard. Again, thank you
for your deep concern for our public lands, how to make them
accessible, how to protect them for the next generation.
And, I know you are working every moment of every day
towards that goal. Let me turn to the Ranking Member of the
subcommittee, Senator Murkowski.
STATEMENT OF SENATOR LISA MURKOWSKI
Senator Murkowski. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Good morning.
And good morning, Madam Secretary, to you and to your team. I
join Senator Merkley, the chairman here, in welcoming you back
to the committee.
I am pleased to have the opportunity this morning to
discuss the President's budget request, along with some of the
issues that are very important to me and to my State. And to
begin with, I will begin with a topic that you and I have
shared conversation on most recently.
Just last week, you have heard me express my deep, deep
frustration and concern with regards to the people of King Cove
and the fact that they lack a lifesaving road. And Madam
Secretary, I want to acknowledge first the appreciation that I
have that you and your team joined me in King Cove last year so
you could not only see, but you could hear directly from the
people there.
You could hear their concern, try to walk in their shoes
for a brief moment in time. I also acknowledge the fact that
your Deputy Secretary and Rayna Thiele, I believe, are out
there. If not today, they were out there this week. In
fairness, I hadn't heard what the weather was like and whether
they have made it in and out.
But I know that this was an effort for them to do follow
on, to have further discussion. But as you know, the
announcement that was made last week to withdraw from the
litigation was shocking to the people of King Cove, and I
appreciate the fact that you had a direct conversation by Zoom
with them.
I have had subsequent conversations and I will share with
you, they are somewhat confused. They don't know who to believe
anymore. That is the problem. And I think part of this stems to
a lack of trust.
A lack of promises made and promises unfulfilled. A little
bit of a pulling the rug out from underneath us. Lucy and the
football, take your analogy, but a concern that once again this
might not be anything more than a false promise and that
deeply, deeply concerns them because they need action that
helps solve problems, not actions that further delay solutions.
They need to be respected for the care that they have shown to
their lands, and I think you heard that. You saw that.
They need to have these medevacs as nothing more than a
memory, not a life-threatening reality in times of crisis. And
Madam Secretary, I use the word to you in our private meeting,
and I will repeat it here at this hearing, they need you to be
a warrior for them. They need to know that you recognize the
long-standing suffering that they have faced and that you will
stand with them to work with them.
And I take you at your word that you were prepared to do
this for this community. But know the reservation that they
have. I will have an opportunity to ask a question in more
detail about that, but I do want to acknowledge the voices of
some extraordinary, extraordinary coalition of Alaska native
leaders and the individuals that came together to make their
voices heard about the importance of the reapproval of the
Willow Project, not only to those who work and raise their
families on the North Slope of Alaska, but to our nation's
economic security, our energy security, and our national
security.
And I am so very grateful and appreciative that the
President listened to the voices of those Alaskans and took
another step towards making this project in the National
Petroleum Reserve a reality.
Now, unfortunately, those who are disappointed in this
decision are going to try to mire the project down in the
courts in an attempt to prevent production, but it is my hope
that this environmentally sound and balanced domestic project
will not be delayed too much longer. I truly believe our
national security requires that we increase our domestic supply
of resource, including from our offshore areas.
And speaking to that, I would like to raise the recently
leaked memo regarding the Cook Inlet Outer Continental Shelf
lease sale that was required by the Inflation Reduction Act.
Mr. Chairman, we are going to submit a copy of that memorandum
for the record.
[The information follows:]
https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/23695673/doi-0001.pdf
Senator Merkley. Without objection.
Senator Murkowski. Thank you. Like many of my colleagues, I
was dismayed. I was really actually stunned by the
recommendations that were contained in that leaked memo and the
direction that it represents for this Administration when it
relates to energy policy. According to the memo, Principal
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Lands and Mineral Management
signed off on a plan that rejected the option that would have
improved energy reliability and affordability for Alaskans.
This was stated in the memo, in favor of an alternative
that was admittedly aimed at discouraging development. Admits
that that was the intended purpose here. This obviously
represents the exact wrong direction for Alaska, certainly the
wrong direction for a country. And when you think about the
message that it sends about this Administration's desire for
energy security, again, it is almost mind boggling to me.
Right now, within the South-Central area that relies on
natural gas to keep our lights on, to keep the economy moving
here, we are looking at a situation where the region that hosts
about one half the population of the State of Alaska is looking
at brownouts as a reality of diminishing supplies there in Cook
Inlet.
And the thought that we may be importing LNG from Canada.
To me, as an Alaskan, from a State that has extraordinary
natural gas reserves, the fact that we would even be uttering
these words is almost inconceivable to me.
A failure to have meaningful oil and gas programs,
including in the 1002 area where the Administration is
illegally disregarding the law, will reduce domestic investment
at the worst possible time for our country and our global
allies.
Domestic supply matters to our energy security and also
matters to our mineral security. And I have long pointed to the
dangers of our growing dependence on foreign minerals and
advocated for a strong domestic supply for our national
security, economy, and competitiveness.
Like offshore oil and gas, one of the keys to permitting
this challenge is for the Department to actually make mine
permit determinations in a timely manner. If we want to be
competitive in the global market, a producer and not just an
importer, we cannot afford for it to take 10 years to permit a
mine on our public lands. Alaska is willing and able to
increase our Nation's and our allies energy security.
All we need is permission from the Federal Government,
access to our Federal lands, and the timely approval of our
permit applications. And when we do get those approvals,
Alaskans, we get it. We cherish, we respect our lands, our
waters, while developing these resources and doing it in a
responsible manner.
So, to turn to other areas here and certainly areas the
chairman has noted we have agreement on, and that's working
together to provide resources for our tribal communities. Our
subcommittee plans to have a hearing with Assistant Secretary
for Indian Affairs Bryan Newland and IHS Director Tso regarding
tribal programs where I am going to go in-depth on our shared
tribal commitments.
But I do also want to join the Chairman in thanking you for
your efforts on behalf of tribes. Whether it is public safety
and justice, natural resources, or construction programs,
working to address the tribal needs has always been a
bipartisan, bicameral priority. We know that the appropriations
process is never easy.
It is never quick, that is for sure. But it is important
for us to continue our bipartisan approach to these issues to
ensure success across Indian country. Public lands, certainly a
key attraction for visitors to Alaska and drivers of economic
activity. And while we have not seen a complete return to pre-
COVID tourism numbers, visitation is certainly increasing.
I am pleased the Department is working to get Alaska's
national parks and preserves ready to welcome visitors this
summer. But our parks are far more than playgrounds. They are
set aside for harvesting wildlife as laid out in Alaska
National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA), and the
Department is improperly trying to interfere with subsistence
hunting practices.
So, these are just a few of the issues that are on my mind
this morning as they relate to Alaska, but we have of course,
broader and shared interests at the national level. Madam
Secretary, I do appreciate your willingness to work with me on
areas that we have agreement.
As you continue to hear from and listen to Alaskans, I hope
that we can even find greater areas of how we can be working
together to grow Alaska's role in our nation's economy or
energy or mineral security, while also cherishing and
protecting our lands, our people, and our culture.
So, again, look forward to the questions this morning.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Senator Merkley. Madam Secretary, the floor is yours.
SUMMARY STATEMENT OF HON. DEB HAALAND
Secretary Haaland. Chair Merkley, Ranking Member Murkowski,
and members of the subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity
to testify in support of Interior's fiscal year 2024 budget
request. Our 2024 budget totals $18.9 billion in current
authority, an increase of $2 billion from the 2023 level.
First, I want to highlight several important proposals.
These include significant reforms to support the wildland fire
workforce. Mandatory funding for future Indian water rights
settlements, expanding good neighbor and stewardship
contracting authorities to include Fish and Wildlife Service
and National Park Service, reclassifying legally required
tribal sovereignty payments, contracts, and leasing costs from
discretionary to mandatory funding, and $6.5 billion over 20
years from the Department of State to fund economic assistance
under the Compacts of Free Association.
Let me begin with our Indian Affairs budget request. This
Administration has made a steadfast commitment to strengthen
Government to Government relations with our country's Indian
tribes. With a total request of $4.7 billion for Indian affairs
programs, investments will address missing and murdered
indigenous peoples, the legacy of Federal Indian boarding
schools, and the native language revitalization.
Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) budget includes $48 million
for the Tribal Climate Resilience Program to support climate
resilience planning, including relocation. In response to
concerns by tribal leaders for public safety in their
communities, the budget includes an increase of nearly $86
million above 2023. We also request $1.6 billion for Indian
education programs.
Notably the 2024 request for Bureau of Indian Education
(BIE) construction will support seven school projects. Turning
to Wildland Fire, the 2024 budget honors President Biden's
commitment to address this issue and to assist firefighters
supporting an additional 370 Federal and 55 tribal fire
personnel.
Complementing Wildland firefighter pay reforms, we also
include $293.3 million for fuels management activities, an
increase of $46.3 million above 2023. These investments are
crucial as wildfires were noticeably higher in 2022 than the
10-year average.
Stewardship of our natural resources is a core mission for
us as Interior manages about 20 percent of America's lands. Our
request covers $3.2 billion in annual funding for conservation
efforts that supports key initiatives such as wildlife
corridors and youth corps partnerships.
The request also includes $140 million for Fish and
Wildlife Service partnership programs that support voluntary
conservation on public and private lands, which is a key focus
of the America the Beautiful Initiative. To complement the $681
million in mandatory funding for the Land and Water
Conservation Fund, I am proud to propose $12 million in
discretionary funding for a new tribal Land and Water
Conservation Fund (LWCF) program, which is a top priority for
tribes.
At the Department, science is our foundation. The United
States Geological Survey works with partners across the country
to maintain 20,000 groundwater monitoring wells, 11,800 stream
gauges and 3800 earthquake sensors and directly monitor 70
volcanoes. The budget includes $128 million that supports nine
regional climate adaptation science centers with university
partners.
We are also looking forward to the Landsat Next mission
that will take advantage of new technologies for global imaging
data. When it comes to energy, we are excited to be on our way
to achieve the Administration's goals to deploy 30 gigawatts of
offshore wind capacity by 2030. As of last month. Bureau of
Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has conducted 11 energy lease
sales for areas in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
That is more than the 2.5 million acres of commercial wind
energy lease areas. The budget includes over $64 million for
BOEM's renewable energy program, including a $12 million
increase for permitting. Onshore, the Bureau of Land Management
(BLM) is also making progress to permit 25 gigawatts of
renewable energy on public lands by 2025.
BLM has permitted more than 126 renewable energy projects,
processed many more, and is willing to support much needed
transmission lines. To meet these needs, we include $72 million
for BLM's renewable energy program. At the end of 2020,
Interior staffing was at a 10 year low of around 60,500.
When fully enacted, the budget would support an increase of
4,000 personnel to over 68,000. Regarding infrastructure, our
request includes more than $3 billion for operations and
maintenance. In addition, there is, $1.6 billion in mandatory
funding available each year through 2025 through the Legacy
Restoration Fund.
At the end of 2023, our Legacy Restoration Fund program
will have initiated 276 projects, touching all 50 States,
Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Those projects will address $3.4 billion of our deferred
maintenance backlog, creating an average of 17,000 jobs each
year.
Overall, the President's budget for Interior invests in
programs to strengthen our nation for all Americans. I look
forward to doing this work together. Thank you, and we are all
pleased to answer any questions that you have today.
[The statement follows:]
Prepared Statement of Hon. Deb Haaland
Chair Merkley, Ranking Member Murkowski, and Members of the
Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to testify in support of
the Interior Department's Fiscal Year 2024 Budget Request.
It is an honor and privilege for me to be here with you today to
speak on behalf of the President's 2024 Budget for the Department of
the Interior. I value and appreciate Interior's long tradition of
working together with the Interior Appropriations Subcommittee to
accomplish great things for the American people. This Subcommittee
plays a vital role in the success of the Department of the Interior
(DOI). As the 118th Congress begins, I look forward to working with the
Members of this Subcommittee this year, both new and returning, in
continued collaboration to address some of our country's most pressing
challenges.
As the steward of 20 percent of America's lands, the DOI serves
several important roles for America. Interior's programs are important
to the Nation's economy: generating jobs, supporting local economic
growth, building resilience to our changing climate, and man aging
important natural resources. Interior is also charged with unique
responsibilities and legal obligations to protect Indian trust assets
and resources and provide direct services to federally recognized
Tribes, Alaska Natives, and individual Indian beneficiaries to honor
the Nation's Federal Indian trust responsibilities.
The Department's 2024 budget totals $18.9 billion in current
authority--an increase of $2.0 billion, or 12 percent, from the 2023
enacted budget. For programs within the jurisdiction of this
Subcommittee, our request is $16.9 billion in net discretionary
authority--an increase of $2.0 billion or 13 percent from the 2023
enacted appropriation. The net discretionary request assumes Contract
Support Costs and 105(l) Tribal Leases are reclassified as mandatory
funding in 2024 and are not included in the total. An additional $350.0
million is accessible through a budget cap adjustment for wildfire
suppression to ensure funds are available in the event the regular
annual appropriation is inadequate to meet suppression needs. Within
the increase for 2024, $438.5 million will be used to cover fixed-cost
increases, such as rent and Federal salary adjustments needed to
maintain Interior's core operations carried out by close to 70,000
people living and working in every corner of the country.
This budget allocates important mandatory funding available through
the Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA), including $1.6 billion for
deferred maintenance projects through the Legacy Restoration Fund (LRF)
in the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
(FWS), National Park Service (NPS), and the Bureau of Indian Education
(BIE). The budget also allocates $681.9 million in mandatory funding
for Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) programs.
The President's 2024 Budget complements the landmark investments in
the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) and the Inflation Reduction Act
(IRA). Those funds are providing the significant boost needed to
address long-standing challenges, from reclaiming lands to tackling
critical drought and threats of wildland fires. These targeted
investments address specific objectives, but they do not supplant the
need for the annual appropriations supporting our on- going base
programs and operations.
2024 legislative proposals
The 2024 President's Budget includes several important legislative
proposals and technical budget adjustments.
Wildland Firefighting Workforce--The budget proposes legislation
and funding to implement significant reforms to better support the
wildland fire management workforce. The Administration proposes
legislation to establish a special base rate salary table for wildland
firefighters, create a new premium pay category that provides some
additional compensation for all hours a wildland fire responder is
mobilized on an incident, and establish a pay cap that provides waiver
authority to the Secretary using specific criteria. The budget supports
this legislative proposal with funding for these Federal pay reforms
and similar pay increases for Tribal personnel. These proposals build
upon the historic reforms in BIL to ensure wildland fire personnel
receive the enhanced support they need to meet evolving mission demands
as both the frequency and intensity of catastrophic wildfires are
expected to continue to increase due to climate change.
Indian Water Rights Settlements--Building upon investments in the
BIL, the budget proposes $2.5 billion in mandatory funding over 10
years to expand the Indian Water Rights Settlement Completion Fund to
cover the costs of enacted and future water rights settlements and
$340.0 million in mandatory funding over 10 years for ongoing costs
including operations and maintenance costs associated with enacted
water settlements managed by the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation).
Providing a stable, dedicated funding source for Indian water rights
settlements helps to ensure these commitments are honored and Tribal
communities have safe, reliable water supplies to support public and
environmental health and economic opportunity.
Good Neighbor and Stewardship Contracting Authority--The budget
proposes to expand Good Neighbor and Stewardship Contracting
authorities currently available to BLM and the U.S. Forest Service
(USFS) to include FWS and NPS. Including these bureaus would allow them
to enter into cooperative agreements or contracts with States, Tribes,
and counties to perform watershed restoration and forest management
services on bureau lands. Expanding stewardship contracting authority
would enable FWS and NPS to enter into stewardship contracts or
agreements to achieve bureau land and resource management goals. These
contracts enable agencies to apply the value of timber or other forest
products removed from the lands as an offset against the cost of land
and resource management services provided through the agreement. The
budget also proposes appropriations language to extend current Good
Neighbor Authority for BLM and USFS which expires at the end of FY 2023
by 1 year.
Contract Support Costs and Payments for Tribal Leases--The budget
proposes to reclassify funding for payments required by law to
reimburse Tribes for costs associated with carrying out Federal
functions under a self-determination contract or self-governance
compact, from discretionary to mandatory funding in 2024. Contract
Support Costs funding is a critical Tribal sovereignty payment enabling
Tribes to assume responsibility for operating Federal programs by
covering the costs to administer the programs. Section 105(l) of the
Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act provides that
Tribes and Tribal organizations carrying out contracted or compacted
Federal functions may enter into a lease agreement with the Department
of the Interior for the tribally owned or rented facility used to carry
out those functions. These legally required critical Tribal sovereignty
payments bring Tribes closer to meeting the full cost to administer and
operate Federal functions, including costs associated with the use of
Tribal facilities.
Compacts of Free Association (COFA)--The Administration supports
funding the renewal of our COFA relationships with the Federated States
of Micronesia (FSM), the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), and
the Republic of Palau. The 2024 budget will seek $6.5 billion in
economic assistance over 20 years to be provided through a mandatory
appropriation at the Department of State, with language calling for
continued implementation by the Department of the Interior. The total
amount requested as part of a COFA mandatory proposal will also include
$634 million for continued U.S. Postal Service services to the Freely
Associated States (FAS). Funding for postal services will be requested
as a direct payment to the Postal Service Fund. The United States
remains committed to its long-standing partnerships with the
governments and the people of the FAS as we work together to promote a
free and open Indo-Pacific.
Injurious Species--The budget supports congressional efforts to
amend Title 18 of the Lacey Act to return the longstanding authority of
FWS to prohibit interstate transports of injurious species. Recent
incidences of injurious species, such as invasive mussels contaminating
commercial products, demonstrate the need to restore this authority.
strengthening tribal nations
This Administration has made a steadfast commitment to honor our
Nation's Tribal trust responsibilities and strengthen government-to-
government relationships with Tribal Nations. This budget maintains
that commitment to support and expand this work with a total request of
$4.7 billion for Indian Affairs programs, an increase of $690 million
from 2023. The 2024 budget makes significant investments to strengthen
Tribal Nations, their sovereignty and revitalization, providing new and
expanded funding opportunities and resources for Tribes to manage and
support their lands, waters, and communities. These investments include
continuing support addressing matters deeply important to Native
Americans to address Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples, the
legacy of the Federal Indian Boarding Schools, and Native Language
Revitalization.
investing in tribal communities
The request includes $3.0 billion for Bureau of Indian Affairs
(BIA) programs, an increase of $482.8 million above 2023 enacted. The
BIA budget contains several significant investments in Tribal
communities, including $78.1 million for the Tiwahe Initiative, an
increase of $33.5 million from 2023. Under Tiwahe, a portion of the
funding assists Tribes at selected sites to implement a tribally driven
approach to deliver essential services more effectively and
efficiently. Since 2015, the Tiwahe Initiative has focused primarily on
promoting family stability though several Human Services programs. The
Department's 2024 budget further expands Tiwahe in Social Services,
Indian Child Welfare Act, Housing, Tribal Justice Support, and Economic
Development programs.
Tribal leaders across the country have expressed increased concern
for public safety in their communities. Their elevated level of concern
is coupled with emerging needs to expand services to address the McGirt
v. Oklahoma decision and the needs of 31 Tribes that have been eligible
for but have not received BIA public safety and justice funding.
Interior's 2024 budget submission includes $717.1 million for Public
Safety and Justice Programs and related construction, an increase of
$85.8 million above the 2023 enacted level. That amount includes $316.3
million for Criminal Investigations and Police Services programs, an
increase of $42.2 million above 2023. At the increased 2024 level, all
Tribes currently receiving funds would receive an equal share of the
increase--including those newly participating Tribes that elect to
receive BIA law enforcement services available in 2023. The budget
includes $154.6 million, an increase of $18.3 million above the 2023
level, to support the operational needs of detention and corrections
programs encountering growing personnel, equipment, and technology
costs.
Complementing those operational increases, the budget includes
$75.3 million for construction supporting public safety and justice
programs, an increase of $23.8 million.
The budget includes $385.9 million, an increase of $52.7 million
above 2023 enacted, for Trust Natural Resource Management programs
which includes Tribal forestry, irrigation, energy and minerals, water
resources, climate resilience, co-stewardship, and other activities. In
a separate account, the 2024 budget includes $12.0 million for a new
Tribal LWCF Land Acquisition program. During LWCF listening sessions
last year, one of the top priorities sovereign Tribes identified was
having direct access to LWCF funding for conservation and recreation
projects without partnering with or applying through States. Through
this BIA program, Tribes would have the opportunity to acquire lands or
easements to protect and conserve natural resource areas, which may
also be of cultural importance to the Tribe or have significant
recreational benefits for Tribal communities, consistent with the
purposes of LWCF funding.
During Tribal consultations and listening sessions on Federal
Subsistence Management programs, Tribal participants consistently
pointed to the adverse impacts the changing climate is having on Alaska
Native subsistence practices and Alaska Native communities and the need
to expand Tribal co-management partnerships and incorporate indigenous
knowledge into subsistence management. In response to these
recommendations, the 2024 budget proposes to transfer the functions of
the Office of Subsistence Management from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service to the Office of the Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs, along
with an increase of $2.5 million for the program. The budget includes
additional increases in the land management bureaus--FWS, NPS, and
BLM--to support resource management associated with Alaska Native
subsistence.
advancing indian education
The 2024 budget includes $1.6 billion for Indian Education
programs, an increase of $209.2 million above 2023 enacted. Native
students face stark inequities in access to education, many of which
were highlighted and exacerbated by the pandemic. To help address that
gap, the budget invests in the day-to-day operations of BIE-funded
elementary and secondary schools. The budget includes $508.7 million
for Indian Student Equalization Program formula funds, which provide
the primary support for academic activities in the classroom,
instructional services, and teacher training, recruitment, and
retention. The budget includes resources to operate and maintain BIE-
funded schools and fully funds the estimated $98.7 million requirement
for Tribal Grant Support costs to cover the administration costs for
Tribes that choose to operate BIE- funded schools.
The budget includes $189.6 million for postsecondary schools and
programs, including $133.5 million for Haskell Indian Nations
University and Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute and for Tribal
colleges, universities, and technical colleges; and $56.1 million for
expanded Tribal scholarships and adult education programs.
Addressing BIE-funded school facilities in poor condition and
deferred maintenance backlogs at more than 180 schools in the BIE
school system continues to be a top priority for the Department--45
percent of BIE schools are currently identified as in ``poor''
condition. The 2024 budget includes $416.2 million in annual funding
for Education Construction, an increase of $148.3 million over the 2023
enacted level. The 2024 request for School and Facility Replacement
Construction will support seven school projects. The budget also
includes $160.1 million for facilities operation and maintenance, to
help maintain the condition of schools. An additional $95.0 million in
mandatory funding for BIE school construction through the GAOA will be
available in 2024 to support the replacement of two additional school
campuses. The continued emphasis on BIE school infrastructure
conditions has produced tangible results, with two new campuses opened
to students in 2022.
meeting financial tribal trust responsibilities
The budget includes $109.1 million to support the Tribal financial
functions managed by the Bureau of Trust Funds Administration (BTFA).
BTFA currently serves as the financial manager for more than $8 billion
of Indian Trust Funds and provides services for 4,100 Tribal accounts
and roughly 408,000 Individual Indian Money accounts. The 2024 budget
continues to propose BTFA as a stand-alone bureau with critical
independent functions for effective management of Indian assets and
service to Indian Country. The Department held listening sessions on
the future of BTFA, and the input received showed Tribes did not want
to eliminate BTFA or its functions, and some Tribes would like to have
expanded services from BTFA. The Department looks forward to working
with Congress to ensure BTFA is fully recognized as a bureau to allow
the organization to focus on its mission of serving Indian Country.
addressing climate challenges and building resilience
The United States faces a profound climate crisis that is rapidly
changing how we consider the future, evaluate risk, and protect
resources. Together with agencies across the Federal Government,
States, Tribes, and other partners, the Department of the Interior is
working in real time to address the immediate and long-term needs
driven by the changing climate. Catastrophic fire, flood, and drought
events brought about by the climate crisis are increasingly top-of-mind
considerations. These events demand immediate attention and resources,
but long-term success requires more work to build resilience to better
meet these challenges.
wildland fire reforms
The National Interagency Fire Center reports 68,988 wildfires
occurred across the United States in 2022, burning 7.5 million acres.
The number of wildfires was noticeably higher than the 10- year
average, which has been consistently increasing. The 2024 President's
Budget expands the Nation's response to the impacts of wildland fire
beyond the near term to include aggressive longer-term actions. The
2024 budget honors President Biden's commitment to wildland
firefighters by taking significant steps forward in ongoing bipartisan
efforts to build a more professional, year-round workforce, better
aligned with the challenges of today's wildfire activity.
Enacting these reforms is essential to meet the challenges posed by
longer and more intense fire seasons while providing wildland
firefighters a more livable wage, addressing long-term competitiveness
and equity issues, helping prevent burnout and fatigue, and ensuring
stable recruitment and retention. The cornerstone of these long-term
reforms is a permanent increase in pay. The Administration proposes
legislation to establish a special base rate salary table, create a new
premium pay category to provide additional compensation for all hours a
wildland fire responder is mobilized on an incident, and institute pay
cap authority that provides waiver authority to the Secretary of the
Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture using specific criteria. The
budget funds these Federal pay reforms and similar pay increases for
Tribal fire personnel.
The 2024 budget request for the Department's Wildland Fire
Management programs is nearly $1.7 billion, including $1.3 billion for
the Wildland Fire Management account and $350.0 million for the
Wildfire Suppression Operations Reserve Fund. This request is an
increase of $243.1 million, or 17 percent above the comparable 2023
enacted amount for base fire programs. Of this, $72.0 million supports
the pay increases for Federal and Tribal wildland firefighters. In
addition, the 2024 budget provides an increase of $45.0 million more
than the comparable 2023 enacted amount to increase firefighting
capacity by an estimated 325 Federal and 55 Tribal full- time
equivalents (FTEs). In total, DOI's request for wildland fire
management will support an additional 370 Federal and 55 Tribal FTEs.
The 2024 budget also addresses challenges concerning recruiting and
retaining wildland firefighters with an increase of $10.0 million for
Interior (and another $10.0 million for the Department of Agriculture)
to establish a comprehensive joint Interior-Agriculture program to
enhance firefighters' mental and physical health and well-being. The
budget also includes a $22.0 million increase to repair, renovate, and
construct housing for wildland firefighting personnel, which can be
inadequate or unaffordable in certain geographic locations. To further
build fire program capacity, the budget increases funding for aviation
contracts and uncrewed aerial systems support by $20.0 million, program
management for incident support by $18.3 million, and increases funding
for Tribal contract and administrative support and Reserved Treaty
Rights Lands projects by $9.0 million.
The President's 2024 Budget, featuring this suite of workforce
reforms, will transform interagency Wildland Fire Management by
improving recruitment and retention and laying the foundation for
further advancements. The Administration looks forward to working with
Congress to enact this important legislation and the requested funds
needed to implement these reforms in FY 2024.
Complementing this wildland fire package of reforms, the budget
includes $293.3 million for Fuels Management activities, an increase of
$46.3 million above 2023 enacted. This request maintains Interior's
strong support for a pro-active Fuels Management program to reduce
wildland fire risk from burnable plant materials which can pile up and
make fires burn hotter, larger, longer, and faster.
supporting community resilience
Persistent drought conditions across the West are exacerbating fire
risk and increasing concerns for water availability. Prolonged drought
in much of the West and low runoff conditions accelerated by climate
change have led to historically low water levels in Lakes Powell and
Mead, and many other reservoirs are also being affected by drought. In
the Colorado River Basin, the period from 2000 through 2022 was the
driest 23-year period in more than 100 years of record-keeping. Extreme
drought conditions across the West are forcing very difficult
challenges and choices to manage available water supplies. Although the
Bureau of Reclamation, which comes before the Energy and Water
Appropriations Subcommittee, is at the forefront of Interior's drought
response, mitigation, and resilience efforts, the historic drought
conditions facing our country is a concern shared across the agency.
As a land and resource manager for more than 480 million acres of
lands across the United States, climate related challenges from
drought, wildfire, floods, invasive species are real day-to- day
considerations. Interior's significant stewardship mission requires us
to be an active partner in ongoing efforts to understand, mitigate, and
build resilience to these climate impacts on our natural resources and
resident species. The U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) programs are key
contributors to this effort.
The 2024 budget includes $120.3 million for the USGS Groundwater
and Streamflow Information Program, which maintains a nationwide
network of streamflow and water level information collected from more
than 31,000 sites. The information from the network is available online
to help States, Tribes, natural resource managers, scientists, and
emergency managers across the country with monitoring for floods and
drought and with forecasting water availability for crops and natural
resource management. The USGS request also includes $74.7 million for
Water Availability and Use Science programs, which includes funding to
apply fire and drought science to support natural resource management.
The budget includes $63.0 million for the USGS Coastal and Marine
Hazards program, which leverages field research, high-resolution data,
and modeling to help communities plan for and respond to changes in
coastal landscapes. Agencies and communities use this science to plan
evacuation notices, inform city planning, and construct storm-resistant
infrastructure. Others use program information to restore coastal
ecosystems, developing infrastructure that can buffer future storm
damage and coastal erosion.
Interior is also working to address climate resilience in Tribal
communities. The BIA's 2024 budget includes $48.0 million for the
Tribal Climate Resilience program to support climate resilience
planning, assessment, and adaptation activities. The program also
provides funding for planning and design work for Tribal communities
evaluating the need for or pursuing climate- related relocation.
Building on the success of this program, Interior has leveraged BIL and
IRA funding to join with the Federal Energy Management Agency and the
Denali Commission to launch a new Voluntary Community-Driven Relocation
Program.
The budget includes $120.8 million for Assistance to Territories,
which supports the Insular Areas through the provision of basic
services and targeted investments related to climate change, including
$3.5 million for work related to coral reef ecosystems and other
natural resource needs and $15.5 million to promote renewable energy
and grid infrastructure in the Insular Areas.
conservation and healthy lands
Interior manages more than 480 million acres of lands across the
United States and is responsible for the protection and recovery of
more than 2,375 endangered and threatened species, of which 1,678 are
in the United States. This significant stewardship mission requires
Interior to be among the leaders as an active partner in ongoing
efforts to understand and mitigate climate impacts on natural
resources, promote biodiversity, and ensure these valuable assets
remain available for the public to experience and enjoy. Interior's
conservation and adaptive management work relies heavily on
partnerships and interagency collaboration to leverage information and
resources.
Interior's work to strengthen the resilience of natural resources
through conservation, restoration, recovery, and adaptive management is
a fundamental part of our mission. The Department estimates the budget
includes $3.2 billion in annual funding for conservation efforts. This
includes dedicated funding increase to expand natural resource program
in the NPS, BLM, and FWS totaling $2.5 billion for critical restoration
and improvements supporting healthier lands, waters, and ecosystems and
their resident species. Within that amount, the budget supports key
conservation and ecosystem management initiatives such as the National
Seed Strategy, Migration Corridors, and youth corps partnerships.
The 2024 budget also invests in conservation programs which greatly
leverage Federal efforts by engaging a wide variety of partners. The
request includes $140.3 million, an increase of $34.2 million from 2023
enacted, for FWS partnership programs including Partners for Fish and
Wildlife, Candidate Conservation, Coastal Programs, and Migratory Bird
Joint Ventures programs. These programs support voluntary conservation
on public and privately-owned lands--a key focus of the America the
Beautiful initiative.
The Great American Outdoors Act established permanent, mandatory
funding totaling $900.0 million a year for Land and Water Conservation
Fund programs to advance conservation and outdoor recreation. These
funds are allocated to the Departments of the Interior and Agriculture
for a combination of Federal land acquisition and grant programs. The
LWCF programs support a wide variety of Federal, State, and local
conservation and outdoor recreation opportunities in communities large
and small across our country.
The 2024 budget proposes $681.9 million for Interior's mandatory
funded LWCF programs. This includes $306.2 million for Interior land
acquisition and $375.7 million for grant programs. Interior's land
acquisition programs prioritize projects as authorized for the National
Parks, National Wildlife Refuge areas, and BLM public lands, which
feature strong local partner engagement, protect at-risk natural or
cultural resources, and advance the mission of the bureaus. In addition
to the mandatory LWCF funding to be allocated in 2024, another $117.9
million in GOMESA oil and gas revenue is estimated to be available for
LWCF State formula grants.
The 2024 budget also proposes $12.0 million in discretionary
funding to establish a new Tribal LWCF Land Acquisition program in BIA.
The program will enable Tribes to directly participate in the LWCF for
the first time to acquire lands for the purposes of natural and
cultural resources conservation and recreation access. It is envisioned
this program would provide funds for eligible land acquisition projects
submitted by Tribes, although BIA plans to hold formal Tribal
consultation on the establishment of the program. This new program,
together with the proposed mandatory funding allocation, and
anticipated GOMESA revenue, increases Interior's total LWCF funding to
$811.7 million in 2024.
leveraging science
Interior actively incorporates science to inform and enhance
delivery of core mission activities. The 2024 budget includes roughly
$1.5 billion across Interior for scientific work and research. This
commitment to science is evident in Interior's collection of natural
resource data from years of day-to-day field measurements and recorded
land, water, and species conditions, which help inform resource
management decisions at Interior and a wide range of partners, States,
Tribes, and the public. Interior is leveraging this information and
applying new technologies and understanding to develop forecasting and
modeling tools to inform and improve how we manage challenging
conditions, such as water supply and demand or increasingly severe
wildland fires. Interior also conducts basic and applied research to
better understand and identify solutions to emerging challenges, such
as harmful algal blooms, invasive carp, white nose syndrome in bats,
and avian influenza.
The 2024 budget includes $1.8 billion for USGS programs and
operations, an increase of $288.3 million from the 2023 enacted amount.
To provide timely, relevant, and useful information about the Earth and
its processes, USGS works with a variety of partners across the country
to maintain roughly 20,000 groundwater monitoring wells, more than
11,800 stream gages and 3,800 earthquake sensors, and USGS directly
monitors 70 volcanoes.
The 2024 budget includes $128.0 million for the USGS Climate
Adaptation Science Centers and Land Change Science Program, which
provide information, tools, and science applications to meet current
and emerging challenges that threaten the sustainability of natural
resources and our cities, infrastructure, and rural communities. USGS
has nine Regional and one National Climate Adaptation Science Centers
across the country, which are affiliated with university partners. The
centers work with a wide range of resource managers and other partners
to address specific climate-related challenges to natural and cultural
resources.
Through the Landsat program, the country has maintained a 50-year
observational record of the Earth's surface, providing invaluable
scientific information. The Department of the Interior continues to
work closely with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
(NASA) to develop the upcoming Landsat Next mission, which will involve
launching a constellation of three satellites into orbit at the same
time. The Landsat Next mission concept will take advantage of new
technologies, such as smaller satellites and improved sensors, to
sustain consistent imaging data and deliver far more capabilities than
Landsat 8 and 9, meeting more user needs with improved spatial
resolution and faster revisit times. The USGS will also establish a
commercial data pilot program to augment data from the Landsat
satellites. The FY 2024 budget includes an increase of $17.0 million to
support these efforts.
creating jobs and meeting energy and environmental challenges
Interior's programs create jobs and spur economic growth in a
variety of areas--energy and minerals, recreation and tourism, grants
and payments, and infrastructure investment. The 2024 budget maintains
a consistent strategy to emphasize investment in areas that better
position the country to be more competitive in the changing economy and
environment.
Congress has enacted historic investments launching Federal and
private-sector infrastructure projects that will build climate
resilience and create more American jobs. The focus now is on project
implementation to put those funds to work as soon as possible. The
Administration is coordinating efforts across Federal agencies to
streamline processes as appropriate to responsibly get these projects
underway. Interior is actively engaged in those efforts, primarily as
they concern statutorily required Endangered Species Act (ESA) permit
reviews.
The FWS budget includes $171.4 million, an increase of $50.5
million from 2023, to increase the bureau's environmental permitting
capacity to accelerate and improve environmental reviews supporting
responsible development of priority infrastructure projects funded
through the BIL and IRA. In addition, the budget includes a new
government-wide General Provision to expand authority beyond existing
reimbursable and Economy Act authorities by enabling Federal agencies
to more effectively transfer funds provided under the BIL to FWS and
the National Marine Fisheries Service to complete permitting
activities. This authority in concert with existing authorities will
improve efficiencies and increase capacity for environmental planning
and consultation to better support the implementation of infrastructure
investments now underway.
FWS will continue to advance electronic permitting efforts in 2024,
and the budget proposes to consolidate all ePermitting efforts into a
single activity to better manage the program's resources and provide
additional visibility to this important effort. The program helps
applicants properly identify and submit complete application packages
and supports more efficient and effective processing. Although FWS has
achieved a secure and modern system that enables permit applicants to
apply and pay processing fees for permits online, work remains to be
done to build and optimize features to better achieve efficiency and
streamlining.
moving forward with clean energy
The 2024 budget includes increases in offshore and onshore
renewable energy programs building upon the tremendous growth
accomplished by these programs the past year. We are on our way to
achieve the Administration's goals to deploy 30 gigawatts (GW) of
offshore wind capacity by 2030, 15 GW of floating wind by 2035, and
continued growth thereafter. In FY 2022, the Bureau of Ocean Energy
Management (BOEM) approved the South Fork project, initiated
Environmental Impact Statements (EISs) for two projects, published
draft EISs for two projects, and began the environmental review process
for the construction and operation of offshore wind projects in the New
York Bight.
As of February 2023, the BOEM has conducted 11 competitive wind
energy lease sales for areas in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans,
representing more than 2.5 million acres of commercial wind energy
lease areas offshore California, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New
Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and
Virginia. Together, leases from these sales have the potential to
support 43.5 GW of offshore wind. BOEM conducted the first renewable
energy lease sale ever off the California coast on December 6, 2022,
and the agency plans to hold the first renewable energy lease sale in
the Gulf of Mexico in FY 2023. The bureau is in the planning stages of
identifying additional areas in the Gulf of Maine, and offshore the
Central Atlantic, Hawaii, and Oregon. BOEM has also received
unsolicited lease requests for areas offshore Washington and will
continue to assess interest in those areas.
As of February 2023, BOEM has approved two construction and
operations plans, and those projects are under construction. BOEM is
actively processing 16 additional plans and expects to receive one more
plan in 2023. If fully approved, these 19 projects have the potential
to support more than 30 GW of generation capacity and power 10.6
million homes. The IRA authorized BOEM to conduct offshore wind leasing
in the U.S. Territories. In FY 2023, BOEM will move forward with its
lease planning process in Puerto Rico, and the 2024 budget includes an
increase of $6.0 million to continue this planning in the U.S.
Territories.
The 2024 budget includes $64.5 million for BOEM's Renewable Energy
program, an increase of $21.6 million above the 2023 enacted level.
This request includes a $12.0 million increase to support permitting.
The budget includes $92.8 million for BOEM's Environmental Programs, an
increase of $10.4 million, which includes funding for environmental
review associated with renewable energy projects.
The budget for the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement
(BSEE) includes $8.4 million to continue to support offshore Renewable
Energy deployment and oversight. BSEE anticipates receiving more than
40,000 wind engineering, construction, and other technical reports for
review through the end of FY 2024. BSEE is working closely with BOEM to
develop the necessary framework to ensure offshore renewable energy
projects are implemented safely and responsibly.
BLM's onshore renewable program is also making tremendous progress
to achieve the Energy Act of 2020 goal to permit 25 GW of renewable
energy on public lands by 2025. The BLM has permitted more than 126
renewable energy projects in solar, wind, and operating geothermal
power plants. They are processing 68 priority utility-scale onshore
clean energy projects proposed on public lands in the western United
States, including solar, wind, geothermal, and associated interconnect
transmission line projects that are vital to grid connection. If
approved, these projects would provide more than 35 GW of renewable
energy to the western electric grid.
In addition to the 68 priority projects currently underway, BLM has
over 120 pending ending applications for processing when transmission
capacity is available, with the potential to support 50 GW of solar and
wind energy. The BLM is taking additional steps to prepare for this
increase in demand, including working to revise seven interstate
transmission corridors designated under Section 368 of the Energy
Policy Act of 2005. This effort involves amending 19 land use plans to
remove barriers or conflicts in the currently designated corridor
network to improve the siting, permitting, and review of electricity
transmission projects.
The bureau is also initiating a programmatic environmental impact
statement in support of utility-scale solar energy planning. In light
of improved technology, new transmission, and ambitious clean energy
goals, the BLM is updating the 2012 Solar PEIS and considering adding
more States, adjusting exclusion criteria, and potentially identifying
new or expanded areas to prioritize solar deployment.
The 2024 budget includes $72.5 million for BLM's Renewable Energy
program, an increase of $31.6 million from the 2023 enacted level. This
funding supports the bureau's Renewable Energy Coordination Offices and
includes increases to build staffing capacity and support planning and
permitting efforts to accommodate the surge in demand and workload. The
request supports proactive programmatic assessments and consultations
with FWS under Section 7(a)(1) of the ESA. This work will review
ecological regions for appropriate renewable energy deployment
scenarios in key areas where substantial renewable energy development
interest exists. This approach is an efficient alternative to project-
by-project consultation. BLM estimates using the ecological region
assessment approach will result in ESA project-consultation reviews
completed up to 90 percent faster and deliver substantially improved
species conservation outcomes.
conventional energy
The budget for BOEM provides $72.3 million for conventional energy
programs to support Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) planning, leasing,
and oversight, including inventorying oil and gas reserves, overseeing
ongoing activities, ensuring adequate financial assurances for
decommissioning liability and risk management, developing and
implementing the National OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Program (National
Five-Year OCS Program), reviewing and administering oil and gas
exploration and development plans and geological and geophysical
permits, and conducting economic analyses and resource evaluation. The
budget also includes $92.8 million for Environmental Studies,
supporting conventional and renewable energy activities.
As directed by the IRA, in 2022, Interior reinstated bids from
Lease Sale 257 and on December 30, 2022, held Lease Sale 258 in Cook
Inlet offshore Alaska. BOEM is proceeding with congressional direction
to prepare two lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico, Lease Sales 259 and
261. The bureau is on track to meet the statutory requirements that
Lease Sale 259 be held by March 31, 2023, and Lease Sale 261 by
September 30, 2023. BOEM is continuing development of the next National
OCS Leasing Program.
The 2024 budget for BSEE includes $217.1 million for conventional
energy programs to support OCS permit application reviews, regulation
and standard development for offshore activities, verification and
enforcement of operator compliance with all applicable environmental
laws and regulations, technical reviews of planned operations and
emerging technologies to properly identify and mitigate risks, a robust
inspection program employing an annual inspection strategy that
includes risk-based inspections, and incident investigations. BSEE's
budget also includes $30.0 million to fund the decommissioning of
orphaned offshore oil and gas infrastructure. This funding, along with
funding from other sources, will be used to address the most immediate
and urgent well, pipeline, and platform decommissioning needs to help
reduce the risks to environmental health and safety.
The 2024 budget includes $123.5 million for BLM's Oil and Gas
Management program, an increase of $10.6 million from the 2023 enacted
amount. The BLM budget also includes $51.0 million for Oil and Gas
Inspection Activities and proposes to offset the cost of this program
through the establishment of onshore inspection fees. Increases in the
2024 budget support increased program capacity and support to implement
requirements in the IRA, which modernized the Mineral Leasing Act and
mandates collecting royalties on all extracted methane. In addition to
administering oil and gas leasing and ensuring environmentally
responsible development, the budget request includes funding to
remediate legacy well sites in the National Petroleum Reserve--Alaska.
The 2024 budget includes $13.8 million for onshore and offshore
carbon sequestration programs in BLM, BOEM, and BSEE. Incentives
included in the IRA are expected to rapidly increase interest in carbon
sequestration, and Interior's bureaus are laying the groundwork to help
ensure that these efforts are implemented responsibly and safely. BOEM
and BSEE are working together to develop and publish a carbon
sequestration notice of proposed rulemaking for review and public
comment. While the rule is under development, BOEM and BSEE will
continue to develop their carbon sequestration programs to facilitate
program implementation upon final rule publication.
reclamation jobs
To complement significant BIL investments in abandoned coal mine
reclamation projects, the 2024 budget provides annual ongoing support
for other related reclamation activities addressing State and Tribal
reclamation needs associated with abandoned hardrock mines, legacy
pollution on Interior's lands, and economic development projects with a
nexus to abandoned coal mine lands. These projects address legacy
pollution--which harms the environment and often risks the public
health of communities--while creating good-paying jobs, advancing long
overdue environmental justice, and restoring lands for other uses.
The budget includes $30.0 million for the Abandoned Hardrock Mine
Reclamation Program authorized in the BIL to support State, Tribal, and
Federal efforts to inventory and address legacy sites on their lands.
Many States, Tribes, and Federal land programs do not have good
inventories or strong programs to manage Abandoned Hardrock Mine sites.
This program targets the need to build capacity and begin to address
these long-standing risks to health and safety.
The 2024 budget includes $62.8 million for BLM's Abandoned Mine
Lands and Hazardous Materials Management program, an increase of $5.6
million more than the 2023 enacted amount, which will operate in tandem
with the national Abandoned Hardrock Mine Reclamation Program to
increase efforts to inventory and remediate those sites on BLM lands.
Interior has also spearheaded an Interagency Working Group on
Mining Regulations, Laws, and Permitting (IWG) to examine the existing
statutory and regulatory framework for hardrock mining. The group will
identify and recommend potential improvements to Federal mining laws
and mine permitting processes, while better ensuring new mining
activity engages local and Tribal communities and meets strong
environmental standards. These efforts will help promote sustainable
and responsible domestic production of critical minerals that are vital
to achieving a clean energy economy. The IWG has hosted extensive
listening sessions to solicit input from a multitude of stakeholders
and will be releasing its report with recommendations in FY 2023. The
Administration looks forward to working with Congress in FY 2023 and FY
2024 to implement much needed mining reforms that will ensure strong
social, environmental, and labor standards while making improvements in
the efficiency, transparency, and inclusiveness of the Federal mine
permitting system.
Interior's Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement
(OSMRE) works with States and Tribes to regulate active coal mines to
ensure mining is done in an environmentally- responsible manner occur
and to remediate abandoned coal mines to address health and safety
hazards. High priority abandoned mine land problems pose an immediate
threat to health, safety, and the general welfare of communities and
can include clogged streams/stream lands, dangerous piles or
embankments, dangerous highwalls, and underground mine fires, and
polluted water. OSMRE manages the State and Tribal abandoned mine
reclamation grant programsauthorized by the Surface Mining Control and
Reclamation Act and the BIL. In 2022, OSMRE invested nearly $1 billion
in coal communities, including making nearly $725 million available to
22 States and the Navajo Nation for reclamation as part of the BIL and
$144.0 million available through the traditional, fee-funded, mandatory
AML grant program.
The 2024 budget includes $135.0 million for the Abandoned Mine Land
Economic Revitalization (AMLER) grant program, which administers grants
to 6 States and 3 Tribal Nations to return legacy coal mining sites to
productive uses and foster economic and community development. The
AMLER program has made more than $750 million available to the Nation's
current and former coal communities to provide economic and community
development and achieve reclamation of historic abandoned mine sites.
promoting equity, diversity, and inclusion of underserved communities
Interior continues to work across the Department to expand equity,
diversity, and inclusion beyond day-to-day management policies to
incorporate this concept in the delivery of our missions. This effort
is consistent with the Administration's whole-of-government approach to
advance equity, civil rights, racial justice, and equal opportunity.
Interior's 2024 budget request supports the actions needed to recognize
and redress inequities and to proactively advance diversity, equity,
inclusion, and accessibility within the Department's workforce. The
Department seeks to ensure that everyone, no matter their background or
ZIP Code, can enjoy the benefits of green spaces and the outdoors.
increasing representation and inclusion
Reflecting the Administration's commitment to accessibility and
inclusion, the budget includes an additional $10.0 million as part of
the Increasing Representation in Our Public Lands initiative. Funding
is included in the budgets of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at
$4.0 million; the BLM at $3.0 million; and the NPS at $3.0 million. The
initiative will provide support for recent or potential new
designations that preserve important places and tell the stories of
those that have been historically underrepresented, such as the recent
designations of the New Philadelphia and the Blackwell School National
Historic Sites.
The Administration remains committed to efforts to strengthen
Tribal Sovereignty including Tribal and Federal co-stewardship of
Federal lands, waters, and wildlife, through collaborative and
cooperative agreements with Tribal Nations. At the end of 2022,
Interior and the USDA Forest Service had signed more than 20 new co-
stewardship agreements with Tribes, Alaska Native corporations, and
consortiums. Interior's 2024 budget includes targeted increases to
expand Tribal co-stewardship across the Department. The NPS budget
includes $7.1 million to directly support Tribal participation in
management of Federal lands and waters with cultural and natural
resources of significance and value to Indian Tribes and their
citizens, including sacred religious sites, burial sites, wildlife, and
sources of indigenous foods and medicines.
The budget for the FWS includes increases of $3.5 million to
advance improved co-stewardship and engagement with Tribes on
Indigenous Knowledge research and conservation planning.
Implicit in the Marine Mammal Protection Act is the realization
that cooperative management of subsistence harvests between FWS and
Alaska Native organizations is more likely to achieve the goals of the
Act than management by a Federal agency alone. The budget provides
strong support to continue to build these relationships with partners
such as the Eskimo Walrus Commission and Alaska Nannut Co-management
Council, which is the FWS co-management partner for polar bears.
Many of Interior's bureaus have dedicated Tribal liaison services
to support Tribal engagement. The NPS 2024 budget proposes separate
funding for Tribal Heritage Grants within the Historic Preservation
Fund to support Indian Tribes, Alaska Native villages and corporations,
and Native Hawaiian organizations for the preservation and protection
of their cultural heritage, in addition to other important ongoing
Tribal programs. The USGS budget includes an increase of $7.2 million
for Tribal climate adaptation science as well as geospatial and
geologic research focused on Tribal lands.
ongoing commitment to diversity and equity
The Department is responsible for protecting and preserving the
treasures of this Nation and aims to build a workforce that represents
the treasures of this Nation--its people.
In 2022, the Department published its first Equity Action Plan,
which outlined efforts to advance equity through all DOI operations,
remove barriers to equal opportunity, and deliver resources and
benefits equitably to the general public. The Equity Action Plan is a
key part of Interior's efforts to implement Executive Order 13985,
Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through
the Federal Government, and Executive Order 14091, Further Advancing
Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through The
Federal Government, which calls on Federal agencies to advance equity
by identifying and addressing barriers to equal opportunity that
underserved communities may face as a result of some government
policies and programs.
In support of the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility
(DEIA) Action Plan, the 2024 budget includes program increases of $11.1
million for the Office of Diversity, Inclusion, and Civil Rights;
Office of Human Capital; and Office of Collaborative Alternative
Dispute Resolution to do the following:
--Provide resources to the Department's first-ever DEIA Council to
coordinate, develop, and implement policies and initiatives
promoting the integration of DEIA across the agency.
--Conduct barrier and workforce analyses and increase equal
employment opportunity (EEO) and DEIA training to employees
across the agency.
--Address EEO adjudication resourcing and compliance gaps identified
by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission resulting from
two technical assessments of DOI's EEO program.
--Improve the Department's Public Civil Rights reporting and tracking
capabilities.
--Strengthen the Department's Affirmative Employment Programs,
including the development of diversity and recruitment
flexibilities and assessment of hiring programs to improve
recruitment results.
--Expand capacity for alternative dispute resolution and EEO
complaint mediation.
The budget also includes $2.0 million to coordinate and manage
Departmentwide Justice40 efforts to help deliver at least 40 percent of
the overall benefits from certain Federal investments to disadvantaged
communities.
building agency capacity
Interior is strengthening the Department's delivery of core
programs and services for the American people. Efforts related to
improving Interior's workforce and operations and better leveraging
technology and information are underway across the Department.
interior's workforce and infrastructure
Interior's mission activities rely on a talented and dedicated
workforce, and many bureau operations are labor intensive and complex.
At the end of 2020, however, Interior's staffing was at a 10-year low,
with 60,558 FTE. Despite the pandemic, by the end of 2022, staffing had
increased to 61,857 FTE. When fully enacted, the Department's 2024
budget would support an estimated 68,329 FTE, an increase of 4,009 FTE
from the estimated 2023 level. As the Department rebuilds its
workforce, Interior is working to recruit, hire, and train the next
generation of talented people who will reflect the diversity and
strength of the United States.
The NPS depends on a talented staff to carry out its mission at
national park areas across the country. Over time, full-time staffing
across the National Park system has eroded due to absorption of fixed
costs and other challenges. As part of a multiyear effort, NPS is
working to build up its full-time Federal staff across the park system.
The 2024 budget includes an increase of $25.4 million to continue this
support to build operational capacity across all park areas, the
u.s. park police, and nps special agents
Interior manages an infrastructure portfolio valued at more than
$400 billion, which includes a variety of structures, including dams,
storage buildings, and national icons. The Department is responsible
for roughly 43,000 buildings, 115,000 miles of road, and 83,000
structures.
Operations, maintenance, renewal, and modernization of
infrastructure are a significant focus of Interior's funding that
directly help to create jobs and benefit local economies.
The 2024 budget includes more than $3.0 billion, $40.5 million
above the 2023 level, to address the Department's infrastructure
operations, maintenance, renewal, and modernization needs.
Interior's annual request for infrastructure funding is in addition
to $1.6 billion in mandatory funding available to Interior each year
through 2025 through the National Parks and Public Land Legacy
Restoration Fund (LRF) included in the GAOA. Those funds are available
to address the Department's deferred maintenance backlog in the NPS,
FWS, BLM, and BIE schools. The USFS also receives up to $285 million in
LRF funding each year.
At the end of 2023, Interior's LRF program will have initiated 276
projects touching all 50 States; Washington, D.C.; Puerto Rico; and the
U.S. Virgin Islands. When completed, those projects are estimated to
address $3.4 billion of Interior's deferred maintenance backlog, create
an average of 17,000 jobs each year, and contribute an average of $1.8
billion each year to the overall gross domestic product. The 2024
budget proposes another $1.6 billion in identified LRF projects across
the country.
In addition, the budget includes $53.6 million across multiple
bureaus to support a multi-year plan to fully transition the
Department's light duty fleet acquisitions to zero-emission vehicles
(ZEVs). This funding will be used to conduct fleet planning (including
ZEV integration), electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) site
evaluations, EVSE installation, and ZEV acquisition. This planning
helps to ensure ZEVs are integrated into Interior fleet plans;
prioritize facilities for deployment; determine infrastructure needs,
such as increased electrical supply and access for EVSE; and coordinate
installation to ensure Interior can maximize the use of the charging
stations across the bureaus and other Federal agencies.
investing in technology and information management
The 2024 budget includes $4.5 million in the Appropriated Working
Capital Fund, complemented with $200,000 in BTFA, to help improve
Interior's customer service by better understanding our customers,
reducing administrative hurdles and paperwork burdens, and redesigning
compliance-oriented processes to improve the customer experience.
Interior is targeting these efforts in four specific programs: Bureau
of Indian Affairs probate activities; Bureau of Trust Funds
Administration management of Individual Indian Money accounts and
beneficiary services; FWS trip planning through fws.gov; and NPS
digital experience and volunteer services.
The 2024 budget includes $10.1 million to enhance data management
practices and conduct program evaluations to inform evidence-based
decisions. That amount includes $2.1 million to establish a robust data
management program to organize data through an enterprise data
inventory to better support analysis and evaluation across the agency.
Another $6.1 million will support evidence and program evaluations of
programs, initiatives, and processes across Interior to assess how well
they are working to achieve the intended goals.
To better support that data-driven work, the 2024 budget includes
$59.7 million for the operation and maintenance of the Financial and
Business Management System (FBMS), an increase of $5.3 million from the
2023 enacted amount. The request includes funding required for ongoing
operations and maintenance of the Department's integrated FBMS system
of record.
Modernizing Interior's core business system to ensure a strong
administrative backbone is critical to the continued execution of
Interior's mission activities.
The 2024 budget includes $67.8 million to fund cybersecurity
efforts, an increase of $23.4 million. The budget continues to fund
extremely high-priority, recurring operations and maintenance costs for
incident remediation activities and provides resources to be directed
against emerging threats. The request includes an increase of $23.4
million to support a Zero Trust (ZT) architecture, which will advance
Interior's adaptation of a modern security model founded on a principle
requiring all devices and users, regardless of whether they are inside
or outside an organization's network, to be authenticated, authorized,
and regularly validated before being granted access. Within the $23.4
million increase is $5.0 million for a secure access service edge
(SASE) solution, which focuses on securing access points to meet the
required ZT security and performance standards.
The 2024 budget proposes appropriations language to establish a
nonrecurring expenses fund (NEF), which will allow the Department to
transfer unobligated balances of expired discretionary funds from 2024
and subsequent years, no later than the fifth fiscal year after the
last fiscal year of availability, to the NEF as no-year funds to
support specific purposes. The NEF will provide funding for critical
infrastructure projects that may require significant one-time
investments, such as information technology modernization projects.
Those requirements often do not coincide with the timing of the budget
formulation process and are difficult to forecast. In many cases, those
costs either cannot be accommodated within existing funds or are
emergency requirements that would otherwise require the Department to
reprogram existing funds from other priority projects.
The 2024 budget includes $185.4 million for the Office of Natural
Resources Revenue (ONRR) to ensure revenue from Federal and Indian
mineral leases is effectively, efficiently, and accurately collected,
accounted for, analyzed, audited, and disbursed in a timely fashion.
The request will fund additional staff and counsel support and
strengthen ONRR's audit and compliance activities as well as expand
ONRR's Tribal audit program to include agreements with two additional
Tribes. The budget includes an increase of $5.0 million to address new
royalty rates and other changes enacted in the IRA, which are expected
to increase the complexity of royalty reporting and audit requirements.
Interior's operations rely heavily on field communications which in
some places, the Department's legacy land mobile radio system, a
technology largely unchanged since the 1950s, is the first and often
only source of communication. The 2024 budget includes $32.2 million
for DOI's Field Communications Modernization (DIFCOM) as part of a
multiyear investment which includes the BIA, BLM, FWS, NPS, and USGS,
and the Office of the Chief Information Officer.
conclusion
The 2024 President's Budget for Interior invests in programs to
strengthen our Nation for all Americans, protect our environment, and
ensure our future generations continue to not only enjoy, but improve
our way of life. I look forward to doing this work together. Thank you
again for having me, and I am pleased to answer any questions you may
have.
PUBLIC SAFETY ON TRIBAL LANDS
Senator Merkley. Thank you very much, Madam Secretary. And
we are going to have seven-minute rounds of questioning. I am
going to try to get through three tribal questions during that
seven minutes.
And I wanted to start with the issue of the importance of
public safety and justice funding for our tribes. We have a
complicated system of jurisdiction over law enforcement on
tribal lands. Sometimes the tribe is responsible. Sometimes the
Federal Government is responsible.
We also have a complicated system of funding for tribal,
public safety and justice programs. There are tribes that are
eligible for receiving Federal funding but are not able to kind
of get inside the club, if you will, including five tribes in
Oregon and some 30 tribes nationwide.
For this reason, I advocated for and we included in last
year's funding bill $7 million for startup funding for the
Department to begin consultations with tribes to determine the
extent of the problem and to provide a small amount of base
funding to the tribes that now want to participate who would
otherwise be eligible but have been excluded so far. Can you
update us on how the consultation is proceeding and how the
money will be spent under this program?
Secretary Haaland. Thank you, Chairman, and we appreciate
the support on that. The Bureau of Indian Affairs is finalizing
the list of eligible Tribes, and we expect to deliver that to
Congress in the coming weeks. As soon as that list is provided,
we will announce the consultation with the impacted tribes
regarding how the funding should be allocated.
Senator Merkley. And do you have some sense of how the
allocation formula might work?
Secretary Haaland. We are happy to get back with your
office on those specific details.
[The information follows:]
tribes not subject to public law 83-280 that do not receive law
enforcement services or funding from the office of justice services
The table below identifies the Tribes eligible for the additional
funds provided by Congress in FY 2023. BIA held a consultation
regarding this issue, including on how the funding should be allocated,
on May 23, 2023. Of the 31 Tribes invited, 10 Tribes attended. The
deadline for Tribes to request a portion of this funding was extended
from June 6, 2023 to June 23, 2023. The deadline for submission of
written comments was also extended to June 23.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tribe State
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama-Quassarte Tribal Town........................... OK
Catawba Indian Nation................................... SC
Cayuga Nation........................................... NY
Chickahominy Tribe...................................... VA
Chickahominy Tribe-Eastern Division..................... VA
Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians............... OR
Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians........................ ME
Jena Band of Choctaw Indians............................ LA
Kialegee Tribal Town.................................... OK
Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana....... MT
Mashpee Wampanoag....................................... MA
Match-e-be-nash-she-wish Band of Potawatomi Indians of MI
Michigan...............................................
Mohegan Tribe of Indians of Connecticut................. CT
Monacan Indian Nation................................... VA
Nansemond Indian Nation................................. VA
Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi................... MI
Oneida Indian Nation.................................... NY
Onondaga Nation......................................... NY
Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah............................. UT
Pamunkey Indian Tribe................................... VA
Pueblo of Sandia........................................ NM
Rappahannock Tribe...................................... VA
Sac & Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa.............. IA
San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe.......................... AZ/UT
Seneca Nation of Indians................................ NY
Shinnecock Indian Nation................................ NY
Thlopthlocco Tribal Town................................ OK
Tonawanda Band of Seneca................................ NY
Tuscarora Nation........................................ NY
United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians............... OK
Upper Mattaponi Tribe................................... VA
------------------------------------------------------------------------
TRIBAL LAW ENFORCEMENT: CRIME PREVENTION
Senator Merkley. Great. Okay. I am going to turn to the
second question, which is the budget you have put before us
proposes $642, I am rounding off, million for Bureau of Indian
Affairs' public safety and justice programs.
And boosting the boots on the ground, if you will, across
Indian country seems to be a central tenet of this request. The
Tribal Law and Order Act report shows an unmet need of $3.5
billion for public safety, so we obviously have a huge
disparity or a huge challenge in that regard. But in addition
to boots on the ground, is this a goal of, well, preventing
crime before it happens.
Always better if a problem never occurs, a crime is never
committed. Can you describe how your budget addresses not just
the need for law enforcement, but also crime prevention and the
Tiwahe Initiative?
Secretary Haaland. Senator, thank you so much for that
question. First, I will just say that tribal public safety and
justice are one of the top priorities of Tribes across the
country. And so, we understand the need for this. I just want
to say that there is always a need to make sure that we have
the staffing in those areas.
And, part of that is making sure that the benefits and pay
for these tribal communities are at a level that helps them to
want to stay where they are. We have had a problem with
retention, you know, we train tribal police officers up and
then they find a better paying job elsewhere.
And so, we are working very hard to retain the staff that
we have in those areas. And I think that is one of the largest
issues.
Senator Merkley. And this particular initiative that began
in 2015, as I understand it, Tiwahe, means family in the Lakota
language and symbolizes the interconnectedness of all beings,
and was launched with a series of pilot projects in six
communities with the goal of reducing crime on the front end.
Any update on how those pilot programs are going?
Secretary Haaland. Senator, we will be happy to update your
staff specifically on the Tiwahe initiative, if that is okay
with you. I will get with you soon.
INDIAN AFFAIRS SECTION 105(1) LEASE PROGRAM
Senator Merkley. Thank you. That would be great. And then I
am happy to see the President's budget requests reclassifying
contract support costs and 105(l) building leases as mandatory
funding. And you know, that is a mouthful, contract support
costs and 105(l) leases. And what are those?
Well, essentially, they are the administrative overhead and
leasing costs that a tribe bears when it options to self-
Government. And twin court cases have affirmed that the Federal
Government is required to reimburse tribes for these costs, and
I want to emphasize that word, ``required''.
And so, what are these costs, really? Well, what they are
is the cost of a tribe exercising its sovereignty to run their
own programs. And for this reason, the term that I have been
encouraging is to call these tribal sovereignty payments
because they are required, and therefore, it makes sense that
they are done as mandatory funding.
And so, I don't know if that term is one that resonates
with you, but I thought I would ask you in terms of its role.
And if you would like to elaborate on this goal of having those
two required expenses classified as mandatory funding.
Secretary Haaland. I appreciate your support of this,
Chairman. And yes, I mean, you said it all. They are required
by law. These costs are not optional. And so, it stands to
reason that there is no option for this, so we have to pay.
So, for example, if a Tribe requests compensation for the
use of law enforcement facilities they built and paid for, the
BIA must develop a 105(l) lease agreement and provide the
associated funding. So, these are things that we have to do.
So, we appreciate the support on that. And thank you for
supporting Tribes.
Senator Merkley. Do you like that term, tribal sovereignty
fees?
Secretary Haaland. I think it is great.
Senator Merkley. Great. Thank you. I will turn this over to
Senator Murkowski.
KING COVE, ALASKA
Senator Murkowski. Madam Secretary, let's begin with the
first part of my opening statement, which was reference to the
people of King Cove. And I talked about the medevacs. We want
to put that into just nothing more than bad memories.
But there have been more than 200 medevacs that King Cove
has endured over the past 9 years, 28 of those by the Coast
Guard. Risks their crew lives, costs tax taxpayer dollars. You
have heard it all.
You have not yet had an opportunity to speak on the record
yet about what your Department is doing with regards to the
situation in King Cove and why. So, if you can this morning say
to the committee about why your Department withdrew from the
land exchange agreement, and more importantly, what can you
tell the Alaska Native people of King Cove to assure them that
you will finally be the Secretary that protects their health
and safety?
Secretary Haaland. Thank you very much, Senator, for that
question. So, the land exchange that we withdrew, as I
mentioned to you when we spoke, was essentially flawed. And we
felt that by the time it wound its way through, that it would
take a very long time and that perhaps we could work toward a
better solution in a quicker timeframe.
With respect to the people of King Cove. Yes, I have
visited there, like it happened yesterday. My time there with
them and with you last year resonates with me, and I have met
twice with them virtually and once in person. So, I have heard
the stories and I understand how difficult it is for the people
there to get the services they need.
We also visited the clinic. There is no way for them to--it
can't be, Anchorage General Hospital on King Cove. The medical
services they get there are limited, so we completely
understand that, too. And the weather.
So, doctors can't even get into the community at times. So,
we understand all of those challenges, and I really want to
find a solution for the people of King Cove so that they don't
have to worry about getting the medical care that they need.
You know, what I said in my last meeting virtually with the
leadership at King Cove was that, I know that people tell them,
move to Anchorage. Why don't you move somewhere where you can
get the health care you need? And that is not for us to decide.
We have, our Department has, an obligation to our nation's
Indian Tribes. We have a trust and treaty obligation. That
absolutely includes health care, education, housing, and so
forth. We are committed to ensuring that the people of King
Cove can once and for all find a solution to this terrible
tragedy in so many ways.
And so, I just want you to know that two of my high level
staff were just there in King Cove yesterday. As promised, we
are following through with our commitment to meet with them, to
keep them informed.
We want to make sure that we are informing them every step
of the way. And so, I just want to let you know that I am
committed to a solution there.
Senator Murkowski. And Madam Secretary, I appreciate that
you say you are committed to a solution. Are you committed to a
land exchange that will allow for the ten-mile, one lane
gravel, noncommercial use road that will allow the people of
King Cove to gain access to transportation, to take them to the
public health facilities that they need?
Secretary Haaland. Senator, all of these things are pre-
decisional and I don't want to cause any part of this to fail
on my part. So, I just want to assure you that we are committed
to a viable solution for the people of King Cove. And we will
keep them informed of that.
Senator Murkowski. You and I recognize that processes like
a land exchange cannot be done with a snap of a finger. Cannot
be done overnight. They take time. We can all count backwards
from the end of a term.
We can all look at steps along the way when it comes to a
required Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and how long the
process takes. And I would suggest to you that we do not have
unlimited time to do this under your watch. And if you are
committing to the people of King Cove and you are committing to
me that you will find a solution that will address their public
safety concerns. We don't have the luxury of time.
And so, the promise to just keep us informed, in my view,
is not satisfactory. If we are going to accomplish this, if we
are going to address the wrongs that have been, have literally
been perpetuated on these native people by a Government that
basically came in and said this area that you have utilized,
that you have used for access, for hunting, for your cabins, we
are going to designate as a wilderness, as a refuge area, and
no consultation, no input whatsoever, just cut off. You know
that is not right. They know that is not right.
And we need to rectify this. We have been working on this
now for over 30 years. Two hundred medevacs, people died and
you have talked to, you have heard from those whose lives have
been forever changed by the inability to gain access to a
simple, one lane gravel, and noncommercial use road. It ought
to not be this hard.
I need you to be this warrior. I want us to be looking at
how we can legislate, because we know that that will be the
quicker route. Mr. Chairman, my time has expired. Thank you.
Senator Merkley. Thank you very much, Senator. I am going
to turn to the chair of the Appropriations committee, Senator
Murray.
STATEMENT OF SENATOR PATTY MURRAY
Senator Murray. Well, thank you very much, Chair Merkley
and Ranking Member Murkowski. I am really pleased that both of
you are leading this important subcommittee, because I know
both of you understand, like Vice Chair Collins and I do, that
we have a responsibility to work in a timely fashion, in a
bipartisan way, to pass these funding bills that keep our
families safe and our nation strong and competitive.
So, I look forward to working with both of you to do just
that as we return to regular order. And this hearing is an
important reminder on how these issues this subcommittee deals
with are critical to all of our families back home. For one, we
have to make sure our nation lives up to its commitment to our
tribes, providing the necessary Federal support and honoring
our commitment to their sovereignty.
That is why I want to underscore my support for Chair
Merkley's efforts on tribal sovereignty payments. We also have
a moral obligation to leave the next generation a world in
better shape than we found it. So, we have to keep in mind
defense spending isn't the only way that we protect our nation.
The critical issues we are talking about here today are
directly connected to the security of our country and the
strength of our economy. We have to protect and restore our
environment so we can pass on to our kids clean air and
thriving forests and healthy ecosystems that support strong
communities.
And we must ensure that our kids have safe drinking water
free of lead contamination and harmful chemicals like Per- and
polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Our national parks are
national treasures, bringing in tourists and dollars from
around the world to local communities in every corner of our
nation, and giving our families a great place to see the
outdoors and explore our country.
They also remind us that our security and our strength
directly connected to how well we care for our environment, our
ability to tackle the climate crisis, for instance, because
families are less safe when climate disasters become more
frequent, when wildfires devastate our communities.
Any Western State can tell you that when ecosystems are
upended by invasive species, like we are dealing with European
green crab in Washington State right now, or when rising
temperatures create prolonged droughts impacting our farmers
and our wildlife and our day-to-day life.
And when we fail to prevent and respond to those disasters,
we are weaker and less competitive in the world as well. In my
home State of Washington, salmon is a way of life. They are a
huge part of our economy, our history, and our culture.
Protecting and restoring salmon habitat and increasing salmon
runs is key to our state's strength and its future. And saving
salmon is also a part of meeting our obligation to our tribes.
And there are so many other examples like this that make
clear why protecting our land and our water and our air and our
environment is so important to our country's future. So, I am
very glad to have this opportunity to just discuss how we can
invest in doing just that, to strengthen our nation. So,
Secretary Haaland, welcome to the committee.
SALMON HATCHERIES
Senator Murray. As I mentioned, salmon is a way of life in
my home State. Can you talk about how this budget will help
with salmon recovery and what investments will support hatchery
maintenance and operations?
Secretary Haaland. Thank you very much, Chair Murray. And
yes, salmon is a way of life for so many communities, and I
have been able to visit many of those communities, so I
understand that it is not just the food you eat, but it is a
cultural way of life for so many people.
I am very proud of our fish hatcheries. In fact, I went to
a fish hatchery when I was in Oregon just a couple of weeks
ago. Around 1 million to 2 million salmon now return to the
Columbia Basin annually. Of those, a majority are hatchery
fish. Those are important entities that we want to make sure
that we support.
The budget maintains support for hatchery operations and
includes a significant increase of $15 million to address
hatchery deferred maintenance work. The budget proposes an $80
million for national fish hatchery operations, a $7 million
increase including $23 million for hatchery maintenance and
equipment.
Senator Murray. Okay. Thank you. Well, this is something I
follow very closely, as I know both of our committee chair and
ranking member will as well. I wanted to ask you about the
European green crab.
It is a globally damage invasive species that is of
particular concern in my home State. We need to get ahead of
this now to protect the native crab populations. How does U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service intend to work with National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration to address this threat?
Secretary Haaland. Thank you. Invasive species, of course,
across the country is a giant concern for all of us. The Fish
and Wildlife Service continues to coordinate and participate in
European green crab control efforts.
And we work with partners, they work with partners to
develop a draft national control plan, and that is expected in
April. And also, the Fish and Wildlife Service conducts early
detection, monitoring, control, and removal of these crabs on
Pacific Northwest refuges, the refuges that Fish and Wildlife
Service manages.
It also provides grants to States to implement statewide
aquatic nuisance species management plans. We will work with
States to make sure that we can help with this invasive
species.
DOI-WIDE DROUGHT EFFORTS
Senator Murray. Okay. Thank you. We will be working with
you on this as we move forward. And finally, in the west,
wildfire and droughts are actually two sides of the same coin.
While this year's atmospheric rivers have given us a lot of
rain, we know that climate change is impacting the long-term
hydrology across our country.
I recently spoke with Commissioner Townsend about
reclamation work on drought. So, I wanted to ask you about
agencies within Interior, how do they work in tandem to deal
with the issue of drought?
Secretary Haaland. Thank you. So, we take an all of
Department of Interior approach to address drought,
specifically in the West, because we know we need to build long
term resilience. And that includes making sure that we are
working not only with States, local communities, but also with
Indian tribes.
The Geological Survey, as well as the Fish and Wildlife
Service, both play a critical role in working to remedy these
impacts of our changing climate. And they provide actionable
science for land and water managers that inform resource
management activities.
In 2024, the U.S. Geological Survey proposes $6.5 million
to provide resource managers with decision support tools to
better understand this issue.
Senator Murray. Thank you very much. Thank you, Mr.
Chairman.
Senator Merkley. Thank you very much, Chair Murray. And we
are going to turn to Senator Fischer.
AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL INITIATIVE
Senator Fischer. Thank you, Mr. Chairman and Ranking
Member. Madam Secretary, thank you for being here today. I
would like to start by discussing the Administration's America
the Beautiful Initiative. Could you tell us to date how much
funding has DOI spent on implementing the America the Beautiful
Initiative?
Secretary Haaland. I appreciate the question. And I would
actually, if it is okay with you, Senator, we can get back to
your office with the exact funding. I don't have that in front
of me at the moment.
Senator Fischer. Okay. For example, can you tell me if
staffing resources have been used to plan for it, coordinate,
implement, or track the initiative?
Secretary Haaland. Thank you so much. The America the
Beautiful supports public/private conservation partnerships for
example we have $140 million, which is an increase of $34
million for Fish and Wildlife Service partnership programs. I
apologize, I just got the list.
If that is okay, I will tell it to you. $182 million, which
is an increase of $8 million for Fish and Wildlife Service
Conservation Grant Programs, where people can apply for those
grants to help their projects. And $306 million for National
Park Service (NPS) Land and Water Conservation Fund grants.
Senator Fischer. Now, is that funding that has been
currently spent or what you are planning to spend?
Secretary Haaland. Well, we are asking for increases in our
going partnership programs and conservation grants.
Senator Fischer. Okay. I know in in your request, you have
listed the America the Beautiful Initiative at least 86 times
throughout the budget justification. I just wanted to bring to
your attention that Nebraska is a private property State.
Ninety-seven percent of our land is privately owned.
And as we look at this initiative, the fact that there is
no clear authorization or appropriations from Congress means
that there is no guardrails that is there, and I don't believe
there is any accountability for how you would spend those
funds. So that has caused a lot of concern with my
constituents.
In fact, we have at least 70 counties in Nebraska that have
issued resolutions of disapproval for the 30 by 30 initiative.
Nebraskans are concerned that this effort is an attempt at a
land grab by the Federal Government at worst, and it is a
failure of the Administration to recognize that private
landowners are the best managers of their land at best.
So, given the level of concern that we see from Nebraskans
and the majority of Nebraskans, can you tell me how the
Administration and how you are defining conservation in
relationship to the goal that is listed with the America the
Beautiful Initiative, and how much land today would meet that
definition?
Secretary Haaland. Thank you. First of all, I will say that
we are working on an atlas that would essentially, count the
land and track conservation efforts. We also want to mention
that the America the Beautiful initiative, is really based on
locally led conservation.
There are a lot of private landowners who feel very
strongly about conserving resources on their lands, and they
designate certain areas for certain things or animals. And so,
we are happy to work with private landowners.
We know that they are the best stewards of their own lands
as well, and we respect and appreciate that. So, it supports
locally led conservation partnerships. Those are the
conversations we are having now. I recognize that there might
be a concern, but the America the Beautiful Initiative is based
on a voluntary opportunity for----
Senator Fischer. Right. But I would point out, as you are
working on this and working with mapping, Congress hasn't
provided any funds for this initiative. And I believe your job
is to implement programs that Congress has provided funds for.
So, I would appreciate an accounting of any past or planned
expenditures that you have, salaries, programs, IT,
reprograming, and the whole thing. That is going to, I think,
be very helpful as we look at the Interior appropriations bill.
So, I hope that you do follow up with my staff.
Secretary Haaland. We absolutely. Thank you, Senator.
[The information follows:]
america the beautiful expenditures--past & planned
The America the Beautiful is an interagency initiative to support
locally led, partnership driven conservation and restoration
nationwide. Interior is an active Federal partner in supporting the
initiative driven by our mission and responsibilities for land and
resource management. DOI's participation in America the Beautiful comes
through established DOI programs which support the goals of the
initiative, but the Department does not track funding for it as it
would a formal program.
During the hearing, Secretary Haaland gave examples of funding
requested for several DOI programs which help to support the objectives
of America the Beautiful including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's
Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program. The budget proposes $79.7
million in FY 2024 for the Partners program, an increase of $19.5
million above FY 2023 enacted. The program is authorized by the
Partners for Fish and Wildlife Act (16 U.S.C. 3771- 3774) to establish
a program that works with private landowners to conduct cost-effective
habitat projects for the benefit of fish and wildlife resources in the
United States.
The Partners Program works in all 50 States and territories, to
consult with landowners to help them conserve and improve wildlife
habitat. Landowner conservation is important because nearly 70 percent
of land in the United States is privately owned. Public and private
landowners are critical partners in ensuring the health and
sustainability of America's fish, wildlife and plant species. Projects
are voluntary and customized to meet landowners' needs. Participating
landowners continue to own and manage their land while they improve
conditions for wildlife.
Many Partners for Fish and Wildlife projects take place on working
landscapes such as forests, farms and ranches. FWS efforts focus on
areas of conservation concern, such as upland forests, wetlands, native
prairies, marshes, rivers and streams and designing projects to benefit
Federal trust species including migratory birds, endangered, threatened
and at-risk species.
All private landowners interested in restoring wildlife habitat on
their land are eligible to participate. Current partners include
farmers, ranchers, forest landowners, recreational landowners,
corporations, local governments and universities. In addition to
private landowners, the program partners with other Federal agencies,
State agencies and non-governmental organizations to complete projects
on private lands. Participating landowners do not forfeit any property
rights and are not required to allow public access.
Another example mentioned at the hearing is the Land and Water
Conservation Fund State Grants program managed by the National Park
Service, which was permanently reauthorized in the Great American
Outdoors Act. The program receives mandatory funding which is allocated
annually by Congress through Appropriations. The budget proposes $305.5
million in FY 2024 for these competitive and formula matching grants to
States.
The State grants support the acquisition and development of land
and facilities that will provide the public with access to new
opportunities to engage in outdoor recreation. Grants to States also
provide for continuing State planning efforts to address outdoor
recreation needs. Since 1965, more than $5.2 billion has been
apportioned to the States, resulting in the award of over 45,000
grants. States, Tribes, and localities have matched this amount at
least dollar-for-dollar, doubling the Federal investment.
This program has successfully allowed States to take greater
responsibility for the protection and development of open space and
outdoor recreation resources. The Land and Water Conservation Fund Act
of 1965 (54 U.S.C. 2003), provides funds and authorization for funding
to the States in planning, acquisition, and development of needed land
and water areas and facilities.
ENVIRONMENTAL PERMITTING
Senator Fischer. Thank you. Thank you very much. Also,
within the President's budget request, it includes one $171.4
million to increase the environmental permitting capacity of
the Fish and Wildlife Service.
And DOI has requested Congress to provide legislative
authority for other agencies to transfer funds from the
bipartisan infrastructure bill to the Fish and Wildlife Service
for Endangered Species Act consultations. I voted for the
bipartisan infrastructure bill, and I voted for it to build
infrastructure, not to fund Federal Government permitting. And
I want to be very, very blunt about this.
I will strongly oppose moving any of those taxpayer dollars
from the bipartisan infrastructure bill that we passed on a
bipartisan basis to increase any more Federal permitting. I am
curious on what actions you have taken to streamline the
Endangered Species Act (ESA) consultations to ensure that they
are not holding up bipartisan infrastructure dollars.
Secretary Haaland. Endangered Species Act, yes. Thank you.
First of all, we are happy to get back with you on all of the
things that you asked us about. We are happy to contact your
staff as soon as we get back to the office. The Endangered
Species Act, is 50 years old and has been a godsend to so many
animals. The animals--you know, what we try to do really is
recovery.
We work with communities, people on the ground, local
Governments to ensure that we recover species. And we really
don't want to lose species. We want to make sure that we are
doing the work ahead of time so that they don't get to that
level.
Senator Fischer. Right. But you should not be using
bipartisan infrastructure bill dollars in order to do that.
That should be, in my opinion, a separate line item for that
agency to take care of the Act. So, I see my time is up. If we
can follow up with my staff, I would sincerely appreciate.
Secretary Haaland. Yes, we will. Thank you.
[The information follows:]
streamlining esa consultations on bil projects
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) is working diligently to
help Federal action agencies advance their BIL and IRA projects on
schedule, which includes meeting their statutory ESA section 7
responsibilities in a defensible manner. To handle the large,
anticipated increase for Section 7 consultation services, FWS is
focused on building the capacity needed to carry out the consultations
and environmental reviews to assist agencies consistent with their
project schedules. For FY 2024, the President's budget for FWS requests
$171.4 million for planning and consultation activities, an increase of
$50.5 million which would support an increase of 225 FTEs to address
the anticipated demand.
FWS is also working to develop funding agreements with BIL-funded
agencies. Division J of the BIL authorized the Forest Service (USFS) to
transfer funds to the FWS to ensure adequate staff capacity to provide
ESA section 7 consultation to support Wildfire Risk Reduction
activities. The USFS and FWS developed an interagency transfer funding
agreement that provides the funds to hire dedicated consultation staff,
establishes standard national processes for coordinating on workload
and funding needs, and clarifies expectations around deliverables,
accountability, reporting, and issue resolution. The dedicated staffing
established through this agreement ensures FWS can adequately assist
the USFS to deliver on their specific priority projects and
implementation schedule. FWS has successfully developed similar funding
agreements with the DOI Office of Wildland Fire and the BLM and is
actively pursuing other funding agreements with additional BIL-funded
agencies.
While authority already exists to enter into reimbursable funding
agreements with other BIL- funded agencies, the FY 2024 President's
Budget also proposes appropriations language to provide BIL-funded
agencies funds transfer authority to support agreements with the FWS to
carry out ESA section 7 consultations. This additional authority would
help expedite interagency agreements for section 7 activities and
minimize processing time and overhead costs as compared to other forms
of interagency funding agreements.
FWS is also working to facilitate environmental reviews and
consultations by continuing to invest in and enhance a web-based
project planning and consultation tool called IPaC (Information
Planning and Consultation system). IPaC streamlines the environmental
review process. One of the most active public uses for IPaC is to
receive an official species list as part of early project planning and
design. Through IPaC, Federal agencies or partners can draw a polygon
over a specific area in the U.S. and receive a list of all of the
federally listed, proposed, and candidate species that may be present
in that location. In FY 2022, the IPaC program generated over 103,500
species lists in response to user requests. This online system allows
FWS biologists to work in real-time with project managers from other
Federal agencies as they review documents and identify areas of concern
during the environmental review process.
Additional investments can tailor IPaC functionality to the needs
of specific action agencies and greatly streamline consultations on
many types of routine predictable agency actions.
Senator Fischer. Thank you very much. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Senator Merkley. Thank you, Senator Fischer. Senator
Peters.
GREAT LAKES RESTORATION INITIATIVE
Senator Peters. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Secretary Haaland,
it is great to see you here today, and thank you for all of the
work that you are doing in a very important position.
Secretary, the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative was
established in 2009 to accelerate efforts to protect and
restore one of the largest systems of fresh water on the
surface in the entire world, and that is the Great Lakes.
And as Michiganders, the Great Lakes are not only in our
DNA, but are a critical resource for drinking water. In fact,
over 40 million people drink water out of the Great Lakes,
economic growth as well as job creation. And since 2010, the
GLRI has provided over a $2.9 billion to fund more than 6,000
projects throughout the Great Lakes region, including $762
million for 880 projects just in Michigan alone.
As one of 16 Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI)
regional working group members, the Department of the Interior
awards competitive grants to assist organizations and
communities who are taking very creative approaches to improve
habitats as well as overall water quality.
So, my question for you, ma'am, is can you speak to how the
Department of Interior utilizes GLRI funding to help improve
water quality, and in the process will accelerate Great Lakes
protection, as well as restoration?
Secretary Haaland. Thank you very much for the question,
Senator. Our bureaus work closely with the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) as part of the Great Lakes--as part of
this initiative. It is an important program for us, and we are
grateful that we can partner on those things.
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) work through the
Great Lakes Restoration Initiative focuses on research to
prevent the establishment of invasive carps in the Great Lakes.
And as you mentioned, invasive species is an issue across the
country.
Our scientists, the USGS scientists are also leading
efforts in the Great Lakes to adaptively manage common reed,
improve control of zebra and quagga mussels, and control
invasive crayfishes.
So, with our budget, we propose $104 million for work in
the Great Lakes including USGS Research, Fish and Wildlife
Service Conservation restoration work, refuges and facility
operations and National Park operations.
Senator Peters. Wonderful. Well, we appreciate your
continued focus on that. The other issue that I am particularly
interested in discussing with you involves National Park
employee wages, specifically looking at them at a more granular
level to better reflect the cost of living that they face based
on where they may be working.
You know, for instance, employees working at the Sleeping
Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, located in Northern Michigan,
might be paid a lower rate than those working at a Park Service
site, say, in Detroit.
But the cost of living, especially for seasonal workers, is
extremely high. So, when I was up there recently visiting you,
you have an amazing park facility there. But it is a fairly
remote area and the only housing available is immediately
around the park. And especially in peak season with tourism,
that is prime, prime real estate.
PARK EMPLOYEE HOUSING AND RECRUITMENT
Senator Peters. And it is difficult for folks to find
housing, particularly in Michigan, which is very seasonal as
they come up in the summer. Trying to get employees and workers
is incredibly difficult given the cost of living just around
the confines of the park, that they would have to travel very
long distances in order to be there and it causes a real
problem.
So, I would hope that the panel will take a closer look and
deciding how to the pay needs are different depending on park
locations and in a more granular level than is currently used,
and would hope to get your commitment to look at that and
certainly welcome any thoughts you have on how we might
approach it.
Secretary Haaland. Absolutely. Housing is an issue across
the country, and in many of our national parks, the gateway
communities we know are expensive. And so, we work with
partners.
And not only that, but climate change has been an issue as
well. Some housing was washed away, quite frankly, at
Yellowstone in the last flood they had. So, we are working on
the housing issue and we are working to bring people together
to figure that out.
But also, I just want to assure you that we have Government
wide recruitment and retention incentives available, and those
are available to all agencies, and so we are working hard to
make sure that we can offer those incentives, those pay
incentives to the folks who take these important jobs in those
remote areas.
So, we will keep you informed, but appreciate you caring
about that. And we know that there are two sides to that, the
housing plus the pay, so we are working on both.
Senator Peters. Right. Good. Good to hear. We will look
forward to continuing to work with you as well. National
heritage areas have also proven a record of fostering job
creation and advancing economic, cultural, historic, natural,
as well as community development.
And in addition to creating jobs, national heritage areas
generate valuable revenue for local Governments and help
sustain Governments through revitalization efforts, as well as
heritage tourism, which is a larger growing industry.
They have enjoyed very long-standing bipartisan support,
and through an innovative public, private partnership, NHAs
have effectively leveraged Federal resources, attracting on
average of $5.50 of private funding for each dollar
appropriated, providing nearly a 6 to 1 return on investments
for taxpayers, which is a pretty powerful investment.
Having spent a lot of years in the investment business
prior to being in public service, if you tell investor for
every dollar you invest, you get six people are usually very
happy with that. And Michigan Motor City's national heritage
area alone has created an economic impact of nearly $490
million.
My question for you, Madam Secretary. Last year's passage
of the National Heritage Area Act authorizing seven new NHAs,
could you speak to the importance of ensuring that this program
has the necessary funding to be effective and successful in all
of these new areas?
NATIONAL HERITAGE AREAS
Secretary Haaland. Absolutely. Well, we always appreciate
locally driven partnerships and (NHAs) are one way that people
invest there, so thank you for that. The 2024 budget maintains
funding for NHA's at the 2023 level. It is $29 million.
The funding includes initial support for the areas
established in 2023, at $150,000 each, and reduces amounts for
areas which received more than $500,000 in 2023. So, we are
working to balance out funding. We will support them as much as
we can and appreciate your support as well.
Senator Peters. Thank you, Madam Secretary. Mr. Chairman,
thank you.
Senator Merkley. Thank you, Senator Peters. Senator Britt.
WARRIOR MET COAL PERMIT
Senator Britt. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member.
Madam Secretary, thank you for being here today and testifying
before this committee. Our nation's public lands are an amazing
resource and we have a responsibility to manage them
effectively.
Effective stewardship, however, does not mean simply
closing them off from all humanity. Stewardship of our public
lands includes finding appropriate economic development to
sustain local businesses and our national economy.
Warrior Met Coal is one of our U.S. companies trying to
work with the Federal Government to be a good steward of our
public lands. Warrior Met Coal is an important economic driver
in the State of Alabama.
They employ 1,000 people and are the largest customer of
our port of Mobile. The company focuses on mining met coal. And
as you know, met coal is a specific type of coal needed to make
specialty steel used for roads, bridges, automobiles, renewable
energy components, and a wide array of other critical uses.
The Department currently has a moratorium on the mining of
thermal coal, which is used for energy production. However, we
know that met coal is not the same as thermal coal, and the
Department of Justice has stated that met coal is not subject
to the reinstatement of the Federal coal moratorium.
Warrior Met Coal has had an application with the Department
of Interior to develop 24 million tons of met coal on Federal
lands right next to their current operations in Tuscaloosa
County, Alabama. Warrior Met developed their application in
cooperation with the Department, a process they started in 2009
and then restarted in 2014.
They have jumped through every hoop that the Department has
asked because they want to make sure that they are good
stewards of our public lands. Frustratingly, it has been nearly
a year since they have received a substantial update from the
Department. We believe that enough is enough.
We find the lack of transparency and communication entirely
unacceptable, as do many Alabamians negatively impacted by this
bureaucratic stonewall. The only feedback the company has heard
is, ``the environmental analyst for this application is
currently under technical and legal review.''
Madam Secretary, how long do you think a complete
application should take to review? It would seem to me that
this is something that we could commit to finishing in a few
weeks, and if not, months.
Secretary Haaland. Thank you very much for the question,
Senator. And I know that these things can be frustrating some
time. What I will say that the BLM has made me aware of the
importance of this project to you and the State, and I
understand that it is under review and ongoing now.
An important part of the BLM's review is ensuring that it
is consistent with any and all court decisions, recent court
decisions, and so I know that they are working through all of
those issues as well.
We are more than happy to make sure that you get updated,
that we get in touch with your staff and update you on the
status of this project. I wish there was more that I could
report now, but as soon as we can, you know, get a firm update,
we are happy to get back in touch with you. I know that is not
what you want to hear, but we will do our best.
Senator Britt. Madam Secretary, I appreciate it. And what I
hear from you is a commitment to keep me updated on this. I
would love to have your senior staff come over and brief me on
any problems with the application.
We have a lot of jobs and people who are working to achieve
the American dream and all of that is hanging in the balance on
this decision and we want to be good stewards of the land. We
want to make this work in a way that works with the Department.
We are doing our part.
We need you all to do yours. So will you commit to me that
you will send senior staff over to brief me on any type of
impediments that we are having so that we can find a way to
work through those and get this back on track.
Secretary Haaland. One of my staff will be in touch with
your staff very soon and we will figure out a time and day that
suits you.
Senator Britt. Thank you. I very much appreciate that.
Completing that application would mean a great deal not only to
the hardworking men and women at Warrior Met, but obviously the
community and the Port of Mobile and our State, so I appreciate
that.
Also, we want to make sure that everyone understands that
the status quo just keeps the Chinese Communist Party in
control and they produce the same kind of coal with obviously
without environmental standards that we have in the U.S., so I
think improving this lease would elevate our economy, keep
production of this critical met coal in the U.S., and provide a
cleaner solution than what we are doing for what they are doing
there in China. So, I believe it is a win for everyone.
So, look forward to meeting with your staff and figuring
out how we can cut through the red tape. Madam Secretary, I
want to flag for you that the Biden Administration's new Waters
of the U.S. rule is particularly harmful for the State of
Alabama.
This new rule is going to negatively impact over 64,000
small businesses in the great State of Alabama. Did you have a
chance to review the rule during the interagency review
process?
Secretary Haaland. Senator, I apologize. I will have to get
back with you about that rule, and we are happy to be in touch
with you about that.
[The information follows:]
interagency review of the waters of the u.s. rule
The Department of the Interior Department was provided the
opportunity to review the Waters of the United States rule during the
rule making process; and did not provide feedback.
Senator Britt. Okay.
Secretary Haaland. And noted your opposition to it.
Senator Britt. Yes. I just, I am hopeful that it wasn't
rushed through for political purposes. This has significant
impact. Alabama has a lot of private landowners adjacent to
public lands.
And as I consistently say, there are no greater stewards of
our lands than our farmers, our foresters, and our cattlemen.
And when we increase the burdens on these private landowners,
we make it hard for them to care for their lands.
And when their lands are harder to steward, I believe it
has a negative impact on taking care of our public lands.
So, I hope that you will consider taking a look at this. I
would love to have further dialog so that we can make sure that
protecting our public lands by defending private landowners
from unnecessary burdens that our Government places on them.
One last final question, since I have a few more seconds.
I am also concerned about the Biden Administration's
consistent opposition to oil and gas. I want you to know that
the Green New Deal policies and the foot dragging have
downstream impacts for the people of Alabama. Two years ago, a
gallon of gasoline in Alabama cost less than two bucks. Since
then, prices have risen over 50 percent.
Alabamans depend on affordable gas to get groceries to
drive to work, to pick up their kids from school, and to go to
church. I hope that you and the rest of this Administration
will start considering how the Green New Deal policies are
failing the American people. Thank you very much for your time,
and I look forward to following up on these important issues.
Secretary Haaland. Thank you.
Senator Tester. Senator Van Hollen.
CHESAPEAKE BAY
Senator Van Hollen. Thank you. Thank you, Senator Tester.
Madam Secretary, great to see you. Thank you for your service.
I know you have got a lot of territory to cover at the
Department of Interior of the entire United States, but I don't
think you will be surprised that I focus on the Chesapeake Bay
watershed.
And when it comes to protecting this national treasure and
natural treasure, the EPA has a very important role when it
comes to water quality. But the Department of Interior also has
important roles through the Fish and Wildlife Service, through
the National Park Service, and some of the other agencies.
So, one of the things we created in Congress on a
bipartisan basis years ago was the Wild Program under the Fish
and Wildlife Service to protect habitat around the Chesapeake
Bay and also protect the water quality of the bay.
It was also consistent with President Biden's America the
Beautiful plan, protecting 30 percent of our lands. So, Madam
Secretary, I will say I was very disappointed, very
disappointed that the budget that was submitted by the Biden
Administration zeroed out the funding for this program.
It was $8 million provided by Congress last year. In your
budget submission, it was zero. You have given lots of vocal
support to protecting the bay, but you are in front of an
appropriations committee.
We tend to measure commitment by whether it is backed up by
resources and investment. So, could you just talk about that
decision and whether you remain committed, nevertheless, to
protecting the Chesapeake Bay?
Secretary Haaland. Thank you very much, Senator. And yes,
we are committed to the Chesapeake Bay. Personally, I have been
going there since I was a kid, so I completely understand that.
It is an important resource.
The ecosystem is important. Our budget includes $36 million
for work in the Chesapeake Bay, including restoration
activities and management of parks and refuge lands. And the
goals of the Chesapeake WILD are consistent with the
Administration's emphasis on locally driven conservation and
equitable access to the outdoors. So, we will absolutely
continue to make sure that Chesapeake Bay is a priority for us.
Senator Van Hollen. All right, Madam Secretary. I be
working within this committee with my colleague, Senator
Tester, the chair, the ranking member, and others, and I am
confident we will restore it.
But it does not send a good signal about the Department of
Interior's commitment to the Chesapeake Bay that that program
got the zeroed out. I understand there are other issues there.
I do want to commend you and the National Park Service for the
work done by the National Parks Services Office in Annapolis.
We are working here on the Hill to establish a Chesapeake
National Recreation area, and the superintendent there and the
Department of Interior have provided important technical
assistance to our efforts.
Congressman Sarbanes, in the House and I in the Senate,
hope to introduce legislation to establish the Chesapeake
National Recreation Area in the coming months and look forward
to working with you and your team to get that done. Do we have
your commitment to work with us on that?
Secretary Haaland. Absolutely. Yes, we will work with you
on everything, Senator.
Senator Van Hollen. Yes. No, I look, I understand the
budgets have to go through OMB. I get that. But I was
surprised. I just have to say, on the zeroing out the Wild
program.
NPS CHEASAPEAKE BAY OFFICE
The other issue regards the Chesapeake Bay office of the
National Park Service, because in last year's budget, you
provided an increase in that budget to help it with its
operations, which also include administering right now what is
called the Chesapeake Gateways and Trails Program.
After we passed the budget, that additional increase for
the Annapolis National Park Service was not implemented. So,
this year, we are going to be working with you and your team to
make sure that the increases that are reflected in your own
budget are passed on.
And we think this is a priority. So, do we have your
commitment to work on that?
Secretary Haaland. Yes. And the budget for the Chesapeake
Bay office in 2024 is $1.05 million. So, we will make sure that
that office gets the----
Senator Van Hollen. Thank you. No, yes, as I said, what
happened with last year was the number in the budget was one
thing, but when it was actually implemented, that increase for
that office did not go through.
So, when we see the number of increase, we really need to
make sure that office is funded. They are taking on a lot of
responsibility right now. Let me just turn finally to offshore
wind deployment. Maryland has a very ambitious offshore wind
program, and I shouldn't say ambitious because we are actually
implementing it.
OFFSHORE WIND IN MARYLAND
We are going to have two major offshore wind projects which
will power, provide power for over 600,000 Maryland homes and
is estimated to provide 10,000 jobs. In fact, the Department of
Commerce has already been providing grants on apprenticeships
and workforce training. This is all very, very real.
So, we want to make sure that we maximize the ability to,
you know, catch wind power. There will be issues coming up
around the total expanse of area that will be available for
wind power. And we look forward to working with you to try to
achieve, make sure we can maximize that.
And I just want your commitment that you will work with us
to expand the reach of our wind power operations in Maryland
and the mid-Atlantic.
Secretary Haaland. Absolutely. Yes, we would love to have
your support and appreciate it very much.
Senator Van Hollen. Thank you. Thank you and your team. And
thank you for your service. And look, on this budget issue, I
know you have to make choices, but this is one that we had been
led to believe was something that the Department was fully
committed to. I know you are, but budgets matter.
Secretary Haaland. I understand. Thank you.
Senator Merkley. Senator Hoeven.
FEDERAL OIL AND GAS LEASE SALES
Senator Hoeven. Thanks, Mr. Chairman. Secretary, earlier
this week, a Federal judge issued a preliminary injunction and
ordered the Department of Interior to resume quarterly Federal
oil and gas lease sales in North Dakota, Federal District Court
judge in North Dakota, finding that the BLM failed to follow
the law and hold lease sales in 2021 and 2022. And so, my
question to you is, will you commit to complying with the
court's ruling and within two weeks provide a schedule of 2023
lease sales for North Dakota on BLM land?
Secretary Haaland. Thank you for the question, Senator. And
I know that ruling was very recent. We are reviewing that
ruling and what impact it will have. And of course, we are
happy to keep you informed as to how we move forward with that
and appreciate it. But we will follow the law.
Senator Hoeven. So, you commit to complying with their
ruling, and will you, within two weeks provide a schedule of
2023 lease sales for North Dakota on BLM lands?
Secretary Haaland. I can say that we are committed to
following the law and we are moving forward with regular
onshore lease sales.
Senator Hoeven. When can we anticipate getting a schedule
from you?
Secretary Haaland. As soon as we get back to my office, I
will ask my staff and we are happy to keep you informed.
[The information follows:]
status of 2023 blm lease sale schedule for north dakota
The 2023 North Dakota oil and gas leases are scheduled for the
following dates:
--2nd Quarter: June 27, 2023
--3rd Quarter: September 12, 2023
--4th Quarter: December 5, 2023
Senator Hoeven. We would like that schedule so we can
inform our people.
Secretary Haaland. Thank you very much, Senator.
APPROVAL OF PREMITS TO DRILL
Senator Hoeven. Last week I joined Senator Mullin and
others in sending a letter to BLM Director Tracy Stone Manning
requesting clarification on the bureau's accounting for
approval of permits to drill (APD). As you know, BLM recently
lowered the number of unused APDs from 9,000 to 6,600.
That puts into question the use of the Biden
Administration's using erroneous data as a reason not to follow
the statutory requirement for timely lease sales. Gas prices
are 41 percent higher nationally than when the President, the
current President, took office.
U.S. oil production is down nearly a million barrels a day
since the current Administration took office. In general, do
you agree that prices are higher for a product when demand is
greater than supply?
Secretary Haaland. Thank you for the question, Senator. I
just want to say that on Federal lands, permits are high. There
is more production on Federal lands than any time in history,
right now.
Senator Hoeven. Do you agree with Energy Secretary
Granholm's call on oil and gas companies to increase production
to help minimize harm to American families?
Secretary Haaland. I appreciate the question. I want you to
know that we are moving forward with the permitting. And yes,
the permitting count difference was due to a database failure.
And since that has been fixed, we still have thousands of
permits that are unused. So, production is moving forward at a
very high rate.
Senator Hoeven. Do you acknowledge that you took--first you
had a moratorium on production on all Federal lands, then you
came back and agreed to only 20 percent of the lands being
available, and you increased the royalty rates by 50 percent.
Now, do you think that would help increase production or deter
production in your opinion?
Secretary Haaland. What I can say is that production is up.
It's at an all-time high.
Senator Hoeven. So, you think by restricting access, by
slowing down permits, and by increasing royalty rates, that
increases supply? Now, remember, gas prices are almost 50
percent higher today than when you came into office. And you
are telling me that you think those actions helped increase
supply, when we are down a million barrels a day in production,
domestic production?
Secretary Haaland. If I could just say, with all due
respect, Senator, we are moving the permits through, since I
have been in this position. Our office has continually moved
permits through and there was a lot of land leased. We are
moving those permits through. Those are being processed and
production is at an all-time high currently.
ON SHORE OIL AND GAS PRODUCTION
Senator Hoeven. Do you think restricting access to Federal
lands and increasing royalty rates helps or hurts production
and supply, which?
Secretary Haaland. Senator, I really just want to let you
know that we are moving those permits through and that
production is at an all-time high.
Senator Hoeven. And that is why production in this country
is down a million barrels a day, right, because of what you are
telling me.
Secretary Haaland. The production on Federal lands is not
down. It is actually up.
Senator Hoeven. When you talk about Federal lands, very
often out there, there is a split estate. In other words, there
is private minerals or minerals owned by non-Federal entities,
but also owned by Federal entities.
Because the BLM and other Federal entities are continuing
to hold up these leases that disenfranchises the other mineral
owners. Do you think that is fair to those mineral owners and
what should be done about it?
Secretary Haaland. Thank you for the question, Senator. I
know that creating efficiencies is helpful all the way around.
We really want to help solve problems. The BLM's core
responsibility is to ensure development on Federal lands is
done in compliance with Federal requirements.
We are always going to follow the law. Of course, we want
to be helpful where we can, and we will help to solve problems
where we can. We are happy to discuss this with you in detail
and see how we can work together.
Senator Hoeven. Do you think it is better for our country
to get oil and gas from Federal lands in this country with our
environmental standards, or is it better to get it from places
like Venezuela, Russia, Middle East, and other places with
vastly inferior environmental standards? Where would you prefer
that that oil and gas come from?
Secretary Haaland. Senator, what I can say is that
President Biden is dedicated and committed to making sure that
we have an energy independent nation.
Senator Hoeven. But the response to my question, where
would you prefer to get that oil and gas?
Secretary Haaland. As I have mentioned many times, the oil
production in this country is up on Federal lands. We are
moving those permits through. We are doing our jobs. And I
appreciate the question.
Senator Hoeven. Well, but you do acknowledge that you have
restricted access as far as production on Federal lands and you
have raised royalty rates. Do you at least acknowledge that?
Secretary Haaland. We are working to make sure that the
work on our public lands is balanced, and we care deeply about
the energy future of this country.
Senator Hoeven. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
TRIBAL PUBLIC SAFETY
Senator Tester. I want to start by thanking Senator
Murkowski and Senator Merkley for having this hearing. I want
to thank you for being here, Madam Secretary, and your crack
staff. I appreciate you appearing in front of the committee.
Normally I would have to explain this situation but you are
a Native American, I think you understand the situation. I am
from Montana and I literally hear every week about law-and-
order issues on the ground due to lack of officers and due to
four facilities. Most recently, it has been the Northern
Cheyenne.
But the truth is, it happens in every reservation where we
don't have adequate facilities and we certainly don't have
enough law enforcement officers. I understand the BIA has been
working with the Northern Cheyenne tribe to improve public
safety. Which, by the way, from my perspective, is a disaster.
Public safety is a disaster. And I appreciate the BIA
working, I appreciate you working to try to improve this
situation. During a meeting with the tribe in January, BIA
committed to doing everything it can to fill the vacant
positions, increase community recruitment at the Rocky Mountain
Regional Detention Facility, and hire a chief of police. Can
you tell me where the BIA stands in fulfilling those
commitments?
Secretary Haaland. Senator, thank you so much for your
commitment to tribes as well. And yes, Tribal public safety and
law enforcement is probably the most prioritized issues of
Tribes across the country. So, we hear about it often and we
work very hard to remedy these situations.
The BIA, Office of Justice Services (OJS) team is working
closely with the Indian Affairs Office of Human Capital on
several strategies to support recruitment and retention. That
is really one of the big issues. The foremost strategy is the
pay parity initiative, which will bring BIA law enforcement pay
levels in line with other Federal law enforcement agencies.
Senator Tester. And we will get into that in a second. Can
you tell me, as per the Northern Cheyenne tribe, where we, from
a BIA perspective, are so fulfilling the commitments. And look,
Bryan was out there a month or so ago, and I appreciate the
fact that he was out there multiple times.
But and I don't have to tell you this because I think you
know this, literally every day that goes by without them having
the police that they need, people are dying. And it is not just
a couple, it is a lot.
Do you know where the BIA is in the commitment to
fulfilling the Northern Cheyenne's needs?
Secretary Haaland. With all due respect, Senator, we will
get back with you on those specific details of Northern
Cheyenne, but I want you to know that we all care deeply about
this.
[The information follows:]
addressing northern cheyenne's law enforcement needs
There are currently 19 filled law enforcement positions at Northern
Cheyenne including a newly hired Chief of Police. The Bureau of Indian
Affair's (BIA's) foremost strategy to increase staffing for the highest
priority locations like Northern Cheyenne is a pay parity initiative,
to bring BIA law enforcement pay levels in line with other Federal law
enforcement pay. This change can result in up to an additional $30,000
in annual pay for BIA law enforcement officers.
BIA is already experiencing public safety attrition rates at
roughly half the level experienced this time last year and we believe
this trend represents an early signal of the pay initiative's
success. BIA is also working with the DOI Human Capital office and
the Office of Personnel Management to explore the possibility of direct
hire authorities and is conducting an analysis of hiring data for law
enforcement positions for the last 2 years to provide documentary
evidence of the need. In addition, BIA is using the Schedule A non-
competitive hiring authority for Indian Preference (IP) eligible
candidates for recruitment activities during events like the Gathering
of Nations. This strategy allows BIA to move forward with interviews
during recruiting events for qualified IP candidates.
Senator Tester. Okay, so, as do. I mean, and then the
problem is, this isn't an isolated case. This is a case that
continues. If it isn't Northern Cheyenne, it is going to be
Blackfeet, or it is going to be Fort Peck, or it's going to be
somebody else. But I think Northern Cheyenne has the most acute
problems right now.
So, I would appreciate your attention to this. Now, I want
to talk about what you were talking about, and that is your
budget in regard to workforce recruitment and retention. You
have got about $641 million in this request, fiscal year 2024
request, $470 million going to staffing, recruitment, retention
efforts, police services, detention and corrections. You put
the number in. Is this your number or is this OMB's number?
TRIBAL LAW ENFORCEMENT RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION
Secretary Haaland. After careful consultation, with OMB, it
is our number.
Senator Tester. So, do you believe that this will
adequately put you in a position to be able to not only recruit
new officers, but retain the ones you have?
Secretary Haaland. We think that it will be a good start
and a good help. Of course, tribal justice and law enforcement
has been underfunded for decades and decades.
Senator Tester. It has. And we have had crime in Indian
Country due to a lot of things, poverty included, that has put
us in a situation where it is unacceptable. It is just flat
unacceptable.
And I don't care what Administration it is, it is
unacceptable. You happen to be Native American. I don't have to
explain the situation to you. I would hope that you would put
the resources necessary to make sure that we do our level best
and make the trust responsible as we have to make sure these
tribes are safe.
FORT BELKNAP WATER SETTLEMENT
Let me talk a little bit about Fort Belknap water
settlement. It is the last water settlement in Montana. It is
almost ready for prime time. It is my understanding that the
tribe and the DOI are ironing out details now.
The notch has been removed. And I know that was not an easy
decision and probably not a popular decision in Fort Belknap.
But because of that, they were able to get Senator Daines and
Phillips County on board.
I believe that is true. That is what my notes tell me. I
haven't been told that directly. If that is the case, I think
there is a real possibility that this bill can pass and we can
finish the last water settlement we have for Montana.
I don't think this is going to happen without somebody like
you in your position as Secretary of interior intervening and
making this a priority. It has been waiting a long time. I
voted and we passed the Blackfeet water settlement when I was
in the State legislature 20 years ago. We are still working on
it at the Federal level now.
So, can I get your commitment that you will do your best to
make sure this is a top priority for not only the Department
but for you to get this water settlement approved?
Secretary Haaland. Yes.
Senator Tester. That is an easy answer. Thank you very
much. I have only got 44 seconds left, and if I got into what
happened at the park last year, it is just going to require a
lot of resources. And I would say this as long as I got 30
seconds left, the disasters that are being caused by climate
this year is just absolutely devastating in. And I am going to
tell you that that one incident in Gardner was $1 billion.
And I don't know if that is a conservative figure or not.
And so, and we have got another year coming now where we going
to have the snow starting to melt as we speak, as spring and
summer comes on, but resiliency is really important. And I know
you know that. And we have got to do everything we can. Last
thing I would say is, St Mary's project is important.
They had a study for ability to pay it. It came back, said
they had no ability to pay. I would hope that you continue to
look at that project too, along with Fort Belknap project
because they are connected, so we can get these projects done
in Montana. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, Madam
Secretary.
Secretary Haaland. Thank you, Senator.
ENDANGERED SPECIES LISTING
Senator Merkley. Thank you, Senator Tester. And Madam
Secretary, about ten miles from my house, there is a Maya Lin
designed bird blind on the Columbia River, where Lewis and
Clark camped. And that bird blind is constructed so that as you
are inside of it, you really can't see out.
But what you do see is on the slats of the bird blind, it
has the species that were recorded in Lewis and Clark's journal
and then it says whether they are endangered or whether they
are extinct. And it is really quite stunning to think that in
the very modest amount of time since Lewis and Clark came to
the region, how many species that they saw have become
endangered or extinct.
And we know that's an ongoing process. And climate chaos is
aggravating it even more, along with the development of our
industrialized world. The Endangered Species Act is an effort
not just to focus on a species, but on an ecosystem that
supports that species.
And your budget for the Fish and Wildlife Service includes
$133 million for the recovery and listing of species, or $15
million more than fiscal year 2023.
Funding is used to minimize or remove threats that led to
species listing in the first place. Can you explain how the
proposed funding level would be used to address the extinction
crisis?
Secretary Haaland. Senator, thank you--or, Chairman, thank
you so much for the question. As you probably know, the ESA is
50 years old this year, and we are very proud of the work that
we have been able to do to protect species. One of the main
things, of course, is recovering so that the species don't have
to be listed.
Since the ESA became law in 1973, more than 99 percent of
species listed under law are still with us today, so that is
something to be proud of. The budget includes a $19 million
increase for recovery planning, monitoring, and management in
close coordination with service partners.
And Fish and Wildlife Service's Recovery Program works with
partners to address threats to the species and improve their
status so that protection under the Act is no longer necessary.
So, we recognize this. It is a priority for us, and we will
continue to work on it.
Senator Merkley. Thank you. And I think if I had a magic
wand, I would, you know, throw a couple more billion dollars
into these key ecosystems that are threatened. But I don't have
a magic wand. But we do have a collaborative process to point
out the challenges. And one of those challenges is to insects.
And I have told many people the story of how when I was a
kid and we would drive North and South through the Willamette
Valley, we would stop at every gas station to take all the
insects off our windshield. And that now if there is a single
insect in the windshield, it is rare.
MONARCH BUTTERFLIES
And I was really struck by a letter to the editor in a
newspaper last week that told exactly the same story from
another individual about how insects have vastly disappeared.
And one of those insects that you and I have been engaged in,
it is such a charismatic species, is the monarch butterfly.
And can I just tell you I really love your earrings today
that represent the monarch and that the Department of Interior,
under your leadership was so helpful in holding a monarch
summit to bring together the scientists, all the collaborators
on what is going on there.
We were down for the Western monarch in 2022, less than
2,000 surviving butterflies, which is incredible. When we were
talking about many, many millions in the 80s and 90, just
2,000.
But they have rebounded in the last few years. When they
have a good year, they can rebound, but they are still 90
percent down from the historic numbers. And I am waiting to get
a report now on the freak snowstorms that hit the coast in
California because they may have dramatically devastated once
again the overwintering butterflies.
Those overwintering butterflies cannot survive in cold
weather and so they hover along the coast to get more temperate
air, to be less likely to freeze. But a snowstorm, well, that
doesn't belong in Southern California, and it certainly could
have devastated them once again.
So, they are deeply endangered, but they are not recognized
as endangered. Is it possible for us to--well, I know there is
a long list of species that are under consideration, but is it
possible for us to get the monarch into kind of the top of the
list for consideration?
Secretary Haaland. Thank you, Chairman. I don't think there
is any person in this world that doesn't care about monarchs.
So, you have a whole Department who really understands the
value of these beautiful butterflies, and so we absolutely will
work with partners to enhance the inventory, monitoring of
these pollinator populations across the national wildlife
refuge systems. That is where we can really give monarchs and
other insects and species opportunities to flourish.
Senator Merkley. Thank you. Because I know there's hundreds
of things under study, but sometimes the dramatic change is so
evident.
And when you go from millions down to just 2,000
butterflies and have an overwintering population that a freak
storm could devastate the remaining population because--it is
just like, they need to be put at the top of the list for
consideration of being labeled as endangered. And there is so
much we learn from studying their migration and the impacts
along the way.
There was $7 million in the last appropriation bill for the
Western monarchs and other pollinators. Can we ensure that the
National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), collaborative
model continues its momentum?
Secretary Haaland. Yes, Senator, we will do whatever we
can.
Senator Merkley. Okay. There is a lot of power in that and
the ability. I have used up my entire seven minutes on the
monarch, which I am proud to do, because can you imagine the
next generation of children growing up that never see a
monarch? And actually, right now in Oregon, it is extremely
rare to see one.
And so, this is kind of a last ditch five alarm fire, but I
have a lot more questions to come following my colleague and
partner, Senator Murkowski.
ALASKA NATIVE VIETNAM VETS ALLOTMENT PROGRAM
Senator Murkowski. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Madam Secretary
let's talk about the Alaska Native Vietnam Vets Allotment
Program. This is something that is also very challenging. You
certainly have a legal obligation to Alaska Native Vietnam era
vets to ensure their allotment applications are completed in a
timely and an efficient manner.
And I am really concerned about where we are in the
process. There have been different iterations, different ways
to try to advance this, but I am really concerned that right
now BLM, BIA don't have the capacity to meet this task. The
program expires in December 29th of 2025.
That is actually not that far away. And we are in a place
right now where potentially about 2,900 applications could be
received. I know for a fact that there is over 500 in the
Southeast region down in the Tongas. That are not participating
because they don't feel that there are lands that are
accessible to them.
So, excuse me, right now, eight, eight veterans have
received their allotment under the program. In fiscal year
2023, we got almost $5 million to implement the program and you
are continuing this funding level for fiscal year 2024.
But how are we going to do it? How are we going to do it?
How can you assure me that not only we have the resources, but
what are the nonmonetary challenges that BLM is facing? Thank
you. Please go ahead.
Secretary Haaland. Thank you, Senator. And yes, we are
working very hard on this issue as you know, there's roughly 29
million acres of public lands for selection. We recognize that
some lands are were not included in the law.
So, it is unfortunate for those veterans who want lands in
areas where they weren't included. So as of March, the BLM
received 266 Alaska native, Vietnam era veterans' allotment
program applications. A lot of the veterans who were eligible,
we didn't have the right contact information. We reached out to
Veterans Affairs. They are helping us with that.
So, we are doing what we can to make sure that all veterans
have this opportunity. And I just want to assure you that it is
a priority for me. It is a priority for the BLM. And we will
continue to work on this as quickly as we possibly can. I think
that part of the issue was that we weren't able to reach them
all, but we found some help with Veterans Affairs, so we feel
like, you know, it is an all of Government approach.
Senator Murkowski. Well, and Madam Secretary, if I may,
because I was at that roundtable with Secretary McDonough.
Senator Sullivan had brought together a group of Vietnam
veterans and they had the Secretary of the VA in front of them.
They could have talked about anything.
They could have talked about health care, they could have
talked about housing, education. But all they talked about was
the injustice that they felt in having been denied their native
allotment and a fear that they were dying off, they were
leaving this earth before the promise was going to be kept to
them.
And so, I think I think it actually motivated the Secretary
to see what more he could do in his capacity, so I am glad to
know that he visited with you and he shared a follow-on call
with me and said he discussed this with you. We need to
identify.
But when you say, yes, there is 29 million acres that have
been made available. When you are in a State that is one fifth
the size of the United States of America, and you tell a native
veteran and in Hoonah that they are able to select lands up in
the interior, it may as well be telling them that they can
select lands in Iceland.
It is just not feasible and not possible. So. I am deeply
frustrated because even with the good intentions of those who
want to see these allotments move, advancing eight through this
process out of a potentially close to 3,000 it doesn't work. It
doesn't work for the veterans. It doesn't work for any.
And so, we have so much more to do. I think, you know, that
the answer is going to be making more lands accessible in areas
where our veterans are. And that is going to require some
cooperation with the Department of Interior. So, I am just
asking you to keep your foot on the gas with this on because
these honored veterans are passing every day. I want to ask
about the tribal LWCF fund that you mentioned.
TRIBAL LAND AND WATER CONSERVATION FUND PROGRAM
You are proposing an additional 12 million in discretionary
spending for land and water conservation under a new fund for
tribal land acquisition. What I don't understand on this is why
Department of Interior did not propose this under the mandatory
$900 million from the Great American Outdoors Act, and kind of
what the plan is for this.
This is the first time that I have heard about it was in
this budget presentation, so I am not quite sure why it was
such a big priority, why it wasn't incorporated in the LWCF
initially, maybe as a tribal set aside. But now you are adding
$12 million on top of a $900 million mandatory spending.
Secretary Haaland. Senator, thank you so much for the
question. And so, of course, we have done more tribal
consultation in this Administration than likely for a very long
time. This is something that tribes spoke with us about.
It is important for them to have a dedicated program, and
it is carved out of discretionary funding to avoid competition
between new and established programs. The funds will support
tribal acquisition of lands for conservation and outdoor
recreation consistent with the purposes of LWCF.
I mean, I apologize. I don't know of the precise reasons
why it was done this way. Of course, we are happy to be in
touch with your office with complete details about how this
came about and what the thinking was behind all of it.
[The information follows:]
fy 2024 tribal lwcf program proposal
The FY 2024 budget for the Bureau of Indian Affairs includes $12.0
million in discretionary unobligated LWCF funds to establish a new
Tribal Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) land acquisition
program. During LWCF listening sessions with Tribes held in 2022 and in
ongoing meetings of Interior's Tribal Budget Council, Tribes have
identified direct access to LWCF funding for conservation and
recreation LWCF projects without the existing requirements to partner
with or apply through States, as a top funding priority.
For this reason, the President's 2024 budget request proposes to
fund this new program with discretionary funding which allows for full
consideration of the importance of Tribal inclusion in the LWCF without
concern for the potential impact on funding for the established LWCF
programs. Including Tribes in LWCF as direct applicants for funding is
a meaningful opportunity to not only strengthen conservation and
outdoor recreation opportunities in Indian Country but to demonstrate
the Administration's strong commitment to Tribal sovereignty and self-
determination. This new program will further enhance the ability of
Tribes to address the climate crisis, support Tribal sovereignty and
self-determination, and provide another important tool to support
Tribal co-stewardship.
With regard to the structure of this program, the Department
expects BIA would award the funding competitively for land acquisition
projects or easements which advance conservation and outdoor recreation
on Tribal lands. The bureau is working to hold Tribal consultation this
Fall on the proposed structure of the program as well as the criteria
and program requirements.
Senator Murkowski. Well, my time is expired, but know that
we do want to follow up with you on this. I am just not certain
that there is a plan there with the distribution and what the
process would be, how you are identifying willing sellers and
the like. So, we will need to do some follow up. Thank you, Mr.
Chairman.
MONARCH BUTTERFLY
Senator Merkley. Madam Secretary, back to monarchs for just
a moment. One of the things that came out of that gathering of
the summit that we held was that families want to plant
pollinator safe plants in their gardens.
But when they go to the nursery, most of those plants you
buy in a nursery carry such a heavy level of pesticide on them
that they are not safe for the pollinators and could actually
kill them. And it's also true for the milkweed.
And so, one of the goals was to develop a program that
would provide labeling so you have pollinator safe according to
certain standards that have been raised without pesticides,
that remain on the plants and would be deadly to bees and
butterflies and so forth. Has there been much progress in
actually implementing a program for pollinators safe labeling?
Secretary Haaland. Senator, I love that idea, and I will
have to get back with you as to how that is coming along.
[The information follows:]
pollinator safe labeling
Interior supports efforts to encourage the use of plants that are
safe for wildlife, including those safe for pollinators as well as for
invertebrate communities, many of which are necessary for healthy soil
and water. This issue--the availability of trusted labels around
pollinator-friendly plants--is important to many Americans and is
frequently raised in many venues, including the Monarch Butterfly
Conservation Summit last summer.
Interior does not exercise broad labeling authority to regulate the
sale of plants as ``pollinator friendly.'' While we do have some
authorities to regulate impacts on protected species, we do not have
regulations to manage an overall plant labeling program more generally
for wildlife. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is using its newly
established Center for Pollinator Conservation to engage other
influential partners or agencies with authorities to determine
potential avenues to implement credible pollinator friendly labeling
practices. This topic will be the subject of a virtual workshop series
the Center is currently planning and will be hosting this summer.
Senator Merkley. Thank you. There are two routes to doing
this. One is kind of a voluntary effort through the Xerces
Society, but the other is for us to have a regulation that says
you can label these plants pollinators safe if they have been
raised in this manner. And people are just, families they want
to plant pollinator gardens. And it is not just, you know, I am
using the monarch, but we are really talking about honeybees,
all kinds of pollinators that are important. So, I will follow
up with you on that. Thank you. Turning to staffing in the
National Park Service.
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE STAFFING
Of the 10,000 employees of the Department lost between the
decades 2010 to 2020, 23,000 of those were in the National Park
Service. And last year we were able to restore about 500 of
those positions. How is progress going on hiring for those
positions?
Secretary Haaland. We are so appreciative of your support
for this and we are with you. We know it's important. So, the
2023 funding increases will support permanent long-term
staffing for ongoing park operations.
Funding is helping NPS to staff new and critical
responsibilities of parks. Birmingham Civil Rights and Freedom
Riders National monuments, a major national historic site.
I mean, we are moving forward with it and appreciate if you
would like, we are happy to give you a readout on where, you
know, where these staff are and how we have been able to build
them.
PARK EMPLOYEE HOUSING
Senator Merkley. Thank you. It is an incredible national
parks system, but it only works if we have people staffing it.
And one of the things I am hearing is about the housing crisis,
that so many accommodations that might have been available for
people to work for the National Park Service and live in are
now Airbnbs.
And so essentially, folks are turning down jobs even at
Yosemite, the crown jewel of the park system, people are
turning down the opportunity to work there because there is no
place to live.
Your fiscal year 2024 request includes an increase of $7
million to improve housing construction, nearly doubling the
program, and to upgrade housing at a number of sites, Mesa
Verde, Chaco Culture National Historic Park, Great Sand Dunes--
but it is housing across the system that is a challenge. Will
this funding make a difference?
Secretary Haaland. Yes, absolutely. It will make a big
difference. The $7 million increase, as you mentioned, will
address housing needs in Mammoth Cave, Sequoia, Kings Canyon
and Rocky Mountains National Parks. And we are using $32.7
million in construction and Legacy Restoration Funding to
rehabilitate the housing at Mesa Verde, Chaco Culture, Great
Sand Dunes, etcetera.
We are also leveraging private sector leasing for seasonal
housing. The National Park Service will use $2 million provided
in 2023. As of February, parks hope to add more than 100 beds
with this particular funding. We are working with partners to
find solutions. At Acadia National Park, for example, we are
leveraging $5 million in partner donations with Centennial
Challenge funds to construct new seasonal employee housing for
the park.
Senator Merkley. It is essential. People can't take jobs if
they can't afford a place to live. Turning to the Great
American Outdoors Act, it provided $1.9 billion for the legacy
restoration funding, for deferred maintenance on our public
lands, and at the Bureau of Indian Education Schools.
GAOA: LEGACY RESTORATION FUND
And we are finding that the costs have gone way up and a
number of projects are over budget. We know that there is a lot
of upheaval in the markets, an upheaval in our supply chains.
This is happening in every area where construction is involved.
And our teams worked together to provide a contingency fund
to help cover that challenge. But digging a little deeper on
this, can you share a little bit about the factors that are
causing the cost estimates to go up beyond the original
estimates?
Secretary Haaland. Thank you for the question. And so, what
our bureaus are seeing is a more competitive bidding climate,
and sometimes we don't receive any bids for the work that we
need done, so we have to re-compete those bids. It costs more.
There is problem in remote areas.
Sometimes there are not the folks you need to do the work.
We have a lot of specialized needs with a lot of really unique
assets, and sometimes we don't find the specialized people to,
or materials, for example, to work on those projects.
There has also been an increased cost of construction
materials that is actually outpacing inflation. There are a lot
of price swings. And so, we are working through a lot to try to
keep these projects on track. And so, we will just keep working
at it.
Senator Merkley. You know, it is clear that the purchasing
power of the strategy has diminished significantly. And it is
frustrating, which is just a reality of the market. Do you
support extending the Legacy Restoration Fund for at least
another 5 years given the backlog of projects that need to be
accomplished?
Secretary Haaland. We love the Legacy Restoration Fund. So,
yes, we would love to see it continue to do the work that it
does for so many areas in our country.
Senator Merkley. Thank you. Senator Capito.
SECTION 7 CONSULTATIONS
Senator Capito. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And welcome to the
committee. I have a question on Fish and Wildlife. Our Fish and
Wildlife office in West Virginia has brought on just recently a
number of new biologists mostly through reimbursable
agreements, to help with the backlog of the Endangered Species
Act Section 7 consultations.
It has been helpful, but what I am really looking for is
some substantive feedback on how we can improve the Section 7
process, minimize project delays. We are just getting a lot of
complaints consistently in our State.
So, in a reaction to this, I was able to put into the
appropriations bill, a fiscal year 2023 bill that would direct
the Fish and Wildlife Service to report to Congressional
committees within 90 days on the Section 7 consultation and
provide recommendations on ways to improve and expedite the
process.
Trying to get rid of the backlog because there is a big
backlog there. And so, we are right at the time of this around
the deadline. So, I wondered when we could expect to see this
report, and can you shed some light on some of those
recommendations made to improve those consultations?
Secretary Haaland. Thank you so much, Senator. I mean, we
will get back with your office about when to expect that. But
please know that the Fish and Wildlife Service is making the
most of limited staffing, funding, and other resources for the
Section 7 and other reviews.
Our budget request includes a proposal to authorize
agencies to transfer Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL)
funding to support this Fish and Wildlife staffing needs. So,
we are working on this issue and happy to report back to you as
soon as we have some--well, they might have specific details.
Unfortunately, I don't have those specific details in front of
me right now.
Senator Capito. Okay. We will follow up. We will follow up
with them. I am curious to know, I know I mentioned that we
have a lot of frustrations in our State. Is this a nationwide
problem with the backlog? I am assuming that it is, but and the
process taking so long and project delays.
Secretary Haaland. Senator, with all due respect, they
reminded me that the goal for the report is today.
Senator Capito. Right. So, it will come out today.
Secretary Haaland. Yes, that is our goal. It is today, so
hopefully we can make sure that is in your hands before the end
of the day.
Senator Capito. Okay. Perfect.
Secretary Haaland. Okay. Thank you. I apologize.
Senator Capito. So, in response to is it a nationwide
issue, you are hearing this from other States with the backlog?
Secretary Haaland. I am not certain. Of course, I will get
back with Fish and Wildlife Service and make sure that they can
provide you with that specific----
Senator Capito. I would like to say the Director of Fish
and Wildlife, in response to my concern, did come to the State
with me to try to establish better communications, and I am
very appreciative of that. It has resulted in slightly better
communications, not so much with my office, but with whatever
the stakeholder is, is who is interested in trying to move
together project.
ABANDONED MINE LAND ECONOMIC REVITALIZAION
So please pass that along to her. Let me ask you about
another program, the Abandoned Mine Land Economic
Revitalization, is called AMLER Program. It administers grants
to, this is reading from your statement to six States, three
tribal nations to return legacy coal mining sites to productive
uses and foster economic and community development.
You have made through the AMLER program $750 million
available to coal communities, obviously critical in my State,
and we have taken advantage of the AMLER program.
There has been here, and this goes to the bureaucracy as
well, kind of a moving of the football of what the parameters
of this program are, so that there been delays in getting
monies that have been approved by the Governor, because I do
believe it has to go through the Governor for the Governor's
approval for certain projects.
And because of that, I guess I would just ask that the
takeaway from my comments are, that the consistency on what is
required, what qualifies as a Coal community--you know, we had
a trail in one of our State forests, the back side of it was
where the abandoned coal mine lay in what seemed like a lay-up
to me.
I mean, you know, the conservation project. It is great
wild use of recreation. It is also an economic generator
because a lot of people will go and come and visit. So, you
know, there was a lot of communication issues.
So, I would just ask, in particular on the AMLER program
that maybe leaving here, you might take a look to make sure
that the guidance is consistent from year to year so that
people can know what they are applying for and how to make
their applications successful.
Secretary Haaland. Absolutely. We want the program to work.
And you are right, your State is perfect for these projects.
Senator Capito. All right. Thank you.
WESTERN OREGON OPERATING PLAN
Senator Merkley. Senator, you bring up a topic and you get
the report the same day. I need some of that. Thank you for
demonstrating how that is done. Madam Secretary, I want to turn
to the Western Oregon operating plan (WOOP), as it is referred
to, and this is a plan that coordinates the approach to
wildfire response, coordinated between the State, the tribes,
the communities, the Bureau of Land Management.
And we have this incredibly complex checkerboard that was
established when every other square mile was essentially
designated to the railroads and etcetera, etcetera. And it is
no way to design a landscape for management and so requires
this sort of cooperation.
And after you have been to Oregon, I know you have heard
and seen what we face in Western Oregon and the concerns of the
constituents. The key is that we maintain this agreement, when
it comes up for renewal in 2024 and we have heard some concerns
that BLM may not be that excited about this agreement.
But given the checkerboard lands and the need for
collaboration on the wildfire front, to me it is essential and
you may have gotten a better sense of it from your trip. Are
you familiar with the WOOP? And can we count on your support to
reauthorize it in 2024?
Secretary Haaland. Mr. Chairman from meetings we had in
Oregon, we absolutely know that these fire partnerships are a
key success to Western Oregon and to the entire State, quite
frankly. BLM is confident that they will find an agreement with
the State. I trust that they will, and so we will absolutely
keep working at it.
Senator Merkley. Thank you. I will continue to be in dialog
with you all about it. And speaking of fire, one of our highest
risk fire sheds, actually, the highest risk is the Rogue Valley
in Oregon, and it is affected by this checkerboard. And most of
the forest land is not Department of Forestry, but it is BLM
land.
And so, we need to really reduce the risk of fire and that
means directing resources to do forest management, reducing the
fuels on the forest floor. The combination of thinning and
prescribed burns and mowing.
And we had a significant amount of hazardous fuels funding
in the annual appropriations, but also in the Bipartisan
Infrastructure Act for high-risk fire sheds. I want to make
sure that a significant share of these funds goes as intended
to help out the Rogue Valley. Can we count on that happening?
Secretary Haaland. Yes, Senator. And so, if I may, they are
providing close to $1 million in BIL funding this year for
Jackson, Josephine, and Curry Counties.
Senator Merkley. I will follow up with you in that regard,
because I don't have the specific numbers with me for the need.
Secretary Haaland. Yes.
Senator Merkley. But it is a big deal. And, after having
seen the Labor Day fires of 2020 and town after town burned to
the ground, this is in everyone's mind about the risk and the
need for intense collaboration. That is where the WOOP comes
in, and that is where this funding comes in to be directed to
these efforts. Okay, fish passage. Very important to fish
passage in the Pacific Northwest is the Fisheries Restoration
and Irrigation Mitigation Act (FRIMA).
It is a cooperative partnership between, again, like WOOP,
between the Federal Government, local, State, and tribal
entities, and they work to design and implement, construct fish
screens and fish passage strategies, solving the problem, the
culverts put on many of our streams.
And for the first time, we provided $5 million specifically
for FRIMA activities. And I want to make sure it does not get
lost in a larger funding pot. Can you give me an update on the
FRIMA funding?
Secretary Haaland. Thank you very much, Chairman. The Fish
and Wildlife Service will publish a notice of funding
opportunity to award the funds through grants. The notice will
detail eligibility, project criteria, and so forth, and
requirements for the selection process.
And the Fish and Wildlife Service will also work directly
with the five eligible States and tribal representatives and
encourage partner outreach to develop project submissions. The
awards will be determined by a panel of subject matter experts.
That is moving forward, and we care about it.
FISH HATCHERIES
Senator Merkley. That is great. Thank you. And my last
question is related to the opportunity we had to visit the Gone
Fishin' Hatchery, known formally as the Klamath Falls National
Fish Hatchery, and we were able to hold in our hands both the
c'waam and koptu fish.
And those two species were like the core of the diet that
supported the tribes from time immemorial, but they have not
been able to harvest any since before the turn of the last
century because they are so endangered.
And a few years ago, I held a sucker summit. These are, in
the English vernacular, they are suckers, sucker fish. And we
held a conference to talk about these two species and how are
we going to save them, because what we heard was that the
youngest fish left in the lake were 25 to 30 years old and that
the life span is only 30 years.
And I had no idea their lifespan was that long and had no
idea that the youngest were that near extinction. And so, we
launched this hatchery as well as a Klamath Tribe hatchery, two
separate projects. And you and I were able to visit the one.
And I must say I was so excited about that stop, because
initially when the hatchery produced year old fish and we put
them back in the lake, they all died, and they were dying
because the algae is growing in the warmer, phosphorous
polluted water and when it dies it strips the oxygen out of the
lake, and then a second species of algae takes the nitrogen
from the first species, and then that is a toxic algae.
So older fish could survive, younger fish could not. And
then we tried two-year-olds and basically almost all of them
died. But what we just saw was that some of the three-year-
olds, two and three year olds are starting to survive in the
lake, which is great.
KLAMATH ECOSYSTEM
While we go under many decades of trying to clean up the
lake and the phosphorus in it and address the algae problem,
but also that they had three-year-old fish now at the hatchery,
and technically it is not yet a hatchery, they are catching the
minnows or the newly formed farmed fish and taking them to the
fishing basins. But they said by the time they reach 5 years,
they will have a reserve population that will be able to
harvest the eggs and actually turn it into a hatchery.
And it is like we may save these two fish because of this
collaborative effort launched over the last couple of years. So
that is going to be an extraordinary story if this succeeds.
And it was the first time I heard, like we may have acted in
time, barely in time. Could you comment on the importance of
these investments and saving these fish?
Secretary Haaland. Absolutely. Chairman, thank you. I was
equally as moved by that stop that we made, and, gosh, no
amount of money could ever bring those fish back.
Senator Merkley. Yes. Once we lose them there, they are
gone. And we know how hard it is to get the phosphorus out of
the lake.
We have had local engineering students who have developed
basically sunlight powered, photovoltaic powered rafts that put
oxygen back into the lake. That didn't actually seem to work.
And we explored and are continuing to explore ways to try
to remove the algae and with removing the algae, remove the
phosphorus in the algae to try to reduce the phosphorus load in
the lake.
That proves to be extraordinarily difficult. We don't have
a strategy there yet. But if we can raise older fish and get
those older fish that can survive in the lake in while we
continue to work on the phosphorus loading over the decades to
come, we have a shot at reversing a near extinction event.
Secretary Haaland. Yes. And we have many dedicated career
staff to move those issues along. I mean, for some of these
things, it is every tool in the toolbox, right. And we are not
going to turn down any good ideas.
So, we have to continually explore ways that we can protect
these ecosystems, because that is the way we protect these
species.
Senator Merkley. Madam Secretary, thank you. The diversity
of topics that have been raised today demonstrate what an
enormous range of issues are inherent in the management of the
Interior Department that you are living and breathing every
day. So, thank you for addressing them. So many offers to
follow up on details. I believe my colleague is not returning.
We are wrapping up. Okay. It is a pleasure to work with Senator
Murkowski.
Two States in the West that have different perspectives on
some key issues as reflected by our opening statements, but we
are just engaged in a lot of collaboration on our public lands
and the work of the Interior Department.
ADDITIONAL COMMITTEE QUESTIONS
So, thank you. And the hearing record will remain open to
the close of business on April 19th. If there are no further
comments, this hearing is adjourned.
Questions Submitted by Senator Dianne Feinstein
Question. Secretary Haaland, I understand that the Forest Service
was able to achieve 97 percent of its staffing target for firefighters
(GS-09 and below), perhaps due in part to salary increases in the
bipartisan infrastructure law.
Secretary Haaland, was the Department of the Interior able to
achieve full firefighter staffing last year, both nationwide and in
California specifically? What are the current wildland firefighter
staffing levels nationwide and in California specifically?
Answer. The Department of the Interior achieved 98 percent of our
2022 wildland fire hiring target nationwide. The Department employed
more than 5,460 personnel, including firefighters and support
personnel. In California, the Department employed more than 580
wildland fire personnel during 2022, compared to a target of 639.
As of the end of May 2023, the Department had 4,145 total Federal
wildland fire personnel nationwide. Considering the number of temporary
and permanent seasonal employees within the wildland fire management
program, who are typically hired in early summer, we expect to reach
peak employment in July. Our target is to reach a total of 5,800
personnel over the course of the year.
In California, as of the end of May, the Department employed more
than 400 wildland fire personnel. The target for California this year
is about 670 personnel.
Question. Recent Department of Interior appropriations have
provided significant increases for efforts to manage wild horses and
burros across the West, doubling the funding in the past five years.
Nevertheless, humane management of these wild horse herds remains a
problem, with the size of these herds impacting the native landscape
and the health of the horses themselves. Based on a model developed by
the Bureau of Land Management, PopEquus, fertility control measures are
the most cost-effective ways to keep herd sizes at an appropriate level
once the herd has been condensed to the Appropriate Management Level.
However, the vast majority of the budget for the Wild Horse and Burro
Program still goes toward removal of horses from public lands and
upkeep of those horses.
Secretary Haaland, how much of the funding allocated for the Wild
Horse and Burro program has gone toward cost-effective fertility
control measures?
Answer. Over the last five years, the BLM has spent approximately
$2.8 million directly on fertility control treatments. Additionally,
the BLM spent approximately $4.2 million on capture and handling costs
needed to conduct those treatments, and over $3.5 million on new
research related to advancing humane and longer-lasting fertility
control methods for wild horses and burros.
Population growth suppression methods, including fertility control
treatments, are most effective once a herd management area is at its
appropriate management level (AML), though the Bureau considers
fertility control efforts as vital to helping curb the previously
compunding growth rate. In FY 2022, only 37 out of 177 Herd Management
Areas were at AML. The removal of excess animals from overpopulated
herds is a valuable tool to minimize threats to the health of our
public rangelands from overgrazing, as well as for preventing risks of
starvation and thirst for wild horses, burros, and other wildlife. The
program continues to maximize humane care and opportunities for private
care placement of these excess animals through adoptions, sales, and
transfers as a way to manage off-range costs over time.
______
Questions Submitted by Senator Chris Van Hollen
Question. The Great American Outdoors Act permanently authorized
funding to the Land and Water Conservation Fund to support our efforts
to conserve lands and improve outdoor recreation opportunities across
the Nation. Unfortunately, I understand that the appraisal process
remains lengthy, with delays and complexities that can risk the loss of
critical conservation opportunities.
Can you provide details on the agency's efforts to address this
problem?
Answer. The Department is committed to the Land and Water
Conservation Fund (LWCF) programs and has taken strong action to
improve the efficiency and effectiveness of Interior's land acquisition
functions which are fundamental to implementing the LWCF.
Interior has established a Department-wide Land Acquisition Working
Group (working group) of realty specialists, appraisers, attorneys, and
program officers, focused on making improvements in key areas impacting
Interior's Federal land acquisition and appraisal processes. The
working group is actively addressing issues identified in the FY 2023
Consolidated Appropriations Bill, P.L. 117-328, to improve uniform
Departmental appraisal policies, utilizing third-party contracting,
clarifying the roles and responsibilities of Federal and non-Federal
parties' as well as evaluating options for returning some appraisal or
valuation functions to the bureaus.
A two-day session is planned this Spring (May 23-24) to expressly
discuss options for returning appraisal functions currently managed by
Interior's Appraisal and Valuation Services Office (AVSO), to
interested bureaus. On this subject, the working groups' initial
efforts focused on identifying issues most likely to result in
operational efficiencies; and tackling those with the potential for
nearer-term benefits first. This included evaluating options to raise
the current $25,000 threshold ceiling to waive the need for an
appraisal allowed in the Uniform Act regulations, up to $400,000 with
the landowner's approval. Increasing the waiver valuation threshold
will allow bureaus greater flexibility to conduct waiver valuations for
more of their land acquisition needs without requiring appraisals for
uncomplicated cases.
The working group initiated a discussion with the Federal Highway
Administration (FHWA) which has jurisdiction over this requirement.
FWHA has proposed a new rule to raise the threshold to $50,000 which
could make 14% of Interior land acquisitions eligible for an
acquisition waiver. A change in the waiver threshold should help to
reduce processing times since more than 50% of the overall valuation
time is taken up by the appraisal itself and another 17% is consumed by
contracting. For simple, low risk acquisitions under the threshold, it
could cut valuation processing time by approximately 67%. AVSO supports
an increased use of waiver valuations as allowed by regulation and
currently provides training to bureau realty staff in conducting waiver
valuations.
The working group has also identified policies and procedures that
need to be modified, clarified, or rescinded including a 1995 policy
memo issued by the Assistant Secretary, Policy, Management, and Budget
that addresses the roles of non-Federal parties in Department of the
Interior land acquisition. As part of this work, Interior's land
acquisition working group reached an initial agreement that when
appraisals are paid for by non-Federal parties, bureaus can request the
non-Federal party be named as an intended user of the appraisal report
and AVSO will execute such requests. Interior will memorialize its
final decision and other related operational changes in the form of a
new policy memo that defines guidelines for real estate transactions
involving non-Federal parties.
The Department is also taking action to strengthen Interior's
appraisal capacity including realigning appraisal operations on a
regional basis to improve efficiency and service. With the help of
Special Pay Rate authority for appraisers provided in the FY 2022 and
FY 2023 Interior Appropriations bills, as of May 2023, AVSO increased
the number of appraisers on-board 22 percent from 2021. AVSO has also
secured dedicated legal support and is standing up an appraiser
apprentice program to build internal capacity. AVSO is collaborating
with the working group to improve its automated systems and processes
to simplify how appraisals are requested by the bureaus and to provide
bureaus with status tracking reports of pending appraisal actions.
These are examples of the work underway to reevaluate and improve
Interior's Federal land acquisition activities. The Department will
continue this comprehensive review and will keep the House and Senate
Interior Appropriations Subcommittees informed as more progress is
made.
______
Questions Submitted by Senator Deb Fischer
Question. To date, how much funding has DOI spent implementing the
America the Beautiful Initiative?
--Please include what staffing resources have been used to plan,
coordinate, implement and track the initiative.
--Please also cite the congressional authorization used to justify
any expenditures.
Answer. America the Beautiful is an interagency initiative to
support voluntary, locally led, partnership-driven conservation and
restoration nationwide. Interior is an active Federal partner in
supporting the broader initiative driven by our mission and
responsibilities for land and resource management. A variety of DOI
programs--authorized by Congress--support the goals of the initiative.
As such, the Department does not track funding for it as it would a
formal program.
During the hearing, Secretary Haaland gave examples of funding
requested for several DOI programs which help to support the objectives
of America the Beautiful including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's
Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program. The budget proposes $79.7
million in FY 2024 for the Partners program, an increase of $19.5
million above FY 2023 enacted. The program is authorized by the
Partners for Fish and Wildlife Act (16 U.S.C. 3771-3774) to establish a
program that works with private landowners to conduct cost-effective
habitat projects for the benefit of fish and wildlife resources in the
United States. The projects provide other benefits to the local
communities, such as enhancing drought resilience through water
conservation projects, strengthening resilience to wildfire, and
supporting habitat and migration corridors for game and other plants
and animals of cultural significance.
The Partners Program works in all 50 States and territories, to
consult with landowners to help them conserve and improve wildlife
habitat. Landowner conservation is important because nearly 70 percent
of land in the United States is privately owned. Public and private
landowners are critical partners in ensuring the health and
sustainability of America's fish, wildlife and plant species. Projects
are voluntary and customized to meet landowners' needs. Participating
landowners continue to own and manage their land while they improve
conditions for wildlife.
Many Partners for Fish and Wildlife projects take place on working
landscapes such as forests, farms and ranches. FWS efforts focus on
areas of conservation concern, such as upland forests, wetlands, native
prairies, marshes, rivers and streams and designing projects to benefit
Federal trust species including migratory birds, endangered, threatened
and at-risk species.
All private landowners interested in restoring wildlife habitat on
their land are eligible to participate. Current partners include
farmers, ranchers, forest landowners, recreational landowners,
corporations, local governments and universities. In addition to
private landowners, the program partners with other Federal agencies,
State agencies and non-governmental organizations to complete projects
on private lands. Participating landowners do not forfeit any property
rights and are not required to allow public access.
Another example mentioned at the hearing is the Land and Water
Conservation Fund State Grants program managed by the National Park
Service, which was permanently reauthorized in the Great American
Outdoors Act. The program receives mandatory funding which is allocated
annually by Congress through Appropriations. The budget proposes $305.5
million in FY 2024 for these competitive and formula matching grants to
States.
The State grants support the acquisition and development of land
and facilities that will provide the public with access to new
opportunities to engage in outdoor recreation through a variety of
projects such as parks, sports and playfields, swimming and boating
areas, trails, and campgrounds. Grants to States also provide for
continuing State planning efforts to address outdoor recreation needs.
Since 1965, more than $5.2 billion has been apportioned to the States,
resulting in the award of over 45,000 grants. States, Tribes, and
localities have matched this amount at least dollar-for-dollar,
doubling the Federal investment.
This program has successfully allowed States to take greater
responsibility for the protection and development of open space and
outdoor recreation resources. The Land and Water Conservation Fund Act
of 1965 (54 U.S.C. 2003), provides funds and authorization for funding
to the States in planning, acquisition, and development of public
outdoor recreation areas and facilities.
Question. How does DOI define conservation in relation to the
America the Beautiful Initiative?
--For private landowners, does the Department only consider land
conserved if a landowner is participating in a Federal program?
--What is the baseline percentage of land that the Department
considers to already be conserved?
Answer. Interior is working with our other Federal partners to
engage the public in this question of how do we define conservation.
Many uses of lands and waters can be consistent with the long-term
health of natural systems and help address climate change, and the
Department appreciates the continuum of conservation activities
occurring across the Nation.
The America the Beautiful initiative relies on broad engagement
across the country, including agricultural and forest landowners,
fishers, outdoor enthusiasts, Tribal Nations, States, territories,
local officials, and other important partners and stakeholders working
to identify strategies that reflect the priorities of all communities.
Integral to this approach is the voluntary conservation work of
fishers, ranchers, farmers, and forest owners which takes place as part
or independent of participation in a Federal program. Voluntary
conservation work that occurs independently of Federal programs is an
important part of America the Beautiful, and recognizing such efforts
is best accomplished by building partnerships with individuals or
organizations that would like their efforts to be included in the
initiative.
With regard to a baseline of land considered to be conserved, the
interagency team collected public comments in 2022 and continues to
work on next steps.
SUBCOMMITTEE RECESS
Senator Merkley. [Whereupon, at 11:41 a.m., Wednesday,
March 29, the hearing was adjourned, and the subcommittee and
recessed, to reconvene at a time subject to the call of the
Chair.]
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, ENVIRONMENT, AND RELATED AGENCIES
APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2024
----------
WEDNESDAY, MAY 3, 2023
U.S. Senate,
Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations,
Washington, DC.
The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:00 a.m., in
room SD-124, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Jeff Merkley
(chairman) presiding.
Present: Senators Merkley, Murray, Reed, Tester, Van
Hollen, Peters, Murkowski, Capito, Hoeven, Fischer, and Britt.
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
STATEMENT OF HON. MICHAEL S. REGAN, ADMINISTRATOR
ACCOMPANIED BY: FAISAL AMIN, CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR JEFF MERKLEY
Senator Merkley. Administrator Regan, and colleagues,
constituents, welcome to this Appropriations Hearing on the
fiscal year 2024 President's Budget Request for the
Environmental Protection Agency.
I want to welcome, also, Faisal Amin, EPA's Chief Financial
Officer, who is joining the Administrator.
Administrator Regan, climate chaos is here. We are seeing
the impacts everywhere: The longer fire seasons, the more
intensity of those fires, the decreased snowpacks, now the
impact of that on our rivers, and on our irrigation waters, the
more severe weather events, from the atmospheric rivers we have
heard so much about on the West Coast this year, to warmer
algae-infested lakes across the country, to droughts, and
record-shattering heat waves.
Every part of the world is experiencing these impacts, and
the damage is staggering. And it is going to increase
exponentially unless we act decisively. I believe that to meet
this moment we have to accelerate our transition from fossil
fuel energy to renewable energy; that we have to tackle that
crisis both from the supply side of fossil fuels as well as
from the demand side.
This is why I adamantly oppose the Biden administration's
approval of fossil fuel projects, one project after another.
Not only does such approval slow the transition here in
America, but it undermines our moral authority in the world. It
is very hard to ask the rest of the world to transition off of
coal, or other fossil fuels, to renewables, when we are
continuing to approve one fossil fuel project after another.
The world needs American leadership and to lead we have to have
the power of our example.
While I believe that we are headed in the wrong direction
in that regard, I do commend your Agency for taking meaningful
actions over the last several months. First, the cars and
trucks emission rules are critical to decreasing our carbon
footprint. The transportation sector is the largest source of
carbon emissions in the United States, and that means we can't
make meaningful progress without addressing those emissions.
I am a strong supporter of building and deploying more
electric vehicles to reduce our greenhouse gases from
transportation, and those proposed rules go a long way toward
aggressively pushing our production in that direction.
Recent press reports about EPA's plans for reducing power
plant emissions also indicate a step in the right direction,
power plants another major source of carbon pollution. And this
latest rulemaking prioritizes the reduction of carbon emissions
while promoting clean energy.
In March, the Energy Information Administration forecasted
that by the year 2050 wind and solar will account for 56
percent of electricity generation. Newly built gas plants will
become stranded assets unless they have the most feasible new
technology.
The Inflation Reduction Act provides important incentives
to clean up our power sector, and these rules leverage those
new authorities and investments. These actions are commendable,
common sense, and should be finalized as quickly as possible,
which I am sure you are thinking about every day.
Today, we are here to discuss the fiscal year 2024 Budget
Request for EPA, which is $12.1 billion, a 19 percent increase
from fiscal year 2023. This funding level would make up much
needed grounded EPA after the past decade of budget caps, and
the 4 years that the Trump administration spent gutting the
Agency.
The budget includes $5 billion to support the work of
reducing emissions, increasing resilience, and engaging other
nations in this shared challenge. It builds upon the work we
made to remedy environmental injustice, the work we have done
together over the years, including a huge step up from just $11
million to $105 million in fiscal year 2022, was an important
effort to tackle historic disparities in the burden of
pollution.
And I am impressed that the EPA budget request again
prioritizes environmental justice by including an additional
$267 million increase to tackle this challenge. And I will look
forward to understanding the ways that you would see these
funds spent to achieve that goal.
You have also highlighted in this request that the EPA is
working with the Forest Service on prescribed burns and a
particulate matter standard for exceptional events. And this is
critical back home in my State of Oregon, where wildfires are
growing hotter and more devastating year after year, on the
wildfire front and on that particulate matter piece, and the
key is that we have to be able to do the prescribed burns which
sometimes will violate standards. And I know fitting that into
the overall framework is important.
On the wildfire front, I was especially pleased to see the
Agency release its Notice of Funding Opportunity for Wildfire
Smoke Grants, which will close in less than a week, after
communities across my state and much of the West were blanketed
in smoke for weeks that was caused by historic wildfires a few
years ago, I created this program to support local efforts
prepare for, and protect against wildfire smoke hazards.
I am looking forward to seeing some real results to provide
relief from pervasive smoke that threatens businesses and
public health.
Even with the increases proposed in this budget, the EPA
budget is still less than it needs to be because there is even
more that needs to be done, as I am sure, you know, you are
pondering.
We are behind in rebuilding the Agency's workforce. The
fiscal year 2024 staffing levels are still short of fiscal year
2009; we must make progress in hiring EPA's ecologists,
hydrologists, toxicologists, and water infrastructure
specialists, who can meet the challenges we face with a
changing climate, a chemical based economy, and crumbling
infrastructure.
Finally, I look forward to talking more in depth about
plastics. Just this year in East Palestine, Ohio, and in
Richmond, Indiana, we had two horrific disasters that resulted
in no small part from our addiction to plastics, and we are
learning more and more about the problems plastics present both
to human health, and to damage to our ecosystems. And the
fossil gas industry is seeking to use plastics as a way to
expand their production, even as they are contributing
enormously to climate chaos.
So much more to be done about plastic pollution, from
wellhead, to combustion, to where it piles up; and I do
appreciate your response to my April 5th letter about reports
that the EPA has expedited the approval of chemicals that are
produced through the pyrolysis of plastics.
The articles written about that were very concerning. I
appreciate your response and without--if there is no objection
I will enter to the record, both my letter to you, and your
response.
So entered, without objection.
[The Information follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Senator Merkley. I am still concerned that the EPA is
failing to protect frontline communities already overburdened
with toxic chemicals and other forms of pollution when it comes
to that process.
The report by ProPublica and The Guardian shed light on a
troubling approval process that EPA used for products from that
so-called chemical recycling, while the April 21st strategy
contains a testing requirement for new pyrolysis oils, a small
step forward, the air pollution that may result from the new
facilities may, in fact, increase the damage in already
burdened communities.
Similarly, approval expanding a fossil fuel pipeline in my
state is contrary to the steps that Oregon has taken to build a
clean energy future. I hope and expect the EPA to work with the
Federal family, and FERC in particular, to respect the wishes
of Oregonians, as well as Californians, and Washingtonians, to
stop that process from moving forward.
According to FERC's analysis, the GTN XPress Project would
emit 2.3 million metric tons of carbon dioxide, equivalent
emissions each year until at least 2052. Over the next 28 years
it will cause $9 billion in climate-related damage. And that is
using a methodology that systematically minimizes the
pipeline's climate impacts.
Adding new emissions through pipeline expansions, like the
GTN Xpress, is incompatible with President Biden's pledge, and
it would undermine Oregon's efforts for a clean energy future.
Now, I am delighted that our Ranking Member is here, Lisa
Murkowski. And we will turn the microphone over to her;
welcome.
STATEMENT OF SENATOR LISA MURKOWSKI
Senator Murkowski. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, good morning.
And Administrator Regan, welcome back to the committee,
good morning to you; glad that we are able to discuss EPA's
fiscal year '24 budget request with you this morning.
I am going to start off by just acknowledging and thanking
you for the working relationship that you and I have built
within your time in office, and your team working with mine.
Before I turn to more Alaska-specific issues this morning,
I must note my concern over the direction that I believe the
Agency is taking with regards to recent and planned national
regulatory actions. In particular, I believe the Agency is
engaging in regulatory overreach with WOTUS, which the Senate
has expressed its disapproval on, as well as the newly proposed
Auto Emission Rule.
If press reports are true, EPA's soon-to-be-released Power
Plant Rule will follow the same unfortunate pattern, and these
broad national regulations often have a disproportionate impact
on the State of Alaska as we have had an opportunity to
discuss. With WOTUS, a very significant percentage of Alaska is
considered a wetland; the finalized WOTUS Rule fails to
consider special characteristics in Alaska, such as permafrost,
and will harm much needed economic development within my state.
And while I have serious concerns about how these national
policies will negatively impact Alaska, I would like to focus
on some more positive matters.
And Administrator, I want to, I want to thank you,
sincerely, for your and your Agency's leadership on the issue
of ANGSA contaminated lands. This is an environmental injustice
that we have discussed, it is an environmental injustice caused
by the Federal Government. It has been left without action for
far too long.
But thanks to you, and the supportive colleagues here on
the committee, we now have a new grant program within EPA to
finally begin making a difference, and remediate these
contaminated lands.
For colleagues' information, under the promise and the
commitment to Alaska Native peoples with the Native Claim
Settlement they were entitled to certain lands. We have worked
to make good on that commitment but, unfortunately, what
happened over the course of years, where contaminated lands,
lands that had been contaminated by our own Federal Government,
are conveyed to the Native people in settlement for their
lands. So what they receive is not only of questionable value,
but in many times, the lands that they have received are making
them ill, are making them sick.
And so this was an injustice that must be corrected, and we
are making a difference here. The Agency's fiscal year 2024
request continues the new ANGSA Contaminated Lands Grant at 20
million, and I truly appreciate that.
What happened with the EPA was considerable, because the
EPA stepped forward into the leadership role on this ANGSA
contaminated lands. I don't mean to put one department against
the other, but the fact of the matter is the Department of
Interior has failed, failed to be helpful on that issue.
And so there were some key members on your team, Mr.
Sixkiller, there were some others that, again, have just put
their shoulder into this, and really advanced this in a way
that has been positive and remarkable.
And I want to make sure that others know that you deserve
this public commendation now. These efforts are going to
directly improve the health and well-being of so many
communities, and this work cannot be understated in its
importance.
So I hope, and I know, Administrator Regan, that there is
more that you and I can do together to right this injustice in
our Alaska Native community, so I am looking forward to finding
further creative funding solutions with you. I certainly invite
you to come to Alaska at any time to meet in some of these
communities with me, and I know that we are looking forward to
doing that at a point in time.
I now want to turn to an issue that we have had opportunity
to discuss before, and this is the Agency's Wood Heater
Certification Program. I get that this is a problem that you
have inherited, but unfortunately, it is really coming to a
head for communities of Fairbanks, and North Pole, and the
interior part of my state.
Earlier this year, the EPA partially accepted and partially
rejected the State of Alaska's State Implementation Plan for PM
2.5. I believe that the Agency, fundamentally, misunderstands
the role that its flawed Wood Heater Certification played in
higher PM 2.5 emissions within the region.
In fact, in February of this year, the EPA Inspector
General released a report heavily criticizing the Agency's
handling of its Wood Heater Program. The IG's report states
that: EPA's mismanagement has led to elevated PM 2.5 emissions
even though Congress has provided almost $100 million for wood
stove changeouts over the last 8 years through the Targeted
Airshed Grant.
I have worked hard on that, I think you know. I secured
tens of millions of dollars for wood stove changeouts in the
Fairbanks area through this grant, which should be good, it
should be a positive, so I am really very frustrated by the IG
Report's findings.
By failing to properly certify and test wood heater
emissions the EPA has frustrated Congress' investments and
intended goals.
So Administrator, I am calling on your Agency to fix its
handling of the Wood Heater Certification and Testing Program,
and to internally provide whatever resources are needed to
achieve that.
To show my commitment, last year we provided a $1 million
increase for staffing, and other efforts to help right the
program, but it really is just not fair, that my constituents
in Fairbanks and in North Pole are going to face increased
energy prices, or perhaps even worse than that, actual energy
insecurity due to potential enforcement actions that the Agency
may take against them for the Agency's own mismanagement.
I am going to be up in Fairbanks this weekend, and I can
tell you this is going to be a hot, hot, hot topic there.
Lastly, I want to discuss with you the Agency's handling of
congressionally directed spending projects. I do appreciate
that the Congress rather rapidly revived a significant workload
for the agencies when we brought back CDS projects in fiscal
year 2022. But I don't think that that excuses the Agency's
performance, so far, in executing these important and needed
investments. The Congress has provided additional resources for
the Agency to implement a revived program, but I don't think
that more staffing alone is going to fix the problem. I think
that the Agency has not made this a significant enough
priority.
In fiscal year 2022 and 2023 the Congress funded over 1,000
CDS projects for the EPA to manage, and to my knowledge, so far
only a small percentage of the projects have been awarded. So I
am concerned about the pace, particularly since Congress looks
poised to continue CDS projects for EPA into the future, as I
think that they should, but the Agency has got to do better
here.
And to show you that I am going to be your partner in this,
I am certainly willing to work with you on any initiatives that
you may have, any suggestions that you think can improve the
speed of processing. This delay impacts projects nationally,
but also significantly in my State of Alaska.
I want to thank you for your help with several of those CDS
projects, like the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANGSA)
contaminated lands, but also the Polaris Building in Fairbanks.
But just generally, I am somewhat bewildered that critical
water and wastewater infrastructure projects are lagging
severely behind. So I hope that you and your team will be able
to explore ways in which CDS projects can be awarded faster,
including any creative solutions which we can help secure in
our Bill.
I know that implementing these CDSs isn't easy, so I thank
you for your work, and all the Agency personnel that are
working on this, hopefully, we can make these the success
stories that we know they should and could be.
I have given you a lot here in my opening statement, Mr.
Administrator, but know that these are issues that are so
important across the State of Alaska. We have got a good
working relationship, I think a strong working relationship,
and that is why I am very comfortable raising these issues with
you, personally, because I think that we can make a real
difference for the State of Alaska, and we can make a real
difference across the country.
So it doesn't mean that I am going to stop knocking on your
door anytime soon. We are going to work together. And again,
look forward to the opportunity to be able to show you,
personally, some of the challenges that we are facing and what
more we can be doing to address them.
With that, thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Senator Reed. Thank you, Senator Murkowski.
On behalf of Chairman Merkley, let me recognize Director
Regan for his open statement. Mr. Director.
SUMMARY STATEMENT OF HON. MICHAEL REGAN
Mr. Regan. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member
Murkowski, and Members of the Committee, I appreciate the
opportunity to appear before you today to discuss the necessary
vision laid out in the United States Environmental Protection
Agency's fiscal year 2024 Budget Request.
In this request we lay out an ambitious but transformative
plan for the EPA with the goal of building a healthier, more
prosperous nation while ensuring global competitiveness, energy
independence, and energy security.
President Biden's proposed fiscal year 2024 Budget Requests
for EPA provides $12.1 billion to advance key priorities
including protecting air quality, upgrading our nation's aging
water infrastructure, tackling the climate crisis, and
rebuilding core functions at EPA.
Over the last year EPA has made significant progress
towards many of these goals. We have taken action to cut smog
and hazardous air pollution, which will reduce the risk of
cancer in nearby communities by almost 96 percent--in some
communities about 96 percent. We have taken strides to ensure
that all people have clean water by proposing the first ever
legal limits for PFAS, and investing billions of dollars to
remove 100 percent of lead pipes across this country.
And we have accelerated our transition to a clean
transportation future by proposing the strongest ever standards
for cars and trucks, while awarding 2,400 Clean School Buses to
school districts all across the country. I am proud of the
foundation that we have laid and the partnerships that we have
underpinning our successes.
But there is still so much more work to do so that all of
our children have safe, healthy places to live, learn, and
play, to build a stronger more sustainable economy, and to
advance American innovation and ingenuity. Simply put,
investing in EPA is investing in America.
Across the country poor air quality still affects millions
of people perpetuating harmful health and economic impacts. In
fiscal year 2024, the Agency will protect air quality by
cutting emissions of ozone-forming pollutants, particulate
matter, and air toxics.
The President's budget includes $1.4 billion to improve air
quality and set standards that reduce pollution from mobile and
stationary sources. EPA's work to set these standards provides
certainty to industry, builds on advances in technology, and
reinforces the market movement towards a cleaner energy system
that provides reliable and affordable energy.
A thriving economy also requires clean and safe water for
everyone in this country, although progress has been made many
still lack access to healthy water, face inadequate wastewater
infrastructure, and suffer from the effects of lead pipes.
America's water systems are also facing new challenges,
including cyber security threat, climate change, and emerging
contaminants such as PFAS.
The budget proposes more than $4 billion to upgrade
drinking water and wastewater infrastructure nationwide with a
focus on underserved communities.
Over the last year, I have had the privilege of traveling
across the country, from Jackson, Mississippi, to East
Palestine, Ohio. I have visited communities and seen first-hand
environmental and public health challenges many of your
constituents continue to experience.
I have spoken to families who have been sickened by the air
they breathe. I have met with people who live with toxic waste
in their backyard. And I have seen conditions that are simply
unacceptable in the United States of America. From investing in
our Nation's climate resilience, to cleaning up contaminated
land and water, there is absolutely no shortage of important
work to be done.
Senators of the committee, EPA is up for the task. We are
eager to work with all of you to deliver for our fellow
Americans, and to secure our Nation's global competitiveness,
but we need your support. Both the urgency and economic
opportunity presented by climate change require that we leave
no stone unturned.
I would also like to take a moment to remind folks that we
must keep moving forward, 2024 will undoubtedly present a
unique set of challenges, and moving backwards, certainly, is
not an option.
Reverting back to the fiscal year 2022 budget would force
the Agency to make very difficult decisions. EPA would have to
cut hundreds of millions of dollars from programs that protect
communities all across America, impacting our ability to hire
critical staff, including toxicologists, engineers, scientists,
and others who play a crucial role in protecting the people of
this country and our planet.
With a reduced budget EPA may be forced to delay fixing
America's aging water infrastructure, it might endanger our
efforts to address climate change, and it might roll back our
progress that we have made on environmental justice.
President Biden's budget positions EPA to create durable
environmental policy, invest in America, and set our Nation on
a path to win the 21st century. It will also allow us to
address the environmental concerns of millions of Americans,
and fundamentally improve people's lives for the better.
Thank you for the opportunity to be here today, and to
submit this testimony for the record. And I look forward to our
continued partnerships to achieve these ambitious, yet
necessary goals. And welcome all questions.
Thank you all.
[The statement follows:]
Prepared Statement of Hon. Michael S. Regan
Thank you, Chairman Merkley, Ranking Member Murkowski, and members
of the Committee, I appreciate the opportunity to appear before you
today to discuss the bold vision laid out in the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency's (EPA) proposed Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 Budget
request. Before turning to FY 2024, I also want to express my
appreciation for the targeted increases included in the FY 2023 enacted
appropriation and all of the work that went into accomplishing this
year's budget. Building off that foundation, in our FY 2024 Budget
request, we lay out an ambitious plan for EPA that provides the
resources needed to advance a cleaner, healthier, and more equitable
Nation where all people have equal access to safe and clean water, air,
and communities.
the fy 2024 president's budget request
The President's FY 2024 Budget for EPA provides $12.1 billion to
advance the key priorities outlined in the FY 2022-FY 2026 EPA
Strategic Plan, including tackling the climate crisis, delivering
environmental justice, protecting air quality, upgrading the Nation's
aging water infrastructure, and rebuilding core functions at EPA. EPA
is committed to providing robust support to our tribal, state, and
local partners through grants that directly reach these communities.
Nearly half of our Budget, over $5.8 billion, is to support state,
tribal and local partners to advance the critical mission we can only
accomplish by working together. The Budget requests approximately $1.2
billion to support implementation of grant programs authorized in the
Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Act (DWWIA). The Budget
also includes more than 1,900 additional Full Time Equivalents (FTE)
across program and regional offices, bringing EPA back to 17,000 FTE,
to ensure EPA has the capacity to protect human health and the
environment across the Nation.
tackling the climate crisis
In FY 2024 EPA will continue to prioritize climate mitigation and
adaptation, which are both essential components of the strategy to
reduce the impacts of climate change. EPA's budget will support Federal
partners, tribal governments, states, territories, local governments,
environmental justice organizations, community groups, and businesses
to address climate change. EPA will provide an additional $45 million
and 26 FTE for climate adaptation efforts to strengthen the adaptive
capacity of tribes, states, territories, local governments,
communities, and businesses. In addition, EPA also will provide $400
million in grants, an increase of $151 million, to help expand the
efforts of state and local air pollution control agencies to implement
the Clean Air Act. We will leverage an additional $65 million to
implement the American Innovation in Manufacturing Act to continue
phasing out hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). EPA will direct an additional
$37 million to improve knowledge of the impacts of climate change on
human health and the environment through our research programs.
enforcing environmental laws
Enforcing and ensuring compliance of our Nation's environmental
laws is central to achieving EPA's mission. EPA holds, and will
continue to hold, bad actors accountable for their violations, with a
particular focus on communities with multiple pollution sources. This
Budget invests $246 million for civil enforcement efforts, such as
increasing enforcement efforts in communities with high pollution
exposure and preventing the illegal importation and use of
hydrofluorocarbons in the United States. The request also includes $165
million for compliance monitoring and additional resources to implement
a coal combustion residuals compliance program. The Budget also directs
$75 million for criminal enforcement efforts to pursue investigations
of the most egregious environmental cases and to support a specialized
Criminal Enforcement Initiative focused on addressing environmental
justice issues in partnership with the Department of Justice (DOJ).
ensuring clean and healthy air for all communities
Poor air quality still affects millions of people across the
country, perpetuating harmful short- and long-term health and quality
of life impacts. In FY 2024, EPA will improve air quality for
communities by reducing emissions of ozone-forming pollutants,
particulate matter, and air toxics. The President's Budget includes
$1.4 billion to improve air quality and reducing localized pollution,
reducing exposure to radiation, and improving indoor air for
communities across the country. The Budget dedicates $180 million to
the development and implementation of national emission standards to
reduce air pollution from vehicles, engines, and fuels. EPA's work to
set these standards provides certainty to industry, builds on advances
in technology, and reinforces market movement towards a cleaner energy
system that provides reliable and affordable energy. The Budget
provides $150 million, a $50 million increase above the 2023 level, to
expand the availability of Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) grants
and rebates.
The Budget includes $367 million to assist tribal, state, and local
air pollution control agencies in the development, implementation, and
evaluation of programs for the National Ambient Air Quality Standards
(NAAQS) and to establish standards for reducing air toxics. EPA will
continue to build on its historic progress in protecting human health
and the environment from the harmful effects of air pollution and work
to assure clean air for all Americans, with a particular focus on those
in underserved and overburdened communities.
achieving clean and safe water for all communities
Clean and safe water is a foundation for healthy communities and a
thriving economy, and EPA is committed to ensuring clean and safe water
for all. Although immense progress has been made across our Nation,
many still lack access to safe and clean water and suffer the effects
of aging infrastructure and legacy lead pipes. America's water systems
also are facing new challenges, including cybersecurity threats,
climate change, and emerging contaminants of concern, such as PFAS.
In FY 2024, EPA will continue our work with Federal, tribal, state,
and nongovernmental partners to advance water quality science, provide
clean and safe water for all communities, and protect our Nation's
waterbodies from degradation. The Budget provides more than $4 billion
for water infrastructure, an increase of $1 billion over the 2023
enacted level. The Budget funds all of the authorizations in the
original Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Act of 2021 and
maintains funding for EPA's State Revolving Funds (SRF) at the total
2023 enacted level, which complements funds provided for water
infrastructure programs in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. To
further the President's goal of replacing all lead pipes within the
next decade, the Budget proposes $219 million for two grants dedicated
to remediating lead contamination in water-- Reducing Lead in Drinking
Water and Lead Testing in Schools.
Also included is $80 million to support the Water Infrastructure
Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) loan program. As of February 2023,
EPA has issued 100 WIFIA loans to communities across the country
totaling over $17 billion in credit assistance to help finance more
than $36 billion for water infrastructure projects. WIFIA loans for
these projects have saved communities nearly $5 billion, which can be
used for additional infrastructure investment and to keep rates
affordable for water system users. These WIFIA-financed projects have
created over 123,000 jobs and benefited more than 50 million people,
demonstrating that WIFIA credit assistance is an effective tool to help
address a variety of water infrastructure needs to support communities
nationwide.
In FY 2024, EPA will continue to work across environmental programs
to advance agency efforts to tackle Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances
(PFAS) pollution. As part of the President's commitment to tackling
PFAS pollution and EPA's PFAS Strategic Roadmap, the FY 2024 Budget
provides EPA with the resources to increase its understanding of PFAS
and their human health and ecological effects; restrict PFAS use to
prevent new PFAS pollution from entering the air, land, water; and
remediate PFAS that have been released into the environment. The FY
2024 Budget provides $279 million for the Section 106 Grants Program,
which funds state, interstate, and tribal water pollution control
programs, and is a critical funding source to establish, expand, and
implement water quality programs to protect and restore water
resources. More than $60 million in additional funding is provided
across the budget to accelerate progress on EPA's PFAS Strategic
Roadmap, and enable EPA to move more quickly on policy, regulatory, and
enforcement actions across multiple statutory authorities. EPA will
continue its efforts in FY 2024 to develop analytical methods, drinking
water health advisories, toxicity values, effluent limitation
guidelines, as well as risk communication and other tools to support
states, tribes, and localities in managing PFAS risks in their
communities.
From the Great Lakes to the Chesapeake Bay, from Lake Pontchartrain
to the Puget Sound, the United States is home to water bodies of
ecological, cultural, and economic significance. The Budget invests
$682 million to continue strong support for EPA's Geographic Water
Programs to protect and restore these water bodies of special
ecological and economic importance to the Nation. EPA's Geographic
Programs deliver technical and financial assistance to solve problems
and support healthy resilient ecosystems and to maintain, restore, and
improve water quality, which yields environmental, economic, and
recreational benefits to their communities.
safeguarding and revitalizing communities
Preventing and cleaning up environmental pollution that harms
communities and poses a risk to public health and safety continue to be
a top priority for the Administration. The FY 2024 Budget enables EPA
to collaborate with Tribal, state, and local partners to improve the
livelihood of all residents of the United States by addressing
contaminated sites, including Superfund, brownfields, leaking
underground storage tanks, and other waste sites and restoring them to
productive use.
An estimated $2.5 billion in Superfund tax receipts that will be
available to EPA in FY 2024, combined with IIJA funding and
appropriated resources, will enable the Superfund program to continue
with a renewed urgency cleaning up some of the Nation's most
contaminated land and respond to environmental emergencies and natural
disasters. This historic level of funding will allow EPA to advance
critical Superfund pre-construction work such as site characterization,
construction design, and community outreach/engagement. Additionally,
this funding will allow the Superfund Emergency Response and Removal
Program to effectively and efficiently address situations that require
emergency response and removal actions such as chemical releases, fires
or explosions, natural disasters, and other threats to people from
exposure to hazardous substances, including from abandoned and
uncontrolled hazardous waste sites. The Budget also includes $217
million for EPA's Brownfields programs to provide grants and technical
assistance to communities so they can safely clean up and reuse
contaminated properties, as well as $20 million for the new Alaska
Contaminated Lands program. Taken together, these investments will
ensure EPA is cleaning up sites and fully engaging the communities we
serve in the process.
ensuring the safety of chemicals for people and the environment
Chemicals and toxic substances are ubiquitous in our everyday lives
and are often released into the environment from their manufacture,
processing use, or disposal. EPA has significant responsibilities under
amendments to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to ensure the
safety of chemicals in or entering commerce and addressing unreasonable
risks to human health or the environment. The FY 2024 Budget includes
$131 million and 534 FTE to support the TSCA Program, an increase of
$48 million and 174 FTE over the 2023 level. EPA will continue to
emphasize quality of work, adherence to statutory intent and timelines
applicable to pre-market review of new chemicals, chemical risk
evaluation and management, data development and information collection,
and review of Confidential Business Information (CBI) claims. These
resources will support EPA-initiated chemical risk evaluations, issue
protective regulations in accordance with statutory timelines, and
establish a pipeline of priority chemicals for risk evaluation.
The agency also has significant responsibility under the Federal
Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) to screen new
pesticides before they reach the market and ensure pesticides already
in commerce are safe. In addition, EPA is responsible for complying
with the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and ensuring that federally
endangered and threatened species are not harmed when the agency
registers pesticides. To continue making progress toward meeting ESA
mandates in FY 2024, the Budget includes an additional $27 million in
our environmental pesticides program, including an additional $10
million to support Endangered Species Act Pesticides Review to improve
EPA compliance in pesticide regulatory activities and develop improved
methodologies for ESA review.
elevating environmental justice
The development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental
laws, regulations, and policies has not always ensured the fair
treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race,
color, national origin, or income. To help address these inequities,
EPA created a new national program in September, the Office of
Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights, to lead our efforts in
this area and embed environmental justice practices into EPA programs.
In FY 2024, EPA requests more than $375 million and 265 FTE for the
Environmental Justice Program to expand support for community-based
organizations, indigenous organizations, tribes, states, local
governments, and territorial governments to identify and develop
solutions to environmental justice issues through multi-partner
collaborations. This includes $130 million in four environmental
justice grant programs and $91 million and 50 FTE to build out
community- centered technical assistance hubs. The Budget provides a
total of $31 million, an $18 million increase, to build civil rights
capacity across EPA and to reduce the backlog of civil rights cases. In
the long term, the vigorous enforcement of civil rights laws will
address historical and systemic barriers that contribute to the
environmental injustice affecting vulnerable communities. The Budget
proposes additional funds and FTE to increase protection of fenceline
communities with disproportionately high pollution exposure through
improving inspections, compliance assistance, and monitoring capacity
in those communities.
continuing to restore epa's core capacity and following the science
The Budget adds more than 1,960 FTE relative to the 2023 enacted
level, for a total of more than 17,000 FTE, to help rebuild EPA's
capacity. The Budget also will dedicate resources to continue
strengthening the agency's ability to recruit, hire, develop, promote,
and retain top talent and remove barriers to equal opportunity at
management and staff levels to strengthen and advance diversity,
equity, inclusion, and accessibility.
Ensuring EPA has the work force it needs to carry out its mission
to protect clean air and water, tackle the climate crisis, and promote
environmental justice is essential. A commitment to follow the science
underpins EPA's work, and this budget includes $968 million for the
Science and Technology account, an increase of more than $165 million
above current levels that will ensure programs have the best available
data to inform decisions.
conclusion
All people in this country deserve clean air, clean water, and safe
land on which to live. This is the core of EPA's mission and is a
worthy investment of Federal resources. The FY 2024 President's Budget
positions the EPA to advance our vital mission of protecting human
health and the environment, championing environmental justice, and
tackling the climate crisis. With these investments we lay the
groundwork to ensure the benefits of a cleaner environment for future
generations.
Thank you for the opportunity to be here today. I look forward to
our continued partnership to achieve our goals and welcome any
questions you may have.
Senator Merkley. Thank you very much. Now, we are going to
have seven-minute rounds, and I will ask everyone to wrap up
their questions as their time run out, so we can make sure
everyone gets a chance to ask their insights, and we will have
probably an opportunity for several rounds.
I will just begin, Administrator Regan, by asking you about
the House Majority proposal to freeze funding to fiscal year
2022 levels, and consequence as it would translate to EPA State
Tribal and Local Grant and Infrastructure accounts by nearly--
it would cut it by nearly a billion dollars, including a $600
million cut on the program that would replace lead pipes, and
upgrade drinking water systems, and support other water
infrastructure.
It seems like that is at odds with bipartisan support for
water infrastructure. But I wanted to see--or give you an
opportunity to clarify what that House proposal would do?
Mr. Regan. Well, thank you, for the question. And our job
is fundamentally about keeping people safe, to safeguard the
very things that we all as Americans hold dear, like the
insurance that when our children turn on their tap water the
water they drink will be clean, or when they play outside the
air that they breathe will be safe. Undoubtedly, if we were to
roll back the budget to 2022 levels, it would force us to make
some very difficult, difficult decisions in terms of protecting
the health and safety of all Americans.
It would also cut hundreds of millions of dollars from
programs that impact the market. We understand that there are
pesticides and herbicides that need to make it to the markets,
to give all of our farmers the tools that they need to be
successful to feed this country.
And so there will be significant impacts on the EPA's
ability to put significant products on the market, to continue
to help this country be competitive from a global economic
standpoint, but more importantly sacrifice, potentially, the
health and safety of some of our fellow citizens.
Senator Merkley. So if I can simplify, just to the lead
pipes issue, since that is a condition affects the developing
brains of our babies and our children has been a big concern.
Would that proposal significantly cut the removal of lead
pipes, resulting in more damage to more children?
Mr. Regan. It absolutely will.
Senator Merkley. Thank you. In April 21st, President Biden
signed an Executive Order for a whole-of-government approach to
environmental justice, and you have significant
responsibilities under that order. It directs the Agency to use
science and data to make determinations about project
permitting. Can you share what the most important tools are
that EPA gained in that Executive Order, and how you plan to
use them to directly impact environmental justice communities?
Mr. Regan. Well, you know, thanks to the President's
leadership he made environmental justice a pillar of this
administration from day one. And so we moved very quickly,
thanks to your partnership, and others, to create a new
national program. And by what I mean by ``new'' is we
reorganized with the resources that we had. We put three
offices together to focus on environmental justice and external
civil rights.
There are a number of tools in that Executive Order that
have been adopted by the White House that will be used across
the Federal family, so that we can ensure that our regulations
match with the direction that the White House and other
agencies are pursuing, so that we can protect every single
person in this country, equally, under the law.
We have made a lot of strides in environmental justice, I
am proud of our environmental justice record, I am proud of the
tools that we have at our disposal, but now we have an entire
Federal family that is rowing in the same direction to ensure
that all people in this country are protected.
Senator Merkley. And you have proposed a very significant
increase in the Environmental Justice Funding, can you
translate just in common language, what that will mean for
communities that have been burdened by high levels of toxic
chemicals?
Mr. Regan. It will be tremendous. You know, I believe as a
former state regulator, that states know their communities
quite well, and communities know them even better. And many of
the solutions that communities have had for decades, on helping
to reduce pollution, and remove themselves from the frontlines,
need to be matched with funding. With the request that we have
asked, it gives us more personnel to be out in the fields,
engaging with the communities, looking at those solutions and
matching those with the significant grants, and resources that
the Agency can bring to bear.
In some cases because of income, and because of race,
because of ZIP code, we are seeing an undue and unfair burden
on our constituents, whether it is Lowndes County, Alabama, or
whether it is McDowell County, West Virginia, this is an issue
that plagues this country, and it is our job to be sure that
every single person in this country has access to clean air
clean water.
Senator Merkley. Thank you. I am very pleased to see the
proposal for the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, or the Green
Bank that EPA is starting to implement as part of the
Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill. Oregon certainly has ambitious
renewable energy goals, and there is an opportunity for that
kind of funding. Oregon does not have its own Green Bank in
place, however.
Will you commit to making sure that Oregon and other states
that don't have their own Green Banks can still have access to
the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund?
Mr. Regan. Absolutely.
Senator Merkley. Thank you. And what is your plan for
ensuring that funding actually makes it to environmental
justice communities?
Mr. Regan. Well, at EPA we have built environmental justice
into our very DNA, and so number one, we have some very
concrete metrics that are attached to this $27 billion to be
sure that disadvantaged communities and those who are
disproportionately impacted have access to this capital. We
have planned to make two to three awards under the National
Clean Investment Fund, an additional to seven awards under the
Clean Communities Investment Accelerator, which will definitely
partner with more grassroots organizations, community
development banks, and the like.
And then we have about $6 billion to focus on--or $7
billion to focus on a Solar for All Competition. And so we are
going to build in the metrics to be sure that those who need
these resources the most have a seat at the table and have an
opportunity to invest in this new clean energy economy.
Senator Merkley. In 25 seconds, do you want to explain the
Solar for All?
[Laughter.]
Mr. Regan. You know, this is an opportunity to provide up
to 60 grants to states, tribal governments, municipalities, and
non-profits, to expand, specifically, the number of low-income,
and disadvantaged communities that are prime for investments in
residential and community scale solar.
Senator Merkley. Thank you. Perfect.
Senator Murkowski.
Senator Murkowski. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Administrator Regan, I mentioned at length in my comments
my concern with regards to the Wood Heater Program and the
certification, and have suggested that it is--it is
unacceptable that the communities of Fairbanks and North Pole
are effectively going to bear this burden for actions where the
Agency has failed, and that the program has to be fixed. I
think we recognize that it has to be fixed, and I think it has
to be done at whatever expense necessary.
So I appreciate the engagement that you and your staff have
led on this, to right this, I am certainly following this very
carefully. But I do understand that you have recently responded
to the Inspector General Report. Can you tell me what steps the
EPA is taking, internally, to improve the wood testing and
certification standards, and the enforcement of those
standards?
Mr. Regan. Well, thank you for the question. And we are
absolutely taking the OIG's report very seriously, and in
implementing some of those recommendations we are strengthening
our commitment to work with the Alaska DEC, Fairbanks North
Star Borough, and other key people in the community. We are
also designing a program using $15 million in funding from IRA
for testing and other activities to address these emissions
from the wood stoves.
I want to let you know, Senator, that this issue has my
attention. We will continue to prioritize it with these IRA
dollars, with the OIG Report, and with enforcement discretion,
I believe that we can resolve this issue.
Senator Murkowski. I appreciate that. I appreciate the
commitment that you have made to reform this program and making
that a priority. You have also heard my thanks for EPA's
leadership in the ANGSA contaminated lands effort. I think you
would agree with me that this is one of those situations when
we talk about environmental injustice, you can you can park
this program here, right there under that category.
So I am going to continue to be a very zealous advocate for
our Alaska Native communities, and in righting this. We have
made some good progress, but I think we recognize that there is
so much, so much that has to be done in this area.
So I would like your commitment that the Agency will
maintain its leadership role on the issue, and to continue to
work with me on all avenues so that we can move the needle on
ANGSA contaminated lands.
Mr. Regan. Absolutely. And we are really excited, in the
Inflation Reduction Act there is a couple of programs there
that we can access through that environmental justice lens to
help expedite some of the work that we have partnered on. So I
am really excited about that. And thank you for the inclusion
of the 20 million in the fiscal year 2023 annual appropriation.
I think we are going to leverage all these resources to finally
bring some justice to this situation.
Senator Murkowski. Good. Well, that is excellent, excellent
to hear, and to think--to know that you are looking at the
opportunities within IRA, so I would love to have further
conversation with you. I know we had hoped to have a call
before this hearing, perhaps we can do it as a follow on. But I
thank you for.
Mr. Regan. Absolutely.
Senator Murkowski. I also mentioned my concern with how the
rollout, or how the implementation of CDS projects is coming
through the Agency, and I have suggested, and would strongly
encourage EPA to explore some creative solutions to expedite
these project awards; whether it is co-management with states,
programmatic, NEPA, or categorical exclusions, any of these
other ideas. I am not convinced that funding for hiring more
personnel is the sole solution, and may not even be the most
efficient.
But know that I am ready, willing, and able to help secure
new authorities in appropriations bills if it is needed. So I
guess what I would like to hear from you this morning, is
whether you also are concerned about the execution and the
process, going forward. And whether or not we need to speed up
project awards, and make it a top-tier priority like I do.
Mr. Regan. Yes. It is a top-tier priority. I am concerned
with the speed of getting these resources to these communities.
So we are looking at innovative ways to do so, while
maintaining, or staying within those lines that would be
sufficient for oversight. We are also--many of these
communities have never received this level of funding before.
Senator Murkowski. Right.
Mr. Regan. And so we are having to deploy a lot of
technical assistance in new programs to be sure that they are
prepared to receive these dollars, and stay within the bounds
of the law. I believe with the $15 million received last year,
a fresh approach to looking at how to streamline this, and
pushing out more technical resources, we can begin to get this
program on the right track.
Senator Murkowski. Well, I would ask that we have an
opportunity to have a follow-on meeting with your team and in
our committee staff, to discuss some of the ideas on how we can
really improve this, especially ones outside of asks for more
funding for staff. So if you can commit to working with us on
that?
Mr. Regan. I do.
Senator Murkowski. Good, very good. PFAS, everybody is
talking about PFAS, rightfully, and certainly in Alaska we
remain very, very concerned. We had included 10 billion in the
Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to begin tackling PFAS, I think
that is a good investment. When I talk to communities in my
state, they very much want to take on PFAS, but they are
concerned about national regulations, and how they could,
potentially, amount to new unfunded mandates.
They also expressed that the State of Remediation
Technology is not as advanced as it should be. And we have got
some groups in Alaska that I think are being innovative, and
working on some cutting-edge PFAS remediation technology, that
is encouraging there.
But how do you view the concerns of communities that are
going to have to meet these stringent drinking water and CERCLA
Standards, with no further financial help from the government?
And I mean, are we are we in a good place with testing and
remediation technologies? Are they affordable for the water
systems; ready to be applied at a national scale? Everybody is
talking about this.
Mr. Regan. Yes. I can say, coming from North Carolina and
facing this firsthand, a lot of small communities, that is
first and foremost on my mind, of the $10 billion for PFAS, and
BIL, we know that 5 billion is dedicated specifically for
small, disadvantaged rural water systems. We want to continue
to match those dollars with our traditional budget, and dollars
from USDA, and other places, to be sure that our small,
disadvantaged and rural communities aren't left behind.
We do believe, and we are investing in new testing methods
to detect this. We also know that there are existing
technologies we are hoping that those costs will come down. But
we want to engage with communities, like the ones you have
mentioned, that have some innovative ideas for mitigation, and
detecting, because we are in that research and development
mode, and all options should be considered.
Senator Murkowski. Well, hopefully we will have an
opportunity for you to meet some of the folks that are moving
out on some of these good ideas. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Regan. Thank you.
Senator Merkley. Senator Reed.
Senator Reed. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
And thank you, Director, for joining us today. And like
many of my colleagues, I am still reeling from the proposed
House Republican budget which would substantially cut EPA. In
fact, I think from your letter, you indicated it would be the
lowest funding level since 2013.
In 2013, I was Chairman of the committee, and Senator
Murkowski was the Ranking Member. A lot has changed since 2013.
Mr. Regan. Yes.
Senator Reed. And a lot of new problems have emerged, and
would be requiring resources to deal with those problems. One
of the issues we have all spoken about, is the lead pipe
challenge, and making sure everyone has clean, drinking water.
The proposed Republican budget would slash $626 million from
that program, would set it back tremendously.
But there are so many other areas, and one area that I
think would be also hit would be appropriate staffing levels
for EPA, so it could do its job. Is that a concern you have?
Mr. Regan. It is a concern. It is a concern, whether it be
thinking through our enforcement capabilities, to help
disadvantaged communities that are impacted by lead, or by
PFAS, or by, you know, chemical facilities. Or again, whether
it is, in my engagements with our agriculture community, the
courts have taken away so many tools from our farmers. They
have taken so many pesticides and herbicides off the shelves.
We need the staff and the resources to get new products on the
market so that farmers can have all the tools that they need.
Senator Reed. Well, I think also from your experience as a
state regulator, you know that one of the most frustrating
things is to go to a regulatory agency, and because they are
understaffed, underfunded, they are not able to respond to a
request for permit, or anything else.
And what that does is undercut, frankly, the faith in the
institution. And I am beginning to think more and more that
this approach of budget cutting, is not just about saving money
it is about devaluing the institutions that are necessary to
compete, and succeed in this world. That might be more
commentary than question, but any thoughts you have?
Mr. Regan. I think that is absolutely correct. Listen, I
have spent more time than any administrator with our
agriculture community. I just did a session with a bunch of
CEOs and executives from the auto industry, you know, I have
met with all of our CEOs in the power industry, we have staff
that are working with their staffs to be sure that we are
taking advantage of the latest technologies. And we have forged
a relationship so that we can keep this country globally
competitive. Reduction in staff really does reduce our ability
to help our economy grow, and help us to be sustainable.
And with respect to the lead pipe issue which we talked
about, I can't emphasize enough how critical, as you know,
because exposure to lead in a child has extreme consequences,
neurological development, cognitive development, and there are
a lot of young people, because they have been not fortunate
enough to live in wealthy communities, have been exposed to
lead-infected, perhaps water, and their ability to function is
impaired for a lifetime.
So this is a--I think not just an issue of cost-benefit
analysis, it is also a moral imperative, and I think we have to
do much more. And cutting these monies seems to me to be, not
just inefficient, but rejecting a commitment we should have.
Mr. Regan. I absolutely agree. We received, fortunately,
$15 billion from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, but over
the past year we have worked with every state in the country,
we have developed a more robust inventory, we know that we have
9 million lead service lines in this country, we know that is
close to $40 billion in needs, we have to close this gap. There
is absolutely no acceptable or safe level of lead exposure, for
our children, or for anyone.
Senator Reed. Thank you very much, Director. Director, one
of the programs we were able to pull together was the
geographic programs of EPA, and we were fortunate enough to
create one that dealt with the Southern New England, that is
the Southern New England Program, or SNEP, and one of the
critical reasons it is a problem that Senator Murkowski doesn't
have, because Alaska is pretty big, but Narragansett Bay
occupies a large portion of our state, but its waters come from
two adjacent states, Massachusetts and Connecticut.
So unless we have a regional approach to issues of
pollution, et cetera, we can't, literally, effectively control
the quality of water in Narragansett Bay, the quality of water
throughout Rhode Island. So we have this program, which is
extremely effective, and it is one of several programs
throughout the United States, and again that they are in severe
jeopardy of being eliminated, underfunded, or understaffed. Can
you speak to the importance of these programs, and also the
efficiency?
Mr. Regan. I can. Very important program; and listen, in
the President's budget there is an increase of $78,000 above
2023 that we would like to help ensure--in both this program.
The SNEP Program, as you said, serves as a hub to enable
protection and restoration of coastal watersheds of the
Southeast New England. Protecting these watersheds and
ecosystems, ecosystem services provide and help sustain the
region's communities' and environmental assets well into the
future.
And I will say that we recognize this program draws on a
network of stakeholders, and experts that seek out, and support
innovative practices, that complement the work that all of us
are doing to protect this watershed; so extremely, extremely
important. And also a great organization and a great program
that does a lot of good work, not just for the ecosystem, as
you know, but for the economy in our New England states.
Senator Reed. Yeah. Well, thank you, very much Mr.
Director. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Senator Merkley. Senator Britt.
Senator Britt. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Administrator, thank you for being in front of our
committee today. I appreciate your work and your interest in
Alabama. Your reference to Uniontown is something that I
appreciate. It is something that I have been working on for
years. Actually, as a staffer in this very building, got to
work under Senator Shelby's leadership to help secure a $23.4
million grant from USDA Rural Development, to get to work on
this very issue.
Additionally, we added that to Congresswoman Terri Sewell's
work on the outside, with a $1.8 million revenue stream moving
to help fix this problem. We certainly know and believe that we
have to upgrade, and repair these systems, and so certainly
look forward to working with you moving forward.
Mr. Regan. Absolutely.
Senator Britt. As you know, Congress disapproved, a few
weeks ago, of EPA's new WOTUS Rule, and I am grateful that
Alabama is currently protected from its impacts by a Federal
Court ruling.
When Farmers wake up early in the morning to take on their
day, from feeding their cows, to mending fences, to planting,
to harvesting, they have enough on their plate. They should not
have to worry that ponds, ditches, or mud holes on their
private land are federally regulated.
The uncertainty of Biden's WOTUS Rule has created, and
continues to create unsustainable state of shifting permitting
in this country. The cost is hundreds of thousands of dollars
for Americans to comply with ever-changing regulations.
Alabamians shouldn't need to pay a lawyer to find out if a
ditch on their land is now federally regulated.
Mr. Administrator, when the EPA calculated the economic
cost benefits of the new Biden WOTUS Rule, did the EPA consider
the impact of that uncertainty that was created by the
ambiguity?
Mr. Regan. You know, thank you for the question and, you
know, I think that I would like to say that I have tried my
best. I have met with more of our AG constituency than any
administrator prior to me.
Senator Britt. Appreciate that.
Mr. Regan. And I also know though, that the ambiguity isn't
just solely on EPA. I think multiple Supreme Courts have
weighed in on this, at least three to four administrations have
tried to get this right. What we have done is we have taken a
look at what the courts have ruled prior, what the Supreme
Court has said prior, and we attempted to put a rule in place
that was much more durable, legally, than we have seen in the
past.
Senator Britt. Do you think it had an economic impact?
Mr. Regan. Well, I think that everything that we do can
have a plus or minus economic impact, which is why we work so
hard to provide the certainty that other administrations have
failed to provide so far.
Senator Britt. So on the primary economic analysis on this
WOTUS Rule that said it would have no economic impact, and you
signed off on that. Do you agree with that assessment?
Mr. Regan. I think that your question in terms of
uncertainty of the economic impact is one that we--I would not
say reject the premise of the question, but the economic
assessment that we do is based on our legal assessment of what
the law requires, and what we put in place so that farmers do
have the certainty to comply with the rule. And I will say
that, worked very closely with Secretary Vilsack at USDA, to be
sure that as we implemented the rule, we will be able to
leverage resources across the Federal family.
So we believe that the economic impact would be positive
because we thought that the farmers and the farmer community
would have some certainty.
Senator Britt. Well, I can assure you that there are
economic impacts, and unfortunately many of those have been
negative. In Alabama alone, SBC says over 64,000 small
businesses have been impacted by this, and that is 165,000
employees. So I am of the belief that our cattlemen, our
foresters, and our farmers, have tended their land for
generation upon generation, and they actually depend on the
fruitfulness of that land to continue to do the job that they
love.
And I believe that food security is national security, and
if we can't feed or clothe ourselves, nothing else matters. So
I appreciate your attention to the negative economic impacts
that have come as a result of this.
I have noticed a pattern of concern from people coming to
my office discussing the EPA. Many have feared that the EPA is
regulating past what science will support, or technology that
is available. Just to put it bluntly, Alabamians fear that EPA
regulations are more predicted based on the Green New Deal
ideology, than that of the Science and Technology before us.
With PFAS, the current EPA proposal stretches the limits of
what can be consistently tested. Complying with the levels
proposed, even if possible, would divert millions of dollars
from needed infrastructure upgrades, and worse, the term that I
continue to hear from people is ``bankruptcy''.
For power plants there are fears that the EPA will impose
technologies that are not readily available, or that can
actually not be implemented at this time. And of course there
is pesticides; in 2021 your Agency eliminated the use of
chlorpyrifos for soybeans, cotton, and for other crops.
In the past, you have said you agreed with USDA on the
science of this pesticide, and actually the Secretary of USDA
has personally written that there are safe uses to this
product. Since then there has been--blame that has been shifted
to the Band on the Ninth Circuit Court, for quote, ``Setting
the bar too high.''
I understand that the Band was consistent with obviously
the platform, with the Democratic Party in 2020, but I get the
political dynamics, but I am asking you, what I don't
understand is: Do you think that there are good uses for this?
And if so, how can we get back to utilizing them?
Mr. Regan. Well, I think that Secretary Vilsack and I are,
number one, working very closely together.
Senator Britt. That is great to hear.
Mr. Regan. Number two, we both believe in shared science. I
think what Secretary Vilsack has said a number of times,
publicly, and I will repeat it, is that, you know: USDA has its
perspective, EPA has its. But I am the one that has to show up
in front of the judge. And when the Ninth Circuit set the bar
so high, that EPA had a burden of proof that, historically, has
never been placed before, we had to make a decision to follow
the law. So I think there is a way that you can follow the law
and the science. And they may not agree----
Senator Britt. What about the 11 safe uses? Do you feel
like we can allow growers--can EPA find a way to allow growers
to use those?
Mr. Regan. I think that what the EPA has done, and will
continue to do, is try to meet the bar that the Ninth Circuit
has set. I think we can talk science for days, and I think we
can get to some agreements on sort of impact science. But I
think when the courts give you a mandate----
Senator Britt. Has EPA appealed that mandate?
Mr. Regan. I think EPA presented the best case it could.
Senator Britt. But you have not appealed?
Mr. Regan. So let me just be clear. That the courts, in its
writing expressed serious frustrations with the Agency's
decisions in the past, and expressed serious frustrations with
where we were on chlorpyrifos, on endangered species, and the
like. So, you know, you can only tempt fate for so many times,
and what I pledge to do, as Administrator, is respect the
letter of the law.
Senator Britt. I would hope that you would consider
repealing that, and helping farmers find a way to use the
eleven safe uses of this.
Thank you so much for your time. I have run out. Thank you.
Mr. Regan. Thank you.
Senator Merkley. Senator Murray.
Senator Murray. Sell, thank you very much, Chair Merkley,
and your Ranking Member, Senator Murkowski.
It probably feels like everybody has heard me say this a
million times, but it matters, so I am going to say it again.
As we continue our progress to return to regular order, this
hearing provides another critical opportunity to look at why it
is so important to families, that we all work in a timely
bipartisan way, to pass our funding bills and make sure we are
actually providing the resources necessary to keep people safe,
because safety is about more than just how strong our military
is, families want to know if they have clean air and clean
water, and that their kids aren't being sickened by pollution.
Fishers and our farmers want to know the ecosystem that
they rely on, that our economy relies on, is not being harmed
by dangerous chemicals, and communities want to know we are
making meaningful progress to cut emissions, and fight the
expansive existential threat, that is the climate crisis.
The bottom line is that if we want to make sure people in
this country are safe, we need to make sure they aren't
breathing smog, or drinking contaminated water, or being
exposed to chemicals, like PFAS, and by the way, we are
learning more and more about just how serious a threat PFAS is
to public health.
So I hope and expect this committee will work in a
bipartisan way to deliver solutions. PFAS or ``forever
chemicals'' aren't just toxic, they are everywhere, to the
point where they can even be found in our blood. We need to
make sure we are cutting down on pollution, not cutting the
funding EPA needs to protect our kids. So I am glad we have
this opportunity today to talk about the critical issues that
are threatening our environment, our economy, and our families.
And how we can get EPA the resources it needs to keep our
country safe, healthy, and competitive.
With that, Mr. Administrator, thank you for being here. I
am going to talk about Pacific Puget Sound recovery, and
salmon, and steelhead recovery, remains, as you know, an urgent
undertaking in my home state. And EPA's geographic programs,
and National Estuary Program plays an important role in habitat
restoration for those foundational species.
The fiscal year 2023 Omnibus included robust funding for
those programs, and that Congress authorized the new Puget
Sound Recovery National Program Office in EPA, and a Puget
Sound Federal leadership Task Force.
I am really glad to hear that the first task force meeting
is actually taking place tomorrow. But can you give us an
update on the work that EPA is doing to stand up both those
entities, and what resources may be necessary to better
coordinate restoration and protection in Puget Sound?
Mr. Regan. Well, first of all I want to thank you for your
leadership on the Puget Sound. And we have been a partner for a
long period of time. I believe Deputy Assistant McCabe recently
visited. Of the fiscal year 2023 increase of $20 million, 17
million of that is immediately going towards the Strategic
Initiative Lead Cooperative Agreements we have for safe
shellfish habitat and stormwater projects in Washington.
For our tribal partners, the Northwest Indian Fisheries
Commission is working to finalize the work plans for each of
the tribes in the next couple of months for ongoing tribal-led
projects. And so we plan to announce a second round of funding
in the coming months.
We also have an RFA of up to $30 million out to support
riparian habitat and climate resilient projects. And so there
is a number of resources; a number of strategies put in place
to be sure that our partnership is strong on the Puget Sound.
Senator Murray. Thank you very much. I appreciate that.
Administrator Regan, as you know, House Republicans last week
voted for very deep across-the-board cuts to discretionary
spending over the next 10 years. Can you talk about how those
steep cuts would undermine EPA's ability to respond to an
address PFAS contamination already in our environment?
Mr. Regan. Well, thank you for that. And we know that PFAS
is such a visceral issue that we are all having to address, and
we can't ignore the science. We have put in place a PFAS
strategic roadmap, we have about $10 billion from BIL to
address PFAS, but we all know that that is not enough. Many of
our small, rural communities are struggling with this issue.
And so, we are working very strategically with the resources we
have on R&D, partnering with our Federal family, to determine
the safe levels, and how to regulate this ``forever chemical''.
And as we do such, we are also leveraging billions of
dollars from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to ensure that
disadvantaged communities and rural water systems have access
to those resources, so that they can keep pace with these
regulations.
Listen, it is our job to keep people safe, and we recognize
that there are technologies on the market, and they are
expensive, and so we are trying to work on a path where we can
bridge that gap between safety, and technology, and detection.
And that is what we are doing on behalf of the American people.
Senator Murray. And how would the House budget that they
passed affect that?
Mr. Regan. It would significantly set us back. The House
budget cuts on PFAS, on lead, on chemical detection in this
country would significantly set us back. And as I said in my
opening statement, we are moving forward, we need to continue
to move forward, because there is so much more work that needs
to be done, we shouldn't be moving backwards, especially on
TSCA, PFAS, lead, and getting tools out there as herbicides and
pesticides for our farming community.
Senator Murray. Okay. And I was really pleased to see the
recent $400 million notice of funding opportunity for the Clean
School Bus Grant Program that we established in the Bipartisan
Infrastructure Law, and I was glad that you were actually out
in Washington State last October to highlight this, and the
difference it is going to make.
This is a program that is so great, it is really going to
improve the health of kids and communities across the country,
and cut costs for our schools, and reduce emissions, and
support good-paying jobs. So I was pleased to see that.
I want to ask you, during the application phase, and in the
review process, how is EPA going to work to make sure that our
underserved communities, including those on the prioritized
school district list, are competitive in this program?
Mr. Regan. We have been doing that from day one. Of the
billions of dollars that have hit the streets so far, 99
percent of the grants have gone to rural, disadvantaged, or
low-income communities. And I have to say some of my best
visits around Electric Yellow School Buses have been in some of
our rural communities. Rural places like Alma, Kansas, where
they are using these school buses, not only to transport
children to and from school, but those batteries are serving as
backup capacity for the rural electric cooperatives. So these
communities are being very strategic in how we use this
technology beyond the yellow school buses. And it is really
exciting to see our rural communities do that.
Senator Murray. That is great. Thank you so much.
Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
Senator Merkley. Well, thank you. Senator Fischer.
Senator Fischer. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Administrator Regan, I was glad to see that the EPA issued
an Emergency Fuel Waiver last week to allow E15 to be sold this
summer. Providing access to E15 helps families save money at
the gas pump, it is better for our environment, and it boosts
our nation's energy security.
While the Emergency Fuel Waiver is a good thing, I believe
we need a permanent fix, and I have a bipartisan bill for that,
to be the Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act, it ensures a
nationwide permanent access to E15.
Mr. Administrator, will you commit to working with me to
get this bill out there and, hopefully, enacted so that we can
ensure that we have that E15 for our consumers in future years?
Mr. Regan. The President has pledged that biofuels,
especially advanced biofuels, would play a part in this economy
as we move forward. So I look forward to partnering with you
and your staff, with technical assistance to be sure that we
can make E15 more accessible.
Senator Fischer. Great. We look forward to working with you
on that. Thank you, sir. I would like to also discuss a
proposed rule on reporting requirements for emissions from
animal waste under Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-
Know Act (EPCRA).
In 2019, when EPA proposed to the current exemption for
animal waste, air emissions, the national association that
represents State Emergency Response Commissions, the Tribal
Emergency Response Commissions, and local emergency planning
committees was supportive of this narrow exemption.
In a letter to EPA in 2017, they stated about EPCRA
Emergency Release Reports for animal waste emissions, quote,
``These reports are of no particular value to LEPCs, and first
responders. And they are generally ignored because they do not
relate to any particular event.''
EPA has requested an additional $8.4 million for state and
local prevention and preparedness under your EPCRA authorities.
Do you believe that that is a good use for EPA resources to
require reporting of animal air waste emissions, or to put it
more frankly, manure smells, that local emergency planning
commissions have stated are of quote, ``No particular value''?
Mr. Regan. I would say that we are responding to a couple
of things. The first is we have had some of our states, request
that we take another look because technology has evolved,
access to data has evolved, a number of communities on the
ground have requested this, so this isn't a rulemaking, this is
our desire to reevaluate, sort of how this plays into the
broader decisionmaking at the state and Federal level.
Senator Fischer. Have you reached out to all states to the
Department of Environmental Quality, for example, have you
reached out to all states on that? Or are you, basically,
hearing just from the states that want to have a new look at
it?
Mr. Regan. Let me circle back and see----
Senator Fischer. Okay.
Mr. Regan [continuing].--if we have heard from all 50
states on this, and how we have been communicating with all of
our states on this, revisiting this. I can follow up with you
on that.
Senator Fischer. Okay. That would be great. Because I know
there are probably just as many states that would take an
opposite view, on it, and as you said earlier, to one of the
questions that my colleagues ask: It is important to follow the
science on it, and make sure that we are promoting fact-based
policies that have a tremendous impact on each individual
state, depending on their situations.
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which I supported, it
made historic investments in water infrastructure, and in many
cases targeted those resources towards disadvantaged
communities. The law continue to defer to states on how to
define a disadvantaged community for many programs, including
those state revolving funds.
This flexibility to tailor resources towards an individual
state needs, I believe is definitely a benefit and it is not a
flaw of the state revolving funds. I have heard both concerns
and also a lot of confusion on how EPA is overseeing these
programs, or how you might oversee them in the future.
I think some of the confusion has grown because of various
memos that have been put out, and guidance from the EPA, and
from administrative executive orders. For example, Justice40
Initiative, created by the administration states, ``A goal of
providing 40 percent of the benefits of Federal investment
towards the disadvantaged communities.''
Can you tell me just how the Justice40 Initiative squares
with explicit statutory considerations, such as in distributing
the State Revolving Funds? For example, does EPA have their own
disadvantaged community definition? Do you require 40 percent
of the state's project to meet that definition, if you do have
that?
Mr. Regan. So I can answer it, in terms of the way you have
framed it with the State Revolving Loan Fund, you know, by law,
49 percent of those resources go to disadvantaged communities.
And I think we were quick out of the gates to partner with our
states. I am a former state regulator so I understand the
importance of that.
And listen, there were people that had doubts, but I can
say that working with Senator Capito in West Virginia and some
of our southern states were the first to revamp their
definition of disadvantaged communities, so that we could get
this money out the door much quicker than needed.
And so I believe that Justice40 is perfectly aligned with
the traditional construct of this program. And I was very
pleased, in the first year of the Bipartisan Infrastructure
Law, that many of our states brought their definitions up to
speed. These definitions look different in different states
because of different makeup, and lots of other issues, but I
believe that our states have a critical role to play.
And the last thing I will say is, that is true with this
budget request, 85 percent of the increase in our budget goes
to states and tribes. Our states are very strong partners with
this Agency. And I am very proud of that.
Senator Fischer. Thank you very much. Thank you, Mr.
Chairman.
Senator Merkley. Senator Tester.
Senator Tester. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I want to thank you for being here, Administrator. I want
to talk to you, broadly, about the Superfund Program. There are
17 active sites in Montana, 1,300 nationally that are in the
process of being cleaned up. Your budget says nationally, 22
percent of our population lives within three miles of a
Superfund site. And you also talk about how successful,
impactful the work of the program is on the health of families,
and children, who live and grow up in these areas.
In the last Congress, we worked together, members of this
committee, in a bipartisan way, to provide EPA one of the
largest funding increases for any Federal Agency, largely, to
accelerate and expand the work of the Superfund Program.
In your opening statement, you talked about moving forward,
not moving backward. However, your budget request for the
coming fiscal year is only 25 percent of the fiscal year '23
allocation.
Now look, I have sat on this committee for a while, I have
chaired a few committees, and I have been in Democrat and
Republican administrations, and they both tend to play games.
The truth is we don't play games with Superfund sites. There
was a lot of funding made available through a process called
the Bipartisan Infrastructure Plan, and the regular
appropriations. We did that to address Superfund problems
quicker, not to reduce annual appropriations.
Can you explain to me how the hell you can justify a 75
percent decrease from last year, because we haven't had a 75
decrease in Superfund demand?
Mr. Regan. Well, Senator, thank you for the question; and
absolutely, I agree with you that we don't need to move
backwards, and don't need to play any games. The budget for
this year is based on the transition of the traditional program
to the Superfund Tax Receipt Program.
And so this was based on Treasury's forecast that a
collection of 2.5 billion in Superfund tax receipts would be
achieved in 2023 which will be available for use in our 2024
Superfund Program. So we shifted from a traditional program
that would ask for these allocations to the----
Senator Tester. So let me ask it to you this way. So you
are going to get it from self-funding methods, this is what you
are saying, the tax that you guys apply to Superfund sites?
Mr. Regan. Yes.
Senator Tester. So your overall top dollar figure that you
are going to spend on Superfund cleanup, this next year it is
going to be as high or higher than what you spent last year?
Mr. Regan. Predictions would say that it is going to be
higher than what we did last year, which is why in this budget,
we are asking for a few more staff so that we can keep going.
Senator Tester. I appreciate that.
Mr. Regan. Yeah.
Senator Tester. And we are going to hold you accountable to
it, okay?
Mr. Regan. Okay.
Senator Tester. Administrator Regan, I want to talk
specifically about Waste In Place remedies for Superfund sites.
We have got a lot of these sites in Montana, Butte and
Riverstown, there are others; I can tell you that a lot of
folks in these communities and across the state are really
concerned about Waste In Place remedies.
Last year, when you testified before this committee, I
discussed this issue with you. I sent you a detailed letter
outlining my concerns about this remedy. Guess what? I didn't
get a response. So we are going to start again, okay?
Can you tell me how community members concerned about Waste
In Place remedies can raise concerns with your agencies and
receive honest answers, and answers that don't come from the
corporation that is responsible for the Waste In Place in the
first place?
Mr. Regan. Well, number one, we should definitely get you
that response in a much quicker time, and we will do that. I
will circle with staff.
Senator Tester. Even a response, period. Not only in
quicker time. I didn't even get one, okay?
Mr. Regan. All right; point taken.
Senator Tester. All right.
Mr. Regan. Community engagement, we have beefed up our
community engagement. We, at EPA, need to be on the ground in
these communities walking through.
Senator Tester. Gotcha. And we are going to get to that
point in a second on the community engagement. Tell me how,
short of community engagement, that if I am a concerned citizen
about Waste In Place, and I could actually get an answer from
the EPA, when the senior U.S. Senator couldn't get an answer
from the EPA.
Mr. Regan. Well, number one, I will check with my staff.
But I believe we have been on the ground. And I and I believe
we have beefed up our community engagement opportunities.
Because we want to be able to explain the science, the specific
science, these are specific remedies on a case-by-case basis.
And listen, I agree with you 100 percent, people need to feel
confident----
Senator Tester. If they are not bought in, you can't do
your job.
Mr. Regan. I agree with that.
Senator Tester. Okay.
Mr. Regan. I agree with that.
Senator Tester. So tell me how the EPA verifies Waste In
Place remedies are actually going to be viable over the long
haul?
Mr. Regan. Well, number one we believe and stand by the
science in the Waste In Place, right? Number two, we have to
explain the science.
Senator Tester. So where is the science coming from?
Mr. Regan. Well, number one it is from the programs, the
Superfund Program.
Senator Tester. Okay----
Mr. Regan. We have some of the best scientists, and the
best remedial experts in the world.
Senator Tester. Does it include feedback from universities?
Mr. Regan. It absolutely does, it includes feedback from
universities.
Senator Tester. Neutral parties to verify the science?
Mr. Regan. Neutral parties, stakeholders, I am not saying
that--we take all this information in, and no, we don't take
everybody's advice 100 percent because we are the experts.
Senator Tester. Does the verification include things like
test wells that are being drilled, and sampling that is being
done, and how flood mitigation is being planned for?
Mr. Regan. Let me let me get back to you. Because the
answer from my vantage point, is it should be, and I believe it
is, because we have to do all of these things to ensure that
when you store waste in a place for hundreds of years that it
is safe for every community.
Senator Tester. Yes. And by the way, this is in the middle
of a prairie with no water around them, most of these Superfund
sites are on water.
Mr. Regan. Absolutely.
Senator Tester. Okay. Now, I want to talk about community
engagement, specifically as Butte comes about, the Butte
Superfund Site. Two nights ago, there was a community meeting,
where residents of Butte had the opportunity to express
concerns about a lack of progress, and effectively, cleaning up
the community.
The readout from that meeting it couldn't be clearer. Folks
in Butte are frustrated with the process, and that is being
kind when I say just ``frustrated''.
I will be blunt, Mr. Administrator, you need to fix it, you
need to make sure this Agency is listening to folks on the
ground. If it is happening in Butte it is happening everywhere.
I am going to tell you, I could read you the news report from
that meeting in Butte, there was nobody that stepped up and
patted the EPA on the back, and said you guys are doing a good
job. If they did, it was never reported.
And quite frankly, this has been going on a long time, man.
I mean Butte wired this country in copper, and it created one
of the largest, if not the largest Superfund Site in this
country. And you have got Butte who is an incredibly resilient
community that are really sick and tired of being jacked
around.
And so I need your commitment that we will do, you will do,
your people under you will do, the people in the communities,
the people in the region are going to do their best, not only
to listen, but to react to what they are hearing. Could I get
that?
Mr. Regan. Absolutely. Absolutely. And our people came back
from that meeting on the 1st of May with that feedback taken to
heart. So we are prepared to engage, and we are engaged
Senator.
Senator Tester. So I just want to tell you, this has been
going on for a while. I mean, like a long time, like before I
got here, and even longer. And I don't think the EPA has done a
good job of listening to people for any time in that period.
And now, you know, because there are two ways to listen: You
can listen and ignore, or you can listen and take that feedback
and try to do something positive for the community. That is
what I want you to do.
Mr. Regan. Well, and let me just, in defense of the staff,
right. I am proud of this staff. And let me say, before the $5
billion from the Bipartisan Infrastructure allowed, which we
really appreciated from you all, this program was underfunded
just like every other program. And so our ability to do
outreach, and attend to all of these Superfund sites, all
across the country.
Senator Tester. We are way over. But I am just going to
tell you something. The Forest Service came in and talked about
underfunding, we fixed that. We are moving forward, we are not
moving backward.
Mr. Regan. I agree with you.
Senator Merkley. Senator Capito.
Senator Capito. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you, Administrator Regan. It is nice to see you over
here on in a different venue. We usually see each other over on
EPW. I know you have been asked this question, but I wanted to
reemphasize the issue, that on the CDS Funding delay; we have
heard a lot of complaints at home. You know, you inform folks
that they are going to be able to get a certain amount,
particularly in the water projects area, you know, they can't
move forward with their financing without the assurances and
timeliness of the funding.
And so we heard our office was notified that the fiscal
year '23 community recipients of CDS, did receive instructions
to assist them in planning and preparing for their application
process. I am glad to see that this is moving much faster than
the fiscal year 2022. What is the status? I mean it has a
single fiscal year '22 CDS funding possibility, has any of any
of those dollars gone out yet?
Mr. Regan. Well, Senator, the percentage is much smaller
than I would like, and any of us would like.
Senator Capito. So has any gone out? Is the percentage
bigger than zero?
Mr. Regan. Yes. We have a number that is bigger than zero
that has gone out?
Senator Capito. And what is that number?
Mr. Regan. The number is 25.
Senator Capito. Mm-hmm.
Mr. Regan. 25 awards, 117 applications, only 30 of those
applications were complete; and 25 of that 30 have gone out the
door. What we saw, number one, in the beginning was that EPA
was significantly under-resourced and unprepared for this. But
number two, many of these recipients we have had to go above
and beyond and provide technical assistance to, because they
have never received this level of Federal dollars before. So to
keep everyone in compliance, we have doubled down on our
technical assistance.
So again, 30 completed applications, 25 of those went out
the door, but we recognize we need to do better.
Senator Capito. Okay. Good. And I assume by putting out the
guidance, or the instructions a little bit earlier this year,
you are moving in that direction. You just mentioned under-
resource. But I would point out that the EPA received more than
$10 billion in fiscal year 2023, and more than 40 billion in
additional funding through the Inflation Reduction Act.
Certainly, that has got to have impacts on your ability to
move through all these--what we are just talking about, and
other projects, like Senator Tester was talking about.
Mr. Regan. Well, you know, we have been hiring up since we
got some of those BIL dollars, and in some cases we are looking
at cross-pollination opportunities for those staff members. But
again, we received significant resources under BIL and IRA,
focused on specific projects. And so we have put people forward
to complete those tasks, and where we can leverage staff, we
are.
Senator Capito. I want to talk to you about the EPA
modeling that shows a direct and very dramatic decline in coal-
fired power over the next 17 years, based on the Inflation
Reduction Act. It is 43 percent more coal retirements than EPA
projected originally, without the law.
This recent modeling does not account for the EPA's
upcoming Clean Power 2.0 Rule, which I would like to find out
where that is. Or the rules that you have issued in the last
few months, whether it is new standards on wastewater from coal
plants, or mercury emissions. You and I have talked numerous
times about this issue of how--what the impacts of some of this
is to our state, my State of West Virginia.
So are you going to update your modeling once you put out
your new Clean Power Plan, and other rules? Will you continue
to update this so we can see what the real impacts are going to
be? Have you looked at what those would be in terms of the
economic impacts, and the job impacts in certain areas?
Obviously that is going to impact my state a lot. So where
are you on updating, in terms of, as you are rolling out new
and more stringent requirements through your regulations?
Mr. Regan. Well, as we look at our power plant regulation,
which should be coming in the coming weeks, it will have the
corresponding modeling and cost-benefit analysis with that
rule. I would love to have my team come and sit down with yours
to walk through all of the modeling, and all of the cost-
benefit analyses for those rules that are currently out, and
after we finish with interagency review on the power plant
rule, do the same thing with that regulation as well.
Senator Capito. Does the cost-benefit analysis include the
number of jobs that would be lost, and what the impacts that
would be to the community?
Mr. Regan. Let me get back to you on the cost-benefit
analysis in all of our rules are very complex, and I am sure
you can tease out a number of things in that analysis. So what
I would like to do is have my team spend some time with you on
all of the impacts, positive and potential adverse impacts, for
any of these categories, on any of the rules that we put out.
Senator Capito. Let me ask you about the Class VI well
applications for individual projects, that is the state primacy
applications for the CCUS technology. I know my colleague here
to my left, Senator Hoeven, and I are very, very interested in
making sure that we are moving forward on, not just the
technology.
And I know your state regulator has done--because you have
primacy, don't you?
Senator Hoeven. Yes.
Senator Capito. Yeah. Has done a lot, so you have, at the
EPA you have 70 individual permit applications for Class VI
injection wells, but I don't know that any have actually been
permitted. Louisiana just got their Class VI state primacy
application. I think West Virginia is very much in the queue
here. What measures has the EPA taken to ensure that Class VI
Sequestration Permits are prioritized and are done in a timely
manner?
And how do you account for--I know in North Dakota because
we had their state regulator before our Committee over on EPW,
said that the time that--they can move their applications
through much quicker, and have actually had successful
applications, you know, meet success.
Whereas, the ones that are still at EPA are still
languishing. How do you account for that? And what is your plan
to make sure that those move quicker?
Mr. Regan. Well, so our Class VI Well Application Program
is absolutely a priority. I think the President has indicated
that CCS is something that this administration supports. We
have learned a lot of lessons from states like North Dakota. We
have just approved Louisiana's. And Louisiana's actually will
serve as a model for all of the states that we plan to move
forward with.
We have got a very productive relationship with the
Governor of West Virginia, in the State of West Virginia, on
their Class VI well application. And that application is going
through the process. So I think we have got some uniformity
across all of our regions, to be sure that all of our states
are submitting similar applications so that we can put them on
an expedited time line.
Senator Capito. Well, I would hope that--yes, thank you,
Mr. Chair, I know I am out. I hope they would move quicker, I
think that state primacy issue is absolutely critical to move
forward, to cleaner environment, to capturing, and
sequestering, and utilizing the carbon. Thank you.
Mr. Regan. Thank you.
Senator Merkley. Thank you, Senator Capito.
Senator Peters.
Senator Peters. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Administrator Regan, it is good to see you here today.
Thank you for your testimony.
Administrator, the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative was
established, as you know, in 2009, to accelerate efforts to
protect and restore the largest system of freshwater in the in
the world, the Great Lakes. As Michiganders, the Great Lakes
are not only in our DNA, but are a critical resource for
drinking water, in fact, 40 million people drink water out of
the Great Lakes, but also in terms of economic growth and job
creation, they are incredibly important.
Since 2010, the GLRI has provided over $2.9 billion to fund
over 6,000 projects throughout the Great Lakes region,
including $762 million for 880 projects in my State of
Michigan. The GLRI has been a catalyst, without question, for
unprecedented Federal Agency coordination through the
Interagency Task Force, and the Regional Working Group, which
is led by the EPA.
GLRI resources have been used to fund thousands of
projects, to restore and improve water quality, to protect
native habitat, and prevent and control invasive species, and
as well as other environmental problems we face.
So my question for you, sir, as Chair of the Great Lakes
Interagency Task Force, can you speak to how the Task Force,
through its Regional Working Group, selects the best
combination of programs and projects to help improve water
quality as well as accelerate the protection and restoration of
the Great Lakes?
Mr. Regan. Well, thank you, Senator, for that. And thank
you for your leadership, and Senator Stabenow's leadership on
this issue. You know, this initiative was allocated a billion
dollars under Bipartisan Infrastructure Law in fiscal year
2022, and in our budget for 2024 we are requesting the same
level that we requested in 2023, because we want to keep up the
critical work, keep the momentum.
You know, on the Task Force, our Great Lakes National
Program Office chairs one of the regional working groups, which
consists of representatives from 16 Federal partners, so we are
seeing a lot of partnership, and we are seeing a lot of
excitement, especially with this infusion of capital.
We take the lead on the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative
(GLRI) planning and budgeting, which is done 2 years in
advance, to help plan for the President's budget. So we believe
that we have a lot of momentum, we have a lot of participation
across the Federal family, and we have the resources to tackle
this issue.
Senator Peters. Great. Wonderful. PFAS contamination
exposure has devastated many communities in Michigan, as well
as across the country, and for far too long. PFAS
contamination, as you are well aware, is not just an
environmental threat but it is a danger to public health, and
devastates local economies, and we have to do everything we can
to address the impact of these toxic chemicals.
And that is why I want to, first off, say I was pleased to
see the EPA designate two of the most notorious PFAS compounds,
PFOA and PFOS as hazardous substances under the Superfund
Program last year. I was also pleased to see last month's
announcement that EPA is considering expanding the list of PFAS
that are designated as hazardous under the Superfund.
So my question for you, sir, is: Can you speak to the
importance of classifying PFAS under Superfund? As well as what
the EPA's plans are to ensure that state agencies and affected
communities are actually part of these cleanup decisions that
are being made?
Mr. Regan. Well, absolutely. And I can say as former state
regulator in North Carolina, the relationship that the states
and the Federal Government have is so important. Many of our
state agencies have the delegated authority to implement on
clean air and clean water statutes. And so having that state
and local and Federal cooperation is extremely important, not
just on the implementation side, but definitely on the planning
side.
We have taken important steps in proposing to designate to
PFAS under CERCLA, and we believe that it is not only our jobs
to prevent this ``forever chemical'' from entering and
polluting, but also if it does, we have to clean it up. And so
we are excited about where we are in that interagency process.
We have worked hand-in-hand with USDA, and the Department of
Defense as well.
And we believe we are making a significant progress. Not
just setting drinking water standards, but to the point you are
making, setting up the cleanup standards as well.
Senator Peters. Well, I appreciate that. And again I
appreciate that two of those substances were part of your
action. But as you know, PFAS encompasses hundreds of different
variations of that chemical, and we would assume that they also
present significant hazards as being part of that family.
So my question for you is: Can you commit to establishing
national primary drinking water regulations for additional
types of PFAS, as soon as possible? Or give us some idea of how
you plan to progress on dealing with the broader issue of a
very large family of dangerous chemicals?
Mr. Regan. Absolutely. I can commit to saying this, which
is, we have designated six, we have got twenty-nine additional
on our radar. As we get the science, and as we get the data in,
and we will continue to work across our Federal family
especially with CDC, and others, to determine the health
impacts, we will continue to move forward designating these
dangerous chemical compounds, and regulating them accordingly.
Senator Peters. Good, good. So I appreciate that effort. It
is a big job. And appreciate your focus on it.
Mr. Regan. Thank you.
Senator Peters. The next question is that Federal research
efforts have often been fragmented at various Federal agencies,
and have struggled to address, really, the full scope of the
problems of PFAS. That is why I introduced the Federal PFAS
Research Evaluation Act. It is cosponsored by a bipartisan
group of Senators Moran, Shaheen, and Durbin, to direct a study
by the National Academies of Science Engineering and Medicine
to help inform decisions by the Federal governments, state
governments, industry, and other stakeholders as to how we deal
with these complex substances.
So my question for you is: Would you please, or can you
speak to the importance of having a more comprehensive Federal
research approach to better inform PFAS mitigation efforts? And
ultimately, to help families, and first responders, and our
environment, that are all impacted by these substances?
Mr. Regan. It is absolutely imperative that we have
additional research into this chemical compound, and into the
technologies, that will deter this from entering our bodies.
That is why we have asked for about $170 million in the budget
for 2024, so that we can keep pace with the research and
development being done with our Federal family counterparts. As
well as what is happening in academia and at the state level.
We need to get a handle on this science and the health
impacts. We are going to work across the Federal family, state
and local agencies as well, and academia, to be sure that we
are competitive. And the $170 million that we are requesting
for the budget will go a long way.
Senator Peters. Great. Thank you, Administrator. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Senator Merkley. Senator Hoeven.
Senator Hoeven. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Recently the
Congress--good to see you Mr. Administrator, thanks for being
here.
Mr. Regan. Thank you.
Senator Hoeven. Recently the Congress voted on a bipartisan
basis to overturn the WOTUS Rule put forward by the Biden
administration. Also, then shortly thereafter a judge issued a
preliminary injunction that affects 24 states, including my
state of North Dakota, staying the new rule.
So given that Sackett v. EPA is in front of the Supreme
Court, and it is likely to provide clarity as to what EPA's
authority is over states and landowners, in regard to
regulating the waters of the U.S., doesn't it make sense to put
a nationwide pause on your WOTUS Rule until the Supreme Court
has ruled in the Sackett case?
Mr. Regan. Where we see in those 26, or so, states that the
courts have----
Senator Hoeven. 24.
Mr. Regan [continuing].--weighed in, there is an active
stay, and we will be implementing WOTUS under the 2015 regime,
where the states that don't have a stay in place, we will
continue to move forward. We do believe that--number one, I
engage significantly with our agricultural industry, and I
appreciate you.
Senator Hoeven. Well, you have been out to our state, and
you have seen our concerns about the WOTUS Rule?
Mr. Regan. Yes, I have. And what we attempted to do was
take those concerns, match them with the laws that we are
required to follow, and we codified a number of exclusions and
exemptions that we were really proud of, that many of the AG
community asked us to do.
Unfortunately, in the states where that stay is in place,
and we go back to 2015, those exemptions and exclusions are not
as clear and available to our farming community. But we will
work, continue to work around that.
I think the Sackett case will provide some clarity on all
the questions that we have. The good news is we won't be
starting from scratch. We will be starting with a rule that we
put in place that some states have stayed, we will take the
Sackett case, we will adjust the rule and we will be able to
move forward, and we won't be starting from 2 years behind.
I want to just say that the previous administration's WOTUS
Rule was vacated, and so we felt compelled to move forward and
engage with our agricultural community, to try to put a durable
rule in place that will provide some certainty, and codify many
of these exclusions and exemptions that we attempted to move
forward with.
Senator Hoeven. The current rule doesn't do that, and you
recognize and acknowledge that the Congress, on a bipartisan
basis, voted against the rule. You do acknowledge that?
Mr. Regan. I acknowledge that for three or four
administrations multiple courts have weighed in, the Supreme
Court has weighed in, no one has ever been pleased with WOTUS,
and I recognize that. I will say that we did our level best to
learn from all of what we have seen in the past to put forward
a doable rule, and we find ourselves where we are.
Senator Hoeven. Sackett should provide some clarity, but we
are very concerned about protecting private property rights. I
also want to ask you about the MATS Rule, actually the EPA,
existing EPA Regulatory Rule has--and then your own study
indicates that the rule you have in place, prior to issuing
this new MATS Rule, has the mercury emissions below levels of
concern, has reduced it to below levels of concern, from a
public health standpoint.
That is that is your own study, determination. So why are
you proposing new rules that put additional burdens and costs
on electric plants when we very much need that electricity?
Mr. Regan. I think when we took a look at the necessary
aspect of that rule, we came to the conclusion that there
needed to be further reductions of mercury to protect human
health. And we also took a look at, and I believe that many of
the power sector industry would agree that that the control
technologies that exist to control mercury to the levels that
we would like to see to protect public health, exist in a very
cost effective way.
Many of them already have various aspects of those
technologies on their plants. And so we believe that in
following the law and following the science, in a cost-
effective way, we could continue to drive mercury emissions
down to protect public health.
Senator Hoeven. Well, the whole point is, your own study
shows that we are already doing that, and now you are adding
additional regulation, and cost, to a coal-fired electric
industry that is working widely to capture and store CO2, which
you know we are doing in our state. That new technology, so
whether it is been SOx, NOx, mercury, and now CO2, the industry
is undertaking investment to capture those emissions, and
address them, and now with CO2, which is very, very expensive.
So you are adding regulatory burden out at a time when they
are investing and working mightily to provide base load
electricity to the grid which is very much needed, and capture
CO2 as well. And you need to keep that in mind.
And I am going to give you another example, and ask you to
respond to it. You now are looking at lignite coal, and
subbituminous coal, and trying to apply the exact same
standards to both, when they are very different. And so we need
you to work with our industry to make these investments to
capture the very emissions that that you want to see--like CO2,
that you want to see captured and stored. You have got to work
with the industry if you want that to happen.
Mr. Regan. You are absolutely right in terms of having to
work with the industry which, you know, I think we are doing a
fairly good job of that. And I think many of the examples that
you cited, North Dakota is doing a good job, in pursuing some
of those advanced technologies, like CCS, and other
technologies. And so I think you and I are saying--singing from
a similar sheet of music, which is, these technologies that are
already being deployed in many of our states, do have a lot of
co-benefits, which prove we can drive some of this pollution
down.
We have got some in the industry that are lagging behind,
and not performing as well as some of the utilities in your
state. We would like for them to pursue some of these cost-
effective technologies, like CCS, like you know, advanced
mercury scrubbing technologies to ensure that the industry is
keeping pace at a unified level.
Senator Hoeven. We are already capturing millions of tons
of CO2, but we need help and regulatory certainty in order to
keep doing that, and do more of it.
Mr. Regan. And that is why we have worked really hard, and
this is something that I have spoken with the industry about at
length, for the last year-and-a-half, 2 years, this is why we
are putting all of our rules out together. The industry has
asked for these to be bundled so that they can look at all of
the impacts, the potential co-benefits, from investing in
technologies, and make those longer term investments.
And what this EPA has done and pledged, is that we would
put these rules out together; and that is what we have done.
Senator Hoeven. Thank you, Administrator.
Senator Merkley. Senator Van Hollen.
Senator Van Hollen. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member
Murkowski.
Mr. Administrator, great to see you and your team here
today; and let me start with a thank you, I want to thank you
and your team for keeping me and my team regularly apprised of
the progress on the implementation of the Greenhouse Gas
Reduction Fund.
As you know, this has been something I have worked on for
well over a decade, starting during my time in the House of
Representatives, with what was then called The Green Bank.
Senator Markey and I then introduced the National Climate Bank
Legislation. It has been called the Clean Energy Accelerator.
We are pleased to see the President embrace it. And now,
obviously, we are in the work of implementation, which is
absolutely critical that it be successful.
So thank you for those consultations. I just want to affirm
that we are on the same page with respect to the goals. Number
one, to achieve the greenhouse gas emissions that were
allocated and targeted for this particular fund; number two, to
ensure it as a multiplier effect. I mean the idea is that this
will be matched by private sector and other funds, so that we
have up to a five-time multiplier effect, that would ensure
sustainability, which is another key factor; this is not a pot
of money for grant funding that we turn around one day and it
is all gone.
And fourth, and very importantly, that we make sure that
the funds are invested to help underserved communities as part
of this transition to a clean energy economy. I just want your
assurance today that those remain principles that you are
committed to.
Mr. Regan. Absolutely. Absolutely. And I want to take this
time to thank you and your team I think but for you, and
Senator Markey, and others we wouldn't have this significant
opportunity, $27 billion is a lot of money, but in the full
scheme of things, it is not a lot of money, and we need to have
that multiplier effect. And we need to be sure that we are
putting programs in place that can be leveraged by those who
invest, you know, as their day jobs right.
And we also want to be sure that every single person in
this country benefits from it. So we share those goals, and we
have enjoyed the conversations with your team. Our product is
better because of those conversations.
Senator Van Hollen. I appreciate that Mr. Administrator.
And as you know, my view is that this can be most effective by
creating, you know, at most, a few national networks that have
to be national in scope, that include, you know, existing Green
Banks, but also include CDFI and other lenders.
We want to make sure that it has that ability to
coordinate, because we do want to be able to, you know, come to
you a couple years from now and say: Hey, how are we doing in
terms of our greenhouse gas emission reductions' goal? How are
we doing in terms of meeting our goal of ensuring low-income
communities or participating in the transition? And I think
that is much better achieved by having at least a national
network that is coordinating all of this.
Let me, just another thank you, because for years Maryland
worked to try to get the EPA to adopt the Air Pollution Good
Neighbor Rule, because we receive lots of air pollution
transiting from other states into our air, into the Bay, so
just a thank you, for having moved forward on that.
Let me talk briefly about the Back River Wastewater
Infrastructure. As you know, the Maryland Senators and our
Congressional Delegation from Baltimore objected to the
proposal to transfer some of the wastewater from the East
Palestine derailment, through the Back River Plant in
Baltimore. And I am glad that that plan did not go forward.
The reason we objected, as you know, and your team knows,
is that because Back River Plant has had a history of problems,
chronic problems itself, and we didn't want to take any
additional risk that more pollution would enter our waterways
as a result of that contaminated water from Palestine.
That said, we are continuing to work on Back River, and
obviously the funds in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill for
the Revolving Fund are important. But just ask for your
commitment today, Mr. Administrator, that you will work with us
on Back River, because that has had a series of problems and we
want to make sure we work in partnership with you and your team
to correct them.
Mr. Regan. Absolutely, you have my commitment. And our team
has been paying close attention to that. I have actually talked
with Assistant Administrator Radhika Fox about that particular
facility. So you have our commitment.
Senator Van Hollen. Thank you, because it is an ongoing
project, as you know. Let me now turn to the Chesapeake Bay and
the EPA Program. Very gratified to see that the administration
requested the full authorization of $92 million, this has been
an ongoing and urgent priority for our region. And I would
argue very important for the country as well as the nation's
largest estuary.
I am also pleased with the current proposed settlement to
the lawsuit that was brought to ensure enforcement of the goals
to clean up the Bay. As you know, unfortunately we are falling
short of the targets. We had a plan to try to achieve the
reductions in what we call the total maximum daily load into
the Bay by 2025.
We are not hitting that target, everyone sees that. It is
vital that we re-establish aggressive pollution reduction
targets, and dates. And I do think that this proposed
settlement, which I expect will be finalized shortly, will help
accomplish that.
But if you could just comment on why this is important;
this is a multi-state--you know, the Chesapeake Bay obviously,
its watershed encompasses multiple states including
Pennsylvania. There is no secret that we have been very
concerned about pollution coming down the Susquehanna River.
Part of this settlement is designed to address that through
greater enforcement. Can you talk about EPA's commitment to
making sure that this settlement is enforced, assuming it goes
forward?
Mr. Regan. Well, absolutely I will say that, I proudly
serve as the current Chair of the Chesapeake Bay Executive
Council, and have been enjoying the engagements, and look
forward to engaging this multi-state body. You know, once the
settlement is achieved, and hopefully, we will get the
resources we are requesting in this budget, I believe that we
can effectively execute on the settlement, but also enhance our
engagement with our agriculture community, and others, who are
contributing in a negative way to the Chesapeake Bay.
I think we also had a meeting where we needed to
recalibrate those 2025 goals. So I am committed. I am chairing
this Executive Council. I am committed to recalibrating the
2025 goals. And I am committed to bringing us all together to
ensure that we restore the health and vibrancy of the
Chesapeake Bay.
Senator Van Hollen. Mr. Administrator, thank you, music to
my ears. It requires resources, yes, but it also requires a
political commitment from the Federal Government and EPA. So
thank you.
Mr. Regan. Yes.
Senator Van Hollen. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Senator Merkley. Thank you, Senator Van Hollen.
And we are going to try to do a speed round here in which I
have several questions that you can feel free to give very
short answers to. And Senator Murkowski has a couple as well.
And then we are dashing to the vote that is currently underway.
So here we go: Can I have your assurance that any
permitting reform that you support will not allow higher levels
of toxins to be released in frontline communities?
Mr. Regan. Yes.
Senator Merkley. Thank you. And does that include the
permitting of any new so-called chemical recycling facilities
that vent off significant toxins that might increase pollution
in frontline communities?
Mr. Regan. And the way you will see both of those is, our
technical advice to the legislation. Obviously, we will weigh
in as mightily as we can, we know that we need to see
permitting reform, but in that technical advice that we provide
to Congress, we will be sure to flag those things because they
are important to us.
Senator Merkley. These will be issues I will be paying
close attention to. And do I have your support in figuring out
how we allow prescribed fires, while also being very strong in
regarding generalized PM 2.5 pollution?
Mr. Regan. Yes. We can do both.
Senator Merkley. Thank you. I will have more questions for
the record.
But let me turn this over to my colleague from Alaska.
Senator Murkowski. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Administrator Regan, I know that Senator Capito had
discussed with you, or raised the issue about EPA's Class VI
Wells Program for carbon sequestration, it is something that
Alaska is obviously very interested in. We have got a strong
commitment to responsible stewardship, and we have got
geological storage potential. So we look at this with real
opportunity.
I have expressed some concern, again, about the pace of
processing the individual permits. I just want to know that you
also view the Agency, Class VI Wells Program as an
Administration priority?
Mr. Regan. I do. Yes.
Senator Murkowski. Good. We look forward to working with
you on that. Very quickly, we know that EPA is moving forward
with the new standards on both light- and medium-duty vehicles,
and heavy-duty truck emissions. It is a pretty aggressive time
line there. In fact, it is even more aggressive than President
Biden's stated goal that EVs are going to make up 50 percent of
the new cars sold by 2030. We all recognize that these goals
are going to require a significant increase in minerals needed
to supply the EVs.
Did the EPA conduct a needs assessment on the amount of
minerals that would be required if these rules move forward and
go into effect?
Mr. Regan. We are very cognizant of the need, and we are
very cognizant of the broader Federal family approach to
minerals, to domestic manufacturing, and the tax incentives,
and the like, so our rules are, technology standards, we have a
limited scope that we are allowed to look at. But you can rest
assured that the broader Federal family goals resulting from
IRA and BIL were taken into consideration as we move forward.
Senator Murkowski. I think we recognize we not only--we not
only need the minerals but we are going to have to do more to
promote some efficiencies, and deal with the permitting issues;
something that we are all talking about here on a bipartisan
basis.
And then lastly, and this should be the real easy one, is I
appreciate the progress that we have made on our Alaska-
specific issues. I would like to, again, encourage that we have
set quarterly calls with senior staff from the Agency. We call
it ``The All Things Alaska Call''. We have had these agreements
with previous administrations. And I even just like your
commitment to have your team meet with mine on a quarterly
basis.
Mr. Regan. Absolutely.
Senator Murkowski. Very good. Thank you.
With that, Mr. Chairman, thank you so much.
ADDITIONAL COMMITTEE QUESTIONS
Senator Merkley. Well, thank you. And if there are no other
statements, the hearing record will be open until close of
business on May 17th, 2023.
Administrator Regan, you have covered a huge range of
topics in this hearing. And I am sure there will be a few more
in some follow-up questions. So thank you, for your service to
our country.
SUBCOMMITTEE RECESS
Senator Merkley. And with that, this hearing is adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 11:51 a.m., Wednesday, May 3, and the
subcommittee recessed, to reconvene at a time subject to the
call of the Chair.]
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, ENVIRONMENT, AND RELATED AGENCIES
APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2024
----------
WEDNESDAY, MAY 10, 2023
U.S. Senate,
Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations,
Washington, DC..
The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:02 a.m., in
Room SD-124, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Jeff Merkley
(chairman) presiding.
Present: Senators Merkley, Murray, Reed, Tester, Heinrich,
Peters, Murkowski, and Collins.
INDIAN HEALTH SERVICES
STATEMENT OF HON. BRYAN NEWLAND, ASSISTANT SECRETARY
FOR INDIAN AFFAIRS
ACCOMPANIED BY ROSELYN TSO, DIRECTOR
OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR JEFF MERKLEY
Senator Merkley. This subcommittee will come to order.
Welcome, Assistant Secretary Newland, and Director Tso,
terrific to have you. Welcome to this hearing on fiscal year
2024 President's Budget for Indian Country.
And a special welcome to Jillian Curtis, good to have you,
from IHS, Indian Health Services; and Jason Freihage from the
Department of Interior, who are accompanying today's witnesses.
Thank you for being here to contribute your expertise.
Today is unique because we are holding a single budget
hearing covering nearly all of the Tribal programs within the
Interior Appropriations Bill, the budgets of the Indian Health
Service and the Department of Interiors Indian Affairs Programs
totaled $10.9 billion in fiscal year 2023, a full one-quarter
of the spending in the bill.
Appearing together, for the first time in many years, will
help us cover a wide range of topics that are vitally important
upholding our trust and treaty responsibilities to Tribes. It
is imperative to look at a wide range of topics, because those
topics are so interwoven.
The social determinants of health, for example, are often
reflections of the conditions in which people are born and
live, they are heavily influenced by factors such as education,
employment, housing, community, culture, clean air, clean
water, safety, access to transportation. This is where we see
the critical interplay of Indian Health Services and the
Department of Interior's funding support for Tribal
communities.
Starting with Indian Health Services, IHS, the request is
$9.7 billion for fiscal year 2024, and $2.5 billion, or 36
percent increase, a staggering amount reflecting the reality
that the health care gap is serious and needs to be eliminated.
A major driver is a $742 million increase to expand access to
health care across all IHS Direct Service lines, to reduce
health disparities, and improve health care.
The IHS budget also includes $13 million increase to offer
additional IHS scholarship and loan repayment awards to bolster
recruitment and retention.
I want to take a moment to highlight the significant
achievement we made in fiscal year 2023, providing advance
appropriations for IHS. I am quite pleased that we had that
legislative achievement, and I hope the advance helps with the
predictable and stable funding for years to come, and I look
forward to working with you to ensure implementation functions
as intended.
Turning to DOI's Tribal programs, the request includes $3
billion for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, a $483 million
increase, and $1.6 billion for the Bureau of Indian Education,
a $209 million increase. These investments are building blocks
for continued economic devel0opment for the well-being of
Tribal communities.
For example, the budget request includes $2.3 billion, $350
million above the enacted level for the BIA operation of Indian
programs. This funding will support the stewardship of natural
resources and energy resources facilitating the delivery of
community services, and spurring economic development.
For the Bureau of Indian Education, I am happy to see a
proposed increase of $61 million for the operation of Indian
Education programs, this funding will help improve student
academic outcomes, address maintenance needs, expand Native
language revitalization efforts.
Teachers across the country dedicate each day to kids to
provide them with the tools to succeed. I can think of teachers
in my own experience who have helped shaped my education, and
my life, as I am sure all of us can. And I am pleased to see an
effort to address teacher pay parity within your proposal, as
well as targeted investments to improve teacher recruitment and
retention.0
I want to briefly turn to the in-lieu-of-treaty fishing
sites along the Columbia River. Thank you, Assistant Secretary
Newland, for taking the time to visit these sites, and for your
cooperation in providing maintenance, law enforcement, and
repairs.
The construction of dams on the Columbia River flooded
these traditional sites, displacing people who have relied on
the river for thousands of years, and we need to help put the
pieces back together, including making continued investments to
establish these sites that are safe and accessible to Tribal
members.
Finally, both budgets include a mandatory reclassification
proposal for contract support costs, and Section 105 leases,
which I will refer to as Tribal Sovereignty Payments. These are
payments necessary to fully exercise Tribal self-governance,
and are reasonable overhead costs to administer essential
government services.
I endorse the proposal to reclassify these funds to the
mandatory side of the budget, where they legally belong, and
look forward to working with you on this issue. Much of the
work we do in Indian Country Policy is trying to put back the
pieces of decades of failed policies by the Federal Government,
and as we know, that is difficult.
But what we can do is support Tribal communities by making
continuous investments in key areas, like health care,
governance, economic development, infrastructure, natural
resource management, and public safety. It is not only the
right thing to do; it is also our trust and treaty
responsibility.
Assistant Secretary Newland, and Director Tso, you are both
on the front line of that effort. And I am happy to learn more
from all of you today.
And with that, I would like to turn the microphone over to
my Ranking Member, Senator Murkowski.
Senator Murkowski. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I do note that
the Chairman of our Full Committee is here, and I don't know. I
would certainly defer to you Senator Murray.
Senator Murray. I will go after.
Senator Murkowski. Great. Thank you.
STATEMENT OF SENATOR LISA MURKOWSKI
Senator Murkowski. Well, good morning. I appreciate the
opportunity this morning to, as you note Mr. Chairman, to have
this subcommittee examine the proposed budgets for both IHS and
the Department of Interior, the two agencies responsible for
Tribal programs under this subcommittee's jurisdiction, but we
are doing it for the first time here in one hearing. So I think
it is going to be jam-packed, we have got a lot of ground to
cover.
I also want to point out that it has been several years now
that we have had the opportunity to invite a confirmed IHS
Director to a budget hearing. So I am particularly glad to have
you here, Director Tso. I welcome both of you, Director Tso,
and Assistant Secretary Newland.
This subcommittee has always worked together to fund
essential programs that serve our Tribes and Native
communities, and whether it is health programs, economic
development initiatives, education and workforce development,
or critical water and sanitation infrastructure, I think we
have made upholding the Federal Government's trust
responsibility a bipartisan priority, and it needs to continue
to be so.
In the last Congress we secured advance appropriations for
the IHS, this was a long-held priority for Native communities,
and we can't forget the great progress that we have made on
these issues related to contract support costs as well as
105(l) Tribal Lease payments. I think this demonstrates that we
can work together, and when we do we are successful.
As we look to write the fiscal year 2024 bills, it is my
hope that we can continue our bipartisan tradition to
prioritize the needs of Native communities. The President's
proposal for the IHS includes an increase of $2.5 billion above
the fiscal year 2023 level, while the request for BIA and BIE
outlines approximately $692 million in new spending.
The fiscal year 2024 budget request increases almost every
budget line, with the only exceptions being Congressional
priority.
So I hope that after today we all have a better
understanding of our respective funding priorities, because
reconciling the President's requests, Congressional priorities
and, quite frankly, the budget realities, is going to take some
compromise and a lot of dialogue.
Many of the issues I intend to raise today will come as no
surprise to you all. Within the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA),
ensuring adequate funding for PL280 states to address the
inequities among Tribal courts remains a top concern of mine,
as is continuing funding for Native language grant programs for
non-BIE States, and funding for missing, murdered indigenous
people.
In addition to safeguarding funds for the above issues, it
is also important to ensure that the small and needy Tribes,
that supplement receives sufficient funding and is properly
managed. The current Tiwahe pilot sites and recipients be made
whole, and that Tribal management programs are effectively
contributing towards economic development while meeting natural
resource goals.
In the fiscal year 2024 budget proposal, there is also an
Alaska-specific proposal on subsistence, and that is to shift
the Office of Subsistence Management from Fish and Wildlife to
Indian Affairs.
Secretary Newland, we have had an opportunity to discuss
this in the Indian Affairs Committee. I have heard from a lot
of Tribal leaders and Native communities over the years about
Fish and Wildlife Service not giving this important office the
attention that it needs. So I am going to be interested in
hearing more, just about the practical implementation of this
proposal, how it addresses the concerns of all stakeholders,
and the steps that you are taking to demonstrate that Indian
Affairs can handle management of the rural subsistence
priority, for both Native and non-Native subsistence users
alike.
Similar to the Department of Interior's Tribal programs,
over the years, my IHS priorities remained pretty much
unchanged. Ensuring funding for VBCs, village-built clinics,
facilities construction accounts, along with programs that
support the Alaska Dental Health Therapy, the AHABs, our
Community Health Aid Programs, these are all vital for Native
communities across my state.
And of course, at both BIA and IHS, contract support costs,
and 105(l) lease payments, absolutely utmost importance.
Ongoing questions surrounding these costs continue to spur
court cases, and trigger additional budget uncertainty. You
know that, as well as anyone. And it is for this reason, I
would urge some caution in attempting to rename these terms,
just for the sake of simplicity.
I think they are complex. They are legally defined budget
issues that are rooted in statute, in regulation, in court
cases. Our job here on the subcommittee is to appreciate and
address the budget complexities, without creating further
confusion for the sake of political expedience.
Another nuanced issue we need to discuss, are the
unobligated balances at IHS. And Director, we have talked about
this. IHS has received more than $45 billion in regular
discretionary and emergency funding over the preceding 5 years.
They are carrying billions of dollars in unobligated balances.
We have to have an open and a transparent conversation about
these balances to0 ensure that IHS is providing the best
services possible.
And then lastly, the Chairman has mentioned advance
appropriation; this is something that I have personally been
supportive of over the years. As an original co-sponsor of a
bill with Senator Udall, that jump started that path, to the
inclusion of advance appropriations in the fiscal year 2023
Omnibus Bill, I am somewhat disappointed that the budget
proposal does not focus on a successful implementation of
advance appropriations, but instead, again, proposes mandatory
funding for IHS, beginning in 2025, without any accompanying
legislative text. We need to have that there.
We all want the IHS to be successful and responsibly
managed, so Director Tso, I am glad that you are in place to
provide that leadership. It is a tough job. And we have talked
about that. I am looking forward to your testimony, as well as
that from you, Assistant Secretary Newland.
And with that, Mr. Chairman, I thank you. And look forward
to the discussion this morning.
Senator Merkley. Senator Murray, and the Chair of
Appropriations.
STATEMENT OF SENATOR PATTY MURRAY
Senator Murray. Thank you very much, Chair Merkley, and
Ranking Member Murkowski.
We have a really important responsibility to get our
funding bills passed in a timely and bipartisan way, and the
clock is ticking if we want to keep things on track, and truly
return to regular order for the first time in years,
I know members on both sides of the aisle are serious about
making that happen, because if we are going to keep our Nation
strong and safe we cannot let the investments that keep our
Nation competitive, and keep our communities secure, including
our Tribal communities, fall into chaos or uncertainty due to
political games.
These programs are too important to shortchange, and this
moment is too critical to let partisan infighting hold our
communities and our country back. So it is important that we
are holding this hearing today to make sure our Nation meets
its obligations to our Tribes, honoring their sovereignty and
providing the Federal investments that we have promised.
Because how we are seen in the world, isn't just a matter
of how much we spend on weapons, it is how we live up to our
word. If we expect other nations to trust us, to live up to our
global commitments, we have to keep our promises right here at
home too. And when it comes to our Nation's commitments to
Tribes, we have a long way to go.
Further, the reality is that for many of our Nation's
toughest challenges, the opioid crisis, the climate crisis, the
maternal mortality crisis, and more, our Tribes are getting hit
the hardest.
And yet House Republicans just voted to slash vital support
for our Tribes. Their default on America Act would gut funding
for Tribal law enforcement, education, and health care
programs. It would cut nearly a billion dollars from the Indian
Health Service, forcing more than 1,000 doctors, nurses, and
staff off the job, and cutting care for two-and-a-half-million
people. It would rip away essential services in Tribal
communities, and seriously weaken BIA's ability to live up to
its mission.
Now, I am constantly meeting with Tribal leaders in every
part of my home State of Washington, Lummi, Muckleshoot,
Puyallup, the Yakama, Jamestown S'Klallam, Quinault, there are
so many. And I can tell you, they certainly are not asking us
to break our promises or cut off key resources, our Tribal
leaders want us to invest in climate resilience.
They want to make sure their communities are prepared for
and protected from rising sea levels, and raging wildfires
which are becoming much too common. They want to be able to
work together to manage the forests and lands they rely on, and
help recover the salmon populations that are foundational to
Tribal cultures and economies.
They want to provide the support people need to overcome
depression, opioid use disorder, and other mental health
challenges. They want to provide the health care people need to
have a safe pregnancy, and not die in childbirth. They want to
end the epidemic of missing and murdered Native women, and
secure justice for survivors and their families. They want
their rights protected, and their sovereignty respected.
And I do want to recognize Chair Merkley's leadership on
Tribal Sovereignty Payments, and reiterate my support for his
efforts. Now, I don't think any of this is too much to ask for.
And here is what I hope all of my colleagues will
recognize. Many of us will talk about listening to, and
prioritizing Tribal voices here in Congress. Well, here is our
opportunity to demonstrate that commitment. More than just
words; if you support Tribes, then support them with the
funding that they deserve, because I know our Nation is
stronger when our Tribes are stronger. And that keeping people
safe, keeping our communities safe, has to include our Tribal
communities.
So this subcommittee is extremely important, and I want to
work with both of you to make sure we do that well. Thank you.
Senator Merkley. Well, thank you very much.
And we are going to jump right into the testimony,
beginning with Assistant Secretary Newland.
SUMMARY STATEMENT OF HON. BRYAN NEWLAND
Mr. Newland. Thank you, Mr. Chair, Madam Chair, and Ranking
Member Murkowski, it is great to see you. I appreciate the
opportunity today to testify in the Department of the
Interior's fiscal year 2024 Budget Request for Indian Affairs.
The President's fiscal year 2024 Budget for Indian Affairs
is $4.7 billion. This funding represents funding for the Bureau
of Indian Affairs, the Bureau of Indian Education, the Bureau
of Trust Funds Administration, and additional programs within
our office in the Assistant Secretary's hallway.
As well as proposed mandatory reclassifications for
contract support costs and 105(l) leases. Out request for the
Bureau of Indian Affairs is $3 billion, and within that total
it includes $431 million for contract support costs, and more
than $82 million for payments for Tribal leases which are
requested as current mandatory funding to ensure we can
continue to make these critical payments and meet our other
trust obligations.
The budget for the operation of Indian Programs Account is
$2.3 billion. The BIA continues to focus on the priorities of
increasing sovereignty over Tribal lands, advancing economic
opportunity, ensuring public safety, and responding to climate
change.
The request includes $641 million for Public Safety and
Justice Operations, an increase of $62 million in one quarter
of our Bureau of Indian Affairs Budget Request. Operational
funding supports the expanding Tribal needs, and policing,
detention, and Tribal courts. The budget includes a $33.5
million increase to the Criminal Investigations and Police
Services line, which has specifically targeted to increase the
number of officers and investigators on the ground in Tribal
communities.
The request also includes $16.5 million to address the
crisis of missing and murdered indigenous peoples. As part of a
proposed expansion to the Tiwahe Initiative, our budget
includes $1.9 million for the Office of Tribal Justice Support,
to provide technical assistance to Tribes looking to develop
and operate healing to wellness courts.
These courts serve as alternatives to incarceration, and
provide a culturally appropriate form to support those within
the criminal justice system. As part of our government-wide
efforts to strengthen Tribal communities, our budget proposal
includes $205 million in the Human Services funding line, an
increase of $38.4 million. This amount includes $79 million for
social services which will support expanded implementation of
the Indian Child and Family Violence Prevention Act.
And in addition, it includes an increase of $26.7 million
to expand the Tiwahe Initiative through several Human Services
programs, including the Housing Improvement Program.
Our budget also includes a total of more than $201 million
for Trust Real Estate Services activities an increase of $42
million, included within that is a proposal to protect Tribal
homelands through the ``Carcieri Fix'' which will ensure that
all federally recognized Tribes have the ability to place land
in the trust.
We are requesting for the BIA, $30.5 million for the Indian
Land Consolidation Program. This program funding recognizes our
ongoing need to continue to address fractionation of Indian
lands. Without continued investment in Indian land
consolidation, the rate of fractionation in Indian Country will
exceed pre-Cobell rates by the year 2038.
Our budget includes $12 million for the creation of a new
Tribal Land and Water Conservation Fund Land Acquisition
Program. During our LWCF listening sessions last year one of
the top priorities that Tribes identified was direct access to
LWCF funding for conservation and recreation projects without
the existing requirement to either partner with, or apply
through states.
Our budget also funds the community and economic
development activity at more than $77 million, which is a $46
million increase to advance economic opportunities in Indian
Country. This includes an additional $27.5 million investment
in Native language revitalization, which as you noted, Ranking
Member, is crucial to preserving Tribal languages, promoting
self-determination, and strengthening Tribal communities.
A request for the Indian Loan Guaranteed Program is $15.5
million, which will guarantee or ensure more than $202 million
in loan principal, which will support economic development in
Tribal communities. And our budget proposes $2.8 billion in new
mandatory funding over 10 years for Tribal Water Rights
Settlement requirements, including $2.5 billion to cover the
cost of enacted and future settlements, and $340 million for
the ongoing costs associated with enacted settlements, managed
by the Bureau of Reclamation.
With respect to infrastructure, BIA is responsible for more
than 29,000 miles of paved, gravel, and earth surface roads
across Indian Country, as well as 1,000 bridges. Our budget
includes $51.3 million for road maintenance, which is an
increase of $12 million to support maintenance activities, and
snow and ice removal. The request includes nearly $200 million
for BIA construction activities, a $46 million increase from
fiscal year 2023 enacted.
That includes an increase of nearly $24 million for
replacement and deferred maintenance projects, to address needs
at our Public Safety and Justice facilities, in particular, our
detention facilities at BIA.
We are also proposing funding to support our staffing needs
to deliver on our trust obligations, and make sure these
services are implemented properly in Tribal communities,
including supporting the White House Council on Native American
Affairs, providing adequate Staffing for the 105(l) Leasing
Program, and making sure that we are staffed up, across the BIA
and BIE, to deliver our services.
For the Bureau of Indian Education, our fiscal year '24
request is $1.6 billion. And that includes key investments to
strengthen BIE's autonomy as a Federal agency. Within that
budget proposal $1.2 billion is for the operation of Indian
Education programs; that includes $925 million for operating
the entire BIE elementary and secondary school system, which
supports 45,000 students across 23 states.
With respect to BIE's facilities, operations, and
maintenance, we are requesting $160 million, which includes
investments to keep pace with operational cost increases, and
support timely maintenance and replacement of equipment at BIE
schools. This proposal also includes nearly $34 million for
Education IT to support ongoing costs of distance learning, and
enhanced classroom technology.
Our fiscal year 2024 budget request for BIE also includes
$416 million, an increase of nearly $148 million, for Education
construction, to replace and repair school facilities and
address deferred maintenance, at needs, across the BIE system.
And we also propose a critical, $136 million dollar increase,
for replacement school construction, and $24 million for
replacement facility construction, to ensure that all Native
students can get their education in appropriate facilities.
Housing is a key element for our education staffing needs,
especially at schools in remote locations across Tribal
communities. We are asking for $139 million for housing and
other facilities repair programs including a $9.7 million
increase for facilities Improvement in repair, and a $2.5
million increase for new employee housing.
Lastly, the fiscal year 2024 budget request includes $109
million for the Bureau of Trust Funds Administration's budget.
This request is actually $2.2 million below the fiscal year
2023 enacted which reflects a proposed transfer of funding for
probate work within the Office of Hearings and Appeals from
BTFA to the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
I also want to encourage the Committee, and Congress, to
accept our proposed organizational structure for the Bureau of
Trust Funds Administration. Bureau of Trust Funds
Administration (BTFA) provides a unique Federal Trust function
that is, appropriately, separate from the duties and
responsibilities of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Approving
this structure will strengthen the organization's ability to
focus on its core missions, and on additional high visibility
and complex projects.
I am very proud of the budget requests that we have put
forward for Indian Affairs, we believe it reflects the
administration's commitment to meeting our trust and treaty
obligations.
And I appreciate the opportunity to testify today, Mr.
Chairman, and Members of the Committee. And I look forward to
answering any questions you have. Thank you.
[The statement follows:]
Prepared Statement of Hon. Bryan Newland
Good morning, Chair Merkley, Ranking Member Murkowski and members
of the subcommittee. Thank you for the opportunity to testify regarding
the Fiscal Year 2024 President's Budget Request for Indian Affairs.
The President's 2024 budget for Indian Affairs is $4.7 billion--
this total includes funding for all of Indian Affairs which includes
the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), Bureau of Indian Education (BIE),
the Bureau of Trust Funds Administration (BTFA) and the Office of the
Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs (AS-IA), as well as proposed
mandatory reclassifications for contract support costs and 105(l)
Tribal leases. As the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs, I oversee
the program offices within the BIA, the BIE, the BTFA and additional
programmatic functions within the immediate AS- IA Office.
recent accomplishments
Indian Affairs is leading improvements in education, supporting
economic development, improving law enforcement programs, and helping
Tribes manage climate change through resiliency and adaptation, among
many other policy initiatives. I want to pause and reflect on our
remarkable and collective work accomplished over the past year.
Indian Affairs has expanded the use of the Buy Indian Act to bring
support to Indian Economic Enterprises. In Fiscal Year 2022, nearly
$420 million in spending went to Native-owned businesses, which
represents 72% of all of Indian Affairs' purchasing power.
We are focusing on retention and recruitment. Hiring continues to
be a challenge in technical fields, and we are looking at all levers we
have available to improve retention and recruitment. In the area of law
enforcement, the BIA Office of Justice Services team is working closely
with the Indian Affairs Office of Human Capital on several strategies
to support recruitment and retention. The foremost strategy is a pay
parity initiative which will bring BIA law enforcement pay levels in
line with other Federal law enforcement, this change would result in up
to an additional $30,000 annually for BIA law enforcement officers. We
are currently in the process of converting current staff to the new pay
levels and openings for new vacancies are being advertised at this
higher pay rate. Our team is also meeting on weekly basis to ensure the
hiring process and background checks move as quickly as possible. BIE
also continues its focus on teacher and counselor pay parity to attract
and retain key staff at all BIE-funded schools.
The Missing and Murdered Unit continues to collect and review
unsolved cases involving Missing and Murdered American Indian/Alaska
Native People; prioritize and assign cases for investigation;
coordinate investigation and search & recovery resources within Indian
Country; and liaison with Tribal, State, and Federal law enforcement
agencies on Missing and Murdered Indigenous People related issues.
Since its creation in 2021, the MMU has investigated 735 missing and
murdered persons cases, solved, or closed 264 missing persons cases,
and solved 8 murder cases.
The Tiwahe Initiative is working on expanding to new sites. Indian
Affairs worked with existing Tiwahe sites to develop a framework for
selecting new Tiwahe sites, and then conducted consultation with Tribes
on the framework. Thirty-five (35) Tribes applied for inclusion in the
Tiwahe Demonstration Project. We recently announced the selection of
two new Tiwahe sites from this process, the Confederated Salish and
Kootenai Tribes in Montana and the Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah.
Additionally, we provided $100,000 in one time funding to 10 other
Tribes that applied so they can implement programs that were included
in their Tiwahe proposal or to participate in the Tiwahe incubator to
perform a needs assessment and develop a Tiwahe plan.
Indian Affairs is leading the investigation into the Federal Indian
Boarding School system. Spotlighting this part of American history is
needed for Indian Country and the United States to heal and move
forward together. BTFA is the lead organization for research on this
initiative. Our initial investigation identified marked or unmarked
burial sites at approximately 53 different schools across the system.
As the investigation continues, we expect the number of identified
burial sites to increase.
Interior continues to be a government-wide leader in shaping Tribal
consultation policy and facilitating Tribal input into policy
development and program implementation. At the forefront of this effort
is the White House Council on Native American Affairs. The Council has
played a critical role in coordinating across agencies and holding
government-wide consultation to facilitate implementation of the
Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Inflation Reduction Act and other
critical policies.
To support teachers and administrators, the Bureau of Indian
Education (BIE) is investing in BIE's Strategic Transformation of
Education Program (STEP) providing professional development, upgraded
technology, and enhancing our ability to provide culturally relevant
education across BIE. BIE is also developing a BIE Principal's
Leadership Academy to deliver professional development to school
leaders, focus on educational outcome improvements, support retention
of key administrators and develop our future leaders. Furthermore, BIE
is implementing Behavioral Health and Wellness Programs serving BIE
students, staff, and communities with mental health and wellness
support. BIE school safety and security improvements continue to be a
priority with targeted funding and hiring plans that support school
leaders. BIE is also moving forward on clean energy goals--including
Clean School Bus and School Replacement Construction initiatives that
not only reduce our carbon footprint but support economic development
and cleaner energy future for the students and communities we serve.
bureau of indian affairs and office of the assistant secretary for
indian affairs
The mission of the BIA is to enhance the quality of life, promote
economic opportunity, and carry out the Federal responsibility to
protect and improve the trust assets of American Indians, Indian
Tribes, and Alaska Natives. The request for BIA and the AS-IA Office is
$3.0 billion in current appropriations. Within this total, the budget
includes $431.4 million for Contract Support Costs and $82.5 million
for Payments for Tribal Leases, which are requested as current
mandatory funding to ensure we can continue to make these critical
payments and meet other trust obligations. The 2024 budget supports an
all-of government approach to addressing Federal responsibilities and
Tribal needs in Indian Country. The White House Council on Native
American Affairs, in coordination with Indian Affairs bureaus, supports
collaboration on this work across Federal agencies. We are also looking
to leverage external resources. The budget includes additional funding
to build out an Office of Strategic Partnerships which can leverage
philanthropic funding to build on Federal resources for program
delivery for Indian Country.
operation of indian programs
The 2024 budget for the Operation of Indian Programs account is
$2.3 billion. The 2024 budget continues to focus on the priorities put
forward in our 2023 budget of increasing sovereignty over Tribal lands,
advancing economic opportunities, ensuring public safety, and
responding to climate change.
protect and support safe tribal communities
BIA's Office of Justice Services (OJS) funds law enforcement,
corrections, and court services to support safe Tribal communities. The
2024 budget includes $641.8 million for Public Safety and Justice
(PS&J) operations, an increase of $62.1 million above the 2023 enacted
level. Operational funding supports the expanding Tribal needs in
policing, detention, and Tribal courts, including those resulting from
the McGirt v. Oklahoma Supreme Court decision.
The budget includes a $33.5 million program increase to Criminal
Investigations and Police Services, specifically targeted to increase
the number of officers and investigators on the ground in Indian
Country. A program increase of $2.0 million is also requested to
enhance functions within the OJS Professional Standards Directorate,
including recruitment and retention initiatives, development and
evaluation of law enforcement policies, program reviews, and training.
The 2024 budget includes $16.5 million to address the crisis of Missing
and Murdered Indigenous People. The Missing and Murdered Unit engages
in cross-departmental and interagency collaboration to identify gaps in
information sharing and data collection to investigate these cases more
effectively.
As part of a proposed expansion to the Tiwahe Initiative, the
budget includes $1.9 million for the Office of Tribal Justice Support
to provide technical assistance to Tribes looking to develop and
operate Healing to Wellness courts. These courts serve as alternatives
to incarceration and provide a culturally appropriate forum to support
those within the criminal justice system by assisting in addressing
underlying behavioral health and substance abuse issues.
promote tribal self-determination
The 2024 budget provides $444.4 million for programs that support
Tribal government activities. The budget includes $240.8 million for
compact activities for self-governance Tribes, enabling Tribes to plan,
conduct, consolidate, and administer programs, services, functions, and
activities for Tribal citizens, according to priorities established by
their Tribal governments. The budget includes $86.2 million to support
Consolidated Tribal Government Programs for Tribes operating under
Public Law 93-638 contracts, giving approximately 275 Tribes the
flexibility to combine and manage contracted programs and grants that
are similar or compatible to simplify contracting.
The Small Tribes Supplement program helps eligible Tribes expand
and sustain their Tribal governance. The 2024 budget funds the program
at $23.0 million-$16 million above 2023 enacted. This level of funding
is estimated to reach a funding threshold of $300,000 for the Tribes in
this category. The budget requests an additional $2.0 million to hire
additional Awarding Officials (AOs) and support staff at regional BIA
field sites in the regions to address the growing number of complex
contracts that involve multiple and diverse programs. The BIA has more
than 9,500 open Title I, ISDEAA contracts being administered throughout
the Nation. Increased personnel will also help ensure timely Tribal
payments, which is an area that has been and continues to be reviewed
by the Government Accountability Office.
strengthen tribal communities
As part of the government-wide efforts to strengthen Tribal
communities, the budget includes $205.4 million, an increase of $38.4
million above 2023 enacted, in Human Services funding to support Indian
families. This amount includes $79.5 million for Social Services, which
will support expanded implementation of the Indian Child Protection and
Family Violence Prevention Act. The act seeks to bolster child
protection and ensure better coordination between child welfare and
domestic violence programs in Indian Country. In addition, the budget
includes increases of $26.7 million to expand the Tiwahe Initiative
through several Human Services programs.
Indian Affairs is uniquely positioned to assist in the effort to
recover the histories of Federal Indian boarding schools. The 2024
budget includes $7.0 million for the Secretary's Federal Indian
Boarding School Initiative (BSI) and its comprehensive review of
Federal boarding school policies. This funding will continue to
implement recommendations laid out in the May 2022 Federal Boarding
School Initiative Investigative Report, including continued historical
research and documentation, and work to identify and protect the
remains of those identified.
advance indian trust ownership and improve indian trust-related
information
The 2024 budget includes a total of $201.2 million for the Trust
Real Estate Services activity, an increase of $42.2 million. Also
included is an appropriations language proposal to strengthen Tribal
homelands through the ``Carcieri Fix,'' which will ensure all
Federally-recognized Tribes may place land into trust status.
The Trust Real Estate Services activity implements strategies to
advance Indian trust ownership and improve Indian trust-related
information. The 2024 budget proposes $201.2 million for real estate
services programs and supports the processing of Indian trust-related
documents, such as land title and records and geospatial data, to
support land and water resources use, energy development, and
protection and restoration of ecosystems and important lands. An
additional $1.9 million supports the new Office of Indigenous
Communication and Technology to support Tribal efforts to increase
broadband access and licensing for broadband spectrum frequencies, and
to advance other critical infrastructure investments. The BIA requested
increase of $2 million supports additional Realty staff at Trust field
locations to manage increased infrastructure development document
processing to ensure leasing, rights-of-way, and other approval
processes are completed timely.
The budget also proposes to shift funding for the DOI Office of
Hearings and Appeals (OHA) Probate Hearings Division to BIA from the
Bureau of Trust Funds Administration. This transfer will align OHA's
Probate Hearings Division function with BIA's Probate Real Estate
function, allowing the Department to more efficiently process probate
cases to completion by improving coordination between BIA and OHA.
BIA requests $30.5 million, a $22.5 million increase above 2023
enacted, for the Indian Land Consolidation Program (ILCP), which
purchases fractional interests from willing individual Indian
landowners and conveys those interests to the Tribe with jurisdiction.
ILCP funding recognizes the ongoing need to continue to address
fractionation on Indian lands while also focusing support on Tribes'
plans for and adaptation to climate change. This program is especially
important since the Land Buy-Back Program for Tribal Nations (LBBP),
established as part of the Cobell Settlement, ended in November 2022.
The ICLP has incorporated lessons learned from the LBBP and the
previous ILCP in BIA to ensure effective program implementation.
The budget includes $12.0 million for the creation of a new Tribal
Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) land acquisition program.
During LWCF listening sessions held in 2022, one of the top priorities
Tribes identified was direct access to LWCF funding for conservation
and recreation LWCF projects without the existing program requirements
to partner with or apply through States. BIA will primarily provide
funding to Tribes to acquire lands or easements for the purposes of
protecting and conserving natural resource areas that may also be of
cultural importance to the Tribe or have significant recreational
benefits for Tribal communities, consistent with the purposes of LWCF
funding. BIA plans to hold formal Tribal consultation on the
establishment and eligibility criteria of the program. This new program
will further enhance the ability of Tribes to address the climate
crisis, support Tribal sovereignty and self-determination, and provide
another important tool to support Tribal co-stewardship.
invest in climate resilience, natural resource management and co-
stewardship
The budget includes $385.9 million, a $52.7 million increase over
2023 enacted, for critical trust natural resources activities and
investing in climate resilience and environmental justice. BIA requests
$48.0 million for the Tribal Climate Resilience program. This program
includes the Tribal Climate Adaptation Grant program, which is funded
at $24.8 million to better assess and meet Tribal climate adaptation
needs, and the Climate Relocation Grant program, which is funded at
$15.5 million, $6 million more than the 2023 enacted amount. The Tribal
Climate Resilience program also includes $7.8 million for Tribal youth
corps programs, an important jobs initiative to tackle climate change
on the ground, ensure a living wage, and provide skills and a pathway
to employment.
With a focused investment in the deployment of clean energy in
Tribal communities, the budget includes $47.7 million for Energy and
Minerals activities. Indian Affairs views renewable energy as one of
many tools available to American Indians and Alaska Natives to create
sustainable economies on Indian land.
The 2024 budget proposes to shift the Office of Subsistence
Management (OSM) to the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Indian
Affairs from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. OSM provides
administrative support to the Federal Subsistence Board and the Federal
Subsistence Regional Advisory Councils, in addition to supporting the
subsistence regulatory process and the Fisheries Resource Monitoring
program. Shifting OSM will maintain important expertise while
facilitating expanded Tribal co-management partnerships and the
incorporation of indigenous knowledge into subsistence management.
The BIA budget further invests in the health and safety of Tribal
communities. BIA requests $38.8 million for the Environmental Quality
Projects program, an increase of $10.9 million over 2023 enacted, which
includes funding to continue remediation of the former Tuba City Dump
Superfund site, which continues to threaten the drinking water of the
Navajo Nation and the Hopi Tribe.
advance economic opportunities
The 2024 budget funds the Community and Economic Development
activity at $77.6 million, a $46.4 million increase above 2023 enacted
levels, to advance economic opportunities in Indian Country. Within the
total funding provided, Job Placement and Training is funded at $15.8
million and includes an additional $2.0 million for job training
programs focusing on clean energy development that is a complementary
investment to the Tribal Electrification funding provided in the
Inflation Reduction Act. Economic Development projects are funded at
$50.7 million and include a request for an additional $27.5 million
investment in Native language revitalization, which is crucial to
preserve endangered languages, promote self-determination, and
strengthen Tribal communities. BIA also requests a $5.0 million
increase to establish an economic development component of the Tiwahe
Initiative, which will provide funding directly to Tribal governments
to design and operate comprehensive and integrated economic and
community development programs.
The 2024 budget request for the Indian Guaranteed Loan Program is
$15.5 million, which will guarantee or insure $202.3 million in loan
principal to support Indian economic development across Indian Country.
This includes an additional $1 million for loan subsidies and $0.5
million for staffing to increase technical assistance. By strengthening
the economic base of Tribal communities, the Tribal governments near
those businesses progress toward greater self-determination.
land and water claims settlements
Tribal land and water rights settlements ensure that Tribes have
access to land and water to meet domestic, economic, and cultural
needs. The 2024 budget proposes $976,000 for the Settlements account.
The 2024 funding request covers the continuing implementation of the
White Earth Reservation Land Settlement Act (Public Law 99-264) and
Truckee River Operating Agreement (Public Law 101-618). The Budget also
proposes $2.8 billion in new mandatory funding over 10 years for Tribal
water rights settlements requirements, including $2.5 billion to cover
the costs of enacted and future settlements and $340 million for
ongoing costs associated with enacted settlements managed by the Bureau
of Reclamation.
infrastructure investment
BIA is responsible for more than 29,000 miles of paved, gravel and
earth-surface roads and more than 1,000 bridges. Maintaining these
roads is critical to public safety, education and economic development
purposes. The FY 2024 budget includes $51.3 million for road
maintenance, an increase of $12.1 million to support pavement and
gravel maintenance, remedial work on improved earthen roads, bridge
maintenance, and snow and ice control.
The 2024 budget includes $199.8 million for Construction
activities, a $46.5 million increase from the 2023 enacted level. The
funding includes an increase of $23.8 million for replacement and
deferred maintenance projects to address needs at PS&J facilities,
particularly detention centers. It also includes a $4.6 million
increase for the irrigation rehabilitation program, and additional land
an additional $10.3 million for Dam maintenance. BIA is responsible for
141 high- or significant-hazard dams on 42 Indian reservations. The
Construction program also includes a $6.8 million increase to support
the Administration's governmentwide goal to accelerate the use of zero-
emission vehicles to enable a clean transportation future.
capacity building
The budget includes critical staff capacity building across our
programs. The needs range from an increase for human capital
capabilities to supporting the White House Council on Native American
Affairs in its critical role coordinating the Federal Government's
engagement with Tribal communities, to providing adequate staffing for
the 105(l) Tribal lease program which is on a path to have over 200
leases in place in FY 2023. Adequate staffing is critical to ensuring
timely and effective delivery to the Tribal nations we serve.
bureau of indian education
The FY 2024 budget request for BIE programs within the Department
totals $1.6 billion. The Budget includes key investments to strengthen
BIE's autonomy as a Federal agency and improve local services for
Tribally controlled and bureau-operated schools while also advancing
equity for historically underserved Tribal communities.
operation of indian education programs
The 2024 budget provides $1.2 billion for Operation of Indian
Education Programs. The core mission of BIE is to support Bureau
Operated and Tribally Controlled schools and administer grants to
Tribal institutions of higher education.
The request includes $925.5 million for operating the entire BIE
elementary and secondary school system-169 elementary and secondary
schools, and 14 dormitories-by providing educational services to
approximately 45,000 students in 23 States. Funds support the basic and
supplemental education programs at BIE-funded schools, student
transportation, facility operations, and maintenance. The budget
advances sovereignty in education by proposing a provision allowing for
the expansion of more than one grade at BIE-funded schools with a K-2
or K-4 structure. Currently, K-4 schools are only allowed to expand by
one grade. This proposal will allow BIE to expand educational services
to communities already being served.
The 2024 request includes targeted funding to improve Indian
student academic outcomes, address maintenance needs, support expanded
preschool and Native language programs, and provide pay parity for
Tribal teachers while fully funding projected Tribal Grant Support
Costs. The Budget provides $508.7 million, a $27.0 million increase
over 2023 enacted, for Indian School Equalization Program funds to
enhance opportunities and outcomes in the classroom, provide improved
instructional services, and support increased teacher quality,
recruitment, and retention. The request level of $22.1 million,
including a $500,000 program increase, for Education Program
Enhancements supports professional development for teachers,
advances the quality of in- classroom instruction, and incorporates
improved Native language and culture programs in classrooms. Early
Child and Family Development funding of $26.1 million enables BIE to
provide preschool opportunities at BIE-funded schools.
For Facilities Operations and Maintenance, BIE requests $160
million, a $5.6 million increase over the 2023 enacted amount, and
includes investments to keep pace with operational cost increases and
support the timely maintenance and replacement of equipment at BIE
schools. The Budget also includes $22.6 million, including a $2.0
million program increase, for the Johnson-O'Malley program, which is
authorized to support the individualized educational needs of eligible
Indian students enrolled in public schools and nonsectarian private
schools.
The Budget continues to invest in activities that promote
educational self-determination for Tribal communities and includes
$98.7 million for Tribal Grant Support Costs for Tribes that choose to
operate BIE-funded schools. This level of funding supports 100 percent
of the estimated requirement. The request includes $189.6 million for
Postsecondary Programs, a $6.0 million increase over 2023 enacted. The
2024 budget continues recognition of the critical role Tribal
postsecondary institutions have in empowering Indian students and
promoting equity for Tribal communities. These institutions are on or
near reservations; they directly serve Tribal communities with
culturally relevant education and career pathways in a supportive
environment. Postsecondary education of Tribal members remains an
essential component in the economic development of many Tribes.
The proposed budget will provide $34.9 million, including a $2.0
million program increase, for BIE operated Haskell Indian Nations
University and Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute; $87.9 million
for grants to 29 Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs); and $10.7
million for grants for two Tribal Technical Colleges, as well as $43.4
million for the Scholarships and Adult Education program to improve
educational opportunities and serve a larger population of qualified
Native American students.
education management
The Budget includes $79.3 million, an increase of $12.1 million
over 2023 enacted, for education management and information technology
(IT) to optimize learning opportunities for students of all ages.
Education Program Management (EPM) funding supports ongoing
improvements in high- priority functional areas, including acquisition,
school safety and security, behavioral and mental health support,
performance tracking, and technical support to schools in the field.
Other management activities include data collection, analysis, and
reporting; financial and budget functions; oversight and coordination
of major facility repairs; and management of grant applications. BIE IT
includes the Native American Student Information System, wide area
network infrastructure, and general support systems used by BIE-funded
schools.
The budget proposes $33.7 million, an increase of $5.8 million over
the 2023 enacted level, for Education IT to support the ongoing costs
of distance learning and enhanced classroom technology. BIE continues
to collaborate with Tribes and communities to alleviate ongoing strains
imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic on BIE students and their families,
teachers, administrators, and other staff members in K-12 schools and
at TCUs. The 2024 Budget will enable BIE to leverage ongoing
infrastructure investments in new technology and operational
capabilities at BIE-funded schools, including the new Education
Learning Management System, by supporting comprehensive online delivery
of educational courses to students and professional development
opportunities for teachers.
EPM initiatives in 2024 include the continued implementation of a
School Operations Office of Self-Determination to develop Tribal
capacity and promote maximum Indian participation in educational
programs and services; and BIE's Social Emotional Learning project to
develop a national curriculum to support behavioral health and wellness
programs at BIE-funded schools. The funding in 2024 will also allow EPM
to calculate and report on methodologies for maximizing the benefits to
underserved communities.
education construction
The 2024 Budget includes $416.2 million, an increase of $148.3
million over 2023 enacted, in annual funding for Education Construction
to replace and repair school facilities and address deferred
maintenance needs at campuses across the BIE school system. This
funding includes substantial investments to address the climate crisis
with more sustainable BIE infrastructure. Whenever feasible, BIE
facilities projects incorporate techniques to reduce energy and water
consumption and greenhouse gas emissions and to prepare the facilities
for the predicted effects of climate change.
The proposed $252.5 million for Replacement School Construction, a
$136.0 million increase over the 2023 enacted amount, and $23.9 million
for Replacement Facility Construction are critical to ensuring that all
Native students can develop in an environment conducive to quality
educational achievement. With the Replacement School Construction,
Replacement Facility Construction, and Great American Outdoors Act
(Public Law 116-152) funding anticipated through 2024, BIE expects to
support planning, design, and construction work at nine BIE schools;
final allocations are pending completion of the design phase and
refined cost estimates for each school. Appropriate housing is a key
element for educational staffing, especially at schools in remote
locations. An additional $139.8 million is included for other housing
and facilities repair programs, including a $9.7 million program
increase for facilities improvement and repair and a $2.5 million
increase for new/replacement employee housing.
bureau of trust funds administration
The FY 2024 budget includes $109.1 million to support BTFA's
execution of Federal trust responsibilities to American Indian and
Alaska Native Tribes, individuals, and communities. The request is $2.2
million below the FY 2023 enacted reflecting the proposed transfer of
funding supporting probate related work in the Office of Hearings and
Appeals from BTFA to BIA. The budget promotes investments in programs
to ensure the Department is meeting its financial management trust
obligations. It also includes a targeted increase for staffing needs to
improve customer service and advance the Department's Diversity,
Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility Initiative.
I strongly encourage the Congress to accept the BTFA organizational
structure in the FY 2024 appropriations bill. BTFA provides a unique
Federal trust function that is appropriately separate from the
responsibilities of the BIA. Approving this structure will strengthen
the organization's ability to focus on its core mission
responsibilities and on additional complex and high-visibility
projects. Specifically, BTFA is leading the research effort on the
Secretary's Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative and has the lead
on implementing an Electronic Records Management Program for all of
Indian Affairs. In addition, improving government customer service is
one pillar of the President's Management Agenda. In that arena, BTFA is
one of four High Impact Service Providers at DOI, and works
extensively, along with other agencies, to improve services to our
beneficiaries.
concluding statement
This FY 2024 budget continues to support the Administration's
commitment to honor trust responsibilities to Tribes and self-
determination. The 2024 budget continues investments to empower Tribal
communities, strengthen climate resilience, improve quality of life,
create economic opportunities, increase focus on environmental quality
and justice needs in Tribal communities, and preserve and foster
cultural heritage. Interior's programs maintain strong and productive
government-to-government relationships with Tribes, helping to promote
Tribal nation building and self-determination.
Senator Merkley. Thank you, very much Secretary Newland.
And I will turn to Director Tso, Director of Indian Health
Services. Welcome.
STATEMENT OF HON. ROSELYN TSO, DIRECTOR, INDIAN HEALTH
SERVICE
Ms. Tso. Good morning. Thank you, Chairman Merkley, and
Ranking Member Murkowski, and Members of the Committee, thank
you for the opportunity to testify on the President's fiscal
year 2024 Budget Request for the Indian Health Service.
Before I begin, though, I want to thank and acknowledge the
members of this committee for the work that you have done to
grow the IHS budget and prioritize health throughout Indian
Country. We are especially grateful for your work in providing
IHS Advance appropriations in fiscal year 2023 Bill, this is
truly in a historic achievement, and that will greatly improve
the lives of Native American families throughout Indian
Country.
I also appreciate the opportunity to share with you the
steps that I have taken as the IHS Director to improve
transparency, accountability, and oversight at the Indian
Health Service. As we seek additional resources and new funding
authorities it is critical that the Indian Health Service
improve its internal operations to ensure safe, high quality
health care services, and protect and support its relationships
with Tribes and urban Indian organizations.
To that end, I have published the first-ever agency work
plan to manage high priority topics, including Enterprise Risk
Management, on January 15th. The agency work plan addresses a
wide range of issues, including patient safety, human capital,
operations, finance, compliance, and strategies. This work
builds on our efforts to meet the GAO criteria for removal from
the--IHS from the high risk lists.
The Indian Health Service has already completed two major
accomplishments on the work plan. First, I initiated a full
evaluation of the agency's quality program in December of 2022,
with primary focus of improving oversight and accountability,
and ensuring quality and safe care for our patients.
Also, in December we were able to meet a major milestone
which was to standardize governance throughout the Indian
Health Service structure and all of our IHS operated
facilities. What this does for the Indian Health Service for
the first time, is align the resources that we have to the
responsibilities that we have through the Indian Health
Service, by standardizing Governing Board practices at our
Direct Care Facility, supports a uniform approach, and also
supports oversight and accountability while increasing
efficiencies.
Basically what this means, is that all of our IHS
facilities now operate under one set of governance. And so for
me as the IHS Director, I want to be able to scan the Indian
Health Service at any given time, to be able to evaluate what
is going on out there in Indian Country, and particularly at
those sites that we are--continue to be responsible for.
And with that, with your support, the IHS budget has grown
68 percent in the last decade. We know that this type of growth
is challenging to accomplish in a constrained, discretionary
funding environment. Over the years the work with our Tribal
and urban partners underscore our shared goals to improve
health outcomes for All American Indians and Alaska Natives.
It is with this shared goal in mind that the administration
approached the fiscal year 2024 budget request for the IHS. We
know that despite our shared efforts IHS is still underfunded.
This underfunding of the Indian Health System directly
contributes to the stark health disparities in our Indian
communities.
American Indians and Alaska Natives born today have an
average life expectancy that is 10.9 years fewer than U.S. all-
race population. Long-standing health disparities were
compounded by the pandemic, with the American Indians and
Alaska Natives experiencing disproportionate rates of COVID-19
infections, hospitalizations, and death. Addressing these
inequities is a moral imperative for our Nation, and will
require bold actions from all of us to ensure that we are
upholding our commitments to Indian Country.
This is why the budget proposes to build on the enactment
of the advance appropriations for funding for the Indian Health
Service and Facilities Accounts as discretionary.
Beginning in fiscal year 2025, the budget would make all
funding for IHS mandatory. The administration continues to
stand behind mandatory funding as it is the most appropriate
long-term funding solution for Indian Health Service. We know
that is significant change that will take time and
collaboration with Congress and Tribes to accomplish. We
believe that the change of this magnitude is overdue, and we
must deliver for Indian Country and in line with long-standing
recommendations from Tribal leaders across the Nation.
As noted in the GAO report, annual discretionary
appropriations leaves IHS Tribal and Urban Indian Health
Programs open to negative impacts from budgetary uncertainties.
The President's budget would address these three core issues
identified by GAO: funding, stability, predictability, and
adequacy.
As we work towards securing stable, predictable, and
adequate funding to meet the needs of Indian Country, we are
committed to working closely with all of our stakeholders.
Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you. And I am
happy to answer any questions.
[The statement follows:]
Prepared Statement of Hon. Roselyn Tso Director
Good afternoon Chairman Merkley, Ranking Member Murkowski, and
Members of the Committee. Thank you for your support and for inviting
me to speak with you about the President's Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 Budget
Request for the Indian Health Service (IHS).
IHS is an agency within the Department of Health and Human Services
(HHS) and our mission is to raise the physical, mental, social, and
spiritual health of American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/AN) to the
highest level. This mission is carried out in partnership with AI/AN
Tribal communities through a network of over 600 Federal and Tribal
health facilities and 41 Urban Indian Organizations (UIOs) that are
located across 37 States and provide health care services to
approximately 2.8 million AI/AN people annually.
On March 9, 2023, the White House released the President's FY 2024
Budget, which takes a two pronged approach to build on the historic
enactment of advance appropriations for the IHS in the FY 2023 Omnibus.
In FY 2024, the Budget proposes to fund IHS Services and Facilities
accounts as discretionary, building on the enacted 2024 advance
appropriations. It also proposes to reclassify Contract Support Costs
and Section 105(l) Leases to mandatory funding in FY 2024, which is the
most appropriate funding source for these legally required payments to
Tribal health programs. Beginning in FY 2025, the Budget would make all
funding for IHS mandatory. The bold action proposed in the FY 2024
President's Budget demonstrates the Administration's continued
commitment to strengthening the Nation-to-nation relationship. This
historic proposal addresses long-standing challenges that have impacted
communities across Indian Country for decades.
leadership priorities
I have been traveling across Indian Country to visit the places
where we are serving our people since my appointment last fall. These
visits have provided me a better perspective on national and regional
issues affecting the Tribal members we serve and have informed my
priorities for the agency. I have two key priorities as IHS Director:
providing safe, high quality patient care; and improving our
relationships with Tribes, Tribal Organizations, and Urban Indian
Organizations. To those ends, I have taken significant steps to
increase transparency, accountability, and oversight at the IHS. The
IHS published its first ever Agency Work Plan \1\ to manage high
priority, enterprise-wide risks on January 15. I hold quarterly
strategic planning sessions with leadership from across the Agency to
ensure progress on the Work Plan, and I have assigned a lead to each
action on the Work Plan. These actions address a wide range of Agency-
wide issues including patient safety, human capital, operations,
finances, compliance, and strategy. This work builds on the IHS'
efforts to meet the Government Accountability Office's (GAO) criteria
for removal from its high risk list.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Indian Health Service-2023 Agency Work Plan: https://
www.ihs.gov/quality/work-plan-summary/
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The IHS has achieved two major accomplishments on the Work Plan
thus far. I initiated an evaluation of the Agency's quality program in
December 2022, with a primary focus on improving oversight of quality
and safe care for patients. In general, this evaluation included a
continued focus on oversight and accountability through developing
policies, standardizing the IHS governance structure and strengthening
IHS' enterprise risk management program.
Standardizing governing board practices at direct service
facilities improves oversight and accountability while increasing
efficiency and effectiveness of governing board meetings. These actions
allow the Agency to be proactive on governance issues by being able to
review information in an efficient manner. These efforts were led by a
team of subject matter experts from across the Agency, with oversight
and technical direction by the IHS Chief Medical Officer.
Funding issues directly contribute to challenges in providing safe,
high-quality care for patients, and supporting productive relationships
between the IHS and Tribes and Urban Indian Organizations. The Indian
Health system is chronically underfunded compared to other healthcare
systems in the U.S.\2,3\ Despite substantial growth in the IHS
discretionary budget over the last decade, 68 percent from FY 2013 to
the current FY 2023 enacted level, the growth has not been sufficient
to address the well-documented funding gaps in Indian Country. These
funding deficiencies directly contribute to stark health disparities
faced by Tribal communities.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ Government Accountability Office Report--Indian Health Service:
Spending Levels and Characteristics of IHS and Three Other Federal
Health Care Programs
https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-19-74r.pdf
\3\ U.S. Commission on Civil Rights Report--Broken Promises:
Continuing Federal Funding Shortfall for Native Americans
https://www.usccr.gov/files/pubs/2018/12-20-Broken-Promises.pdf
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
AI/ANs born today have an average life expectancy that is 10.9
years fewer than the U.S. all- races population. AI/AN life expectancy
dropped from an estimated 71.8 years in 2019 to 65.2 years in 2021--the
same life expectancy as the general United States population in 1944
\4\. They also experience disproportionate rates of mortality from most
major health issues, including chronic liver disease and cirrhosis,
diabetes, unintentional injuries, assault and homicide, and suicide.
AI/AN people also have higher rates of colorectal, kidney, liver, lung,
and stomach cancers than non-Hispanic White people.\5\ The pandemic
compounded the impact of these disparities in Tribal communities, with
AI/ANs experiencing disproportionate rates of COVID-19 infection,
hospitalization, and death.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\4\ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Report--Life
Expectancy in the U.S. Dropped for the Second Year in a Row in 2021
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/nchs_press_releases/2022/
20220831.htm#::text=AIAN%20people%20had%20a%20life,total%20U.S.%20
population%20in%201944
\5\ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)- Cancer Within
American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) Populations
https://www.cdc.gov/healthyTribes/native-american-cancer.html
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
building on the historic achievement of advance appropriations
The FY 2024 President's Budget builds on the historic enactment of
advance appropriations for IHS in the FY 2023 Omnibus. For the first
year of the proposal, the Budget includes $9.7 billion in total funding
for the IHS, which includes $8.1 billion in discretionary funding, and
$1.6 billion in proposed mandatory funding for Contract Support Costs,
Section 105(l) Leases, and the Special Diabetes Program for Indians.
This is an increase of $2.5 billion above the FY 2023 Enacted level.
Advance appropriations represent an important step towards securing
stable and predictable funding to improve the overall health status of
AI/ANs, and ensuring that the disproportionate impacts experienced by
Tribal communities during government shutdowns and continuing
resolutions are never repeated.
While the progress achieved through the enactment of advance
appropriations will have a lasting impact on Indian Country, funding
growth beyond what can be accomplished through discretionary spending
is needed to fulfill the Federal Government's commitments to AI/AN
communities. Funding for IHS has grown substantially in the last
decade, but this growth is not sufficient to address the historic under
investment and persistent health disparities in AI/AN communities.
The Administration continues to support mandatory funding for IHS
as the most appropriate long-term funding solution for the agency and
will continue to work collaboratively with Tribes and Congress to move
toward sustainable, mandatory funding. Until this solution is enacted,
it is critical that Congress continue to provide advance appropriations
for IHS through the discretionary appropriations process for FY 2025
and beyond.
long-term funding solutions
The Budget proposes to fully shift the IHS budget to mandatory
funding in FY 2025. This mandatory formula culminates in a total
funding level of approximately $44.0 billion in FY 2033. In total, the
mandatory budget would provide nearly $288 billion for the IHS over 10
years. When accounting for the discretionary baseline, the net-total
for the proposal is $192 billion over 10 years.
Under the proposed mandatory structure, IHS funding would grow
automatically to address inflation factors to address the growing cost
of providing direct health care services, including pay costs, medical
and non- medical inflation, and population growth, as well as key
operational needs, and existing backlogs in both healthcare services
and facilities infrastructure.
Mandatory funding for the IHS provides the opportunity for
significant funding increases that could not be achieved within
discretionary spending levels. Further, this mandatory funding proposal
ensuring predictability that would allow IHS, Tribal, and urban Indian
health programs the opportunity for long-term and strategic planning.
This increased stability and ability to conduct longer-term planning
will improve the quality of healthcare, promote recruitment and
retention of health professionals, and enhance management efficiencies
for individual health programs and the Indian Health system at large.
The Budget also exempts all IHS funding from sequestration, which
is the legislatively mandated process of budget control consisting of
automatic, across-the-board spending reductions to enforce budget
targets to limit Federal spending. Exempting the IHS budget from
sequestration ensures funding for direct health care services for AI/
ANs is not reduced and is consistent with the treatment of other
critical programs such as veterans' health care and nutrition
assistance programs.
Lastly, the Budget proposes to reauthorize the Special Diabetes
Program for Indians and provide $250 million in FY 2024, $260 million
in FY 2025, and $270 million in FY 2026 in new mandatory funding. This
program has proven to be effective at reducing the prevalence of
diabetes among AI/AN adults \6\, and is associated with an estimated
net-savings to Medicare of up to $520 million over 10 years due to
averted cases of end-stage renal disease \7\. The budget's proposed
increases will enable the program to expand to additional grantees, and
allow the grantees to plan for larger and longer-term community-driven
interventions more effectively. Without the reauthorization of this
program in FY 2024 services would end for this successful program.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\6\ 4 British Medical Journal- Prevalence of diagnosed diabetes in
American Indian and Alaska Native adults, 2006-2017
https://drc.bmj.com/content/8/1/e001218
\7\ HHS Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation Issue
Brief- The Special Diabetes Program for Indians Estimates of Medicare
Savings
https://aspe.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/private/pdf/261741/
SDPI_Paper_Final.pdf
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
This request responds to the long-standing recommendations of
Tribal leaders shared in consultation with HHS and IHS to make IHS
funding mandatory. The IHS recognizes that we must continue to work in
consultation with Tribes and confer with urban Indian organizations,
and with our partners in Congress. To this end, a joint OMB and HHS
Tribal consultation and urban confer will be conducted in June to
review this proposal and receive feedback to inform further refinements
to the mandatory formula structure.
prioritizing high quality health care
The Budget prioritizes investments that advance high quality health
care and tackle the stark health care inequities AI/ANs face every day.
In FY 2024 the Budget provides +$742 million increase to expand
access to direct health care services by increasing funding across IHS'
direct health care service program lines. These resources will support
efforts to reduce health disparities and improve the overall health
status for AI/ANs by increasing the availability of health care
services in Indian Country. Specifically, this funding level will
support an estimated additional 45,670 inpatient admissions and
16,976,299 outpatient visits at IHS and Tribal facilities in FY 2024.
This funding also expands access to the Purchased/Referred Care program
for contract health care services that are not available in IHS or
Tribal health facilities by providing an estimated 3,138 additional
inpatient admissions, 92,248 additional outpatient visits, and 3,262
additional patient travel trips. The Budget also expands Dental health
services, supporting an estimated 167,119 additional dentalvisits and
529,462 additional dental services in FY 2024. Within this total, the
Budget includes an additional $21 million for the Urban Indian Health
Program to expand access to culturally competent direct health care
services through a network of 41 Urban Indian Organizations located in
urban areas across the country. Expansion of these programs is
essential to ensure that IHS can provide high quality medical services
and support critical health care services that meet the unique needs of
AI/AN communities.
In addition, Current Services, which offset the rising costs of
providing direct health care services, are fully funded at +$346
million in FY 2024. These resources will help the IHS to maintain
services at the FY 2023 levels by shoring up base operating budgets of
IHS, Tribal, and urban Indian health programs in the face of increasing
costs. Similarly, in FY 2024, the Budget includes +$82 million to fully
fund staffing and operating costs for eight newly-constructed or
expanded health care facilities. These funds support the staffing
packages for new or expanded facilities, which will expand the
availability of direct health care services in areas where existing
health care capacity is overextended. The mandatory funding formula
fully funds Current Services and staffing and operating costs for newly
opening facilities in the out-years.
The Budget also makes targeted investments to address our Nation's
most pressing public health challenges, which disproportionately impact
AI/AN communities. For the first time ever, the Budget proposes
dedicated funding to address disparities in cancer rates and mortality
among AI/AN, providing $108 million for the Cancer Moonshot Initiative.
Through this initiative, the IHS would develop a coordinated public
health and clinical cancer prevention initiative to implement best
practices and prevention strategies to address incidence of cancer and
mortality among AI/AN. Similarly, the Budget requests funding to
address HIV, Hepatitis C, and Sexually Transmitted Infections (+$47
million), improve maternal health (+$3 million), and address opioid use
(+$9 million) in Indian Country.
The Budget also makes numerous investments in high priority areas,
such as recruitment and retention of high quality health professionals,
expansion of the successful Community Health Aide Program, and other
activities that support high quality health care.
Likewise, from FY 2025 to FY 2029, the Budget requests an
additional +$11.2 billion in mandatory funding for the Indian Health
Care Improvement Fund to address the funding gap for direct healthcare
services documented in the FY 2018 level of need funded analysis.\8\
The Budget would continue growth for direct services once the 2018 gap
is addressed. This funding would be distributed using the Indian Health
Care Improvement Fund formula. The formula is used to target the Indian
Health Care Improvement Fund appropriations to the sites with the
greatest need, as compared to the benchmark of National Health
Expenditure Data, which is maintained by the Centers for Medicare and
Medicaid Services. The formula is the product of longstanding
consultation with Tribes.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\8\ Indian Health Service- FY 2018 Indian Health Care Improvement
Fund Workgroup Interim Report
https://www.ihs.gov/sites/ihcif/themes/responsive2017/display_objects/
documents/2018/2018_IHCIF_WorkgroupInterimReport.pdf
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The outyear mandatory formula also prevents a sharp reduction in
services by providing an additional +$220 million in FY 2025 to
partially sustain the one-time American Rescue Plan Act investments
that were appropriated to expand access to mental health and substance
abuse prevention and treatment services, and to expand the public
health workforce in Indian Country.
modernizing critical infrastructure
In addition to funding for direct health care services, additional
investments are needed to address substantial deficiencies in physical
and information technology infrastructure across the IHS system.
Outdated infrastructure poses challenges in safely providing patient
care, recruiting and retaining staff, and meeting accreditation
standards. From FY 2024 through FY 2029, the Budget includes critical
funding increases to reduce or eliminate existing facilities backlogs
and modernize the IHS Electronic Health Record (EHR) system.
Specifically, in FY 2024, the Budget provides $913 million in
discretionary funding for EHR modernization. The Budget then builds
funding for EHR by +$1.1 billion each year from FY 2025 through FY 2029
under the proposed mandatory formula. Once the EHR modernization effort
is fully funded, the Budget provides sufficient resources for ongoing
operations and maintenance of the new system. The current IHS EHR is
over 50 years old, and the GAO identifies it as one of the 10 most
critical Federal legacy systems in need of modernization. The IHS
relies on its EHR for all aspects of patient care, including the
patient record, prescriptions, care referrals, and billing public and
private insurance for over $1 billion reimbursable health care services
annually. Expected benefits from adopting and implementing a modernized
system include, but are not limited to, improved patient safety,
improved patient outcomes, better disease management, enhanced
population health, improved clinical quality measures, opioid tracking,
patient data exchange, third party revenue generation, and agency
performance reporting. Additionally, the new system will be
interoperable with the Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of
Defense, Tribal and urban Indian health programs, academic affiliates,
and community partners, many of whom are on different health
information technology platforms.
The IHS system also faces substantial physical infrastructure
challenges--IHS hospitals are approximately 42 years old on average,
which is almost four times the age of the average hospital in the
United States. Infrastructure deficiencies directly contribute to
poorer health outcomes for AI/ANs. The Budget addresses these needs by
fully funding the 1993 Health Care Facilities Construction Priority
list over 5 years. The remaining projects on the list include the
Phoenix Indian Medical Center, Phoenix, AZ; Whiteriver Hospital,
Whiteriver, AZ; Gallup Indian Medical Center, Gallup, NM; Albuquerque
West Health Center, Albuquerque, NM; Albuquerque Central Health Center,
Albuquerque, NM; Sells Health Center, Sells, AZ; Alamo Heath Center,
Alamo, NM; Bodaway Gap Health Center, The Gap AZ; and Pueblo Pintado
Health Center, Pueblo Pintado, NM. After the 1993 Health Care
Facilities Construction Priority List is completed, funding will
continue to increase to begin addressing the full scope of Facilities
needs as identified in the most recent IHS Facilities Needs Assessment
Report to Congress.
Furthermore, the Budget includes +$10 million in discretionary
funding in FY 2024 and +$454 million in mandatory funding over 2 years,
from FY 2025 to FY 2026, to fully fund the medical equipment backlog.
Many IHS hospital administrators reported that old or inadequate
physical environments challenged their ability to provide quality care
and maintain compliance with the Medicare Hospital Conditions of
Participation. The administrators also reported that aging buildings
and equipment is a major challenge impacting recruitment and retention
of clinicians.
Maintaining reliable and efficient buildings is also a challenge as
existing health care facilities age and the costs to operate and
properly maintain health care facilities increases. Many IHS and Tribal
health care facilities are operating at or beyond capacity, and their
designs are not efficient in the context of modern health care
delivery. The Budget tackles this challenge by providing a +$10 million
discretionary increase for maintenance and improvement in FY 2024 and
fully funding the 2022 Backlog of Essential Maintenance, Alteration,
and Repair for IHS and Tribal facilities of $1.02 billion over 2 years,
from FY 2025 to FY 2026 under the mandatory formula.
The Budget ensures that these facilities investments can be rapidly
addressed by providing sufficient administrative support increases.
Specifically, the mandatory formula increases the Facilities and
Environmental Health Support funding line at 13 percent of the rate of
growth in Sanitation Facilities Construction (SFC) and 5 percent of the
rate of growth in Health Care Facilities Construction, consistent with
historical funding needs and IHS' current estimation methodology. This
funding supports staff to oversee and implement facilities projects, as
well as a comprehensive environmental health program within IHS. Within
this increase, the Budget dedicates $10 million in FY 2025 to support a
nation-wide analysis to understand the cost implications of
implementing section 302 of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act (25
US.C. 1632), which authorizes funding for operations and maintenance
costs for Tribes who choose to directly compete their own SFC projects.
The results of this analysis will be used and implemented as part of
the updated mandatory formula structure. These funds would be used by
IHS and Tribes to ensure that existing SFC projects are reaching their
maximum life-cycle and operations of these projects are sustainable for
as long as possible. In FY 2027, the Budget provides an additional $250
million in mandatory funding to address operation and maintenance costs
for complete sanitation facilities projects, addressing longstanding
recommendations from Tribes.
Lastly, the IHS is grateful for the additional $3.5 billion in
Sanitation Facilities Construction funding provided by the
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). These funds will make a
transformational impact on essential sanitation needs across Indian
Country. To maintain existing project completion deadlines and support
IHS and Tribes in successfully implementing IIJA resources, the Budget
includes +$49 million in FY 2024 to support implementation of the $3.5
billion provided by the IIJA for Sanitation Facilities Construction
(SFC). This funding is within the Facility and Environmental Health
Support funding line and will support additional salary, expenses, and
administrative costs beyond the 3 percent allowed in the IIJA. These
funds would also be available to Tribal Health Programs, which is not
currently permissible under the 3 percent set-aside for administrative
costs in the IIJA.
supporting self-determination
IHS continues to support the self-determination of Tribes to
operate their own health programs. Tribal leaders and members are best
positioned to understand the priorities and needs of their local
communities. The amount of the IHS budget that is administered directly
by Tribes through Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance
Act contracts and compacts has grown over time, with over 60 percent of
IHS funding currently administered directly by Tribes. Tribes design
and manage the delivery of individual and community health services
through 22 hospitals, 330 health centers, 559 ambulatory clinics, 76
health stations, 146 Alaska village clinics, and 7 school health
centers across Indian Country. In recognition of this, the Budget
proposes to reclassify these costs to a mandatory indefinite
appropriation with estimated funding levels of $1.2 billion for
Contract Support Costs and $153 million for Section 105(l) Lease
Agreements in FY 2024. The Budget maintains indefinite mandatory
funding for these accounts across the 10-year budget window to ensure
these payments to ISDEAA contractors and compactors are fully funded.
covid-19 response and future emergency preparedness
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the IHS has made incredible
achievements to save lives and improve the health of AI/ANs across the
Nation. The IHS has worked closely with our Tribal and Urban Indian
Organization partners, State and local public health officials, and our
fellow Federal agencies to coordinate a comprehensive public health
response to the pandemic. Our number one priority has been the safety
of our IHS patients and staff, as well as Tribal community members.
COVID-19 has disproportionally impacted AI/ANs. Deficiencies in
public health infrastructure exacerbated the impact of COVID-19 on AI/
ANs. To address the long-term impacts of COVID-19, in FY 2025 the
Budget provides a +$130 million mandatory funding increase to support
IHS patients in recovery from the long-lasting effects of the COVID-19
pandemic, including treatment for long haul COVID-19. Based on data
from 14 States, age-adjusted COVID-19 associated mortality among AI/AN
was 1.8 times that of non-Hispanic Whites. In 23 States with adequate
race and ethnicity data, the cumulative incidence of laboratory-
confirmed COVID-19 among AI/AN was 3.5 times that of non-Hispanic
Whites. COVID-19 hospitalizations and mortality rates among AI/AN were
2.7 and 1.4 times those among White persons, respectively.
The Budget also establishes a new dedicated funding stream within
the mandatory formula to address public health capacity and
infrastructure needs in Indian Country. This funding will support an
innovative hub-and-spoke model to address local public health needs in
partnership with Tribes and urban Indian organizations. Establishing a
new program to build public health capacity is a key lesson learned
from the COVID-19 pandemic, and a top recommendation shared by Tribal
leaders in consultation with HHS. This includes $150 million in FY
2025, and would grow in the out-years under the formula, for a total of
$500 million over the ten-year window. Additional resources are
necessary to develop appropriate public health and emergency
preparedness capacity in AI/AN communities to prevent these
disproportionate impacts in the future. As of 2021, only four Tribal
public health agencies are accredited through the Public Health
Accreditation Board. Comparatively, 40 State and 305 local public
health agencies were accredited as of 2021.\9\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\9\ Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion- Increase the
number of Tribal public health agencies that are accredited https://
health.gov/healthypeople/objectives-and-data/browse-objectives/public-
health-infrastructure/increase-number-tribal-public-health- agencies-
are-accredited-phi-03/data
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
closing
The FY 2024 Budget makes bold strides toward the goal of ensuring
stable and predictable funding to improve the overall health status of
AI/AN communities. The Budget is a historic step and the start of an
ongoing conversation with Tribes to ensure the IHS system is meeting
the healthcare needs in Indian Country. HHS looks forward to working in
consultation with Tribes, urban Indian organizations, and Congress to
refine this proposal through the legislative process to strengthen the
Nation-to-Nation relationship.
Senator Merkley. Well, thank you very much. And we will
submit your full testimony for the record, if that is fine for
both of you. Great. Without objection.
FUNDING FLAT WITH FISCAL YEAR 2022
So the House Republican budget, as mentioned by Chair
Murray, essentially freezes funding to the fiscal year 2022
level which seems entirely at odds with the bipartisan support
for Tribal programs.
Director Tso, can you give us a sense of what would be the
biggest impact on Tribal health if that was to occur?
Ms. Tso. Thank you, for that question Chairman. So any
reduction in health care resources to Indian Country would be
devastating. We know that already today there is a severe
impact on our Tribal communities as we have already noted
earlier, the impacts of not only the ongoing COVID-19, and the
subsequent services that will be required for long-term--Long
COVID, and moreover the opioid issues, the mental health issues
that are huge within Indian Country.
At this time, right now, we are already at close to 40
percent vacancy rates from mental health support throughout the
Indian Health Service. That is just trying to meet the mental
health care needs of Indian Country is desperately needed, and
that any resources or any cuts to the Indian Health Service
would just further devastate our situation in Indian Country.
Senator Merkley. I was really struck, in your written
testimony, where you mentioned in your oral testimony the 10.9
years life expectancy lower than the general average in
America. But then you go on to list many of those areas,
including much higher rates of many forms of cancer. Anyway
there is a lot of work to be done there. And I do not want to
see us moving backwards.
CSC AND 105L LEASES--MANDATORY
One of the initiatives is to reclassify contract support
costs, and 105(l) building leases as mandatory funding. Now,
that is kind of hard to remember, what are these contract
support costs, and building leases, and why are they mandatory,
and what are the core issues behind them? In fact, two cases
have affirmed the Federal Government is required to reimburse
Tribes for these costs.
So I have been referring to them as Tribal Sovereignty
Payments because that is easy to understand, to encapsulate
those terms, and it is a much clearer description of what these
costs are, that the cost the Federal Government must pay the
Tribes when they exercise their sovereignty to run their own
programs.
So can you tell us how important these payments are to
Tribes who choose the self-government options? And the
importance of making these Tribal sovereignty payments
mandatory?
Ms. Tso. Yes. Thank you for that. In 2016, when we first
dealt with the Supreme Court's decision to reimburse Tribes,
this was an area that I led for the Indian Health Service, and
very important. We know that about 60 to 70 percent of the
Indian Health Service has been contracted, or compacted. by
Tribes throughout the country.
That being said, they absolutely rely on contract support
costs to continue to operate, and cover the administrative
costs that were not transferred to them by the Federal
Government, and for them to continue to comply with rules and
regulations that we all do in the health care arena. So we know
how important that is for every contractor to make sure that
they have those resources as immediately as possible.
It is complicated to get to the number that we can all
agree on, but certainly every effort has been made to make sure
that we do that. It is the same for 105(l) lease, these are
lease authorities that are provided to the Indian Health
Service, that we can, again, reimburse Tribes for their costs
when they construct and own their own facilities there is a
cost to running and operating those facilities, and that is the
105(l) lease reimbursement that Indian Health Service has.
Senator Merkley. Thank you. I am going to be pretty strict
about us sticking to our time limits. And I now have 45 seconds
left. So Assistant Secretary Newland, can you describe how your
budget supports the ongoing efforts to reform Tribal jails; in
37 seconds?
Mr. Newland. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. You know, we are
requesting not only increased operation and maintenance costs
for our BIA detention centers, but also replacement
construction dollars increase as well. As I think it has been
well documented, our jails across the BIA system are in poor
condition, and we have also come up with an ability to rank
them to prioritize which ones should be replaced, but we need
the dollars to do that to make sure the people in our care and
custody get the treatment they are entitled to.
Senator Merkley. Thank you. And I know there has been a
fair much amount of attention to the deaths, and the
conditions, and it needs attention. And feel free to follow up
later.
CSC AND 105L LEASES
And let me turn this over to Senator Murkowski.
Senator Murkowski. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would like to
focus my first round of questions on contract support costs,
and the 105[l]s. You know, when you are trying to look at this
through the appropriators' eyes and see the ever escalating
costs that we are dealing with, I think it is important that we
try, as best we can, to get a handle on this.
This is a question to both of you perhaps, but do the
contract support costs and the 105(l) lease payments have
statutory, regulatory, and court citations which define and
quantify exactly what these costs are; does that exist out
there; Assistant Secretary?
Mr. Newland. Thank you, Ranking Member Murkowski. I can't
give you a specific citation in this hearing, would be happy to
follow up. We do know that those costs are mandated by law. And
I can add that over the last five fiscal years at Indian
Affairs, we have gone from zero 105(l) leases, to this year
where we expect to hit nearly 300.
Senator Murkowski. Right.
Mr. Newland. And we see continued growth in that. And so
when we have got these obligations by law to provide this level
of funding, and an exponential growth in the number of
requests, we are going to see--without a mandatory
reclassification, we are going to see these funds crowd out the
rest of the program dollars in the----
Senator Murkowski. No. I understand, and I am equally
concerned, know that. What I am trying to drill down though, is
whether or not there is legally defined reference definitions.
If you can provide the committee that information, I think it
would be helpful.
And Mr. Chairman, I am asking for this because we are
acknowledging, these are complicated things here, and I don't
think that we can ignore the terms that are rooted in the
statute, in the regulations, and what the court refers to. So
as we are looking to reclassify these, I would simply urge the
subcommittee here to utilize the terminology that is founded in
the law, and the regs. I understand the desire to try to
identify something for simplicity, but this is something I
don't want to spend a lot of time on it, but I do want to try
to get that that certainty there definitionally.
We recognize that in the Maniilaq decision back in 2016,
which established the 105(l) leasing mandates that we have seen
agencies take a widely differing approach on how to structure
the payments. And so because of this general provision has been
included directing both IHS and Interior to begin this process
to establish these guidelines regarding the parameters here.
105L LEASES
Can you give me a status update on what is being done at
Interior, at IHS, to accomplish this legal requirement? And are
there any regulatory changes that we may see coming from this?
How do you see this shaping up?
Mr. Newland. Thank you, Senator. Our teams, at both Indian
Affairs and Indian Health Service, have had a lot of
conversations with one another to make sure that we are synced
up between our agencies on the 105(l) Leasing Program, and that
there is consistency, more consistency between our agencies, on
how we meet these obligations.
And we have also, through our budgeting process, been
hearing from Tribes about how to make sure we are meeting our
obligations, and we are looking at a number of ways to make
sure that we are speaking with clarity about how we meet these
obligations.
OMB VS. CBO SCORCES
Senator Murkowski. So let me ask then, because it is my
understanding that we have seen a difference in how OMB and CBO
interpret and score the contract support costs on the 105[l]s.
Do we know why we are seeing this, why the costs vary between
the two scoring agencies, and what do we do about it? It is one
thing to have alignment within the agencies, but if you have
got different entities that are scoring things differently, are
we trying to grapple with that one as well; Director Tso?
Ms. Tso. Yes, thank you. For the Indian Health Service we
have done two things. One, we are moving the 105(l) lease to be
a more centralized program, to make sure again, that we have
that oversight. With regard to the scoring though, we recognize
that difference as well, and we are looking to schedule to
coordinate, and make sure that what the scoring that is coming
out of the CBO, and what we are doing is more aligned as we
move forward.
Senator Murkowski. I hope we are able to reconcile that.
Let us know if we can be helpful. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Senator Merkley. Well, thank you.
Senator Heinrich.
Senator Heinrich. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Secretary
Newland, thanks to the STOP Act that was signed by President
Biden into law in December, it is finally illegal to export
objects of patrimony, sacred Tribal items for sale in foreign
markets. And these are items that have been, obviously, illegal
to sell here in the United States for decades. But until
December, sellers could take them out of the country, and sell
them overseas in auction houses, with very little recourse.
Senator Murkowski and I worked together for years to pass
this legislation. Now, we need to make sure it is implemented
well. What are the plans to implement the STOP Act and ensure
that these illegal exports are finally prevented, in a systemic
way?
Mr. Newland. Thank you, Senator. We have begun the
consultation process required by the Act, and we have been
thinking through the budgetary impacts as well, because of some
of the parallels with the Department's Native American Graves
Protection and Repatriation (NAGPRA) Programs and in the
similar type of work. You know, we estimate that that would
probably be the same budget impact on the Department's budget,
around $3 million, to get implemented, that estimate came after
the budget was released, but that is our best estimate right
now based on the work. And I believe we will know more after
Tribal consultation. And we are going to continue to refine
that.
GALLUP INDIAN MEDICAL CENTER REPLACEMENT
Senator Heinrich. Thank you. Director Tso, as you know from
our visit last June, and your previous role as the Navajo area
IHS Director, the Gallup Indian Medical Center is in utter
disrepair, needs to be replaced. Everyone agrees on that. I
know that IHS has been working with the Navajo Nation for the
past several decades now, to settle on a site to replace GIMC.
I understand there have recently been productive conversations
with Navajo Nation President, Buu Nygren, about finalizing that
site selection. Can you just update us on when you expect a
final site to be selected?
Ms. Tso. Thank you for that question. Yes. I have already
met with President Nygren on this particular issue and asked to
make sure that we continue to have updates. We are scheduling
another update with him, just to make sure, again, that they
fully understand, we all fully understand how important it is
to make that final selection. The IHS will still go with the
Rehoboth site at this point, but looking at also what we can
finalize regarding the Gamerco site, of course those two are
the sites that we will continue to work with Navajo Nation on.
It is my hope that within the next 60 to 90 days, that we
will have a final site selection determined for this, because
we need to have that completed.
Senator Heinrich. So you are looking at both sites, and you
think that 90 days from now you will have settled on one?
Ms. Tso. IHS has already concluded that the Rehoboth site
is the site. The conversation that we were having with then
President Nez, and now President Nygren, is their preference in
where that is at, and so I am hoping that we can tighten that
up here pretty quickly. And that will help us take the next
step of the planning efforts for Gallup.
Senator Heinrich. And you need to settle on that site
before any planning and design can start?
Ms. Tso. It is certainly going to be more helpful, because
we know we might have some site--or some limited space in
Rehoboth, and Gamerco might give us a little bit more options,
if that is the way we go.
CASEWORK RESPONSE
Senator Heinrich. Okay. One of the most important jobs I
have is just helping constituents when they are having trouble
with a Federal agency. And my casework team has experienced
just really extended delays when it comes to casework with IHS.
There have been some cases that have taken nearly 15 months to
resolve. What is the cause behind these kinds of delays? And
what can we do to better resolve constituent cases? What can
Congress do to make sure we are supporting you so that we can
iterate on these constituent cases much more quickly?
Ms. Tso. Thank you, Senator. I cannot, unfortunately, speak
to the 15 months, but I can speak to what we have done in the
last 6 months. And just, as of this morning, I asked again if
we have responded to all of the questions that are in front of
us from any congressional or constituent questions. This is
very important to me that IHS continue to do a better job in
responding to any correspondence, or any questions that come
for Indian Health.
And so in that, as part of building out efficiencies at the
IHS, we can now quantify and qualify everywhere every
document--all of our documents are at in the process.
Senator Heinrich. Okay. Thank you.
WATER INFRASTRUCTURE/WARM SPRINGS
Senator Merkley. Thank you very much.
Director Tso, significant funds were allocated to improve
water structure, water infrastructure at Tribal communities
across the country, and certainly the Confederated Tribes of
the Warm Springs in Oregon is one of those sites where the
water system has to be completely replaced. And I wanted to--
well, one, I am very appreciative that the funds have been
allocated both through the EPA and IHS. But any updates on how
that is proceeding forward.
Ms. Tso. Yes. Thank you. For all of the $3.5 billion that
Indian Health Service received, we have posted earlier in April
on our IHS website, an interactive map that allows you to
evaluate where every project is at in the Indian Health Service
allocation of those $3.5 billion that we have.
It is important again that we be accountable. It is
important again that we be transparent. And that Tribal
leaders, and even homeowners for that matter, can see where
their project is in the pipeline. That is the same for the Warm
Springs Water Infrastructure issue.
I was out there shortly after I was confirmed, and it was a
very difficult situation to see. But we have now secured those
resources, and I expect that, I believe as early as today that
the next agreement will be signed and we will move to the next
phase.
Senator Merkley. Great. I am glad to hear that, because the
great fear is that if the gears don't turn fast enough, the
construction crossing increase, and then it turns out that we
don't have the money for it, enough to complete the vision, and
other things slow it down. It is just like, please, any extra
attention you can give to that Warm Springs project will be
much, much appreciated.
COMMUNITY HEALTH AID PROGRAM
I also want to turn to the Community Health Aid Program, a
program that we are looking at in your proposal to expand to
the Lower 48 states. My colleague from Alaska, undoubtedly, has
a sense of how that has been working in Alaska, but I do know
that in Oregon in many states of the Lower 48, a huge shortage
of health care workers.
So could you elaborate on how this proposed expansion would
work? And how this money will really, like, make that happen?
Ms. Tso. Thank you, Chairman. So just coming off of a visit
to Alaska, I was out there for the last seven days, and I will
tell you that there is nothing more that can put the CHAP
Program into perspective other than being on the ground. To
totally appreciate and understand the absolute remote locations
that you can only get to by air in many instances, to get to
the services that people need, is just crucial. And that is
where the Community Health Aide Program (CHAP) is just
impressive.
And I was able to meet with many of the Tribal leaders, and
actually see for myself, and visit with the actual CHAP
coordinators, and CHAP professionals out there, to really see
how important that is.
Within the last month, I have proceeded to move forward on
the Portland area, which is of course, Washington, Oregon,
Idaho, with them, and providing them the ability to proceed on
them. They were already--as I visited in Oregon as well--saw
what they were doing on the DHAT site, which is the dental
Program site, and how important that is.
As I mentioned earlier, with regards to the challenges that
we are having in mental health, that they are not, just like
nurses and doctors, they are not out there, and we are going to
have to really lean on the CHAP Program that was built out of
Alaska to make sure that we are going to meet the needs of
Indian Country.
There is no other option for us at this point. So as we
continue to move forward, CHAP Program is a priority at the
Indian Health Service, in getting that program stood up at the
national level so we can continue to do what we do.
What I am doing right now, though, is working with the
Alaska Tribal organizations up there, to help us stand up our
program nationally, so we don't have to reinvent right now,
that we don't delay anything as we move forward. I further
anticipate that we will be moving out in, not just the Portland
area, but also in the Billings area, because I believe that
they are next ready to go with that. So we are proceeding, and
wanting to spread this across Indian Country.
Senator Merkley. Great. Thank you.
Secretary Newland, many of our Tribes that were eligible
for support for the Criminal Justice systems are not included,
and we had $7 million in fiscal year 2023 to identify and bring
some Tribes in Indian Country into startup funding for
participation; I have received outreach from the Cow Creek, the
Confederate Tribes of the Grand Ronde, the Klamath Tribes, the
Confederate Tribes of the Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw in
Oregon, and sent you a letter asking that these Tribes be
included in the Tribal consultation process.
Any update? And will you meet with these Tribes and
identify where they stand on their effort to be included in the
program?
Mr. Newland. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would be happy to
meet with them. I received those letters as well, and we
generally keep an open door for Tribal leaders, and look
forward to setting those meetings up.
Senator Merkley. Thank you. And I hope the results of those
meetings will be that these Tribes that haven't been able to
participate in the program, will be able to get their feet on
the ground, and get started. Thank you.
Senator Murkowski. Mr. Chairman, it is good to hear the
Director speak so highly of the CHAP Program and the benefit
that it can provide, not only within the state, but what we
have developed and shared, I would encourage members of the
subcommittee to take a look at that program. And perhaps if we
do a trip up North we will definitely have an opportunity to
look further, not only to the CHAPS Program, but the DHAT
Program, where Alaska has really led as a model there.
CONTRACT SUPPORT COSTS
Director Tso, I want to go back again to contract support
costs. And this is something that we discussed last year in the
subcommittee with the Acting Director at the time, Director
Fowler, and we were told then that IHS would maintain current
methods for calculating contract support costs, there was no
plan to change any of those. But we have seen some recent court
cases, and some agency actions since that time. And I just want
to know whether or not that statement still holds true, or
whether IHS has changed any of the calculations on what is
considered eligible?
As you know, the Fort Defiance case in the Cook Inlet
Tribal Council scared a lot of folks out there, in terms of
being able to rely. So can you tell me, are we still in a good
place as was stated before the committee last year?
Ms. Tso. Yes. Thank you. So with respect to contract
support costs, what we have done is, again, used the--it is
really and truly, a negotiation between the Tribe and the
Indian Health Service. And we have moved that whole program
again, out of where it was at in IHS, and moved it on--and
actually into Jillian's program here.
I want to have close direct oversight over that program. So
two things, while we have not changed our calculations, I have
directed our team to make sure that we get to the table with
Tribes, and being able to use the maximum flexibility of how we
can get to ``yes'' with Tribes. And so that is what I am
seeing, and I am hoping that, as we move forward, we will
continue to do that for our Tribes.
During the COVID pandemic, and as I was out in my previous
role, I absolutely appreciate how important those monies are to
make sure that they support Indian Country, and particularly
Tribes that contract and compact. With the increase in costs
across everything, whether it was nurses and doctor contracts,
or supplies, there is a cost to doing business, and that is
what that has to cover.
And so maximizing and bringing flexibility to how we
interpret the rules and the regulations is what is critical
right now, and particularly we are moving.
Senator Murkowski. Well, I really appreciate you saying
that, because that is what folks are relying on. It is that
stability and that clarity. We had heard that there were some
pending court cases regarding contract support costs, and
third-party billing that could have impact on CSC funding. Can
you elaborate for the committee, what you are hearing, and what
the potential impact might be? I don't want you to be too
speculative, because we don't have a lot of time, and I want to
move to a couple other issues here. But are you hearing the
same thing?
Ms. Tso. Yes. We are hearing the same thing, and I have
already set up a team internally to start looking at how we
might address that, when and if that decision comes down.
MANDATORY FUNDING IHS
Senator Murkowski. Good. Appreciate that. In my opening I
mentioned my support of advance approps, where we are right
now, though, again we are talking about a proposal to move the
entire agency to mandatory funding, yet there is no legislative
proposal to shift this mandatory appropriations in the budget
proposal. So are you anticipating transmitting authorization
language for the proposed shift? Have you identified how you
intend to pay for this shift to the mandatory side?
Ms. Curtis. Thank you, Senator Murkowski, for that, that
important question. We are working as a Department with OMB on
Tribal consultation that will take place in early June, on the
mandatory proposal. And we are hoping that through that
process, and the dialogue with Tribes, it will better inform a
potential legislative package. And of course we want to keep
the dialogue open with the authorizers in Congress, as well as
our Appropriations partners, to inform what that package might
also look like, so we are looking to take a collaborative
approach on developing that language.
Senator Murkowski. But at this point in time you are not
prepared to transmit any authorizing language, it doesn't sound
like?
Ms. Curtis. Not at this time. No.
Senator Murkowski. Okay. All right. I am three seconds from
my time, so I will defer to the Chairman, here.
Senator Merkley. Both of us have a great interest in these
programs. We have a lot of Tribes in both of our states, and a
lot of work to be done on many fronts. We talked previously
about the CHAPS Program, certainly nurses is another challenge.
NURSE PRECEPTORSHIP PROGRAM
And Director Tso, in your budget you propose $1 million to
create a new nurse preceptorship program, to provide training,
development, on-the-job support, and the term in the
description, is to improve replacement rates, but I kind of
from the context I think maybe ``replacement'', but also
``retention'' of nurses. And do you have a high loss of nurses
in their initial years, year two of work? And of course I know
you have a big deficit of many openings so how would this Nurse
Preceptorship Program change, either attracting nurses or
retaining nurses?
Ms. Tso. Thank you, Chairman. So two things that that I
would point to; number one, we were already at a deficit of
nurses before the pandemic, and then we are now where we are
with loss of additional staff. Not only that, as we talked
about yesterday, we have the Baby Boomers that are now going to
opt out of the workforce, and they are really trying to
replenish that.
So we want to be able to use these resources that we have
asked for, to make sure that we build a solid retention
program, as well as training that is needed. In many instances,
there is times when we have staff that come to us, with not a
whole--maybe coming right out of school, and that
preceptorship, that training is absolutely important to get
them integrated into the health care facility, understanding
how the system works, and those things, and so. And that is
part of retention, because if we just throw people into a job,
we are likely not going to keep them if we treat them that way.
So really looking at that front end: What can we do; how
can we do this; to make sure that we meet the--our needs as
well as applicants' needs.
Senator Merkley. You know, my wife is a nurse, and I recall
how different it is to go from the school setting to actually
being full-time on the job. And I think this is particularly
challenging in Tribal settings where people may be more remote,
have fewer folks nearby to assist. And so I look forward to
learning more about that.
Assistant Secretary Newland, I want to turn to the issue of
land acquisition for landless and land-limited Tribes. You have
a proposal for $12 million for a Tribal Land, Water
Conservation Fund, and Indian Land Consolidation Fund. And
assuming this would come from the general Land and Water
Conservation Fund (LWCF), but you can expand on that.
And your budget states factors other than conservation need
to be considered for Tribes to grow their land base. So can you
expand on what it means for a tribe to be land limited? Who
exactly would be eligible for this funding? And, for example,
would terminated Tribes who are ultimately restored with less
land than they began, be at the top of the list, and so forth?
What is the broader vision for this?
Mr. Newland. Thank you, Chairman. So with respect to the
General Land Acquisition Authority, when Congress enacted the
Indian Reorganization Act, nearly a century ago now, it
authorized the Secretary of the Interior to directly acquire
land for Tribes, and included an appropriation for that. And
that appropriation has--authorization, excuse me, has remained
the same ever since.
I think it is $2 million? It is $2 million in 1934. And so
we have requested an increase in that, and the ability to make
good on that commitment from the United States, in the Indian
Reorganization Act, to assist Tribes in reestablishing a
homeland, particularly for Tribes that don't have any land.
Often the first Trust acquisition is the most difficult and the
most expensive, and then assisting other Tribes that have very
limited land base.
So our vision for that is to assist those Tribes that are
federally recognized but don't yet have any land base for
simple things, like government administration, public safety,
basic housing for their Tribal members, and establish that
initial land base.
Senator Merkley. So do you envision then setting out a set
of priorities would help you sort through the applications to
determine kind of who is at the top of the list?
Mr. Newland. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. We are actually
engaged in consultation with Tribes right now on the best way
to implement that program, but we want to make sure that there
are some guidelines or standards in how we go about
implementing that.
LOAN REPAYMENT PROGRAM
Senator Merkley. Thank you. And Director Tso, you propose
to expand loan repayment programs to help retain personnel. And
last year the IHS Acting Director Fowler testified that loan
repayment was the most effective tool IHS has in recruiting. Do
you have any stats now that kind of show how much impact that
the loan repayment program has had, and really help us
understand if, indeed, this is the most effective instrument?
Ms. Tso. Senator we will circle back to you with respect to
that. But I will add one other part to that. We have also
advocated that, or shared that while we do have this loan
program, there is a tax to this loan program. And so therefore,
potential applicants that come to Indian Health Service that
could benefit from this are also taxed on these dollars that
they have.
This is, unlike what Health Resources and Services
Administration (HRSA) provides, the same kind of loan program,
but their resources are not taxed, so we are looking for some
equity there. Thank you.
Senator Merkley. Amen to that. And I have a bill to change
that, so Thank you, for drawing attention and spotlighting that
issue.
Senator Murkowski. Thank you. I am going to turn to you,
Assistant Secretary. I have been talking to the Director here
most of the morning. As you well know we have a public safety
issue in the State of Alaska, some have described it as a
crisis. Certainly, former Attorney General Barr recognized a
state of public emergency, with our public safety.
We have more than 100 Tribes that have no law enforcement
presence whatsoever, and because of their remoteness oftentimes
you can have a situation where it takes more than just hours,
but days for law enforcement to be able to get to the Village
to address sometimes very violent felonies. I know you are
aware of these law enforcement challenges, but can you share
with the subcommittee how much funding is being devoted to the
PL280 States for law enforcement, where that funding is coming
from?
Mr. Newland. Thank you, Senator. I was actually in
Anchorage a week before last at the Not Invisible Act
Commission hearings. And I spent two days hearing from
community members across Alaska, just about the most heart-
wrenching stories that really flow out of this crisis, and it
impressed upon all of us the urgency to act, and how dire this
is in many communities.
And I was glad to be able to hear those stories directly.
In our budget we are requesting; it is $21 million for Tribal
courts in Public Law 280 states. And, you know, the Tribal
courts play an important role in public safety, not only on the
backend, but on the frontend, when we were talking about some
of the family law cases, the wellness courts were also working
to fund three wellness courts this year, in Alaska.
I was a wellness court--I was a Tribal court judge before
serving in this role, and we established a wellness court, and
I have seen, firsthand, the difference that that can make in
keeping folks from coming back into Tribal court over and over,
and really intervening before, you know, somebody's substance
abuse or mental health issues grow into more serious crimes,
and violent crimes. And so we are trying to fund that on the
front end.
With respect to the number of dollars that we are
requesting for police in Public Law 280 states, I am actually
going to ask my Deputy Assistant Secretary, Jason Freihage to--
--
Senator Murkowski. Well, maybe what we can do, is we can we
can get that from you after the hearing. You mentioned being
there in Alaska for some of the hearings and discussions on
murdered and missing. I am glad that you were there. I am glad
you heard it directly. I am glad that you were impacted by it.
But I am somewhat confused then, as we look at the
President's budget for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women
(MMIW) activities, I am rarely seeing enacted levels here. And
you have certainly seen it from the Alaska perspective, it is
not just Alaska. The Chairman comes from the State of
Washington that has also identified significant levels, of
Murdered, Missing, and Indigenous Women, what is the rationale
between--with just enacted levels when it comes to MMIW across
the country?
Mr. Newland. Thank you, Senator. So the Missing and
Murdered Unit, which I believe is what you are referencing.
Senator Murkowski. Mm-hmm.
Mr. Newland. Is even with last year, we are still in the
process of building out that unit, we are funded right now for,
I believe, up to 63 positions, and we have been able to fill,
now, more than half of those, and continue to build that out,
and when we do we will have staffing.
But overall, across the BIA law enforcement funding, just
on the policing side, we are asking for an increase in funding.
And then outside of the budget, on the management side, we are
doing more to coordinate with other agencies through the
Missing and Murdered Unit. So I just want to make sure I am not
a misleading folks that this isn't a priority, because it is
for us, we want to make sure we build out the unit that we have
established under the Secretary's leadership, staff it up.
That unit then coordinates amongst our BIA law enforcement,
Tribal law enforcement, as well as state and local agencies,
and other Federal agencies, like the FBI. And so the funding
level is not a reflection that it is not a growing priority. We
believe we have got the funding at $16.5 million to staff up
that unit. And it has already been productive. It has
investigated, it just in the last 2 years, more than 700 cases,
resolved, I believe, more than 200 missing persons cases, and
solved eight murders.
And so we believe that that Missing and Murdered Unit is
effective, the funding reflects that. And we are going to
continue on the management side to build it up.
Senator Murkowski. Well, we have got a hearing this
afternoon before the CJS Subcommittee, so we will have the FBI,
DEA, in front of us so this will be a follow-on question to
them as well, in terms of what more we need to be doing to
address these issues. I know that the Senator from Montana
feels strongly about it as well. There are many of us. So thank
you for that.
Senator Merkley. Thank you, and now we will turn to Senator
Peters from Michigan.
Senator Peters. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I was pleased that
President Biden's budget request would provide funds for
existing Indian land and water claim settlements, including via
the Indian Water Rights Settlement Completion Fund.
The Biden-Harris administration has certainly maintained a
solid commitment to reaching settlements to resolve Tribal land
and water claims, and to ensure the Tribes, as well as
individual Indians have rightful ownership of land, and rights
to water to meet domestic, economic, cultural, and ecological
needs.
So my question is for you, Secretary Newland. As you know,
I have introduced a bill, the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community
Land Claim Settlement Act, and this bipartisan, bicameral, and
long overdue legislation will address the long-standing land
claims of the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, while also
clearing the title of current land holders in the community.
So Assistant Secretary Newland, what land claim settlements
does your fiscal year 2024 budget propose to fund, and beyond
what does--this year budget funds, does the Department have a
backlog of outstanding land claims settlements owed to Tribes?
Mr. Newland. Thank you, Senator. Right now, our budget is
proposing to fund one settlement administrative costs under the
White Earth Land Claims Settlement. I am not aware of a backlog
of land claims that are due, Department funding, I would be
happy to follow up, but that is my understanding of our budget;
so just the White Earth Land Claim Settlement is included in
our budget requests.
Senator Peters. Well, good. It sounds like the Bureau may
be very well positioned to carry out my bill once it is passed,
and I certainly look forward to working with you in the coming
weeks to enact this legislation, and to do what is right there.
Another question for you, sir; is I am proud that Michigan
is the home to over 50,000 Native people and 12 federally
recognized Tribal Nations. In our state and across the country,
Native communities and Tribes have preserved vibrant and
diverse culture, safeguarding land, language, spirit,
knowledge, and tradition across many generations.
Unfortunately, Tribal communities have not been immune to the
opioid epidemic impacting individuals, families, and
communities, nationwide. And in many cases Tribal communities
have been hit, particularly, hard by this crisis.
The Tribes of Michigan are working hard to address the
opioid and substance abuse crisis; however, I have heard from
Tribal leaders in my home State of Michigan that they need more
resources, and specifically more flexibility in funding for
treatment facilities.
So my question for you is: How specifically does your
fiscal year 2024 budget help communities in Indian Country
battle of the opioid crisis?
Mr. Newland. Thank you, Senator. I would imagine it is fair
to say there are a few people in this room who haven't been
touched, personally, by the opioid epidemic and addiction. And
I am very well aware of how serious this is in all Tribal
communities, particularly my own back in Michigan. Our budget
request includes $15 million for drug enforcement activities
within the BIA's law enforcement system. It also includes an
additional a little more than $3 million for the establishment
of Tribal wellness courts which, again, I just mentioned I have
seen firsthand how valuable those are in coordinating
wraparound services at the Tribal level.
And it also includes a significant increase in our budget
request for the Tiwahe Initiative which started out as a pilot
project across Indian Country. And under that initiative Tribes
are able to use culturally based, rather than simply evidence-
based models to address things like family crises, drug
addiction, mental health issues. And design those programs the
way that are the most effective to solve their unique issues on
the ground.
And this budget request would allow us to expand that
initiative to ten new sites across Indian Country. And so we
believe that, on the whole, when you combine the law
enforcement funding, the social services funding, with the
Tiwahe Initiative and the Tribal Courts Funding, that what we
are aiming to do, is try to address things like this epidemic,
and substance abuse, generally, at all levels.
Senator Peters. Assistant Secretary Newland, thank you for
your continued leadership on this issue, and so many.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Senator Merkley. I anticipate that Senator Tester will be
joining us in just a moment. But I will seize the opportunity
to fill in the space.
The Secretary of Interior has really emphasized an
initiative to develop full history of our boarding schools, I
have been very struck this past year about work that is being
done by the Congressional Executive Commission on China, on the
very abusive practices that are being used at boarding schools
in Tibet, where the Chinese Government is trying to separate
children from their natural cultural history, and take them
away from their families.
We have our own very problematic history regarding boarding
schools. How is that work on this set of histories, or
histories of various schools, and various efforts, coming
along?
Mr. Newland. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. This is some of the
most emotionally challenging, but yet rewarding work that I
have engaged on in my life, under the Secretary's leadership.
A year ago, I think a year ago tomorrow actually, we
published the first report, comprehensive Federal Report on the
Federal Government's operation of Indian boarding schools, and
outlined the history of the policies that underlie that, and
identified the names and locations of more than 400 schools.
We have also, Secretary Haaland and I have gone to a number
of Tribal communities over the last year, and heard from dozens
and dozens of boarding school survivors, often in large venues
where hundreds of people are present, and hearing their
personal stories, of attending these schools, or their families
attending these schools, and continued our research.
We anticipate publishing a second volume of our Boarding
School Initiative Report, that will outline, I think with more
specificity, how many burial sites exist across these boarding
school systems, where they are located, generally, trying to
identify the total amount of funding and support that the
Federal Government provided to the system, over its century-
and-a-half of use.
And trying to fill in the picture of what the boarding
school system was, and what its impact was; and also making
sure that we are relaying the personal stories of the people
who attended, as well as their families, in trying to better
articulate the Legacy impacts that extend beyond generations
across Indian Country. And so that work is continuing and, you
know, we are trying to make sure that we are we are painting
the full picture.
Senator Merkley. I think it is an incredibly important
investigation and report. We need to shine a light on the past
in order to understand issues that may help us direct into the
future. And thank you, for your work on that. And thank you, to
the Secretary's initiative.
Senator Murkowski.
Senator Murkowski. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Assistant Secretary, we have had a conversation in other
committees as well, about the budget proposal to shift the
Office of Subsistence Management, OSM, from Fish and Wildlife
to BIA. I have asked for a response in writing.
But I am wondering whether or not the Department in Indian
Affairs can achieve the goals that they are seeking, as
outlined in the budget proposal, without moving the office from
Fish and Wildlife to Indian Affairs; whether or not the goals
that are sought here, and certainly the goals that I am hearing
from Tribes in Alaskan Native leaders, whether or not we can do
all this within the Federal Subsistence Management Program.
So can you just share quickly with the committee here, why
you feel it has to be moved to the Office of the Secretary? Why
not the Solicitor's Office? Why not try to make it work within
the existing structure?
Mr. Newland. Thank you, Senator. You know, just initially I
think, as you are aware, no doubt, but we have heard
consistently from Tribes across Alaska about -- whether they
are on the North Slope or any--Southeast, and every everywhere
in between, about the desire to move the Office of Subsistence
Management out of the Fish and Wildlife Service. And that, of
course, begged the question about: What is the appropriate
home?
And in those consultations, and in conversations that we
have had with Tribal leaders and folks from across Alaska, you
know, the driving concern behind that was a desire to better
align the office of subsistence management with our Federal
Trust responsibility to protect the way of life for Native
people.
And we have considered a number of options. Within our
office the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs, we operate a
number of programs directly, which is unique within the
Department, because not all of our programs are housed within
the Bureau of Indian Affairs, or the Bureau of Indian
Education. So we have the Office of Self-Governance, for
example, that reports directly to the Assistant Secretary, the
Office of Indian Economic Development, and many other programs.
And so we felt that, operationally, it made sense to house,
if we were going to move the Office of Subsistence Management;
operationally, it made sense to house it within the Office of
the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs, because of our
experience running programs directly.
That is not necessarily true of many other places at the
Department of the Interior, and so we, of course, are well
experienced at making sure that our programs are in sync with
the Federal Government's Trust responsibility.
Senator Murkowski. How do you respond, though, to just the
reality that that the Alaska National Interest Lands
Conservation Act (ANILCA) creates a rural priority for
subsistence based on where one lives. And so I am sure you have
heard concerns on the other side that this is not just about
Alaska Native peoples, but it is rural subsistence users.
So a follow-on question is, whether or not the Department
has consulted with the ten RACs, the Regional Advisory
Councils, on the proposed move? And on top of Tribal
consultations, whether or not you have engaged other
subsistence users, both Native and non-Native, regarding the
proposal? What is the extent of outreach at this point?
Mr. Newland. Thank you, Senator. You know, our Tribal
consultation obligation and mandate flows out of the unique
trust obligation and I know you understand that.
Senator Murkowski. Right.
Mr. Newland. So it is different in nature the way we engage
the public in other ways. I have participated in a number of
RAC meetings since the announcement.
Senator Murkowski. Yes.
Mr. Newland. And expect that I will continue to do so, and
we want to make sure that we are not hiding the ball from
folks. And that we are hearing directly from folks. And I have
heard some of those concerns. And if I can just add on,
Senator, you know, I am aware that there are folks saying, why
Indian Affairs, because Anoka is for all rural users.
There isn't a neat or perfect home for a program like the
Office of Subsistence Management. We are aware that Anoka also
speaks directly to the rights of Alaska Natives to maintain
their subsistence way of life, and with our general trust
obligation. And we feel that with all things considered,
particularly with what we have heard at the Department over the
last decade, the call to move the Office of Subsistence
Management, that this is the best structure to align all of the
goals under Anoka.
And we also feel that we can meet those legal commitments
to non-Native rural users. We operate through the Bureau of
Indian Affairs a number of programs that directly benefit non-
Natives, across Indian Country, I think most notably, our
irrigation program, most of our irrigation facilities, or many
of our irrigation facilities serve mostly non-Native users. And
so, you know, it is not a strange obligation for us. In Anoka,
the statute says what it says, and we believe that we can
fulfill those obligations.
Senator Murkowski. Well, I appreciate that. Again, we
certainly, I am certainly hearing from the Native leaders about
the need to prioritize Tribal participation within the
conservation of the Cooperative Management. We are hearing the
same things, but we are also hearing the concerns from others.
So it is good to hear you express this.
I would hope that you would agree that this proposed move
is a reorganization that is defined by the Committee's
reprogramming guidelines, and so therefore would be subject to
Appropriations' Committee approval. Concur?
Mr. Newland. Yes.
Senator Murkowski. Good. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Senator Merkley. Thank you. Senator Tester.
Senator Tester. Mr. Chairman, and Ranking Member, I want to
thank you for your patience. I appreciate the ability to ask a
few questions, because this is important stuff.
Assistant Secretary Newland, I want to thank you for coming
out to Montana to meet with the Tribes and see the conditions
that we are having with law enforcement there. And so I
appreciate it. It is clear that we need more resources going on
the ground, we need more police officers, we need more people,
so can you tell me what the BIA has done since you are meeting
with a Northern Cheyenne to improve officer recruitment; not
only for that reservation, but for all of them?
Mr. Newland. Thank you, Senator. And I have enjoyed my
trips out to Montana.
Senator Tester. Yeah.
Mr. Newland. In fact, I spoke with some of the Fort Peck
Tribal leaders here, and expressed my desire to get up there,
because I haven't been there. But related to law enforcement,
we have made a selection for Chief of Police at Northern
Cheyenne, and that person is expected to start next month.
Senator Tester. Right.
Mr. Newland. And we continue to work through some of the
difficult issues directly with Northern Cheyenne. I know one of
the related issues of staffing at the Rocky Mountain Regional
Detention Facility.
Senator Tester. Yeah.
Mr. Newland. We have got offers out to ten people to come
on board with us there, which would increase our staffing there
by 50 percent.
Senator Tester. Okay.
Mr. Newland. And we have also set a hiring goal across BIA
law enforcement for this fiscal year of 138 positions.
Senator Tester. And the question becomes, how do you reach
that goal?
Mr. Newland. Mm-hmm.
Senator Tester. And this is really important. You know,
Northern Cheyenne may be the tip of the spear, but there are
problems in every one. In fact, we got folks from Fort Peck
here today, we appreciate them coming in. They will tell you it
is the same stories you heard in Northern Cheyenne. Okay. So we
just need more people.
And so anything you can do, and if you need our help on how
you get aggressive with hiring, don't be afraid to ask because
I think this is really important.
638 programs are pretty successful. Those are the ones, and
correct if I am wrong, that are run by the tribe, correct?
Mr. Newland. Yes.
Senator Tester. Yes. The Federal Government, how do you--if
a tribe decides to do their program on their own, how do they
get their money? Is it based on per capita? Or how is it based?
Mr. Newland. It is based on the level of services and
funding that we would expend for providing those services.
Senator Tester. Okay. So that is what I wanted to hear. So
let me flesh that out a little bit. So let us say you spend
$100,000 with a BIA providing law enforcement, if the Tribe
takes over do they automatically get $100,000? Or do they get
something less than that?
Mr. Newland. The way the law is written, as I understand
it, is we are supposed to negotiate with them for that amount,
plus contract support costs.
Senator Tester. Okay. So let us talk about on the ground.
How does that translate--because you know where I am going with
this?
Mr. Newland. Mm-hmm.
Senator Tester. I hear from Tribes that say: Hey, the BIA
is spending a million bucks, and they think: We can run this
same program for half that money. Are they lying to me, or are
they telling me the truth?
Mr. Newland. Senator it is a--somewhere--I am not saying
anybody is lying to you.
Senator Tester. That is good.
Mr. Newland. But the reality of the way this works is that,
with 638 contracts, it is our existing obligations across
Indian Country, in determining secretarial amounts for Tribes
that came in early affects our calculation.
Senator Tester. So I would just say this. And I think this
is on you, you are a good man in this job and I appreciate the
work you do.
Mr. Newland. Thank you.
Senator Tester. But if you have got a tribe that is
complaining about not have enough resources, at a bare minimum
you should look and see what the BIA is spending before they
took that contract over, add some inflation to it, because that
has impacts, and get them the money.
Mr. Newland. Mm-hmm.
Senator Tester. Because you can't run a police department
on air. It takes dollars, and it takes people, and people cost
money. Thank you, for the work you do.
Mr. Newland. Thank you.
Senator Tester. Continue to stay on this. It is a huge
issue.
VACANCIES/RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION
Director Tso, I have heard from Blackfeet Tribe in Montana
their current vacancy rate at their local IHS facility, listen
to this, 50 percent. They have got as many people gone as they
have got working. And it could take--it could take a long time.
I am not going to give you a time; it would take a long time to
get folks on board.
Is there anything that you are doing to expedite the hiring
process? You know, Blackfeet is a challenge, but everywhere in
the in the country, once again, Fort Peck is back there, they
can tell you the same story there. What are we doing to
expedite the hiring?
Ms. Tso. Thank you, Senator; and good to see you again.
Senator Tester. Good to see you.
Ms. Tso. So a couple things that we are doing at the Indian
Health Service; one I referenced earlier, the work plan that we
have posted on the IHS website, and one of those areas that we
are focusing in is on workforce, and trying to make sure that
we are maximizing all of our resources to get the people that
we need at the table.
However, as you said, overall IHS has a 28 percent vacancy
rate throughout every category of staff. 40 percent for mental
health providers is also what we are looking at within that.
Senator Tester. It is in a crisis. What I need to know from
you, though, is we prioritize it, but what the hell does that
mean? What are we doing to get people on board? And once again,
not unlike law enforcement, if we need to be a help on this
committee, tell us what we need to do so you can bring more
people on to Indian Health?
Ms. Tso. So we continue to strategize in terms of how we
improve this, and that really is streamlining the onboarding
process and the front line. At this point we are looking at
every resource that we can, using social media, using the
technology that we have to get information out there regarding
the jobs that are open.
We are also looking at housing subsidies to make sure,
particularly in the Billings area, we have the housing
subsidies that we need to try to attract people and be more
comparable with the rates out there. We are also utilizing, for
example, the $3.5 billion Infrastructure Bill monies. We are
looking for 500 engineers.
Senator Tester. Okay.
Ms. Tso. So what we have done is centralize that hiring so
we don't have 12 different regions trying to hire.
Senator Tester. So if the holdup is you, we can help. If
the holdup is some other agency, let us know. We have been down
this road before. I don't need to give you the statistics on
lifespan of Native Americans. It has more to do than just
health care, but health care is pretty fundamental to that.
Okay. So this is important.
The last thing, and then I have just got to go--I mean, I
have got to let you guys go.
Assistant Secretary Newland, there is a Fort Belknap water
settlement, the last one in Montana, that we dropped in--
hopefully it is dropped in by today, that we dropped in this
week if it isn't. I need you to really pay some attention to
that so we can get this thing done. Like I said, it is the last
one in Montana, and we worked on a Bipartisan Infrastructure
Bill to get some resources to get these projects done, we can
get it done, but it is going to require you to be a tough
negotiator, on your side, but a fair negotiator. Okay? Thank
you.
Senator Merkley. Thank you, Senator Tester.
Senator Murkowski.
Senator Murkowski. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Just one last;
and I will give you the readout on the things that I would like
you to take home for homework.
UNOBLIGATED BALANCES
But I mentioned the unobligated balance. And Director, you
and I have had a chance to talk about this. I thank you, for
working to have the service meet the statutory requirement to
provide the committee with these quarterly updates. I
appreciate that. But our situation here is, at the end of 2022,
the unobligated balance for IHS was $6 billion, $2 billion
supplemental funds, with $4 billion in balances from
discretionary.
The recent report from March of this year shows $9.1
billion in unobligated balance, and this amount seems to
include both discretionary and supplemental funds from the last
few years.
So what I am what I am hoping to get from you, Director
Tso, is to confirm the total IHS unobligated balances. What
amount is from previous supplementals? What amount is from
discretionary? And I will take that for the record here,
because I think we need to look at these numbers? But one thing
that I would ask you to provide is: Why IHS is reporting such
large balances?
This again, is something that you are working on, I know, I
appreciate that, but we have got to look at it from our
oversight perspective here, and try to understand what is going
on. How this money is distributed and tracked, and really why
the financial system is showing such large balances?
So if you can get the specifics to the committee, I would
appreciate that. I have a number of questions that I am going
to be submitting as questions for the record. One relates to
purchased and referred care. I was able to meet with Valerie
Davidson, the Head of ANTHC, I am sure when you were up in the
state she raised the issue about when payments are--when
patients are receiving care authorized under the PRC Program,
you have got these authorizations for travel, this is a real
problem. I would like you to address that.
I also have several questions related to facilities
constructions for annual sanitation funding, certified
operators, housing, what types of housing IHS is able to
provide for, whether it is patient housing? Do you need greater
authorization, more money? I am going to have one on electronic
health records, ARPA funding for BIE schools and whether or not
Alaska is eligible for anything there.
And Assistant Secretary, the Director doesn't get all the
homework. You mentioned in your opening comments the Tiwahe
Initiative. And we are in year eight of a five-year pilot, I
would like some additional information on the Tiwahe, and where
we are. Also on Small and Needy Tribes, it is a--that is an
account that I pay very close attention to. So you will be
seeing those as QFRs, as I am sure you will be seeing questions
from other members of the committee. But thank you, for the
time that you have given us.
And Mr. Chairman, thank you for the latitude in asking so
many questions today, but there is a lot out there. Thank you.
ADDITIONAL COMMITTTEE QUESTIONS
Senator Merkley. There are indeed. And speaking of
questions for the record; the hearing record will be open until
the close of business on May 24th, this year. Thank you.
Questions Submitted by Senator Dianne Feinstein
Question. Assistant Secretary Newland, my California tribal
constituents remain concerned about the impact of a proposed off-
reservation casino in Medford, Oregon. As you know, I share these
concerns as do the other Senators and Members representing the area.
In testimony before the House Natural Resources Committee on March
24th, when asked about the Department's willingness to meet with
California Tribal Leaders on the Coquille project, you said that you
``generally have an open door when it comes to matters of importance,''
and that you are ``happy to meet with them.'' I understand that despite
multiple attempts to set up this meeting in the last month and a half,
no date has been set for this discussion.
Will you meet with California tribal representatives about the
Coquille project and if so, when?
Answer. In April of 2023, the Indian Affairs Office of Indian
Gaming reached out to the following California Tribes/Tribal
organizations that have expressed interest in meeting with the
Assistant Secretary regarding the proposed Medford casino: Tolowa Dee-
ni Nation, Elk Valley, Karuk, Northern California Chairperson's
Association, and the State of California (through Nathan Voegeli). The
BIA also asked the State to pass the invite to any other interested
Tribes in response to their letter requesting consultation on behalf of
California Tribes. The two Tribes that responded were the Karuk Tribe
and the Tolowa Dee-ni' Nation. The Assistant Secretary for Indian
Affairs met with these Tribes on June 30, 2023. The AS-IA Office has
not received any subsequent requests from other California Tribes to
meet on this matter.
Question. The Coquille Tribe's Medford application relies upon the
assertion that the Coquille Restoration Act's discretionary fee to
trust provisions are not subject to the Indian Reorganization Act,
despite a plain reading of the act and correspondence from the Act's
sponsors that doing so was not their legislative intent.
Has the Department previously interpreted a Tribal restoration
act's discretionary fee to trust provisions to override the Indian
Reorganization Act? If so, please provide examples.
Answer. We have reviewed the Coquille Tribe's application and
nowhere does the Tribe make the assertion that its application is not
subject to the Indian Reorganization Act (IRA). In fact, the
application acknowledges that the Coquille Restoration Act expressly
makes all provisions of the IRA applicable to the Tribe and its
members. Additionally, the Restoration Act provides specific authority
in Sections 3(e) and 5(a) for the Secretary to accept land into trust
for the Tribe pursuant to the provisions of the IRA.
We are not aware of any instances where the Department has
interpreted the Tribal Restoration Act's discretionary fee to trust
provisions to override the IRA. We are, however, aware of instances
where Congress has provided separate authority for the Department to
acquire land into trust for a Tribe. We consider those instances to be
mandatory rather than discretionary acquisitions.
______
Question Submitted by Senator Jon Tester
Question. Over the past several years, this Committee has
previously directed BIE to develop a methodology regarding operating
and facility needs of Tribal Colleges and Universities. We have yet to
see any report on methodology from the Bureau on the operating and
facility needs of tribal colleges. When will we see that report?
Answer. The BIE and Indian Affairs conducted Tribal Consultations
with Tribal leaders and other stakeholders in May of 2021 to request
input on developing a methodology for determining Tribal Colleges and
Universities (TCUs) operating and maintenance needs. As a result of the
Tribal Consultations, Tribal Colleges Facilities Improvement & Repair
annual appropriations funding have been equally divided and distributed
among the TCUs, beginning with the FY 2021 Budget.
______
Questions Submitted by Senator Martin Heinrich
Question. One of the primary issues BIE schools face is school
construction and replacement. The recent shift of the Division of
Facilities Management and Construction from BIA to BIE has hindered
progress for schools currently in line for replacement. How can
Congress support BIE in expeditiously addressing school replacements?
Answer. The Division of Facilities Management and Construction
(DFMC) has not shifted from BIA to BIE. DFMC remains within the Office
of Facilities, Property and Safety Management, which is an office
within the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Management.
New school replacement projects continue to be managed by DFMC.
Facilities improvement and repair projects under $5.0 million in cost
will transition from the BIA to the BIE. The cost of construction has
grown significantly, and school projects are getting more complex as
Indian Affairs works to increase the integration of technology and
cultural aspects into BIE schools. For example, the average cost of
replacing a school is now over $100 million. The growing cost is the
most significant factor slowing down implementation, as it is necessary
to wait for multiple years of appropriations to have enough funding to
move forward with construction. To address the cost challenge and other
factors, the FY 2024 budget proposes to increase school replacement
construction by $136.0 million and requests an additional $750,000 for
DFMC to expand construction staff for BIE school projects, as well as
Public Safety and Justice Construction.
Question. The National Advisory Council on Indian Education was
created by Congress to advise the Department of Education and
Department of the Interior on issues facing the Indian Education
system. One of their recent recommendations has been to fully fund the
Indian Student Equalization Program, known as ISEP. Why doesn't BIE's
budget request include full funding for ISEP?
Answer. The FY 2024 President's Budget requests $508.7 million for
ISEP formula funds, a $27.0 million increase over the FY 23 enacted
budget, and a $67.9 million increase over the FY 22 enacted level. This
significant increase reflects the importance of ISEP formula funds and
moves BIE closer to full funding.
Question. Can you share information about how increased public
safety funding in the budget translates to more officers on the ground,
better corrections programs, and better court services? How is Interior
expanding its work to fight the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons
Crisis?
Answer. Given the need in Indian Country, BIA is prioritizing the
use of public safety and justice funding to provide more `boots on the
ground' to police communities, take better care of inmates in custody,
and appropriately process cases through court services. The 2024
request includes a program increase of $33.5 million to enable
additional Tribal and direct service `boots on the ground' law
enforcement positions performing crucial public safety services on a
24/7 basis. The requested increase would fund additional Uniform
Police, Criminal Investigator, and Dispatch personnel, which represent
the backbone of law enforcement operations in Indian Country. Since
roughly two-thirds of the BIA law enforcement programs are operated by
Tribes, the request estimates an additional 74 Federal FTE and 148
Tribal positions can be funded. This will help alleviate existing
challenges and safety risks associated with existing staff limitations.
These investments are a critical means to addressing the Missing and
Murdered Indigenous Persons crisis, opioids and related drug
challenges, and to reduce recidivism. More law enforcement officials in
communities can improve response times so that fewer people go missing,
and better evidence can be collected sooner.
______
Questions Submitted by Senator Lisa Murkowski
contract support costs/105 (l) tribal lease payments
Question. Do contract support costs and 105 (l) lease payments have
statutory, regulatory, and court citations which define and quantify
exactly what these costs are? If yes, could you please provide the
Committee with those legally defined and referenced definitions in
writing within the next week?
Answer. Contract Support Costs and 105(l) language regarding what
types of costs can be included for both authorities have statutory and
regulatory citations. Provided below is general background and
citations of relevant documents on these costs.
For 105(l) Tribal Leases, the statutory citation is codified as 25
U.S.C. Sec. 5324(l), and the regulatory citation is 25 CFR 900, Subpart
H (Lease of Tribally-Owned Buildings by the Secretary),
Sec. Sec. 900.69--900.74. Regarding court decisions, Maniilaq Ass'n v.
Burwell, 170 F. Supp. 3d 243, determined that lease compensation is not
capped at the level the Secretary would have otherwise provided (also
known as the ``106(a)'' or ``Secretarial Amount''); and Maniilaq Ass'n
v. Burwell, 170 F. Supp. 3d 243 (D.D.C. 2016) held that lease
compensation was not capped at level agency historically paid to secure
space. Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe v. Azar, 486 F. Supp. 3d 83, allowed a
Federal agency to reduce 105(l) compensation on a pro rata amount based
on comparing the total square footage of the facility with the square
footage necessary to provide services to Indian beneficiaries.
Indian Affairs (IA) reviews each of the submitted Tribal 105(l)
proposals based on the above noted statutory, regulatory, and judicial
direction. For example, 25 U.S.C. Sec. 5324(l), notes that
``compensation may include rent, depreciation based on the useful life
of the facility, principal and interest paid or accrued, operation and
maintenance expenses, and such other reasonable expenses that the
Secretary determines, by regulation, to be allowable.'' In addition, 25
CFR 900, Subpart H, Sec. Sec. 900.69--900.74 provides detailed
direction on what operation and maintenance and monitoring and
preventive maintenance can be included. IA considers all these factors
to reasonably assess each proposal.
For Contract Support Costs, the statutory citations that are
relevant are 25 USC Ch. 46: sections 5325, 5326 and 5327; as well as
some provisions from Title IV and V applicable to Self Governance. The
primary regulatory citation is 25 CFR Part 900 Subpart Section C.
Relevant court citations regarding the types of costs for contract
support costs are the following:
--Salazar v. Ramah Navajo Chapter, 567 U.S. 182, held the Government
must pay the full amount of each Tribe's contract support costs
when Congress appropriates sufficient funds to pay in full any
individual contractor's costs, but not enough funds to cover
the aggregate amount.
--Cook Inlet Tribal Council, Inc. v. Dotomain, 10 F.4th 893,
determined contract support costs cover expenses not
contemplated by the Secretarial amount.
--Fort Defiance Indian Hosp. Bd., Inc. v. Becerra, 604 F. Supp. 3d
1187, discusses where a Tribe incurs higher costs than a
government agency ``normally'' would have to administer a
service, those costs are not considered normal, and thus may be
reimbursed as contract support costs, even if those costs
represent categories already included in the secretarial
amount, provided that the specific, individuated expense is not
already included.
BIA commonly refers to the following three categories of contract
support costs: (1) indirect costs, which are the costs incurred for a
common or joint purpose benefitting more than one contract objective,
or which are not readily assignable to the contract objectives
specifically benefitted without effort disproportionate to the results
achieved; (2) direct Contract Support Costs, which are the costs of the
activities Tribes incur but are not provided in program funding or
indirect funding, such as the cost of program-specific training; and
(3) startup costs, which are the one-time costs incurred during the
initial year an agreement is in effect. Individual Tribes work with
extensively with the BIA to determine which direct costs and startup
costs are allowable and with the Interior Business Center to determine
which indirect costs are allowable.
Question. A general provision has been included directing both the
IHS and the Department of the Interior to begin a process to establish
guidelines regarding the parameters for which a lease agreement should
be structured and paid for. Please provide a status update on what is
being done at your respective agencies to accomplish this legal
requirement? Do you anticipate any regulatory changes stemming from
this legal requirement? And, what do you envision taking shape at this
point?
Answer. Consistent with the general provision, Indian Affairs and
the Indian Health Service (IHS) held a joint consultation August 2021
to get input from Tribes on aligning the programs. Since then, we have
met regularly with IHS to align procedures and processes regarding the
105(l) program. These efforts have helped to ensure agency practices
are as similar as possible given the nature of the different types of
facilities the agencies operate. In addition to regulatory and
statutory guidance (as described in Question 1 above), Indian Affairs
also developed a 105(l) Tribal lease technical assistance guidebook to
help Tribes as they work through the 105(l) process. At this point, we
do not anticipate any regulatory changes stemming from these efforts.
We also envision ongoing collaboration with IHS and with Tribes on
implementation of the 105(l) program.
Question. Over time, the Subcommittee has noticed a difference in
how OMB and CBO interpret and score CSC and 105 (L) payments. Do your
agencies know or understand why the costs vary among the two scoring
agencies? For example, the FY24 President's Budget estimate and CBO re-
estimate are vastly different, do you know why?
Answer. The differences between OMB and CBO estimates for Tribal
105(l) leases and CSC requirements appear to stem from differences in
methodology. The estimates for 105(l) Tribal Leases included in the
President's Budget are based on the projected incoming lease load based
on known Tribal requests, including for the budget year. We understand
the CBO estimates may be based on historical actual obligations
incurred, which have been lower than DOI's projected future years due
to staff processing limitations and changes in Tribes' actual vs.
Planned utilization of the 105(l) lease program.
For CSC, the proposed amount in the FY 2024 budget is estimated to
fully fund CSC requirements associated with the President's Budget
Request. The proposed CSC amount in the FY 2024 Budget is based on
historical CSC amounts and projected contracting and compacting amounts
for the scope of work proposed in the FY 2024 President's Budget.
Increased estimates in FY 2024 provide Contract Support Costs to cover
requested program increases in areas including Tribal climate, clean
energy, public safety and justice, and strengthening Tribal
communities. We understand the CBO estimates may assume lower program
funding levels than those requested and may use less specific data on
projected contract and compact agreements in FY 2024.
tiwahe initiative
Question. It is the Subcommittee's understanding that Tiwahe
funding goes to ONLY pilot sites for the social services funding and
then the Tiwahe funding for tribal courts goes to all tribes and tribal
organizations. Can you confirm the number of pilot sites as well as
exactly what pot of Tiwahe funding these sites receive? And then can
you also confirm how much and who receives the Tiwahe tribal court
funding?
Answer. Tiwahe Social Service and Indian Child Welfare funding
goes, in part, to all eligible Tribes or Tribal Organizations that were
listed in the 2014 Budget Justifications. Each year, a total of $5.0
million of Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) Tiwahe funding is allocated
among 385 Tribes and Tribal Organizations and a total of $3.5 million
of Social Service Tiwahe funding is allocated among 334 Tribes and
Tribal Organizations for the across-the-board increases. In addition,
annually, $300,000 Tiwahe Social Services funding supports domestic
violence and youth shelters and $4.2 million supporting child
protection and child welfare workers for 33 Tribes and Tribal
Organizations which includes both demonstration sites and non-
demonstration sites. Each year, over 42 Tribes receive Recidivism
Reduction Initiative (RRI) funding and over 50 Tribal courts receive
Tiwahe Tribal Court (TTC) and Tribal Justice Support (TJS) funding. TJS
Tiwahe funding was new in FY 2023 and funds Healing to Wellness courts.
In addition to the wider funding, Tiwahe funding has supported the
six demonstration sites since 2017 in the areas of: Social Service,
ICWA, Job Placement and Training (JPT), Housing Program (HP), RRI, and
TTC. The six demonstration sites receive between $2.5 and $3.5 million
total per year in Tiwahe funding. Confederated Salish and Kootenai
Tribes (CSKT) and Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah (PITU) were invited to
become Tiwahe demonstration sites in March 2023, and two additional
Tribes or Tribal Organizations will be invited to the demonstration in
January 2024.
CSKT and PITU received one-time planning funding of $500,000 for
the first year and $200,000 in one-time funding from TTC (Tribes can
request funding every year). After development of a Tiwahe Plan, CSKT
and PITU will receive $997,853 in reoccurring Social Services base
funding, but, given current appropriations levels, no other Tiwahe
programs will be supported at the four new demonstration sites. TTC is
providing one-time funding to CSKT and PITU to assist with court costs,
consistent with current appropriation levels. Therefore, the six
original demonstration sites receive Tiwahe Initiative funding for more
programs than is provided to the four new Tiwahe demonstration sites.
In addition to the selection of the four new Tiwahe demonstration
sites, in FY 2023, BIA made $100,000 one-time funding awards to 10
Tribes or Tribal Organizations to either assist in developing a Tiwahe
Plan or to implement Tribally-led, cultural programs that improve
community well-being. BIA made another round of ten $100,000 awards for
the same purpose to other Tribes or Tribal Organizations in January
2024.
Regarding TTC funding, the funding is allocated to Tiwahe
demonstration sites and to other eligible Tribal Court programs based
on need. Need is determined from tribal requests received for funding
in this area and is often supported by BIA tribal court assessment
reports. In FY 2023, approximately $3.3 million was distributed to
demonstration sites and approximately $4.3 million was distributed to
39 other eligible Tribal Court programs based on need.
Regarding the specifics of the TTC funding, in FY 2023, of the $7.6
million appropriated for Tiwahe TTC purposes, $3.3 million went to
Tiwahe demonstration sites, including CSKT and PITU. The remaining $4.3
million was distributed among 39 Tribal Justice systems seeking ICWA
Attorneys (representation of the Tribe in State Court) Tribal
prosecutors/presenters for child neglect cases, juvenile prosecutors,
public defenders, Tribal judges, guardians ad litem, healing to
wellness coordinators, court navigators, among other things. BIA's
approach to this funding allows for success and provides measurable
impact to the court programs funded. If there was a requirement to
distribute Tiwahe TTC and Tribal Justice Support (TJS)-Healing to
Wellness Courts funding at current appropriated levels to all 574
federally recognized Tribes, the amount per Tribe would be de minimis.
The TJS Healing to Wellness Tiwahe program first received $3 million in
funding in FY 2023. Healing to Wellness courts serve as effective
alternatives to incarceration and provide a culturally appropriate
forum to assist clients in addressing underlying behavioral health and
substance abuse issues. Approximately half of this funding is
distributed to demonstration sites and the rest is allocated to
training, which is made available to all Tribes, and for funding other
Tribal Healing to Wellness proposals.
The overall Tiwahe related funding increase in the FY 2024 request
is $33.5 million which includes increases in funding to the Human
Services Tiwahe subactivities of Social Services $17.2 million, ICWA
$7.5 million, and HP $2.0 million, as well as Tribal Justice support
$1.9 million, and Economic Development $5.0 million. These increases
will allow IA to further fund the four new Tribes for their Social
Services, ICWA, and HP needs, along with bringing the 10 new sites into
the demonstration program. The expansion will incorporate a stronger
focus on Economic Development and Tribal Justice activities in Tribal
community planning.
Question. Last year, BIA received an additional $1M to expand the
Initiative. How many sites will BIA expand Tiwahe to and exactly what
funding will they receive?
Answer. In FY 2023, Congress appropriated $1.0 million to the
Tiwahe ICWA program, with the express purpose of expanding the Tiwahe
demonstration. For the ICWA funding, a solicitation for Tiwahe site
expansion closed on August 31, 2023, and an announcement of the new
Tiwahe Tribes and Tribal Organizations occurred in January 2024. 10
sites that applied to participate in the demonstration expansion were
selected for this funding opportunity. Sites that previously received a
one-time funding award are eligible to receive an additional one-time
funding award of $100,000 to either develop a Tiwahe plan or implement
cultural programming.
In FY 2023, Congress also appropriated $1.0 million to the Tiwahe
Social Service program also with the express purpose of expanding the
Tiwahe demonstration. The Social Services funding will be used to
establish two new Tiwahe demonstration sites. The solicitations for
these new demonstration sites were done in the IWCA solicitation
described above which closed on August 31, 2023, and an announcement of
these new Tiwahe sites occurred in January 2024. The additional $1.0
million will be split evenly between these two new Tiwahe demonstration
sites for those Tribes to develop a Tiwahe plan which will guide
implementation during subsequent years of participation in the Tiwahe
demonstration site program.
Question. What is the funding plan for those who currently receive
Tiwahe funding? What happens to those who are currently a pilot site
and what happens to those who are receiving tribal courts money? Is the
Administration proposing to move that funding into a reoccurring base
program amount?
Answer. There are six existing demonstration sites and Tiwahe
funding for those sites for Social Services, ICWA, and HP became base
funding in FY 2021. Recidivism Reduction Initiative (RRI), Tiwahe
Tribal Courts (TTC), and Tribal Justice Support (TJS) funding includes
some base funding components for these Tribes. The Human Services
funding (which comprises Social Services, IWCA, and HP) for the four
new Tiwahe Tribes (CSKT, PITU, and two new demonstration sites) would
become base funding in FY 2025.
The Department does not plan to reallocate or diminish the base
funding for the demonstration sites in any of the currently funded
program areas. The primary goal of the Tiwahe Initiative is to show how
Tribal community well-being improves when Tribes or Tribal
Organizations are provided sufficient reoccurring base funding to build
sustainable programs that address the major challenges facing the
community. The 2021 Tiwahe Congressional Report identified how the six
demonstration sites used their funding and support from the Department
to markedly improve community well-being--from reducing the number of
children in foster care, to keeping children with families while in
care, to reducing juvenile recidivism to half the national average, and
to winning Alaska Supreme Court cases that preserve the rights of
Tribes in ICWA cases. The demonstration sites have used the influx of
Tiwahe funding to leverage additional funding to supplement their
budgets. For example, Ute Mountain Ute has obtained over $100 million
dollars in grants and private philanthropy since 2017 due to the
investment of Tiwahe funding. Red Lake Nation (RLN) was able to use
their Tiwahe Plan as a Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration (SAMHSA) Tribal Action Plan, which allowed RLN to access
additional grant funding from SAMHSA for programming to improve mental
health and address addiction issues, including a multigenerational
wellness center.
TTC and TJS funding will continue to support Tribal courts and
healing to wellness courts. However, beyond the base funding components
already established, there is currently no plan to transfer additional
funding into base so we can continue to target specific Tribal court
needs that change from year to year. For example, a court that
requested funding in year 1 for computers or recording systems, may not
need the same amount or same items in year 2. As of the end of FY 2023
no Tribal request for TTC or TJS funding has been denied. It should be
noted that Tiwahe demonstration sites' requests for TTC funding are
considered first, at all times.
The plan to distribute FY 2024 TTC and TJS Tiwahe funding remains
the same. All Tribal justice systems, whether or not they are Tiwahe
demonstration sites, depend on the Tiwahe funding appropriated to
address issues dealing with the health and safety of the family. On
average, TTC and TJS funds support approximately 107-117 tribal justice
positions per year, all dealing with child welfare and child dependency
cases. As noted earlier, requests from Tiwahe demonstration sites are
honored first, at all times. The remainder of those funds are
distributed to tribal justice systems within Public Law 280
jurisdictions and those not in Public Law 280 jurisdiction. In FY 2023,
107 positions were funded with TTC/TJS resources, including 6 child
welfare attorneys, 15 Guardians Ad Litem, 15 Prosecutors/Presenters,
and 11 Public Defenders, as well as other positions such as navigators
for families within the court system. These positions are essential for
the safety of the community. The average funding award is approximately
$92,500 for each tribal justice system, several requiring more than
$150,000. Tribes depend on these one-time awards as a large part of
their operating budget.
public safety and justice funding for public law 280 states
Question. In Alaska more than 100 tribes have no law enforcement
presence whatsoever in their community and because of the remote nature
of many Native villages, often it takes days and air and/or boat travel
for law enforcement to address violent felonies. Mr. Newland, are you
aware of the various law enforcement challenges tribes face in Alaska?
Can you share with the Subcommittee how much funding is being devoted
to the Public Law 280 states for law enforcement and where that funding
is coming from? Do you have an estimate on what the funding levels
would be necessary so that all of these communities would be on par
with the others who receive law enforcement funding?
Answer. We recognize the unique challenges faced by Tribes in
Alaska, especially in law enforcement. Regarding the numbers, BIA
submits an annual report to the Congress that summarizes, among other
things, the estimated annual law enforcement program funding needs
throughout Indian Country. The most recent Report to the Congress on
Spending, Staffing, and Estimated Funding Costs for Public Safety and
Justice Programs in Indian Country, 2020, (https://www.bia.gov/bia/ojs/
documents-and-reports) provides BIA's law enforcement spending and
estimated program needs for Alaska and other Public Law 280 States
(California, Minnesota, Nebraska, Oregon, and Wisconsin). This report
identifies FY 2020 law enforcement funding, not including Detention and
Corrections or Tribal Courts funding, of $17.6 million that was
allocated to law enforcement programs serving Tribes in Public Law 280
States. The report also estimates the law enforcement need associated
with those six States was $665.9 million for adequately staffed, fully
funded programs. Jurisdictional challenges and State provided support
notwithstanding, a funding level of $207 million (or 31% of need) would
be necessary to align Tribes in these States with Tribes in non-Public
Law 280 jurisdictions.
Beyond our traditional law enforcement programs, the OJS Division
of Drug Enforcement and Missing & Murdered Unit each have four Special
Agent positions located in Public Law 280 States to augment the
investigative capabilities of local law enforcement. These two
organizations also work closely with other Federal and Tribal
stakeholders on multiple task forces to ensure information sharing and
advance the safety of Indian communities.
______
Questions Submitted by Senator John Hoeven
Question. The Three Affiliated Tribes of Mandan, Hidatsa and
Arikara (MHA Nation) are leaders in oil production at the Fort Berthold
Reservation, with about 90% of the tribes' revenue coming from oil
production. These resources help provide critical funding for the
Tribe's essential needs, including infrastructure and healthcare. The
Three Affiliated Tribes have produced as many as 300,000 barrels of oil
per day; however, production remains down at only 152,640 barrels per
day. Does the administration support the right of Tribes to develop all
of their energy reserves, including their oil trust reserves?
Answer. The Department supports Tribal sovereignty and the Tribes'
right to economic development of all Tribal energy reserves, including
oil and gas, to make lives better for people in their communities. It
is important that Tribes maintain the ability to implement, regulate,
and benefit from energy development in their communities. The
Department looks forward to our continued work with Congress to help
Tribal Nations further empower themselves through energy development.
The BIA has reviewed and concurs with the production status
information reflected in this question. Oil production on the Fort
Berthold Indian Reservation (FBIR) achieved a high peak in 2019 and has
declined since that time. We observe that the decline in the number of
well permit applications likely results from multiple factors,
including various title disputes on the FBIR that are the focus of
significant effort and dedicated resources to resolve, as well as other
dynamics that industry and the Federal partners in the area are jointly
coordinating to address.
Dedicated BIA resources to support the Tribe's efforts to develop
energy resources on the FBIR have been key to maintaining production on
the FBIR and working toward optimizing production volumes. Since 2017,
the BIA's Indian Energy Service Center (IESC) has supported the BIA's
field offices and other federally processed oil and gas leases and
communitization agreements (CAs) on the FBIR that had been previously
delayed due to litigation and other complications resulting from the
high work volume generated within the highly productive Williston Basin
(Bakken Formation). As a result of the IESC's efforts, the Department
has collected and disbursed approximately $1.895 billion in oil and gas
royalties to Tribes and Individual owners as of January 2024.
The IESC has also processed CAs for the Uintah & Ouray (U&O) BIA
Agency since 2019. The total royalty amount that has been transacted
through these IESC processed CAs goes back to calendar year 2011 as
some of the CAs approved had an effective date starting as far back as
that year. As a result of the IESC's support, the Department has
collected and disbursed approximately $79,241,452 since 2019 in oil and
gas royalties.
The Department and BIA will continue to support mineral needs and
priorities of Tribes and Individual mineral owners nationwide. The
Department has taken additional steps to support Tribes by transferring
the Division of Energy and Mineral Development (DEMD) under the BIA.
DEMD provides grant funding and technical assistance to fulfill the
Department's trust responsibility to assist Tribes and Indian
beneficiaries in furthering the goal of Indian self- determination
through developing minerals, energy, and renewable energy.
From 2015 to 2022 the DEMD provided grant funding to Tribes
totaling $51.3 million through the Energy and Mineral Development
Program (EMDP) and the Tribal Energy Development Capacity (TEDC) grant
program, available exclusively to Indian beneficiaries. These programs
support Tribes' efforts to develop all phases of energy and minerals,
including oil and gas, solid minerals, and renewable energy. The DEMD,
staffed with STEM professionals reflective of the energy and mineral
industries, accompanies these grants with meaningful technical
assistance to Tribes to maximize Tribal success in developing energy
and mineral resources. The DEMD has been administering these Tribal
grant programs since 1983. In 2022, $14.1 million in grant funding and
technical assistance valued at $9.3 million were provided to Tribes
through these programs. On average, DEMD has been able to fund about
30% of total grant applications received. On an annual average basis,
DEMD grant funds and technical assistance resources are roughly
allocated in even proportions to 1) Tribal oil and gas and solid
mineral development efforts, 2) Tribal renewable energy development
efforts, and 3) Tribal capacity building related to energy management
and support for developing multiple energy and mineral commodities.
A partial list of example Tribal energy development successes
supported by DEMD, IESC and other BIA offices includes:
--Eastern Shoshone Tribe of the Wind River Reservation, Wyoming
(Eastern Shoshone) and the Northern Arapaho Tribe of the Wind
River Reservation, Wyoming (Northern Arapahoe)--The DEMD has
provided direct advisement to the Tribes to assume operations
of oil field assets and initiate a Tribally owned oil and gas
enterprise aimed at developing economic benefit to Tribal
members. DEMD continues to provide ongoing Tribal oil field
operation advisement support.
--Navajo Nation, Arizona, New Mexico, & Utah--The DEMD has provided
to the Navajo Nation EMDP grant monies and technical assistance
to assess Helium development. Although not a specific energy
development, it is a critical fluid mineral that is developed
with oil and gas technology.
--The Osage Nation--Grant monies and technical assistance supports
Tribal efforts to assess and expedite oil and gas development,
modernize their oil and gas data reserve data.
--Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation,
Montana--The IESC and the DEMD have partnered with BIA Fort
Peck Agency Office in assessing and prioritizing marketable
lands and provided processing support to prepare and administer
an upcoming competitive, advertised oil and gas lease sale.
--Jicarilla Apache Nation, New Mexico--The DEMD provided technical
assistance to the Tribe in reviewing proposed agreements
authorized by the Indian Mineral Development Act of 1982 (IMDA)
and supported the Tribe in general operational coordination
with industry.
--Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians, California--The DEMD's
ongoing support includes assessment of economic development in
the Salton Sea area through energy related rights-of-way (ROW)
via business agreements with energy operators working to bring
electrical service to Riverside County, and possible metals
extraction from geothermal process water in Imperial County.
--Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe of the Pyramid Lake Reservation, Nevada--
The DEMD has worked with and provided technical assistance and
EMDP grants to the Pyramid Lake Reservation and the Bristol Bay
Corporation to assist in the development of geothermal
resources.
--Seismic Data Support--The DEMD coordinates with Tribes via grant
and technical assistance to develop, acquire, and house seismic
reflectivity data, critical to assess and market potential
Tribal energy reserves. Tribal seismic data collected to date
is valued at approximately $160 million.
--Tribal Energy Development via the NAPE Expo--The DEMD coordinates
with Tribes to facilitate Tribal travel and attendance annually
to the prominent North American Prospect Expo (NAPE), an
industry driven expo focused on nationwide energy resource
business development. Energy operators and other parties attend
the expo with the goal of pursuing the business of developing
conventional and renewable development. DEMD accompanies Tribal
representatives at NAPE and serves as technical support in both
conventional and renewable energy development phases.
--Tribal Energy Training Development--The DEMD has partnered with the
Petroleum Engineering Department at the Colorado School of
Mines to provide to Tribes a 3-day course of oil and gas
development on Tribal lands. The IESC has developed and
provided training to Tribes in energy development procedural
practices within the Department of the Interior via the
Standard Operation Procedures (SOP) Tribal training series.
--NIOGEMS--The National Indian Oil & Gas, Energy and Minerals System
(NIOGEMS) is a graphical software system developed in-house by
DEMD specifically for Tribes to manage their energy and mineral
trust resources. NIOGEMS houses data from multiple systems of
record, public datasets, and proprietary datasets into one
application for ease of energy asset management and analysis.
The NIOGEMS application is provided to Tribes and Federal
Agencies to aid energy resource management.
Question. What steps--including Tribal consultation--are being
taken to help Tribes access and navigate Federal energy programs?
Answer. The DOI, through the BIA, established the Indian Energy
Service Center (IESC) in 2016, in response to the surge of oil and gas
development among several Tribes, including the Three Affiliated
Tribes, as well as the Southern Ute Tribe, the Uintah and Ouray Tribe,
and the Osage Nation. The IESC is a multi-agency office utilizing the
services of the BIA, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Office of Natural
Resource Revenue (ONRR), and the Bureau of Trust Funds Administration
(BTFA). Each of these offices play key roles and responsibilities in
the management of oil and gas (mineral), energy, and renewable energy
resources for the Tribes and Individual beneficiaries. The IESC assists
local Federal field offices with workloads to minimize backlogs in
transactions associated with oil and gas development. The increased
coordination and support between the key Federal agencies have
alleviated many of the administrative burdens and backlogs that were
affecting development of Indian trust mineral and energy resources. The
IESC continues to facilitate coordination between these key agencies
and as a result all agencies are more responsive to the needs of the
Tribes. Furthermore, the IESC chairs the Indian Energy and Mineral
Steering Committee (IEMSC). IEMSC is comprised of senior level
management representatives from bureaus and offices within the
Department of the Interior with direct responsibility for managing
Indian energy, mineral and renewable energy resources, and revenue
management. IEMSC takes an active role to engage and coordinate with
Federal officials from agencies outside of DOI, as needed, to address
energy and mineral issues on Indian lands. While carrying out these
activities, IESC has entered into MOUs with the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA), US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), US Fish
and Wildlife Service (USFWS), and the Department of Energy (DOE) to
foster and build a working relationship with Federal partners to
enhance Indian mineral, energy and renewable energy opportunities and
communication on trust lands for the benefit of Tribes and Individual
beneficiaries and mineral owners.
The IESC hosts a series of quarterly Federal Partner Meetings with
the Three Affiliated Tribes, also known as the Mandan, Hidatsa and
Arikara Nation, and 5 BIA Regions to discuss Indian energy and mineral
resource development, royalty management coordination, and information
exchange at the local office level. The departmental bureaus and
offices represented on the partnership team operate under the Federal
trust responsibility to federally recognized Indian Tribes, Indian
allottees, and Alaska Natives.
Also housed within BIA, the Division of Energy and Mineral
Development (DEMD) provides grant funding and technical assistance to
Tribes to further economic independence through development of Tribal
energy and minerals. Authorized by the Energy Policy Act of 2005, the
DEMD accomplishes its mission with its staff of engineers, geologists,
and other STEM professionals with specialized experience in
conventional fluid minerals (oil and gas), renewable energy and
distributed generation, solid minerals, and Tribal business and
capacity development. Tribes benefit from the coordinated approach that
DEMD and the IESC employ, where Tribal energy and mineral development
efforts supported with DEMD grant funding and technical assistance can
be expedited through the internal Federal coordination efforts of the
IESC. The BIA will continue to use this coordinated model to support
Tribal efforts to support all phases of energy and mineral resources.
The Department will continue to work with Congress to help Tribal
Nations further empower themselves through energy development. The
Department and BIA coordinate and serve on various committees with
Federal partners, and the White House Council on Native American
Affairs (WHCNAA) to deliver opportunities and investments to Indian
Country. This coordination includes discussions regarding investments
available through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) which also
provide resources and the opportunity to improve services in every
Tribal community and advance self-determination to Tribes.
Timely approval of permitting and realty actions are critical to
infrastructure investment in Indian Country. To this end, BIA recently
announced an updated National Policy Memorandum (NPM-TRUS-44 A1) which
streamlines the rights-of-way (ROWs) and business lease application
process for projects funded by the American Rescue Plan Act and BIL, as
well as Telecommunications and Renewable Energy Projects. This action
advances the policy of the BIA to support Tribal Nations in exercising
their sovereignty to govern their lands and pursue economic self-
sufficiency, conservation practices, and climate resiliency.
Specifically, this NPM provides clear direction to ensure that ROWs and
business leases are expedited so there is no unnecessary delay in
deploying critical infrastructure to Indian country.
The Department has also taken steps to support Tribes and Indian
beneficiaries with the development of their trust resources and
navigating energy program development with outreach coordination and
communication. Lack of infrastructure and the need for increased
capacity among several of the Tribal Nations are issues that need to be
addressed. The IESC and DEMD and the Office of the Assistant Secretary
for Indian Affairs developed the Renewable Energy Accelerated
Deployment Initiative for Indian Country (READI) to engage with Tribes
and inform decision makers of Tribal goals and needs regarding
renewable energy development on Indian lands. READI is underway and is
scheduled for implementation by December 2023. READI will support
listening sessions with Tribes across Indian Country to receive input
on each Tribe's vision and plan for renewable energy development and
associated needs in the Tribal community. The product of READI will be
a compilation report that decision makers may use for resource
allocation and program development. READI will host five hybrid
virtual/in- person and two virtual-only listening sessions starting on
August 21, 2023.
The Department also held two consultations with Tribes regarding
funding from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) to understand the unique
Tribal energy and electrification needs and better assist Tribes in
navigating the implementation and award process for the Bipartisan
Infrastructure Law (BIL) and the IRA. For example, the IESC has worked
with Interior's Orphaned Well Program to administer grants and
assistance to Tribes looking to remediate abandoned well sites within
their land. This program will distribute $50 million in funds for 2023
and anticipates distributing $100 million more in the next 2 years.
BIA is also coordinating with the Federal Permitting Improvement
Steering Committee (FPISC) through a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) to
transfer funds for Tribes to support permitting for FAST 41 projects to
BIA.
Question. The U.S. Indian Police Academy's Advanced Training Center
(ATC), located at Camp Grafton in North Dakota, provides specialized
advanced training for law enforcement, corrections, and dispatch
personnel of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), Federal agencies,
State law enforcement, and local law enforcement. Will you continue to
support the work of the ATC at Camp Grafton?
Answer. We fully intend to continue our role in this critical
training partnership and support the public safety needs of Indian
Country.
Question. It is important to note that Camp Grafton is also home to
the North Dakota National Guard (NDNG) and serves as the region's
premier National Guard training site. The NDNG has been extremely
supportive of this partnership and the important training being done by
BIA at Camp Grafton. In fact, the NDNG has utilized funding to
construct new dorms and remodel classrooms, not only to improve its own
training activities, but to further support BIA's training activities.
The NDNG has also been working to finalize a memorandum of agreement
(MOA) with the BIA, with the intent to lease approximately 8 acres of
land at Camp Grafton to BIA for the long-term. My understanding is that
the MOA is currently being reviewed by the Department of the Interior's
Office of the Solicitor. Will you help ensure that the MOA is reviewed
in a timely manner and that my office is informed of any decision?
Answer. Yes, we intend to keep you apprised of any legal concerns
raised regarding the lease and will work with your office to address
them as necessary.
SUBCOMMITTEE RECESS
Senator Merkley. And this hearing is adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 11:39 a.m., the hearing was adjourned.]
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, ENVIRONMENT, AND RELATED AGENCIES
APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2024
----------
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 Alliance for the Great Lakes
The Alliance for the Great Lakes is a nonpartisan nonprofit working
across the Great Lakes region to protect and restore the Great Lakes.
Founded in 1970, we have worked for 50 years on programs to ensure
public access to clean, safe and affordable drinking water; protect
water quality; stop the establishment and spread of harmful invasive
aquatic species, including invasive carp; reduce plastic pollution; and
advocate for increased drinking and wastewater infrastructure funding
and programs to ensure that water remains affordable for all Americans.
Our membership and supporters are located throughout the eight States
in the Great Lakes region and each year we mobilize more than 15,000
volunteers to take action to ensure that our shorelines and beaches are
healthy, safe and clean.
The Great Lakes are not only a national treasure but are a globally
significant resource containing 20 percent of the world's available
freshwater supply. The Lakes provide some 30 million Americans with
drinking water and are vital to communities in Illinois, Indiana,
Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. The
Great Lakes not only provide water, but they also support jobs,
commerce, agriculture, transportation, and tourism for millions of
Americans. Protecting the health of the Great Lakes is integral to the
environmental and economic health of the region.
But the Great Lakes face continued threats from the harmful legacy
of decades of pollution that threaten our communities with cancer-
causing contaminants, drinking water restrictions, and fish consumption
advisories. Action is needed at all levels of government to address
these threats, as well as emerging issues associated with climate
change. The FY 2024 Interior, Environment and Related Agencies
Appropriations bill under this subcommittee's jurisdiction funds an
array of programs and projects in the Environmental Protection Agency
and the Department of the Interior that are critical to the restoration
and protection of the Great Lakes. This written testimony highlights
just three of the programs under your consideration: the Great Lakes
Restoration Initiative and water infrastructure funding for the Clean
Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds. Although all of these
programs received investments in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs
Act of 2021, continued funding at increased and authorized levels is
necessary to deal with the significant challenges each program faces
and additional detail is provided below.
great lakes restoration initiative
The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) is an Environmental
Protection Agency funded grant program that supports State, Federal,
Tribal and local efforts to protect and restore the Great Lakes. GLRI
funding is allocated by a 16-member Federal interagency task force and
regional working group to address water quality issues associated with
pollution and legacy contaminants; habitat loss/degradation and
invasive species consistent with a 5-year action plan containing
measurable goals and objectives. Since its inception in 2010, nearly $3
billion has been provided to fund more approximately 6,000 projects
throughout the Great Lakes region.
For every $1 the GLRI invested, it is estimated that the investment
will produce more than $3 in additional economic activity regionwide
through 2036. Accordingly, the GLRI is revitalizing our waterfronts and
leading a resurgence in water-based outdoor recreation and increasing
tourism across the region.
For FY 2024, we recommend that the Committee fund this program at
$425 million. This funding level is consistent with the congressional
project reauthorization in the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Act
(Public Law 116-294, Jan. 5, 2021) which authorizes $425 million in
funding for FY 2024. In addition to supporting States, Tribes and local
communities, GLRI funding also supports US Treaty obligations under the
Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909 between the US and Canada and its Great
Lakes Water Quality Agreement.
investing in water infrastructure
Another important area under the subcommittee's jurisdiction is
funding for water infrastructure. The Environmental Protection Agency
estimates that nationwide approximately $743 billion is needed over the
next 20 years to repair, replace and upgrade water infrastructure. In
the Great Lakes alone it is estimated that the eight States need $188
billion to upgrade aging water infrastructure. Furthermore, the
Congressional Budget Office estimates that Federal funding for water
and wastewater utilities has decreased fourfold since 1980, leaving
State and local governments to pick up the tab.
Although the need for water infrastructure funding far outstrips
available annual funding levels, we encourage you to appropriate funds
for these programs at the authorized level for FY 2024 which means
$4.12 billion for the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund and $4.63
billion for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund. These funding levels
are a significant increase over funds appropriated in FY 2023 and are
necessary to allow for continued progress to address water
infrastructure funding needs and to ensure that families nationwide
have access to safe drinking water and healthy waste water services.
We appreciate the subcommittee's consideration of our views and its
work and funding support over many years for programs that protect and
restore the Great Lakes. As the source of drinking water for 30 million
Americans and as a significant driver in the regional economy of eight
States, investments in programs that protect and restore the Great
Lakes are critical to ensure the economic and environmental health of
this important resource.
[This statement was submitted by Don Jodrey, Director of Federal
Relations, The Alliance for the Great Lakes.]
______
Prepared Statement of the American Alliance of Museums
Chairman Merkley, Ranking Member Murkowski, and members of the
subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to submit this testimony.
My name is Laura L. Lott, and I am the President and CEO of the
American Alliance of Museums (AAM). We urge your support for $211
million in Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 funding for the National Endowment for
the Arts (NEA), $211 million in funding for the National Endowment for
the Humanities (NEH), as well as sufficient funding for the Smithsonian
Institution. We also request your support for the Historic Preservation
Fund, including at least $70 million for State Historic Preservation
Offices (SHPOs) and $34 million for Tribal Historic Preservation
Offices (THPOs). We support $28 million for African American Civil
Rights Grants, $13 million for Historically Black Colleges/
Universities, $7 million for Equal Rights Grants, and $5 million for
Underrepresented Community Grants. We request funding of at least $40
million for the Save America's Treasures program and $17 million for
Paul Bruhn Historic Revitalization grants. We support at least $11
million in funding for U.S. Semiquincentennial celebration grants for
the country's 250th commemoration. In light of museums being banned
from this year's Community Project Funding in the House of
Representatives, which we strongly oppose, increasing funding for
competitive grants for museums is all the more critical.
Before detailing these funding priorities for the museum field, I
want to express my appreciation for the increases enacted in FY 2023.
The additional funds for the NEH, NEA, and historic preservation
activities will enhance museums' work to enrich their communities and
preserve our many heritages. The subcommittee's choice to make these
investments in FY 2023 speaks volumes about its commitment to our
Nation's cultural institutions. While Federal relief funding has
provided critical lifelines, museums are still struggling to return to
pre-pandemic levels of support.
Representing more than 35,000 museum professionals and volunteers,
institutions-including aquariums, art museums, botanic gardens,
children's museums, cultural museums, historic sites, history museums,
maritime museums, military museums, natural history museums,
planetariums, presidential libraries, railway museums, science and
technology centers, and zoos-and corporate partners serving the museum
field, AAM stands for the broad range of the museum community.
Museums are essential community infrastructure for many reasons:
--Museums are economic engines and job creators. According to Museums
as Economic Engines: A National Report, U.S. museums (pre-
pandemic) support more than 726,000 jobs and contribute $50
billion to the U.S. economy per year. The economic activity of
museums generates more than $12 billion in tax revenue, one-
third of it going to State and local governments. For example,
the total financial impact that museums have on the economy in
the State of Oregon is $585 million, including supporting 9,740
jobs. For Alaska it is a $280 million impact supporting 3,240
jobs. This impact is not limited to cities: more than 25% of
museums are in rural areas. The import of these data is not the
numbers alone--but the larger point that museums give back
tremendously to their communities in numerous ways--including
economically. The Federal funding for NEA, NEH, and the other
programs does not stay in Washington, DC, it goes back to
communities across the Nation. And it is leveraged many times
over by private philanthropy, and State and local investments.
--Museums are key education providers. Museums spend more than $2
billion yearly on education activities; the typical museum
devotes 75% of its education budget to K-12 students, and
museums receive approximately 55 million visits each year from
students in school groups. Museums also answered the call and
significantly ramped up online educational programs and
resources for students and families throughout the pandemic.
Museums help teach the State and local curriculum in subjects
ranging from art and science to history, civics, and
government. Museums have long served as a vital resource to
homeschool learners. It is not surprising that in a public
opinion survey, 97% of respondents agreed that museums were
educational assets in their communities. The results were
statistically identical regardless of political persuasion or
community size.
--Museums are essential to rebuilding communities as we continue to
emerge from the pandemic. The pandemic has inflicted profound
damage on U.S. museums, the vast majority of which are
501(c)(3) nonprofit charitable organizations. The museum field
will take years to recover to pre-pandemic levels of staffing,
revenue, and attendance. Thanks to several Federal relief
programs, far fewer museums than initially expected are in
danger of permanent closure and tens of thousands of museum
jobs were saved. While Federal relief funding has provided
critical lifelines, museums are still struggling to return to
pre-pandemic levels of support. According to a recent survey,
67% of museums have not recovered to 100% of their pre-pandemic
attendance numbers. Of those that have not fully recovered,
attendance is down on average 30% with many citing lower
visitation from K-12 in-person field trips. Despite the
tremendous financial and psychological stress caused by the
pandemic, museum professionals demonstrated the critical role
museums play in our country's infrastructure and deepened their
social impact in their communities. Museums are essential
community infrastructure.
The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent
Federal agency created by Congress in 1965. Grants are awarded to
nonprofit educational institutions, including museums, for educational
programming, infrastructure and the care of collections. NEH supports
museums as institutions of lifelong learning and exploration, and as
keepers of our cultural, historical, and scientific heritages that can
foster critical dialogues on challenging issues.
In FY 2022, the NEH awarded 679 grants totaling more than $89.4
million to institutions across the U.S., including museums. All of
NEH's divisions and offices support museums, including the Office of
Challenge Grants which offers matching grants to support much needed
capacity building and infrastructure projects at museums. Humanities
councils in every State and U.S. territory sponsor family literacy
programs, speakers' bureaus, cultural heritage tourism, exhibitions,
and live performances. Many councils also offer grants to local
cultural organizations, including museums.
In preparation for the U.S. Semiquincentennial in 2026, NEH's new
``A More Perfect Union'' initiative provides funding opportunities
across the agency's seven grantmaking divisions for humanities projects
that promote a deeper understanding of American history and culture and
that advance civic education and knowledge of our core principles of
government. As part of the initiative, most of NEH's grant programs
include special encouragements to applications related to the United
States' 250th.
Here are just two examples of how NEH funding was used to support
museums' work in your communities:
--The High Desert Museum in Bend, Oregon, received a $187,487 award
to conduct archival work and public programming on the history
and culture of Central Oregon, focusing on the Plateau Tribes
in the region. This project will position the High Desert
Museum and Museum at Warm Springs to continue core humanities
work that is sustaining the region's Native based cultural
infrastructure. Specific activities include transforming how
the High Desert Museum structures and interprets the collection
of Plateau Indian material culture in its care and cataloguing
and digitizing the Museum at Warm Springs's collection and
archives to support K-12 curriculum. By advancing this
collaborative work, this project will have a significant and
ongoing impact on the region's cultural infrastructure.
--The Museum of the Aleutians (MOTA) in Unalaska, Alaska, was awarded
$6,213 for the purchase of eight new data loggers for the
museum's collection, including two units for traveling
collections, to allow for improved environmental monitoring.
This project will assist with the ongoing preservation of the
museum's collections, helping MOTA staff meet its mission to
collect, preserve, and share the rich cultural legacy of the
Aleutian Islands Region.
The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) 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. Annually, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) typically
provides more than 150 awards to museums and museum-related projects,
totaling approximately $5 million.
Since 2010, the NEA has collaborated with Blue Star Families and
the U.S. Department of Defense on Blue Star Museums, which provides
free museum admission to active duty military and their families all
summer long. Typically, more than 2,000 museums in all 50 States
participate, reaching approximately nearly one million military members
and their families.
The Federal role of the NEA is uniquely valuable; 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
up to nine dollars from other sources. No other funder-public or
private-funds the arts in every State and the U.S. territories. Forty
percent of NEA's grant funds are distributed to state arts agencies for
re-granting.
Here are two examples of how NEA funding was used to support
museums' work in your communities:
--The Portland Art Museum in Portland, Oregon, was awarded $20,000 to
support a professional and artistic development lab for
cinematic storytellers working in film, audio, animation, mixed
reality, and new media formats. Offering professional
mentorship and guidance on creative, financial, and career
sustainability, the program will culminate in paid
opportunities for participating artists to hold workshops and
present their projects to the area community. Program
activities will take place virtually and in person. The program
will benefit filmmakers and media artists, as well as local
audiences at exhibitions in the Portland, Oregon, area to
strengthen the Nation's cultural infrastructure.
--The Anchorage Museum in Anchorage, Alaska, was awarded $70,000 to
support a series of public programs, installations, and artist
residencies featuring sound art, sound ecology, and healing
sound. The museum will commission artists to create work that
focuses on sound, the environment and wellness. Artwork from
emerging and professional artists will be presented, with a
focus on artists from the Circumpolar North and Indigenous
artists who work on issues connected to climate change and
climate justice, as well as musicians whose work is derived
from sound ecology. The project will serve audiences of all
ages and include curriculum development for elementary,
secondary, and postsecondary students and educators.
The agency also runs the Arts & Artifacts Indemnity program, which
reduces the cost of insuring major exhibitions. Absent this program,
such exhibitions would need to be reduced in scale or abandoned. It
saves museums millions of dollars annually, at a cost of almost zero to
taxpayers.
The Smithsonian Institution comprises some of the most visited
museums in the world. The National Museum of African American History
and Culture has captivated audiences from around the globe,
underscoring the power of our National museums to educate and inspire.
We support funding increases that would allow these world-class museums
to undertake critical collections care, make needed technology
upgrades, conduct cutting edge research of every type, and increase
access for all. And we applaud the establishment of the Smithsonian
American Women's History Museum and the National Museum of the American
Latino.
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. Historic preservation programs are not only essential to
protecting our many heritages; they also serve as economic development
engines and job creators, and provide vital funding to help museums
serve their communities.
I hope that my testimony helped make it clear why these priorities
are of critical importance to the Nation and how they provide a
worthwhile return on investment to the American taxpayer. Thank you.
[This statement was submitted by Laura L. Lott on behalf of the
American Alliance of Museums.]
______
Prepared Statement of the American Circus Alliance
Summary: This written testimony is submitted on behalf of the
American Circus Alliance (ACA) to the Senate Appropriations Committee
on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies for the official record.
The ACA appreciates Congress' support for the National Endowment for
the Arts (NEA) in fiscal year (FY) 2023 and asks that the Committee
robustly fund the agency in FY 2024. The ACA joins the arts community
in requesting support of at least $211 million for the NEA in FY 2024
to support the creative arts economy and circus arts across the Nation.
Written Testimony: The American Circus Alliance is a service and
advocacy organization dedicated to circus performance and production in
the United States. The mission of the American Circus Alliance is to
unite, promote, and champion the art of American circus, its
practitioners, and those who work to support it. According to a 2022
survey of U.S. circus workers, these workers are distributed fairly
evenly across regions of the country, with the highest concentration in
the Western U.S. Circus is a vital component of the American cultural
fabric, and the ACA represents U.S. circus performance and production
for the formation of cultural policy at the National, as well as
regional and local levels.
We thank the Committee for its successful work to substantially
increase NEA funding in FY 2023 to $204 million. We request that the
Committee increase NEA funding to no less than President Biden's FY
2024 budget request of $211 million. Increasing NEA funding would have
cascading positive effects in communities across the United States and
would make the money go further leveraging public-private partnerships
built into NEA programs. This is particularly important at this time to
continue helping those involved in the creative economy to rebound from
impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Given that 40 percent of NEA's budget
is re-granted through State and regional arts agencies, the NEA expands
opportunities for Americans to participate and engage with the arts,
including circus arts, in every State and congressional district. NEA
grantmaking specifically supports rural and underserved areas that
would not otherwise have robust access to art, such as circus arts.
A small funding increase to the NEA funding level, relative to
other appropriated programs, would have an outsized effect to support
the economies and well-being of our communities. Particularly during
this time when there is pressure to make tough budgetary decisions, we
strongly urge the Committee to protect and increase NEA funding to
provide vital arts support. Investment in the NEA provides a
substantial return on investment; for every dollar spent on direct
grants, nine dollars in private and other public funds are leveraged,
generating more than $500 million in matching support. Supporting the
arts helps the economy as a whole. The creative economy represented 4.4
percent of the gross domestic product in 2021, more than $1 trillion in
total, according to a joint report from the NEA and the Bureau of
Economic Analysis.
The ACA also joins the arts community in encouraging the Committee
to build a specific path to index funding for the NEA at $1 per capita.
The Endowment is currently funded at only 62 cents per capita. Such an
increase in arts funding would help alleviate the historic Federal
underinvestment in the arts sector that results in circus artists
leaving the United States to train and create transformative art in
other countries that have more robust arts funding.
The circus arts ecosystem benefits directly from NEA funding
through Grants for Arts Projects. For example, the New England Center
for Circus Arts (NECCA) received $20,000 in support in FY 2022 an has
reached over 45,000 audience members in public, private and school
settings in rural Southern Vermont and throughout New England. Circus
company Parallel Exit received $15,000 from the NEA in FY 2023 and has
reached over 50,000 audience members and 25,000 public school students
throughout New York City. We additionally urge the NEA to add an
additional grant submission category for circus. Currently, circus
grant applications must apply through the multidisciplinary arts
category, which is defined as a combination of performing, visual,
media, design, and literary arts, which does a disservice to the
specific needs and particularities of circus arts. Circus arts are an
evolving art form of popular entertainment that synthesize physical
technical mastery with artistic expression of one or more circus
techniques recognized by professionals, including but not limited to
balancing, clowning art, equestrian art, floor acrobatics, aerial
acrobatics, variety arts and juggling. Increased NEA funding would help
the Endowment to fund more meritorious arts grants across their areas
of jurisdiction, and would increase opportunity for art forms, like
circus arts, that lack center stage attention when it comes to funding,
yet still stimulate local economies and connect communities.
Conclusion: The National Endowment for the Arts plays a critical
role in supporting development and accessibility of art to people all
across the Nation. Arts funding is vital to inspire and connect people,
and it has a powerful economic impact. On behalf of the American Circus
Alliance, thank you for your consideration of Federal funding for the
NEA at no less than $211 million for FY 2024, as well as a specific
path to index funding for this agency at $1 per capita.
[This statement was submitted by Serenity Smith Forchion, Co-
President, Mark Lonergan, Co-President, Shenea Stiletto, Advocacy
Committee Co-Chair, Eliana Perlmutter, Advocacy Committee Co-Chair,
American Circus Alliance.]
______
Prepared Statement of American Hiking Society
Chair Merkley, Ranking Member Murkowski, and members of the
subcommittee, on behalf of American Hiking Society and the millions of
trail users our 201 collective organizations represent who spend their
time, money and energy to get out on trails for recreation, health and
wellness, and to volunteer, we thank the Committee for the opportunity
to provide testimony on the importance of adequately funding our
Nation's trails and public lands to ensure access for all. We ask the
Committee to adopt the following funding requests so the Federal
Government can continue to leverage private contributions and benefit
from volunteer labor as well as provide inexpensive, healthy outdoor
recreation options for your constituents and all Americans.
Appropriations for Federal land management agencies requested herein,
coupled with the significant resources provided by non-profit partners,
serve to accelerate collective stewardship of our Nation's public lands
and waters and enhance climate adaptability.
summary of requests
Forest Service:
--Capital Improvement and Maintenance (CMTL), Trails at $24M,
including $11.957M for National Scenic and Historic Trails, and
funding for the National Forest System Trail Stewardship Trail
Partner Funding. In order to support adequate funding for all
Forest Service trails and to avoid a reduction in the existing
budget for all other Forest Service managed trails, increases
for all other Forest Service Trails should occur in parity with
the rate of increases for National Scenic and Historic Trails;
--$58.575M to fund Recreation, Heritage & Wilderness;
--At least $15M to fund Legacy Roads & Trails, with support for
Washington Watershed Restoration Initiative (WWRI) coalition
request of $100M.
Bureau of Land Management:
--Funding at $13.75M for National Trails System Line Item;
--National Conservation Lands at $78.145M, but a minimum level
funding of FY23 at $61.499M
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service:
--Refuge Visitor Services at least $86.114M
National Park Service:
--Rivers, Trails, & Conservation Assistance (RTCA) program at $15M;
--Park Service Operations for the National Trails System at a minimum
of $20.964M;
--Volunteers in Parks programs at a minimum of FY23 levels, including
dedicated funding to the National Trails System;
--Visitor Services sub-activity, Youth Partnership Programs at a
minimum of $10.95M, including an acknowledgment of the benefits
for trails;
--Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership (ORLP) Program, at a min
$135M
US Geological Survey:
--$1.5M to fully fund the National Digital Trail Project (NDTP)
forest service recommendation:
National Forest trails benefit everyone and receive increasing
public use each year. Collectively, the National Forests provide
159,000 miles of trails for activities ranging from hiking, biking,
horseback riding, off-highway vehicle usage, groomed winter trails for
cross-country skiing and snowmobiling, and access points for ``river
trails.'' Roughly 120,000 of the 159,000 miles of trails are in need of
some form of maintenance or repair.
Program: Capital Improvement and Maintenance, Trails
FY24 Funding Level Requested: $24M
FY23 Level: $20M
Department: Agriculture Agency/Account: Forest Service, Capital
Improvement and Maintenance, Trails
Report Language requested:
--In order to support adequate funding for all Forest Service trails
and to avoid a reduction in the existing budget for all other
Forest Service managed trails, increases for all other Forest
Service Trails should occur in parity with the rate of
increases for National Scenic and Historic Trails
--The committee supports continued funding for the National Forest
System Trail Stewardship Trail Partner Funding Program. Much of
the Forest Service's trail work is accomplished today by
volunteer groups and non-profit partners. The Forest Service
has a successful Trail Stewardship Partner Funding challenge
cost share program that leverages Federal funding by 3 to 5:1.
Program: Recreation, Heritage & Wilderness
FY24 Funding Level Requested: $58.575M at a minimum
FY23 Level: $55M
Department: Agriculture
Agency/Account: Forest Service, Recreation, Heritage & Wilderness
Program: Legacy Roads & Trails
FY24 Funding Level Requested: $6.39M at a minimum
FY23 Level: $6M
Department: US Department of Agriculture
Agency/Account: Forest Service, Legacy Roads & Trails
blm recommendation:
The BLM manages 13,468 miles of trails over 245 million acres -more
land than any other Federal land management agency and contains a
diversity of landscapes that often provide the public less structured
but nonetheless diverse recreational opportunities. BLM recreation
resources and visitor services support strong local economies. More
than 120 urban centers and thousands of rural towns (comprising 64
million people) are located within 25 miles of BLM lands.
Program: Bureau of Land Management National Trails System Line-Item
Funding
FY24 Funding Level Requested: $ 13.75
FY23 Level: $11M
Department: Bureau of Land Management. Agency/Account: National
Conservation Lands, National Trails
Program: National Conservation Lands
FY24 Funding Level Requested: $78.145M, but a minimum $61.499M
FY23 Level: $61.499M
Department: Bureau of Land Management Agency/Account: BLM, National
Conservation Lands
fws recommendation:
Refuge Visitor Services provides funding for trail maintenance
across FWS-managed land. Located in every U.S. state and territory, and
within an hour's drive of nearly every major U.S. city, National
Wildlife Refuges provide incredible opportunities for outdoor
recreation, including hiking, hunting, fishing, birding, boating and
nature photography across 2,500 miles of trails. More than 37,000 jobs
are reliant on refugees. Funding at a level of $93M will provide for
trail maintenance across the land and water trails, refuges, wetlands,
and hatcheries, including 11 National Scenic and Historic Trails and
forty-four National Recreation Trails.
Program: Visitor Services
FY24 Funding Level Requested: $86.114M
FY23 Level: $80.859M
Department: Department of Interior Agency/Account: Fish and Wildlife
Service, Visitor Services
nps recommendation:
National Parks, and the world-class experiences their 18,844 miles
of trails provide, are one of the most unifying forces in America.
Well-maintained trails improve the quality of visitor experiences and
enhance visitor safety.
Program: Rivers, Trails, & Conservation Assistance (RTCA)
FY24 Funding Level Requested: $15M
FY23 Level: $13M
Department: Department of Interior Agency/Account: NPS, National
Recreation and Preservation
Report Language requested: Within, National Recreation and
Preservation, $13.845M for the Rivers, Trails, & Conservation
Assistance program.
Program: National Trails System
FY24 Funding Level Requested: $20.964M
FY23 Level: $18.856M
Department: Department of Interior Agency/Account: National Park
Service, Park Service Operations
Report Language requested:
--Within, Park Service Operations, $22.18M for administration of the
National Trails System.
--National Trails System. -The Committees understand the importance
of providing adequate funding for the development and
maintenance of the National Trails System for future
generations to enjoy. The Committees urge the Service to
continue its efforts to develop National Scenic and Historic
Trails, not limited to supporting construction and maintenance
projects and volunteer coordination efforts, and to recognize
equal ``unit'' status of National Scenic Trails.
Program: Volunteers in Parks
FY24 Funding Level Requested: Maintain FY23 increase, at minimum
FY23 Level: Unknown
Department: Department of Interior Agency/Account: NPS, Park
Partnership Support Functions
Report Language requested: The committee recommends funding through
Volunteers in Parks be provided for volunteer support of the National
Trails System, National Rivers, and National Park Service trails.
Program: Youth Partnership Programs
FY24 Funding Level Requested: $10.95M
FY23 Level: Unknown
Department: Department of Interior Agency/Account: National Park
Service, Visitor Services
Bill Language requested:
Report Language requested: The committee recommends funding through the
Youth Partnership Programs be provided for support of the National
Trails System, National Rivers, and National Park Service trails.
Program: Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership
FY24 Funding Level Requested: At least $135M
FY23 Level: $125M
Department: Department of Interior Agency/Account: National Park
Service, State Conservation Grants
Report Language requested: The committee recommends funding through the
Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership Program be provided for support
of trails, including the National Trails System.
us geological survey recommendation:
Program: National Digital Trail Project
FY24 Funding Level Requested: 1.5M
FY23 Level: $1.35M
Department: U.S. Geological Survey Agency/Account: U.S. Geological
Survey, Core Science Systems
(across agencies) restore staffing for federal land managers
recommendation:
Federal land managers, including those overseeing recreation and
trails programs across NPS, USFS, BLM, and FWS sites, continue to face
staffing shortages impacting the ability to adequately manage,
maintain, and conserve the Nation's trails. Across the board land
management agency staffing needs to be increased in order to support
all aspects of trail management and maintenance, including volunteer
engagement and partnerships, land acquisition, on the ground
maintenance of trails systems that are desperately in need of attention
to reduce maintenance backlogs, ensure that trails are safe and
accessible, and address current and anticipated high levels of public
use.
[This statement was submitted by Tyler Ray, Senior Director for
Programs and Advocacy, American Hiking Society.]
______
Prepared Statement of the American Institute of Biological Sciences
The American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS) appreciates
the opportunity to provide testimony in support of appropriations for
the Smithsonian Institution, United States Geological Survey (USGS),
United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), and Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) for fiscal year (FY) 2024. We encourage
Congress to provide additional funding to the Smithsonian Institution
in FY 2024, including at least $60 million to the National Museum of
Natural History with new funding to support scientific and curatorial
work. We urge Congress to provide the USGS with $1.85 billion in FY
2024, with at least $395 million for its Ecosystems Mission Area. We
further request that Science Applications (previously named Science
Support) within USFWS be provided at least $55.5 million in FY 2024.
Lastly, we request that Congress provide EPA Science and Technology
with at least $967.8 million in FY 2024.
The unprecedented loss of biological diversity and the associated
negative impacts on human health and well-being are of significant
concern. As human population grows and people increasingly come into
contact with new environments and species migrating into new habitats,
the risk of new diseases, such as zoonotic pandemics, is of growing
concern. Biological diversity, however, offers a buffer against the
spread of pathogens and contributes to environmental sustainability and
increases our resilience to natural disasters. Robust Federal
investments in scientific research and monitoring that improves our
understanding of biological diversity and ecosystem function must be a
priority as we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic. The agencies funded
by this appropriations bill are centrally involved in conducting,
supporting, and using this scientific research for public benefit.
AIBS is a scientific association dedicated to promoting the use of
science to inform decision-making that advances the biological sciences
for the benefit of science and society. AIBS works to ensure that the
public, legislators, funders, and the community of biologists have
access to information to guide informed decision-making.
smithsonian institution
Scientific collections and the professionals and scientists who
collect, care for, and study these resources are a vital component of
our Nation's research infrastructure and bioeconomy. Collections are a
critical resource for advancing the knowledge needed to address current
global challenges such as climate change, biodiversity loss, and
pandemics.
The Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History
(NMNH) is a valuable Federal partner in the curation of and research on
scientific specimens. Scientists at the NMNH care for 146 million
scientific specimens and ensure the strategic growth of this
internationally recognized scientific research institution. To increase
the availability of these scientific resources to researchers,
educators, other Federal agencies, and the public, NMNH is working on a
multi-year effort to digitize its collections and make the data
available online. That effort will substantially increase the use of
these collections by researchers, educators and students, and
policymakers. NMNH is also working to strengthen curatorial and
research staffing and to backfill positions left open by retirements
and budget constraints. The current staffing level is insufficient to
provide optimal care for the collections. Future curatorial and
collections management staffing levels may be further jeopardized given
prior funding cuts at science agencies, such as the USGS that, until
recently, supported staff positions at NMNH.
The budget for NMNH has not seen adequate increases in recent
years. We urge Congress to provide NMNH with at least $60 million in FY
2024 to allow the museum to undertake critical collections care, make
needed technology upgrades, and conduct cutting edge research.
u.s. geological survey
The USGS provides unbiased, independent research, data, and
assessments that are needed by public and private sector decision-
makers. Data generated by the USGS save taxpayers money by enabling
more effective management of water and biological resources and
providing essential geospatial information that is needed for
commercial activity and natural resource management. The data collected
by the USGS are simply not available from other sources.
The Ecosystems Mission Area is the biological research arm of USGS
and is integral to the agency's other science mission areas. It
provides the science needed to achieve sustainable management and
conservation of natural resources and inform land and water
stewardship. The USGS conducts research on and monitors fish, wildlife,
and vegetation-data that informs management decisions by other Interior
bureaus. Biological science programs collect and analyze long-term data
not available from other agencies, universities, or the private sector.
The knowledge generated by the USGS are used by Federal and State
natural resource managers to maintain healthy and diverse ecosystems
while balancing the needs of public use.
Examples of successful USGS Ecosystem initiatives include:
--Development of comprehensive geospatial data products that
characterize the risk of wildfires on all lands in the United
States. These products are used to allocate firefighting
resources and to plan wildfire fuel reduction projects.
--Development and evaluation of control measures and other management
interventions for invasive species, such as Asian carp and sea
lamprey, that cause billions of dollars in economic losses to
fisheries, hydropower, recreation, and many other industries.
--Development of the scientific understanding needed to combat the
spread of avian flu, white-nose syndrome, and other diseases
spread by wildlife in North America, including diseases that
can jump from wild populations to livestock, agricultural
systems, and humans.
The USGS also supports critical science needed to respond to a
number of national and global challenges. Examples of the important
work conducted by the USGS include:
--The National and Regional Climate Adaptation Science Centers. This
program is responsible for developing the science and tools to
address the effects of climate change on land, water, wildlife,
fish, ecosystems, and communities. These centers play a vital
role in addressing the impacts of unique weather patterns on
ecosystem health across the country.
--The National Wildlife Health Center. This USGS-wide program
investigates national and international wildlife health issues,
including the spread of zoonotic pathogens, such as the virus
that causes COVID-19. Zoonoses-diseases that spread from
wildlife to humans-can pose serious threats to human health and
cause significant disruptions to the economy.
--Cooperative Research Units (CRUs). CRUs are located on 40
university campuses in 38 States. These research centers are a
cost-effective way for USGS to leverage research and technical
expertise affiliated with these universities to conduct
actionable research, provide technical assistance, and develop
scientific workforces through graduate education and mentoring
programs.
--Environmental Health Research. The Toxic Substances Hydrology and
Contaminant Biology programs work collaboratively with other
USGS Mission Areas, and with many external collaborators to
study environmental contaminants and pathogens in the
environment and provide the critical science needed to help
Federal, State, and local government agencies, the private
sector, non-governmental organizations, and other stakeholder
groups protect fish and wildlife health.
--Research on ecosystems of concern. This research is a critical
component of efforts to restore and manage important national
resources, such as the Everglades and the Chesapeake Bay. The
Changing Arctic Ecosystems initiative conducts research on
wildlife and habitat responses to ecosystem change in the
Arctic to inform land and species management decisions and
address the needs of Arctic residents, including Native
communities.
In summary, the USGS is uniquely positioned to provide a scientific
context for many of the Nation's biological and environmental
challenges, including pandemics, water quality and use, energy
independence, and conservation of biodiversity. This array of research
expertise not only serves the core missions of the Department of the
Interior, but also contributes to management decisions made by other
agencies and private sector organizations. USGS science also enables
cost-effective decisions, as the agency's activities help to identify
the most efficient management actions. Increased investments in these
important research activities will yield dividends.
We urge Congress to provide significant funding increases to the
Ecosystems Mission Area. In recent years, the budget for USGS has
stagnated. Failure to make critical investments in the research
conducted by the agency will hamper long-term data collection
initiatives, lead to critical data loss, and undermine the Nation's
ability to address national challenges.
We request that Congress fund USGS at $1.85 billion in FY 2024,
with at least $395 million for the Ecosystems mission area.
u.s. fish and wildlife service
The Science Support program within USFWS provides scientific
information needed by the agency, such as research on conservation of
priority species prior to Endangered Species Act listing, the impacts
of energy production on wildlife, and best management practices for
combating invasive species, and needs to be robustly funded. In FY
2023, Science Support was merged with the Cooperative Landscape
Conservation activity and renamed Science Applications to support
science partnerships with States, Tribes, industry, local communities,
and other stakeholders. The enacted funding for Science Applications in
FY 2023, however, was lower than the combined FY 2022 funding for its
two activities.
We request that Science Applications be provided at least $55.5
million in FY 2024, as requested by the Administration, with robust
funding for activities previously under Science Support.
environmental protection agency
Funding for EPA Science and Technology supports valuable research
that identifies and mitigates environmental problems. EPA research
informs decisions made by public health and safety managers, natural
resource managers, businesses, and other stakeholders concerned about
air and water pollution, human health, and land management and
restoration. This program provides the scientific basis upon which EPA
monitoring and enforcement programs are built.
Despite the important role of EPA Science and Technology in the
Federal Government's ability to ensure that people have clean air and
water, funding for its programs in recent years has remained
significantly lower than the level enacted in FY 2010. Although
President Biden proposed to increase EPA's Science and Technology
budget by 15 percent in FY 2023, Congress provided only a 7 percent
increase. Strong increases in funding are needed for programs such as
the Science to Achieve Results (STAR) Research Grants Program, which
supports extramural research that advances EPA's mission to protect
human health and the environment, and the Global Change Research
program, which develops scientific information that allows policy
makers, stakeholders, and society to respond to climate change.
Please provide at least $967.8 million in FY 2024 to support
scientific research at the EPA. This much needed increase will allow
the agency to provide resources for efforts to protect and restore our
Nation's natural resources.
conclusion
We urge Congress to sustain its bipartisan support for science by
investing in our Nation's scientific capacity. Thank you for your
thoughtful consideration of this request.
[This statement was submitted by Jyotsna Pandey, Ph.D., Public
Policy Director, American Institute of Biological Sciences.]
______
Prepared Statement of the American Lung Association
summary of fy 2024 appropriations recommendations
EPA topline--12 billion
Clean Air Program overall--$915.5 million
Climate Protection Program--$181.2 million
Categorical Grants: State and Local Air Quality Management--$500
million
Categorical Grants: Tribal Air Quality Management--$57.4 million
Compliance Monitoring--$162.1 million
Enforcement--$391.4 million
Environmental Justice--$369.1 million
Diesel Emissions Reduction Grant Program--$150 million
EPA Radon Program--$5 million
Categorical Grant: Radon--$18 million
Thank you for the opportunity to provide written testimony to
highlight the funding priorities of the American Lung Association
within the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for fiscal year 2024
(FY24). 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. Between the toll of
lung cancer, the prevalence of asthma and the harms of unhealthy air,
investments in the Nation's lung health are critical. We urge the
Committee to support $12 billion in funding for the Environmental
Protection Agency.
EPA programs play an important role in efforts to improve lung
health and save lives. The Agency is responsible for setting and
enforcing national air pollution standards, supporting air quality
monitoring and pollution reduction efforts and educating the public
about air toxics and air pollution. With the passage of clean air and
climate investments in 2022, EPA is also responsible for administering
millions of dollars in grant programs to States, localities, Tribes and
other entities to reduce pollution and improve health. Air pollution
poses a threat to the health of all Americans, but some individuals are
at heightened risk of health harms from breathing polluted air. There
are nearly 34.1 million Americans living with a chronic lung disease
like asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Children,
seniors, individuals who are pregnant and people who work and play
outside are also more likely to suffer health harms. Additionally,
people of color and with low incomes often face a greater risk of
exposure to air pollution. The Lung Association's 2023 ``State of the
Air'' report found that 64 million people of color and 14.6 million
people with incomes meeting the Federal poverty definition live in
counties that received a failing grade for ozone and/or particle
pollution.\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ The American Lung Association. State of the Air, April 2023
https://www.lung.org/sota
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Provide $915.5 million for EPA's Clean Air Program. We strongly
support robust funding for EPA in FY24 to ensure continued pollution
cleanup. Funds under EPA's Clean Air Program are used in part to assist
States, Tribes and local air pollution control agencies with
implementing comprehensive air quality management programs to meet the
National air quality standards. This program also includes testing and
oversight to ensure vehicles are emitting lawful amounts of pollution
into the air as well as efforts to reduce carbon pollution, methane,
and other climate pollutants to protect public health from the impacts
of climate change. Please provide $694.6 million for Environmental
Programs and Management and $220.9 million for Science and Technology.
Within this program area, the Lung Association specifically requests
$181.2 million for the Climate Protection Program across Environmental
Programs and Management and Science and Technology.
Provide $500 million for State and Local Air Quality Monitoring
Grants and $57.4 million for Tribal Air Quality Monitoring Grants.
Accurately monitoring the air we breathe is the first step to
addressing air pollution. Unfortunately, State, local and Tribal air
agencies--who run most of the Nation's air quality monitoring system--
continue to face budget shortfalls and many areas are operating with
out-of-date monitors. Grant dollars provided under Section 103 and 105
of the Clean Air Act help fund air quality monitoring work, which
informs the public of risks to their health and identifies areas in
need of cleanup. Funds included under the American Rescue Plan and the
Inflation Reduction Act were necessary to make some progress after
years of underfunding, but are not a replacement for regular and
dependable funding through the regular appropriations process so that
air agencies can plan for multi-year, sustained investments in air
monitoring. Both the National Association of Clean Air Agencies and the
National Tribal Air Association conducted baseline needs assessments of
their members to determine what would be needed to successfully
implement programs under current and anticipated Federal requirements.
The results showed that air agencies need increases if they are to
adequately protect health by monitoring air pollution levels.\2\ \3\
Please provide $500 million for State and Local Air Quality Management
Categorical Grants and $57.4 million for Tribal Air Quality Management
Categorical Grants.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ National Association of Clean Air Agencies Recommendations for
FY 2024 Federal Grant Funding for State and Local Clean Air Agencies,
October 2022 https://www.4cleanair.org/wp-content/uploads/NACAA-FY-
2024-Grant-Recommendations-adopted.pdf
\3\ National Tribal Air Association. Tribal Air Quality Priorities
and the Resources to Address those Priorities: Key Findings of the
National Baseline Needs Assessment Among American Indian and Alaska
Native Communities, May 2022 https://www.ntaatribalair.org/wp-content/
uploads/2022/06/5.5.22-NTAA-Baseline-Needs-Assessment-Key-Findings.pdf
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Provide $162.1 million for Compliance Monitoring, $391.4 million
for enforcement and $369.1 million for environmental justice efforts.
Compliance with EPA's air quality rules must be enforced to truly
achieve the rules' intended health benefits. Investment in EPA's
enforcement work is critical to ensure the public is protected from
dangerous air pollution as the law requires. EPA must 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. Additionally, air
pollution does not impact everyone equally. The Administration has
tasked EPA with prioritizing righting environmental injustices. To do
so effectively, EPA needs dedicated funding for environmental justice.
Please provide $162.1 million for compliance monitoring, $391.4 million
for enforcement and $369.1 million dedicated for achieving
environmental justice commitments.
Provide $150 million for the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act and
Support the Clean School Bus Program. The Diesel Emissions Reduction
Act (DERA) Program continues to receive bipartisan support. While
progress has been made, millions of old, dirty diesel engines are still
polluting communities and causing lung cancer. According to a 2022 EPA
report, the Committee's continued investments in this program prove
cost-effective, with monetized health benefits estimated to exceed
Federal funding by a factor of 10. We urge the Committee to appropriate
$150 million in FY24. Additionally, we urge the Committee to continue
supporting the rapid transition to zero emission school buses through
the Clean School Bus Program. The program has proven very popular, with
around 2,000 applications for the first round of rebate funding.
Millions of children ride a bus to school, exposing them to pollution
from these dirty diesel engines. Investing in the transition to zero-
emission electric school buses will provide a safer, healthier
environment for children, who are among those most at risk of health
harm from breathing in pollution.
Provide $5 million for EPA's Radon Program and $18 million for
State Indoor Radon Grants. Radon is an odorless, colorless gas that
seeps through the ground as it shifts and is the second leading cause
of lung cancer in the United States. EPA's radon program and its State
Indoor Radon Grants are the only nationwide tools that help prevent
exposure to radon. States and Tribes depend on these programs to
educate the public and fight this deadly carcinogen. We recommend $5
million for EPA's Radon Program and $18 million for the State Indoor
Radon Grants. Additionally, we recommend that the Agency prioritize
SIRG funding to States are seeking to adopt or strengthen certification
requirements for radon measurement and mitigation workers.
Oppose all policy riders. Lastly, the American Lung Association
also asks for your leadership in opposing all policy riders that would
weaken key lung health protections, including those in the Clean Air
Act. Policy riders have no place in appropriations bills, and the Lung
Association strongly opposes attempts to include them, especially
riders that would make it harder to protect Americans from air
pollution.
Investments in EPA programs are critical to protecting public
health. On behalf of the Lung Association, I thank you for your
consideration of these requests.
Sincerely,
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Harold P. Wimmer,
President and CEO
______
Prepared Statement of American Nuclear Society
On behalf of the 10,000 men and women of the American Nuclear
Society\1\ (ANS), I am pleased to provide a recommendation for
consideration in the subcommittee's FY2024 appropriations bill. The
American nuclear community is grateful to the subcommittee for its
continued support of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA)
programs related to nuclear safety issues.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ The American Nuclear Society is the premier organization for
those who embrace nuclear science and technology for their vital
contributions to improving people's lives and preserving the planet.
ANS membership is open to all and consists of individuals from all
walks of life; including engineers, doctors, students, educators,
scientists, soldiers, advocates, government employees, and others. ANS
is committed to advancing, fostering, and promoting the development and
application of nuclear sciences and technologies to benefit society.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
For thirty years, the EPA's generic regulation for geologic
disposal of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste (HLW)
has not undergone a significant revision. The regulation is
inconsistent with international approaches for repository public health
and safety standards. Modern regulations in other countries focus on
limiting radiation dose to individuals near a repository rather than
attempting to protect the entire world's population through a set of
radionuclide release limits. The nexus between the release limits in
the current regulation and public health and safety is not readily
apparent; as a result, the current regulation is ill-suited for
instilling public confidence in effective regulatory oversight of a
potential geologic repository.
As a practical matter, if EPA began work tomorrow it would be years
before an updated generic repository regulation would be available. The
nuclear power industry has stored spent nuclear fuel safety and
securely at reactor sites for more than half of a century, and Nuclear
Regulatory Commission analyses demonstrate that storage can continue
indefinitely, but that is not a responsible approach for HLW
management. The Federal Government has a statutory and contractual
responsibility to manage and dispose of HLW, but its program has been
at a standstill for more than a decade. Whatever approach Congress
ultimately decides to pursue for HLW disposal, an updated generic
repository regulation will be needed, and one can be developed without
prejudicing any particular course of action. Moreover, it's also worth
mentioning that any proposed geological repository site will need an
appropriate regulatory standard early in the process to support
interactions with nearby communities on the topic of long-term safety.
The bipartisan recognition of the need for advanced nuclear in
Congress and the Administration in recent years should amplify the
importance of starting work on an updated generic repository regulation
as soon as possible. With several federally backed advanced nuclear
power projects set to come online in the 2030 timeframe, the time is
now to begin tackling the question, ``what about the waste?'' Sending a
small signal to the American people that Washington is moving in a
positive direction on HLW management to coincide with our countries
advanced nuclear aspirations would be extremely beneficial.
Therefore, we recommend the subcommittee include $2 million in FY24
for the EPA to begin work on an updated generic repository standard for
HLW.
[This statement was submitted by Craig H. Piercy, Executive
Director/CEO.]
______
Prepared Statement of the American Psychological Association
The American Psychological Association (APA) is the Nation's
largest scientific and professional nonprofit organization representing
the discipline and profession of psychology. APA has more than 146,000
members and affiliates who are clinicians, researchers, educators,
consultants, and students. Through the application of psychological
science and practice, our association's mission is to make a positive
impact on critical societal issues across the States.
Many programs funded in the Interior, Environment, and Related
Agencies bill provide essential support for our Nation's public health
programs by helping to provide critical access to essential mental and
behavioral health services to American Indians and Alaska Natives.
APA urges Congress to provide the following funding levels.
the indian health service
APA Services urges Congress to provide at least $9.7 billion for
the Indian Health Service (IHS). The IHS is currently funded at $7.1
billion. The IHS provides Federal health services to American Indians
and Alaska Natives (AI/AN). As the main Federal health care provider
for AI/AN people, its main goal is to improve their health care to the
highest extent possible. The agency provides a health service delivery
system for approximately 2.6 million American Indians and Alaska
Natives who belong to the 574 federally recognized Tribes.\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Indian Health Service, (October 2019). Indian Health
Disparities. Retrieved from: https://www.ihs.gov/newsroom/factsheets/
disparities/.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Increased funding is essential for the IHS since this population
has a lower life expectancy of approximately 5.5 years less than the
U.S. all races population and often has a disproportionate disease
burden compared to other populations.\2\ For example, American Indians
and Alaska Natives die at higher rates than other Americans due to
intentional self-harm/suicide, chronic liver disease and cirrhosis,
diabetes, unintentional injuries, and assault/homicide.\3\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ Ibid.
\3\ Ibid.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
COVID-19 also highlighted how AI/AN communities were especially
vulnerable to COVID-19, partly due to the long-term inequalities, high
rates of poverty, and high rates of underlying medical conditions
within these communities. Now more than ever, it is essential that
Congress continue to address the needs of the most vulnerable. If more
resources are not provided, the substantial number of existing health
needs for AI/AN will become even greater.
To effectively provide essential health care services, the APA
requests that Congress fund the IHS at $9.7 billion for FY 2024.
mental health
Within the Indian Health Services, APA Services recommends $164
million be allocated to mental health services. This program is
currently funded at $127.2 million. AI/AN communities often lack access
to adequate health care, including behavioral health. Particularly
striking are the suicide rates among adolescents and young adults in
these communities. Suicide rates for AI/AN individuals between the age
of 15 to 24 years old were 39.7 per 100,000, compared with the overall
U.S. rate of 9.9 per 100,000. This rate is more than three and half
times the suicide rates for males of all races in the age group. The
suicide rate for AI/AN females in the same age group was lower than
males at 20.2. per 100,000. However, this rate was still nearly six
times the rate for females of all races.\4\ Furthermore, during 2015-
2020, 3,397 suicides among AI/AN individuals and 179,850 suicides among
non AI/AN were reported. About three quarters (74.6%) of AI/AN suicide
decedents were under the age of 44, compared to less than half (46.5%)
of non AI/AN decedents.\5\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\4\ U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse
and Mental Health Services Administration, (2017). Suicide Clusters
within American Indian and Alaska Native Communities: A review of the
literature and recommendations. HHS Publication No. SMA17-5050.
Rockville, MD. Retrieved from: https://store.samhsa.gov/sites/default/
files/d7/priv/sma17-5050.pdf.
\5\ Stone, D., Trinh E., Zhou, H., Welder, L., End of Horn, P.,
Fowler, K., Ivey-Stephenson, A., (September 2022). Suicides Among
American Indian or Alaska Native Persons- National Violent Death
Reporting System, United States 2015-2020. Morbidity and Mortality
Weekly Report 2022; 71:1161-1168. Retrieved from: https://www.cdc.gov/
mmwr/volumes/71/wr/mm7137a1.htm.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Given the prevalent mental health concerns following COVID-19,
mental health resources are even more critical now for all communities,
especially those that have extensive histories of high rates of mental
health concerns, such as American Indians and Alaska Natives.
Therefore, APA requests that Congress provide $164 million for
mental health services for the IHS to address the mental health needs
of this community adequately.
alcohol and substance abuse
Within the IHS, APA Services requests at least $309 million be
allocated to alcohol and substance abuse programs. This program is
currently funded at $266.4 million. High rates of alcohol and substance
abuse in AI/AN communities are well documented.\6\ This serious
behavioral health issue has a strong impact on the health of
individuals and families. AI/AN communities are much more likely to
report past-year alcohol and substance use disorders than any other
race.\7\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\6\ Indian Health Service, (October 2016). Behavioral Health.
Retrieved from: https://www.ihs.gov/sites/newsroom/themes/
responsive2017/display_objects/documents/factsheets/
BehavioralHealth.pdf.
\7\ Ibid.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
This population is also more likely to require alcohol use
treatment than persons of any other ethnic group, with 1 in 10 in need
of such treatment.\8\ These programs can be extremely helpful for
individuals struggling with alcohol addiction. However, there is often
a lack of availability of culturally sensitive treatment programs.\9\
The IHS is especially positioned to ensure such programs contain these
culturally sensitive components in the treatment plans.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\8\ American Addiction Centers. (April, 2021). Risk of Alcoholism
Among Native Americans. Retrieved from: https://
americanaddictioncenters.org/alcoholism-treatment/native-americans.
\9\ Ibid.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
For these reasons, APA requests at least $309 million for alcohol
and substance abuse programs within the IHS.
indian health professions
Within the IHS, APA Services requests $94 million for the Indian
Health Professions account. This program is currently funded at $80.6
million. We emphasize the importance of having psychologists who are
aware of the cultural sensitivities of this community and can best
address this community's needs. The Indian Health Professions account
includes the American Indians Into Psychology Program (INPSYC). The
program's primary goals are to increase the number of AI/AN with
doctoral degrees in psychology and enhance the cross-cultural
understanding and competence of non-AI/AN about AI/AN psychology.
Together, these aims will help ensure the development and maintenance
of AI/AN psychology career recruitment programs to encourage AI/AN to
enter the field of psychology.
More specifically, the program recruits and trains individuals to
be psychologists. It also provides scholarships to individuals enrolled
in schools of clinical psychology to pay tuition, books, fees, and
stipends for living expenses. Additionally, the program seeks to engage
directly with Tribal communities to provide greater exposure to the
field of psychology. Finally, the program provides stipends to
undergraduate and graduate students pursuing careers in psychology and
training opportunities for psychology graduate students in Tribal
communities.\10\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\10\ Indian Health Service. American Indians Into Psychology
Program. Retrieved from: https://www.ihs.gov/dhps/dhpsgrants/
americanindianpsychologyprogram/.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
With the higher rates of suicide and other mental health concerns
for this community, APA values the importance of increasing the number
of AI/AN psychologists.
For these reasons, APA recommends $94 million for the Indian Health
Professions Account.
[This statement was submitted by Katherine B. McGuire, Chief
Advocacy Officer.]
______
Prepared Statement of American Rivers
My name is Tom Kiernan, I am the President and CEO of American
Rivers. Since 1973, American Rivers has protected wild rivers, restored
damaged rivers, and conserved clean water for people and nature. With
headquarters in Washington, D.C. and 355,000 supporters, members, and
volunteers across the country, we are the most trusted and influential
river conservation organization in the United States, delivering
solutions for a better future. On behalf of AR, I would like to thank
Chairman Jeff Merkley, Ranking Member Lisa Murkowski, and Members of
the subcommittee for your leadership to reduce pollution in rivers,
improve clean water access, safeguard public drinking water supplies.
American Rivers is pleased to submit our full requests (see the
full River Budget here and below) as part of the written testimony for
the record. We address Department of Interior and Environmental
Protection Agency programs among others. Today, rivers across the
country face daunting challenges on the road to recovery. From algal
bloom in the Great Lakes to water scarcity in the Southwest, we must
use every tool at our disposal to ensure heathy rivers have a fighting
chance to bounce back. Our water supplies are at risk if we fail to
fund these key programs that enhance our ability to improve river
health and grow our economy. These topline figures are backed by our
River Budget Partners, a partner network of over 150 partner
organizations including utility and state agency associations, fishing
groups, small businesses, rural communities, public health
organizations, environmental justice leaders, and more. We respectfully
request the following:
bureau of land management
--$7.5 million for the Wild and Scenic Rivers Program
--$51 million for the Threaten and Endangered Species (T&E) Program
environmental protection agency
--$7.6 billion each for the Clean Water and Drinking Water State
Revolving Funds at U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
--$225 million for the Low Income Household Water Assistance Program
at EPA
--$280 million for the Sewer Overflow and Stormwater Reuse Municipal
Grants Program
--$425 million for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative
--$92 million for the Chesapeake Bay Program
--$50 million for the Indian Reservation Drinking Water Program
--$200 million for the National Non-Point Source Management Program
--$54 million for the Puget Sound Program
--$100 million for the Reducing Lead in Drinking Water
--$80 million for the Small & Disadvantaged Communities Drinking
Water
--$80.3 million for the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation
Fund
--$255 million for the Water Pollution Control (Sec. 106) Grant
Program
--$20 million for the Wetlands Program Development Grants
forest service
--$24.7 million for the Threaten, Endangered, and Sensitive Species
(T&E) Program
--$100 million for the Legacy Roads and Trails (LRT) Program
fish and wildlife service
--$10 million for the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation
--$7.6 million for the National Fish Habitat Action Plan
--$30 million for the National Fish Passage Program at U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service
--$8 million for the National Wetlands Inventory
--$600 million for the National Wildlife Refuge System
--$50 million for the North American Wetlands Conservation Fund
--$100 million for the Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program at
USFWS.
indian health service
--$250 million for Sanitation Facilities Construction
national park service
--$5.5 million for the Partnership for Wild and Scenic Rivers Program
--$15 million for Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance
u.s. geological survey
--$150 million for the Groundwater and Streamflow Information Program
--$100 million for the National Water Quality Program
impact of cuts to critical programs have consequences
We urge Congress to support robust and comprehensive funding for
critical river health programs. Any reductions or cuts on a significant
scale as proposed by the House would have damaging and detrimental
impacts to our Nation's river systems and communities. In the arid
Southwest region, which currently is experiencing severe drought, deep
reductions to DOI and EPA programs undermines our ability to increase
water supply and finance resilience projects in the Colorado River
Basin, make drought preparedness and response effective across the
West, and limits funding for dam and reservoir operations, and
enhancements.
The impact will be severe to underserved communities if the House
proposal is enacted. Shrinking and smaller budgets in FY24 would
greatly reduce the support for Tribal Nations--these communities have
historically been underfunded and struggle keep their communities safe
from natural disasters or fight climate change without the resources
and technical assistance needed on the ground. Furthermore, these cuts
can disrupt access to our National Parks including the National Wild
and Scenic Rivers System which protects more than 13,000 miles of 226
rivers in 41 States and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
Reductions mean rolling back meaningful progress and hampering
efforts to restore and protect water bodies of national significance.
Key geographic programs under EPA like those focused on the Gulf of
Mexico, San Francisco Bay, Chesapeake Bay, Puget Sound, and the Great
Lakes to name a few, if cut, can delay, slow, or stop economic activity
and growth brought by tourism, hunting, fishing, and other recreational
opportunities each region supports. In fact, outdoor recreation
contributed $454 billion to the Nation's gross domestic product (GDP)--
roughly two percent which three times the size of oil and gas
development and twice the size of motor vehicle manufacturing and air
transportation. This is not the time to jeopardize jobs in river
restoration and the water workforce. As you write the next
appropriations bill, we ask that you make robust investments to these
river health programs.
water infrastructure requires significant and sustained investments
Millions of Americans lack access to clean water. Decades of
inadequate or insufficient funding has deferred maintenance to key
projects and has pushed the Nation's water infrastructure to the brink
of collapse. In February of this year, a train loaded with toxic
chemicals derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, igniting a fire and forcing
the release of vinyl chloride, a known carcinogen, into the atmosphere.
This accident caused economic disruptions and killed thousands of fish
in nearby streams and triggered concerns over the resident's surface,
ground, and well water.
In September 2022, residents of Jackson, Mississippi were without
clean drinking water after heavy rain caused a major pump at the city's
main water treatment facility to fail. A boil water advisory issued
then is still in effect in certain parts of Jackson today. Across the
country we are seeing aging stormwater and wastewater systems, and
deteriorating sewer pipes. In West Baltimore, E. coli bacteria
contaminated the water, a crisis again that blamed aging water
treatment infrastructure. Aging water infrastructure is a serious
threat to water quality. Congress must do more to fund our vital water
systems to protect public health.
Overwhelmingly, 95% of Americans think protecting water in our
Nation's lakes, streams, and rivers is important. But the House's
proposed budget fails to fully or appropriately address the dire need
to make significant and sustained investments possible in water
infrastructure.
support additional funding to remove barriers for fish migration
Barrier removal projects bring life back to degraded rivers.
Projects can provide fish passage, improve water quality, restore
habitat, eliminate the release of the methane (a powerful greenhouse
gas) from stagnant water, and reduce the production of cyanobacteria
and harmful algae. But barrier removal benefits extend beyond fish and
other aquatic species. Many projects provide a measure of Tribal
justice as many dams were built without adequate consideration of
Tribal culture and food sources. In addition, roughly 70% of the more
than 91,000 dams in the country are reaching their design lives and
dangerous dam failures are becoming more common. In addition, more than
1,400 people have died in the dangerous flow patterns that develop
downstream of low head dams. Funding priorities set by Congress must
work to reduce the drowning deaths at low head dam sites.
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) has highlighted a
tremendous need for assistance with barrier removal projects. Despite a
significant investment of Federal dollars, resource agencies have
received more proposals than can be funded. Along with a growing number
of barrier removal projects completed over the last two decades, the
IIJA response demonstrates the need for increased long-term sustainable
funding for projects. It also demonstrates a need for increased U.S.
Fish & Wildlife Service staff to administer grants, provide technical
assistance, and provide regulatory review to make these projects
possible.
increase federal funding and technical assistance to protect free-
flowing rivers
There is also a need for technical assistance funding to be
distributed to the Tribes and non-profit organizations who develop
projects, provide technical assistance, and manage projects to take
them from inception to completion.
As one example, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians are working
together with American Rivers and Mainspring Conservation Trust, to
remove the Ela Dam from the Oconaluftee River in Whittier, North
Carolina. For nearly 100 years, the dam has fragmented the river and
prevented an important Tribal food source, the Sicklefin Redhorse, from
moving into Tribal territory. If funded, the land around the dam will
be transferred to the tribe. Removing the Ela dam has many benefits,
including the advancement of environmental justice for the Cherokee
people, biodiversity protection and restoration of declining species,
and climate change adaptation. The project will proceed with the full
consent of the dam owner if the project is fully funded. The project
team submitted a $10 million request to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife
Service National Fish Passage Program and is awaiting a response for
the funding and the agency's technical assistance.
enhance wild and scenic river protections
The upcoming planning processes, especially across National Forests
and Bureau of Land Management planning areas, offer an opportunity for
the agencies to come into compliance with planning requirements, but
adequate resources, staff and training rivers must be provided. The
number of staff dedicated to Wild and Scenic Rivers at all levels
(especially the field level) has declined dramatically over the past 25
years leaving the agencies understaffed and often unable to meet
statutory requirements.
The areas of largest need to meet statutory and administrative
requirements are:
--Increased field presence to assure active management for designated
and eligible rivers;
--Increased field presence to assure proper planning during Resource
Management Planning as required by the Wild and Scenic Rivers
Act and under planning guidelines;
--Wild and Scenic Rivers management and planning training for field
staff;
--Development of active public-private partnerships for Forest
Service Wild and Scenic Rivers;
--Support for participation in the Federal Interagency Wild and
Scenic Rivers Coordinating Council.
Along with adequate funding we encourage you to institute
transparency and accountability by creating a sub-category line items
for the Wild and Scenic Rivers programs within the Forest Service,
Bureau of Land Management, and National Park Service's budgets to
better track performance. Currently, it is challenging to determine
from any readily-accessible public or internal document the annual
funding expenditures for Wild and Scenic Rivers within these agencies
larger budget category. Without true accountability it is difficult to
measure results and to apply limited resources appropriately to meet
the agencies' statutory mandates.
conclusion
We need continued and sustained water infrastructure investments to
address severe drought, and dwindling clean water supplies. Congress
can ensure that our rivers and our communities not only survive, but
thrive. In FY24, we ask that you support these funding priorities and
exclude any anti-river policy provisions from the appropriation process
because our lives depend on the health of our rivers. Thank you very
much for this opportunity to provide testimony. For additional
information, please contact Jaime D. Sigaran
(jsigaran@americanrivers.org) or Ted Illston
(tillston@americanrivers.org) of America Rivers.
[This statement was submitted by Tom Kiernan, President and CEO,
American Rivers.]
______
Prepared Statement of American Rivers
river budget: national priorities for heathy rivers and clean water
(fy24)
Water flowing in our streams, rivers, and creeks is a precious
resource: It comprises two-thirds of our drinking water and is critical
to the health of our communities. Rivers also serve as critical
habitats for fish and wildlife. Plus, rivers sustain our economies,
connect our communities to nature, and buffer our cities and towns
against the worst impacts of climate change. Tragically, many rivers
nationwide are polluted, dammed, and degraded, and most of the Nation's
water infrastructure is in a State of disrepair. With recent
investments from the bipartisan infrastructure law and the Inflation
Reduction Act, now is the time to ensure these much-needed funds are
directed to clean water and river restoration projects that improve the
lives and climate resiliency of people in rural and urban areas--and
particularly Communities of Color and Tribal Nations, who are
disproportionately impacted by water pollution, droughts, floods, and
environmental degradation.
We must ensure Federal agencies have the tools, resources,
technical assistance, and capacity they need to solve today's complex
water challenges. Federal investment in efforts including natural
infrastructure and river restoration can make rivers healthier and
water cleaner for everyone.
The Fiscal Year 2024 River Budget outlines recommended Federal
priorities for agencies, including the Department of Interior,
Department of Agriculture, National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration, and Environmental Protection Agency, to promote
climate-smart agriculture practices, improve water infrastructure,
restore watersheds, modernize flood management, and support dam removal
and rehabilitation. The River Budget spotlights needs in five key
categories:
Promote climate-smart agriculture: Innovative conservation
practices on farms and working lands can regenerate ecosystems, improve
irrigation, and bolster agriculture. Yet water shortages are becoming
increasingly common due to less rainfall, resulting in historic
droughts. In 2022, the Mississippi River dropped to record-low water
levels. In the Southwest, farmers, ranchers, and landowners are
experiencing the most extreme drought in more than a millennium. In the
Fiscal Year 2024 appropriations process and upcoming Farm Bill,
Congress and the Administration must prioritize climate-smart
agriculture to support rural communities, and a critical sector of our
economy.
Restore watersheds: From the Great Lakes to the Chesapeake Bay,
watersheds are essential to keeping ecosystems healthy and functioning
as nature intended. These lands naturally store water, filter
pollution, sequester carbon, control erosion and sediment, and provide
habitats for wildlife. These natural services help strengthen
communities in the face of climate change, and can buffer us against
severe floods, droughts, and fires. Healthy watersheds also provide
recreation benefits, including fishing, boating, swimming, hiking,
biking, and wildlife watching. In 2020, hunters and anglers contributed
$149 billion to the National economy, supported 970,000 jobs, and
created over $45 billion in wages and incomes.
Modernize flood management: Inland and coastal communities need
relief as environmental pressures and natural disasters including
hurricanes and floods, threaten people and property. Nearly 41 million
people live in flood-prone areas. Our nation needs to continue
investing in flood-management solutions that protect communities and
safeguard rivers. We call on Congress and the Administration to
implement nature-based solutions to managing watersheds, floodplains,
wetlands, and other water sources. This includes better coordination
and use of modern mapping technology to produce maps that inform
communities about flood risk, improve land-use management, and help
them better prepare for extreme weather.
Improve water infrastructure: Our nation's water infrastructure is
essential to providing safe, reliable, affordable clean water. It is
vital to public health, and to ensuring clean, healthy rivers. Every
dollar invested in water infrastructure generates $2.20 in economic
activity. Yet decades of underfunded and deferred maintenance has
pushed the Nation's water infrastructure to the brink of collapse. Many
cities hold, treat, and deliver water using pumps and pipes that are
more than 100 years old. Older water systems contain bacteria, lead,
and other hazardous chemicals, which exposed thousands to untreated
water in Flint, Michigan, and Jackson, Mississippi. We must avoid
humanitarian disasters by securing significant water infrastructure
investments that protect the health of people and rivers.
Remove and rehabilitate dams: Removing dams and improving dam
safety can restore natural functions of rivers, help fish and wildlife
species recover, create jobs, and increase our communities' resilience
to droughts and floods. Dams disrupt the natural ecosystem by impacting
water quality, cutting off migration routes, isolating habitats, and
destroying fish spawning grounds. Some dams pose serious public safety
risks. Prioritizing funding to remove, rehabilitate, and/or retrofit
dams is the best way to bring life back to damaged rivers and protect
communities.
These Federal spending priorities in the Fiscal Year 2024 River
Budget are a critical defense against the impacts of climate change and
water pollution. The annual Federal spending process charges Congress
to work with the administration and focus on investments that are key
to restoring rivers, from remote mountain streams to urban waterways.
Taken together, these investments will improve public health and
safety, boost climate resilience, deliver economic benefits, and
improve agency programs that are responsible and responsive to meeting
community needs.
[This statement was submitted by Jaime D. Sigaran, Associate
Director and Ted Illston, Vice President, Policy and Government
Relations.]
______
Prepared Statement of the Animal Welfare Institute
The Animal Welfare Institute, a national nonprofit animal welfare
advocacy organization, asks the subcommittee to provide adequate
funding levels for crucial wildlife programs and to include measures to
protect at-risk species.
wild horses and burros (blm & fs)
The BLM, which oversees the vast majority of America's wild horses
and burros, continues to mismanage herds, relying on an endless cycle
of costly removals from public lands instead of implementing
immunocontraceptive vaccines to control fertility rates and manage
these federally protected animals on the range. Under its current plan
(based on the BLM's May 2020 report to Congress), the BLM has called
for accelerated removals at a cost of roughly $900 million in the first
5 years alone. In FY22, the BLM removed a staggering 20,193 wild
equines. And while the agency spent over $95 million during this same
period on removals and holding, it has historically spent less than 1
percent of its annual WHB program budget on fertility control. We ask
the subcommittee to again include a directive for a minimum of $11
million within the BLM's existing WHB program budget to go towards the
administration of proven and safe immunocontraceptive vaccines--
specifically the widely supported porcine zona pellucida (PZP) vaccine,
as per the National Academy of Sciences recommendation. Moreover, we
strongly support the continued inclusion of provisions to ensure that
both BLM- and U.S. Forest Service-managed wild equines cannot be
destroyed for commercial purposes in order to protect these animals
from slaughter, as well as language preventing the destruction of
healthy, unadopted wild horses and burros.
Lastly, in recent years, the BLM has pursued attempts to manage
wild horses via a risky and invasive surgical procedure known as
``ovariectomy via colpotomy,'' which involves blindly locating the
ovaries and severing them using a rod-like tool while the animal
remains conscious. In its report on wild horse management, the NAS
explicitly warned the BLM against using this procedure due to the risks
of serious complications. Numerous lawmakers in the House and Senate
have criticized the BLM's plans to ovariectomize horses and national
polling shows overwhelming opposition to this procedure. We ask the
subcommittee to include language barring the use of Federal funds to
conduct ovariectomies on wild horses and burros so that taxpayer
dollars can be directed towards cost-effective, safe, and humane
fertility control methods such as PZP.
endangered species act implementation (fws)
We ask the subcommittee to appropriate $841.3 million across five
programs to the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) for the purpose of
Endangered Species Act (ESA) implementation:
--$66.3 million for Listing
--$467.9 million for Recovery
--$179.3 million for Planning and Consultation
--$10.15 million for Candidate Conservation in Conservation and
Restoration
--$117.7 million for the Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation
Fund (CESCF)
Implementation of the Endangered Species Act (ESA), our Nation's
most effective law for species conservation, has been severely
underfunded for years. The Fish and Wildlife Service requires a budget
of $841.3 million across five programs to begin to make up for lost
ground and put species on the path to recovery. As we face a worsening
biodiversity crisis, this funding package will better allow FWS to
implement the ESA in the way Congress intended when it dedicated our
country to protecting the most imperiled species and habitats.
The funding levels requested above would help FWS process the
backlog of approximately 200 species on the National Listing Workplan
that still need to be reviewed for protections under the ESA, with more
species petitioned for inclusion under the ESA every year. It would
also be put toward developing recovery plans for the approximately 25%
of species currently without plans and revising the 890 recovery plans
that are now over two decades out of date and may no longer contain the
best available science.
In addition, the above funding levels would provide much-needed
resources for maximizing the efficacy and efficiency of FWS
consultations with other Federal agencies, States, counties, and
private landowners, as well as implementing early conservation actions
that keep species from ever reaching the brink of extinction. Finally,
the CESCF serves as an essential source of funding for States and
private landowners, making it a crucial tool for cooperative
conservation.
trophy hunting (fws)
We urge the subcommittee to include language prohibiting the use of
funds by the FWS for the issuance of any permit authorizing the
importation of a trophy-hunted elephant or lion trophy.
African elephant and lion populations in many nations have
undergone steep declines in recent years. African elephants and lions
are both listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), demonstrating a
scientific need for heightened protections. Between the early 20th
century and 2016, the number of elephants in Africa plummeted from 3-5
million to approximately 400,000. In 2021, the IUCN Red List reassessed
the African savanna elephant as endangered, meaning it faces a very
high risk of extinction in the wild. African lion populations declined
by 43 percent from 1993 to 2014. The subspecies Panthera leo
melanochaita, comprising the lions of east and southern Africa, is
listed as threatened under the ESA, with only 17,000-19,000 remaining.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has responded with a
series of vacillating trophy-import policies, calling into question the
degree to which the agency had evaluated whether lion and elephant
trophy imports enhanced the survival of the species, as required under
the ESA. Presently, FWS policy is to issue permits for lion and
elephant trophy imports based on a case-by-case review of each
application's enhancement finding requirements, rather than the former
approach of having rules that applied to each species within each
country of origin. Congress in its FY20-23 appropriations packages
directed FWS to reevaluate the current policy and analyze how targeted
investments and technical assistance to these countries would impact
elephant and lion survival, improve local communities, and sustain
species populations. FWS has failed to report back to Congress.
In light of these conservation concerns, as well as the lack of
assurance that FWS is adhering to the ESA's legal requirements, no
funds must be provided for the issuance of permits for import of
elephant and lion trophies.
trapping (fws)
We urge the subcommittee to allocate $300,000 to the FWS to
institute a 3-year pilot program that replaces the use of body-gripping
traps (Conibears, legholds, and snares) on National Wildlife Refuge
Service land by agency personnel with non-lethal methods and equipment.
Furthermore, we hope the subcommittee will encourage the FWS to
continue reviewing and updating both physical trapping signage and
trapping information posted on the website, and continue providing
trapping information to the subcommittee on an annual basis. In
addition, for each refuge listed online as allowing trapping, the FWS
should specify whether the trapping is conducted by private trappers
for recreational/commercial purposes and/or by government personnel for
management purposes.
Furthermore, the pilot program language builds upon FY22-23 report
language directing the FWS to conduct an evaluation of trapping
practices by Federal personnel on Service lands, including an analysis
of non-lethal alternatives to trapping. Given that FWS has not briefed
the Committee on its findings, this request includes a directive to
begin a pilot program to replace body-gripping traps with non-lethal
methods for wildlife management purposes.
The use of body-gripping traps by Federal personnel violates the
mission of the National Wildlife Refuge System and is a threat to the
safety of wildlife, humans, and pets. The purpose of these protected
lands is clear: to be an inviolate sanctuary for native wildlife.
Body-gripping traps, such as snares, Conibear traps, and steel-jaw
leghold traps, are inhumane and inherently nonselective. The nontarget
animals caught in these traps include threatened and endangered
species, as well as family pets. Refuges are a very popular
destination; the National Wildlife Refuge System attracts more than 61
million visits every year. Additionally, many wildlife refuges are
either close to or reside in urban areas. These traps are not an
appropriate tool for wildlife management on national wildlife refuges
where families enjoy spending time outdoors, and where anyone who trips
a trap can become a victim.
Nonlethal methods are often highly effective and FWS personnel
would be serving both wildlife and outdoor recreation interests-such as
hiking and nature photography, which account for approximately 86% of
total recreation-related expenditures on refuges-by prioritizing their
use.
beaver conflict mitigation (fws)
Across the country, thousands of beavers are trapped, snared, and
shot each year in an effort to prevent damage caused to property by
beaver activity. However, this killing is often unnecessary due to the
availability of cost-effective, nonlethal devices that can successfully
prevent such damage. For example, trees can be shielded by encircling
them with wire mesh fencing or coating their trunks with a mixture of
paint and sand that deters beavers from chewing. Roads, agricultural
resources, and other property can be protected from flooding by
installing water flow control devices, which allow enough water to pass
through a beaver dam to avoid flooding while ensuring sufficient pond
depth for beaver use, thus maintaining acceptable water levels.
Restraining traps and snares used to capture and kill beavers can
cause prolonged pain and unintentionally injure and kill nontarget
animals. They are also rarely, if ever, a long term-solution; beavers
dispersing in search of suitable habitat can quickly recolonize trapped
areas. By contrast, flow devices can provide long-term relief and
typically last 10 years before they need to be replaced. Nonlethal
measures to mitigate beaver conflicts are effective, cost-efficient,
long-lasting, and ecologically beneficial. These devices can protect
transportation infrastructure, buildings, agricultural lands, and other
property. Despite these benefits, no Federal programs currently exist
to promote or facilitate the use of these techniques.
We urge the subcommittee to recognize the ecological benefits
beavers provide to landscapes and ecosystems across the country by
providing $3,000,000 to the Fish and Wildlife Service to institute a
pilot program to provide grants to eligible entities for projects that
seek to use nonlethal measures to achieve a reduction in damage to
roads, railroads, bridges, buildings, airports, levees, dams,
agricultural resources, trees, or other public or private property
caused by beavers. Eligible entities are: States, Tribes; state,
Federal and Tribal agencies, local governments, nongovernmental
organizations, and landowners who have sustained property damage due to
beaver activity in conjunction with one or more of these entities.
Nonlethal measures are those that are not designed to grip, trap,
relocate, injure, or kill beavers. Nonlethal measures include, but are
not limited to, fencing and paint-sand mixtures used to protect trees,
and water flow control devices used to prevent flooding and maintain
beaver ponds at acceptable levels. To document the progress of this
program, FWS should be encouraged to submit a report to the
subcommittee describing activities under the pilot program each fiscal
year.
prescott grant program (fws)
We urge the subcommittee to provide no less than $2,000,000 for the
John H. Prescott Marine vMammal Rescue Assistance grant program. The
Prescott Program, led by the FWS, provides funding to eligible
stranding network participants assisting stranded sea otters, manatees,
Pacific walruses, and polar bears. Congress began to allocate funds to
the FWS in fiscal year 2019 to implement the program. To date, the FWS
has awarded $3.1 million in funding to conservation organizations and
State agencies through the Prescott Grant Program. In fiscal year 2023,
$2,300,000 was allocated towards this program. Given the rising number
of strandings and the importance of marine mammals to the health of
ocean ecosystems, at least $2,000,000 in funding is requested.
[This statement was submitted by Nancy Blaney, Director, Government
Affairs, Animal Welfare Institute.]
______
Prepared Statement of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy
On behalf of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC or
``Conservancy''), I submit this request to increase the annual
Operation of the National Park Service (ONPS) appropriation for the
Appalachian National Scenic Trail (ANST, A.T., or Trail), a unit of the
National Park Service (NPS) within the Interior, EPA, and Related
Agencies appropriations bill. The current level of ONPS appropriations
for the Trail, $2.023 million, is insufficient to fulfil the NPS
obligations under the National Trails System Act (NTSA), relevant NPS-
related statutes, and the cooperative agreement with ATC. We believe a
budget of $3.5 million is necessary to meet the needs of the Trail.
Particularly as our Nation responds to the ballooning interest in
outdoor recreation and upgrading our hard infrastructure, the current
staffing and financial support for the Trail's park staff is
increasingly incompatible with modern needs. Furthermore, combating
invasive species and managing our public lands for biodiversity and
connectivity are imperative; with the A.T., continued underinvestment
could be catastrophic. We are grateful for the incremental increases
Presidents Trump and Biden have granted, as well as Congress' continued
support therefore. Additional funding remains needed.
The Conservancy is the Sec. 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization
responsible for developing the Appalachian Trail and leading the
Trail's Cooperative Management System, which joins the Federal
Government, the governments of 14 States, 30 Maintaining Clubs (Clubs),
and local and non-profit partners in caring for our iconic long trail.
Our position with the Trail, outlining the vision of a continent-
spanning footpath, began in 1925 and is currently formalized under a
cooperative agreement with the National Park Service (NPS). We work on
daily basis with our partners in the NPS' dedicated park office for the
Trail (APPA), as well as our partners at the USDA Forest Service
(USFS), who are the local Federal land manager for nearly half of the
Trail's miles and conserved ``Corridor.'' Because of our unique role in
the Federal public lands system-as shoulder-to-shoulder NGO co-manager-
we are particularly qualified to offer perspective on how the park
should be funded and operate. Specifically, because the park office
funded by ONPS exists to do the inherently governmental work ATC, as an
NGO, cannot do.
Currently, the NPS office that administers the Trail has 10
fulltime-equivalent employees (FTEs), supporting approximately 40
Conservation-related staffers at ATC, who in turn supported 4,768
volunteers in 2022 (contributing a total of 170,904 labor hours
equivalent to $5,118,575 in labor costs). The $2.023 million ONPS
allocation is not tied to any discernable metrics, such as size of the
park, projected visitation, facility asset portfolio, natural resource
value, or overseeing the public-private partnership that is the
Cooperative Management System. The ONPS base budget is mostly consumed
by staff salary and benefits, preventing project work or things that
are, under the Service-wide calls, very difficult to fund except
through a unit's ONPS allocation, specifically: providing visitor and
park protection (including law enforcement to uphold the boundaries
from illegal encroachments and provide public safety); processing
environmental compliance documents (such as required by NEPA) and;
overseeing (if not funding) resource management work. Visitor and park
protection, compliance, and oversight, are the inherently governmental
and ``non-delegable'' responsibilities of the ANST's ``trail
administrator'' in APPA.
The current, and reasonable, needs of the unit are more than the
current cooperative management partners can support given the legal
division of responsibilities. Comparatively, NPS units with far smaller
acreage to manage and far less complex obligations and programs receive
relatively much larger base budgets, including the 16-acre Springfield
Armory with a base budget of $1.5 million; the 968-acre Appomattox
Court House with a base budget of $2.104 million; and the 16-acre Fort
Stanwix with base budget of $1.6 million.
Visitor and Park Protection (VPP)/Law Enforcement: The law
enforcement and coordination needs of the Trail are significant
considering the ANST spans 14 States and 88 counties. These
responsibilities can be broken down roughly into two categories:
individuals threatening safety (criminal) and encroachments (civil).
Both are commonly referred to as ``incidents'' and ``incident
response'' is the general term used to mean ``responding to potential
harm to the legal rights of the Trail and its users.'' Criminal
incidents on the Trail posing a significant threat to public safety
are, thankfully, rare. Much more common are civil incidents/
encroachments. The ANST itself includes over 2,000 fee tracts,
containing 108,000 acres of lands with over 1,200 miles of exterior
boundary line which is maintained and monitored by ATC staff and staff-
coordinated volunteers. Roughly 50 new encroachment violations are
discovered each year, with 10% of those being severe in nature.
Approximately 430 known (ATC-identified) ANST boundary violations have
occurred over the past decade, many of which still remain unresolved.
Examples of severe and ongoing encroachment issues include large-scale
timber and resource theft, widespread ATV use, construction of
building, homes, pools and patios, and waste dumping. It is the legal
responsibility of the NPS to address these encroachments, something
unpracticable with its current ANST law enforcement (LE) staffing of
two FTEs. More than 50% of the Trail by mile and acreage lacks a full-
time NPS presence.
The current-and preferred-management of the Trail places the Chief
Ranger duty stationed at the Trail's administrative headquarters in
Harper's Ferry, WV and the one FTE split between the ANST and BLRI
(Blue Ridge Parkway) in southern Virginia, serving that region, and one
FTE split between the ANST and GETT (Gettysburg National Military Park)
serving that immediate region. For the NPS-managed Trail miles north of
Harrisburg, the ANST relies on less formal staff sharing. ATC advocates
for replicating the staff-sharing model across the mid-Atlantic and
northern stretches of the Trail, stationing six individuals, working
50% time on the ANST, in Maine, New Hampshire/Vermont/Massachusetts,
Connecticut/New York, New Jersey/Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania/Maryland,
and West Virginia/Virginia. Additionally, ATC staff and volunteers
routinely assist in responding to Trail incidents and manage
relationships with local communities, requiring training and support.
Increasing VPP staffing on the Trail will improve the NPS' ability to
connect to rural communities and safeguard the increasingly manifest
desire of the public to recreate on our public lands, as well as
promote information sharing between land managers and law enforcement
officials.
Resources Management: The majority of the management of any
National Park System unit is the proper administration of natural and
cultural resources and minimizing impacts from visitors. The ANST
currently splits coordination for both these buckets between one FTE
when at least two, and preferably three FTE, are warranted. Regarding
natural resources, ATC staff and volunteers are responsible for all
Trail-related maintenance as well as the stewardship and restoration of
the Trail corridor lands as quality habitat for flora and fauna. The
ANST's length (spanning 12 of latitude in the temperate zone), north-
south alignment, and changes of over 6,500 feet in elevation and the
numerous peaks and ridges along the Appalachian Mountain chain create
its topographically diverse landscape, protecting very high habitat
diversity and connectivity while providing for a unique recreation
experience. It is an important landscape in the eastern U.S. that
offers large-scale continuity and important climate refugia,
increasingly vital attributes in the highly developed and increasingly
taxed eastern public land network. The ANST is one of (if not the most)
biodiverse units of the National Park System. Except for the
aforementioned FTE at the ANST, the majority of the funding for natural
resources management is provided by individual and charitable
foundation giving. Remarkably, there is no biologist or ecologist
staffed to APPA.
The A.T. is uniquely situated to serve as a barometer for the air,
water, climate and biological diversity of the Appalachian Mountains
and much of the eastern United States, which is what makes it an
attractive place to explore scientific questions. The ANST leadership
in APPA, ATC, and the USFS, has clearly identified the need for sound
scientific baselines and trend information on environmental and
resource conditions to inform adaptive management and stewardship
activities. However, current capacity does not allow APPA to even
entertain proposals from educational institutions and research entities
seeking permission to use the ANST as a study area. Each year, requests
for scientific analysis, evaluation and monitoring within the A.T.
corridor, submitted through the NPS Research Permit and Reporting
System, go unanswered and un-permitted. Each of these unfilled research
requests is a missed opportunity for stronger science and informed A.T.
management.
In terms of its ``facility assets,'' or hard infrastructure, the
ANST has one of the largest portfolios in the National Park System,
unsurprising given that each foot of treadway, every rockbar,
staircase, bridge, shelter, and privy (to name some examples) are
classified as facility assets. The park's portfolio includes not simply
hard infrastructure designed to realize the purpose of the park as
recognized in its Comprehensive Plan, but many incidentally acquired
structures which have outlived their usefulness or are no longer viable
as park assets. Additionally, ensuring proper marking for the
approximately 4,500 miles of boundaries-particularly the 50 percent
thereof that is not surrounded by National Forest System land-is
essential to maintain the integrity of the unit. ATC estimates
approximately $1.6m worth of improvements to land records are needed,
including placing boundary markings or conducting land surveys never
undertaken. Managing the hard infrastructure of the park is one of the
best-funded aspects of park management, due to the structuring of
Congressional appropriations and the structure of the Service-wide
calls (although removing hard infrastructure that is no longer desired
is more difficult to fund), but if the Department failed to survey land
upon acquisition, funding a survey comes out of the unit's base ONPS
allocation. APPA's ONPS allocation does not reflect its facility asset
portfolio or resource management needs.
Compliance and Oversight: APPA staff depend on ATC staff and other
cooperative management partners to collect information required for the
completion of National Environmental Policy Act compliance for all
treadway and Corridor related work. ATC staff are generally responsible
for the completion of impact assessments, field monitoring and
coordination with state Natural Heritage and wildlife offices. The
development of these evaluations-as well as review of research permit
and special use permit applications-must be signed off on by APPA
staff. They are not necessarily onerous, but given the size of the
park, there are a lot of them. For compliance under section 106 of the
NHPA, APPA staff cannot delegate its obligations to ATC. Additionally,
closer coordination with State and Tribal offices of historic
preservation will further the ability of the ANST to address extant
compliance demands as well as build the capacity to perform government-
to-government consultations with the identified Native nations with
ancestral and/or reservation lands along the Trail. NPS staff cannot
delegate to ATC government-to-government consultation or compliance
responsibilities.
Although much of the work that occurs within the bounds of park
management is performed by ATC and Club members, APPA is responsible
for overseeing all of the work of the cooperators. Close supervision is
not needed-the expert, dispersed management and maintenance corps of
the ANST operates so successfully in part because of cooperator
independence-but oversight of cooperators is an essential function of
APPA. Oversight includes ensuring the Visitor-in-Parks program is
effectively administered and that required certifications and trainings
are up-to-date. There must be sufficient oversight capacity at APPA,
including staffing at least one individual beyond the superintendent
who is responsible for the breadth of responsibilities captured in our
Comprehensive Plan and in our cooperative agreement. ATC cannot provide
the necessary oversight of itself that the Cooperative Management
System requires.
The ANST is an incredible public resource. It is also incredibly
poorly funded by the NPS. In terms of its management system (the first
federal-NGO partnership park in the U.S.), its footprint (connecting
eight national forests, six other park units, two national wildlife
refuges, and 78 state-conserved units), its visitation (estimated at
over four million annually), its accessibility (a fee-less park within
an eight-hour drive of half of the U.S. population), and its presence
in the (inter)national consciousness. (the most famous hiking trail in
the world), it is because of the strength of the Cooperative Management
System that has made the park what it is today. ATC can neither perform
nor fund essential park functions for the ANST, specifically APPA. The
NPS is responsible for ensuring proper staffing to meet the non-
delegable obligations of park management. In terms of size, the ANST
has more NPS-administered acreage than Biscayne, Voyageurs, or Zion
National Parks. In terms of boundary mileage, it is second in the
National Park System only to Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. The
Trail's normal visitation is now estimated at 4 million or more
annually, placing it 18th in visitation within the System-higher than
Grand Teton or Yosemite National Parks. It is physically present in 14
States-more than any other in the System. APPA deserves an ONPS base
allocation more in line with these attributes, which will allow for
this public-private partnership to operate even more productively.
[This statement was submitted by Brendan Mysliwiec, Director of
Federal Policy and Legislation Appalachian Trail Conservancy.]
______
Prepared Statement of the Association of Air Pollution Control Agencies
The Association of Air Pollution Control Agencies (AAPCA) \1\
thanks this subcommittee for the opportunity to provide input on Fiscal
Year (FY) 2024 appropriations for the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA). AAPCA's State and local air agency members are co-
regulators with U.S. EPA, responsible for implementing Federal Clean
Air Act (CAA) rules in their jurisdictions.\2\ As FY 2024
appropriations are developed, AAPCA asks that funding directed to air
agencies, including State and Local Air Quality Management Grants under
CAA Sections 103 and 105, be adjusted for historic CAA obligations as
well as the mounting number of significant and substantive regulatory
actions \3\ from U.S. EPA that will further impact already strained
resources.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ AAPCA is a national, non-profit, consensus-driven organization
focused on assisting State and local air quality agencies and personnel
with implementation and technical issues associated with the Federal
Clean Air Act. Created in 2012, AAPCA represents 48 State and local air
pollution control agencies, and senior officials from 21 state
environmental agencies currently sit on the AAPCA Board of Directors.
AAPCA is housed in Lexington, Kentucky as an affiliate of The Council
of State Governments. More about AAPCA is at: www.cleanairact.org.
\2\ AAPCA, State Air Trends & Successes: The StATS Report, May
2023.
\3\ U.S. EPA's Office of Air and Radiation lists 97 short- and
long-term regulatory actions in the Fall 2022 Unified Agenda of
Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Congress provided a total of $4.48 billion for State and Tribal
Assistance Grants (STAG) in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023
(H.R. 2617), which was signed into law on December 29, 2022.\4\ Nearly
$128 million above the FY 2022 enacted level, Congress continued a
steady trend of annual increases directed to state, Tribal, and local
environmental agencies through STAG, with FY 2023 appropriations nearly
32 percent above FY 2013. Though under the STAG program, State and
Local Air Quality Management Grants, which provide important support to
air agencies charged with protecting air quality and public health,
have not seen a similar appropriations trajectory. With virtually no
change in enacted funding levels from FY 2014 through FY 2020,
incremental increases beginning in FY 2021 brought the FY 2023
appropriated amount to just under 11 percent above FY 2013.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\4\ H.R. 2617--Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 (Public Law
117-328). Funding levels prior to rescissions.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
State and local air agencies utilize funding from these grants
judiciously by strategically deploying resources, creating efficient
programing and best practices, and relying on leadership and staff that
are dedicated public servants. Through technically complex and resource
intensive activities, agencies with delegated CAA authority:
--Develop and update state implementation plans (SIPs) to attain/
maintain National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) and
improve visibility under the Regional Haze Program;
--Serve as the Nation's primary air quality monitoring entities,
manage emissions inventories, and perform photochemical and air
dispersion modeling;
--Implement Federal rules and standards for hazardous air pollutants;
--Review, issue, and enforce air quality permits for a range of
sources, from small businesses to industrial and commercial
facilities;
--Ensure facility compliance through inspection and enforcement
oversight, including conducting more than 15,400 Full
Compliance Evaluations (FCE) in 2022, compared to fewer than
200 FCEs conducted by U.S. EPA\5\;
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\5\ U.S. EPA, Analyze Trends: State Air Dashboard. U.S. EPA defines
an FCE as ``a comprehensive evaluation of the compliance status of the
facility. It looks for all regulated pollutants at all regulated
emission units, and it addresses the compliance status of each unit, as
well as the facility's continuing ability to maintain compliance at
each emission unit.'' Data accessed May 9, 2023.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
--Hire, train, and retain qualified staff; and,
--Lead public outreach and information campaigns, including
forecasting air quality, responding to complaints, and
conducting stakeholder engagement.
State and local air agencies have led these efforts and continued
to improve the Nation's air quality \6\ while administering
progressively complicated and demanding operations that have had to
accommodate growing inflation in expenses related to personnel, travel,
equipment and building costs for monitoring sites. Budgetary challenges
have also been compounded by the achievements of air pollution control
agencies, as fees collected on a per-ton basis from major sources
through the CAA Title V Operating Permit program have substantially
decreased in revenue as the program meets its primary goal: driving
emissions down to create better air quality. Coupled with expanding CAA
obligations, current funding conditions make meeting core CAA
responsibilities more difficult.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\6\ U.S. EPA, Air Quality--National Summary. See also: U.S. EPA,
Our Nation's Air: Trends Through 2021, June 2022.
The Administration's current regulatory agenda indicates there are
79 forthcoming regulatory actions from U.S. EPA's Office of Air and
Radiation (OAR).\7\ Of these, more than 70 are expected to be completed
by the end of the 2024 Federal fiscal year, including 11 major/
economically significant regulations. Once finalized by U.S. EPA, State
and local air agencies will be (or are already) at the forefront of
implementation and planning for many of these rules, including:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\7\ Fall 2022 Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory
Actions, released January 4, 2023.
--A projected tighter fine particulate matter (PM2.5) NAAQS \8\;
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\8\ RIN 2060-AV52, Final rule expected August 2023.
--New source performance standards (NSPS) for methane from the oil
and natural gas sector \9\;
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\9\ RIN 2060-AV16, Final rule expected August 2023.
--Greenhouse gas (GHG) emission standards for the power sector for
both coal and natural gas electric generating units (EGUs)
\10\; and,
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\10\ RIN 2060-AV09, Final rule expected July 2024.
--Numerous air toxics rules, including for ethylene oxide (EtO)
commercial sterilizers.\11\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\11\ RIN 2060-AU37, Final rule expected October 2023.
Apart from implementing these regulations, State and local air
agencies will be responsible for associated permitting changes as well
as evolving policies to boost engagement with communities. Already
well-versed in working directly with communities, regulated industries,
and other stakeholders in their jurisdictions, State and local agencies
understand that melding new national environmental requirements with
local priorities, economic strategies, and social needs will further
impact current resources.
Funding for State and Local Air Quality Management Grants that
accounts for new and historic CAA mandates and increased
responsibilities will be vital for State and local air agency budgets
as well as ensuring the cooperative federalism balance needed for
successful environmental outcomes. Providing maximum flexibility in air
agency grants allows for programs to determine the best use for
addressing air pollution control needs in their jurisdiction.
Additional considerations that may affect State and local resources
include how U.S. EPA alters the regional and state allocation formula
for State and Local Air Quality Management Grants as well as
maintaining funding for PM2.5 monitoring under CAA Section 103, rather
than Section 105.\12\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\12\ U.S. EPA's FY2023 and 2024 National Program Manager Guidance
Monitoring Appendix States: ``Per appropriation language since the
beginning of the PM2.5 monitoring program, EPA intends to continue to
make grants available under Sec. 103 of the Clean Air Act to support
PM2.5 monitoring activities. Should this appropriation language change,
EPA will revisit this issue.''
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thank you for your attention to this testimony. AAPCA's State and
local air agency members appreciate the recognition of your Committee
in recent funding legislation and look forward to working with you as
Congress develops its priorities for FY 2024 appropriations for U.S.
EPA. If you have any questions, please contact Mr. Jason Sloan,
Executive Director, at jsloan@csg.org or (859) 244-8043.
Sincerely,
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Jason Sloan
Executive Director, AAPCA
______
Prepared Statement of the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies
Thank you for the opportunity to submit recommendations for Fiscal
Year 2024 (FY24) Congressional appropriations. The Association of Fish
and Wildlife Agencies' (AFWA) mission, since our founding in 1902, is
to protect and enable state fish and wildlife agencies (States) to
exercise their statutory authority to conserve and manage the fish and
wildlife within their borders. All 50 States, the District of Columbia,
and the U.S. Virgin Islands are members.
We look forward to working with you as we enter another challenging
budget cycle to enact funding levels consistent with current funding,
and in some cases higher than current levels to address critical
conservation needs. Investments in conservation programs present some
of the highest returns on Federal dollars and are fueling our Nation's
recovery, providing jobs and economic stimulus, environmental
resilience, and a robust health and science network to combat emerging
diseases. As States have authority for and are on the front lines of
wildlife health and zoonotic diseases, they must be engaged throughout
development of a robust health and science framework to combat wildlife
diseases. Further, we support and endorse appropriations
recommendations that are submitted by regional associations of fish and
wildlife agencies.
united states fish and wildlife service (fws)
Aquatic Habitat, Assessments, Restoration, and Species
Conservation--We support no less than funding at FY23 levels for Fish
and Aquatic Conservation and support the FWS' FY24 budget request of
$7.6 million for the National Fish Habitat Action Plan (NFHP), which
includes funding for the NFHP grant program and $400,000 for the FWS to
provide scientific and technical assistance support to the program.
Further, we respectfully request full funding for the USGS, USFS, EPA,
and NOAA to provide scientific and technical assistance to the program,
as well as the inclusion of report language recommending that the USGS,
USFS, EPA, and NOAA each provide the full authorized level of $400,000
for scientific and technical assistance for the NFHP as authorized
under Public Law 116-188. With full funding at congressionally
authorized levels, this would ensure the NFHP Program's continued
ability to advance aquatic conservation projects that benefit all
Americans. We thank Congress for the one-time funding provided for
aquatic organism passage infrastructure through the Bipartisan
Infrastructure Law, yet continuous programmatic funding for Fish
Passage is needed to ensure successful species management. We support
funding the National Fish Passage Program at no less than FY23 levels.
Likewise, we are grateful for the infrastructure investments in
geographic programs and support robust funding for conservation and
restoration activities in the Delaware River Basin, Klamath Basin,
Chesapeake Bay, Everglades, and Great Lakes.
National Fish Hatchery Systems (NFHS) Operations is a high
priority, and we recommend no less than FY23 funding levels. We support
funding for the Aquatic Animal Drug Approval Partnership at $1.2
million as well as robust funding for the Fish Health Centers, Fish
Technology Centers, Wild Fish Health Survey, and Mass Marking program,
all of which meet needs of States, Tribes, and the Federal Government.
We request no less than FY23 funding levels for the mass marking
initiative in the Pacific Northwest and the Great Lakes region.
Aquatic Invasive Species and Law Enforcement (LE)--We request
Congress continue to fund the implementation of state Aquatic Nuisance
Species (ANS) management plans at no less than FY23 levels without
compromising other ANS programs. We support no less than FY21 funding
levels to implement the National Invasive Carp Management and Control
Plan in the Mississippi River and tributaries as well as continuation
of the provisions in the FY21 report language. Finally, we support
increased funding to combat wildlife trafficking activities such as
illegal turtle trade, conduct investigations, supplement inspections,
and to work cooperatively with state fish and wildlife agencies to help
protect our Nation's native fish and wildlife resources from
unsustainable exploitation.
Habitat Conservation and the National Wildlife Refuge System
(NWRS)--We recommend no less than FY23 funding levels for Habitat
Conservation, including no less than $79 million for the Partners of
Fish and Wildlife Program for voluntary conservation efforts. We
support the Administration's request of $624.9 million for NWRS
Operations and Maintenance and continue to support sustainable trapping
on refuges to provide much needed research on species of interest as
well as to protect imperiled species and their habitats.
State and Tribal Wildlife Grants and Partnership Grants--The State
and Tribal Wildlife Grants program is the only Federal program
available to States to leverage non-federal funds to conserve over
12,000 state Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN) identified in
congressionally-required State Wildlife Action Plans to prevent them
from becoming threatened or endangered. This investment in voluntary,
proactive, and state-led conservation is needed now to accelerate
conservation of declining species to preclude an increase in Federal
expenditures in the future under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). AFWA
recommends $100 million, with no less than $75 million for
apportionments to States and territories, for the State and Tribal
Wildlife Grants Program in FY24, and supports enactment of legislation
consistent with the Recovering America's Wildlife Act as introduced in
the 117th Congress which would provide States, Tribes, and their
conservation partners with the level of funding needed to do large-
scale, proactive, and non-regulatory conservation and restoration for
many rapidly declining fish and wildlife. AFWA also recommends no less
than $53 million for the North American Wetlands Conservation Fund to
conserve vital wetlands and other habitats important to migratory birds
and other wildlife, full authorized funding for the Neotropical
Migratory Bird Conservation Fund, and $22 million for the Multinational
Species Conservation Fund.
Science Applications--USFWS' Science Applications (SA) program has
evolved into an important collaborator with state fish and wildlife
agencies. The program provides science, landscape design, and
coordination capacity for the co-development of regional conservation
blueprints and provides support for regional fish and wildlife
association landscape conservation collaboratives. This work is
improving the efficiency and effectiveness of State-based fish and
wildlife conservation by facilitating work at landscape scales. SA also
supports other state priorities including revision of State Wildlife
Action Plans, at-risk species conservation, grassland and pollinator
conservation, climate adaptation, and One Health. We support the
Administration's $13.5 million increase for Science Partnerships within
the SA line item for core science activities and respectfully request
that the subcommittee provide direction to ensure there are no
reductions to the core program budget due to Community Project Funding
requests.
Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) is a critical focus for Science
Support, and we request robust funding for USFWS to fulfill CWD
responsibilities, including implementation of the Interstate Action
Plan, prioritized research, monitoring, and studies of CWD in wild,
free-ranging deer species.
Ecological Services (ES) & Cooperative Endangered Species
Conservation Fund (CESCF)--We encourage the FWS to continue
collaborating closely with state fish and wildlife agencies to identify
and conserve at-risk species, and recommend Congress provide robust
funding for the CESCF, which includes a larger proportion of funding
that is not tied to the Land and Water Conservation Fund and much
needed flexibility for ongoing habitat management and species
restoration activities as well as continued support of the use of State
data, particularly under Section 6 grants to States.
Migratory Bird Management (MBM)--We support robust funding for MBM,
including a $1 million increase for the Duck Stamp Office to better
engage with artists and promote sales within the Duck Stamp program.
Additionally, we support full funding of the Migratory Bird Joint
Ventures at $19.9 million and an increase of $20 million for monitoring
and surveys of waterfowl and other bird species populations.
united states geologial survey (usgs)
Ecosystems--We respectfully request no less than $34 million for
the Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit Program (CRU) in FY24.
The additional funds would enable USGS to address 23 vacancies across
the units and address the safety equipment and training backlog, as
well as fund a new position for a Midwest Regional Supervisor and
ensure funds for the Deputy Chief. Additionally, we support a $24.7
million increase over FY23 levels for the Land Management Research
Program, of which we recommend $5 million be directed for Migration
Corridor research. We support the National Cooperators' Coalition's
testimony on CRUs, and recommend $394 million in funding for the
Ecosystems Mission Area. We support an increase of $11 million for the
Species Management Research Program (SMRP) to maintain foundational
research on numerous species and provide technical assistance for State
agencies. Long term monitoring programs supported by SMRP including the
North American Bat Monitoring Program, the Breeding Bird Survey, Bird
Banding Lab, and the Amphibian and Reptile Monitoring Initiative, are
critical to State agencies and additional resources for the SMRP will
support the long-term conservation and management of fish, wildlife and
habitat.
We support the USGS' request for $87.3 million for Climate
Adaptation Science Centers (CASC). The science and tools developed by
CASC are vital resources aimed to support resource managers in their
efforts to manage the Nation's natural resources in a changing climate.
The CASCs provide vital research on climate change, the impacts of
climate change to fish, wildlife, and their habitats, and the efficacy
of climate adaptation efforts to build resilience to climate change.
Additionally, the regional CASCs are important collaborators with the
States in their regions and been able to increase the effectiveness of
climate adaptation by providing the most relevant research focused on
state needs within their regions, filling knowledge gaps in our
understanding of vulnerabilities and responses of fish and wildlife to
climate change and supported state priorities, including revisions of
State Wildlife Action Plans. Monitoring wildlife for exposure to
environmental contaminants is a critical part of the ``One Health''
paradigm adopted by the USGS. This need is particularly acute when
considering the increased attention given to per- and polyfluoroalkyl
substance contamination by both the public and State and Federal
agencies. AFWA supports the continued robust funding of the
Environmental Health Program.
Water Resources--We support robust funding for the Groundwater and
Streamflow Information Program and recommend $32 million for Federal
Priority Streamgages to address funding shortfalls and reinstate lost
gages, $68 million for Cooperative Matching Funds including $33 million
for Streamgage support, and $35 million for the Next Generation Water
Observing System to enable additional pilot basins and data
modernization. Finally, we recommend at least FY21 funding levels for
the National Water Quality Program with $2 million for harmful algal
bloom research.
Biological Threats and Invasive Species Research Program (BTR) -
AFWA recommends $49.4 million in funding for BTR, in addition to $10.62
million in continued funding for Invasive Carp research. We discourage
any cuts to the Invasive Carp Program, particularly given the ongoing
work between USGS, Canada, and border States to prevent establishment
of Prussian Carp. We support $10 million for research on CWD in wild,
free-ranging deer species to manage environmental contamination and
control key sources of transmission. It is imperative that Congress
provide additional resources to USGS Ecosystems and other Federal
agencies to coordinate with the States on research, management,
surveillance, monitoring, testing, disposal, best management practices,
and other CWD management challenges. We strongly recommend $1.2 million
for USGS to contribute to completion of the CWD Transmission in
Cervidae Study.
BUREAU OF LAND MANAGMENT (BLM)--AFWA supports robust funding for
management of lands and resources. Recognizing States have authority to
manage species within their borders, we recommend not less than FY23
levels for Wildlife and Aquatic Habitat Management, including increases
for sage grouse conservation activities, and for Rangeland Improvement
and Bighorn sheep disease prevention, and additional funding for
Wildlife Habitat Management (1170) to combat invasive species. AFWA
recommends $154.8 million for the BLM's Wild Horse and Burro (WHB)
Program as current funding does not provide enough resources for
control efforts to outpace population growth rates. BLM estimates there
are over 82,000 WHB across habitats with a total appropriate management
level of less than 27,000. The harm inflicted on public lands from
excess wild horses and burros compounds yearly as on-range population
growth rates and off-range holding costs outstrip the BLM's ability to
manage herds.
OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION AND ENFORCEMENT -The Abandoned
Mine Reclamation Fund is critical to the restoration of lands at the
nexus of many SGCN and water quality issues, and we support robust
funding, as well as level funding for Regulation and Technology.
UNITED STATES FOREST SERVICE (USFS)--AFWA supports robust funding
for Wildland Fire Management, as well as a substantial increase for the
Wildfire Suppression Operations Reserve Fund. We recommend $328 million
for State and Private Forestry, including an increase of $1.5 million
for the Forest Stewardship Program. We support an increase of $252
million for the National Forest System, and robust funding for
hazardous fuels management. AFWA recommends that USFS receive robust,
dedicated funding for WHB management within a newly specified line-
item, as funds are currently reallocated internally from other budgets.
As USFS is responsible for 20% of the Nation's WHB, we recommend that
the 80/20 ratio is continued for WHB appropriations across BLM and
USFS.
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (EPA)--Finally, we recommend robust
funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, and that funding be
eligible for use on tributaries of the Great Lakes Region, which serve
as a major conduit of invasive species introductions. We support robust
funding for the Clean Water State Revolving Loan Fund, Nonpoint Source
Grants, and Pollution Control Grants. AFWA recommends at least FY23
funding levels for the National Estuaries Program, the Beach/Fish
Safety Program, and the Geographic Programs.
[This statement was submitted by Association of Fish and Wildlife
Agencies' (AFWA).]
______
Prepared Statement of the Association of State Drinking Water
Administrators
Summary of Request: The Association of State Drinking Water
Administrators (ASDWA) submits the following recommendations for Fiscal
Year 2024 (FY24) appropriations on behalf of the drinking water
programs in the 50 States, five territories, the District of Columbia,
and the Navajo Nation:
--ASDWA recommends that all Congressionally Directed Spending (CDS)
be funded without cutting funding for the State Revolving Loan
Funds (SRFs) capitalization grants. SRF capitalization grant
reductions are negatively impacting drinking water programs.
--ASDWA recommends an immediate increase of $85 million for the
Public Water Supply Supervision (PWSS) Program, over and above
the funding gap identified in the ASDWA's 2020 Resource Needs
Report. This report determined that the PWSS funding gap in
2020 would be $375 million, increasing to $469 million by 2029.
The $85 million in immediate additional funding is from the
2024 convergence of the deadlines for the initial lead service
line inventories under the Lead and Copper Rule Revisions
(LCRR), the final Lead and Copper Rule Improvements (LCRI), the
final regulation for Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances
(PFAS), the final Consumer Confidence Report (CCR) Rule
Revisions, and the inclusion of cybersecurity in sanitary
surveys.
--ASDWA recommends funding the SRFs to the full authorizations of $3
billion each.
ASDWA urges sufficient funding for the drinking water programs for
improving public health protection and increasing economic stability
and prosperity across the country.
congressionally directed spending
ASDWA requests that all Congressionally Directed Spending (CDS) be
funded without cutting funding to the SRFs. The current approach to
fund the CDS projects at the expense of the SRF capitalization grants
is catastrophic for state drinking water programs through reductions in
the set-asides and in the funding that can revolve in perpetuity
through loan repayments. The set asides fund state drinking water
program staff that implement the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA)
requirements. Reductions in the set-asides could threaten the ability
of some States to maintain SDWA primacy. The total House FY24 requested
funding CDS of $1,126,088,000 for drinking water projects (noting that
this does not include Senate FY24 requests) is greater than the FY22
capitalization grant for the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund
(DWSRF) of $1,126,088,000. If all the House requested CDS projects are
funded, the DSWRF would be zeroed out. This is gravely concerning. A
sustainable and separate funding source is needed for the CDS projects,
now and in the future. States have significant concerns about the
sustainability of their programs with the funding reductions from the
reductions in the set-asides. With the reductions in set-asides, States
cannot maintain needed technical assistance programs and staff
assistance to systems to meet their ongoing regulatory and
infrastructure needs. These programs largely benefit small, rural
communities as well as disadvantaged communities.
the public water system supervision (pwss) program
ASDWA recommends an immediate increase of PWSS funding by $85
million due to the convergence of multiple mandates in 2024.
How the PWSS Program Operates: To meet the requirements of the
SDWA, States have accepted primary enforcement responsibility for
regulatory compliance and technical assistance for more than 150,000
public water systems to ensure health-based violations do not occur or
are fixed expediently. This involves 91 federally regulated
contaminants, and the complexity of regulations has increased in the
past decade. Beyond the contaminants covered by Federal drinking water
regulations, States are also implementing an array of proactive
initiatives to protect public health and the environment, such as
source water protection, technical assistance for water treatment and
distribution, and enhancement of water system performance. State
activities go well beyond simply ensuring compliance at the tap. Demand
for these activities continues to increase due to new regulatory and
non-regulatory actions such as the 2024 convergence of the deadlines
for the initial lead service line inventories under the Lead and Copper
Rule Revisions (LCRR), the final Lead and Copper Rule Improvements
(LCRI), the final regulation for Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances
(PFAS), the final Consumer Confidence Report (CCR) Rule Revisions, and
the inclusion of cybersecurity in sanitary surveys.
Why Adequate Support is Needed: States will be unable to protect
public health without adequate Federal funding. Inadequate Federal
support for state drinking water programs has several negative
consequences. For example, as part of ASDWA's comments on EPA's
proposed Lead and Copper Rule Revisions (LCRR), ASDWA updated its Costs
of States' Transaction Study (CoSTS). This study found that the LCRR
will increase state staff hours by 835,000 hours annually over the
current Lead and Copper Rule in its first 5 years of implementation, at
a cost to States of approximately $50 million annually. Primacy
agencies will face a significant increase in staff demands with the
submissions of the initial lead service line inventories in 2024.
In addition to the LCRR, primacy agencies will face increased
resource demands with the final PFAS regulation, the final Consumer
Confidence Report (CCR) Rule, and cybersecurity. ASDWA estimates that
the PFAS rule will increase state staff hours by 469,000 hours annually
in its first 5 years of implementation, costing the States $27 million
annually. Additional costs of $8 million annually will result from the
Consumer Confidence Report Revisions and the inclusion of cybersecurity
in sanitary surveys. The total increase in the state burden is $85
million annually.
Without the additional PWSS funding, States will have to make tough
decisions about how to prioritize support to existing programs to
implement the requirements of the final LCRR, the final PFAS rule, the
revisions to the CCR rule, and cybersecurity. States 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 improve public health protection.
State drinking water programs are already hard pressed financially.
State-provided funding has historically compensated for inadequate
Federal funding, but state budgets have been variable for the past few
years, given the COVID-19 and other economic issues. Insufficient
Federal support for the PWSS program increases the likelihood of
scenarios that put the public's health at risk. This is an untenable
situation, as the long-standing regulatory oversight remains constant,
new rules require additional regulatory oversight, and proactive
actions that should be maintained such as technical assistance and
source water protection have increased States' workloads. States
consistently step in to help solve problems and return systems to
compliance and to providing safe water as quickly as possible. Any
reduction in Federal funding for state water programs, no matter how
small, exacerbates the existing financial difficulties.
ASDWA recommends that the PWSS Program be funded at $207 million in
FY24 (a $85 million increase), recognizing that this increase would not
close the funding gap: The number of regulations requiring state
implementation and oversight as well as performance expectations
continue to grow while the Federal funding increases have not kept
pace. Inflation has further eroded the static funding levels. The
requested funding amount is based on ASDWA's 2020 Resource Needs
Report, which found the funding gap for the PWSS program in 2020 to be
$375 million, increasing to $469 million by 2029. The funding gap has
increased by $197 million since the previous analysis in 2011 due to
inflation and the increasing demands on State programs to maintain
current regulatory oversight and to provide oversight on new rules. The
Federal share of program funding has decreased by 8% since the previous
analysis in 2011. Increased PWSS funds are urgently needed for
implementing existing drinking water rules, taking on the new rules,
and to negate the eroding effects of inflation. This is a small price
to pay for public health protection.
the drinking water state revolving loan fund program
ASDWA recommends that Congress fund the DWSRF at the full
authorization--$3 billion. In 2021, Congress recognized the need for
increased funding for water infrastructure by reauthorizing the SRFs in
the Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Act in the IIJA.
However, Congress has not funded the SRFs to the newly authorized
levels to meet this need.
How the DWSRF Program Operates: Drinking water in the U.S. is among
the safest and most reliable in the world, but it is threatened by
aging infrastructure and emerging contaminants. Through low interest
loans provided by the DWSRF, States help water systems overcome these
threats. Since its inception, the DWSRF has provided funding for
projects that enhance drinking water systems and protect public health.
Through the DWSRF program, $21.1 billion in Federal capitalization
grants since 1997 have been leveraged by States into over $41.1 billion
in infrastructure loans to 14,500 communities across the country. About
26% of the cumulative DWSRF funding, including low- and negative-
interest loans, has been provided to small, rural, and disadvantaged
communities. Such investments pay tremendous dividends--both in
supporting our economy and in protecting public health. For every $1
invested in the DWSRF from the Federal Government, $2 has gone to
communities. States have effectively and efficiently leveraged Federal
dollars with state contributions. An important feature of the DWSRF
program is the state ``set-aside'' fund component, a key reason to
fully fund this critical program. Set-asides provide a process for
States to work with water systems to maintain compliance and avoid
violations. States may reserve up to 31% of these funds for a variety
of critical tasks, such as increasing the technical, managerial, and
financial capacity of water systems, providing training and
certification for water system operators, and continuing source water
protection efforts. Set-asides are an essential source of funding for
States' core programs and these efforts work in tandem with
infrastructure loans.
Drinking Water Infrastructure Investment is Well below the
Documented Need: EPA's 6th Drinking Water Needs Survey concluded that
$427.6 billion of capital investment was needed for the next 20 years.
The total translates to $21.4 billion annually. Continued investment is
needed for aging treatment plants, storage tanks, pumps, and
distribution lines that carry water to our Nation's homes, businesses,
and schools. Unlike other water infrastructure funding programs, the
DWSRF offers project subsidization for disadvantaged communities, funds
for training and technical assistance, and is a fundamental funding
mechanism for many medium and small utilities who would pay much higher
interest rates if forced to use the bond market. The DWSRF plays a key
role in keeping infrastructure projects and upgrades affordable for
many communities.
Conclusion: States need sustained Federal support through the PWSS
and DWSRF programs to maintain public health protection and to support
the needs of the water systems they oversee. These programs provide
most of the funding for States to work with drinking water utilities to
ensure the state-federal regulatory partnership ensures that American
citizens have safe and adequate water supplies. Vibrant and sustainable
communities, their citizens, workforce, and businesses all depend on a
safe and reliable supply of drinking water. Over 90% of the population
receives water used for bathing, cooking, and drinking comes from a
water system that is overseen by State drinking water program
personnel. Water systems--as well as the cities, villages, schools, and
businesses they support--rely on state drinking water programs to
ensure they comply with all applicable Federal requirements. In
addition to the water we drink in our homes, water produced by water
systems is also used to fight fires, transport wastewater, cook, wash
clothes and dishes, as well as by businesses for manufacturing, food
processing, and cooling. State drinking water programs must have
adequate funding to protect public health and maintain the economic
health of communities. Contamination events and water supply
interruptions across the country serve as stark reminders of the
critical nature of the work that state drinking water programs do--
every day--and the reason the funding for state drinking water programs
must be not only sustained but increased to match the increased
regulatory burden.
ASDWA recommends Congress fully fund state drinking water programs
in the FY 24 to protect public health and drinking water across the
Nation. States are willing and committed partners, however, additional
Federal funding is needed to meet the ongoing and growing regulatory
and infrastructure needs. Strong state drinking water programs
supported by the federal-state partnership will ensure the quality of
drinking water in this country will continue to improve so the public
knows that a glass of water is safe to drink no matter where they live.
[This statement was submitted by J. Alan Roberson, P.E., Executive
Director, ASDWA.]
______
Prepared Statement of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums
Thank you Chair Merkley and Ranking Member Murkowski for the
opportunity to submit testimony about the priorities of the Association
of Zoos and Aquariums for Fiscal Year 2024. My name is Dan Ashe, and I
am the President and CEO of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums
(AZA). Founded in 1924, the AZA is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization
dedicated to ensuring that our more than 250 accredited zoos,
aquariums, nature and science centers, and related facilities reflect
the global standard of excellence in animal care and welfare,
conservation, education, science, and guest experience. AZA's member
facilities are examples of how economic and environmental prosperity
can work hand-in-hand. Our members welcome nearly 200 million visitors
annually, generating more than $22 billion in economic activity, and
supporting more than 198,000 jobs across the country. They also
contribute well over $200 million in direct support for field
conservation each year. They support work in 117 countries benefiting
more than 954 species and subspecies, of which 225 are listed under the
ESA.
At the heart of AZA is its mandatory accreditation requirement,
which assures that only those zoos and aquariums that meet the highest
standards can become members. The independent and objective AZA
accreditation process includes self-evaluation, rigorous on-site
inspection, and critical peer review. Our standards are publicly
available and are continuously evolving and improving as we learn more
about the needs of the animals in our care. Once earned, AZA
accreditation confers best-in-class status, an important message for
local, State, and Federal Governments and the visiting public. AZA
accreditation is the global gold standard for modern zoological
facilities.
AZA and its members are leaders, partners, and participants in
species conservation. We work in concert with Congress, the Federal
agencies, conservation organizations, State governments, the private
sector, and the general public to conserve our wildlife heritage. AZA's
Wildlife Trafficking Alliance is a coalition of private companies, non-
profit organizations, and AZA-accredited zoos and aquariums working
closely with U.S. government agencies to combat wildlife trafficking
worldwide. AZA and its member facilities have long-standing
partnerships with the USFWS, National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA), and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Our collaborative efforts have focused on:
--Engaging in endangered species recovery and reintroduction,
including some of the most successful and heralded recovery
efforts, such as California condor and black-footed ferret;
--Carrying out rescue, rehabilitation, and confiscation of tens of
thousands of animals in collaboration with Federal and State
agencies, including USFWS, to the benefit of many threatened
and endangered species;
--Supporting conservation domestically and internationally through
multinational species conservation funds and state wildlife
grants; and
--Partnering with USFWS, the National Park Service and others on
migratory birds, freshwater and saltwater fisheries, national
marine sanctuaries, illegal wildlife trade, amphibians, and
invasive species.
I am submitting testimony in support of the following key programs
funded through the annual Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies
appropriations bill.
u.s. fish and wildlife service budget
The 198,000 jobs and $22 billion in economic contributions, as well
as the vital conservation work supported by AZA-accredited facilities
depends on adequate USFWS staff levels. Recently, Senator Murkowski
joined Senators Sullivan, Whitehouse, and others in authoring a letter
to the Department of the Interior. The letter articulates how, during
the past several years, lengthy permitting delays have become the rule,
rather than the exception. Often, these delays put the welfare of
animals and crucial conservation projects at jeopardy. They are a
serious hinderance to AZA's science-based conservation breeding
programs that require animals to be moved in an efficient, humane, and
timely manner. This is particularly acute and serious within the
International Affairs program (Management and Scientific Authorities).
AZA is keenly interested in expanding our critical work in support of
rescue, rehabilitation, and reintroduction of threatened and endangered
species, care and placement of live confiscated wildlife seized at the
ports/borders, and on scientific and conservation research on species
like polar bears in AZA facilities. The success of these important
initiatives depends on the effective permitting from USFWS.
For this reason, we request that the subcommittee include specific
direction for the Management and Scientific Authority to enter into a
Memorandum of Agreement, and hire and support a dedicated and qualified
employee to facilitate zoo and aquarium permitting.
We also request dedicated funding for the Office of Law Enforcement
to support design and implementation of a nationwide ``confiscations
network.'' As we battle the global epidemic of wildlife trafficking,
and as the USFWS continues to improve detection and interruption of
trafficking routes and syndicates, confiscated animals are the
casualties. They are the unfortunate refugees from this crisis and need
to be placed, and often held for lengthy periods, as evidence. Their
care often requires very specialized and expensive expertise. USFWS
often comes to AZA and its members for this assistance, and we need a
comprehensive national framework that will provide the care and welfare
of confiscated wildlife. One that will allow law enforcement agents to
get on with the job of enforcement, and not let criminals escape as
agents deal with placing animals.
endangered species recovery and recovery challenge grants
We express our gratitude for the subcommittee's continued support
for increasing funding for endangered species through the Recovery
account and working with our partners at USFWS to create the Endangered
Species Recovery Challenge Grant program in fiscal year 2018. This
program recognizes the critically important role of nonprofit partners
to the Service's endangered species recovery efforts, and it is a
mechanism, through merit-based matching grants, to provide funding in a
more commensurate manner to support and enhance these efforts. Recovery
Challenge Grants are limited to nonprofit organizations implementing
the highest priority recovery actions identified in recovery plans,
such as for genetically sound breeding, rearing, and reintroduction
programs.
We urge you to continue to provide robust funding for endangered
species recovery and prioritize longstanding recovery efforts in which
existing resources and partner expertise can be most effectively
leveraged. Specifically, we are requesting an increase in funding for
the Recovery Challenge Grant program to $15 million in FY2024. This
funding will power recovery partnerships and inspire their work to
better recover critically endangered species.
multinational species conservation funds
AZA supports the inclusion of $30 million for the Multinational
Species Conservation Funds (MSCF) administered by USFWS. These programs
support public-private partnerships that conserve wild tigers, Asian
and African elephants, rhinos, great apes, freshwater turtles,
tortoises, 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. These programs help to sustain
wildlife populations, address threats such as poaching and illegal
trade, reduce human-wildlife conflict, and protect essential habitat.
USFWS is seen as a global conservation leader in large part due to its
commitment to international conservation efforts. This Federal program
supports AZA-accredited facilities in their field conservation efforts
and partnerships with USFWS.
endangered species act
AZA and its members enthusiastically support the ESA, which has
saved hundreds of listed species from extinction. Like AZA
accreditation, the ESA is the global ``gold standard.'' It reflects our
National commitment to species and ecosystem conservation, and it is
working. Since its inception in 1973, it has prevented the extinction
of 99% of the species it protects. However, we know that the challenges
facing our planet in the 21st century are as complex as they are
urgent. Scientists estimate that the total number of mammals, birds,
reptiles, amphibians, and fish has declined by more than 50% since
1970, and many believe, including me, that we are living amidst the
planet's sixth mass extinction. Climate change is accelerating this
crisis. Without critical intervention today, we are facing the very
real possibility of losing some of our planet's most magnificent
creatures such as lions, cheetahs, elephants, gorillas, sea turtles,
and sharks.
AZA-accredited facilities have a unique opportunity and
responsibility to help others understand this crisis. It is our
obligation--to these animals and to all life on earth--to take bold
action now to protect our planet's biodiversity. One achievement that
has gone unnoticed by most people is that zoos and aquariums have
played a significant role in bringing over 25 species, including
California condor, Florida manatee, and black-footed ferret, back from
the brink of extinction.
Although we have made significant progress in saving endangered
species, this work is far from done. Species protection and
conservation requires long-term commitment by all of us. It is through
the ongoing work related to species recovery plans that we will
conserve these species for future generations. The AZA and its members
support the ESA, and we encourage you to assure that the agencies
responsible for carrying out the mandates of the act receive the
necessary funding and human resource capacity to succeed.
american rescue plan act funding
Finally, we appreciate the subcommittee's support for $30 million
in the ``American Rescue Plan Act'' (Public Law 117-2) for the care of
captive species listed under the ESA and rescued and confiscated
wildlife in facilities experiencing lost revenues due to COVID-19.
Under a cooperative agreement with USFWS to implement this provision,
AZA is providing reimbursements to eligible facilities that cared for
endangered and threatened species and rescued and confiscated wildlife
and that experienced earned revenue declines as a result of the COVID-
19 pandemic. Funds have been directed toward reimbursing eligible
facilities for the following three captive care categories: 1) U.S.
native plant and animal species listed under the ESA); 2) U.S. native
wildlife listed under the ESA rescued from the wild; and/or 3) wildlife
confiscated by the U.S. government at, or destined for, U.S. ports and
borders and held in animal care facilities. AZA is completing review of
a small number of remaining applications in the first round of funding
and will open up a second round of reimbursement opportunities in late
May 2023. With the success of this effort to fund some of the critical
conservation work of facilities like those accredited by AZA, we hope
to work with the subcommittee and USFWS to determine and develop
similar future funding opportunities that address these essential
ongoing wildlife conservation efforts.
AZA and its members look forward to continuing to work with this
subcommittee and Congress to assure that as a nation we are devoting
the necessary resources to conserve wildlife at home and globally.
[This statement was submitted by Dan Ashe, President and CEO,
Association of Zoos and Aquariums.]
______
Prepared Statement of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers
On behalf of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers (BHA), the voice for our
wild public lands, waters and wildlife, I write in support of robust
funding levels and critical funding increases for many key programs
within the fiscal year 2024 Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies
Appropriations bill. Programs within your subcommittee directly drive
important economies related to our Nation's hunting, fishing and
outdoor recreation industries with millions of Americans annually
generating $862 billion.
As we enter the FY2024 budget cycle, BHA encourages this
subcommittee to invest in the natural resource programs within the U.S.
Department of Interior, the U.S. Forest Service and the U.S. Geological
Service that sustain fish and wildlife habitat, drive hunting and
fishing opportunities, enhance public access, and create economic
stability in America. BHA is motivated to work with you and the
authorizing committees on identifying strategic funding solutions that
benefit future generations of hunters and anglers.
land and water conservation fund
BHA strongly supported the Great American Outdoors Act which
permanently and fully funded the Land and Water Conservation Fund
(LWCF). The $900 million floor for LWCF doesn't burden taxpayers and in
fact expands economic support to rural communities, enhances public
recreational access, and conserves quality fish and wildlife habitats.
BHA supports the allocation of an additional $450 million in
discretionary funding to take advantage of the tremendous opportunities
to leverage funding and prioritize projects with partners in the land
trust community that would eliminate landlocked public lands currently
closed to hunters and anglers. We specifically support the use of funds
to address projects that consolidate fragmented ownership of Federal
public lands, connect wildlife corridors, enhance recreational access
in addition to complementing State-based investments in natural
resource management.
blm land resources
BHA supports an increase in funding levels to $304 million for the
Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Land Resources subaccount. This
subaccount includes funding for BLM's high priority planning efforts
across more than 247 million acres of land the agency manages,
including the initiation of new resource management plans, address the
need for planning updates and amendments, and implementation
strategies. It is essential to ensure that BLM has the resources
necessary to integrate the most recent State and Federal fish and
wildlife science, outdoor recreation needs, and balancing energy
development and resource extraction uses within the planning process.
We recommend an additional increase of $5 million that would be
directed to Resource Management Planning budgets for RMP revisions,
amendments, and evaluation.
blm wildlife and aquatic habitat management
BHA supports an increase in funding levels to $235 million for the
BLM Wildlife and Aquatic Habitat Management account. The work conducted
through this account supports the maintenance, restoration, and
enhancement of fish, wildlife, and their habitats on BLM administered
public lands. Important BLM activities such as conducting inventories
of fish and wildlife resources and developing cooperative management
plans while providing for responsible recreation and commercial uses
are critically important for BLM's ongoing work with state fish and
wildlife agencies and local communities across the West. We further
recommend increasing BLM's Wildlife & Aquatic Habitat Management budget
by an additional $7 million to support wildlife migration corridor
conservation with Congress directing BLM to convey $2 million of that
to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation's Western Big Game
Seasonal Habitat and Migration Corridors Fund.
blm foundation
Announced by the Department of the Interior in 2022, The Foundation
for America's Public Lands presents a unique opportunity to maintain
and improve wildlife migration corridors and seasonal ranges in
addition to establishing a sustainable future for BLM lands in general.
BHA requests that appropriations for Fiscal Year 2024 include at least
$1 million to the foundation to support implementation of DOI
Secretarial Order 2018- 3362 by funding priority projects that benefit
wildlife migration corridors and seasonal habitat.
blm wild horses and burros
BHA supports an increase in funding levels to $155 million for the
BLM's Wild Horse and Burro (WHB) Program as current funding does not
provide enough resources for control efforts to outpace population
growth rates. Additionally, we recommend that funds no longer be
borrowed from other budget line items to fund the WHB. BLM estimates
there are over 82,000 WHB across habitats with a total appropriate
management level of less than 27,000. The harm inflicted on public
lands from excess wild horses and burros compounds yearly as on-range
population growth rates and off-range holding costs outstrip the BLM's
ability to manage herds.
greater sage-grouse conservation
BHA also supports the removal of the harmful sage-grouse rider that
compromises the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's (USFWS) ability to
utilize important conservation tools within the Endangered Species Act
should populations continue to decline. Greater sage-grouse habitat has
experienced concerning degrees of fragmentation and degradation across
the West and historic collaboration efforts have created powerful
conservation plans tailored to 11 States across nearly 70 million acres
of sagebrush steppe. This rider ties the hands of wildlife managers
across the country and threatens the livelihood of rural communities
that depend on sagebrush country for economic stability. BHA encourages
you to oppose efforts to include any limiting sage-grouse rider
language in FY24 appropriations bills.
abandoned hardrock mine reclamation funding
BHA supports funding levels of at least $287 million to be provided
for the abandoned hardrock mine reclamation program created by Sec.
40704 of the Infrastructure, Investment, and Jobs Act. It is critical
that this program receive funding to address the estimated 500,000
abandoned hardrock mines in the West. According to the Government
Accountability Office, Federal agencies spent, on average, about $287
million annually from 2008 through 2017 identifying, cleaning up, and
monitoring abandoned hardrock mine sites. However, at this rate it
would still take nearly two centuries to clean up all our Nation's
abandoned mines which represent the largest single source of pollution
with 40% of watersheds in the West contaminated by mine tailings and
runoff.
usfws north american wetlands conservation act
BHA supports funding the North American Wetlands Conservation Fund
at its fully authorized amount of $60 million. This one-of-a-kind
program leverages 1:4 ratio in contributions from nonfederal partners
to restore migratory birds and other wildlife habitat within FWS
allocations. To date NAWCA has already conserved more than 30 million
acres of wetland habitat to the benefit of waterfowl enthusiasts
nationwide.
usfws national fish habitat action plan & partnerships
This USFWS account funds the National Fish Habitat Partnership, a
coalition of outdoor, hunting, angling, industry, and other
conservation organizations, that work together to address the loss and
depletion of fish habitat in critical waterways throughout America. BHA
supports funding this partnership at its fully authorized amount of
$7.2 million to further water restoration efforts across our country.
usfws national wildlife refuge system
BHA supports an increase in funding levels to $624 million for the
FWS National Wildlife Refuge System's (NWRS) Operations and Maintenance
account. Adjusting for inflation, this level of funding is necessary to
maintain operations at a level established a decade ago. The NWRS
currently allows hunting on 436 wildlife refuge units and fishing on
378, generating more than $2.4 billion annually in economic revenue
from hunting, fishing and other outdoor recreation activities. The
Refuge System also supports more than 35,000 jobs across our Nation.
Additionally, BHA supports the dedication of $10 million to complete
Comprehensive Conservation Plans, 40% of which are outdated despite the
requirement by law to be updated every 15 years.
usfws partners for fish and wildlife program
BHA supports an increase in funding levels to $80 million for the
Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program. This program that provides
technical and financial assistance to private landowners and help
implement critical projects that restore grasslands, wetlands and other
habitats important to wildlife species such as grouse, canvasbacks and
mule deer. Additionally, BHA strongly supports the dedication of $3
million in direct support of DOI Secretarial Order 2018- 3362. We ask
Congress to direct USFWS to convey $1 million of that to the National
Fish and Wildlife Foundation's Western Big Game Seasonal Habitat and
Migration Corridors Fund and dedicate the remaining $2 million for a
wildlife migration grants program that is managed internally for
supporting key partnerships.
usfws science applications program
The USFWS Science Applications Program has made instrumental
investments in researching and prioritizing wildlife corridor needs
with western States and it will be critical to ensure that future
funding remains robust as we face important demands for the best
available science to inform planning and management decisions.
Increasing energy demands--including pressure for new renewables
development on both private and public lands--compels us to direct
continued funding for research to understand strategic needs and
specific threats to wildlife migration corridors as State and Tribal
wildlife management agencies prioritize future projects including
transportation infrastructure like overpasses and underpasses to
facilitate wildlife migration. We recommend that $4 million be provided
to the Science Applications Program to directly support and identify
needs for 18 western States and Tribal partner agencies that are
critical to addressing threats and advancing big game migration and
movement projects.
usfws neotropical migratory bird conservation fund
BHA supports an increase in funding levels to $8 million for the
Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Fund. This competitive grant
program benefits more than 3.7 million acres of habitat, promoting
long-term conservation of neotropical migratory birds through partner-
based conservation and energizing local, on-the-ground conservation
efforts through their migratory life cycles across North and South
America.
usfws state & tribal wildlife grants
BHA supports an increase in funding levels to $82 million for USFWS
State and Tribal Wildlife Grants. This will provide state fish and
wildlife management agencies the resources they need to continue
managing and restoring critical habitats for species at risk of
becoming endangered. In doing so the program facilitates collaboration
between state, Tribal and Federal interests to invest in conservation
efforts that prevent more expensive management costs in the future.
usfs roads and trails
BHA supports robust funding for the U.S. Forest Service (USFS)
Roads and Trails on National Forest System lands to help alleviate
millions in maintenance backlogs. Many hunters, anglers and other
outdoor recreationalists depend on roads and trails to gain access to
our public lands and waters. Without proper funding and management,
public access can become eliminated or reduced significantly.
Addressing USFS's maintenance backlog account is an important priority
BHA would like to see addressed by Congress.
usfs wild horses and burros
BHA supports robust, dedicated funding for Wild Horse and Burro
(WHB) management within a newly specified line-item, as funds are
currently reallocated internally from other budgets. As USFS is
responsible for 20% of the Nation's WHB, we recommend that the 80/20
ratio is continued for WHB appropriations across BLM and USFS.
usfs migration corridors
We commend USDA and the USFS for elevating the conservation of
wildlife migration corridors and seasonal ranges, particularly
Secretary Vilsack's issuance of Secretarial Memo 1077 and the August
2022 USFS Habitat Connectivity and Migration Corridors in National
Forest System Planning'' guidance to Regional Foresters. These efforts
will complement the work of the Natural Resources Conservation Service
through Working Lands for Wildlife and other programs and ongoing
implementation of DOI Secretarial Order 2018- 3362, however, policy
guidance requires the allocation of funding to have meaningful impact.
We recommend that Congress direct USFS to allocate $10 million from the
Infrastructure, Investment, and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction
Act wildfire risk and hazardous fuels reduction funds to support
implementation of USFS wildlife migration corridors policy guidance
including conservation efforts at the individual forest and regional
levels.
We also recommend a $2 million increase for the USFS Watershed,
Fish, Wildlife, Air and Rare Plants budgets to be directed to National
Fish and Wildlife Foundation's Western Big Game Seasonal Habitat and
Migration Corridors Fund.
usgs wildlife corridor mapping and research
The U.S. Geological Survey's Corridor Mapping Team has provided
critical mapping support and State-based technical assistance to
wildlife management agencies through formal collaboration with the
Wyoming Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit (CRU). Early
investments made possible under the implementation of DOI Secretarial
Order 2018- 3362, have provided essential data and spatial analysis for
migration corridors mapping culminating three volumes of Ungulate
Migrations of the Western United States. These migration atlases are
the foundation for understanding wildlife migrations, prioritizing
conservation needs in partnerships with western States, and avoiding
and mitigating impacts from development through landscape-level
planning on public lands--particularly as energy needs across renewable
and fossil fuel sectors remain high. We recommend that at least $1
million and up to $5 million be allocated to the USGS Land Management
Research budget and directed to supporting the Corridor Mapping Team
and future research for publishing future volumes of Ungulate
Migrations of the Western United States and other critical wildlife
migration corridor studies.
While we understand the need to be fiscally responsible with
taxpayer dollars, we believe that conservation programs are key
economic drivers, providing large returns on investment in addition to
ensuring that America has clean drinking water. Therefore, we ask you
to support stable, annual funding for our Nation's public land and
waters to support healthy communities and habitat for fish and
wildlife. Thank you for your consideration of Backcountry Hunters &
Anglers' fiscal year 2024 recommendations for the Interior,
Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill.
Sincerely,
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
John Gale
Vice President of Policy and Government Relations
Backcountry Hunters & Anglers
______
Prepared Statement of the Central Arizona Water Conservation District
On behalf of the Central Arizona Water Conservation District
(CAWCD), I encourage you to direct the Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
to again expend at least $2.0 million from its Aquatic Resources
Program for Colorado River specific salinity control activities in
Fiscal Year 2024. 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
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 delivers water to almost 6
million people each year, including to municipal and industrial users,
agricultural irrigation districts, and Tribal 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% 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 the 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 $354 million per year to U.S.
users with projections that damages would increase to approximately
$671 million per year by 2040 if the program were not to continue.
These damages include:
--A reduction in the ability to reclaim and reuse water for
beneficial uses, including drinking water and irrigation water
supplies, due to high salinities in the water delivered to
water treatment and reclamation facilities;
--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 threat of salinity continues to be a concern between the United
States and Mexico. Since the agreement of Minute 242 in 1973 to the
1944 Water Treaty, the United States has taken several actions to
improve the quality of water delivered to Mexico, including operating
and maintaining the Main Outlet Drain Extension (MODE). More recently,
on November 20, 2012, a 5-year agreement, known as Minute 319, was
signed between the U.S. 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 United States, Mexico, and key water users,
including CAWCD, worked since 2015 to develop a successor agreement,
Minute 323, which was finalized on September 27, 2017. Minute 323
continues collaboration and cooperation among the United States and
Mexico with respect to salinity control in the Colorado River system.
The CAWCD and other key water providers are committed to meeting these
goals.
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.
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.
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. CAWCD
requests that this committee direct that BLM again expend in Fiscal
Year 2024 at least $2.0 million from its Aquatic Resources Program for
Colorado River specific salinity control activities.
[This statement was submitted by Brenda Burman, General Manager,
Central Arizona Water Conservation District.]
______
Prepared Statement of the Center for Invasive Species Prevention
We write to ask you to support funding for two programs of the USDA
Forest Service. Each is essential for protecting the resilience of the
Nation's forests in the face of invasive pests.
We ask that the subcommittee adopt report language requiring that
the USFS begin a phased increase in funding allocated to research on
invasive species. The goal would be to allocate five percent of the
overall Rangeland Research Program's budget request to this purpose by
FY26. As the first step on this phased increase, we suggest that the
subcommittee raise funding for research on invasive species-the 10
species named on p. 62 of the budget justification and the many that
are apparently not now included-to $8.5 million. We note that these
invasive species imperil forest health independently of the manifold
effects of increased fire intensity and frequency and climate change.
The research that would be funded by the additional funding is critical
to improving managers' understanding of invasive forest insects' and
pathogens' invasion pathways and impacts, as well as to developing
effective management strategies.
Appropriations for USFS R&D (in $millions)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FY24--Administration's
FY22 FY23 budget Our ask
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total R&D budget........................ $296.6 $307.3 $349.1 $349.1
Funding for 10 invasive pest spp........ $4 $4.5 $4.4 $8.5
FIA..................................... $22.2 $32.2 $30.2 $30.2
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In addition, we support the Administration's request for an
appropriation of $20 million for the Forest Health Management Program
(FHM) program on Federal lands and $35 million for the Cooperative
Lands subprogram. We support continued availability of funding for
these programs provided by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (Public
Law 117- 58). Both subprograms must be funded in order to ensure
continuity of protection efforts--such an ``all lands'' approach is the
only way that pest management can be effective.
Appropriations for USFS S&P&T Lands, Forest Health Management (in
$millions)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FY24--Administration's
PROGRAM FY22 FY23 budget Our ask
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Federal lands approp.................... 16 17 20 20
Federal lands Bipart. Infr.............. 8.128 5 5 5
Coop lands approp....................... 32 33 35 35
Coop lands Bipart. Infr................. 7 7.685 7.685 7.685
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
justification
urban, rural, and wildland forests: indispensable and threatened
About one-third of America's land area supports forests or
woodlands. These forests provide many benefits, including wood and non-
wood forest products; jobs for rural economies; wildlife habitat;
carbon sequestration; clean water and air; and recreation and aesthetic
enjoyment. About 60 percent of these forests are owned by States or
private entities.
Urban forests also contribute important services to both society
and the environment. They moderate temperatures and winds, thus
reducing energy expenditures and related emissions of carbon dioxide
and other pollutants. They curb storm water runoff and its management
costs. Urban trees filter air and water pollutants. They improve the
health and wellbeing of residents.
the impact of non-native insects and diseases
Already, growing numbers of non-native insects and pathogens in
America's forests undermine the most basic of our forests' condition
and ecosystem services. One-fifth of forest biomass in the ``lower 48''
States is threatened by just the worst 15 pests. In total, these 15
species have caused an additional annual conversion of live biomass to
dead wood at a rate similar in magnitude to the low end of the
estimated rate attributed to fire (5.53 TgC per year for pests v. 5.4
to 14.2 TgC per year for fire).\1\ Unique ecosystems are being
destroyed: black ash swamps of the upper Midwest, riparian forests in
California and Oregon, stream canyons of the Appalachian range, and
high-elevation forests of western mountains. [See Invasive Species in
Forests & Grasslands of the United States: A Comprehensive Science
Synthesis for the United States Forest Sector, at https://
www.fs.usda.gov/treesearch/pubs/61982]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Fei, S., R.S. Morin, C.M. Oswalt, and A.M. 2019. Biomass losses
resulting from insect and disease invasions in United States forests.
PNAS August 27, 2019. Vol. 116 No. 35 17371-17376
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Newly-arrived pests threatens additional ecosystems. Rapid ?ohi?a
death is killing the most widespread tree species in the unique forests
of Hawai`i. Beech leaf disease has spread from Ohio to Maine and south
to Virginia in little over a decade; it threatens one of the most
numerous tree species in the eastern forest. California's oaks face a
growing number of pests: sudden oak death, goldspotted oak borer,
Kuroshio shot hole borer, and now Mediterranean oak borer.
fulfilling the forest service' mission
The mission of the USDA Forest Service is to ``sustain the health,
diversity, and productivity of the Nation's forests and grasslands to
meet the needs of present and future generations.'' The Service cannot
fulfill this mission without a strong and integrated strategy for
countering the establishment, spread, and effects of non-native insects
and diseases. Unfortunately, the Administration's proposed budget for
Fiscal Year 2024 barely recognizes the threat posed by non-native
insects and pathogens and does not provide the resources needed to
address it.
usda forest service forest and rangeland research program
This inadequacy is most obvious in its funding allocations for the
Research program. Often, when pests are first detected, little is known
about them. Effective programs to prevent, suppress, and eradicate the
risks can be developed only after scientists understand the pest-host
relationship. This crucial knowledge can be gained only through
research.
Unfortunately, the Forest Service's research budget does prioritize
improving managers' understanding of specific invasive species and of
the processes contributing to bioinvasions. Just $4 million is
allocated for research conducted by the Research stations on 10 non-
native pests (see page 62)--just over 1% of the total research budget.
Since FY2010, these programs have suffered a greater than 70% decrease
in funding while new pests have arrived to threaten our trees. USFS is
losing the ability to develop effective tools needed by federal, state,
and private landowners trying to managing the growing number of pests.
The Administration says it has prioritized research intended to
support nature-based solutions for climate risk reduction, watershed
resiliency, forest ecology, and forest genetics. However, many of the
tree species that such solutions would depend on are being decimated by
non-native pests. To restore them, scientists need to research their
genetics and possible strategies to breed trees able to thrive despite
the introduced pests. However, USFS R&D supports only a few such
projects. Even in these cases the project leaders must seek outside
funding in order to continue their work. We doubt that the Service'
goals can be achieved in the absence of adequate funding for increasing
understanding of bioinvasion and developing effective mitigation
strategies.
Increased research examining the full range of strategies for
countering invasive species will help managers to address threats
identified by the recent expansion of the Forest Inventory and Analysis
program. That is, research will contribute to improving forest
conditions, not just documenting them.
forest health management: providing the needed continuum of pest
management
Tree-killing non-native pests usually first appear in cities or
suburbs, because they arrive on imported goods destined to population
centers. The immediate result is enormous damage to urban forests. It
is important that the USDA Forest Service counter this damage directly.
Even more important, the Service needs to thwart spread of these
pests from places of first arrival to the Nation's rural and wildland
forests, including National forests. Some pests spread on their own.
Others are transported long distances on firewood, plants, or storage
pods holding household furnishings. Thus they quickly imperil forests
across the continent, so demanding a Federal response. Examples of
tree-killing pests that have spread from urban areas to our National
forests include the hemlock woolly adelgid, emerald ash borer,
polyphagous and Kuroshio shot hole borers, sudden oak death, and laurel
wilt disease.
In other words, protecting America's forests begins by addressing
pests where they are first found--usually in urban or semi-rural
forests; and following where they next appear. The USFS FHM program
does this by providing technical and financial assistance to both
States and other forest-management partners [Cooperative Lands] and
Federal agencies [Federal Lands]. Both components of the FHM program
are essential to the ``all lands'' management continuum. The program's
efficacy has been reduced by the 50% cut in funding over the past
decade. The Administration's proposed funding levels partially restore
this missing capacity.
The strategy outlined in the budget justification, e.g., early
detection of pests' introduction or spread to new regions and the
``all-lands'' approach, is sound. However, we note that strategies
appropriate for managing the western and southern bark beetles, e.g.,
thinning, are not effective in countering non-native insects and
pathogens. Therefore we also welcome increased investment in innovative
control technologies.
We particularly applaud two projects described in the budget
justification. Support for control of sudden oak death in Oregon and
California needs to continue. Managers must be ready to respond to a
probable expansion of the disease in California in response to the wet
winter of 2022-2023. We also praise the partnership with State and
Tribal agencies and USDA APHIS to manage widespread mortality of black
(or brown) ash caused by the emerald ash borer.
A critical component of a comprehensive pest-management strategy is
improving threatened trees' resistance to the introduced pests. The
USFS currently allots very few resources to tree resistance breeding.
Perhaps surprisingly, much of the existing effort is funded by Forest
Health Management or the National Forest System. For example, the model
project-the Dorena Genetic Resource Center, in Oregon--is under the
NFS. The Dorena center has made heartening progress in developing
pathogen-resistant Port-Orford cedar and white pines; seedlings are now
being planted by Federal agencies, Tribes, and others. The Dorena
Center is also advising partners in the Forest Service and other
federal, state, Tribal, and academic institutions engaged in
resistance-breeding for ashes and two tree species in Hawaii, koa and
ohia.
CISP supports efforts to develop improved performance metrics.
Measuring ``acres treated'' doesn't cover the extent of activities that
should be undertaken.
Finally, CISP supports the USFS' Urban Forestry programs in both
the State and Private and Research divisions. Improving management of
the 140 million acres of urban forests--through recommendations based
on research--will contribute to solving many environmental and social
problems and enhance our Nation's ability to respond to introductions
of non-native insects and pathogens.
Thank you for addressing these matters. I would be pleased to
provide additional information.
[This statement was submitted by Submitted by Faith T. Campbell,
President, Center for Invasive Species Prevention.]
______
Prepared Statement of the Chemical Safety and Sustainability
On behalf of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine,
thank you for the opportunity to submit this written testimony
regarding the appropriations request described below for an increase of
$11.3 million for the Chemical Safety and Sustainability (CSS) Research
Program and accompanying report language for advancing New Approach
Methodologies (NAMs) for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The
Physicians Committee is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with nearly
one million members and supporters worldwide working for effective,
efficient, and ethical medical research and product testing.
As you craft the FY 2024 Interior, Environment, and Related
Agencies Appropriations bill, the Physicians Committee asks that you
please consider the following provision to advance the implementation
of predictive human-specific science, facilitate faster development of
safe products, and reduce animal testing.
Thank you for your consideration and please do not hesitate to
reach out with any questions.
pa new approach methodologies funding
The Physicians Committee requests that the subcommittee include
funding and report language for the EPA to continue and expand
activities to support NAMs, including through the publication of policy
updates, employee trainings, and additional full-time equivalents
(FTEs).
The EPA's December 2021 New Approach Methods Work Plan defines NAMs
as ``any technology, methodology, approach, or combination that can
provide information on chemical hazard and risk assessment to avoid the
use of animal testing.'' \1\ These modern test methods, including
computer models and in vitro cell and tissue-based approaches, can now
replace many animal-based tests. Traditional animal methods are
prohibitively expensive and time-consuming, delaying needed regulations
to protect vulnerable communities from toxic chemicals in the
environment and prevent the introduction of potential new toxicants. In
contrast, by using cells and components of primarily human origin, NAMs
can better account for variations within human communities, including
in genetic backgrounds, pre-existing conditions, and stages of life,
than animal tests. The Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety Act for the
21st Century amended the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to
prioritize reduction and replacement of animal tests and increase the
use of NAMs by requiring industry to ``first attempt to develop the
information by means of an alternative test method or strategy
identified by the [EPA] ... before conducting new vertebrate animal
testing.'' \2\ This mandate is essential to addressing the
disproportionate exposure to toxic chemicals faced by communities of
color, and low-income and indigenous communities. A product of the
Lautenberg Act was the TSCA Strategic Plan on NAMs, which sets out a
framework for reaching animal testing reduction and replacement
objectives and includes long-term ongoing steps. The 2021 New Approach
Methods Work Plan is another related policy document issued by the EPA,
which provides further strategies, deliverables, and timelines.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ USEPA 2021. New Approach Methods Work Plan (v2). U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC. EPA/600/X-21/209.
\2\ The Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety Act for the 21st
Century. Pub Law. 114-182
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Congress has expressed support for the EPA to continue developing
and evaluating NAMs via previous appropriations report language;
however, inadequate funding for this purpose has prevented full
implementation of the agency's plans. The EPA maintains ongoing efforts
to advance NAMs for chemical testing, including in the Office of
Pesticide Programs and the Office of Research and Development, but
limited resources and competing agency priorities often delay progress
on NAMs implementation. With this request, the Physicians Committee is
supporting the EPA's requested funding increase of $11.3 million to the
CSS Research Program for FY24 for activities to advance NAMs. Although
the CSS Research Program is spearheading a lot of NAMs work, the
development and evaluation of NAMs has cross-cutting, agency-wide
applications. This further investment in NAMs activities would improve
the EPA's capacity to prioritize this work among other agency
priorities, meet strategic planning goals, and properly integrate NAMs
into agency policies and practices.
Additionally, this requested report language would ensure that the
EPA uses funding to address key areas of improvement for advancing
NAMs, including updating policies to clearly communicate to industry
which NAMs are accepted for certain uses, and establishing regular
staff trainings on NAMs to ensure employees involved in chemical
assessments are up to date with the latest scientific advancements.
To support innovation at the EPA through accelerated development
and evaluation of NAMs, the Physicians Committee requests that the
subcommittee provide an increase of $11.3 million for the CSS Research
Program to advance NAMs and adopt the following report language:
New Approach Methodologies.- The Committee notes that Public Law
114-182 (the Lautenberg Act) requires the agency to consider nonanimal
tests prior to requiring testing using vertebrate animals, and
prioritize strategies to replace, reduce, and refine the use of
vertebrate animals. The Committee also notes that New Approach
Methodologies (NAMs), including in vitro tests, in chemico assays, and
in silico models, represent key advances in science to improve hazard
and risk assessments of pesticides and chemicals. The Committee
provides $11,328,000 for the agency to continue and expand activities
to develop, build confidence in, and implement NAMs to meet deadlines
and goals set in the 2021 New Approach Methods Work Plan and the TSCA
Strategic Plan on NAMs. Among these efforts, the Committee directs the
agency to publish updated policies outlining the acceptance of
scientifically supported NAMs for specified applications, implement
annual trainings on NAMs for employees involved in hazard and risk
assessments, fund additional FTEs to support NAMs implementation, and
continue to engage in Federal and nongovernmental organization
collaborations.
[This statement was submitted by Elizabeth Baker, J.D., Regulatory
Policy Director, Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine.]
______
Prepared Statement of the Chippewa Cree Tribe of the Rocky Boy's
Reservation
Chair Merkley, Ranking Member Murkowski and Members of the
subcommittee, on behalf of the Chippewa Cree Tribe I am pleased to
provide this testimony in support of strong funding in Fiscal Year 2024
for Tribal programs at the Department of the Interior and the Indian
Health Service under the subcommittee's jurisdiction. I am Harlan
Baker, and I have the honor of serving as the Chairman of the Tribal
Business Committee for the Chippewa Cree Tribe of the Rocky Boy's
Indian Reservation. Our Tribe totals nearly 6,200 enrolled members and
our reservation encompasses over 122,000 acres in north central
Montana, in one of the most remote and rural areas in the United
States.
We want to express our deep appreciation to the Chair and Ranking
Member and others on this subcommittee who have continued to stand by
our Nation's commitment to its Indian Tribes. In enacting the FY 2023
Appropriations bill you have demonstrated once again that Indian
affairs is a bi-partisan area where members of both parties recognize
that the Federal trust responsibility, one of the most important
doctrines in Federal Indian law, derives from the treaties between
Tribal nations and the U.S. government. It is the obligation of the
Federal Government, including all branches and agencies, to protect
Tribal self-governance, Tribal lands, assets, resources, and treaty
rights, and to provide adequate funding to carry out the directions of
Federal statutes and court cases.
As a Self-Governance Tribe, the Chippewa Cree Tribe strengthens our
ability to determine our own future and our ability to govern our
people at both the local level where we are providing the direct
services to our people and at the National level where we build and
strengthen our government-to-government relationship with the United
States Government. Adequate support from the Federal Government is
crucial to ensure we have a safe and thriving community for our people.
We express our appreciation as you have allowed for some growth in
Federal funding for important Tribal programs in recent years and we
urge you to resist any proposals that seem terribly disconnected to the
reality of life in Indian Country that would cut back funding to some
of the most impoverished people in the United States. We understand the
need to balance the budget but first we need to get to the point where
we have something even remotely resembling parity with the rest of the
population outside Indian Country.
We urge the subcommittee to build on recent progress and enact the
initiatives called for in the President's Budget Request that present
an historic opportunity for a transformation in the relationship
between Tribes and the Federal Government and that seek to restore some
of the promises made to our ancestors by providing increased resources
in several key programs. This includes requesting mandatory funding for
the Indian Health Service (IHS), Contract Support Costs at the
Department of the Interior (DOI), and Section 105(l) Tribal Leases;
along with increased investments in Indian healthcare, education,
public safety, natural resource management, and infrastructure. These
historic budget and policy proposals for Tribal programs, which Tribal
leaders have long advocated for, are long overdue, and are prepaid for
by our ancestors.
funding for the indian health service (ihs)
Because of the rural nature and isolated location of our Tribe we
are challenged with a low economic base, increasing medical and
pharmaceutical costs, large distances to travel to access specialty
care, and problems with the recruitment and retention of medical
providers. Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating
impact on Tribal citizens. In fact, according to data from the Montana
Department of Public Health and Human Services released in 2021, while
Native Americans in Montana make up only 7% of the State's population,
we accounted for more than 20% of the COVID-19 cases, and sadly, are
dying from the disease at a rate 11 times higher than white residents.
The health disparities between Native Americans and other groups in the
U.S. has been well documented for years. Yet, according to IHS data
from April 2022, actual IHS spending per user remains less than half of
Medicaid spending per enrollee, less than half of Veterans medical
spending per patient, and less than one-third of Medicare spending per
beneficiary--even after including third party revenue received by IHS.
Congress must take action to provide the resources to the IHS and
Tribal health programs to improve the well-being of our people. We
support the recommendations of the IHS National Tribal Budget
Formulation Work Group and call on Congress to provide full needs-based
funding of the IHS in FY 2024.
We are particularly grateful that in the FY 2023 omnibus spending
law Congress enacted for the first time Advance Appropriations for the
Indian Health Service (IHS) in FY 2024. This was a long-sought goal and
is much needed to ensure that Tribes can better meet the health needs
of our people. As you know, short Continuing Resolutions (CRs) make it
difficult to hire and retain staff, and enter into long term
(financially advantageous) contracts with vendors and suppliers. When
you operate on the margins like IHS, Tribal and Urban Indian Health
programs do, short term funds are just not practical and limits the
care provided to our patients. On an advance appropriations cycle,
Tribal health care providers, as well as the IHS, now know the funding
a year earlier than was previously the case under often lengthy CRs. In
addition to protecting Tribal members from the harmful effects of a
shutdown, providing advance appropriations will allow Tribal health
programs the ability to better recruit and retain health professionals,
to better plan programmatic activity over several years, thereby
leading to better health outcomes for our people and decreased long-
term healthcare costs. Further savings will be achieved by allowing
long-term contracts with outside vendors and suppliers. All of these
benefits come at no additional costs to the Federal Government. We
would urge the subcommittee to make permanent Advance Appropriations
for IHS, while we work toward the goal of mandatory funding.
public safety funding at the bia
Like many Tribes we are seeing a drastic increase in drug
trafficking and related crime coming onto our lands. There is a
significant need for the Federal Government to improve law enforcement
resources and bring State and local authorities to the table with
Tribes to address public safety. Congress needs to provide additional
resources to BIA law enforcement, the U.S. Attorney's Offices, the FBI,
and other agencies to help us stem the flow of illegal drugs,
investigate crimes, and prosecute offenders. The underfunding of Tribal
law enforcement and justice systems is well-documented. In 2022, the
Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) submitted a report to Congress required
by the Tribal Law and Order Act estimating that to provide a minimum
base level of service to all federally recognized Tribal nations, $1.3
billion is needed for Tribal law enforcement, $1.2 billion is needed
for Tribal courts, and $240.6 million is needed for existing detention
centers. Based on actual funding provided in FY 2023, Tribal law
enforcement, detentions/corrections, and Tribal courts are funded at a
staggeringly low 18.6 percent of estimated need.
The funding short falls for law enforcement endangers public safety
on our reservation and forces us to use Tribal discretionary funds
which means less resources in other areas and it hamstrings future
business development. Another complicating factor is that our police
and detention officers are required to be federally trained, however
the state of Montana has an excellent officer training program and it
would be more efficient financially and logistically to take advantage
of the Montana Law Enforcement Academy. The BIA needs to provide more
flexibility in allowing officers to train at state academies rather
than needing to go the Federal training center in New Mexico, which
often has a long wait list. In line with recommendations put forth by
the Tribal Interior Budget Council (TIBC) we urge this subcommittee to
provide $2.924 billion for Public Safety and Justice funding, with
approximately $1.766 billion for BIA Law Enforcement and $1.155 billion
for Tribal courts in FY 2024.
bia self-governance funding
As I mentioned earlier in my testimony, we are a Self-Governance
Tribe and have carried out all functions of the Bureau of Indian
Affairs and Indian Health Service on our Reservation for decades. Under
the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (ISDEAA) the
Federal Government is supposed to provide the funding necessary for
Tribal nations that have elected to use Self-Governance for the
delivery of programs and services to our citizens and communities.
However, current funding levels are insufficient and funding over the
past decade has remained flat, which is taking into account current
inflation is actually a decrease.
There have also been delays in the BIA distributing funding to
self-governance Tribes. These delays have resulted in our Tribe being
forced to collateralize discretionary resources to secure operating
lines of credit and encumber interest rates and other fees. The funding
mechanisms used by the BIA need to be streamlined to ensure Tribes
receive their funding in a timely manner and have the flexibility
needed to operate programs and provide services in the way that works
best for our people. We encourage Congress to ensure full funding of
BIA programs based on need and hold the agency accountable to ensure
that this funding is allocated to Tribes in a transparent, fair and
timely manner.
Thank you again for the opportunity to submit this testimony and I
urge the members of this subcommittee to work with your colleagues to
provide robust funding for Tribal programs in FY 2024 to ensure that we
have the resources needed to provide basic and essential services to
our people and ensure their health, safety, and wellbeing.
[This statement was submitted by Harlan Baker, Chippewa Cree
Business Committee Chairman.]
______
Prepared Statement of the Chippewa Ottawa Resource Authority
introduction
Aanii (Hello)! I am providing this testimony regarding FY 2024
funding in my capacity as President of the Bay Mills Indian Community,
an Ojibwe Tribal Nation located on the south shore of Lake Superior in
Michigan's Upper Peninsula. My Tribal Nation is a member of the
Chippewa Ottawa Resource Authority (CORA) and I serve on the Board of
that inter-Tribal entity, and present this testimony on CORA's behalf.
CORA is a consortium of five federally recognized Tribal Nations in
Michigan that are parties to the 1836 Treaty of Washington with the
United States; they are: Bay Mills Indian Community; Grand Traverse
Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians; Little River Band of Ottawa
Indians; Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians; and the Sault Ste.
Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians.
purpose
I cannot emphasize enough the importance of Federal funding to
support the exercise of reserved treaty rights and management of
natural resources protected by these treaties. Within the Department of
the Interior annual budget exists funding for the Rights Protection
Implementation (RPI) program. That program provides to those Tribal
Nations with judicially-recognized reserved usufructuary rights, funds
which are necessary to protect and preserve the ability of the Tribal
Nations to facilitate sustainable use and enjoyment of these protected
natural resources. RPI funds are targeted to enable Tribal Nations to
identify and implement appropriate management and protection
activities, to utilize expert management and biological services, and
to employ sufficient law enforcement personnel enforce Tribal, State
and Federal laws regulating the natural resource use and protection.
In FY 2023, RPI funding in the amount of $6,994,659.00 was provided
to CORA's Tribal Nations. This level of funding is essential to the
ability of each Tribal Nation to carry out the obligations under
current Consent Decrees, and additional funding in the amount of
$8,237.031.00 is needed to fund the additional Tribal responsibilities
and obligations under a successor Great Lakes Consent Decree currently
under the consideration of the U.S. District Court for the Western
District of Michigan.
background
In 1836, the Ojibwe (Chippewa) and Odawa (Ottawa) Tribal Nations
(``CORA Tribal Nations'') in Michigan negotiated a treaty with the
United States that ceded lands to the Federal Government which were
used to create the State of Michigan in 1837. The ceded lands comprise
more than forty per cent (40%) of what is now the State of Michigan.
However, the CORA Tribal Nations reserved the right to hunt, fish, trap
and gather throughout the ceded territory, including the waters of
Lakes Michigan, Huron, and Superior.
Thereafter, Tribal members continued to exercise their treaty-
guaranteed rights. Their ability to do so was adversely impacted by the
State of Michigan, which in the 1950's and 1960's asserted its
authority to exclusively regulate hunting and fishing by Tribal members
and to limit what activities were protected by the Treaty. At that
time, only the Bay Mills Indian Community was a federally recognized
Tribal Nation, so its Tribal members, including my grandfather, Albert
``Big Abe'' LeBlanc, resisted State efforts to control treaty-protected
activities and continued to hunt and fish with traditional gear and
without a State License.
The resistance culminated in 1971, with the citation of Albert
``Big Abe'' LeBlanc for fishing in Lake Superior with gill nets, then a
State criminal offense. In defense, the Bay Mills Indian Community
supported its fisher's positions that the rights reserved in the 1836
Treaty continued to exist and supersede Michigan fishing regulation
under the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution. The case wound
through various State court levels, culminating in 1976 with the
issuance of a decision by the Michigan Supreme Court, holding in People
v. LeBlanc that the right to fish in the Great Lakes waters ceded in
the Treaty of 1836 continued to exist, and that the State could apply
its law to Treaty-protected fishing if it could demonstrate that the
regulation is necessary to conserve the resource.
The ongoing battle shifted to Federal court, as the United States
had filed suit in 1973 against the State of Michigan, on the grounds
that Michigan lacked the right to regulate treaty-protected Great Lakes
fishing activities. The case is known as United States v. Michigan and
remains an open case file. The Bay Mills Indian Community and Sault
Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians joined the case as intervenors
prior to trial. In 1979, the trial court declared that the right to
fish in the Great Lakes waters ceded in 1836 continues to exist; the
decision is known as the ``Fox Decision.'' The Grand Traverse Band of
Ottawa and Chippewa Indians intervened in the case within the year.
Many issues remained unresolved, as the Fox Decision did not
determine what gear could be employed in the Treaty fishery, what
species could be harvested, when harvest could occur, and most
importantly, what amount of fish of each species could be taken by
Tribal fishers. All the parties in the case-United States; State of
Michigan; Bay Mills Indian Community; Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of
Chippewa Indians; and Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa
Indians-participated in court-ordered negotiations which resulted in a
comprehensive agreement regarding allocation of harvest opportunity,
management, and regulation and was approved and entered as an order of
the court in May 1985.
That agreement was for a term of 15 years, and was succeeded by a
new agreement covering allocation, management, regulation, enhancement
and restoration of the Great Lakes fishery which was negotiated by all
the prior participants and joined by the Little River Band of Ottawa
Indians and the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians. This
successor agreement was signed on August 7, 2000, for a term of 20
years. All the parties have been working on a third agreement since the
fall of 2019, and continuing to manage the fishery under the terms of
the 2000 agreement until it is superseded by a successor agreement. A
proposed comprehensive agreement was filed with the trial court on
December 11, 2022, which is currently the subject of review by the
court, including hearings to hear objections by any party which does
not agree with the 2022 proposed Decree. They are scheduled for May 24
and 25, 2023.
Under these circumstances, the final text of the successor
comprehensive Decree is not complete. What is clear is that the CORA
Tribal Nations must create more frequent and comprehensive harvest
reporting and oversight, so that stressors of the fishery are
identified and management strategies developed and implemented to
address them. Harvest is not the primary source of fish mortality in
this century; instead, water quality, higher water temperatures and
invasive species are causing the fishery to change in ways that must be
closely monitored to identify and remediate impediments to a healthy
fish stock for decades.
These activities will require additional funding to address them.
The parties have also addressed the nature and scope of inland
treaty-protected activities in the 1836 Treaty ceded lands. In 2007,
the parties abandoned planned litigation on this subject in favor on
negotiating a separate agreement addressing the treaty-protected rights
to hunt, fish, and gather on all lands and inland waters ceded in the
1836 Treaty. This comprehensive agreement was entered as an order of
the Federal district court, which has no termination date. Among other
matters, the Consent Decree recognizes exclusive Tribal regulation of
member hunting, fishing, trapping and gathering activities, and
allocates harvest opportunities for elk, bear, and sturgeon. Joint
management protocols for certain species are also created as well as
cooperative law enforcement agreements.
In each comprehensive agreement to date, the management framework
has been approved and ordered by the court in the United States v.
Michigan litigation. Equally significant is the active role of the
Federal Government in negotiating the terms of these cooperative
resource management frameworks.
fy 2024 budget request: rights protection implementation
Currently, CORA's Tribal Nations receive funding through the
``Treaty Fisheries'' line item in the Rights Protection Implementation
(RPI) program for the Great Lakes Treaty fishery. (``Inland treaty
rights'' are separately funded within the RPI program and are addressed
separately.) That line item supports the following activities, with
additional activities for which funding is sought identified by use of
italics:
--Establishment of conservation-based fishing regulations; Biological
support services to monitor the fishery; Resource protection
and enhancement programs;
--Conservation law enforcement activities and Tribal Court staffing
for Great Lakes fishing conservation cases;
--Additional oversight of harvest activities by biological staff and
enforcement personnel;
--Implementation of electronic harvest reporting by Tribal fishers
and wholesalers and maintenance of inter-Tribal harvest
reporting system;
--Monitoring of environmental factors which adversely affect the
treaty fishery;
--Establishment of and/or cooperation with Federal and State
researchers in remediation projects to address identified
environmental factors' impact on fish stocks; and
--Invasive species monitoring and controls.
CORA's Tribal Nations also receive RPI funding relating to ``inland
treaty rights'' implementation of the 2007 Consent Decree. The
following activities are supported:
--Establishment of conservation-based hunting, fishing and gathering
regulations;
--Biological support services to monitor wildlife, plant life and
habitat;
--Resource protection and enhancement programs;
--Invasive species monitoring and controls;
--Conservation law enforcement activities and Tribal Court staffing
for inland conservation cases; and
--Inter-Tribal coordination of activities and policies with Federal
and State agencies.
CORA does not, and cannot, support any budget request for RPI funds
in FY 2024 that is less than the sum appropriated for FY 2023. CORA
supports a proportionate share of no less than $49,5420,000, the amount
of Rights Protection Implementation funding proposed in FY2024, but
supports full funding for the RPI line item at no less than
$66,000,000. CORA also supports GLRI funding of no less than the FY
2024 proposed appropriation of $358,154 million, including no less than
a 5% share for a distinct Tribal program.
Less funding, especially in light of the soon to be completed Great
Lakes Treaty Fishing Decree this year, will require severe cuts to
conservation, monitoring and enforcement activities, with attendant
staff layoffs. That situation will not only increase conflict between
Tribal Nations and other communities over resources, but will also
significantly reduce the level of protection of the fishery, wildlife
and habitat throughout the ceded territory. It is almost a certainty
that the parties to these management and allocation agreements will
bring disputes over program changes to the Federal court for
resolution.
CORA requests that Rights Protection Implementation continue to be
a budget priority, and that CORA's Tribal Nations' share be increased
for FY 2024 to $8,237,031.00, which is added to the Great Lakes base
funding, for the identified purposes listed above.
[This statement was submitted by Whitney B. Gravelle, President of
the Bay Mills Indian Community, Member of the Chippewa Ottawa Resource
Authority, Board of Directors.]
______
Prepared Statement of the Chugach Regional Resources Commission
My testimony is regarding the Department of Interior--Bureau of
Indian Affairs--Natural Resources Management--Tribal Management
Development Program funding on behalf of the Chugach Regional Resources
Commission (CRRC). CRRC requests an increase to the FY 2024
appropriation of our Natural Resources Management--Tribal Management
Development Program (TMDP) within the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) to
a recurring Federal base program award of $1.18 million (50% of our
operating budget) to develop and manage the natural resources located
within the Chugach Region of Alaska, expand the resource management
capabilities of the Tribes located there, and conduct vital research
and mariculture activities at the Alutiiq Pride Marine Institute (APMI)
in Seward. We also request that you exercise your oversight power to
ensure that Tribal nations receive self-determination and self-
governance funds in a timely manner, with appropriate communication
from the BIA.
Thank you for the opportunity to provide testimony to the
subcommittee on the FY 2024 Federal budget. We value this opportunity
since you are vested with both the authority over appropriations and
with the responsibility to ensure the Federal trust responsibility is
fulfilled to Tribal nations without discrimination or uneven
treatment--even if such treatment is unintentional. We submit this
testimony to urge you to bring our Tribal citizens' services up to the
same level of support as the other programs that perform natural
resources management activities under contracts and compacts with the
Federal Government.
CRRC is an inter-Tribal fish and wildlife commission authorized as
a Tribal consortium under the Indian Self Determination and Educational
Assistance Act of 1991. We provide essential governmental services to
Tribal citizens in the Chugach region of Alaska, an expanse of 20,000
square miles of marine waters and more than 5,000 miles of coastline
surrounded in large part by the Chugach National Forest. Our seven
member Tribes founded CRRC to respond to the devastation of our
ecosystem and traditional food sources caused by the 1964 earthquake
and the catastrophic 1989 Exxon Valdez Oil Spill, which dumped millions
of gallons of crude oil into our region. CRRC supports the health,
economic stability, food security, and continuity of traditional ways
of life for people throughout the entire Chugach region. We perform all
these duties working with our Federal, State, and local partners. By
providing stable and sufficient Federal funds for our work, the
benefits are not felt just at the local level in Alaska. Every dollar
of TMDP funds for CRRC also results in decreased need for Federal
services in a remote region of Alaska.
A. Your Oversight Is Needed To Require The BIA To Communicate With
Tribes And Make Payments On Time
Imagine you don't receive a paycheck after 1 month of work. When
you ask why, your company doesn't explain or let you know when you can
expect to be paid for the work you already did. Then another month goes
by. After 9 months, you still have not been paid, but your rent,
utilities, and living expenses have continued to pile up. You scramble
to take out loans, find other work, and rob Peter to pay Paul to make
ends meet. Today, this is the situation we are in.
Nine months into the fiscal year, we have not received any funds
for the responsibilities we continue to fulfill under the Indian Self-
Determination Act. Nor have we been able to get any response from BIA
about when funds may be expected, or even when we may be able to sign
paperwork. We have to consider whether to furlough our staff or borrow
other funds. And we have no recourse but to wait or to file a lawsuit.
This situation is not unique to this fiscal year--it is a situation we
confront year after year. We still have not been paid contract support
costs for FY 2020. And every year we have to decide what to do when
funds have not arrived 3 months, 6 months, or 9 months into the fiscal
year. This is the opposite of the alignment of resources to
responsibilities that we should expect from our Federal trustee. We
implore you to exercise your oversight power and require BIA to pay
contracts and compacts on time, and to report to you when they do not.
During last year's budget process, Congress worked hard to enact
the budget and allow the government to take up FY 2023 activities in a
timely manner. Federal agencies, including the BIA, received their
funds at the start of the fiscal year on October 1. Yet not all Tribal
nations are accorded the same treatment by the agency designated to
carry out Federal trust responsibilities for self-determination and
self-governance.
Despite our repeated requests to BIA officials, we have never
received written confirmation of our true recurring base award of TMDP
funds in advance of annual negotiations with the BIA. Nor do we know
our base funding for FY 2023, even 9 months into the fiscal year. This
makes efficient planning and budgeting impossible. This is not how
Tribal organizations should have to operate. Tribal organizations
deserve this information. Delays in the payment of our funding and
uncertainties about our contract's true ``Secretarial amount''
undermine our program goals and our ability to carry out services for
our region's Native population. This in turn undermines the Federal
work in our region, since it jeopardizes CRRC's work on the
government's behalf.
We respectfully ask the subcommittee to include report language
directing the BIA to report back to the subcommittee on any funds that
are disbursed to Tribes later than is permitted in self-determination
and self-governance Annual Funding Agreements (typically 10 days after
the start of the fiscal year). We also request that you require BIA to
include in future budget submissions to Congress its requested
recurring TMDP funding amount for each of the nearly three dozen
programs financed within TMDP--and to notify the Tribal organizations
in the TMDP program of the funding requests that BIA has prepared on
their behalf. Without such information, CRRC and other Tribal
organizations are left to guess what our recurring funding level is
when Interior officials do not disclose it to us. Doing so would permit
Tribal organizations like CRRC to know what our fiscal year base award
amount is, and to plan, budget, and negotiate our upcoming Annual
Funding Agreement with the BIA with certainty.
B. A History Of Unequal Treatment Can Only Be Made Right By Increasing
CRRC's Budget To A Similar Level As Other TMDP Programs
CRRC currently receives less than a quarter of its current
operating budget from BIA. We cobble together enough funds to meet our
member Tribes' needs through vigorous efforts to secure grant and
private funding, and we sometimes are faced with difficult decisions of
which services to provide or deny to our citizens. In 2021, we timely
submitted a request to BIA for a budget increase for FY 2023 for our
funds from the TMDP subaccount. BIA denied our request, citing a lack
of funds. So we were shocked to see that the President's FY 2023 budget
proposed--and Congress awarded--increases for every TMDP recipient
except for CRRC.
CRRC has not had any program funding increase in the past 10 years,
while the funding for the TMDP subaccount has more than doubled in that
time--from $9.2 million in 2013 to $18.5 million in FY 2023. Our Tribal
member base and services have also increased exponentially during that
time. There is a funding increase of $114,000 proposed for the TMDP
subaccount in the FY 2024 budget, yet our funding remains flatlined.
The increases to the TMDP account that appropriators have included
in annual spending measures is a great testament to the efforts of
Congress and all the Tribal recipients of TMDP funds. It reflects
Congress's commitment to fulfill its trust responsibility to support
these important programs. But during that same period, we have seen our
funding arbitrarily and unilaterally reduced in the President's Budget
Justification from $410,000 to as low as $348,000. For example, among
the 35 TMDP Programs funded in FY 2018, our program was the only
program singled out by the Administration for a 15% cut.
Over the years, CRRC has not received critical recurring budget
increases equal to the growth of the TMDP account, while carrying out
similar subsistence fish and shellfish management services, habitat
restoration, and mariculture activities for our member villages. In
prior years, arbitrary reductions by the BIA to CRRC's TMDP base
recurring funding level undermined our services, reduced our natural
resource and marine research and development, stretched our limited
resources, and made it difficult to retain staff. In 2020, we were
forced to file a Contract Disputes Act claim against BIA to challenge
these reductions--in which we prevailed. We need budget certainty,
without extraneous administrative burden.
C. Meeting CRRC's Budget Needs Upholds Your Federal Trust
Responsibility And Saves Federal Dollars
The annual recurring Federal budget increase that we request will
bring our program back into parity with the other TMDP programs and
allow CRRC to:
--Protect and reinvigorate traditional subsistence species and their
habitat;
--Sustain shellfish sanctuaries at Tribal beaches throughout the
region;
--Expand our study of ocean acidification as part of the Alaska Ocean
Acidification Network and its impact on fish and shellfish
stocks;
--Expand the subsistence fishery in Nanwalek to rejuvenate the
availability of fish for direct consumption;
--Expand our community-driven water sampling project, which provides
vital information on the safety of shellfish stocks and helps
prevent paralytic shellfish poisoning in Alaska Natives and
others engaged in shellfish gathering throughout the region;
--Conduct natural resource efforts on behalf of our Tribes, including
wetlands monitoring and planning, traditional foods advocacy
and protection, climate change vulnerability and adaptation
planning, subsistence resource advocacy, and the development
and management of a Tribal Conservation District;
--Expand our production of oyster and littleneck clams, geoducks,
cockles, and razor clams;
--Educate Alaska Native youth in science, sustainable fishing,
mariculture farming, and hunting;
--Provide resources and education on kelp farming to potential Tribal
entrepreneurs within the region;
--Enhance the monitoring and refinement of our Natural Resource
Management Program objectives for each of our Alaska Native
villages; and
--Support the documentation and use of traditional Alaska Native
ecological knowledge in Tribal, Federal, and State regulation
and management decisions.
For FY 2024, we would like to increase TMDP funding to a level that
will permit us to cover 50%, or $1.18 million, of our target operating
budget of $2.36 million with these program funds. A $2.36 million
operating budget includes $1.375 million to cover the salary and fringe
benefits of 14 full-time staff, including a Mariculture Director,
Science Director, Marine Mammal Program Coordinator, Fish and Wildlife
Coordinator, Environmental Coordinator, Shellfish Technician, Ocean
Acidification Lab Manager, Nanwalek Salmon Technicians, Inter-Tribal
Liaison, Climate Specialist, and Executive Director. Another $400,000
is required for salary and fringe benefits for six (6) additional
positions, including two additional Hatchery Technicians (totals
$71,500 with fringe benefits), a Research Scientist position and Tribal
Conservation District (TCD) Program Coordinator (totals $177,320 with
fringe benefits), and an Executive Assistant and Maintenance Supervisor
(totals $150,150 with fringe benefits). CRRC also covers Tribal special
projects in our villages, travel costs to and from villages, and
program costs for our annual subsistence gathering.
Federal investment in CRRC translates into community investments
that have a great impact on the Chugach Region of Southcentral Alaska.
CRRC fills gaps in data from Federal and State wildlife management
agencies and assists in the creation of sustainable mariculture jobs
for our Alaska Native people. We help protect the health, economic
stability, and food security of our member villages. This is a vital
lifeline while continuing fallout from the pandemic and supply chain
challenges create drastic conditions of food and economic insecurity in
our Villages.
Our programs also support future economic and commercial
opportunities for the Prince William Sound and Lower Cook Inlet regions
through the protection and development of the Alaskan shellfish
industry and other natural resources. We provide seed stock to
mariculture operations around the State and contribute to research on
mariculture, techniques for species enhancement, and the effects of
climate change on our ecosystem. These activities are essential to
develop a science-driven approach--informed by Indigenous Knowledge--to
address the declining populations of the species that Alaskans,
especially Native Alaskans, depend on.
Increasing TMDP funds for CRRC also benefits the Federal Government
by decreasing the need for Federal activities in a remote region of
Alaska. It costs much more for the Federal Government to conduct direct
oversight and program activities, travel, and transportation than for
CRRC to locally manage such activities.
Our work is important for food security throughout our vast region,
and for the future of the mariculture industry in all of Alaska. We
require a stable Federal budget, together with the timely payment of
contract support cost funds, to help us perform our programs, pay
staff, and operate and maintain the hatchery.
Please help us achieve our mission. We urge the subcommittee to
build upon any increases it has planned for the BIA's TMDP account, and
to include CRRC in those increases. Thank you for giving us the
opportunity to share our FY 2024 budget needs.
[This statement was submitted by Willow Hetrick-Price, Executive
Director of Chugach Regional Resources Commission.]
______
Prepared Statement of the Coalition for American Heritage
The Coalition for American Heritage (``the Coalition'') is an
organization comprised of heritage professionals, scholars, small
businesses, non-profits and history-lovers across the country. Our
350,000 members work together to promote our Nation's commitment to
historic preservation. Preserving historic resources helps stabilize
neighborhoods, attract investment, create jobs, generate tax revenues,
support small businesses, and power America's heritage tourism
industry.
We appreciate the strong funding provided to historic preservation
programs in recent Interior Appropriations legislation. Investing in
these programs will help ensure the continuance of our country's proud
tradition of preservation. The Coalition requests robust funding for
all of the U.S. Department of the Interior's historic preservation and
cultural management programs, and for the National Endowment for the
Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Respectfully, the
Coalition urges the Committee to approve the following funding levels
for FY24:
--NPS Historic Preservation Fund: $225 million
--National Recreation and Preservation, African American Burial
Grounds Preservation Program: $3 million
--NPS National Heritage Areas and Heritage Partnership Program: $34
million
--BLM National Conservation Lands: $78 million
--Advisory Council on Historic Preservation: $10.5 million
--National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the National Endowment
for the Humanities (NEH): at least $211 million for each one
national park service
The popularity of our National parks is at an all-time high. Our
country cannot afford unwarranted reductions to visitor services and
cuts to the responsible stewardship of our historic and cultural
resources. The NPS is responsible for 418 National Park System units.
Over the past 20 years, more than 40 new parks have been added to the
park system. Many recent additions preserve historic places and themes
that have traditionally been underrepresented within the system.
Within the requested funds, we recommend robust funding for
Resource Stewardship, including the National Underground Railroad
Network to Freedom, the African American Civil Rights Network, and the
Reconstruction Era National Historic Network. Funding for these popular
initiatives provides the public with valuable educational resources
that honor and preserve our country's rich African-American heritage
and history for future generations.
We also urge the Committee to address the deferred maintenance
backlog at America's national parks. Almost half of the current backlog
concern historic assets. Robust investments in this area will
contribute to the successful preservation of historic sites and
structures and other NPS cultural resources. Without critically needed
funding for repair and rehabilitation, these critical sites, buildings
and artifacts that draw visitors to our National parks' assets risk
further deterioration and potential loss.
nps historic preservation fund
We urge the Committee to appropriate $225 million in FY24 for the
Historic Preservation Fund (HPF), a vital program that, in partnership
with States, local governments and Tribes, is the cornerstone of our
country's historic preservation initiatives.
Within the $225 million request, we recommend the following funding
breakdown:
--$70 million for State Historic Preservation Officers (SHPOs) for
heritage preservation and protection programs.
--$34 million for Tribal Historic Preservation Officers (THPOs).
--$28 million for competitive grants to document, interpret, and
preserve historic sites associated with the Civil Rights
Movement.
--$7 million for the competitive grants program to preserve the sites
and stories associated with securing civil rights for all
Americans, including women, Latinos, Native Americans, Native
Hawaiians, Alaska Natives, and LGBTQ Americans.
--$40 million for Save America's Treasures grants for the
preservation of nationally significant sites, structures, and
artifacts.
--$13 million for grants to Historically Black Colleges and
Universities to preserve and repair historic buildings.
--$17 million for Paul Bruhn preservation grants to revitalize
historic properties of national, State, and local significance.
--$5 million for competitive grants for the survey and nomination of
properties associated with communities currently
underrepresented on the National Register of Historic Places
and National Historic Landmarks.
--$11 million for the Semiquincentennial Grants program.
national recreation and preservation
The Coalition asks the Committee to provide $3 million for the
recently established African American Burial Grounds Preservation
Program, a program the Coalition strongly supports. The African
American Burial Grounds Preservation Program will help identify burial
grounds ahead of infrastructure projects and commercial development,
thereby minimizing construction delays and avoiding unnecessary
community heartache. These sacred sites, and the stories they tell, are
an integral part of our American heritage. This legislation will assist
descendants and communities in honoring and remembering their shared
past by providing grant monies to identify, interpret, and preserve
historic cemeteries.
The Coalition support the President's budget request for $1 million
in additional resources for NPS administration of grant programs
commensurate with recent increases in funding for National Recreation
and Preservation grant programs, such as Native American Graves
Protection and Repatriation, Japanese American Confinement Sites,
American Indian and Native Hawaiian Art and Culture, the 9/11 Memorial
Act, and multiple Historic Preservation Fund (HPF) programs that
provide competitive grants to preserve the stories of civil and equal
rights and underrepresented communities.
nps national heritage areas
We recommend $34 million in funding for the Heritage Partnership
Program and our National Heritage Areas (NHAs). Through the use of
public-private partnerships, NHAs support historic preservation,
heritage tourism, and recreation. These programs collaborate with
communities to make heritage relevant to local interests and needs.
blm cultural resources management
We recommend $25 be allocated to BLM Cultural Resources Management.
We appreciate the Committee's ongoing oversight of BLM's ability to
oversee the largest, most diverse collection of historic and cultural
resources on America's public lands. It is vital that BLM has
sufficient staff to support Section 106 reviews, monitor compliance
with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, and
consult with Tribes.
We respectfully request that the committee provide $1 million in
dedicated funds to enhance its National Cultural Resources Information
Management System (NCIMS). This funding would also support ongoing
collaboration with state historic preservation offices to standardize
and integrate cultural resources data for BLM lands. Strengthening
BLM's ability to update predictive modeling and data analysis will
enhance the agency's ability to address large-scale, cross-
jurisdictional land-use projects.
blm national conservation lands
We urge a $78 million FY24 appropriation for the National
Conservation Lands. An increase in base funding will prevent critical
damage to 36 million acres of congressionally and presidentially
designated National Monuments, National Conservation Areas, Wilderness,
Wilderness Study Areas, National Scenic and Historic Trails, and Wild
Scenic Rivers managed by BLM. Increased funding will help achieve
President Biden's goal of conserving at least 30% of our lands and
waters by 2030.
independent agencies: advisory council on historic preservation
We request $10.5 million for the Advisory Council on Historic
Preservation (ACHP), to fund its work to administer the rulemaking
process for historic preservation law, assist in resolving conflicts
from historic resource reviews, and provide advice on historic
preservation.
national endowments for the arts and the humanities
The Coalition urges the Committee to fund the NEA and the NEH at a
minimum of $211 million each in FY24. Robust funding for the NEA and
NEH is critical to communities across America. NEH Preservation
Assistance Grants help small and mid-sized institutions--such as
libraries, museums, historical societies, archival repositories,
cultural organizations, town and county records offices, and colleges
and universities--improve their ability to preserve and care for their
significant humanities collections, which may include books and
journals, archives and manuscripts, prints and photographs,
architectural and cartographic records, decorative and fine art
objects, archaeological and ethnographic artifacts, furniture,
historical objects, and digital materials.
The Coalition is grateful to the Committee for the opportunity to
offer its perspective on FY24 appropriations for the Interior,
Environment and Related Agencies appropriations bill. The Coalition
stands ready to work with the Committee on finding common ground to
achieve the FY24 funding levels that will support and enhance historic
preservation.
[This statement was submitted by Marion Werkheiser, Policy Director
for the Coalition for American Heritage.]
______
Prepared Statement of the Coalition to Protect America's National Parks
Chairman Merkley, Ranking Member Murkowski, and members of the
subcommittee, I am Michael B. (Mike) Murray, Chair of the Executive
Council of the Coalition to Protect America's National Parks
(Coalition). The Coalition is a non-profit organization composed of
more than 2,400 retired, former, and current employees of the National
Park Service (NPS) who collectively have over 40,000 years of
experience managing and protecting our National parks. The Coalition
studies, educates, speaks, and acts for the preservation of America's
National Park System. We appreciate the opportunity to present this
statement for the record on the FY 2024 Appropriations for the NPS, our
National parks, and their partnership grant and assistance programs.
The Coalition was pleased to see the president request an increase
in the FY 2024 NPS discretionary budget with his recommendation of a
total of $3.8 billion. This represents over a $289 million increase for
the NPS from the FY 2023 enacted level.
For years, our National parks have been trying to manage
dramatically increasing visitation with inadequate operating budgets
and staff reductions in parks, program offices, as well as regional and
central offices. These reductions resulted in fewer programs, shortened
hours of operations, and reduced capacity in the parks to address park
maintenance issues and visitor safety. In program offices, reduced
staff resulted in less support for parks and programs. Additionally,
concerns about adequate funding have led to low staff morale.
The rapid growth in visitation and corresponding decreases in park
funding and staffing are resulting in a decline in the quality of
visitor experience, the degradation of natural and cultural resources,
growing traffic and parking issues as well as crowding, along with
increasing safety and public health concerns for both visitors and
employees. One major park superintendent told the Coalition that he/she
has never been so concerned for the future of the park and for park
staff. As just one example, the park's visitation has increased by 90
percent since 2010, yet its funding has declined by 12 percent. Meeting
these complex challenges will be difficult, but failing to adequately
address these needs equates to failing at the NPS mission of preserving
our Nation's natural and cultural heritage while providing for a
quality visitor use experience. Park funding and staffing must be
increased and additional government housing must be provided or these
problems will only grow worse according to numerous park managers.
The actions authorized in the past few years through the Great
American Outdoors (GAOA) and Inflation Reduction Acts begin to address
the financial shortfalls that the NPS has been experiencing. The
concern is that many of these recently appropriated funds are temporary
and/or project specific. Base increases that are permanent are needed
to ensure that park and program fixed costs are addressed and that
staffing is restored to previous levels or increased levels so that
parks and programs can address the needs and impacts that increased
visitation has on both the visitor experience and safety and protection
of park resources. Rebuilding park, program, and regional and central
office staff will also address the agency's low employee morale
concerns as it will ensure that staff are not asked continually to do
more with fewer staff resources.
The president's FY 2024 budget is a good step forward toward
addressing important needs of the NPS. The Coalition provides the
following recommendations for these funds in the coming fiscal year:
1) Continuing to Enhance and Build Operational Capacity (ONPS). The
top priority for the Coalition this year is a focus on the NPS
employees and the services they provide for park visitors. The
president's budget recommends an additional $266.3 million in park
operations and their support services. The budget increases provided in
the ONPS and other accounts of the NPS would result in filling over
1,300 positions that were lost over the past decade. This, in turn,
would help ensure that all parks, including the small and medium-sized
parks, which rely on services provided by regional and Washington,
D.C., program offices, would benefit.
To ensure park, regional, and program offices do not go backwards,
it is imperative that fixed costs are appropriated first. The budget
recommends a total of $124.9 million for fixed costs, which the
Coalition strongly supports. Additionally, the budget recommends the
proposed increased funding focus on staffing for new parks as well as
those parks experiencing increased visitation. The Coalition agrees
with these priorities to help ensure a quality visitor experience and
to address the employee workload at parks where visitation continues to
grow from year to year.
This proposed budget builds on Congress' action in the current
year's appropriation that provided important increases for the
preservation of the natural resources entrusted to the care of the NPS.
The Coalition supported last year's appropriations bill and agrees with
the continued focus in the FY 2024 recommendations in order to address
climate change and other natural resource protection programs.
As the Coalition noted last year, equally important for the
subcommittee is doing something to replace the loss of almost 30
percent of cultural resource management positions in our National
parks, regional, and program offices. Many cultural resources,
including historic buildings, museum objects, and archaeological sites,
are unmaintained, severely threatened, or degraded. The FY 2024 budget
recommendations propose an additional $18.8 million to support programs
to address cultural resource protection, address racial equity, and to
support underserved communities.
In the past, cultural resource protection often has been a lower
priority among the needs of the NPS, and we are aware it is difficult
for the subcommittee to ensure additional funding is used by the parks
for cultural resource protection when parks find their budgets
stretched. We recommend the subcommittee include report language to
accompany the FY 2024 bill that directs the NPS to provide guidance to
the parks on using funding equitably among natural and cultural
resource protection programs and to provide an accounting of these
funds to the House and Senate committees during FY 2024.
Additionally, the Coalition expresses its continued support for the
NPS proposal to extend the period of availability of funding in the
ONPS account to 2 years, which will allow more efficient management of
resources and permit adjustment for disruptions that occur within the
fiscal year. This request is consistent with that provided to other
bureaus within the Department of the Interior.
2) National Recreation and Preservation (NR&P). Within the
president's budget, various programs such as the National Register of
Historic Places, Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance, and
several grant programs including the Native American Graves Protection
and Repatriation, Japanese American Confinement Sites, and National
Heritage Areas, are funded under this account.
The Coalition notes that these programs are critical to the
partnership work of the NPS, and they need adequate staff to fulfill
their partnership responsibilities in a timely manner, which has been a
critical area of concern in recent years. The president's budget
recommends an additional $2.7 million in FY 2024 for the various
programs covered under this account to assist in effective
administration of these programs, which the Coalition strongly
supports.
3) Construction. The president's budget recommends $286.6 million
for the Construction account, which is an increase of $46.8 million
over the FY 2023 enacted level. The Coalition supports this funding as
a needed partner to the mandatory funding provided by the GAOA. The NPS
construction funding helps to ensure cyclic maintenance and repair/
rehab activities are carried out so that the backlog of NPS maintenance
does not continue to grow.
Of particular importance to the Coalition is funding to address the
NPS' park housing needs. The FY 2024 budget recommends building on last
year's momentum by increasing the housing request to $14.9 million, an
additional $7 million over the current year's enacted level. The
Coalition strongly supports this proposed increase to assist the parks
in attracting and retaining the needed permanent and seasonal staffing
who can live in affordable housing in many areas where such housing
options are either unavailable or unaffordable by staff living on
government salaries.
4) Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF). Most national parks
have private lands within their Congressionally established boundaries.
To fully protect the park's natural and cultural resources, these
inholdings must be acquired. Acquiring these parcels is not expanding
parks, but rather completing them, making management of the parks more
efficient and saving money as well as staff time that is otherwise
spent dealing with land use conflicts and threats of inappropriate use
or resource damage.
The NPS officially estimates $2 billion is needed to acquire the
private inholdings within park boundaries. Ever since the passage of
the GAOA, the share the NPS has received for specific Federal LWCF
acquisitions in any 1 year has hovered just slightly over $60 million.
This level of funding makes it difficult to even begin to address the
backlog or to have sufficient funds available to acquire key parcels
when opportunities quickly arise.
The president's request for the Federal land acquisition program of
the NPS is $104.3 million of which $61.8 million is for specific
acquisitions. The NPS should be allocated a more proportionate share of
the LWCF to address its backlog. Additionally, the number of
emergencies, hardships, and unexpected situations that occur each year
cannot be adequately addressed in a timely manner with the $5 million
requested. This amount should be increased to at least $10 million to
ensure funding is available to meet these opportunities as they come
about.
5) Other programs. We end our statement by noting our support for
the administration's efforts and associated funding to improve
coordination with Tribal nations, for its request for the critical work
of the Historic Preservation Fund to preserve historically and
culturally significant sites and provide competitive grants to non-
Federal entities, and for the $15 million in matching funding for the
Centennial Challenge program, which benefits several parks within the
system.
Thank you for consideration of our request. We look forward to
continuing to work with you during the consideration of the FY 2024
Interior appropriations bill.
[This statement was submitted by Michael B. Murray, Chair of the
Executive Council, Coalition to Protect America's National Parks.]
______
Prepared Statement of the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Program
Congress authorized the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control
Program (Program) through the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Act
(Act) in 1974 to offset increased damages caused by development and use
of the waters of the Colorado River. Congress has directed the
Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) to implement a comprehensive
program for minimizing salt contributions to the Colorado River from
lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). BLM has
funded these efforts as directed by Congress through its Aquatic
Resources Program. BLM's efforts are an essential part of the overall
effort. A funding level of $2.0 million for salinity specific projects
in 2024 is requested to prevent further degradation of the quality of
the Colorado River and a commensurate increase in downstream economic
damages.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (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
authorizing Program, Congress recognized that most of the salts in the
Colorado River originate from federally owned lands. Title II of the
act addresses measures upstream from Imperial Dam, thus 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 the Secretary to 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. Beginning in 2003, BLM employed a
Salinity Coordinator to increase BLM efforts in the Colorado River
Basin to pursue salinity control studies and to implement specific
salinity control practices.
BLM is now working on a comprehensive Colorado River Basin salinity
control program as directed by Congress. In January 2018 BLM issued A
Framework for Improving the Effectiveness of the Colorado River Basin
Salinity Control Program, 2018-2023. This document lays out how BLM
intends to implement Colorado River Basin salinity control activities
over the 5-year period. 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 damage to water users downstream.
Damages to water users in the United States and Mexico, caused by
the high concentration of salt in the Colorado River, include:
--reduced ability to reclaim and reuse water for beneficial uses,
--reduced yield of salt sensitive crops,
--increased use of imported water and cost of desalination,
--reduced useful life of galvanized water pipe systems and
appliances,
--increased use of bottled water and water softeners,
--increased cost of cooling operations and water softening,
--increased cost of water treatment,
--increased sewer fees,
--decreased lifespan of treatment facilities and pipelines,
--difficulty meeting wastewater discharge requirements to comply with
National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit
requirements,
The State of New Mexico is a member of the Colorado River Basin
Salinity Control Forum (Forum) which is composed of gubernatorial
appointees from Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico,
Utah, and Wyoming. Every third year, the Forum adopts a Plan of
Implementation consistent with efforts to facilitate compliance with
the Clean Water Act. 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 higher
salinity concentrations in the water will be more widespread in the
United States and Mexico.
New Mexico stands in support of a continuation of BLM's work and
requests that this committee direct BLM to expend at least $2.0 million
in 2024 from its Aquatic Resources Program for Colorado River specific
salinity control activities.
[This statement was submitted by Mike A. Hamman, New Mexico State
Engineer.]
______
Prepared Statement of Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Forum
Waters from the Colorado River are used by nearly 40 million people
for municipal and industrial purposes and for irrigation of
approximately 5.5 million acres in the United States. Natural and
human-induced salt loading to the Colorado River causes environmental
and economic damages. Though past efforts have reduced annual damages
to water users by several hundred million dollars per year, in 2020 the
Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) estimated the quantifiable damages
to Lower Basin water users due to elevated salinity levels still at
about $354 million per year (unquantifiable damages add to this
amount). Congress authorized the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control
Program (Program) through the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Act
(Act) (Public Law 93-320) in 1974 to offset increased damages caused by
development and use of the waters of the Colorado River. Modeling by
Reclamation indicates that the quantifiable damages would rise to
approximately $671 million by the year 2040 without continuation of the
Program. Congress has directed the Secretary of the Interior
(Secretary) to implement a comprehensive program for minimizing salt
contributions to the Colorado River from lands administered by the
Bureau of Land Management (BLM). BLM has funded these efforts as
directed by Congress through its Aquatic Resources Program. BLM's
efforts are an essential part of the overall effort. A funding level of
$2.0 million for salinity specific projects in 2024 is requested to
prevent further degradation of the quality of the Colorado River and a
commensurate increase in downstream economic damages.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (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
authorizing the Program (Public Law 93-320, Act) in 1974, Congress
recognized that most of the salts in the Colorado River originate from
federally owned lands. Title I of the act deals with programs
downstream of Imperial Dam that enable the U.S. to meet its commitment
regarding the quality of waters being delivered to Mexico (Minute No.
242 of the International Boundary and Water Commission, United States
and Mexico). Title II of the act addresses measures upstream from
Imperial Dam, thus 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
(Public Law 98-569) and directed the Secretary to 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). Beginning in 2003, BLM employed
a Salinity Coordinator to increase BLM efforts in the Colorado River
Basin to pursue salinity control studies and to implement specific
salinity control practices.
BLM is now working on a comprehensive Colorado River Basin salinity
control program as directed by Congress. In January 2018 BLM issued A
Framework for Improving the Effectiveness of the Colorado River Basin
Salinity Control Program, 2018-2023. This document lays out how BLM
intends to implement Colorado River Basin salinity control activities
over the 5-year period. 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 damage to water users downstream.
Damages to water users in the United States and Mexico, caused by
the concentration of salt in the Colorado River, by water usage sector,
include the following:
--a reduction in the ability to reclaim and reuse water for
beneficial uses, including drinking water and irrigation water
supplies, due to high salinities in the water delivered to
water treatment and reclamation facilities,
--a reduction in the yield of salt sensitive crops, increased water
use to meet leaching requirements and additional actions
necessary to comply with the Clean Water Act for the
agricultural sector,
--an 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 a corresponding increase in sewer fees in the industrial
sector,
--a decrease in the lifespan 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 necessary to minimize 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 to
facilitate compliance with Section 303(c) of the Clean Water Act
(Public Law 92-500). In so doing, it adopts a Plan of Implementation
consistent with these standards. The level of appropriation requested
in this testimony is consistent with the adopted Plan of
Implementation. If adequate funds are not appropriated, significant
damages from higher salinity concentrations in the waters of the
Colorado River 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 Program.
Continuation of adequate funding levels for salinity control within the
Aquatic Resources Program will assist in preventing further degradation
of the Colorado River's water quality and a commensurate significant
increase in economic damages to municipal, industrial and irrigation
users. A modest investment in source control pays huge dividends in
improved water quality to nearly 40 million Americans. The Forum
requests that this committee direct that BLM continue its support of
the Program and expend at least $2.0 million in 2024 from its Aquatic
Resources Program for Colorado River specific salinity control
activities.
[This statement was submitted by Don A. Barnett, Executive
Director, Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Forum.]
______
Prepared Statement of the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Program
Thank you for the opportunity to provide written testimony in
support of fiscal year 2024 (FY24) funding for the Colorado River Basin
Salinity Control Program (Program) in the amounts listed in the table
below. Congress authorized the Program in the Colorado River Basin
Salinity Control Act (Public Law 93-320) to enhance and protect the
quality of water available for Colorado River water users in the United
Sates and the Republic of Mexico. This FY24 funding request will help
fulfill obligations of this act and prevent further water quality
degradation and related economic damages in our region.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FY24 Appropriation Salinity Control
Subcommittee FY23 Appropriation Request Federal Agency Program
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Interior, Environment, and $2.0 Million $2.0 Million Bureau of LandAquatic Resources
Related Agencies........... Management (BLM) Program
Energy and Water $6.0 Million $10.7 Million U.S. Bureau of Title II--Basinwide
Development, and Related Reclamation Program
Agencies................... (Reclamation)
Agriculture, Rural $15.6 Million $12.2 Million Natural Resources Environmental
Development, Food and Drug Conservation Quality Incentives
Administration, and Related Service (NRCS) Program (EQIP)
Agencies...................
Total................... $28.3 Million $24.9 Million
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As a regional water wholesaler, The Metropolitan Water District of
Southern California (Metropolitan) provides supplemental water for 26
public member agencies to deliver-either directly or through their sub-
agencies-to nearly 19 million people living in Los Angeles, Orange,
Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego and Ventura counties. Roughly one-
half of Metropolitan's imported water comes from the Colorado River.
The Program has successfully reduced the salinity of the Colorado
River by over 90 milligrams per liter (mg/l) at Lake Havasu. Despite
the Program's success, salt in the Colorado River continues to cause an
estimated $354 million in damages to water users each year, including
damages to consumer and commercial equipment, water supply treatment
processes, agriculture, groundwater replenishment activities, and
wastewater recycling. Many of these damages occur within Metropolitan's
service area as water imported via the Colorado River Aqueduct has the
highest salinity of all of Metropolitan's supplies, averaging around
630 mg/L since 1976. The continuing drought in the western United
States threatens to exacerbate these damages as low river flows and
record-low reservoir volumes provide less water to dilute saline
inflows.
Without the Program, damages to Colorado River water users would be
much higher. Modeling by Reclamation indicates that economic damages
would rise to approximately $671 million-almost double current damages-
by the year 2040 without continuation of the Program. Metropolitan
urges the subcommittee to support funding for the Program in FY24 at
the levels outlined above so that it can avoid these additional impacts
of increased salinity.
Given the scale of these potential damages, Congress's continuing
modest investment in the Program yields a substantial rate of return.
In addition to Congress's contribution, the seven Colorado River Basin
States provide matching funds up to 30% of Program funding, extending
the value of Congress's contribution even further.
The Program funds the Paradox Valley Unit (PVU), which includes a
deep injection well used to sequester brine from the hyper-saline
Dolores River (a tributary to the Colorado River) in western Colorado.
Until recently, the well was virtually non-operational due to induced
seismic activity in the valley. The PVU is especially important to our
region as it is the largest single salinity control project in the
Program. Historically, the PVU has reduced salt loads to the Colorado
River by over 100,000 tons per year and salt concentrations at key
downstream locations by up to 9 mg/L. Although the PVU has resumed
operation on a trial basis at two-thirds of injection capacity, given
the project's unique importance, Metropolitan urges Reclamation to
expedite the identification of a long-term solution that prevents the
salt from reaching the Colorado River.
The Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Forum (Forum) was formed
in 1973 to coordinate the Colorado River Basin States' salinity control
efforts. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has charged the
Forum with reviewing the Colorado River's water quality standards for
salinity every 3 years (the ``Triennial Review''). In so doing, the
Forum adopts a Plan of Implementation consistent with these standards.
The level of appropriations requested in this testimony is in keeping
with the Forum's Plan of Implementation adopted in the 2020 Triennial
Review, which will be implemented by the BLM, Reclamation, and the
NRCS.
Metropolitan appreciates your consideration of this request. Please
feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
[This statement was submitted by Adel Hagekhalil, General Manager,
Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.]
______
Prepared Statement of the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control
This testimony is in support of Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 funding for
the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
associated activities that assist the implementation of 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 BLM.
BLM funds these efforts through the Aquatic Resources Program. BLM's
efforts are an essential part of the overall effort. A funding level of
$2.0 million for salinity specific projects in FY-2024 is requested to
prevent further degradation of the quality of Colorado River water
supplies and increased environmental and 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. Every 3 years the Forum adopts a Plan of Implementation
consistent with these water quality standards. 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 Mexican portions of the Colorado
River Basin.
The EPA has determined that more than sixty percent of the salt
load of the Colorado River comes from natural sources. 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, much of which is administered by BLM. 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 water users in the
United States. 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 to create a
comprehensive Colorado River Basin salinity control program as directed
by Congress. In January 2018 BLM issued A Framework for Improving the
Effectiveness of the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Program,
2018-2023. This document lays out how BLM intends to implement Colorado
River Basin salinity control activities over the next 5 years.
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 entire effort. Inadequate support for BLM
salinity control efforts will result in significant additional economic
damages to water users downstream.
Over the forty-nine 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. As described in the 2020 Plan of
Implementation, the salinity concentration of Colorado River water
causes about $354 million in quantifiable economic damages in the
United States annually. Economic and hydrologic modeling by Reclamation
indicates that these economic damages could rise to more than $671
million by the year 2040 without continued implementation of the
salinity control program. For example, damages can be incurred related
to the following activities:
--A reduction in the ability and increased costs to reclaim and reuse
water due to high salinities in the water delivered to water
treatment and reclamation facilities;
--A reduction in the yield of salt-sensitive crops and increased
water use to meet the leaching requirements in the agricultural
sector;
--Increases in the amount of imported water;
--Increased costs of desalination and brine disposal for recycled
water in the municipal sector;
--A reduction in the useful life of galvanized water pipe systems,
water heaters, faucets, and other household appliances, and
increased use of bottled water and water softeners in the
residential sectors;
--Increased costs of cooling operations and the cost of water
softening, and a decrease in equipment service life in the
commercial sector;
--Increases in the use of water and cost of water treatment, and an
increase in sewer fees in the industrial sector;
--Decreased life of treatment facilities and pipelines in the utility
sector;
--Increasing difficulty in meeting wastewater discharge requirements
to comply with National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System
permit terms and conditions; and
--Increased desalination and brine disposal costs due to accumulation
of salts in groundwater basins.
Based on current program cost levels, a funding level of $2.0
million for salinity specific projects in FY-2024 is requested to
continue this longstanding program for minimizing salt contributions to
the Colorado River from lands administered by the BLM
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 the continued implementation of this very
effective salinity control program avoids, or reduces, additional
environmental and economic damages to California, the other Colorado
River Basin States, and Mexico that rely on Colorado River water
resources.
Thank you for your consideration of this testimony.
[This statement was submitted by Christopher S. Harris, Executive
Director, Colorado River Board of California.]
______
Prepared Statement of the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission
Summary of Budget Requests
I. Increase Funding for Rights Protection Implementation
a. Columbia River Fisheries Management--$6.241 million
b. Columbia River-In Lieu Sites Law Enforcement--$1.575
million
c. Columbia River-Fishing Access Site Operations--$1.7
million
d. U.S. Canada Pacific Salmon Treaty--$6.792 million
e. Implementation of Public Law 116-99--$5 million
f. Youth Program Initiatives--$500,000
g. Columbia River Treaty Modernization
II. Provide Funding for Tribal Climate Resilience--$5 million
Good afternoon, Chair Merkley, Ranking Member Murkowski, and
members of the subcommittee. My name is Ron Suppah and I have the
privilege of serving as Chair of the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish
Commission (CRITFC). I also serve as Vice Chair of the Off-Reservation
Fish and Wildlife Committee of the Warm Springs Tribes.
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, steelhead, Pacific lamprey, and white
sturgeon resources and the habitat upon which these species depend.
Our collective ancestral homelands are an area the size of the
State of Georgia and cover nearly one-third of the U.S. portion of the
Columbia River basin. In 1855, the U.S. entered into treaties with the
four Tribes whereupon we ceded millions of acres of our homelands. In
return, the U.S. pledged to honor our ancestral rights, including the
right to fish in all Usual and Accustomed stations. Unfortunately, a
perilous history has brought the salmon, steelhead, and Pacific lamprey
populations to the edge of extinction. Twelve Columbia Basin salmon and
steelhead populations in the are listed under the Endangered Species
Act (ESA), Pacific lamprey have declined 95% from historic numbers, and
the white sturgeon population is struggling to maintain itself.
The CRITFC member Tribes are internationally recognized leaders in
fisheries restoration and management. 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 economic needs. Columbia River fish stocks form the
core of high value fisheries from the interior West to Southeast Alaska
valued in the hundreds of millions of dollars. To restore these fish
population, our actions emphasize 'gravel-to-gravel' management,
including supplementation of natural stocks, healthy watersheds, and
collaboration with State, Federal, and private entities.
For CRITFC to continue to do this critical work, we need adequate
funding from Congress. Therefore, I thank you for the opportunity to
testify regarding CRITFC's funding priorities. My testimony will focus
on the appropriations necessary to continue the exercise of our treaty-
reserved rights to harvest fish on the Columbia River.
increase funding for rights protection implementation
a. Columbia River Fisheries Management
The Tribes are leaders in one of the Nation's largest fishery
restoration efforts in response to the negative impacts of the Federal
Columbia River Power System. Management is increasing in complexity and
sophistication requiring greater data collection, collaboration, and
enforcement. Funding shortfalls prohibit the achievement of Tribal
self-determination goals for fisheries management, ESA recovery
efforts, protecting non-listed species, conservation enforcement, and
harvest monitoring. The BIA's Columbia River Fisheries Management
budget supports the core fishery program efforts of CRITFC and our
member Tribes and allows us to work across the bulk of current
anadromous fish habitat in the Columbia Basin. We request an increase
of $624,000 over FY 2023 levels for a new program base of $6.865
million.
CRITFC and our member Tribes are principal implementers of actions
laid out in three landmark agreements: 1) the Columbia Basin Fish
Accords with Federal action agencies overseeing the Federal hydro
system in the Columbia Basin \1\, 2) continuing engagement in a 10-year
Fisheries Management Plan with federal, Tribal, and state parties under
U.S. v Oregon, and 3) a new Chinook Chapter of the Pacific Salmon
Treaty. These agreements establish regional and international
commitments to 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 the Tribes have committed to substantial on-the-ground
projects through these agreements with 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, Congress recently enacted the Endangered Salmon Predation
Control Act, Public Law 115-329, which recognizes that CRITFC and its
member Tribes are a part of the regional effort to manage sea lion
predation in the Columbia River. The Tribes are also addressing unmet
mitigation obligations such as fish losses associated with the John Day
and The Dalles dams and increasing avian and piscivorous fish
predation. Rights Protection Implementation funding takes on even
greater importance as funding for State co-management agencies has
become inconsistent or decreased.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ The Nez Perce Tribe is not a Columbia Basin Fish Accord
signatory
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
b. Columbia River-In Lieu Sites Law Enforcement
Public safety is a high priority for CRITFC and our member Tribes.
Our conservation and criminal enforcement officers are the cornerstone
of public safety in the heavily used Columbia River Gorge area,
patrolling 150 miles of the river and its shorelines in Oregon and
Washington. 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 fisheries. CRITFC's officers possess BIA
Special Law Enforcement Commissions to enhance protection and service
to Tribal members and Federal trust properties along the river. CRITFC
entered a Public Law 93-638 contract with BIA in 2011 for enforcement
services along the Columbia River. That contract provides funding for
two positions. Additional appropriations were provided in FY2021
($1.5m), FY2022 ($1.5m), and FY 2023 ($1.575m) to enhance public safety
and law enforcement services. Funding has become reoccurring, and this
leads to the long-term stability of this public safety effort.
c. Columbia River-Fishing Access Site Operations
A Federal commitment to provide O&M funding was established under a
1997 MOU between the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and BIA and assigned
to CRITFC in 2003. This O&M need was funded in FY 2022 and FY 2023 at
$1.7 million. This base O+M funding is very important to the health and
safety of our treaty fishers as they access the Columbia River in
exercise of their treaty reserved fishing rights.
d. U.S. Canada Pacific Salmon Treaty
In response to declining salmon populations and pending treaty
fishing rights litigation, the U.S. and Canada forged the Pacific
Salmon Treaty in 1985 to conserve and rebuild salmon stocks, provide
for optimum production, and control salmon interceptions.
The Pacific Salmon 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.
The 2008 agreement, which expired at the end of 2018, represented a
step forward in ensuring the conservation and rebuilding of the shared
salmon resource. The Parties recently completed revisions to the 2008
agreement. The revised agreement calls for the implementation of
additional data requirements.
For Tribal participation in the Pacific Salmon Treaty, the U.S.
Section has identified a continuing program need of $6.792 million for
the 25 participating Tribes to implement the revised agreement. These
funds provide for direct Tribal participation with the Commission,
panels, and technical committees. This funding maintains Tribal
resource assessment and research programs structured to fulfill
required treaty implementation activities which protect trust resources
and ensures that our Tribal fishers receive an equitable portion of the
harvestable fish numbers. Our FY 2023 recommended level for this
program is consistent with the FY 2022 level and correlates with the
U.S. Section's recommendation.
e. Implementation of Public Law 116-99
Public Law 116-99 recognized the deteriorating condition of the
sites due to age and significant use and Congress authorized $11
million to refurbish the sites in order to meet human health and safety
standards. We are requesting $5 million in FY 2024, to continue
implementation of the act. The assessment of the sites was completed in
2022 and we are conducting architecture and design and beginning
construction based on the assessment findings.
f. Youth Program Initiatives
CRITFC strives to build a Tribal workforce pool of respected and
skilled Native American scientists, policy analysts, technicians, and
managers that serve the Tribes' fisheries and natural resource
management program needs. CRITFC's Workforce Development Program helps
prepare Tribal members of all ages for jobs and careers in natural
resources management by providing hands-on, culturally relevant
experiences that expand their exposure to science, technology,
engineering, and math (STEM). Except for a pandemic-related pause in
2020 and 2021, CRITFC has held a week-long Salmon Camp for middle
school students in collaboration with our member Tribes since 2010
using limited funding resources. Adequate funding would enable the
Tribes to continue this program. From 2014-2017, CRITFC was able to
offer paid internships and research experiences for college students
interested in fisheries and natural resources, but due to a lack of
funding, those opportunities are not currently available. In 2020,
CRITFC acquired an estuary and near coastal observation program which
we hope can provide Tribal workforce opportunities in the estuary and
marine environments.
g. Columbia River Treaty Modernization
Rights Protection Implementation supports CRITFC's participation in
the Columbia River Treaty re-negotiation. The treaty-reserved rights of
CRITFC's member Tribes, as well as management authorities and
responsibilities, are substantially affected by the Columbia River
Treaty. While the Columbia River Treaty is evergreen and continues to
provide benefits to both the U.S. and Canada through coordinated flood
risk management and hydropower production, the Regional Recommendation
urges modernizations by incorporating ecosystem function as a third
primary purpose of the treaty. This necessary amendment would enhance
the Columbia River Treaty to provide built-in principles in a pro-
active, comprehensive manner rather than reacting in a piecemeal
approach to individual salmon listings under the Endangered Species
Act. Increased RPI funds will allow the Columbia Basin Tribes to
continue collaborating with the States, Federal agencies, and regional
stakeholders to provide technical analyses in support of the
negotiations with Canada being led by the State Department.
provide funding for tribal climate resilience
The Columbia River treaty fishing Tribes are a place-based people.
We have lived thousands of years on our homelands. We walk in the
footsteps of our ancestors. Our place is on the specific landscape of
the Columbia River. Climate-related stress was evident in 2020 in the
form of historic forest fires and in 2015 with the loss of up to
400,000 adult sockeye salmon, including 99% of the sockeye returning to
Idaho, due to elevated water temperatures. There must be continued
funding to help the Tribes collaborate with public, private, and non-
profit sectors to develop and implement adaptation strategies to
protect species at risk. CRITFC requests $5 million for our four
constituent Tribes and CRITFC for planning and coordination development
needed to continue the work of addressing the myriad of issues climate
change is creating for our natural resources.
On behalf of the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, thank
you for the opportunity to provide the subcommittee with our funding
priorities for Fiscal Year 2024.
[This statement was submitted by Chair Ron Suppah, Columbia River
Inter-Tribal Fish Commission.]
______
Prepared Statement of the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama
Nation
Chair Merkley, Ranking Member Murkowski and distinguished members
of the Senate Appropriations subcommittee on the Interior, Environment
and Related Agencies, this testimony is submitted on behalf of the
Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation (``Yakama Nation'').
The Yakama Nation is an inherently sovereign Native Nation with
reserved rights and privileges pursuant to the 1855 Treaty between the
United States and the Yakamas (``Treaty'').\1\ A Federal treaty is
considered the supreme Law of the Land under the U.S. Constitution.\2\
The Yakama Nation protects all of its natural and cultural resources in
Yakama Nation's Treaty-territory and provides for the health, safety,
and welfare of the more than 11,000 enrolled Yakama Members pursuant to
the Yakama Nation's status as a sovereign Native Nation and its Treaty-
reserved authority. The United States has duties and obligations under
the Treaty, statute, and the trust relationship to provide for the
public safety, resource protection, and human services set forth below.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ See Treaty with the Yakamas, U.S.--Yakama Nation, June 9, 1855,
12 Stat. 951.
\2\ See U.S. Const. art. VI, cl. 2.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
bureau of indian affairs (``bia'')
The Yakama Nation carries out many Federal trust functions through
contracts issued by the United States pursuant to Public Law 93-638,
Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (``ISDEAA'').
Thus, ``638ed'' Federal functions are administered by Tribes under
``638 Contracts''. A 638 Contract generally establishes the
organizational framework and performance standards, and is supposed to
provide the funding necessary for the contracted Tribal department to
perform the Federal function--however, current funding levels are
insufficient and funding over the past decade has remained flat, which
is a decrease due to inflation. The Yakama Nation has been thrifty with
available staff and budgets to ensure Yakama Members receive some
measure of services owed to them by the United States. To avoid
endangering public safety, health, and welfare, the Yakama Nation has
also supplemented Federal services with its own dollars to avoid
critical lapses in Federal trust functions and the Yakama Nation has
secured non-federal funds through State legislative and grant
processes.
a. Additional Public Safety & Law Enforcement Funding is Needed
The Yakama Nation has roughly a quarter of the officers needed to
protect and serve the community that resides withing the largest Treaty
Reservation in Washington State.
The Yakama Nation protects its people and communities under a 638
Contract through the BIA, with oversight from the Interior's Office of
Justice Services (``OJS''). Guidance from the Federal Bureau of
Investigation States that 2.3 police officers per 1,000 residents are
needed, which is roughly 76 officers. The 638 Contract currently funds
20 patrol officers for the 1.4 million acre Yakama Reservation. Less
are often deployed due to training requirements and non-competitive
compensation; during 2022 and 2023, as a few as 14 officers were on
patrol.
The Yakama Nation has experienced an increase in violent crime and
property crimes, and has the highest occurrence of Missing and Murdered
Indigenous Women/People in the region. The alarming rise in Latin
American based gang and cartel-related drug activities is terrifying
and the fentanyl epidemic plagues our Reservation communities. There
are simply not enough law enforcement resources to meet our public
safety needs. The Yakama Nation has collaborated with local municipal
and county law enforcement agencies to create regional taskforce
solutions and bring additional resources for the protection of Yakama
and non-Yakama communities alike, but with the woefully inadequate
funding for additional patrol officers our residents on the Yakama
Reservation do not experience the safe neighborhoods that they deserve.
The Yakama Nation's coalition-building is not enough; more police
resources are needed.
The Yakama Nation Police Department needs more officers and more
equipment. The region needs better public safety infrastructure to
execute investigations and provide evidence for criminal prosecution.
The Federal 638 contract has been flat for the past two decades despite
requests to OJS for any base increase, even to keep pace with
inflation. The OJS has their hands tied by budgetary constraints. The
Yakama Nation has had to figure out how to do more with less, year
after year for decades. We need more law enforcement funding. We can no
longer legitimately ask our People for patience when they reasonably
demand public safety. The Yakama Nation is working with Senator
Cantwell and the Congressional Delegation to secure temporary enhanced
patrol funding through the Department of Justice Byrne Justice
Assistance Grant Program for the purpose of providing community safety
with dedicated patrol officers working under a Yakama Nation Drug and
Fentanyl Taskforce.
b. Appraisal Backlog--'Cobell' Part Two For Probate & Leasing
The Yakama Nation Appraisals Program lacks the required staff and
funding levels to address the unwieldly and cascading appraisal backlog
affecting the probate and leasing programs. The Yakama Nation
Appraisals Program is 638 Contracted with the Federal Appraisal and
Valuation Services Office (``AVSO''). Appraisals are critical to
probate and leasing. With probate, a value determination is made for a
decedent's trust land. This valuation is necessary for courts to rule
on a decedent's estate for inheritance decisions. An appraisal is also
necessary to establish the lease rates for Tribal trust and allotment
land. In the case of trespass, the appraised lease value will be
assessed for damage. Timely appraisals are a Federal fiduciary
obligation.
Current funding levels only provide for a single appraiser. Given
the volume of work, the Yakama Nation has hired consultants to assist
with completing appraisals. But, regardless of supplemental staff
support, the appraisal backlog accrues at a faster rate. The Yakama
Nation has submitted mass appraisals based on regression modeling to
the AVSO as a solution to this trust mismanagement, but the AVSO has
inexplicably rejected all mass appraisals. Congress needs to provide
authority for creative solutions like mass appraisals or funding for
additional staff.
c. Forest Mismanagement--A Direct Federal Service
The Yakama Nation has a 650,000 acre forest, and last year the BIA
only completed one (1) timber sale. Under the National Indian Forest
Resource Management Act and implementing regulations, express trust
duties were established for Federal management of Indian forests. The
BIA Forestry Program at the Yakama Agency has failed to hire many
dozens of vacant forestry positions for more than a decade. In 2014,
the BIA Director identified that BIA Forestry at the Yakama Agency is,
in his words, ``on the verge of collapse.'' The program has only
continued to deteriorate since then.
The Yakama Nation made the sovereign decision, and consistent with
ISDEAA, for the U.S. to provide direct services through the BIA
Forestry Program. Importantly, forestry management directly implicates
Treaty-reserved rights and privileges. The BIA is functionally
abrogating its direct services obligation through its gross
mismanagement. The Forestry program has nearly stopped functioning
altogether, and the U.S. is forcing the Yakama Nation to accept lost
revenue through sheer neglect. This is a dramatic breach of the United
States' trust obligations established by Treaty, statute, and
regulation. Congress needs to fund maintenance and increased staffing
consistent with the Federal obligation.
This Forest mismanagement is a crisis of lost economic benefit and
has put Yakama Member-owned logging companies out of business. The
Yakama Nation's commercial mill can no longer sustain itself on timber
harvested from the Yakama Nation's own forest--threatening over 200
Yakama Member-held jobs. Yakama Members are losing the trust revenues
that they should be receiving from a viable timber economy. This is an
unconscionable failure for the U.S. to waste this timber resource
through forest decay and wildfire. Resist the calls for spending cuts
because such short-term savings will incur greater cost, expense, and
harm over the decade for these deferred Federal obligations. Instead,
increase budgetary resources for the BIA to ensure that Federal direct
service programs can fulfill this Federal duty so that the Yakama
Nation and its Members can benefit from the forest resources.
d. Degraded In-Lieu and Treaty Fishing Access Sites
The Yakama Nation truly appreciates Senator Merkley's efforts at
leading this region to address the issue of Federal management of In-
Lieu and Treaty Fishing Access Sites (``Sites'') (see PL 116-99 and 25
CFR part 248) which have historically provided deplorable conditions
and substandard living amenities for many Yakama People along the
Columbia River for decades. More than $40 million is needed to address
the list of repairs that must be completed across various Sites to
maintain public safety and access, including but not limited to:
abandoned property removal; environmental cleanup of soils; restroom/
shower restoration; safety fencing and gate installation and repair;
access road repair; dock repair; site utility and water main
improvements; and, wastewater treatment system repairs and septic drain
field enhancements. To be clear, these are not simple fishing sites.
These Sites host year-round residents including families and children.
The Yakama Nation has Treaty-reserved rights to fish the banks of
the lower Columbia River at all usual and accustomed fishing areas. The
U.S. broke this Treaty-promise with the construction of the Bonneville
Dam (1938), the Dalles Dam (1957), and the John Day Dam (1971), each
inundating traditional villages and countless usual and accustomed
fishing places. In response to these Treaty-breaches the Site
improvements were made ``to provide access to usual and accustomed
fishing areas and ancillary fishing facilities'' for the Yakama Nation
and its Members. Deterioration threatens continued access and safety at
these 28 Sites.
Operation and maintenance of the 28 Sites is 638 Contracted with
the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission (``CRITFC'') to address
infrastructure repairs, sanitation and safety needs, and property
improvements. However, beyond minor repairs and improvements, the
infrastructure needs listed above are unfunded. The Sites need
improvements that cannot be addressed through the existing 638
Contract. Congress needs to provide for an annual base funding increase
to support ongoing operation and improvement obligations.
e. Salmon Recovery & Treaty Resources
The Columbia River salmon fishery, Steelhead, Chinook, Sockeye, and
Coho populations, are in jeopardy--for four decades the recovery
funding has failed to keep pace with the required mitigation for the
salmon lost each year to the hydroelectric system. Fishery returns have
never come close to the Northwest Electric Power and Conservation
Planning Council (``NPCC'') goal of 5 million salmon returning each
year, the hydroelectric system continues to kill 5--11 million salmon
per year, and the Federal Government continues to fail its Treaty-
obligation to the Yakama Nation for 50% of the Treaty-era fishery
harvest.
The Yakama Nation's 638 Contract funding levels for fish and
wildlife programs need to increase above the rate of inflation to
ensure protection of the Treaty-protected resources. Today, salmon are
experiencing additional bellwether pressures from climate change,
warmer water temperatures, and drought-level water levels in the rivers
and streams. The Yakama Nation's resource programs are regional leaders
in hatchery management, habitat restoration, and fishery recovery, but
even this tireless work cannot reverse the effects of the Federal
hydroelectric system's annual unmitigated fish kill and its $1 billion
backlog in unfunded fish mitigation infrastructure, including but not
limited to: hatchery projects; restoration work; and fish passage on
the Columbia River and all of its tributaries. Congress needs a plan to
fund the billion-dollar backlog so the next decade is an investment in
keeping the United States' Treaty-promises.
bureau of indian education (``bie'')
Education on the Yakama Reservation is a Treaty-promise to the
Yakama People by the Federal Government. Today, the Tribal School
building is a nearly 70-year old dilapidated facility that is evaluated
in ``poor'' condition by the BIE's Facility Condition Index. Under the
available and projected BIE construction funding, the timeline for a
new school facility is waitlisted for 25--30 years. The Yakama Nation
cannot wait decades to provide its children with modern facilities and
a safe learning environment. In 2023, the Yakama Nation secured $3.2
million from the Washington State Legislature to complete 'shovel
ready' design documents for a new 80,000 square-foot school facility
for construction starting July 1, 2025. Now is the time for Federal
entities at the BIE, BIA, and U.S. Department of Agriculture's
Community Facilities Direct Loan & Grant Program to have the authority
and funding necessary to pledge grants equal to the amount that Yakama
Nation will finance for new school construction.
A Federal commitment now will provide budgetary savings to the BIE
school replacement fund by matching other funding channels that are
being secured through the Yakama Nation's leadership. Additionally, BIE
maintenance expenditures on the current dilapidated facility are sunk-
costs in the Federal budget because they are a band-aid to prevent
total failure of building systems while Tribal School languishes on a
BIE building replacement list. Invest now in the Yakama Nation's future
generations, not only because it is a Federal obligation, but it also
makes fiscal sense.
[This statement was submitted by Yakama Nation Tribal Council.]
______
Prepared Statement of the Conservation Fund
Chairman Merkley, Ranking Member Murkowski, 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 the
mandatory funding request of $900 million and additional discretionary
funding in Fiscal Year 2024 for the Land and Water Conservation Fund
(LWCF), which includes the Federal land acquisition programs of the
Bureau of Land Management ($80 million), National Park Service ($115
million), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ($120 million), U.S. Forest
Service ($134 million), as well as three State grant programs, among
others: the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Cooperative Endangered
Species Conservation Fund ($32 million); National Park Service's State
Assistance Grants program ($270 million); and the U.S. Forest Service's
Forest Legacy Program ($100 million). TCF also supports a funding
request for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's North American
Wetlands Conservation Fund ($50 million); U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service's State and Tribal Wildlife Grant Programs ($100 million); U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service's Chesapeake Watershed Investments for
Landscape Defense Program ($15 million); National Park Service's
Chesapeake Bay Gateways and Watertrails Program ($3 million); and the
U.S. Forest Service's Community Forest and Open Space Conservation
Program ($7 million); and the Department of Interior's (DOI) Natural
Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration Program ($10 million). TCF
requests funding for the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Great
Lakes Restoration Initiative ($425 million) and Chesapeake Bay Program
($91.5 million).
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 8.5 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.
Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) at $900 million in
mandatory and additional discretionary funding: The enactment of the
Great American Outdoors Act is a top momentous land conservation
victory in a generation. The Conservation Fund applauds Congress for
passing the bipartisan, bicameral legislation that provides full and
mandatory funding (at $900 million) for the Land and Water Conservation
Fund. We also encourage Congress to provide discretionary funding to
address emerging needs and opportunities. Funding the Nation's premier
conservation program with both mandatory and discretionary funding in
FY2024 will ensure LWCF continues to fulfill its mission to safeguard
natural areas, water resources, and our cultural heritage, and to
provide recreation opportunities to all Americans.
The Conservation Fund applauds the Senate and House Committees for
its support for land acquisition and appraisal process improvements, as
was included in the Fiscal Year 2023 report. TCF urges the Committees
to continue working with the Departments to streamline and improve
processes, particularly appraisal timelines and partnerships with non-
federal parties, to deliver on priority land conservation efforts and
effectively implement the Great American Outdoors Act.
The Conservation Fund also urges the Senate and House Committees to
continue to support reprogramming of prior years' funding from the
LWCF, as opposed to rescinding the funding as that practice undermines
this critical conservation program. It is common for Federal land
acquisition funds to remain ``unobligated'' until the last step in an
acquisition project-this can reasonably take up to 5 years. Unobligated
balances are not a problem in and of themselves, but funding should be
moved to other acquisition projects if it is no longer needed for
acquisitions within the Federal unit originally receiving the LWCF
funding. To this end, Congress should continue to encourage the
agencies to use a tool they already have-reprogramming-rather than
rescissions to ensure LWCF funds are spent on critical conservation
needs, fulfilling the purpose of the LWCF and the intent of the Great
American Outdoors Act.
LWCF-Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Land Acquisition
at $80 million. The BLM and its National Conservation
Lands provide some of our Nation's best recreation and
historic areas, from opening new recreational access to
sportsmen along with North Platte River SRMA in Wyoming
to protecting riverside lands of the Upper Snake/South
Fork ACEC SRMA in Idaho. We request $80 million to fund
BLM's land acquisition program and projects.
LWCF-National Park Service (NPS) Federal Land
Acquisition at $115 million. Hosting more than 312
million visitors in 2022, the 424 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. We
respectfully request $115 million to fund NPS's land
acquisition program and projects.
LWCF-U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) Land
Acquisition at $120 million. National Wildlife Refuges
(NWR) are our Nation's protectors of clean water, clean
air, abundant wildlife and world-class recreation.
Funding for FY2024 FWS LWCF will help protect critical
wildlife habitat, provide public access and recreation,
and improve water quality at Refuges, including
Maryland's Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge and
Texas' Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge; as
well as preserving our Nation's working lands, such as
at Montana's Rocky Mountain Front Conservation Area. We
respectfully request $120 million to fund FWS's land
acquisition program and projects.
LWCF-USDA Forest Service (FS) Land Acquisition at $134
million. FS LWCF funds help with forest management by
protecting key inholdings and reducing fire threats.
From Colorado's White River National Forest to
Minnesota's Superior National Forest-Boundary Water
Canoe Area Wilderness to the Appalachian Mountain's
White Mountain (NH/ME), George Washington-Jefferson
(VA), Cherokee (TN), Pisgah (NC), and Chattahoochee
(GA) National Forests, we are working with willing
landowners at priority project areas and respectfully
request $134 million to fund FS's land acquisition
program and projects.
LWCF State Grant Programs: FWS-Cooperative Endangered
Species Fund, NPS- State Conservation Grants, and USFS-
Forest Legacy: We encourage the subcommittee to fund:
--FWS-Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund: $32 million
(for the LWCF-funded portion)
--NPS-State Assistance Grants program: $270 million
--USFS-Forest Legacy Program: $100 million
DOI and USFS Conservation and Land Acquisition Programs: TCF
encourages the Committee to fund:
--FWS-North American Wetlands Conservation Fund at $50 million
--FWS-State and Tribal Wildlife Grant Program at $100 million. The
State and Tribal Wildlife Grant Program is the only Federal
funding source available to States that leverages non-federal
funds to help protect critical habitat for over 12,000 species
in greatest conservation need identified in state wildlife
action plans. To build upon the State and Tribal Wildlife
Program, TCF urges Congress to enact the Recovering America's
Wildlife Act. This legislation aims to provide critical
resources to conduct proactive, non-regulatory fish and
wildlife conservation efforts nationwide.
--FWS-Chesapeake Watershed Investments for Landscape Defense Program
at $15 million
--NPS-Chesapeake Bay Gateways and Watertrails Program at $3 million
--USFS-Community Forest and Open Space Conservation Program at $7
million
Department of the Interior-Natural Resource Damage Assessment and
Restoration Program at $10 million. The Restoration Program leads the
National response for recovery of natural resources that have been
injured or destroyed because 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 FY2024
funds would allow the Program to add carefully targeted staff allocated
to Interior bureaus and offices through its Restoration Support Unit to
accelerate restoration activities.
Environmental Protection Agency Programs: TCF encourages the
Committee to fund:
--Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GRLI) at $425 million. TCF
urges funding of GLRI at $425 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.
--Chesapeake Bay Program at $91.5 million: TCF urges funding of the
Chesapeake Bay program at $91.5 million. This program brings
together a diverse partnership to support the Bay's
restoration.
The Conservation Fund stands ready to work with you to secure full
and consistent funding for the LWCF 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.
[This statement was submitted by Kelly Reed, Senior Vice President
of Government Relations, The Conservation Fund.]
______
Prepared Statement of the Cooperative Alliance for Refuge Enhancement
The Cooperative Alliance for Refuge Enhancement urges Congress to
sufficiently fund the Operations & Maintenance budget of the National
Wildlife Refuge System and address the staffing shortfall so it can
continue to effectively fulfill its conservation mission, provide
opportunities for wildlife dependent recreation, and connect
communities to nature.
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. All CARE members listed below have endorsed this testimony
and our request to your subcommittee. We represent millions of users of
the National Wildlife Refuge System-wildlife watchers, hunters,
anglers, wildlife professionals and conservationists, and Friends
members.
American Birding Association
American Fisheries Society
American Sportfishing Association
Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies
Backcountry Hunters & Anglers
Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation
Defenders of Wildlife
Ducks Unlimited, Inc.
Izaak Walton League of
America Marine Conservation
Institute
National Audubon Society
National Wildlife Federation
National Wildlife Refuge System Association
Safari Club International
The Nature Conservancy
The Corps Network
The Wilderness Society
The Wildlife Society
Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership
Trout Unlimited
U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance
Wildlife Forever
Wildlife Management Institute
The National Wildlife Refuge System is the world's largest network
of lands and waters dedicated to wildlife conservation, and the only
set of Federal lands in the Nation set aside for the management of
America's native wildlife. Found in every U.S. state and four
territories, national wildlife refuges conserve a diversity of
America's environmentally sensitive and recreationally vital
ecosystems, including wetlands, coasts, forests, prairie, tundra,
deserts, and oceans, and provide Americans with an opportunity to
encounter and engage with these areas.
These lands and waters are important recreational and tourism
destinations in communities across the United States, and offer a
variety of recreational opportunities, including sustainable hunting
and fishing, wildlife observation, photography, environmental
education, and interpretation.
However, without adequate funding, the ecological and recreational
potential of the Refuge System cannot be fully realized. The
President's $624.9 million request for Refuge Operations & Maintenance
represents a needed increase over FY2023 funding levels and will help
secure a strong future for the Refuge System, but more needs to be
done.
The $503 million appropriated to the Refuge System in FY 2010
equates to $700 million in 2022 dollars. Current funding ($541 million)
provides a mere .64 cents per acre for management. Since funding has
not not kept pace with inflation, this has led to unsustainably low
staffing levels, lost capacity, and a significant maintenance backlog.
staffing
At its peak, staffing levels exceeded 3,240 employees across the
Refuge System. Over 800 permanent refuge positions have been lost since
FY 2011, an enormous 25% loss in capacity. Today, the Refuge System is
staffed by approximately 2,400 permanent staff while the actual need is
estimated to be 7,300. An additional $560 million would be needed to
hire enough staff to reach full staffing capacity.
Some refuges have seen staff reductions of 75% or more, requiring
consolidation or reduction of visitor services, management and law
enforcement. No refuges are fully staffed, and more than half of
refuges have zero staff on site. Many refuges are closed to the public
and are completely unmanaged.
Rising fixed costs are also eating into increases in
appropriations. It costs the refuge system an estimated $3 million for
every one percent raise in payroll costs. System-wide, the modest
funding increase provided in FY 2021 did not even cover the cost of the
scheduled 1% Federal wage increase. Without base increases in the
budget to cover these fixed costs, several much-needed positions are
eliminated every year.
planning
By law, the Refuge System must update their Comprehensive
Conservation Planning (CCPs) every 15 years. Up-to-date management
plans ensure that each wildlife refuge can be adaptable to present and
upcoming needs, from a changing climate and extreme weather events like
wildfires, to rising recreational visitors and commercial uses.
However, due to a consistent lack of funding, over forty percent of
CCPs have become out-of-date or were never finalized. Not only do some
wildlife refuges not have the staff or capacity to carry out a new CCP
process, but some simply do not have the resources to renew these
important plans. With an increased planning budget, the Refuge System
could modernize and update these important management plans that help
them reach their conservation goals.
visitor services
Despite staffing and planning shortages, the Refuge System has
grown significantly since FY 2010, both in terms of acreage (14 new
refuge units and millions of acres of marine national monuments) and
services (the urban program has dramatically changed the way
conservation is delivered to constituents, and visitor numbers have
grown, to over 67 million visitors a year in FY 2022). These pressures
are putting increased strain on the System that provides vital wildlife
habitat and important services to hunters, anglers, birders, and other
nature enthusiasts.
CARE welcomes sustainable recreational use of national wildlife
refuges. The ``Big 6'' uses of the Refuge System-hunting, fishing,
wildlife watching, photography, environmental education, and
interpretation-were enshrined into law in the 1997 National Wildlife
Refuge System Improvement Act. As the Refuge System has opened
additional acres for hunting and fishing, there is not an equivalent
increase in funding to improve habitat, maintain necessary
infrastructure like blinds, boat launches, piers, parking lots, and
restrooms, or support popular hunting and fishing programs for youth
and serve people with disabilities, veterans, seniors and others.
Insufficient funding does not allow the Refuge System to retain and
hire enough qualified biologists, visitor services staff, law
enforcement, and the wage-grade staff to provide the services needed to
properly maintain these places enjoyed by so many Americans.
impacts to fish and wildlife
CARE's primary concern is what this means for wildlife populations.
Shorebird populations have declined 40% over the last 40 years, the
primary cause of which is human disturbances. There are numerous refuge
units along the east coast, which should be a haven and resting spot
for migratory birds. However, funding shortages have meant that there
are few staff on the beaches to prevent and mitigate conflicts between
people and wildlife.
Significant progress has been made in the early detection and rapid
response against newly introduced invasive species on refuge system
lands thanks to the expansion of invasive species strike teams. Now up
to 14 teams, this program prevents the spread of newly introduced
invasive species on the refuge system and nearby public and private
lands, protecting resources for adjoining communities. However,
additional funding for access enhancements and infrastructure, such as
watercraft cleaning stations, are needed to empower public adoption of
invasive species prevention best practices. Funding for wildlife and
habitat management activities is desperately needed to deal with longer
term invasive species management challenges. Without funding to apply
prevention measures, new threats will emerge and known invasive species
such as phragmites, kudzu, quagga mussels, purple loosestrife, feral
hogs, and invasive carps will continue their spread throughout the
refuge system.
the need for action
If funding for refuges remains stagnant for operations and
maintenance activities, we anticipate further impacts both within and
outside of refuge boundaries. These impacts could include closures of
visitor centers, elimination of environmental education programs for
schools, reduced habitat quality, diminished hunting and fishing
opportunities, reduced invasive species management on refuge lands and
nearby private lands, and reduced capacity for prescribed fire, which
is an important tool to improve wildlife habitat and to reduce
hazardous fuels.
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
healthy ecosystems. Increasing funding for the System will empower and
enable individual refuge units to deliver on-the-ground conservation
that benefits not only wildlife and recreation, but also local
communities across the Nation.
On behalf of our more than 16 million members and supporters, CARE
thanks the subcommittee for the opportunity to submit comments on the
FY 2024 Senate Interior Appropriations bill. We are available to
discuss our request with the committee at a time of their convenience.
All questions can be directed to Libby Marking at
lmarking@refugeassociation.org.
[This statement was submitted by Libby Marking, CARE Chair &
Director of Government, Affairs for the National Wildlife Refuge
Association.]
______
Prepared Statement of the Council of Infrastructure Financing
Authorities
The Council of Infrastructure Financing Authorities (CIFA)
represents the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds
(SRFs), the Nation's premier programs for funding water infrastructure
that protects public health and the environment. The SRFs provide
subsidized, low-interest loans to repair, replace, rehabilitate and
improve water, wastewater, recycled water and stormwater
infrastructure.
requests from the clean water and drinking water srfs
--Fund the SRFs to the full authorizations--$3 billion each
--Fund WIFIA for state financing authorities to the full
authorization--$5 million
--Fund congressional earmarks without cutting funding to the SRFs
--End duplicative mandates for additional subsidy
--Eliminate state match for federally mandated additional subsidy in
the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA)
--Increase flexibility for generating state match
--Increase flexibility for lead service lines and emerging
contaminants in the IIJA
why fully fund the srfs?
CIFA urges Congress to fund the SRFs to their full authorizations
in the law--$3 billion each.
According to the results of the 7th Drinking Water Needs Survey,
America needs to invest $625 billion over the next 20 years to provide
safe drinking water to communities across the Nation, a 32% increase
from previous assessment. While Congress reauthorized the SRFs at
significantly higher levels in the IIJA, Congress has failed to fund
the SRFs at new levels.
Increasing Federal funding for the Clean Water and Drinking Water
SRFs is a long-term, fiscally responsible approach to funding
infrastructure that protects public health and the environment. As
revolving loan programs, the SRFs provide a perpetual, renewable source
of revenue for the never-ending, and always evolving, need for ongoing
investment in water infrastructure. Every Federal dollar provided to
the SRFs is loaned and repaid over and over again--funding projects
that would never have been built if the SRFs were a traditional grant
program. Federal funding provided in 2024 will pay for projects for
future generations, forever.
The SRFs efficiently and effectively deliver State and Federal
funding to thousands of communities across the Nation. States, not
Federal agencies, pick the projects based on State and local
priorities. In 2021, the SRFs provided nearly $9.4 billion--including
more than $6.4 billion in state funds--for 2,767 projects. That year,
68% of SRF subsidized loans were directed to projects in small, rural
and disadvantaged communities, many of which couldn't otherwise afford
to pay for the infrastructure needed to meet stringent water quality
standards.
Subsidized loans provide significant savings to communities, which
relieves pressure on utilities to raise rates on households. Compared
to a municipal bond at the current rate of 3.65%, an SRF subsidized
loan at 1% can save as much as 75% in interest payments over the life
of the loan. With rising interest rates in the municipal bond market,
savings from SRF subsidized loans will increase. Increased funding is
also needed to help keep pace with historic inflation, which
disproportionately impacts water infrastructure due to increased
competition from other well-funded infrastructure sectors.
While the IIJA provided significant supplemental appropriations to
the SRFs, nearly half of funding in the IIJA--$20 billion--can only be
used to replace lead service lines and address emerging contaminants;
these funds can't be used to repair or replace a broken water main--
even one made of lead!
Additionally, CIFA urges Congress to fully fund delegated water
quality programs, including the Public Water System Supervision Grants
and Water Pollution Control (Section 106) Grants. These programs play
an integral role in the permitting of water infrastructure projects
that protect water quality and public health. Without increased Federal
funding, States may not have adequate resources to implement these
delegated programs and process permit applications for drinking water
and wastewater infrastructure projects, the number of which have
increased due to supplemental appropriations in the IIJA.
fund congressional projects without cutting srf funding for state
projects
CIFA urges Congress to fund congressional projects (earmarks) in
addition to fully funding the SRFs for state projects. Over the last 2
years, Congress used the SRF capitalization grant to pay for earmarks
which has resulted in cuts to net Federal funding (SRFs + earmarks) for
water, wastewater and stormwater infrastructure in 36 States, Puerto
Rico and Washington, D.C. State profiles on the impact of earmarks.
As a result of these cuts, an estimated one-third of
``supplemental'' funding for 2023 in the IIJA was needed to offset cuts
in annual Federal funding. In addition to less funding for SRF state
projects, using the capitalization grant to pay for congressional
earmarks has a cascade of consequences:
--Less funding for principal forgiveness and grants for small, rural
and disadvantaged communities.
--Increased interest rates on SRF subsidized loans to secure a bond
for leveraged programs.
--Cuts to State and local water quality programs and technical
assistance for small and disadvantaged communities.
--A permanent reduction in funding for future water infrastructure
projects.
If funding remains the same as 2022 or 2023 levels and all project
requests from the U.S. House of Representatives are funded, funding for
the Clean Water SRFs would be cut by more than 75% and the Drinking
Water SRFs would receive zero funding.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Funding Clean Water SRF Clean Water SRF
------------------------------------------------------------------------
2022 Capitalization Grants...... $1,638,826,000 $1,126,088,000
2024 Project Requests (House)... - $1,296,973,173 - $1,233,158,539
2024 Project Requests (Senate).. TBD TBD
Remaining Funding............... $341,852,827 ($107,070,539)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
eliminate duplicative federal mandates for additional subsidy
CIFA urges Congress to eliminate mandates for additional subsidy in
the annual appropriations bill. Additional subsidy is the portion of an
SRF subsidized loan that doesn't have to be repaid and comes in the
form of principal forgiveness or a grant.
Federal mandates for additional subsidy erode the fundamental
nature of the SRF subsidized loan programs which were intended to
create a permanent, protected, recurring source of funding to meet
water infrastructure needs for future generations.
In addition to the additional subsidy mandates in the IIJA, the
2023 appropriations bill required the Clean Water SRFs to use 10% of
annual Federal funding and the Drinking Water SRFs to use 14% of annual
Federal funding for grants or principal forgiveness.
--The IIJA mandates that 55% of total SRF appropriations in the law
be provided as grants or principal forgiveness.
--The IIJA doubled the amount of annual Federal funding to the
Drinking Water SRF that must be provided as grants or principal
forgiveness, from 6% to 12%. SRFs may provide up to 35% of
annual Federal funding for additional subsidy.
--The IIJA established a new mandate for additional subsidy for the
Clean Water SRF, requiring 10% of annual Federal funding be
provided as grants or principal forgiveness. Previously, Clean
Water SRFs had the flexibility to provide up to 30% of annual
Federal funding to communities that met affordability criteria
or implemented green projects.
eliminate state match for federally mandated additional subsidy in the
iija
CIFA urges Congress to exclude federally mandated additional
subsidy from state match requirements. Mandates for additional subsidy
jeopardize the ability of SRFs to generate adequate revenue for state
match and program administration and have the unintended consequence of
increased costs for borrowers.
States can only use interest payments, not loan repayments, as a
way to generate state match. When mandates for additional subsidy
reduce funding for subsidized loans, SRFs must increase interest rates
on loans to generate enough revenue to meet its obligations.
remove barriers for generating state match
CIFA urges Congress to remove the prohibition on cross-
collateralization for bonds used for state match. Cross-
collateralization allows interest payments from both programs to secure
a bond. Combining the assets of both programs can reduce interest rates
on bonds, which is especially helpful for the Drinking Water SRFs that
have fewer assets than the Clean Water SRFs. While Federal law allows
cross-collateralization to leverage a program, Federal law doesn't
extend the cost-saving benefits for the purposes of generating state
match.
increase flexibility for lead service lines and emerging contaminants
in the iija
CIFA urges Congress to increase flexibility for IIJA funding to
replace lead pipes and remediate emerging contaminants with a focus on
per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). No permanent changes are
needed, but providing more flexibility to these restricted funds will
allow the SRFs to move Federal funding more quickly into communities to
address these serious threats to public health.
Drinking Water SRF Funding for Lead Service Line Replacement:
--Maintain the current 49% mandate for additional subsidy but allow
SRFs to use up to 100% of Federal funding for grants or
principal forgiveness for any community. Additional flexibility
is needed to cover the cost of replacement of the private
portion of the lead service line without passing on the cost to
homeowners. In many communities, replacement projects are less
likely to move forward without additional financial assistance.
--Provide SRFs with the flexibility to contract directly for lead
service line inventories. Additional flexibility is needed to
more efficiently procure services to conduct the inventories,
especially for small, rural and disadvantaged communities.
--Allow communities to use lead funding to replace all lead pipes,
including lead water mains which are currently ineligible.
--Allow funding to be used to replace indoor lead plumbing in limited
circumstances, such as water fountains and faucets, in public
buildings or buildings that serve vulnerable populations, such
as daycare centers, schools, nursing homes, libraries, and
courthouses.
Clean Water SRF Funding for Remediation of Emerging Contaminants:
--Allow communities to use funding for testing, monitoring and
watershed studies to find the existence and sources of emerging
contaminants. U.S. EPA currently prohibits the use of this
funding to find PFAS, which is ubiquitous.
--Allow SRFs to use funding to contract directly for remediation
efforts. Additional flexibility will allow States to remove
known contaminants that are a threat to water quality on
property not owned by a water system.
--Extend the deadline to apply for the capitalization grant by 1 year
to provide sufficient time for SRFs to build a pipeline of
high-quality projects for this funding.
[This statement was submitted by Deirdre Finn, CIFA Executive
Director.]
______
Prepared Statement of Defenders of Wildlife
Mister Chairman, Ranking Member and Members of the subcommittee,
thank you for the opportunity to submit testimony. I am Mary Beth
Beetham, Director of Legislative Affairs at Defenders of Wildlife.
Founded in 1947, Defenders has nearly 2.2 million members and
supporters and is dedicated to the conservation of wild animals and
plants in their natural communities.
Biodiversity is in crisis on a global scale. Numerous scientific
studies in the last several years have raised the alarm about this
crisis. A landmark 2019 study \1\ compiled by hundreds of the world's
leading scientists found that about one million species are facing
extinction. In February 2023, a new study \2\ found that 40% of animals
and 34% of plants in the United States are at risk of extinction, while
41% of ecosystems are facing collapse. The health of wildlife and
ecosystems is directly related to human health--healthy ecosystems
support clean water, clean air, and pollination, on which we all
depend. The 2023 World Economic Forum Global Risks report continues to
find that biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse is seen as one of
the fastest growing global risks over the next 10 years.\3\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Diaz, S., J. Settele, E. S. Brondizio, et al. 2019. ``Summary
for Policymakers of the Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and
Ecosystem Services of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on
Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services.''
\2\ NatureServe. 2023. Biodiversity in Focus: United States
Edition.
\3\ World Economic Forum Global Risks Report 2023
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The biodiversity crisis cannot be addressed without funding--more
than 1,900 scientists previously signed a letter \4\ published in the
journal Science which asked Congress to fully fund conservation
programs to protect biodiversity, including the Endangered Species Act
(ESA). While we appreciate the modest increases provided in the final
FY 2023 bill, years of severely inadequate funding and the scale of the
catastrophe facing the planet's wildlife make them gravely
insufficient. Significantly more funding is needed in every area.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\4\ Malcom, J et al. 2019. ``Solve the biodiversity crisis with
funding.'' Science 365 (6459): 1256
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In addition, Defenders is deeply disturbed that, although neither
the House nor Senate FY 2023 bill included the sage-grouse rider, the
omnibus yet again included this longstanding prohibition on protecting
the sage-grouse under the ESA that has been in the bill since 2014.
This rider, which undermines sound science and the ESA, must be removed
from the FY 2024 bill once and for all. Any additional riders that
undermine the ESA and protections for wildlife must also be rejected.
fish and wildlife service
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) is our Nation's premier
wildlife conservation agency. To address the biodiversity crisis, the
agency needs additional increases to support recovery of threatened and
endangered species; protect migratory birds and fish, species of global
conservation concern and other trust species; and prevent domestic and
international wildlife crimes.
Ecological Services--Defenders is part of a coalition of more than
120 organizations requesting a significant infusion of funds into the
Ecological Services program to begin to address the biodiversity
crisis. We very much appreciate the $384.5 million in the president's
request, but the need is far greater. Based on available data on the
needs and costs for ESA implementation by FWS across its programs, as
well as inflation adjustment, our recommendation is $723.7 million, or
$455.2 million more than the FY 2023 level:
--Listing: There are approximately 200 species on the FWS National
Listing Workplan for FY 2022-FY 2027 that must be reviewed for
protections under the ESA, with more species petitioned for
protection every year. For FWS to meet this obligation, a total
of $66.3 million is needed annually, an increase of $42.9
million.
--Recovery: Of the more than 1600 listed U.S. species, more than 1200
have no recovery plans or have plans that are at least a decade
old and that may no longer contain current scientific
information, especially related to climate change. Hundreds of
listed species receive less than $1,000 per year for recovery
and many receive no FWS funding at all. Congress should provide
a minimum of $50,000 per year per species for recovery. For FWS
to meet its obligations under the recovery budget, a total of
at least $467.9 million is needed annually, an increase of
$353.7 million. We very much appreciate the continuation of
report language directing FWS to incorporate climate change
adaptation into recovery plans and recovery implementation
strategies. We urge ongoing oversight of this effort.
--Planning and Consultation: FWS conducts ESA Section 7 consultations
on more than 10,000 Federal actions each year so that projects
can move forward while minimizing harm to listed species. The
agency also has significantly increased obligations under the
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). To meet these
needs and to work with non-federal stakeholders to develop
Habitat Conservation Plans, $179.3 million is needed annually,
an increase of $58.5 million. We are grateful for the continued
support for the Integrated Planning and Consultation system and
for compliance monitoring and we urge continued oversight. In
addition, we strongly support the request in the president's
budget to expand authority beyond existing reimbursable and
Economy Act authorities to enable Federal agencies to transfer
funds provided under the IIJA to FWS and the National Marine
Fisheries Service to increase capacity for planning and
consultation.
--Conservation and Restoration: At least $10.2 million per year is
needed for the Candidate Conservation element of Conservation
and Restoration to assist with early conservation action on the
current 23 candidate species.
--Wolf Livestock Loss Demonstration Program: Defenders urges
continued funding at no less than $1 million for this program
that assists livestock owners co-existing with wolves.
National Wildlife Refuge System Operations and Maintenance--A key
component in addressing the biodiversity crisis in the U.S. is to
refocus Federal land management on it. Our National Wildlife Refuge
System is the largest network of public lands and waters in the Nation
dedicated to wildlife conservation. Since 2010, the System has added 2
million land acres, 14 national wildlife refuges, and nearly 600
million acres of marine national monuments, has experienced a 34
percent increase in visitation, and has worked to significantly expand
its urban refuge program in historically excluded communities. Yet the
System has lost 25 percent of its staff since 2010, and despite
increases provided in the FY 2023 bill, its funding is far below the FY
2010 inflation adjusted level of roughly $700 million. Defenders
recommends $1.5 billion, an increase of $958 million, which is needed
for the System to meet its mission.
Partners for Fish and Wildlife--Defenders supports the $79.7
million in the president's request, an increase of $19.5 million, to
address a backlog of applications and fund practices that could restore
tens of thousands of land acres and stream miles on private land. We
urge inclusion of report language directing continued prioritization of
projects that connect, enlarge, and buffer National Wildlife Refuges.
Migratory Bird Management--In North America nearly 3 billion birds
have disappeared since 1970 and the only groups to not suffer severe
declines were waterbirds that have received substantial funding over
the decades.\5\ The administration is currently working to develop
regulations to govern incidental take under the Migratory Bird Treaty
Act following the reversal of harmful Trump-era policies. We are
extremely pleased with the $78.5 million in the request, an increase of
$24.6 million, to support crucial survey and monitoring programs, to
build resilience of bird species and their habitats, to help support
development of proposed regulations under the MBTA, and to support
Urban Treaties intended to create bird-safe environments in cities.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\5\ Rosenberg, L. V. et al. 2019. ``Decline of the North American
avifauna.'' Science 366 (6461): 120-124.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Office of Law Enforcement (OLE) and International Affairs (IA)--For
OLE, we support the $104.4 million in the request, an increase of $12.3
million, to help OLE continue to address the crisis in the illegal
global wildlife trade and the threat of zoonotic disease. For IA, we
support $31 million, an increase of $1.9 million, crucial in continuing
to combat illegal wildlife trade and to build capacity in range
countries.
Science Applications--We support the request of $55.5 million, an
increase of $20.1 million, to support partnerships and habitat
strategies focused on biodiversity, adaptation, and resilience.
Key grant programs--We support: $117.7 million for the Cooperative
Endangered Species Fund, an increase of $60.3 million; $10 million for
the Neotropical Migratory Bird Fund, an increase of $4.9 million; and
$30 million for the Multinational Species Conservation Fund, an
increase of $9 million.
u.s forest service and bureau of land management
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the U.S. Forest Service
(FS) manage close to 20 percent of the country's land base, providing
habitat for hundreds of species listed under the ESA and thousands of
sensitive species. These agencies have long been deprived of the
funding they need to adequately conserve and recover imperiled species.
We thank the subcommittee for increases provided in the FY 2023 bill.
Proactive investments to recover at-risk species can prevent the need
for listing under the ESA. Likewise, recovery actions help listed
species reach the point where they can eventually be delisted. Given
the enormity, urgency, and complexity of the extinction crisis and the
importance of Federal public lands, continued increases are still
needed for programs listed below to help prevent species' extinctions
and restore resilient native ecosystems.
FS Threatened, Endangered and Sensitive (TES) Species--Defenders
recommends $23 million, an increase of $21 million, and reestablishing
a specific line item for TES under Wildlife and Fisheries Habitat
Management (WFHM). This amount should also be reflected in top-line
increases for WFHM to ensure that increased capacity for TES does not
detract from WFHM's other mission-critical functions. Based on cost
estimates in ESA recovery plans, the FS would need to spend $43 million
annually to start meeting its obligations to help recover the over 400
listed species that occur on FS-administered lands. Recognizing the
significant gap between current funding and projected need, Defenders
recommends a 2-year ramp-up to reach this $43 million goal by the end
of this Congress, starting with $23 million in FY 2024. Additionally,
we request report language stipulating that these funds are intended
for recovery programs and actions rather than consultations under ESA
Section 7(a)(2), which should be funded by the benefitting programs. We
also request report language directing the FS to provide an accounting
of how funds are allocated to specific recovery programs and
activities.
FS Legacy Roads and Trails (LRT)--Defenders recommends $100 million
for LRT, an increase of $94 million, including salaries and expenses to
support the program. The increase would restore capacity and address
the $4.4 billion backlog of projects that the FS has identified. LRT
lacked specific funding between FY 2018 and FY 2021 when the line item
was absorbed into the broader Capital Improvement and Maintenance
budget, mostly halting projects and compounding the backlog. IIJA
provided funding to partially address this funding gap, but annual
appropriations remain essential. The enacted level of $6 million is a
fraction of the $40 million that LRT received prior to budget
modernization. Contracts and materials account for a much higher
proportion of LRT's costs than other programs and must be accounted for
in a significantly higher line item.
BLM Plant Conservation and Restoration--Defenders supports $34.7
million, an increase of $14.1 million, for BLM, in coordination with
other agencies, to operationalize recent National Academy of Sciences
(NAS) recommendations \6\ for providing a reliable supply of native
seeds necessary for ecological restoration and climate resilience. NAS
warned that insufficient supplies of native seeds and plant materials
are a major barrier to ecological restoration and revegetation and that
``substantial inter-institutional commitment...at a much more intensive
and expansive level than is currently underway'' is needed. We also
urge establishment of the program as its own activity with requisite
FTEs and report language directing the Departments of the Interior and
Agriculture to brief the Committee on implementation of the NAS report.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\6\ National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
2023. An Assessment of Native Seed Needs and the Capacity for Their
Supply: Final Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
https://doi.org/10.17226/26618.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
BLM Threatened and Endangered (T&E) Species--Defenders recommends
$38.5 million, an increase of $4.5 million, and elevation of the
program to its own subactivity to meet its obligations to help recover
the over 300 listed species that occur on public lands and promote
conservation of over 2,400 additional at-risk (unlisted) species. This
increase should be reflected in top-line increases for Wildlife Habitat
Management (WHM) to ensure that increased capacity for T&E does not
detract from WHM's other mission-critical functions.
BLM Wildlife Habitat Management (WHM)--Defenders supports $176.7
million, an increase of $27.7 million and $14.7 above the president's
budget. The increase addresses the recent deficit of $6.3 million that
resulted from recent increases in the T&E and Plant Conservation and
Restoration programs without fully commensurate increases in WHM. It
also accounts for recommended FY 2024 increases for the nested programs
as well as inflation.
u.s. geological survey
Ecosystems--Defenders supports the $395 million in the request, an
increase of $87.8 million to support development of crucial scientific
information for sound management of our Nation's biological resources.
This includes a total of $87.3 million, an increase of $24.2 million
for the National and Regional Climate Adaptation Centers.
[This statement was submitted by Mary Beth Beetham, Director of
Legislative Affairs, Defenders of Wildlife.]
______
Prepared Statement of the Department for Professional Employees
On behalf of the Department for Professional Employees, AFL-CIO
(DPE), I write in support of funding the National Endowment for the
Arts (NEA) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) at no
less than $211 million each in fiscal year (FY) 2024.
Many members of DPE's affiliate unions in the arts, entertainment,
and media industries earn their living working on NEA and NEH-supported
productions, programs, and performances. Still, more union creative
professionals who work now in the commercial parts of these industries
benefited from the nonprofit arts and media sector's role as a proving
ground for establishing their lifelong careers.
Funding the NEA and NEH at no less than $211 million each will
ensure that the agencies can continue to support good-paying, family-
supporting jobs for creative professionals in every State and
congressional district, including the members of DPE's unions. Through
grants, seed money, and technical support, the two agencies help put
these people to work on artistic and educational content that is
available to Americans of all means, geographies, and abilities. NEA
and NEH-funded programs help veterans heal from the invisible scars of
war, inspire the next generation of creators and innovators, and
deliver content that unites people across small towns and big cities.
Increasing the NEA and NEH annual funding level to no less than $211
million each in FY 2024 is also an important step toward a full funding
level of $1 per capita.
Additional NEA and NEH funding will help ensure that creative
professionals can continue to work safely and sustain their recovery
from the COVID-19 pandemic's economic devastation. Creative
professionals were among the first to lose their jobs at the pandemic's
outset, and they have been among the last to return to their jobs.
Increased funding for the NEA and NEH is also good for local
communities and the small businesses that rely on the customer traffic
that gets generated when people attend a nearby production or
performance. Pre-pandemic research shows that audiences spend an
estimated $31.47 per person, per event, beyond the cost of admission,
on lodging, restaurants, clothing, transportation, and other goods and
services.
In addition, DPE believes the NEA and NEH are instrumental to
creating diverse talent pipelines and developing a well-trained,
representative workforce for a sector that generates more than four
percent of the United States' GDP and produces a positive trade
balance.
Put simply, the NEA and NEH are critical agencies for working
people and local economies. Their work delivers a high return on
investment and cannot be replaced by the private sector. I urge the
subcommittee to fund the NEA and NEH at no less than $211 million each.
If you have any questions, please contact me or DPE Assistant to
the President/Legislative Director, Michael Wasser, at
mwasser@dpeaflcio.org.
Sincerely,
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Jennifer Dorning, President
______
Prepared Statement of the Dine Bi Olta School Board Association
The Navajo Nation established the Dine Bi Olta School Board
Association (DBOSBA) to represent the locally-elected school boards
within the Navajo Nation. With its representation of school boards from
the 66 Bureau of Indian Education-funded (BIE) schools located on the
Navajo Nation in Arizona and in New Mexico, DBOSBA's membership
constitutes more than one-third of the 183 BIE-funded schools
nationwide. Of those 66 BIE-funded schools, 32 are operated by the BIE
and 34 are tribally-operated (33 pursuant to grants under the Tribally
Controlled Schools Act, Public Law 100-297 (TCSA) and one pursuant to a
contract under the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance
Act, Public Law 93-638 (ISDEAA)). DBOSBA unites school boards to
advocate for educational programs and services that help ensure each
Navajo student graduates with the preparation necessary to lead a
productive and fulfilling life, with knowledge and understanding of
Navajo language and culture.
DBOSBA appreciates the key increases the subcommittees provided FY
2023. DBOSBA respectfully asks that Congress continue to build upon
these achievements. Our priorities for the FY 2024 Indian Affairs
budget are:
--50% increase for ISEP Formula Funds (BIE);
--Ensure full funding for Teacher Pay Parity (BIE);
--Ensure that the employees of all BIE-funded schools are eligible to
participate in the Federal Employee Retirement System (BIE);
--Forward and full funding for Facilities Operations and Facilities
Maintenance (BIE);
--Increases for Student Transportation (BIE) and Road Maintenance for
School Bus Routes (BIA);
--Increases for Early Childhood and Family Development and Special
Education (BIE);
--Increases for Education IT (BIE);
--Continued full funding for Tribal Grant Support Costs (BIE);
--Mandatory funding for Tribal 105(l) (``full service'') leases
(BIA);
--Increases for Education Construction (BIE);
--Accountability for how the percentage of COVID relief funds set-
aside for the BIE was allocated and distributed (BIE);
--Rescission of Secretarial Order 3334 Reorganizing the BIE; and
--End unlawful reporting requirements imposed on schools (BIE).
ISEP Formula Funds are the core account for BIE-operated and
tribally controlled schools (also known as ``grant schools''). This
account funds everything from classroom instruction materials and
teacher salaries to gifted and talented programs, summer programs, and
food services. Increases in ISEP Formula Funds directly benefit
students and help attract and retain the quality teachers vital to our
students' academic success. BIE-funded schools across the Nation are
facing a significant teacher shortage, but that shortage is
particularly acute here on the Navajo Nation, where many schools
operate in remote locations and because the surrounding public schools
in New Mexico and Arizona have responded to the teacher shortage by
substantially increasing teacher pay. Having the resources to attract
and retain quality teachers is one of our biggest challenges and
substantial increases are needed.
Full Funding for Teacher and Counselor Pay Parity is a critical
tool for attracting and retaining quality teachers. Federal law
requires the BIE provide funding so that teachers and counselors in the
BIE-funded school system may be paid equivalent salaries to their
counterparts in the Department of Defense Education Activity. Federal
law also provides that, at the discretion of the local school board, a
BIE-operated school may pay salaries consistent with those paid by
public schools in the state where the BIE school is located.
DBOSBA would like to thank the subcommittees for the ongoing
references to the FY 2021 House Report 116-448 and the Joint
Explanatory Statement accompanying the 2021 Consolidated Appropriations
Act which direct the BIE to ``clearly display funding amounts required
to comply with Defense Department-equivalent pay rates as part of
future budget justifications and to include sufficient funding in its
budget request to fully fund these requirements.'' We ask the
subcommittees to continue to hold the BIE accountable for quantifying
and requesting the correct amount for pay parity and ensuring that the
amounts provided are sufficient to match the increases provided by the
Defense Department schools or are consistent with the rate of pay of
public schools in the States where our BIE-operated and tribally
controlled schools are located, whichever of these rates is higher.
Given the acute teacher shortages, this parity is essential to our
schools' ability to recruit and retain qualified teachers.
Ensuring that employees of all BIE-funded schools are eligible to
participate in the Federal Employee Retirement System (FERS) would
significantly bolster the ability of grant schools in the BIE school
system to attract and retain quality teachers. Congress recently
extended grant schools the opportunity to offer their employees
insurance through the Federal Employee Health Benefits (FEHB) and
Federal Employee Group Life Insurance (FEGLI) programs. Also, in House
Report 117-400 accompanying the FY2023 Consolidated Appropriations Act,
Congress directed Indian Affairs to ``study the systems, processes, and
authorizations necessary to extend FERS benefits to police officers
employed under a Public Law 93-638 contract or compact.'' DBOSBA is
seeking similar language for teachers and staff employed by Bureau of
Indian Education-funded, Tribally Controlled Schools operated under
Public Law 100-297 grants or Public Law 93-638 contracts.
Forward and full funding for Facilities Operations and Facilities
Maintenance. These two accounts play a pivotal role in the health and
safety of our students and staff. These two accounts are also severely
underfunded and two of the remaining core school operations accounts
not forward funded. This means that when there are government shut
downs or continuing resolutions, some schools do not receive these
critical funds until the end of the school year! Further, significantly
more funding is needed to address the BIE system-wide maintenance
backlog (of more than $725 million as of 2019) and to ensure schools
have enough funding to adequately heat and cool buildings. DBOSBA
encourages Congress to both fully fund and to shift these two accounts
to the forward funded portion of the BIE's budget to further insulate
schools from the uncertainties of continuing resolutions and government
shutdowns.
Student Transportation (BIE) and Road Maintenance for School Bus
Routes (BIA) are of particular importance to schools located on the
Navajo Nation. Our students travel some of the longest distances to
their schools on some of the worst roads in the Nation. Outdated buses
improperly equipped to handle the many unpaved and unimproved roads put
our students' safety at risk or can mean that our students miss
critical instruction days and fall behind their peers in other
jurisdictions. DBOSBA also cautions that the proposed conversion to
electric buses could actually present new problems given the extensive
distances of remote bus routes on the Navajo Nation and the limited
electric system capacity of many of our communities. Without further
increases for Student Transportation and Road Maintenance, and the
alignment of new technologies to our circumstances, this precarious
situation will continue.
Early Childhood and Family Development funding plays a critical
role in preparing children for school and supporting and empowering
their parents. Substantial program increases are needed each year to
expand these opportunities to more BIE-system schools. Of the 183
schools in the BIE school system, the Administration's FY 2023 budget
justification reports that just 51 receive Early Childhood and Family
Development funds. The National Education Association finds that
children in early childhood education programs are: less likely to
repeat a grade; less likely to be identified as having special needs;
more prepared academically for later grades; more likely to graduate
from high school; and more likely to become higher earners in the
workforce. DBOSBA asks the subcommittees to increase funds for this
critical line item.
Special Education requires greater investment and improved
congressional oversight of the BIE. American Indian children are more
likely to require special education services than any other group in
the United States (18% of students, according to the National Center
for Education Statistics in 2020, but our experience indicates an even
higher rate for students at Navajo Nation schools). Yet, our schools do
not have the resources to recruit qualified and culturally
knowledgeable special education teachers. In addition to funding,
greater accountability of the BIE is needed to ensure that the
resources made available to the BIE serve to enhance special education
programming and services for the students who need them.
Education IT, specifically, funding to increase connectivity for
schools and students is critical: our schools' connectivity needs
persist even after the worst of the pandemic recedes.
School Facilities Improvement & Repair and School Replacement
Construction in the BIE's Education Construction budget also
significantly impact the health and safety of our students and staff.
This funding not only helps keep our students and staff safe, it also
helps prolong the useful life of our school buildings. Unfortunately,
many schools throughout the BIE system are far beyond the end of their
safe and useful life and must be replaced. Many of these schools in
poor or dangerous condition are located on the Navajo Nation. The BIE's
FY 2023 budget justification reports that only two of the 10 schools on
the 2016 School Replacement List are complete. It is critical for
Congress to continue to provide robust levels of funding for School
Replacement Construction so the remaining schools on the list can be
completed expeditiously and progress can be made on the list of schools
identified through the now yearly Site Assessment Capital Investment
(SA-CI) program.
Continued Full Funding for Tribal Grant Support Costs means that
tribally controlled schools can focus ISEP funds where it counts:
supporting students, improving classroom instruction, and attracting
and retaining quality teachers. DBOSBA thanks Congress for providing
full funding for Tribal Grant Support Costs since FY 2016.
Shifting 105(l) Tribal Leases to Mandatory Funding would make the
discretionary budget process more predictable and would free up
additional funding for Indian programs within the topline allocation
for the Interior, Environment and Related Agencies appropriations bill.
In FY 2024, the Administration is requesting that this account be
classified as mandatory spending. DBOSBA strongly supports the
Administration's request.
Accountability for how the percentage of COVID relief funds set-
aside for the BIE was allocated and distributed (BIE). DBOSBA is
particularly concerned by the BIE's failure provide regular updates on
its COVID-19 pandemic relief funds. The BIE withheld 10% of pandemic
relief funding-or $124,939,000-for BIE-system schools without providing
meaningful updates on how the funds have been allocated and
distributed. The agency previously communicated that it would dedicate
a portion of its overall pandemic relief monies to carry out much
needed upgrades to information technology and ventilation systems, but
the BIE has not been transparent about its progress in implementing
these upgrades or how it will use or distribute the remaining balance
of the amounts withheld from the allocation of pandemic response funds.
Many students and schools in the Navajo Nation continue to face
significant technological limitations, which includes limited or no
access to reliable internet connectivity. Further, many of our schools
operate in buildings with substandard heating, ventilation and cooling
systems. As schools in the Navajo Nation continue to adapt to changes
in Federal guidance and the threats posed by new COVID-19 variants, it
is critical that the BIE regularly consult with schools as to pandemic-
recovery priorities and that BIE expeditiously utilize its pandemic
relief funding to implement the targeted upgrades it promised.
Rescission of Secretarial Order 3334 Reorganizing the BIE. DBOSBA
asks that the subcommittees urge the Department of Interior to rescind
Secretarial Order No. 3334 (``Order'') which directed the
reorganization of the BIE, and to instead implement programs and
changes consistent with the Order's overarching purpose, and reaffirm
Interior's commitment to ``facilitate Indian control of Indian affairs
in all matters relating to education,'' and, more broadly, to support
Tribal sovereignty and self-determination in the education of Native
children.
End unlawful reporting requirements imposed on schools. DBOSBA asks
that the subcommittees urge the BIE to immediately halt the imposition
of burdensome reporting requirements that are not permitted by statute,
have not been agreed to by the schools, and that operate to perpetuate
the Federal bureaucratic domination of Indian education programs.
DBOSBA thanks the subcommittees for the opportunity to provide this
testimony.
[This statement was submitted by Ervin Chavez, Executive Board
Chair of the Dine Bi Olta School Board Association.]
______
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. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service,
and the U.S. Department of Interior (DOI). For fiscal year (FY) 2024,
ESA recommends $967.8 million for the EPA Science and Technology (S&T)
account, with $40 million towards the Science to Achieve Results (STAR)
Program, as well as strong support for programs across the agency that
advance the safe application of pesticides. ESA also strongly supports
EPA's commitment to work with other Federal agencies to monitor and
improve pollinator health. In addition, ESA requests the Forest Service
be funded at no less than $9.7 billion in discretionary funds. Within
the Forest Service, ESA requests the Forest and Rangeland Research
budget be supported with at least $349 million to preserve valuable
invasive species research and development. The Society also supports
continued investment in Forest Health Management programs across the
Forest Service at no less than the FY 2020 request level of $100
million. ESA also recommends that DOI continue to support the important
work of the National Invasive Species Council (NISC), at a level no
less than $2 million for its critical coordination of efforts across
agencies to respond to the threats posed by invasive species.
Advances in forestry and environmental sciences, including the
field of entomology, protect our ecosystems and communities from
threats to our Nation's economy, public health, and agricultural
productivity and safety. Through improved understanding of invasive
insect pests and the development of biological approaches to pest
management, entomology plays a critical role in reducing and preventing
the spread of infestation and diseases harmful to national forests and
grasslands. The study of entomology also contributes to the development
of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) techniques, which use science-
based, environmentally conscious, comprehensive methods to take
effective management action against pests, often resulting in lower
costs through a more judicious use of pesticides. Entomology also
improves our knowledge of pollinators and factors affecting pollinator
health and populations, helping to ensure safe, reliable crop
production that meets the needs of a growing world population.
EPA carries out its mission to protect 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 strives to supply the
Nation with clean water, clean air, a safe food supply, and communities
free from pollution and harmful chemical exposures. EPA's Pesticides
Licensing Program Area, supported by EPA's Science & Technology and
Environmental Program & Management budgets, evaluates, and regulates
new pesticides to ensure safe and proper usage by consumers. Through
the mandate of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act
(FIFRA), EPA uses scientific expertise and data, including knowledge
gained from entomological sciences, to set maximum tolerated residue
levels and to register pesticide products as effective and safe. By
controlling insects that carry diseases of humans and domesticated
animals, consume agricultural and horticultural products, and become
established as invasive species that endanger our environment,
pesticides registered by EPA help protect public health and the
Nation's food supply.
Although pesticide registrations and regulations are within EPA's
purview, the agency has not been a major sponsor of entomology
research. However, EPA has provided support to projects that promote
IPM adoption and the safe application of pesticides while also
promoting pollinator protection. For example, the EPA has supported the
Pesticide Educational Resources Collaborative (PERC), a cooperative
agreement between the EPA's Office of Pesticide Programs and University
of California Davis Extension, in collaboration with Oregon State
University, which empowers farmworkers and other pesticide handlers to
employ better and safer practices in pesticide use. Since 2016, PERC
has developed and implemented over 40 multilingual pesticide-related
training programs, manuals, videos, and guides which are widely relied
upon by the community.\1\ The program has been so successful that it
was renewed in 2021 for a second cycle, along with a similar program,
PERC-Med focused on education and awareness raising of the safe
application of pesticides among health professionals. In addition, the
EPA's Pesticide Environmental Stewardship Program (PESP) grants enable
grantees to ``implement sustainable pest management practices that
reduce unnecessary risks from pests and pesticides.\2\ While IPM is a
long-standing paradigm for mitigating pests, relatively few focused
funding sources are available to support entomologists conducting
research or participating in community outreach on this subject. ESA
encourages the committee to encourage EPA to expand its investment in
IPM and other innovative programs to promote the safe use of pesticides
through increased funding for such activities across the agency's
research and regulatory portfolios. ESA also requests $967.8 million
for EPA S&T account including $40 million for the EPA's Science to
Achieve Results (STAR) Program.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ EPA Awards $6 Million to the University of California, Davis to
Support Pesticide Safety Outreach https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-
awards-6-million-university-california-davis-support-pesticide-safety-
outreach. Accessed March 14, 2023.
\2\ Pesticide Environmental Stewardship Program Grants https://
www.epa.gov/pesp/pesticide-environmental-stewardship-program-grants.
Accessed March 14, 2023.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
ESA is also supportive of increased funding for scientific studies
and other efforts to protect pollinator populations and health.
Pollinators play a vital role in our Nation's agriculture industry.
Honeybees alone pollinate more than 100 crops in the U.S. and are
essential to produce an estimated one-third of all the food we eat or
export, contributing over $24 billion in annual crop and seed
production in the U.S. alone, with even greater contributions when
accounting for ecosystems services. To ensure a healthy bee population,
more research is needed to fully understand the diverse factors that
endanger bee health. Pesticides represent just one potential risk to
bees, but both the risks and benefits must be balanced, and they will
vary between different crops and different crop-producing regions of
the U.S. EPA is well-positioned to identify methods for protecting bee
health. The agency has awarded agricultural grants to three
universities to aid in the development of IPM practices that lower
pesticide risks to bees while protecting valuable crops from pests. ESA
supports EPA's continued participation in multi-agency efforts to
investigate pollinator health and implement plans to prevent pollinator
population decline -including the new vulnerable Species Pilot Project.
The U.S. Forest Service (USFS) 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 30,000 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 USFS 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. Programs within Forest and Rangeland
Research provide science-based approaches to reduce and prevent the
spread of destructive insects, plants, and diseases that can have
serious economic and environmental consequences for our Nation. For
example, USFS scientists are working to understand the impact of the
mountain pine beetle (MPB, Dendroctonus ponderosae) on U.S. forests.
Since 2000, outbreaks of MPB have affected more than 10 million
hectares of lodgepole pine forests, compromising long-term forest
health while creating the potential for more dangerous wildfires, loss
of wildlife habitat, poorer water quality, and soil erosion.\3\ Such
outbreaks are predicted to continue in the face of increased
temperatures and drought associated with climate change. Funding for
such studies will enable land managers to better predict and respond to
ecosystem changes that occur following such outbreaks. ESA requests
that Forest and Rangeland Research be funded with at least $349 million
for FY 2024.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\3\ Fettig, C.J., R.A. Progar, J. Paschke, F.J. Sapio. Forest
insects. G. Robertson, T. Barrett (Eds.), Implications of Forest
Disturbance Processes for Sustainability in the Western US. PNW-GTR-XX.
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest
Research Station, Portland, OR (2020).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Forest Health Management program, also implemented by the USFS,
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 aids State and local partners to prevent and
control outbreaks that threaten forest health. 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.\4\ Initiatives within the
Forest Health Management program help control these costly pests. The
program's ``Slow the Spread'' activities have led to a 60 percent
reduction in the rate of the spread of the spongy moth (Lymantria
dispar dispar), another invasive species, resulting in a consistent
estimated benefit-to-cost ratio of 3:1 since the program started in
2000. Additionally, the southern pine beetle (Dendroctonus frontalis)
is the most destructive pest of pine trees from New Jersey to Florida
and west to Texas. This beetle caused an estimated $1 billion in damage
during an outbreak across the southern U.S., and it has since rapidly
moved further northward. The new northeast range of the southern pine
beetle includes threatened and rare pine ecosystems, such as the Pine
Barrens of New Jersey\5\. Funding for the Forest Health Management
Program supports detection, monitoring, prevention, and management of
this pest to slow its spread and limit its damage as it affects more
and more of our country's forests. To support these important
functions, ESA requests that the subcommittee provide no less than $100
million for Forest Health Management.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\4\ 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.
\5\ Dodds, K. J.; Aoki, C. F.; Arango-Velez, A. et al. 2018.
Expansion of southern pine beetle in northeastern forests: management
and impact of a primary bark beetle in a new region. J. For. 116(2):
178-191.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The National Invasive Species Council (NISC) plays a critical role
in coordinating policy, communication, and technology application to
address invasive species detection and response across 16 Federal
agencies. NISC serves a vital function since the impacts of invasive
species are felt across a variety of sectors (agriculture,
environmental protection, public health). According to the NISC,
invasive species impose substantial costs on society, leading to an
estimated $120 billion in environmental damages and losses annually in
the United States. Invasive insects have directly impacted native
insect populations and entire ecosystems through predation, plant
consumption, and disease transmission. For example, emerald ash borer
(EAB, Agrilus planipennis) is an exotic beetle that was discovered in
Michigan in 2002. Since its discovery, EAB has been detected in 36
States, Washington, D.C. and five Canadian provinces. It has killed
hundreds of millions of ash trees in North America and cost cities,
property owners, Major League Baseball, tree nurseries, and forest
products industries hundreds of millions of dollars.\6\ Preventing
establishment of invasive species like EAB depends on early detection
and rapid response. Improving these efforts requires not only relying
on standard means of inspection and tracking but taking advantage of
new technologies as well. To respond to such threats, NISC helped
coordinate the development of guidelines for use by decision makers
that improve access to and analysis of invasive species information\7\.
Such methods can enable more effective communication and aid in early
detection of invasive species and rapid response, potentially saving
billions of dollars' worth of crops, safeguarding native ecosystems,
and preventing the destruction of private property. ESA requests that
the Committee provide the DOI funds to support NISC at no less than $2
million in FY 2024.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\6\ Emerald Ash Borer Information Network http://
www.emeraldashborer.info/index.php. Accessed March 14, 2023.
\7\ Enabling Decisions that Make a Difference: Guidance for
Improving Access to and Analysis of Invasive Species Information 2018.
https://www.doi.gov/sites/doi.gov/files/uploads/isim_guidance.pdf.
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 more than 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 programs at the National Invasive Species
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Council, Forest Service and EPA programs.
For more information about the Entomological Society of America,
please see http://www.entsoc.org/.
[This statement was submitted by Marianne Alleyne, Ph.D. President,
Entomological Society of America.]
______
Prepared Statement of the Environmental Council of the States
The Environmental Council of the States (ECOS)--the national
nonprofit, nonpartisan association of State and territorial
environmental agency leaders--appreciates the opportunity to submit
written testimony on the Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24) President's budget
request for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). ECOS
requests $692.3M for four specific Categorical Grant programs and
support for addressing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and
other EPA programs.
states lead in implementing the nation's environmental laws
Congress has established in the Nation's three key environmental
statutes--the Clean Water Act (CWA), the Clean Air Act (CAA), and the
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Subtitle C--its intent
for States to have primary responsibility and rights to prevent,
reduce, eliminate, and control water, air, and hazardous waste
pollution through the management of permit and enforcement programs.
EPA notes in its March 2022 FY2022-2026 Strategic Plan that ``States
and local governments serve as primary implementers of many of the
Nation's environmental laws.'' As an example, of the 51,927 facilities
permitted for air emissions in 2022, States were the permitting agency
for more than 47,300 facilities--that is 91%--with just under 4,000
facilities permitted by local governments and 663 by EPA.\1\ Through
permitting, state environmental agencies protect human health and the
environment while also supporting economic development. States conduct
public meetings to promote understanding and help communities and
regulated entities, including small businesses, navigate the sometimes-
complex permitting process through technical assistance. States also
conduct most inspections and enforcement activities nationwide through
Federal delegation to ensure compliance, a level playing field, and
protect communities. Sufficient funding is critical to maintaining the
core ability of state staff to issue and renew permits, gather data for
determinations regarding the health of local and regional air and water
resources, and meet inspection and enforcement priorities for existing
and new obligations.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Source: Analyze Trends: EPA/State Air Dashboard ECHO US EPA,
March 15, 2023
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The scope and breadth of state environmental agency activities is
ever expanding. With respect to PFAS, ECOS has requested that EPA
urgently provide States funding and flexibility to address PFAS.\2\
Many States report spending significant resources taking samples,
gathering data, conducting testing, and investigating and responding to
complaints and concerns related to drinking water, air quality,
wastewater discharges, contaminated properties and the management of
waste. While States, Federal agencies, industry, and others have worked
together on PFAS through the Interstate Regulatory and Technology
Council (ITRC) and ECOS has published a PFAS and biosolids report and a
paper on setting state PFAS standards, States will need more funding to
build capacity and infrastructure to implement and enforce PFAS-related
regulations.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ ECOS Resolution 21-1: Advancing Collaboration and Coordination
on Per- and Poly-fluoroalkyl Substances
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In addition to the challenges posed by emerging contaminants, there
are new Federal expectations regarding the implementation of delegated
programs, such as stepped-up community engagement including increased
translation service expenses, support for public involvement,
cybersecurity protection, and other activities that require expanded
state activities to support permit issuance and other delegated
activities. For example, EPA has asked States to analyze disparate
impacts in the issuance of some permits.
Categorical Grant funding to States is the most significant Federal
support for core day-to-day delegated program activity and state staff
capacity. In FY2002, State & Tribal Categorical Grants received $1.1B.
Two decades later, funding is $1.16B. At the same time, inflationary
pressures \3\ make it hard for States to keep up with recruitment and
retention of key staff given the rising cost of living. There is also
an increasing need for investment in modern infrastructure like
electronic permitting and air monitoring networks and a corresponding
need for analysis of growing environmental monitoring data. In sum,
Federal support to States has eroded.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\3\ Current inflation for the period ending February 2023 is
approximately 6 percent. Source: Current US Inflation Rates: 2000-2023
US Inflation Calculator
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Through an ECOS resolution, States urge the U.S. Congress and EPA
to financially support state implementation efforts commensurate with
the complexity and breadth of Federal requirements so we may fulfill
our obligations to our communities. Please consider the following:
i. increase state and tribal assistance (stag) categorical grants
ECOS has looked closely at three critical Categorical Grant
programs: State and Local Air Quality Management (CAA Sec. Sec. 103,
105, and 106); Pollution Control (CWA Sec. 106); and Resource Recovery
and Hazardous Waste (formerly Hazardous Waste Financial Assistance)
(RCRA Sec. 3011) and determined that a course correction is necessary
to address persistent erosion in Federal support. ECOS finds that a
modest 1% compounding annual escalation is the minimum ongoing Federal
funding trajectory needed. Going back to FY10 and course correcting
based on a 1% compounding increase would amount to a $51.7M funding
increase in FY24. Accordingly, for FY24, ECOS requests that Congress
enact a combined $642.3M for these three programs as shown in the table
below--$260.4M for air; $263.5M for water, and $118.8M for hazardous
waste.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
State and Local Resource
Air Quality Water Recovery and 13-year
STAG Categorical Grant Management (CAA Pollution Hazardous Enacted Level Total
Sec. Sec. 103, Control (CWA Waste (RCRA Increase
105, and 106) Sec. 106) Sec. 3011)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FY10 Enacted*................. $226.6M $229.3M $103.3M .............. $559.2M
FY23 Enacted**................ $249.0M $237.0M $105.0M $31.8M $591.0M
FY24 Funding Request based on $260.4M $263.5M $118.8M .............. $642.3M
1% Escalation starting FY10..
Delta: 1% escalation vs. FY23 $11.4M $26.5M $13.8M .............. $51.7M
enacted......................
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*Source: FY11 EPA Budget in Brief pg. 69;
**Source: FY23 Joint Explanatory Statement
In FY23, Congress provided small increases over FY22 levels to all
Categorical Grant programs. However, some increases funded new work
rather than existing core work. As an example, the increase of $2.5M
for the Resource Recovery and Hazardous Waste Categorical Grant
includes $4M for development and implementation of state coal
combustion residuals (CCR) programs, effectively a cut to State
hazardous waste programs. True increases for hazardous waste program
work, independent of CCR program work, are needed.
Changes in Federal law have resulted in a steady decrease in the
volume of hazardous waste being regulated in many States impacting
program funding. While there has been a drop in revenues from decreased
hazardous waste volume, the number of entities requiring permits and
inspections has increased, particularly small quantity generators. The
Association of State and Territorial Solid Waste Management Officials
state survey from 2019 indicated the total cost of operating the RCRA
program nationwide was $168.8M. States were required to provide a 25%
match, and with congressionally enacted funding, States provided
another $37M beyond the required match, a rate that is not sustainable.
In 2018, EPA's OIG noted, ``Most States are authorized to implement the
majority of new required hazardous waste rules promulgated by the EPA.
However, States and the EPA have taken many years to authorize rules-
from less than 1 year to more than 31 years. No state has been
authorized by the EPA for all required rules. For the 173 required
rules, the number not authorized ranges from six to 98 per State; eight
States have not been authorized for more than 50 rules.'' Further,
``For Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments of 1984 (HSWA) rules, EPA
regions can administer the requirements if a State has not received
authorization. However, for non-HSWA rules, the EPA cannot administer a
rule when a State has not yet been authorized for the rule, which
creates regulatory gaps. Unauthorized non-HSWA rules create risks to
human health and the environment.'' \4\ A second OIG report in 2022
noted that not all treatment, storage, or disposal facilities are being
inspected at the frequency mandated by RCRA.\5\ Underfunding may lead
to program challenges and delays.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\4\ July 2018 EPA OIG report, Incomplete Oversight of State
Hazardous Waste Authorization Creates Regulatory Gaps and Human Health
and Environmental Risks.
\5\ June 2022 EPA OIG report, The EPA Continues to Fail to Meet
Inspection Requirements for Hazardous Waste Treatment, Storage, and
Disposal Facilities.
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Given constraints on the use of major source air permit fees under
the CAA and Title 40 Code of Federal Regulations Part 70, many other
critical--and federally required--activities are under-funded,
including updating State Implementation Plans, support for small
business programs and emission reductions from smaller sources, support
for enhanced community air monitoring, and the development of
inventories and rules. Congress has mandated that the U.S. Forest
Service conduct prescribed fires yet has not provided a companion
declaration for EPA to respond to increased prescribed fires and their
potential impact on State and local air quality attainment. EPA is now
considering lowering fine particulate matter levels under the National
Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS), which would likely result in
many areas nationally falling out of compliance with those lower NAAQS.
This may also create further tension with wildfire risk mitigation
strategies with prescribed burns that may be limited by air quality
standards. The majority of the State and Local Air Quality Management
Categorical Grant is provided as CAA Sec. 105 air grants that require a
40% match or maintenance of effort, whichever is higher. States
continue to seek an increase in funding and for this to be provided as
CAA Sec. 103 awards to avoid a match requirement and allow agencies
that do not have suficient matching funds to still obtain grants.
CWA Sec. 106 grants support work with 900,000 National Pollutant
Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) regulated facilities with
increasing complex challenges to reduce nutrients in surface waters,
meet electronic reporting requirements, address PFAS and other
contaminants, and more.\6\ State water programs also need funding to
close the monitoring gap for state water quality impairments and
improvements including the use and tracking of nature-based solutions.
These and other such activities are needed to develop water quality
standards and total maximum daily load listings, improve surface water
quality, restore impaired waterbodies, increase water reuse activities
to respond to climate change, address backlogged NPDES general permits,
and conduct other core water pollution control activities.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\6\ Source: Association of Clean Water Administrators FY23
testimony to the U.S. Senate, April 2022.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
ii. ``off the top'' cuts erode clean water state revolving fund (cwsrf)
and drinking water state revolving fund (dwsrf) programs
In the FY23 enacted budget, Congress stipulated $863M of CWSRF and
$609M of DWSRF funds go to Community Project Funding/Congressionally
Directed Spending (CPF/CDS). EPA has taken $1.472B for 715 CPF/CDS
projects ``off the top'' of the state capitalization grants, 53% of the
annual SRF funding provided, prior to state capitalization awards being
made and importantly, before state ``set-asides'' are taken. The state
set-asides are used to supplement public water system supervision
program funding, to protect source water, to address failing septic
systems, to provide stormwater control measures, to take cybersecurity
measures, to provide technical assistance, and more--up to 6% for CWSRF
and up to 31% for DWSRF. These across-the-board cuts create challenges
and uncertainty for States with year-to-year staff planning, with
budgeting for non-infrastructure support activities, and with long-term
viability of SRFs, as funds will not ``revolve'' in future years as the
CPF/CDS funds are not repaid. CPF/CDS projects are also managed outside
existing State programs, creating a parallel bureaucracy. States ask
that CPF/CDS not be taken from SRFs and ask that Congress maintain and
increase SRF funding levels for state-run programs in FY24 and beyond.
iii. additional considerations
These issues also remain important to state environmental agencies:
1. Fund Multipurpose Categorical Grants. States seek $50M for these
flexible funds, which can be applied broadly to state identified
priorities, do not require a match, and expand state implementation
capacity of Federal environmental programs.
2. Continue to invest in data modernization for drinking water, clean
water, and clean air. Through E-Enterprise for the Environment,
States, Tribes, and EPA are working jointly to modernize the
complex reporting processes for sharing Safe Drinking Water Act and
Clean Water Act and Clean Air Act state enforcement information, a
critical collaboration to develop effective multi-directional data
flows that are not duplicative, burdensome, and expensive and focus
on efficient data exchange solutions and on providing more accurate
information to the public.
3. State Research Needs. ECOS affiliate the Environmental Research
Institute of the States published its 2022 biannual survey of state
environmental agency research needs. ECOS urges Congress to provide
funding to EPA to help States meet these needs.
On behalf of ECOS, I thank the subcommittee for considering the
views of state environmental agencies as you prepare EPA's FY24 budget.
Please don't hesitate to reach out to me or ECOS Executive Director Ben
Grumbles at bgrumbles@ecos.org or (202) 266-4929.
[This statement was submitted by Myra Reece, Director of
Environmental Affairs, South Carolina Department of Health and
Environmental Control.]
______
Prepared Statement of the Environmental and Energy Study Institute
Thank you for the opportunity to submit written testimony for the
record in support of programs under the subcommittee's jurisdiction
that support climate change mitigation and adaptation.
The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) is a non-profit
organization founded in 1984 on a bipartisan basis by members of
Congress to help educate and inform policymakers, their staff,
stakeholders, and the American public about the benefits of a low-
emissions economy that prioritizes energy efficiency, renewable energy,
and new clean energy technologies. In 1988, EESI declared that
addressing climate change is a moral imperative, and that has since
guided our work.
Climate adaptation and resilience work should complement and, when
possible, contribute to a decarbonized, clean energy economy. From
droughts to wildfires and hurricanes to extreme heat, different
regions, States, and communities will experience different climate
change-related threats. Communities need locally tailored, accessible,
actionable, and coordinated data to make informed decisions to reduce
their climate risks and safeguard the ecosystems on which they depend.
Effectively synchronizing landscape conservation and climate
adaptation efforts across Federal agencies and with non-federal
partners will require investing in a new durable, comprehensive, and
inclusive structure and approach to landscape conservation. EESI's
Congressional briefing, Building a Durable National Framework for Large
Landscape Conservation,\1\ provides more information on the
intersection of collaborative, landscape-scale conservation and climate
adaptation efforts.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Building a Durable National Framework for Large Landscape
Conservation: https://www.eesi.org/briefings/view/032922fed
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
To advance this work, we support the following funding requests in
the President's Fiscal Year 2024 Budget Request:
u.s. fish and wildlife service
--$55.5 million for the Science Applications Program. This program
effectively coordinates large landscape conservation, climate
resilience, and habitat connectivity efforts across the Federal
Government and with state, Tribal, and nongovernmental partners
nationwide. More specifically, this funding would support
collaborative partnerships in areas ranging from the
Appalachian Mountains to the Pacific Northwest. It would also
support landscape conservation designs, which are developed
with communities to spatially identify the most strategic
conservation and restoration priorities in areas such as the
Southeast and the sagebrush sea.
--$79.7 million for the Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program under
the Habitat Conservation activity. In particular, we urge you
to fund the $3M requested within this program to specifically
to expand successful work with private landowners and other
partners to conserve wildlife migration corridors, improve
landscape connectivity, and restore fish passage. This funding
enables implementation Secretarial Order 3362, Improving
Habitat Quality in Western Big Game Winter Range and Migration
Corridors, which has transcended Republican and Democratic
administrations. Securing dedicated funding for this work is
essential, as continuing to compete for and cobble together the
funding necessary for this program is neither a strategic nor a
sustainable funding strategy.
--$20.4 million for the Coastal Program under the Habitat
Conservation Activity. This program enhances the resilience of
coastal communities while enhancing coastal habitat
connectivity. Additionally, if funded at the requested level,
this program could remove dozens of fish passage barriers.
--$624.9 million for the National Wildlife Refuge System. This
funding would enable the agency to take a large landscape
conservation approach to planning, conservation, and
restoration of the habitat they manage, which is especially
important for migratory species.
--$18.5 million for the Migratory Bird Joint Ventures Program under
the Migratory Bird Management activity. This funding would
enable continued collaboration with diverse stakeholders to
conserve and restore habitat within critical flyways across the
country.
bureau of land management
--$162 million for the Wildlife Habitat Management activity. This
funding would allow the bureau to conserve seasonal habitats
and migration corridors, as well as support Tribal co-
stewardship efforts, including habitat connectivity
initiatives. More specifically, it would enable the bureau to
implement a landscape-scale approach to conserving and
restoring the threatened sagebrush ecosystem, which provides
essential habitat for migratory birds, pollinators, and big
game.
u.s. geological survey
--$13 million for the Species Management Research subactivity under
the Ecosystems Activity. This funding would support important
conservation science, including producing maps of desert
tortoise connectivity to guide responsible solar energy
development decisions.
--$79.6 million for the Land Management Research subactivity under
the Ecosystems Activity. In particular, we urge you to fund the
$2.4 million requested within this program for the agency to
expand its work with States and Tribes to map big game
migration corridors in the western U.S. The additional $2
million of funding for this work would also allow the agency to
support partners to incorporate the data into conservation,
restoration, and transportation planning to enhance habitat
connectivity and reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions.
national park service
--$509.6 million for the Resource Stewardship subactivity of the Park
Management activity. This funding would support conservation of
our natural and cultural heritage, including support for
collaborative landscape conservation science and projects.
u.s. bureau of reclamation
--$2.3 million for the Cooperative Watershed Management Program
within the WaterSMART Program. This program provides crucial
financial assistance for collaborative groups to coordinate,
plan, and implement strategic watershed management projects.
Overall, these programs provide critical support for landscape
conservation and connectivity-a practice that conserves biodiversity,
supports regional economies, and enhances the resilience of communities
and nature in an era of rapid change.
Thank you for your consideration.
[This statement was submitted by Daniel Bresette, President,
Environmental and Energy Study Institute.]
______
Prepared Statement of the Federation of State Humanities Councils
Chairman Merkley, Ranking Member Murkowski, and members of the
subcommittee, my name is Phoebe Stein and I am the President of the
Federation of State Humanities Councils (Federation), the membership
organization of the 56 state and jurisdictional humanities councils.
Thank you for the opportunity to submit testimony.
The state and jurisdictional humanities councils were authorized in
the founding legislation for the National Foundation for the Arts and
Humanities and are funded, in part, through the Federal/State
Partnership (F/SP) line in the National Endowment for the Humanities
(NEH) budget. The councils are 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations, with
voluntary boards and they leverage their NEH funding to raise millions
of dollars to invest in local projects and grassroots organizations.
While councils' funding comes from a variety of sources, NEH support is
critical, especially for on-going operations.
The Federal/State Partnership (F/SP) funding, currently (FY 2023)
at $65 million, goes directly to the state councils by formula. To
ensure that every council receives approximately $100,000 in additional
funding in a year, an additional appropriation in excess of $6 million
is needed in the F/SP; for a $50,000 increase for each council, an
additional $3+ million is needed.
Councils operate in nearly all Congressional districts. Each year,
councils make thousands of grants to local cultural organizations--
schools, libraries, museums, historical societies, preservation groups,
and other non-profit organizations--to develop and/or present programs,
exhibits, lectures, and discussions free to their communities. Many
councils conceive, create, and deliver their own programs. In 2022,
councils made more than 3,700 grants to local entities, partnered with
more than 5,000 local organizations and reached more than 71 million of
your constituents.
In response to COVID, councils served as the grant-making agency
for both CARES and ARP funding. Councils oversaw the award of more than
7,000 grants under the two programs. But, those funds were obligated
quickly; and the ARP process identified more than $40 million in
proposals unmet for lack of resources; furthermore new community needs
and interests continue to arise. Thus, we are back to the
appropriations level that supports approximately 3,700 grants, a
reminder of the needs that exist not only in COVID's aftermath (such as
teacher institutes and re-learning in the K-12 system) but also in new
and expanding areas (history, the 250th anniversary of the Declaration
of Independence, health and well-being, inclusion and belonging,
environmental humanities, and the multitude of other issues where the
humanities help define us and our communities).
Furthermore, numerous studies have indicated that thriving,
innovative communities require a combination of factors. Economic
strength and opportunities depend not only upon jobs, housing, a
trained workforce, access to healthcare, and transportation, but also,
importantly, local cultural and recreational activities as well.
Placemaking is a significant part of economic development.
Councils seek to meet the needs of a multitude of interests and
constituencies in the States, but, there are common threads. In 2022,
over 85% of councils provided cultural resources to rural residents;
55% of councils provided programs for veterans, active military, and
families; and 43% of councils provided programs focused on health and
well-being outcomes.
strengthening rural connections and cultural opportunities
Ninety-seven percent of the American landscape is rural and rural
areas play a role in many aspects of our lives: food supply, water and
other natural resources, forest products, recreational activities, and
are home to millions of Americans. As previously noted, 85% of councils
bring excitement and vitality to rural areas of their States and
promote discussion of challenges facing these locations.
For more than 25 years, councils have partnered with the
Smithsonian's Museum on Main Street (MoMS), a series of traveling
exhibitions that facilitate local discussions, understanding, and
connections. Last year alone, councils supported MoMS programming in 76
communities across 21 States. The current exhibit ``Crossroads''
focuses on the changing rural landscape, with other exhibits relating
to such topics as food, work, water, local stories, innovation, and
culture. In 2023-24, the Alabama Humanities Alliance will enhance the
exhibits with local discussions of how small places in the state are
being transformed by economic pressures, the pandemic and population
changes.
In addition, many councils offer programs for their States and
communities. In Montana, for example, the council developed ``Hometown
Humanities'' which works with individual communities to build capacity
and make long-term investments to strengthen cultural infrastructure.
Humanities North Dakota's Public University Program provides quality
lifelong learning opportunities to residents of rural communities
through a wide range of courses from literature and history to
economics and social science.
understanding and sharing our history
Historical and cultural events, local, State, national, and
international, have been a mainstay of councils over the past half-
century. A review of any council website will illustrate the breadth
and scope of programming on historical topics. The West Virginia
Humanities Council maintains eWV, a comprehensive collection of
articles on West Virginia's people and places, history, arts, science
and culture. The council also partners with public radio to provide
podcasts on historical events. eWV also includes under its eWV
Classroom section a selection of lesson plans designed by West Virginia
teachers. Humanities Washington supported a program, ``A Matter of
Loyalty: Poetry, Stories, and Images,'' in honor of Day of Remembrance
of Japanese-American Incarceration and several other programs honoring
Japanese culture.
Most councils participate in the annual National History Day
Program which reaches far beyond a ``day.'' The effort involves more
than half a million students in grades 6-12 and tens of thousands of
teachers annually in the student history contest which culminates in a
week-long session for 3,000 winners. Students produce papers, exhibits,
performances, documentaries, and websites as part of their research and
communications work. The Alabama Humanities Alliance has initiated a
vigorous outreach throughout the state to teachers, parents and
students to broaden and diversify participation in the program. And,
councils are involved in plans for the Semiquincentennial in 2026 when
our Nation will commemorate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of
Independence. Nevada Humanities, for instance, has held many events
through A More Perfect Union to deepen appreciation of humanities'
connection to untold stories in Nevada communities and promote
understanding the founding of the Nation in all its complexities.
civic education
For decades, the State and jurisdictional humanities councils have
actively conducted or supported nonpartisan programs, resources, and
events providing civic education in support of our democracy. Recently,
the humanities councils offered programs in 43 States and territories
as part of the ``Why It Matters: Civic and Electoral Participation''
initiative. These events provided free humanities programming to engage
the public in collaborative, accessible, and thought-provoking
dialogues on the importance of electoral and civic participation. Since
2018, nearly all councils have conducted or supported programs as part
of the Federation's Mellon-funded ``Democracy and the Informed
Citizen'' national initiative, which focuses on the role of journalism
and the humanities in a democratic society as well as on the ways
citizens gather, assess, and share information to make decisions about
the futures of their communities and nation. Rhode Island Humanities,
with its partners, has produced a Civic Health Index that examines five
areas: community well-being, social connection, public participation,
collective understanding and engagement with government.
serving teachers and students
Support for our Nation's educators and students has never been more
important. Kentucky Humanities, continues to support educators,
students, and families with nationally-recognized literacy programs,
such as ``PRIME TIME, Inc.''. Humanities Nebraska holds Capitol Forum
Day to enable high school students from across the State to discuss
important global issues and interact with the Governor and Members of
Congress.
Councils are also seeing the need for additional teacher and
student support in the aftermath of COVID and the expansion of pre-
school programs. Many schools continue to confront problems associated
with learning and academic loss and recovery, staff shortages,
absenteeism, and mental and emotional issues. Creation of resource
materials, teacher institutes, and support for summer, after school,
and other literacy interventions alleviate academic gaps and improve
pre-school preparation for developing reading skills.
inclusion, respect, and belonging
Helping to bridge the divides in our communities remains of
paramount importance. Programs such as Oregon's onstage conversation
with author and journalist Monica Guzman examined creating connections
across political divides and depolarizing our Nation. California
Humanities has featured programs on Black Mariners, looking at maritime
practices of commercial mariners, whalers, fishers, explorers, and
sailors from the 16th to the 20th century.
collaborating with native and indigenous populations
Councils have regularly partnered with Indigenous communities over
the years. For example, the New Mexico Humanities Council has supported
Native American storyteller Esther Martinez and her work to preserve
the Pueblo history and culture, as well as the Tewa language. Michigan
Humanities in their Great Michigan Read program has featured the debut
novel Fire Keeper's Daughter, by Angeline Boulley, an enrolled member
of the Sault Ste.Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians. Boulley writes about
her Ojibwa community in Michigan's Upper Peninsula.
environmental humanities
Environmental humanities programs use literature and history to
make sense of the changing environmental concerns facing Americans.
Humanities Nebraska conducted a session, Weathering Nebraska, that
explored the interrelationships of water, climate, health, agriculture,
and local impact. Humanities Washington worked with a small community
to present the lecture ``After the Blast: Mt. St. Helen's 40 Years
Later.''
healthcare and the humanities
Councils have a long history of collaborating with the medical
community and play a prominent role in enhancing the lives and work of
healthcare providers. Council work also helps individuals and their
families manage the many aspects of their illnesses. Since 1997, when
Maine Humanities Council created and piloted ``Literature & Medicine:
Humanities at the Heart of Healthcare,'' the reading and discussion
program for healthcare workers has been a hallmark effort for many
councils. Councils have also targeted specific medical challenges, such
as opioid addiction, with their programming.
veterans
Councils support veterans and their families in many ways,
including the collection of oral histories, the sharing of experiences,
the examination of service as seen through literature, writing
workshops that encourage the expression of and reflection on aspects of
war and its aftermath, dealing with injuries and medical conditions,
support for VA medical staff, and helping communities to understand
their challenges. Literature & Medicine, mentioned above, has been
offered in various veterans' hospitals and medical facilities.
Since 2015 Maryland Humanities has worked with veterans and
community partners to plan and facilitate small group reading and
discussion programs for veterans in five counties. This program
supports current and former service members by offering an opportunity
to give voice to their experiences. Families and friends have
benefitted from a deepened understanding of the history, experience,
and meaning of war.
youth
Youth programs have been integral to council activities for
decades. For example, Alaska's ``Ilakucaraq Project,'' conducted in
collaboration with the Alaska Native American Education Program,
empowers youth to identify their heritage as a source of strength
through personal reflections, positive self- and cultural- identity
formation, cross-cultural experiences, peer-to-peer learning, elder and
culture-bearer teachings, and art. National History Day is designed for
6-12 graders. Other programs impact youth, such as sessions at book
festivals, participation in literacy programs, and increasing
collaborations with community colleges. Humanities North Dakota's We
The People: The Citizen and the Constitution program for high school
students focuses on the Constitution and its relevance to the lives of
young people today.
community connections
In August the Alaska Humanities Forum will offer training sessions
for discussion facilitators to lead conversations about vital issues
and ideas across differences, beliefs and backgrounds. These
discussions will help build strong relationships within organizations
and among communities. As previously mentioned the Rhode Island council
has developed a civic health index to examine engagement across
communities.
In this space, I described only a very few of the activities
underway in communities across the Nation. Councils are proud of their
work and their contributions. But we are far from meeting the needs and
interests of the States and localities. We need additional resources
and we ask this subcommittee's support for directing those additional
resources to cities, towns, and rural areas throughout the Nation. With
additional funding, we can easily move forward with doubling the 3,700
grants currently awarded annually.
We can reach beyond the 71 million currently served. Councils are
on-the-ground, grassroots organizations with broad and deep connections
to other local organizations. Investments in the Federal/State
Partnership are a direct investment in communities. In a complex, fast-
paced and rapidly-changing nation, much work remains to be done.
[This statement was submitted by Phoebe Stein, President,
Federation of State Humanities Councils.]
______
Prepared Statement of the Geological Society of America
summary
The Geological Society of America (GSA) recommends that Congress
provide $1.85 billion in annual appropriations for the U.S. Geological
Survey (USGS) in Fiscal Year 2024. As one of our Nation's key science
agencies, the USGS plays a vital role in locating, characterizing and
documenting mineral and energy resources that underpin economic
security and growth; researching and monitoring potential natural
hazards that threaten lives and property; keeping communities informed
about the impacts of a changing climate; and determining and assessing
water quality and availability. Approximately two thirds of the USGS
budget is allocated for research and development. In addition to
supporting the science activities and decisions of the Department of
the Interior, USGS research, data, and products are used by communities
across the Nation to make informed decisions in land-use planning,
emergency response, natural resource management, engineering, and
education. To fully implement the agency's mission and fulfill the USGS
21st-Century Science Strategy will require $1.85 billion in annual
appropriations.
The Geological Society of America (GSA) is a scientific society
with 19,000 members from academia, government, and industry. Through
its meetings, publications, and programs, GSA enhances the professional
growth of its members and promotes the geosciences in the service of
humankind. GSA encourages cooperative research among earth, life,
planetary, and social scientists, fosters public dialogue on geoscience
issues, and supports all levels of earth science education.
The Geological Society of America (GSA) thanks the Committee for
recognizing the importance of the work of the U.S. Geological Survey
(USGS) to protect lives, property, and national security, and to
stimulate economic growth. GSA urges Congress to provide USGS $1.85
billion in Fiscal Year 2024. This increase will allow the USGS to
implement new initiatives, maintain the base funding for critical
research and monitoring, fill vacant positions, and address deferred
maintenance on existing facilities.
u.s. geological survey contributions to national security, health, and
welfare
The USGS is one of the Nation's premier science agencies, with the
unique capacity to engage interdisciplinary teams of experts to gather
data, conduct research, and develop integrated decision-support tools.
USGS research is used by communities across the Nation to make informed
decisions regarding land-use planning, emergency response, natural
resource management, engineering, and education. USGS provides
practical, pragmatic science that informs many of society's greatest
challenges related to national security, economic competitiveness,
health, and welfare. Several are highlighted below.
energy and minerals
As articulated in the Energy Policy Act of 2020, there is a vital
need to understand the global and domestic abundance and distribution
of critical mineral resources, as well as the geologic processes that
form them. Achieving this goal will require continually expanding
collection and analysis of geological, geochemical, and geophysical
data. Specifically, GSA supports completing the new Energy and Minerals
Research Facility on the Colorado School of Mines campus, a USGS
facility that will be critical to establishing the workforce needed to
secure our energy future by expanding STEM talent, and increasing
diversity through student engagement and university partnerships.
GSA supports energy and minerals science, research, data collection
and analysis that will allow for more economic and environmental
management and utilization. GSA appreciates congressional support for
the EarthMRI program, which will both provide new resources and
leverage current data to accelerate geological and geophysical mapping,
identify critical mineral sites for further scientific study to aid
defense, security, and economic uses. The mapping has a central focus
on minerals still in the ground and minerals that may be reprocessed
from legacy mine waste, and will also provide important data for
abandoned mine remediation and for understanding other natural
resources.
natural hazards
Natural hazards are a major cause of fatalities and economic
losses. In 2022 alone, NOAA found that the U.S. disaster costs exceeded
$165 billion. An improved scientific understanding of geologic and
atmospheric hazards will reduce future losses by informing effective
planning, mitigation, and resilience. USGS's products are innovative,
reliable, timely, and actionable, providing critical information on
potential and developing hazards like floods, droughts, earthquakes,
volcanos, landslides, and space weather events. GSA urges Congress to
continue supporting efforts for USGS to both maintain its fundamental
research capabilities, and modernize and upgrade its natural hazards
monitoring and warning systems, such as the ShakeAlert Earthquake Early
Warning System which, even while still under development, produced
several successful earthquake alerts in California this past year.
Decision makers in many sectors rely upon USGS data to respond to
natural hazards. For example, USGS volcano monitoring provides data to
enable decisions to ensure aviation safety. Similarly, the USGS plays a
key role in the National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program by tracking
tsunami sources using seismic data, and USGS research on storm surge is
used by the National Hurricane Center.
USGS is a key partner in obtaining data necessary to predict severe
space weather events, which affect the electric power grid, satellite
communications, and navigation systems. The Promoting Research and
Observations of Space Weather to Improve the Forecasting of Tomorrow
Act (PROSWIFT Act) provides a path forward for USGS research to
understand and mitigate space weather risks. In addition, the new Space
Weather Advisory Group established by the PROSWIFT Act will conduct a
comprehensive survey to identify the research, observations,
forecasting, and modeling advances required to improve response to
space weather products.
GSA recommends adequate funding to implement recently-enacted
hazards-related legislation. For example, the National Landslide
Preparedness Act expanded the USGS Landslide Hazards Program, and
authorized the 3D Elevation Program (3DEP) which leverages partnerships
with the private sector, State and local governments, and other
agencies to update and coordinate the collection of high-resolution
elevation data across the country. Directives to USGS include
identifying, mapping, and understanding landslide hazards, responding
to landslide events, and developing landslide guidelines for
geoscientists, emergency management personnel, and land-use decision-
makers in order to reduce landslide losses and protect communities at
risk.
water resources
Improved understanding of the quantity, quality, distribution, and
use of water resources through monitoring, assessment, research, and
delivery of actionable information by the USGS and associated partners
is necessary to ensure adequate and safe water resources for the health
and welfare of society. For example, the USGS national network of
stream gages provides key data for the weekly U.S. Drought Monitor Maps
and classifications, but its funding has been flatlined for many years.
A reinvestment in this program will allow the Survey to maintain
significant long-term data collection necessary for assessing impacts
to water resources brought on by stressors such as climate change.
climate change
USGS research on climate impacts is used by local policymakers and
resource managers to make sound decisions based on the best possible
science. In addition to fundamental, long-term climate change research,
the USGS provides scientific information necessary to anticipate,
monitor, and adapt to the effects of climate change at regional and
local levels, allowing communities to make smart, cost-effective
decisions. Much of this work operates through the network of nine
regional Climate Adaptation Centers (CASC). For example, the Alaska
CASC has assessed future landslide risks along road corridors in Denali
and other Alaska parks, which will assist planning for new and existing
infrastructure to endure under a changing climate. In addition, the
Southeast CASC is using artificial intelligence to predict flood damage
changes in response to rising sea levels, and Northwest CASC
researchers studied the impacts of wildfire severity and climate change
on tree species that rely on fire to release their seeds. Additionally,
the Federal Climate Data Portal will provide actionable climate tools
and products that will help public and private decision-makers address
climate risks.
core science systems, facilities, and science support
Activities from hazard monitoring to mineral forecasts are
supported by Core Science Systems, Facilities, and Science Support.
These programs and services, such as geologic mapping, data
preservation, and satellite observation, provide critical information,
data, and infrastructure that underpin the research of the USGS.
Investment in advanced scientific computing will allow the agency
cutting-edge analytics and models needed to study wildfires and
droughts. Stagnant funding has created backlogs in the hiring of new
scientists; the agency has fewer employees than in FY1995. Increased
investment is needed to fill these critical roles and allow for the
recruitment and training of a strong and diverse STEM workforce
pipeline, paving the way for increased diversity, equity, inclusion,
and accessibility within the field of Earth sciences.
GSA appreciates the committee's recent investments in USGS
facilities, including the creation of the Energy and Mineral Research
Facility, and encourages continued investment to address deferred
maintenance issues. GSA also recommends long-term funding and support
for the USGS library, which is used by both Federal scientists and
external researchers. The Library houses more than 1.5 million volumes
and more than three million maps, photographs and field records, with
much of the information unique to the USGS.
The Landsat satellites have amassed the largest archive of remotely
sensed land data in the world, a tremendously important resource for
land use planning, and for assessment of water, energy, mineral and
other natural resources, the impacts of natural disasters, and global
agriculture production. GSA encourages continued support for existing
programs, as well as interagency efforts for LandsatNext with improved
spatial resolution and the ability to provide updated imagery with
greater frequency.
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
climate change, water resources, mineral and energy resources, natural
hazards, and public investment in Earth science research--please visit
www.geosociety.org or contact GSA's Director for Geoscience Policy
Kasey White at kwhite@geosociety.org.
[This statement was submitted by Kasey White, Director for
Geoscience Policy.]
______
Prepared Statement of Great Lakes Restoration Initiative
I am Howard Learner, the Executive Director of the Environmental
Law & Policy Center (ELPC), which is the Midwest's leading
environmental legal advocacy and sustainability innovation
organization. ELPC's staff works throughout the Great Lakes States, in
Washington D.C. and with Canada to protect the Great Lakes. Since 2008,
we have participated with policymakers and colleagues to build,
effectively implement, and expand the successful Great Lakes
Restoration Initiative (GLRI).
Thank you, Chair Merkley, Ranking Member Murkowski and all members
of the subcommittee for the opportunity to submit testimony in support
of full funding of $425 million in FY 2024 for the Great Lakes
Restoration Initiative as provided in the Great Lakes Restoration
Initiative Act of 2019 (signed into law on January 5, 2021). GLRI funds
have been effectively deployed to protect safe clean drinking water
supplies, clean up toxic sites, protect wetlands and shorelines, hold
off invasive species from entering the Great Lakes, and safeguard
aquatic resources. Restoring the Great Lakes creates substantial
environmental, public health, and recreational benefits, as well as
fostering economic growth. GLRI is a program that has worked very well
and has demonstrated success consistently.
The Great Lakes are a global gem. They contain 21% of the planet's
fresh water supply, and 42 million people rely on the Great Lakes for
safe drinking water. They provide a rich aquatic habitat for many
species. They support a $7 billion annual fishing industry, and Great
Lakes recreation draws millions of tourists who boost the economies of
shoreline communities. In short, the Great Lakes are where many
millions of people live, work and play.
ELPC strongly supported reauthorization of the GLRI and the ramp up
of funding to $475 million in 2026, matching the funding the program
received in its initial year. We request that the Committee fully fund
the GLRI program with at least the authorized $425 million for FY 2024
and, hopefully, consider a higher amount.
I'll make two points in support of fully funding the GLRI:
First, the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative is vitally important,
and it is successful. This is a model Federal program providing
significant environmental and economic benefits, and it is working
well.
Second, the challenges to the Great Lakes from increases in harmful
algal blooms and climate change merit full funding of at least the
authorized $425 million for FY 2024, and the program could benefit from
a higher funding amount in FY 2024.
1. The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative is vitally important and
successful. This is a model Federal program providing important
benefits, and it is working well with strong bipartisan
federal, State and local support.
The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative has been a breakthrough
program injecting critical funding and structure that had been missing
in order to restore the Lakes. Over the past 14 years, the GLRI has
achieved strong results with sustained funding. As the third GLRI
Action Plan States: ``the GLRI has been a catalyst for unprecedented
Federal agency coordination, which has, in turn, produced unprecedented
results.'' The program supports shoreline and wetlands protection
projects, keeping out invasive species, and reducing harmful algal
blooms. Congress' recognition of the effectiveness of the Great Lakes
Restoration Initiative is reflected in the strong bipartisan support
for fully funding this program with increasing funding.
The GLRI funds and supports thousands of projects across the Great
Lakes States to:
--Improve water quality for safe drinking water supplies, fisheries
and aquatic habitats.
--Protect shorelines and restore wetlands.
--Protect and restore native habitats and species.
--Help prevent and control invasive species.
--Clean up toxic sediments on lake bottoms.
--Reduce agricultural and other nutrient runoff that causes harmful
algal blooms.
The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative creates an effective system
of coordination among Federal agencies, State entities and local
partners to achieve important outcomes to make a meaningful difference
for the Great Lakes. Since its inception, the program has achieved
strong results with sustained funding.
There are countless examples of GLRI projects that deliver multiple
benefits to the Great Lakes: from watershed and natural area
restoration projects, to addressing and ultimately delisting Areas of
Concern. The Healing Our Waters Coalition provides examples of projects
across the region. Projects include:
--Rouge River Area of Concern (MI): This heavily populated and
industrialized area in southeast Michigan includes highly
degraded natural habitat and high levels of contamination.
Multiple GLRI-funded projects are addressing nine habitat areas
including the Venoy Dorsey Park habitat project to restore
wetlands and stabilize streambanks.
--Wequoick Creek Restoration (WI): This project in Lake Michigan's
watershed is restoring Midwestern oak savanna/wet meadow and
riparian forest adjacent to the Point au Sable Nature Reserve
in lower Green Bay, Wisconsin. This project will control
invasive species and restore a native riparian corridor.
--Grand Marais (MN): This project will update stormwater management
for the City of Grand Marais with wetlands, trees and riparian
habitat to store and filter stormwater to reduce flooding. This
project will address increasing storm intensity and add native
plants to the areas to better protect Lake Superior.
GLRI projects bring together a broad array of partners to achieve
the program's goals and create jobs. The GLRI Action Plan III details
work to address Areas of Concern, including those that are now
delisted: Ashtabula River in Ohio, Lower Menominee River in Wisconsin,
Presque Isle Bay in Pennsylvania, and Deer Lake and White Lake in
Michigan. Significant work remains to be done, however, to fully
address the 25 Areas of Concern across the Great Lakes basin. We
greatly appreciate that the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act
added $1 billion for the GLRI to accelerate clean up and restoration of
these toxic Areas of Concern.
GLRI has broad regional economic benefits. A University of Michigan
study showed that every Federal dollar spent on GLRI projects between
2010 and 2016 will produce $3.35 in additional economic activity in the
Great Lakes region through 2036.
2. The challenges to the Great Lakes from fluctuating lake levels and
increases in harmful algal blooms and climate change merit full
funding of at least the authorized $425 million for FY 2024,
and we urge Congress to consider an even higher amount.
While recognizing the GLRI's success, the growing threats from
climate change and recurring severe algal outbreaks are getting worse.
ELPC commissioned 18 leading Midwest and Canadian university and
research center scientists to write the state-of-the-science report, An
Assessment of the Impacts of Climate Change on the Great Lakes, which
we released in 2019, along with recommended policy solutions. The
scientists concluded that climate change is causing significant and
far-reaching impacts on the Great Lakes region, including increasingly
extreme water level fluctuations, which wreak havoc on communities,
homes, beaches, businesses and the overall shoreline's built
environment. Annual precipitation in the region has increased at a
higher percentage than in the rest of the country, and more
precipitation is coming in unusually large events, such as derechos and
intense storms. Lake Michigan had record-high water levels in 2021--
especially when whipped by strong winds and heavy waves, this caused
extensive flooding that damaged the shoreline and infrastructure.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA), 2022 was the 6th hottest year on record as climate change
continues to impact the Great Lakes region.
ELPC issued a report in June 2022 focused on the threats to people,
communities and businesses from high Lake Michigan water and wave
levels: Rising Waters: Climate Change Impacts and Toxic Risks to Lake
Michigan's Shoreline Communities. Using NOAA's Enhanced Digital
Elevation Model data, this report visualizes the extent and severity of
inundation at 12 hot spots along Lake Michigan's shoreline and
surrounding areas due to extreme weather events of the scale expected
in the near future. This report points to opportunities for the GLRI
and other programs to invest in projects that will enhance coastal
protection and resilience, and flood control.
Climate change impacts on the Great Lakes also exacerbate the
growing problem of agricultural runoff pollution--mostly fertilizers
and manure--that is the principal cause of severe recurring toxic algal
outbreaks in western Lake Erie and other shallow water bays in the
Great Lakes. The Ohio EPA concluded that agricultural runoff pollution
accounts for about 90% of the phosphorus flowing into western Lake
Erie.
The current GLRI Action Plan provides a detailed look at strategies
to reduce this harmful agricultural runoff pollution, noting that GLRI
projects have kept more than one million pounds of phosphorous out of
the Great Lakes. The nutrient pollution threats from CAFOs to the Great
Lakes region, including those in the Maumee River flowing into Lake
Erie, continue and are exacerbated by changing rainfall patterns. GLRI
funds could be used to support wetlands restoration to more effectively
capture phosphorous, and water testing and monitoring to identify
effective approaches to reducing agricultural runoff pollution. A more
robust GLRI will continue to be an important source of solutions to
address this urgent problem.
In conclusion, the Environmental Law & Policy Center and I commend
the Senate Appropriations Committee and this subcommittee's strong
support for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative with each year's
budget. GLRI is a successful program and a model for federal, State and
local cooperation. We urge the Committee to fully fund the program with
at least the authorized $425 million for FY 2024 and, also, to consider
additional funding.
[This statement was submitted by Howard Learner, Executive
Director, Environmental Law & Policy Center.]
______
Prepared Statement of Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission
1. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Operations of
Indian Programs
a. Trust-Natural Resources Management, Rights Protection
Implementation (RPI) No less than the $49,542,000 proposed
for FY 2024 and a proportionate share for Great Lakes Area
Resource Management.
b. Trust-Natural Resources Management, Tribal Management/Development
Program (TM/DP): At least the $18,658,000 proposed for FY
2024 and the TM/DP requests of GLIFWC's member Tribes.
c. Trust-Natural Resources Management, Fish/Wildlife/Parks Program:
At least $24,935,000 the amount proposed for FY 2024.
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\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\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 US Supreme Court case.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. Environmental Protection Agency
a. Environmental Programs and Management, Geographic Programs, Great
Lakes Restoration: At least $368,154,000, including no less
than $20,900,000 for the Distinct Tribal Program (DTP).
b. State and Tribal Assistance Grants, Categorical Grants, Tribal
General Assistance Program: At least $85,009,000, the
amount proposed in FY 2024.
Funding Authorizations: Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. s. 1268(c);
Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act, Pub. L. 114-322
s. 5005; and treaties cited above.
These programs fulfill Federal treaty, trust, and contract
obligations to GLIFWC's member Tribes, providing vital resources to
sustain their governmental programs. We ask that Congress maintain and
enhance these programs.
glifwc's fy 2024 funding request highlights
1. Should Congress provide an increase to the RPI line item, GLIFWC's
top funding priority would be to adjust the overall grades/
steps of current and incoming employees. With the increase
provided in FY 2023, GLIFWC was able to match the FY 2023 GS
scale, however GLIFWC is still unable to compensate its
employees at rates similar to their State and Federal
counterparts, and this is hindering its ability to attract
candidates for open positions. GLIFWC was recently unable to
fill 17% of its conservation officer force due to this pay
discrepancy. Annual RPI increases are needed to keep pace with
the Federal scale so that no such shortfall occurs again.
2. Great Lakes Restoration Initiative funding of no less than
$368,154,000, as proposed in FY 2024, with an increase to the
Distinct Tribal Program (DTP) to at least $20,900,000, the
amount EPA has committed to provide in FY 2023.
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 and to fund the
Circle of Flight wetlands program.
glifwc's goal--a secure funding base to fulfill treaty purposes and
legal obligations
For over 35 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; 3) protect public
safety; and 4) 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 over 80 full-time staff, including natural
resource scientists, technicians, conservation enforcement officers,
policy specialists, and public information specialists.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\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 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
inter-generational learning and the transmission of traditional
cultural and management practices.
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. GLIFWC's
FY 2024 funding request includes two main elements:
1. BIA Rights Protection Implementation/Great Lakes Area Management
(Within the RPI Line Item):
No less than $49,542,000, the amount proposed in the
Administration's FY 2024 budget. The five treaty commissions have
estimated the cost of full implementation of the court orders governing
their treaty-reserved rights at, collectively, no less than
$66,000,000. The overall FY 2023 increase of $3,513,000 is greatly
appreciated. GLIFWC continues to support allocating increases to the
RPI line item among the treaty commissions in the historically
proportionate amounts, regardless of additional directed funding. As we
stated in our testimony before this subcommittee last year, GLIFWC's
top priority with any increase to RPI funding was to compensate its
employees at a rate commensurate with colleagues in other agencies.
With the FY 2023 increase, GLIFWC was able to adjust its pay to the FY
2023 pay scale. However, the funding discrepancy is still significant.
GLIFWC estimates that it would need an increase of approximately
$963,000 to fully adjust its compensation structure.
There is a long history of Federal funding for treaty rights
protection and implementation programs. For more than thirty years,
Congress and each Administration have appropriated funding for these
programs. 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. The Federal Government, as
a treaty signatory, is required to uphold treaty rights. It has
appropriately chosen to invest in our programs as efficient, cost-
effective service delivery mechanisms at the governmental level most
appropriate to most effectively implement Federal court orders and to
protect and restore the natural resources on which the treaty rights
are based. GLIFWC continues to support allocating any increase to the
RPI line item among the treaty commissions in the historically
proportionate amounts.
GLIFWC's holistic approach to protecting treaty rights and the
natural resources that support them requires that we undertake a
variety of activities that promote Tribal lifeways and inform natural
resource management activities. These include scientific, technical and
policy analyses, promotion of healthy foods, and language
revitalization. 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.
2. EPA Great Lakes Restoration Initiative: $368,154,000. Distinct
Tribal Program (DTP): $20,900,000.
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, fulfillment of
international agreements, and substantive natural resource protection
and restoration projects. GLIFWC supports the continuation of GLRI
funding at no less than $368,154,000 proposed in FY 2024.
GLIFWC continues to appreciate the directive that EPA should follow
the guidance in House Report 117-83, which directs the EPA and other
Federal agencies to fund Tribal activities at not less than $15
million. The DTP has proven to be a successful program, and an
increasing number of Tribes are participating. This is in part because
the EPA and the BIA have proven to be engaged and cooperative partners
with Tribes throughout the implementation of the DTP. However, the DTP
should include some insurance of predictability when overall GLRI
funding changes. We ask that Congress provide direction to the EPA to
direct no less than 5% of total GLRI funding to the DTP, never to fall
below the $15 million base.
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: At
its most basic level, GLIFWC's programs support Tribal
compliance with court decrees and intergovernmental agreements
that govern the Tribes' treaty-reserved rights. Funding for
science and research enhances GLIFWC's ability 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 forums 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.
[This statement was submitted by James G. Thannum, Acting Executive
Administrator.]
______
Prepared Statement of GreenLatinos
As an organization engaging in Federal public lands issues since
2013, GreenLatinos in partnership with our 802 members throughout the
United States and its territories, including ECODiversity and the
Latino Heritage Sites Action Network, appreciate the opportunity to
provide comments on the proposed FY 2024 Department of Interior (DOI)
and National Park Service (NPS) budget.
The Department of Interior is a critical agency charged with the
stewardship of some of the United States' most critical cultural and
environmental resources including over 480 million acres of lands. We
expect that all agencies within DOI, especially the Park Service and
Bureau of Land Management which administer public lands significant to
Hispanic and Latino cultures and histories, are accountable to the
various executive orders and agency memorandums intending to establish
increasingly equitable outcomes for underserved communities, including
but not limited to:
--Executive Order 13171--Hispanic Employment in the Federal
Government--Recognizes that Hispanics are underrepresented in
the Federal workforce and directs deal agencies to maintain
programs for the recruitment and career development of
Hispanics in Federal employment.
--Executive Order 13985--Advancing Racial Equity and Support for
Underserved Communities Through the Government: Directs Federal
agencies to assess whether and to what extent their programs
perpetuate systemic barriers to opportunities and benefits for
people of color and other underserved groups
--Executive Order 14045--Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence,
and Economic Opportunities for Hispanics: Directs agencies to
design plans and measurable actions to advance educational
equity and economic opportunity for Hispanic and Latino
communities.
--Executive Order 13583--Establishing a Coordinated Government-wide
Initiative to Promote Diversity and Inclusion in the Federal
Workforce: Directs executive departments and agencies to
develop and implement a more comprehensive, integrated, and
strategic focus on diversity and inclusion as a key component
of their human resources strategies.
--Executive Order 11478--Equal Employment Opportunity in the Federal
Government: Prohibits discrimination in employment because of
race, color, religion, sex, national origin, handicap, or age;
promotes the full realization of equal employment opportunity
through a continuing affirmative program in each executive
department and agency.
--Presidential Memorandum on Promoting Diversity and Inclusion in Our
National Parks, National Forests, Marine Protected Areas, and
other Public Lands and Waters--Expands on Executive Order 13985
to further direct agencies to pursue additional efforts to
create and maintain a diverse and inclusive Federal workforce.
--Department of Interior Secretary Order 3406--Creates a Diversity,
Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) Council that will
ensure that the Department prioritizes action on the
advancement of DEIA and further its implementation of the DEIA
executive orders.
We appreciate the overall commitment in the proposed FY 2024 budget
towards improving the quality of equitable outcomes for the Department
of Interior's workforce and managed lands such as highlighting the need
for racial justice and the ``inclusion of underserved communities''. To
further support these goals, GreenLatinos has identified three areas
for improvement regarding the proposed FY 2024 budget:
1) Advancing equitable hiring practices and removing barriers to
career pathways within DOI and its umbrella agencies to ensure fair and
equitable representation of Hispanics and Latinos in employment through
the Federal Government.
2) Ensuring adequate funding for the maintenance of existing Latino
Heritage sites and public lands in close proximity to communities of
color and;
3) Ensuring accurate and equitable representation of Hispanic and
Latino histories at conservation and recreation sites under DOI
jurisdiction.
advancing equitable hiring practices and removing barriers to career
pathways within doi and its umbrella agencies to ensure fair and
equitable representation
We support DOI's increased funding to expand the total number of
full-time equivalent staff (FTEs) up to 1,369 FTEs through 2023. A
fully-staffed workforce is essential to successfully meet the Nation's
environmental goals, yet at the end of 2020, Interior's staffing was at
a 10-year low, with 60,558 FTE (OS-10). Although progress has been made
on the aforementioned commitments to diversity DOI's workforce
composition, much work is needed to ensure this projected expansion
includes Latinos and other members of underserved communities. For
example, a 2021 DOI assessment of workplace composition further
revealed that:
--26.2 percent of the total DOI workforce in FY 2021 was identified
of race and ethnicity categories other than ``White'' or ``Not
Identified.''' In comparison, the Civilian Labor (CLF)
benchmark from 2014 to 2018 was 32.5 percent
--6 of 11 bureaus fall below the DOI average of 26.2 percent for
workforce representation from race and ethnicity categories
other than ``White'' or ``Not Identified'' in FY 2021
--65.7 percent of the promotions in 2021 were issued to employees in
the category ``White"
--Of the 887,383 applications received for DOI job opportunities that
were audited in FY 2021, 78.4 percent of the applicants were
``White"
--81.6 percent of selected applicants in FY 2021 were ``White"
As such, we are supportive of the $20+ million dedicated to
advancing DEIA initiatives within DOI and its umbrella agencies.
Congress must support the Biden Administration's proposed budget
allocations to ensure timely advancement and adequate resourcing of
these efforts. Moreover, successful implementation will also support
eliminating barriers to access for underrepresented communities.
Specifically, we support the following allocations in the proposed FY
2024 budget:
--increase of $11.1 million as part of a Department Wide Diversity,
Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) initiative
--increase includes $3.2 million to address resourcing and compliance
gaps identified by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
(EEOC) .
--increase of $7.0 million for the Office of Diversity, Inclusion,
and Civil Rights; Office of Human Capital; and Office of
Collaborative Alternative Dispute Resolution.
ensure adequate funding for the maintenance of existing latino heritage
sites and public lands in close proximity to communities of color
We are supportive of the increase of $266.3 million for operational
capacity and visitor services for the public. We hope this increased
funding can support visitor services and the backlog of maintenance for
Latino-serving sites under DOI's jurisdiction such as Cesar Chavez
National Monument, etc. Towards this end, we also support the proposed
$3 million allocation to support start-up costs for sites recently
added to the National Park System, in particular the $250,000 for the
Blackwell School National Historic Monument (NPS Overview-7). We also
support the $8.2 million for new and critical responsibilities at parks
and offices (NPS Overview-8), in particular the $215,000 for Cesar
Chavez National Monument for interpretation and education capacity.
(NPS Overview-9,12)
ensuring accurate and equitable representation of hispanic and latino
histories at conservation and recreation sites
The FY24 National Park Service appropriations for National
Recreation and Preservation programs, and the Historic Preservation
Fund indicate specific program funding related to African American,
Japanese American, Indigenous American, and Native Hawaiian histories
and cultural resources including but not limited to historic sites,
landscapes, ecosystems, parks and rivers. We celebrate and commend the
Park Service's work to elevate the stories of underserved communities
but we are struck by what past NPS budgets have meant for the minority
groups that are not explicitly identified from the Historic
Preservation Fund, National Recreation and Preservation, and other
program appropriation. At worst, the exclusion of other racial and
ethnic groups of color makes a Statement that those who are excluded do
not matter. Hispanic and Latino Americans, Middle-Eastern Americans,
and Alaska Natives have been excluded from meaningful investments in
the Historic Preservation Fund and the National Recreation and
Preservation appropriations year after year during the Biden
Administration.
Despite the robust framework of policy direction, Latinos,
communities of color, and other underrepresented identity groups such
as the LGBTQ+, Asian American and Pacific Islander, and other
communities are not currently equitably represented in lands managed by
DOI and its umbrella agencies. For example, less than eight percent of
designated landmarks specifically represent the stories of Native
Americans, African Americans, American Latinos, Asian Americans, women
and other underrepresented groups.
Specifically regarding Latino history, the National Park Foundation
reports that only 24 of the more than 400 National Park units
specifically preserve Latino/a/x history; most represent the history of
Spanish colonization rather than recognizing contemporary history and
the multitude of Latino cultures. Moreover, there are 190 Latino
Heritage Sites out of the nearly 96,000 sites in the National Historic
Register that are managed by the National Park Service and many are
tied to Spanish colonial or military history such as the Cabrillo
National Monument (CA), Old Spanish National Historic Trail (NV), San
Antonio Missions National Historical Park (TX), and San Juan National
Historic Site (PR). Additionally, while States like California, New
Mexico, and Texas have many sites, other States with significant Latino
populations have much less Latino Heritage Sites such as Illinois, New
York, and New Mexico. Other States do not have any Latino Heritage
Sites at all such as Connecticut, Delaware, Virginia, and Wisconsin.
Additionally, we were dismayed to see that land acquisition for the
National Park Service was reduced by nearly $30 million. While the Land
and Water Conservation Fund and Great American Outdoors Act have
provided much-needed additional funding for various park and site
protections, Congress must ensure land acquisition funding is increased
in order to reach the long-term goals set through the America The
Beautiful Initiative. Increased land acquisition funding will also
support DOI's goals of expanding the equitable representation of
various historically marginalized communities in conservation and
recreation site designations.
establish funding specifically for latino heritage sites
As is, the NPS budget does not meet its declared intention to fund
``new and critical responsibilities at parks preserving the stories of
underrepresented communities and for interpretive projects that tell
these stories''. We recommend a one-time allocation of funds in the
FY2024 budget to allow the Department of Interior, in close
collaboration with agency staff and conservation, historical, and
community experts to conduct a national systematic review of existing
parks, recreation areas, and historic sites to identify areas to
include Latino and Hispanic history where appropriate, including
potential sites for new Federal protections.
Thank you for the opportunity to provide our recommendations. For
any questions or clarifications please reach out to Pedro Hernandez at
pedrohernandez@greenlatinos.org.
[This statement was submitted by Pedro Hernandez, Public Lands
Advocate, GreenLatinos.]
______
Prepared Statement of Historic Preservation Fund
fiscal year 2024 historic preservation fund (hpf)
apportionment total request:
$70 million for State Historic Preservation Offices (SHPOs)
$40 million for the Save America's Treasures grant program
$34 million for Tribal Historic Preservation Offices (THPOs)
$28 million for the African American Civil Rights grant program
$17 million for the Paul Bruhn Historic Revitalization grant program
$13 million Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) grant
program
$11 million for the Semiquincentennial grant program
$7 million for the History of Equal Rights grant program
$5 million for the Underrepresented Community grant program
Funded through withdrawals from the Historic Preservation Fund (16
USC 470h), U. S. Department of the Interior's National Park Service.
unique and successful federal-state partnership
Understanding the importance of our National heritage, in 1966
Congress passed the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA, Title 54
U.S.C. 300101 et seq), which established historic preservation as a
national priority, particularly in the face of widespread loss of
historic buildings and places that represent the American identity in
communities throughout the country. Recognizing that State officials
have local expertise and knowledge with the ability to work most
directly with and for constituents, the act's authors directed Federal
entities charged with its implementation--the Department of the
Interior and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation--to partner
with the States to fulfill this vital national priority through a
remarkably successful exercise in federalism.
Federal NHPA duties delegated to the SHPOs include: 1) locating and
recording historic resources; 2) nominating significant historic
resources to the National Register of Historic Places; 3) cultivating
historic preservation programs at the local government level; 4)
providing funds for preservation activities; 5) commenting on Federal
rehabilitation tax credit projects; 6) review of all Federal projects
for their impact on historic properties; and 7) providing technical
assistance to Federal agencies, State and local governments and the
private sector.
Ten years later in 1976, Congress established the Historic
Preservation Fund (HPF) to assist the States in accomplishing this
federally delegated work. Congress at that time opted to fund the HPF
from outer-continental shelf lease revenues (rather than tax dollars),
based on an initial premise that the depletion of one non-renewable
resource could be used to help preserve another non-renewable
resource--our heritage. The States also contribute to the current
funding mechanism, matching at least 40 percent of the Federal HPF
funding they receive.
saving america's heritage
The foundational step in preserving and protecting America's
heritage is to identify it--through the survey, documentation,
stewardship and sharing of historic place data. Adequate funding is
essential for SHPOs to do this work in a way that takes advantage of
and reflects advances in technology. Recent shortfalls in funding mean
that many States must continue to rely upon outdated paper records and
inefficient manual processes. Having accurate, up-to-date, and
digitally accessible information about our Nation's historic resources
dramatically increases the efficiency of project consultation as well
as builds a permanent record of our Nation's physical heritage. From
decisions on the design of local infill development, to state
transportation planning projects, to Federal large-scale energy
projects and disaster recovery efforts--every single project that could
impact historic places, and by extension, the American people, benefit
from enhanced and accessible historic resource maps and databases.
Once identified and documented, America's historic resources are
primarily recognized at the local, State, and national levels by
listing on both the National Register as well as State and local
historic registers with varying degrees of protection, consideration,
and recognition. SHPOs, through the authority of the NHPA assist,
support, and encourage communities with their preservation efforts and
are the gateway to listing on the National Register of Historic Places.
National Register recognition by the Secretary of the Interior confirms
citizens' belief in the significance of their communities' historic
places as well as provides incentives for the further preservation of
these irreplaceable places, often through public-private partnerships.
Allow me to underscore that the National Historic Preservation
program is primarily one of assistance, not acquisition. The Federal
Government does not own, manage, or maintain responsibility for the
vast majority of the historic assets aided by the National Historic
Preservation program. Rather, the program, through the States and
SHPOs, provides individual Americans and communities, together with
local, State, and Federal Governments with the tools they need to
identify, preserve, and utilize the historic assets of importance to
them. SHPOs are constituent-oriented and constituent-focused, and
working closely and cooperatively with individual Americans to preserve
historic places across the Nation is a fundamental role.
Directing $70 million for FY 2024 to SHPO offices will provide much
needed operational funding to aid in increased capacity and efficiency
to maximize constituent assistance and responsiveness. Specifically,
with the recent $500 billion in new Federal infrastructure spending,
SHPOs are in dire need of resources to operate programs as they
continue to fulfill responsibilities to review and comment on
increasing numbers of Federal undertakings under NHPA. Likewise, Tribal
Historic Preservation Offices (THPOs) assume many of the
responsibilities of the SHPO on their respective Tribal lands. The
number of THPOs continues to increase annually, requiring funding to
keep pace with expanding needs. With over 200 THPOs in place, funding
of $34 million for THPO offices is necessary to prevent a decrease in
the average THPO grant.
HPF funds also support competitive grant programs aimed at
protecting and promoting the Nation's historic and cultural resources,
while furthering efforts to tell the full scope of America's history
through recognition and preservation of our irreplaceable historic
places. As such, NCSHPO encourages HPF funding of $40 million for the
Save America's Treasures grant program; $28 million for the African
American Civil Rights grant program; $17 million for the Paul Bruhn
Historic Revitalization grant program to support historic preservation
in rural communities; $13 million to assist in the preservation and
rehabilitation of buildings on the campuses of Historically Black
Colleges and Universities (HBCUs); $11 million to support the
Semiquincentennial grant program to commemorate the Nation's 250th
anniversary; $7 million for the History of Equal Rights grant program;
and $5 million for competitive grants to identify, recognize and
preserve the sites and stories related to Underrepresented Communities.
The FY23 omnibus spending level for the HPF in the amount of $204.5
million underscores Congresses commitment to the need of having
appropriate funds to protect and promote our historic and cultural
assets. This historic allocation exceeded the previously authorized
level for the HPF of $150 million, a sum that has gone unchanged since
the program's inception five decades ago.
jobs, economic development & community revitalization
Historic preservation has stimulated economic growth, promoted
community education and pride, and rescued and rehabilitated
significant historic resources throughout the country. By positively
combatting the effects of blight and vacancy through respectful
repurposing of existing historic building stock, historic preservation
is frequently a catalyst for positive community change--resulting in
dynamic destinations for visitors and residents alike. Further,
preservation incentives and programs foster affordable housing and
solutions to the challenge of climate change.
The Federal Rehabilitation Tax Credit (HTC) program, administered
by the State Historic Preservation Offices in cooperation with the
National Park Service, is an important driver for economic development.
Throughout the program's history, the HTC has driven completion of
nearly 48,000 individual projects since 1976, and leveraged over
$122.90 billion in private investment nationwide, and created 192,314
low and moderate income housing units\1\. On average, the HTC leverages
$5 dollars in private investment for every $1 dollar in Federal
funding, cultivating highly effective public-private partnerships and
community focused re-investment. 39 States currently offer a historic
tax credit program\2\, including my own state of North Carolina. State
tax credit programs complement the Federal HTC program incentives and
provide additional opportunities for community revitalization and
saving historic places for the use and enjoyment of future generations
of Americans.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ 2023. National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior,
Technical Preservation Services. Federal Tax Incentives for
Rehabilitating Historic Buildings--Annual Report for Fiscal Year 2022.
\2\ 2022. National Trust for Historic Preservation. Preservation &
State Historic Tax Credits.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
As an example of return on the Federal HPF investment in my own
state of North Carolina, the modest Federal funding provided to our
office of less than $1.5 million in the last fiscal year helped our
professional staff to facilitate in that 1 year approximately $200
million of historic tax credit-fueled private investment in historic
buildings, which employs local workers at the construction and post-
rehab stage, brought about local construction material spending,
generated new sources of local, State, and Federal tax revenue, and
enhanced community pride through the renewal of historic building stock
for a new generation of productive use.
Historic preservation also stimulates economic development through
heritage tourism. SHPOs are essential local partners in identifying and
interpreting the historic places that attract and inspire visitors. A
modest increase in SHPO funding would allow SHPOs to expand their
public outreach and assistance efforts, enabling communities to take
greater advantage of heritage tourism opportunities which likewise lead
to job creation, new business development and strong community
identity.
state historic preservation offices' accomplishments
The HPF has facilitated nearly 100,000 listings to the National
Register, with over 1.9 million contributing resources, and the survey
of millions of acres for cultural resources. The HPF has also provided
SHPOs with the administrative capacity for constituent access to the
Federal Historic Preservation Tax Credit program, which has generated
more than $39.4 billion in Federal tax revenue from historic
rehabilitation projects from inception through FY 20202. In FY 2021,
HPF funding also enabled SHPOs to review 124,300 Federal undertakings,
and in so doing, aid in a conscientious public consideration of how to
balance two fundamental needs--public investments for the future and
preservation of America's historic places.
Many SHPOs have also made extensive use of HPF grant programs that
are intended to make sure that a wide variety of historic places are
preserved. In North Carolina, over the last several years, we have
applied for and received grants under several of these grant programs.
A 2015 Underrepresented Communities grant yielded National Register
nominations and listings for eight Rosenwald School nominations, two
historic African American cemeteries, and the College Heights Historic
District, which is associated with the HBCU North Carolina Central
University; a 2022 award through this program will survey and nominate
to the National Register extant Green Book properties, as examples of
Black entrepreneurship during the difficult segregation era. A 2020
Civil Rights grant is currently underway with a study to gather and
document oral histories, background research, and places associated
with the Civil Right Movement in northeastern North Carolina. The North
Carolina Division of State Historic Sites has also recently received a
Civil Rights grant to rehabilitate the home of Civil Rights leader
Golden Frinks in Edenton and update the existing National Register
listing for the home to capture its Civil Rights significance. A
current American Battlefield Protection Program planning grant is
providing needed funding to study the combat role of US Colored Troops
in North Carolina with an eye to strategizing battlefield preservation
priorities in the future.
conclusion
Historic preservation recognizes that what was common and ordinary
in the past is often rare and precious today, and what is common and
ordinary today may be extraordinary, whether it is fifty, one hundred
or five hundred years from now. The national network of State Historic
Preservation Offices, employing public history professionals in service
to American citizens, helps to ensure that the places associated with
the history of all Americans are recognized and preserved. To that end,
I would like to thank the committee sincerely for its commitment to
historic preservation. The Federal Government plays an invaluable role
in preserving our Nation's history and our collective sense of place.
Through our federalism partnership, SHPOs remain committed to working
together to identify, protect, and maintain our Nation's heritage and
in doing so, provide Americans with a strong sense of orientation
towards our common history.
On behalf of all 59 SHPOs, I'd like to thank you, Chairman Merkley,
Ranking Member Murkowski, and members of the U.S. Senate Committee on
Appropriations, subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related
Agencies for the opportunity to submit testimony.
[This statement was submitted by Ramona Bartos, President, National
Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers.]
______
Prepared Statement of the Hopi Tribe
Greetings Chairman Merkley, Ranking Member Murkowski and Members of
the subcommittee on Interior, Environment, & Related Agencies. My name
is Timothy Nuvangyaoma and I have the honor of serving as Chairman of
the Hopi Tribe (``Tribe''). The Hopi Reservation, located in the
northeast corner of Arizona, includes more than 1.5 million acres. The
Tribe has over 14,000 enrolled Tribal members, over half of whom reside
in the Reservation's 12 villages. The residents of the Reservation
suffer from a 60% unemployment rate due, in part, to the lack of
economic development opportunities caused by the remote and landlocked
nature of the Reservation.
I would like to begin my testimony by thanking the subcommittee for
fully funding the new Hopi Detention Center (``HDC''). As you may
recall, in December 2016, the Hopi Tribe declared a State of emergency
following the abrupt condemnation and closure of the previous detention
center by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (``BIA''). The subcommittee was
integral in appropriating funding for the HDC, as well as conducting
oversight as there were constant delays with the project. The Tribe is
now pleased to report that construction on the Hopi Detention Center is
nearly 50 percent complete.
With construction of the HDC well underway, the Tribe is now
focused on securing funding for the proposed Hopi Justice Complex (``A
New House''). Since the HDC design does not provide for an integrated
comprehensive justice complex and services, the Tribe needs funding for
facilities that would house the Trial, Appellate, Wellness, and Traffic
Courts; Probation; Security; and Administration.
The need for the A New House project is outlined in the 2020 Hopi
Judicial Commission Annual Report and Findings, as well as the 2022
Tribal Court Assessment, which was conducted by the BIA's Tribal
Justice Support Division. Collectively, these reports found that
critical capital improvements are needed to renovate or construct a
comprehensive service Judicial Complex, and that an inspection needs to
be undertaken by a trained environmental hazard expert to determine if
the current facility must be abandoned.
President Biden's Budget for Fiscal Year 2024 calls on Congress to
provide $75.3 million for Public Safety & Justice (``PS&J'')
Construction, an increase of $23.7 million over the FY 2023 enacted
level. Managed by the BIA Division of Management and Construction
(``DFMC''), PS&J Construction supports law enforcement, detention, and
court facility replacement, improvements, and repairs, employee housing
construction, fire safety improvements and repairs, and other various
programs that support the mission of the BIA Office of Justice Services
(``OJS'').
Within the proposed $75.3 million for PS&J Construction is $48.5
million for Facilities Replacement/New Construction, an increase of $15
million over the FY 2023 enacted level; and $15.8 million for
Facilities Improvement & Repair, an increase of $6 million over the FY
2023 enacted level. The Hopi Tribe strongly supports these proposed
increases in funding and urges the subcommittee to substantially
increase funding for PS&J Construction.
The Hopi Tribe thanks the subcommittee for the opportunity to
provide testimony on the Fiscal Year 2024 budget.
[This statement was submitted by Timothy Nuvangyaoma, Chairman of
the Hopi Tribe.]
______
Prepared Statement of Hoopa Valley Tribal Council
On behalf of the Hoopa Valley Tribal Council and our citizens, it
is an honor to provide our funding priorities and recommendations for
the FY2024 Budgets for the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), Indian
Health Service (IHS), and Related agencies. First, we strongly urge
this Committee to protect the Federal trust and treaty obligations as
you consider Tribal program funding for FY 2024. While the United
States has yet to fully live up to the promises it has made to Tribal
nations, the Hoopa Valley Tribe (``Tribe'') continues to pursue our
goals in building a strong and prosperous economy and providing
necessary public services to our citizens. Second, the Tribe is one of
the initial Tribes to enter into a Compact of Self-Governance with the
United States in both the Departments of the Interior and Health and
Human Services. We have had great success in implementing Tribal Self-
Governance, but we are still woefully underfunded in many of our
critical programs, services, functions and activities. The following
summarizes our priority funding requests and justifications.
I. Hoopa Valley Tribe Specific Requests
1. $800,000 Increase--Law Enforcement--Special Agents in Charge--BIA
2. $740,000--Hoopa Office of Emergency Services (OES)--BIA
3. $750,000--Social Services/Indian Child Welfare Act--BIA
4. $160,000--Forestry--BIA
5. $1.25 million Base Funding Increase--Wildland Fire--BIA
6. $750,000 Increase--Fisheries--BOR and Related Agencies
7. $750,000--Irrigation--BIA
8. $900,000 Annual Allocation--Hoopa Valley Public Utility District
(Operation/Maintenance)--IHS
9. $3.6 million Increase--Clinic Staffing, Recruitment & Retention
(Human Resources)--IHS
10. $760,000--Emergency Medical Services (Ambulance)--IHS
Support National and Regional FY 2024 Budget Requests and
Recommendations for the BIA and IHS--by the National Congress of
American Indians, National Indian Health Board, National Indian
Education Association, and Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians.
II. Background on the Hoopa Valley Tribe
The Tribe is located in northeast Humboldt County, California along
the Trinity River, approximately fifty-nine miles east of Eureka and
272 miles north of Sacramento. The Hoopa Valley Indian Reservation
(Reservation) is approximately 89,400 acres of forest and mountain land
ranging in elevation from 320 to 5,000 feet.
III. Hoopa Valley Tribe Specific Requests/Justifications
1. $800,000 Increase--Law Enforcement--Police Officers and Special
Agents in Charge (SACs)--BIA
The Hoopa Valley Tribal Police Department (HVTPD) was officially
formed in 1984. In November 2016, the Department of Justice consented
to the Tribe's request for reassumption of concurrent Federal criminal
jurisdiction over the Indian Country of the Tribe. To allow all Tribal,
Federal and State partners involved sufficient time to establish
appropriate guidelines and procedures to effectuate concurrent Federal
jurisdiction in the Tribe's jurisdiction, the Tribe subsequently
entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with the U.S. Attorney for
the Northern District of California, the District Attorney for the
County of Humboldt and the Sheriff of the County of Humboldt.
Since that time, the HVTPD has provided enforcement at all three
levels of authority, with inadequate and minimal funding provided from
BIA. As a result, HVTPD has been unable to meet the BIA's assessment of
the Department, which identified a need for 15 officers to function
properly. Presently, HVTPD has seven full-time officers. The costs of
hiring, training and outfitting an officer is on average $100,000/
officer. To meet this shortfall and hire the necessary officer, the
Tribe is requesting an increase in BIA Law Enforcement funding. Further
the need for additional BIA Special Agents in Charge (SAC) is for more
than on-the-ground response. We need BIA support for processing Special
Law Enforcement Commissions (SLEC) applications, assisting with officer
training and other administrative matters. California is a big State
and deserves at least 3 SACs.
2. $740,000--Hoopa Office of Emergency Services (OES)--BIA
OES is a Tribal emergency management program established in 2011 to
develop and implement emergency management plans and programs for the
Tribe. OES is responsible for coordinating emergency management
activities, including planning, training, and response operations, and
for working closely with Tribal, State, and Federal partners to ensure
effective emergency response and recovery. OES provides a service to
all community members, both Tribal members and non-Tribal members. The
program is a critical service that plays a vital role in the safety and
well-being of the entire Hoopa Valley community. Unlike State and local
county emergency management programs, Tribal emergency management
programs do not have annual funding s or compact agreements. Emergency
management and response is particularly challenging due to the remote
and rugged terrain. Therefore, the requested funding will assist with
operations, will enable OES to have more control over the emergency
management resources available to the Tribe, and to better meet the
needs of the Tribal community in emergency situations.
3. $750,000--Social Services/Indian Child Welfare Act--BIA
The Tribe receives inadequate funding to properly administer
services to our abused and neglected elders, dependent adults and
children. These disparities include inadequate funding for Indian Child
Welfare Act (ICWA) cases. The Tribe has the second largest ICWA
caseload in the State of California. There is no funding for ICWA
attorneys and only enough funds for one ICWA social worker (whereas our
caseload dictates the need for 3 to 5 case managers). Further, there is
no funding support for our at-risk youth. The requested funding will be
used to address these shortfalls including prevention activities to
address drug, alcohol, violence and abuse.
4. $160,000--Forestry--BIA
The Forestry Department (Forestry) receives compact funding which
has averaged $849,013 over the last 6 years. In 2017, the payment was
$812,325; however, these funds were underpaid, and the funding has not
increased for well over a decade. In 2008, the end of the Timber
Harvest Initiative funds had a detrimental impact on Forestry's ability
to cover wages for personnel and Arch and Geological surveys producing
required NEPA documentation. As a result, the continued lack of funding
and uncertainly of funding is negatively impacting our workforce
retention and operations. Separately, we have experienced delays in
processing of timber sale contracts and timber sales payments from the
BIA. This is very troubling and has placed additional burden on
existing staff. It is crucial for the Department's to receive
reimbursements from the BIA in a timely manner.
5. $1.25M Base Funding Increase--Wildland Fire--BIA
The Hoopa Valley Tribe Self-Governance base amount for Wildland
Fire preparedness has not increased for 24 years. The Hoopa Valley
Tribe is one of two Tribes within the Pacific Region that took
advantage of the 1999 opportunity to dedicate their staff and resources
to complete the only approved Fire Management Planning Analysis (FMP).
This enabled the Tribes to receive updated funding for their operation
of BIA wildland fire programs. Now in 2023, Hoopa is still one of two
Tribes to meet the 90 International Association of Machinists and
Aerospace Workers (IAM) Chapter 3 Wildland Fire Management Preparedness
policy combined with a legitimate approved method of funding needs
analysis. In the face of a very real and probable risk of catastrophic
wildland fire, there is a life and death need for the Tribe to have a
base funding increase of $1.25 million for wildland fire preparedness.
Timely reimbursements are critically needed. The delay is resulting in
detrimental and negative impacts.
6. $750,000 Increase--Fisheries--BOR and Related Agencies
The Fisheries Department (Fisheries) is charged with the health and
safety of the Trinity River, the fish, and water quality. Fisheries
emphasizes the United States trust responsibility in defending and
protecting the Trinity River which holds cultural, historical, and
sacred significance to our people. Fisheries requires funding to assist
with the hiring and retention of specialized personnel; equipment;
operational, maintenance, and legal expenses; and the renovation of a
conservation hatchery project.
7. $750,000--Irrigation--BIA
The Hoopa Valley Public Utilities District (HVPUD) is a duly
chartered entity of the Hoopa Valley Tribe. Per the Charter and By-Laws
of HVPUD, the District is responsible for maintaining and managing the
irrigation system within the Reservation. Per the Self-Governance
Compact and Funding Agreement with the BIA, the HVPUD receives $47,416
on an annual basis to operate and manage Hoopa's entire irrigation
infrastructure. This amount has remained the same since the early
1990's. The cost to operate and maintain the irrigation system greatly
outweighs the funding that is received. These expenses include
staffing, fuel, parts, pumping costs, repair and replacement from
normal wear and tear, repair due to vandalism and damage, heavy
equipment costs, etc. HVPUD has spent more than its annual funding
allocation trying to remedy the irrigation pumping issue. HVPUD
requires an increased annual allocation for the irrigation funding
provided in the BIA Self-Governance Funding Agreement.
8. $900,000 Annual Allocation--Hoopa Valley Public Utility District
(Operation/Maintenance)--IHS
The HVPUD provides critical health and safety related services to
the residents of the Reservation, including safe drinking water,
irrigation services, fire flow, sanitation facilities (water and septic
installation) and solid waste management. In addition, HVPUD
facilitates the broadband and energy related projects on behalf of the
Tribe. For 42 years, HVPUD has provided essential utility services to
this Tribal community with zero allocated funding to support the
operation and maintenance of the largest Tribal water utility in the
State of California.
The Hoopa Valley wide system (Public Water System #: 0605126)
consists of 2 water treatment facilities, 20 water storage tanks, 14
pumping facilities, 13 distribution systems and miles and miles of
waterlines of various age, make, and size. HVPUD lacks the means to
adequately cover the operations and maintenance of our public water
system, which are the functions, duties and labor associated with the
daily operations and normal repairs, replacement of parts and
structural components, and other activities needed by a water system to
preserve its capital assets to continue to provide safe drinking water.
The IHS has a trust responsibility to provide service to Indians
including healthcare. Safe drinking is a critical component of having a
healthy community for hydration, cooking and sanitation uses.
9. $3.6M Increase- Clinic Staffing, Recruitment & Retention (Human
Resource)--IHS
K'ima:w Medical Center (KMC) is a rural ambulatory clinic and
entity of the Tribe. The expenses for locums to fill critical positions
has grown exorbitantly. At the height of the COVID- 19 pandemic, KMC
had over 30 vacancies. In FY2022 alone, KMC had to utilize 8 different
locum agencies and 27 different locum providers. Staff cover multiple
duties and roles to carry out health services. Clinical staff, both
nurses and providers, are currently majority locums/travelers. This has
led to high salary costs, but also barriers for continuity of care and
an increased burden on staff who are recruiting, training, and
orienting new staff members every few months. While third-party revenue
and grants help cover some operating costs, the resources put into
recruitment and retention are increasing exponentially, and sadly, we
aren't even achieving the goal of full permanent staffing. KMC remains
at a disadvantage when competing with appropriately funded urban
organizations.
10. $760,000--Emergency Medical Services (Ambulance)--IHS
Given the transportation challenges of our rural residents, coupled
with not having emergency care at our local health facility, ambulance
services are critical for mitigating harm and saving lives. Our
ambulance service has been a cornerstone for care within our community
for two decades. Private ambulance services do not cover rural areas
because it is not lucrative (less calls and greater distance to
travel), as is our case. In 2022, KMC Ambulance responded to 1,257
calls. We rely on unstable funding to subsidize our ambulance
department, such as Measure Z/O. Although clearly demonstrating how
vital ambulance services are for our community, KMC does not receive
the needed HIS funding to support these operational costs.
I appreciate the opportunity to provide our FY2024 BIA, IHS, and
related agency budget priorities of the Hoopa Valley Tribe and
respectfully urge your support of these requests.
[This statement was submitted by Joe Davis, Chairman, Hoopa Valley
Tribe.]
______
Prepared Statement of Humane Society Legislative Fund and the Humane
Society of the United States
Chair Merkley, Ranking Member Murkowski, and Members of the
subcommittee, thank you for this opportunity to offer testimony on
matters of importance to our organizations and to our millions of
supporters. We thank you for the support and investment in animal
protection in the subcommittee's Fiscal Year 2023 appropriations bill.
We appreciate your continued consideration in Fiscal Year 2024 and urge
you to address the following requests in the FY24 Department of
Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies budget:
--FWS Big Cat Public Safety Act: report language
--FWS Office of Law Enforcement: increase of $7.2 million and 29 FTEs
per President's Budget request
--FWS trophy hunting reporting: report language
--FWS Endangered Species Act: exclude policy riders that delist
species, including grizzly bears and gray wolves
--FWS Ecological Services Program: $841 million
--BLM Wild Horse and Burro Program: $175 million; implementation of
nonlethal management strategy addressing the considerations
detailed below; expeditious action to fill staff vacancies
--BLM & USFS prohibition on destruction of healthy wild horses and
burros: bill language per President's Budget request
--EPA sunsetting mammalian testing: report language
fish and wildlife service--big cat public safety act implementation &
office of law enforcement
The Big Cat Public Safety Act (Public Law 117-243) was signed into
law on December 20, 2023. This law revises restrictions on the
possession and exhibition of big cats, including restrictions on direct
contact between the public and big cats. Numerous large cat species are
now subject to seizure and forfeiture when possessed or exhibited
illegally, the disposition of which will require collaboration with
U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Justice, and private
sector entities to ensure proper placement and care.
We urge the inclusion of the following report language:
Big Cat Public Act Implementation.-The Committee is aware of the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service's additional responsibilities pursuant to the
enactment of Public Law 117-243. The Committee encourages the Service
to collaborate with United States Department of Agriculture and the
Department of Justice and directs the submission of a report within 90
days of enactment of this act describing staffing and resource needs,
implementation including reporting violations, and enforcement status
related to Public Law 117-243.
We also support and urge inclusion of the President's Budget
request for an additional $7.2 million and 29 FTEs for Wildlife Law
Enforcement Capacity to investigate possible violations of, and as
appropriate enforce, the Big Cat Public Safety Act and other wildlife
laws. This function is within the Office of Law Enforcement's Law
Enforcement Operations program, which was funded at $91.2 million in
FY23.
fish and wildlife service--trophy hunting reporting
African elephant and lion numbers have dropped steeply in the last
decade from poaching, habitat loss, and other threats. Poorly managed
trophy hunting exacerbates this decline. The Endangered Species Act
requires that imports of these and other listed species enhance their
survival. Congress previously directed FWS to reevaluate its trophy-
import policy to this end, but the agency has not yet done so. It is
time for FWS to show that importing African elephant and lion trophies
helps, not harms, the species.
We therefore urge the inclusion of the following report language:
Trophy Hunting Reporting.-The Committee reminds the Service of its
direction in the joint explanatory statement accompanying the Fiscal
Year 2023 omnibus for the Service to continue to provide updates on
actions regarding protecting lions, elephants, and other iconic species
that are hunted for trophies. The Service is directed to provide
quarterly reports to the Committee on these actions.
fish and wildlife service--endangered species act implementation &
ecological services program
Maintaining Endangered Species Act (ESA) protections for large
native carnivores such as grizzly bears and gray wolves is vital to the
long-term, sustainable recovery of these species, to our Nation's
interest in preventing the loss of vulnerable species, and to
maintaining healthy ecosystems. Large native carnivores are
particularly likely to be imperiled. In addition to their direct
killing by poachers, trophy hunters, and trappers, they face many other
threats, including loss of habitat and prey species. This is
exacerbated by the fact that they have long reproductive cycles and
produce relatively few offspring.
When Congress passed this landmark law 50 years ago, it did so with
the intention that decisions under the statute be made on scientific
grounds. Delisting individual species through legislation undermines a
system that has successfully prevented 99% of listed species from going
extinct. It also sets a dangerous precedent that politics may trump
science, even in the face of extinction. We therefore urge the
subcommittee to exclude policy riders that delist species, including
grizzly bears and gray wolves, from the ESA in the FY24 Interior,
Environment and Related Agencies bill.
As we prepare to celebrate the ESA's 50th anniversary, we urge
Congress to make a bold investment to our Nation's most vulnerable
species by appropriating $841 million to the Ecological Services
Program to fully implement the Endangered Species Act. Currently, the
Service only receives around 50% of the funding required to fully
implement the act. As a result, too many species sit in limbo, or
receive funding only after declining even closer to extinction, when
the costs of action are higher or the options for conservation more
limited. The requested funding level will ensure every listed species
receives a minimum of $50,000 per year for recovery, allowing the
Endangered Species Act to be implemented the way Congress originally
intended.
bureau of land management--wild horse and burro program
To maintain the wild horse population in a humane and fiscally
conservative manner, we, along with our partner stakeholders in the
Path Forward for Wild Horse and Burro Management, request continued
support for BLM's implementation of a humane, nonlethal, and effective
program. We support a funding level of $175 million for the Wild Horse
and Burro Program, an increase of $27.1 million from the FY23 enacted
level. We support directives to implement a nonlethal management
strategy with specific attention on: increasing the use of fertility
control, including measurable objectives in reducing population growth
with fertility controls; targeting removals from the most heavily
ecologically impacted and populated areas; expanding long-term, off-
range humane holding; developing contingency plans for emergency
situations to ensure the continuation of proactive management under a
variety of conditions including extreme drought; and continuing
adoptions while fully implementing and enforcing existing safeguards,
including pre-approval of adoption applicants and postadoption
compliance checks for adopted wild horses and burros. Additionally, we
request that the agency act expeditiously to fill the high number of
staff vacancies within the program.
bureau of land management & u.s. forest service--prohibition on
destruction of healthy wild horses and burros
We strongly support and urge the subcommittee to include as bill
language text from the President's FY24 request that bars BLM and USFS
from sending any wild horse or burro to slaughter or selling/
transferring any horse or burro in a manner that results in its
destruction, and bars any federal, state, or local government that
receives any wild horse or burro transferred from BLM or USFS from
doing likewise.
environmental protection agency--sunsetting mammalian testing
The EPA has a history of embracing new approach methodologies
(NAMs) that do not use animals to assess the safety of pesticides and
industrial chemicals. In 2019, EPA confirmed its commitment to NAMs by
setting a goal to end reliance on mammalian testing for its regulated
products by 2035 and achieve a 30% reduction by 2025 (including tests
commissioned in-house and that businesses must conduct). The Frank R.
Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act (Public Law 114-
182) included statutory language to reduce and ultimately end use of
animals in toxicity testing for risk assessments of chemicals under the
Toxic Substances Control Act.
Non-animal approaches include cell cultures, computer modeling,
organ-on-a-chip technologies, and other methods that are often faster,
cheaper and more predictive of human health or environmental risks than
animal tests. Different animal species and even differing sexes or sub-
species can respond differently when exposed to the same chemicals. As
a result, results from animal tests may not be relevant to humans or
other non-target species, or may under- or over-estimate health
hazards. NAMs, by contrast, are much more likely to provide relevant
safety information to protect human health and the environment.
Finally, because animal testing is time-consuming and expensive, it
limits the number of chemicals and products that can be tested.
Thousands of new chemicals are created every year with tens of
thousands more already in use. Using animal tests to evaluate the human
and environmental safety of all these chemicals would take decades to
complete and cost millions of animal lives.
We therefore urge the inclusion of the following report language:
Expedite Sunsetting Mammalian Testing.-The Committee recognizes that
new approach methodologies (NAMs) represent the cutting edge of
toxicity testing and should be prioritized for use in testing the
safety of pesticides and industrial chemicals over the use of animals
and encourages EPA to continue to fund the development of NAMs and
eliminate animal testing where possible. The Committee reminds the EPA
that the joint explanatory statement accompanying Public Law 117-328
directed the agency to publish information regarding NAMs, including
submissions to the NAMs list that are currently being evaluated and
those that have been rejected; incorporate specific goals reflecting
the current regulatory landscape; and outline the necessary steps to
reduce animal testing and to assess progress in order to end the use of
mammals in testing and to assess associated progress. U.S. EPA
Memorandum ``Directive to Prioritize Efforts to Reduce Animal Testing''
issued on September 10, 2019 outlined that the agency would end the use
of mammals in testing by 2035; we urge the EPA to expedite this
timeline.
[This statement was submitted by Jocelyn Ziemian, Senior
Legislative Specialist, Humane Society Legislative Fund.]
______
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
Fiscal Year 2024 for U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), Bureau of
Indian Affairs (BIA), Bureau of Indian Education (BIE), and the Indian
Health Service (IHS) budgets. We continue to urge Congress to provide
robust investments in Tribal programs and services to ensure Tribes are
empowered with the tools and resources needed for effective and
efficient governmental operations; a critical prerequisite to achieving
Tribal self-sufficiency.
Congress can further Tribal Self-Governance and support strong
Tribal governments, economies, and communities by enacting measures
that address the structural deficiencies across the Federal system. To
include, providing mandatory funding for all Tribal programs and
services, requiring the Administration to submit an annual estimate of
the total cost to fully fund trust and treaty obligations, break down
the funding silos and allow funding from all Federal agencies to be
allocated through Self-Governance compacts and funding agreements,
provide direct funding to Tribes, increase funding for base and
recurring programs instead of grant programs, and empower Tribes with
maximum flexibility to improve programmatic outcomes.
Tribal Funding Priority for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, DOI
1. $712 Millon Operations and Maintenance Funding for the National
Wildlife Refuge
2. $100 Million State and Tribal Wildlife Grants
1. $712 Million--National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) Fund--A significant
investment of at least $712 million in Operations and Maintenance
funding for the NWR is needed to meet our shared mission and goals and
to begin to address a range of critical services, including wildlife
and habitat management, conservation planning, conservation law
enforcement, infrastructure, maintenance and repairs, and visitor
services. Encompassing over 850 million acres, the NWR is the largest
and most diverse network of conservation lands and waters in the world.
There are 568 NWR across the United States and these lands and waters
are comprised of critical ecosystems that serve as habitat for hundreds
of rare, threatened, and endangered species of fish, animals, and
plants. However, chronic underfunding and understaffing has undermined
the ability of the FWS to fulfill its core mission.
Our Tribe has a strong interest in ensuring the health and vitality
of the NWR ecosystems. The Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge (DNWR) is
part of the Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe's ancestral homelands. Our Tribal
villages were located along the shoreline and we continue to use and
inhabit the Dungeness as we have done since time immemorial. Jamestown
has significant historical, cultural, and spiritual connections to
these lands and waters and this area is critical to the preservation of
our oral history, creation stories, language, ceremonies, and culture.
We have an obligation to protect these lands and waters for our future
generations which is why we are partnering with the FWS by entering
into a Co-stewardship Agreement. Tribal Nations have developed
comprehensive approaches to implementing programs and services at the
local level using holistic techniques, innovative solutions, and
partnerships that have proven successful in leveraging the Federal
dollar to yield a higher return on the investment.
2. $100 Million--State and Tribal Wildlife Grants Program--The
State and Tribal Wildlife Grant Program (STWGP) funds foster strong
partnerships between Federal, State, and Tribal Governments as well as,
Private and Non-Profit entities. These partnerships pool resources to
enable wildlife professionals to implement conservation techniques that
benefit over 12,000 at risk species. We request that Congress
appropriate $100 million to support this grant program.
Tribal Top Three Priorities and Recommendations for the BIA/BIE and
IHS:
1. Advanced Appropriations for Tribal Programs and Services
2. Mandatory Appropriations for Section 105(l) Leases and Contract
Support Costs
3. Increase Funding for Tribal Base Budgets
Advance Appropriations for Tribal Programs and Services--We are
grateful that Congress enacted Advanced Appropriations for the Indian
Health Service for FY2024; however, we now urge Congress to make
Advanced Appropriations for the Indian Health Service permanent and to
extend advanced appropriations to the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the
Bureau of Indian Education. Providing appropriations 1 year in advance
for the BIA, BIE and IHS will mitigate the adverse financial effects of
Federal budgetary uncertainties and allow Tribes to engage in more
effective strategic planning, spend funds more efficiently, grow our
Tribal economies and businesses and increase the quality of care and
well-being of our Tribal citizens and communities.
Reclassify Discretionary Spending for Section 105(l) Leases and
Contract Support Costs (CSC) to Mandatory -Separate, indefinite
accounts were established to support Section105(l) leases and CSC but
have resulted in the unintended reduction of funding for critical
Tribal programs. Funding for 105(l) leases and CSC should be
reclassified as mandatory funding to prevent programmatic decreases. In
addition, we urge Congress to take legislative action to clarify its
intent that space used to provide services within the scope of the
ISDEAA to any patient is compensable under 105(l). Many Tribes are the
only healthcare providers in their rural communities and the only ones
who will accept Medicare and Medicaid patients. Tribes generate third
party revenue by serving these individuals as authorized under Section
813 of the IHCIA and this money in turn is used to provide healthcare
to their own citizens. The IHS, however, has adopted a policy that
denies compensation to Tribes for the portion of their healthcare
facility that the agency decides serves non-beneficiaries even though
Congress authorized such services under Section 813 of the IHCIA.
Increase Funding for Tribal Base Budgets--Tribal Priority
Allocations (TPA) and Recurring Programs are consistently identified as
funding priorities by the Tribal Interior Budget Council (TIBC) because
they provide core funding that supports critical government programs
and services. Flexibility in the use of funds to support local needs is
an important aspect of this funding. TPA and Recurring Program funding
provides security and certainty for Tribes rather than funding provided
through grant dollars. There has been a growing trend among agencies to
fund Tribal programs and services with grant dollars rather than
providing base and recurring funding. Grant funding is incongruent with
the trust and treaty obligations.
Tribal Priorities, National & Regional Requests and Recommendations for
the BIA:
1. Trust Natural Resources/Treaty Rights/Habitat Restoration/Climate
Resiliency
--$60 million BIA Rights Protection Implementation
--$17.1 million Western Washington Fisheries Management
--$10 million Wildlife & Parks Program TPA
--$35 million BIA Climate Resilience
2. Human Services
--$70 million Social Services
--$100 million Welfare Assistance
--$30 million Indian Child Welfare Act
$60 million--BIA Rights Protection Implementation--Rights
Protection Implementation is essential to preserve our Tribal treaty
rights through resource management activities. The Federal investment
in our trust natural resources serves two primary purposes: (1) It
allows us to fulfill our environmental stewardship responsibilities
through the protection and restoration of the ecosystems and habitats
of our Tribal homelands and waters through sustainable conservation
policies and practices; and (2) it fosters Tribal self-sufficiency by
allowing us to grow our economies and cultivate partnerships with State
and local governments and other entities. It also allows us to create
jobs for our Tribal citizens and community members and promotes and
advances trade of our marine resources in local, regional, national,
and international markets.
$17.1 million--Western Washington Fisheries Management--This
critical funding supports Tribal co-management activities of our treaty
resources with the State of Washington. This funding is critical to
support day to day activities and monitoring of endangered habitat and
fish stocks. Increased commercial and recreational activities coupled
with the severe consequences of climate change has increased the
urgency and costs associated with protecting our treaty resources. The
vitality and sustainability of our natural resources is integral to the
health and welfare of our Tribal citizens, communities, culture and
religious practices and economies.
$15 million--Wildlife and Parks- Aquaculture allows us to
demonstrate best practices in restoring our waterways, producing more
seafood to alleviate food insecurity, combining our Tribal ecological
knowledge with advanced technology in marine science to address
endangered species concerns, and create economic opportunities while at
the same time protecting the environment and preserving our cultural
heritage and traditional practices. This funding supports our hatchery
operations that harvest salmon, oysters and other fish and shellfish
stocks. Our Tribal culture and traditions, ceremonies and subsistence
are dependent on the survival of these species.
$35 million--BIA Climate Resilience--Climate resilience funding is
essential to restore ecological functions, healthy habitats, and
protect our resources. Our Tribal Treaty Rights are at risk. Climate
change is having a profound impact on Tribal communities, lands,
resources and infrastructure and degradation of our natural environment
is happening faster than we can restore it in the Northwest.
$200 million--Human Services/Social Services/Welfare Assistance/
ICWA--Funding for our social service programs is an investment in our
most important resources, our elders, our children, and our Tribal
families. American Indian/Alaska Native children have a unique legal
status as citizens of Tribal governments and the Indian Child Welfare
Act (ICWA) provides safeguards to maintain Tribal and family
connections and relationships. We lead our citizens down the path of
self-sufficiency by developing their leadership skills, educational
skills, job skills, and fostering their health and well-being in a
culturally appropriate way. The return on this investment is measured
by the increased number of Tribal citizens and descendants entering
higher education and earning degrees, the composition of our growing
workforce with over 80% comprised of Tribal citizens, descendants, and
other Natives, participation in cultural preservation classes that
instill a sense of pride in our people to create marketable products
that are sold through the Tribe's retail outlet.
Tribal Priorities, National and Regional Requests and
Recommendations for the IHS:
1. $2.9 billion to Support Current Services
2. $1 billion for Purchased and Referred Care
3. $82 million for Behavioral Health Mental and Alcohol and
Substance Abuse
$2.9 billion--Support Current Services--The Federal trust
obligation requires significant investment in Tribal healthcare
systems. To maintain current services, factors such as the inflationary
rate, pay costs, contract support costs, population growth and staffing
needs for recently constructed facilities all need to be fully funded.
When these mandatory factors are not funded, Tribes must supplement
programs with their own limited revenue, or chose between limiting
services or shutting down services completely.
$1 billion--Purchased and Referred Care (PRC)--PRC funds are used
to purchase essential health care 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. PRC funds are extremely
important to the Portland Area Tribes because the Portland Area lacks
hospitals and specialty care centers, so Tribes in the Northwest are
forced to turn to the private sector to fulfill this need.
$82 million--Behavioral Health Mental and Alcohol and Substance
Abuse -The Jamestown Healing Clinic will provide a holistic approach to
treatment for those who suffer from opioid use disorders through the
provision of wrap-around services, to include, primary care, dental
services, transportation to and from the clinic, employment, housing,
and other associated needs.
The Jamestown S'Klallam Tribes supports the National and Regional
Tribal Organizations requests for FY 2024. Thank you.
[This statement was submitted by the Honorable W. Ron Allen, Tribal
Chairman/CEO, Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe.]
______
Prepared Statement of the Kalispel Tribe of Indians
Summary of Budget Requests:
I. Bureau of Indian Affairs, Trust--Real Estate Services--Increase
base funding for Tribes whose land base has changed since 1995.
II. Bureau of Indian Affairs, Trust--Real Estate Services--Provide
Real Estate Services funding to support backlogged, inaccurate,
and expired easements, surveys, and leases
III. Bureau of Indian Affairs, Public Safety & Justice--Increase
funding for Criminal Investigation & Policing Services
IV. Bureau of Indian Affairs, Public Safety & Justice--Provide
additional funding for Detention/Correction Services
V. Bureau of Indian Affairs, Public Safety & Justice--Increase funding
to expand Tribal access to Fire Protection Services Tribal
Priority Allocation base funding.
The Kalispel Tribe of Indians' (``Kalispel'' or ``Tribe'')
aboriginal territory spanned over 2.3 million acres or about twice the
size of Delaware. The territory follows the Pend Oreille and Clark Fork
Rivers throughout present-day northeastern Washington, northern Idaho,
and western Montana. Today, our Tribe resides on a 4,600-acre
Reservation located along the Pend Oreille River near Usk in
northeastern Washington State with an additional area of Reservation in
Airway Heights.
These 4,600 acres are essential to who we are as a Tribal Nation.
These are the lands President Woodrow Wilson designated as our
Reservation by Executive Order in 1914. This was the substantially
reduced land base assigned to us after we refused to submit to Isaac
Stevens' treaty negotiations or demands--first as an Indian agent and
after as the territorial governor, a testament to the fact that the
Kalispel people will not be separated from them.
Since 1991, Kalispel has worked strategically to build a stronger,
more resilient community with healthy Tribal Members through the
development of economic opportunities, and the preservation of forests
and other natural resources. These initiatives have allowed the Tribe
to expand services for Tribal Members and our neighbors in Usk. The
Tribe provides health services, natural resources management, fire
protection, and law enforcement services with very little support from
the Bureau of Indian Affairs (``BIA'').
Historically, the Kalispel Tribe has delivered services when the
Federal Government has failed to deliver. Over the last three decades,
the BIA has treated the Kalispel Tribe inequitably compared to other
Tribes in the Northwest. More recently, the BIA Regional Office has
made changes that negatively impacted the Tribe's access to funding to
manage and operate Federal programs on the Reservation. Despite the
lack of funding and services, the Tribe continues to make substantial
investments in health care services, emergency management, and economic
development to become a regional leader. If Congress were to increase
the funding available to Kalispel, the Tribe could continue to support
our Tribal Member, other Reservation residents needs along with
regional partners.
On behalf of the Kalispel Tribe, I appreciate the opportunity and
respectfully request that the subcommittee strongly consider the
following funding increases to better support the Kalispel Tribe's
self-governance and fulfill the Federal Government's trust
responsibility.
I. Bureau of Indian Affairs, Trust--Real Estate Services--Increase
Base Funding for Tribes Whose Land Base Has Changed Since 1995.
In recent discussions with BIA, we learned that the 1995 value of
realty services available to Kalispel was $211. The value in Fiscal
Year 2023 was $231. This funding level is based solely on the total
number of the Tribe's trust acres in 1995. Since 1995, Kalispel has
made significant investments to reacquire property, transfer property
into trust, and protect individual trust landowners. The lack of
investment in this line has resulted in trespass and right-of-way
issues across Tribal and trust property including inaccurate easements,
surveys, and leases of trust property. If trespass issues are not
addressed by the BIA, Tribal authority and ownership diminish over time
and the loss of property and lawful access becomes a reality. These
land defects and trespasses undermine the Tribe's sovereignty.
The Tribe was served for many years by a BIA Agency which had two
(2) full time employees dedicated to Realty issues. When the other
Tribe served by that agency contracted to provide those services
themselves, the Kalispel Tribe was left with the $211 worth of
services.
The Committee should take action to provide an increase in Real
Estate Services to protect trust property. Further, the Committee
should direct the BIA to prioritize distribution of those increases to
Tribes who have expanded their land base, instead of using historical
bases that do not represent current Tribal landholdings. The BIA's
current practice enshrines past funding systems that detrimentally
impacted the Kalispel and will continue to detrimentally impact my
people.
II. Bureau of Indian Affairs, Public Safety & Justice--Increase
Funding for Criminal Investigation & Policing Services
The Kalispel Tribe directly through their Public Safety Department,
and through direct contracts, provides law enforcement, fire
protection, and emergency medical services to residents and businesses
of the entire Reservation, surrounding communities, and Tribal
businesses. This department serves everyone from Tribal Members on the
Reservation in Usk to apartment complex residents in Airway Heights, as
well as patrons of all Tribal businesses. Recently the Tribe had to
contract with a local agency at the rate of over $400,000 per year to
provide fire and emergency medical services to the Tribal Reservation
and trust land in Airway Heights. The Kalispel Law Enforcement
Department is partially funded through a BIA Indian Self-Determination
and Education Assistance Act contract. The funding provided from the
BIA only supports twenty-seven (27) commissioned officers between the
two sites--Usk and Airway Heights--which are separated by over sixty
(60) miles of mostly rural highway. This can result in no officers left
on a shift on the Usk Reservation and a limited number available for
Kalispel Tribal residents, economic enterprises, and non-Indian
residents, visitors, and customers.
Maintaining this limited force is increasingly difficult because
the BIA has not received any pay cost support for law enforcement
officers, leaving the Tribe without the ability to pay competitive
wages for the area. This funding must also support all capital costs
and regular maintenance for police vehicles, buildings, and equipment.
Most importantly for a division like that of Kalispel's is the need to
regularly replace and maintain a motor vehicle pool for law enforcement
officers that must travel large distances between the two Reservations.
The current funding provided from the BIA to cover all equipment
maintenance and fuel is less than $40,000 annually. Without additional
funding, Kalispel will lose traction in recruiting and retaining
officers, resulting in more risk to the safety of those officers in the
field due to insufficient vehicle maintenance and equipment safety.
III. Bureau of Indian Affairs, Public Safety & Justice--Provide
Additional Funding for Detention/Correction Services
Lack of local detention services also creates a significant
personnel challenge for the Kalispel Police Department because the BIA
only provides support for detention services at the Wellpinit Adult
Detention Center. Transportation to the Wellpinit Detention Center is
at a least a four-hour trip, leaving Kalispel with limited force,
sometimes during an inmate transport there are no officers on duty on
the Reservation. The BIA historically contracted with local county
facilities to provide detention services for Kalispel. However, the BIA
recently unilaterally ended those contracts, which now requires
significantly more transports to Wellpinit, without additional
maintenance or fuel cost support to Kalispel. Unfortunately, this is
the only BIA detention center in the region, leaving no services for
juvenile incarceration. The detention center is often in a State of
disrepair leaving portions of it unsafe for inmates and reducing the
availability of detention services. While the instances of juvenile
incarceration are rare, the BIA Office of Justice Services does not
have a readily available solution should a serious case arise. Kalispel
asks that Congress increase the funds available for detention services,
and that new increases are distributed to those Tribes without BIA-
operated detention services. If increases are provided, Kalispel, and
similarly positioned Tribes, can contract the services needed closer to
their highest need areas and increase efficiency for their Police
Division.
IV. Bureau of Indian Affairs, Public Safety & Justice--Increase
Funding to Expand Tribal Access to Fire Protection Services
Tribal Priority Allocation Base Funding.
The Kalispel Public Safety Division also includes fire protections
services for the entire Reservation and all Tribal properties. Kalispel
provides these fire services without any support from the BIA. These
services are vital for the safety of people and property across the
Tribe. The distance between the Tribe's Reservation locations in Usk
and Airway Heights requires two different fire stations with three fire
suppression units. In addition to servicing the Reservation, Kalispel
also coordinates with surrounding communities to coordinate and provide
services in response to emergencies. Kalispel urges this subcommittee
to consider increasing funds for Fire Protection, specifically for
those Tribes providing this service to reservations and trust property
without any support from the BIA. Increases in this funding would allow
Kalispel to plan capital equipment purchases and regular maintenance of
equipment, in addition to compensation for Fire Protection employees.
We hope that you will consider the above recommendations. We
appreciate the partnership this subcommittee has shown to Tribes. We
look forward to working with you and others to ensure that the Federal
Government upholds the trust responsibility.
[This statement was submitted by Glen Nenema, Chairman and CEO,
Kalispel Tribe of Indians.]
Prepared Statement of Kalispel Tribe of Indians
Summary of Budget Requests:
--Bureau of Indian Affairs, Public Safety & Justice--Increase funding
for Criminal Investigation & Policing Services
--Bureau of Indian Affairs, Public Safety & Justice--Provide
additional funding for Detention/Correction Services
--Bureau of Indian Affairs, Public Safety & Justice--Increase funding
to expand Tribal access to Fire Protection Services Tribal
Priority Allocation base funding.
--Bureau of Indian Affairs, Public Safety & Justice--Increase Tribal
Courts funding for Public Law 280 States
--Bureau of Indian Affairs, Trust--Real Estate Services--Provide Real
Estate Services funding to support backlogged, inaccurate, and
expired easements, surveys, and leases
--Indian Health Service, Clinical Service--Increase funding for
Purchased/Referred Care
--Bureau of Indian Affairs & Indian Health Service, Payments for
Tribal Leases--Maintain indefinite appropriation for 105(l)
Leases
Our aboriginal territory spanned over 2.3 million acres or about
twice the size of Delaware. The territory followed the Pend Oreille and
Clark Fork Rivers throughout present-day northeastern Washington,
northern Idaho, and western Montana. Today, our Tribe resides on a
4,600-acre Reservation located along the Pend Oreille River near Usk
and Cusick in northeastern Washington state with an additional area of
Reservation in Airway Heights.
These 4,600 aces are the center of our universe. These are the
lands we clung to after the arrival of homesteaders and that we refused
to negotiate over when Isaac Stevens-first as the Indian agent and
later as the territorial governor-came to discuss a treaty with the
United States. We view President Woodrow Wilson's designation of these
lands as our Reservation by Executive Order in 1914 as a testament to
the fact that the Kalispel people will not be separated from them.
Since 1991, Kalispel has worked strategically to build a stronger,
more resilient community with healthy Tribal citizens through the
development of economic opportunities, and the preservation of forests
and other natural resources. These initiatives have allowed the Tribe
to expand services for Tribal members and our neighbors in Usk and
Cusick. Today, the Tribe provides health care services, natural
resources management, fire protection, and law enforcement services
with very little support from the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the
Indian Health Service.
Historically, the Kalispel Tribe has delivered services when the
Federal Government has failed to deliver. Over the last three decades,
the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) has treated the Kalispel Tribe
inequitably compared to other Tribes in the Northwest. More recently,
the BIA Regional Office has made changes that negatively impact the
Tribe's access to funding to manage and operate Federal programs on the
Reservation. Despite the lack of funding and services, the Tribe has
made investments in health care services, emergency management, and
economic development to become a regional leader. If Congress were to
increase funding or make funding available to Kalispel, the Tribe could
continue to support members' needs with regional partners.
On behalf of the Kalispel Tribe, I appreciate the opportunity to
submit this testimony and respectfully request that the subcommittee
strongly consider the following funding increases to better support the
Kalispel Tribe's self-governance and fulfill the Federal Government's
trust responsibility.
bureau of indian affairs, public safety & justice--increase funding for
criminal investigation & policing services
The Kalispel Tribal Public Safety Division provides law
enforcement, fire protection, and emergency medical services to
residents and businesses of the entire Reservation, surrounding
communities, and Tribal businesses. This department serves everyone
from Tribal members in Usk to apartment complex residents in Airway
Heights, as well as patrons of all Tribal businesses. The Kalispel Law
Enforcement Division is partially funded through a BIA Indian Self-
Determination and Education Assistance Act contract. The funding
provided from the BIA only supports 24 commissioned officers between
the two sites--Usk and Airway Heights--which are separated by over 60
miles of mostly rural highway. This results in just five officers
during a single shift for all Kalispel Tribal residents, economic
enterprises, and non-Indian visitors and customers. Maintaining this
limited force is increasingly difficult because the BIA has not
received any pay cost support for law enforcement officers, leaving the
Tribe without the ability to pay competitive wages for the area. This
funding must also support all capital costs and regular maintenance for
police vehicles, buildings, and equipment. Most importantly for a
division like that of Kalispel's is the need to regularly replace and
maintain a motor vehicle pool for law enforcement officers. The current
funding provided from the BIA to cover all equipment maintenance and
fuel is less than $40,000 annually. Without additional funding,
Kalispel will lose traction in recruiting and retaining officers,
resulting in more risk to the safety of those officers in the field due
to insufficient vehicle maintenance and equipment safety.
bureau of indian affairs, public safety & justice--provide additional
funding for detention/correction services
Lack of local detention services also creates a significant
personnel challenge for the Kalispel Police Department because the BIA
only provides support for detention services at the Wellpinit Adult
Detention Center. Transportation to the Wellpinit Detention Center is
at a least a four-hour trip, leaving Kalispel with a total force of no
more than four officers during an inmate transport. The BIA
historically contracted with local county facilities to provide
detention services for Kalispel. However, the BIA recently unilaterally
ended those contracts, which now requires significantly more transports
to Wellpinit, without additional maintenance or fuel cost support to
Kalispel. Unfortunately, this is the only BIA detention center in the
region, leaving no services for juvenile incarceration. The detention
center is often in a State of disrepair leaving portions of it unsafe
for inmates and reducing the availability of detention services. While
the instances of juvenile incarceration are rare, the BIA Office of
Justice Services does not have a readily available solution should a
serious case arise. Kalispel asks that Congress increase the funds
available for detention services, and that new increases are
distributed to those Tribes without BIA-operated detention services. If
increases are provided, Kalispel, and similarly positioned Tribes, can
contract the services needed closer to their highest need areas and
increase efficiency for their Police Division.
bureau of indian affairs, public safety & justice--increase funding to
expand tribal access to fire protection services tribal priority
allocation base funding
The Kalispel Public Safety Division also includes fire protections
services for the entire Reservation and all Tribal properties. Kalispel
provides these fire services without any support from the BIA. These
services are vital for the safety of people and property across the
Tribe. The distance between the Tribe's Reservation locations in Usk
and Airway Heights requires two different fire stations with three fire
suppression units. In addition to servicing the Reservation, Kalispel
also coordinates with surrounding communities to coordinate and provide
services in response to emergency. Kalispel urges this subcommittee to
consider increasing funds for Fire Protection, specifically for those
Tribes providing this service to Reservations and Trust property
without any support from the BIA. Increases in this funding would allow
Kalispel to plan capital equipment purchases and regular maintenance of
equipment, in addition to compensation for Fire Protection employees.
bureau of indian affairs, public safety & justice--increase tribal
courts funding for public law 280 states
The State of Washington exercises limited jurisdiction over
Kalispel Tribal members, requiring the Federal and Kalispel Tribal
Governments to fill the gaps. However, the BIA does not provide
consistent funding for Tribal Courts within Public Law 280 States, like
Washington, nor does it provide services directly. Therefore Kalispel,
and other similarly positioned Tribes, are forced to fund the costs of
a Tribal Court without Federal support. Kalispel has managed to support
Court services in Usk and Airway Heights using Federal competitive
grants and economic development funding. Recurring funding through the
BIA would provide a base for operations and allow the Tribe to address
civil and criminal dockets more readily. It would also allow for
capital improvements necessary to appropriately provide judicial
services.
Bureau of Indian Affairs, Trust--Real Estate Services--Provide Real
Estate Services Funding to Support Backlogged, Inaccurate, and Expired
Easements, Surveys, and Leases In the last several years, the Kalispel
Tribe has identified numerous rights-of-way in trespass across Tribal
and Trust property. The Kalispel Planning Department has shared their
concerns regarding inaccurate easements, surveys, and leases of Trust
Property with the agency and region, but no additional funding or
immediate action has been taken to resolve trespass issues. If trespass
issues are not addressed by the BIA, Tribal authority and ownership
diminish over time and the loss of property and lawful access becomes a
reality. These land defects and trespasses undermine the Tribe's
sovereignty. Kalispel asks that Congress fund Real Estate Services so
that the Tribe can correct decades of BIA neglect.
Indian Health Service, Clinical Service--Increase Funding for
Purchased/Referred Care The Kalispel Tribe receives funding from Indian
Health Service (IHS) to provide valuable health services for Tribal and
Non-Tribal members in Usk and Airway Heights. The Kalispel Compact
transfers funding for basic administrative and behavioral health
services, public health nursing, and purchased/referred care (PRC). The
Tribe has grown this funding to provide primary care, dental services,
aquatic physical therapy, and naturopathic services for Tribal and
community members. Kalispel is one of just a handful of providers that
accept Washington Medicaid and Medicare for dental services, keeping
the dental clinic very busy. While Kalispel has experienced success
providing community-based services, there remains a significant need
for additional funding to provide services that the Tribe cannot
provide directly. The Portland Area is one of the only IHS areas in the
Nation without a single IHS or Tribal hospital. Therefore, Kalispel and
other Tribes in the Area are PRC dependent. The incremental increases
to PRC have provided additional support in the wake of COVID-19, but
the need to support long-term COVID disorders and other complications
has not yet been realized. Therefore, Kalispel asks that this
subcommittee continue to provide increases so that Tribes do not leave
patients without access to critical health services and support.
bureau of indian affairs & indian health service, payments for tribal
leases--maintain indefinite appropriation for 105(l) leases
Like many other Tribes, Kalispel believes that 105(l) Leases
provide critical maintenance and operation support for former Federal
programs. Indefinite appropriations for these leases support Tribal
self-determination and acknowledge Tribal investments in the operation
of Federal programs. Kalispel appreciates the work this subcommittee
has done to support Tribal self- determination and urges the
subcommittee to maintain access to these funds.
We hope that you will consider the above recommendations. We
appreciate the partnership this subcommittee has shown to Tribes. We
look forward to working with you and others to ensure that the Federal
Government upholds the trust responsibility.
[This statement was submitted by Glen Nenema, Chairman and CEO,
Kalispel Tribe of Indians.]
______
Prepared Statement of the Land and Water Conservation Fund
Thank you for the opportunity to present testimony in support of
the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) in the FY 2024 Interior
Appropriations Bill, as a spokesperson on behalf of the LWCF Coalition.
As a broad coalition of sportsmen, veterans, business, recreation,
historic preservation and conservation leaders concerned with America's
outdoor heritage, we support LWCF as our Nation's most important
conservation and recreation program, delivering an array of benefits
from protecting drinking water and conserving natural infrastructure,
to providing landscape conservation, habitat protection, and outdoor
recreation access for all. The program and its many benefits are
critical to preserving America's most treasured landscapes for future
generations. However, LWCF needs increased investment in Fiscal Year
2024 to address all the outstanding conservation and recreation
priorities across the country.
Investments in LWCF support public land conservation and ensure
access to the outdoors for all Americans, in rural communities and
cities alike. It has created outdoor recreation opportunities in every
State and 98 percent of counties across the country, opening up key
areas for hunting, fishing, and other recreational access; supporting
working forests and ranches; and acquiring inholdings and protecting
critical lands in national parks, national wildlife refuges, national
forests, Civil War battlefields, and other Federal areas. Our federal,
State, and local public lands represent a critical economic asset and a
smart investment. The parks, trails, forests, rivers, wildlife refuges,
battlefields, historic sites, and working lands sustained by LWCF
funding support an outdoor recreation and tourism sector that
contributes a total of $1.06 trillion annually to the American economy,
supporting 9.4 million jobs (1 out of every 15 jobs in the U.S.).
We greatly appreciate the FY 2023 Interior, Environment and Related
Agencies bill's investment in LWCF and urge that in the FY 2024 bill
you recognize the resounding level of support for LWCF, and the backlog
of compelling now-or-never conservation and recreation needs in
communities across America by investing the increased resources needed
to successfully implement this valuable, time-tested program. We thank
the subcommittee for its vital work in FY23 to produce a bill with
strong project oversight and balanced allocations among LWCF
subprograms according to the formula set down by the Dingell Act: at
least 40% for Federal agency conservation priorities, at least 40% for
the suite of LWCF State and local grant programs, and the remaining 20%
divided between those two sides based on need.
Just as importantly, by retaining unobligated, prior-year
discretionary LWCF funds within appropriated programs rather than
allowing them to be rescinded, the FY23 bill also recognizes that the
programs under the LWCF umbrella are oversubscribed and that full
funding of LWCF has not eliminated the backlog of time-sensitive
conservation and recreation priorities. We appreciate the
subcommittee's commitment to addressing unmet needs by keeping funds in
place for viable funded projects within these accounts, and for
reinvesting them in LWCF program needs through reprogrammings in the
event specified project needs have changed. With demand continuing to
outstrip available LWCF funding, we urge you to retain this approach in
FY24.
However, there is real, urgent need to look beyond this solid
foundation of funding for LWCF to meet the current moment of continuing
rapid nature loss, persistent inequality of access to parks and outdoor
recreation opportunities, and growing climate impacts. In FY 2024, the
Biden Administration submitted more than $1.1 billion in LWCF needs in
its budget request (including $201 million on the ready-to-go
supplemental project lists), and hundreds of millions more were
identified during the budget process but left off the final submission
lists. Overall demand for LWCF is even higher, with many projects on
the priority lists representing single phases of much larger projects.
To avoid losing irreplaceable natural and cultural resources, we urge
the subcommittee to include $450 million in discretionary funding, to
complement the mandatory allocations provided by the Great American
Outdoors Act (GAOA), in the FY 2024 Interior appropriations bill.
Under GAOA, annual revenues covered into the LWCF account since
FY2021 are dedicated for LWCF expenditure, allowing for increased
investment in landscape-level conservation, working forests and
ranchlands, historic and cultural sites, and access to the outdoors for
all. The legislation left intact the ability of future Congresses to
appropriate additional discretionary LWCF funds, and over $22 billion
in prior LWCF receipts remain unspent from the LWCF Special Account in
the Treasury. Meanwhile, project demand in every State continues to
outstrip the level set for the program, with many now-or-never
opportunities at risk.
LWCF's $900 million level was authorized in 1978, when the
purchasing power of that amount was more than four times what it is
today. Since that time, chronic underfunding of LWCF created a backlog
of unmet conservation and recreation needs and a long line of willing-
seller landowners and community stakeholders clamoring for access to
these funds. GAOA's dedicated funding can begin to address these
critical needs; to more fully address urgent conservation priorities
and inequities, additional targeted investment is needed from the
unobligated balances of the LWCF Special Account.
Now is the time for America to make significant progress towards
its conservation goals, to address longstanding disparities in equal
access to the benefits of nature for underserved communities, and to
avoid loss of sensitive lands and waters. We urge you to consider an
investment of $450 million in discretionary funds, in addition to
mandatory LWCF funding, be part of the subcommittee's legislation in FY
2024 to support the numerous ready-to-go project opportunities. To
maintain the strength of the land management agencies and the integrity
of their overall work, we ask that these additional LWCF funds be
provided to augment the budgets of these agencies, and not diminish
other necessary operating spending.
Thank you for your attention to this important program and we look
forward to working with you to grow investment in conservation and
recreation across the Nation.
[This statement was submitted by Jay Leutze of the LWCF Coalition.]
______
Prepared Statement of the League of American Orchestras
national endowment for the arts
The League of American Orchestras urges the Senate Interior,
Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations subcommittee to
provide no less than $211 million for the National Endowment for the
Arts in fiscal year 2024, as recommended by President Biden. We are
grateful for the strong bipartisan support from Senate and House
Appropriators over the last several years and encourage Congress to
enable more communities across the country to inspire the next
generation, provide connectivity, and continue to advance the arts as a
necessary, creative way to express the full range of what makes us
human.
The NEA holds a unique and valuable Federal leadership role through
direct and indirect grantmaking, cross-cutting research, and convenings
that facilitate shared learning and advancement among arts
organizations and practitioners. A direct grant awarded by the National
Endowment for the Arts is a respected national designation that conveys
an organization has passed a rigorous panel review and offers an
artistic engagement worthy of Federal investment. Every orchestra-large
and small-is a vital part of its local ecology, and those that receive
an award from the National Endowment for the Arts highly value the
support in their continual work to enhance the experience of live music
for people of all ages and respond to community needs. The following
examples offer a glimpse of recent orchestra-led engagement made
possible in part by the NEA.
The Utah Symphony presented Olivier Messiaen's Des canyons aux
etoiles (From the Canyons to the Stars) at O.C. Tanner Amphitheater in
Springdale, Utah this past June, with assistance from a Grants for Arts
Projects award. This marked a rare opportunity for a capacity audience
of more than 1,600 people from across the State-many driving hundreds
of miles-to hear this monumental 12-movement work performed outside in
one of the settings that inspired the composer. Maestro Thierry Fischer
emphasized how fitting it was for the Utah Symphony to showcase its
artistry with music that arose out of the composer's spiritual
experiences stirred by the landscapes, night skies, and bird life of
Zion and Bryce national parks and Cedar Breaks National Monument. ``It
will be incredibly unique to hear Messiaen's music performed... by
musicians who live in, know, and love the natural beauty of Utah,''
said Maestro Fischer when announcing the concert. This performance was
one of the highlights in a multi-year vision introducing Utah audiences
to the works of 20th and 21st-century composers, focused on music
animated by nature and celebrating the natural beauty of Utah and its
power to inspire.
Also bringing music outdoors is The Jackson Symphony, which
received an NEA Challenge America grant for its ``Symphony On the
Move'' program. Eight communities across six counties in West Tennessee
will enjoy free hour-long concerts along the theme of ``A Musical
Journey Around the World.'' This year's theme informs not only the
musical performances but is also designed in partnership with local
schools and libraries to complement the summer read program. The
ensemble itself will include six professional Jackson Symphony
musicians and one local vocalist. Together, they will perform works of
international composers and representing the diverse populations of
Tennessee. Concerts will be performed in town squares, parks, and local
gathering areas in each town, amplifying a sense of community and
togetherness in each location. To date, the Jackson Symphony has
performed more than 50 of these Symphony On the Move concerts, and in
recognition of the limited ability of many Tennesseans to travel to a
performance, this NEA support will directly assist in the orchestra's
mission to bring the live music experience to more Tennesseans.
Performing in wider parts of its state is also a priority for the
Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra (FWSO)-the only professional symphony
orchestra in Tarrant County. One of the ways the FWSO has historically
achieved its goal of providing its community with equitable
opportunities to access classical music is through its Statewide
Touring Initiative, which brings live performances of classical music
and engaging music education programs to adults and children living in
rural areas of Texas. In fiscal year 2022, the FWSO received an NEA
Grants for Arts Projects award to support this initiative and put that
funding toward its tour to rural communities in North Texas such as:
Glen Rose, Graham, Granbury, Keller, Stephenville, and Waxahachie. In
each of these places, the FWSO performed a combination of educational
concerts-designed to address cross-curricular goals and meet the Texas
Essential Knowledge and Skills State educational standards-and free or
reduced-cost evening concerts in familiar venues that residents of the
communities could easily access.
Picking up on the theme of both touring and engaging young people,
the Wheeling Symphony Orchestra's Young People's Concert Tour
introduces students to new music using a familiar genre that grabs
their attention and creates a bond among the artist, conductor and the
orchestra. Grammy nominated Progressive Hip-Hop Artist Christylez
Bacon, in collaboration with composer Evan Meier and music director
John Devlin, will perform Migrations in Rhythm that explores the
progression of hip-hop from its beginnings. Christylez will perform
lyrics and beat-box with orchestral accompaniments for 5,000 elementary
students and their teachers from public, private and home-schools in
West Virginia counties of Ohio, Marshall, and Brooke; Ohio counties of
Belmont and Jefferson; and Washington County, Pennsylvania. With
support from the NEA, free concerts will be performed in three school
auditoriums in mid-April 2023, and to reach even more students in West
Virginia, the performance will be filmed and distributed to students in
school districts unable to travel the distance to attend one of the
concerts in person. Using the Teacher's Guide prepared by the president
of the WV Music Educators' Conference, teachers in each school will
prepare students to attend the concert.
The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is responding to both
young people and adults in its NEA-supported expansion of its Care &
Wellness Initiative. This arts accessibility program is built around
addressing barriers due to health or disability status. Now in its
second year, the Care and Wellness Initiative brings RPO musicians to
hospitals, memory care units, special education centers, and more to
bring appropriate, therapeutic performances directly to individuals who
otherwise may not have access to live performance. This year the
Philharmonic is mounting its first-ever Sensory-Friendly Concert for
children and families with sensory challenges such as Autism spectrum
disorder. Planned accommodations include noise-reduction headphones,
``quiet rooms'' for those who are overstimulated or otherwise need a
break, preparatory materials for families such as a social narrative,
and adaptive concert etiquette. The orchestra anticipates that more
than 1,250 individuals will be able to access and experience the RPO
and live music through this initiative in 2023.
Part of how orchestras respond to community is to utilize the art
form to share the deep connection between music and historically
significant events. The Portland Symphony Orchestra's Grants for Arts
Project award contributed toward the production of a Concerts of
Remembrance project last October which consisted of performances as
well as exhibitions of more than 60 instruments from Violins of Hope.
The exhibitions, which took place at the Maine Jewish Museum (MJM) in
Portland and the Holocaust and Human Rights Center (HHRC) in Augusta,
shared stories about the musical instruments and the Jewish people to
whom they belonged before they were confiscated by the Nazis before and
during World War II. Principal string players of the orchestra
performed on instruments from this collection, offering free string
quartet concerts of music by Jewish composers at MJM and HHRC. The PSO
also offered performances and education programs at three area schools,
reaching between 800-1,000 students in all. Lastly, the full symphony,
along with Choral Art, gave two performances of Verdi's Requiem, which
was made available for viewing on PSO TV throughout the month of
November. These Requiem performances brought this poignant programming
to more than 2,000 people, with an additional 1,000 viewers of the
digital concert.
The New Haven Symphony Orchestra (NHSO) is similarly planning to
engage its audiences with music informed by historically and culturally
significant events. Its NEA-supported program will focus on works by
one contemporary and three historic Black composers: Margaret Bonds's
Montgomery Variations (1964) was inspired by the civil rights movement;
Florence Price's 1934 Piano Concerto in One Movement incorporates
spirituals as well as the Juba, a dance originated by enslaved people;
Helen Hagan's 1912 Concerto in C Minor has been re-orchestrated to
intersperse Ragtime into a late Romantic style; and contemporary
composer Quinn Mason describes A Joyous Trilogy as ``the very
embodiment of happiness.'' Pianist Michelle Cann will join the Symphony
for this performance. In addition to the performances at Lyman Center
for the Performing Arts, free concerts will be held in community venues
throughout New Haven featuring the orchestra's Harmony quartet and
soprano Lisa Williamson, and will include opportunities for community
artists to perform.
The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra (SPCO) is also using music as a
means to highlight important issues of our time, past and present-
focusing in particular on people who were not fully acknowledged in
their own time. An NEA grant will assist the orchestra in highlighting
several women in the field of classical music as part of the SPCO's
larger efforts to include more historically underrepresented artists in
its performance repertoire. Curated and led by Artistic Partner Tabea
Zimmermann and SPCO musicians Maureen Nelson and Eunae Koh, the project
additionally celebrates women in music leadership roles. A combination
of 18 performances will showcase 6 women composers: Clara Schumann,
Valborg Aulin, Hilary Tann, Louise Farrenc, Gabriela Lena Frank, and
Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel. In culmination, SPCO flautist Alicia
McQuerrey will deliver a solo performance of Amy Beech. Delivering on
the SPCO's mission of serving as many in the community as possible,
performances will take place at 10 venues across the Minneapolis/Saint
Paul Metro Area, and one program will be livestreamed for free.
Thank you for this opportunity to share how the National Endowment
for the Arts supports orchestras' engagement with their communities.
These grants, and many others throughout the country, make a tremendous
difference by helping orchestras provide employment to musicians and
staff while fulfilling their core purpose of educating and serving. We
applaud the NEA's consistent leadership in promoting public engagement
with all forms of art and for its responsiveness to both present and
future concerns for the sector. With Congressional support for an
annual appropriation of at least $211 million for the National
Endowment for the Arts in FY2024, more communities throughout our
Nation will be able to experience the life-changing and affirming
benefits of the arts.
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 1,800 organizations and individuals
across North America runs the gamut from world-renowned orchestras 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. A national organization dedicated
solely to the orchestral experience, the League is a nexus of knowledge
and innovation, advocacy, and leadership advancement. Its conferences
and events, award-winning Symphony magazine, website, and other
publications inform people around the world about orchestral activity
and developments. Founded in 1942 and chartered by Congress in 1962,
the League links a national network of thousands of instrumentalists,
conductors, managers and administrators, board members, volunteers, and
business partners.
[This statement was submitted by Simon Woods, President and CEO,
League of American Orchestras.]
______
Prepared Statement of the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians
Summary of Budget Requests:
I. Bureau of Indian Affairs--Increase ``Aid to Tribal Government
(TPA)'' funding
II. Bureau of Indian Affairs--Increase ``Indian Child Welfare Act
(TPA)'' funding
III. Indian Health Service--Increase ``Purchased/Referred Care''
funding
IV. Indian Health Service--Support for ``Accreditation Emergencies''
Funding
Greetings Chair Merkley, Ranking Member Murkowski, and Honorable
Members of the subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related
Agencies. My name is Gerald Gray and I am honored to serve as Chairman
of the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians. Thank you for the
opportunity to provide written testimony regarding the Tribe's Fiscal
Year (``FY'') 2024 funding priorities within the subcommittee's
jurisdiction.
Little Shell Tribal members became eligible for services provided
by the Indian Health Service (``IHS'') and the Bureau of Indian Affairs
(``BIA'') after enactment of the Little Shell Restoration Act in
December 2019. Following restoration, these two Federal agencies
requested specific funding to support Little Shell--essentially setting
base funding for any future inflationary or appropriated increases. In
FY 2024, the Tribe's funding will transition from ``New Tribes''
funding to ``Aid to Tribal Government.'' While the Tribe never received
adequate ``New Tribes'' funding to meet the demands of our expanding
government and growing population, it is critical to ensure that future
allocations meet the Tribe's basic governmental needs.
i. bureau of indian affairs--increase ``aid to tribal government
(tpa)'' funding
When a Tribe is recognized or restored to Federal recognition, the
BIA requests additional funding for the newly recognized Tribe through
the ``New Tribes'' program. The amount requested customarily becomes
the base funding for the newly recognized tribe-essentially the amount
the Tribe will receive every year going forward. ``New Tribes'' funding
was designed to provide newly acknowledged Tribes with funding and
assistance in initiating federally funded operations by strengthening
Tribal government systems. New Tribes \1\ receive assistance under the
program for 3 years, then funding for those Tribes is transferred to
the ``Aid to Tribal Government'' program so that they may begin to
establish program and funding priorities.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ The term ``new Tribes'' is meant only to reflect Tribes that
are in the New Tribes funding line. Tribes cannot be new or created,
only acknowledged. They have existed since time immemorial.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Prior to FY 1997, the amount of ``New Tribes'' funding received by
newly recognized Tribes varied greatly. New Tribes would assess their
needs, design, or propose operational programs to meet their needs, and
submit proposed budgets to implement the proposed programs. In FY 1996
alone, this led to newly recognized Tribes receiving amounts as small
as $127,000 and as large as $1.492 million in ``New Tribes'' funding.
In FY 1997, the ``New Tribes'' funding methodology was simplified by
providing $160,000 in base funding for new Tribes with less than 1,500
members and $320,000 to Tribes with a population of 1,501 to 3,000
members. The funding level for new Tribes with more than 3,000 members
was to be determined on a case- by-case basis.
In FY 2011, the population component of the methodology was
slightly changed moving from 1,500 to 1,700 members for the $160,000
base level funding and 1,701 to 3,000 for the $320,000 funding level.
The funding level for Tribes with over 3,000 members would still be
determined on a case-by-case basis. This policy appears to have
remained in place for the six Virginia Tribes recognized by Congress in
January 2018.
The Little Shell Tribe, with a Tribal membership of approximately
6,300 members, qualifies for the ``case-by-case'' determination under
the BIA's longstanding policy. Under the current methodology, Tribes
with 1,701 to 3,000 members receive $320,000, which equals to a range
of $106.66 to $188.12 per Tribal member. According to this methodology,
the Little Shell Tribe's ``New Tribes'' allocation should be in the
range of $671,000 to $1.18 million annually. However, in FY 2023, the
Tribe only received $480,000 in ``New Tribes'' funding, which is
hindering the Tribe's ability to operate its government.
As the Tribe now transitions to receive funding for centralized
government functions under the ``Aid to Tribal Government'' program, it
is critically important to provide the Little Shell Tribe with adequate
funding. In addition, Aid to Tribal Government funds have the broadest
flexibility for Tribes to leverage in government operations. The Tribe
strongly recommends that BIA prioritize funding to this program
precisely because of its flexibility and because all Tribes would
benefit from a programmatic increase. The Little Shell Tribe requests
that the subcommittee provide, at a minimum, a $1.18 million increase
in the Aid to Tribal Government program to provide the Tribe with the
resources necessary to provide basic governmental services to its
Tribal citizens.
ii. bureau of indian affairs--increase ``indian child welfare act
(tpa)'' funding
Enacted in 1978 to help prevent the separation of Indian families
and provide for family reunification, the Indian Child Welfare Act
(``ICWA'') has been an invaluable tool for Tribes. Given that the
Little Shell Tribe was reacknowledged by the Federal Government only 3
years ago, we have missed out on countless opportunities to achieve the
goals of ICWA. Since becoming eligible to utilize ICWA, the Tribe has
initiated work to develop a Tribal ICWA code, retained an attorney to
support ICWA activities, responded to hundreds of ICWA requests from
many state ICWA agencies, and actively engaged in several ICWA case in
Montana and Idaho.
While the Tribe has identified resources to provide these services
from non-recurring sources, we urge the subcommittee to increase ICWA
funding to provide base funding for all Tribes. The current Federal
funding streams for ICWA programming are sporadic, non-recurring, and
no single funding source provides adequate assistance to support an
entire Tribal ICWA program. This has caused the Little Shell Tribe to
worry each year on how it will secure the required funding to ensure
that Little Shell Tribal children are being protected.
The Little Shell Tribe continues to build up its Tribal ICWA
programming to protect the Tribe's culture and heritage by maintaining
Tribal member connections to customs, traditions, and community. The
Tribe would like to continue to grow and establish the necessary
support and assistance to Little Shell Tribal children in the foster
care system. Through the fundamentals of ICWA, the Little Shell Tribe
is focused on preserving our cultural values and promoting stable
placements of Little Shell children in loving, permanent homes,
connected to their families and our culture.
iii. indian health service--increase ``purchased/referred care''
funding
Purchased/Referred Care (``PRC'') is typically used to purchase
private care in areas where IHS does not provide services directly or
when IHS provided care is not sufficient to meet patient needs.
However, in FY 2021 the Little Shell Tribe asked and the IHS agreed to
provide direct service care using the Tribe's PRC allocation, as
allowed under the PRC regulations. The Little Shell Tribe acquired,
renovated, and equipped a new health clinic for IHS to provide direct
care in the four-county service area in late 2021.
In FY 2021, IHS requested $2.560 million in Purchased/Referred Care
funding ``to fund direct health care services'' for the Little Shell
Tribe. IHS received the requested amount in FY 2021 and in FY 2022 for
Little Shell. In FY 2022, IHS received $2.917 million for services, a
slight increase due to this subcommittee's support for the program. The
President's FY 2024 budget requests calls for $1.17 billion for
Purchased/Referred Care, which is an increase of $181 million above the
FY 2023 enacted level. It is critical that Congress provide a
substantial increase for Purchased/Referred Care in the FY 2024 bill to
meet the needs of American Indian and Alaska Native patients, including
Little Shell patients.
IHS has been a good partner in establishing appropriate direct care
services within the service area in collaboration with Little Shell.
However, IHS has limited authority to budget appropriated PRC funds to
reflect common IHS operating lines, such as Hospital and Health Clinic,
Dental Health, Mental Health, etc. This makes it challenging for
Congress and Little Shell Tribal leadership to track how and if health
priorities of the community are met. More importantly, it does not
accurately capture the Service Unit operational status. The Little
Shell Tribe also requests that IHS be given the flexibility to create
operational budgets within the PRC line item that accurately reflect
day-to-day operations of those facilities like to those of the Little
Shell Service Unit.
iv. indian health service--support ``accreditation emergencies''
funding
Finally, Little Shell requests support for the Accreditation
Emergencies Funding. While Little Shell Service Unit is in operation,
it has not yet initiated the accreditation process. There are no
existing concerns for patient safety or operational concerns. However,
Little Shell acknowledges that accreditation ensures that regular
safety protocol and standard operating procedures are observed by all
staff. Access to these funds would ensure that the Little Shell Service
Unit provides the highest standard of care.
On behalf of the Little Shell Tribe, I would like to thank the
subcommittee for the opportunity to share our funding priorities for FY
2024.
[This statement was submitted by Gerald Gray, Little Shell Tribe of
Chippewa Indians.]
______
Prepared Statement of Medical Library Association and Association of
Academic Health Sciences Libraries
I, Mary M. Langman, Director, Information Issues and Policy,
Medical Library Association (MLA), submit this statement on behalf of
MLA and the Association of Academic Health Sciences Libraries (AAHSL).
MLA is a global, nonprofit, educational organization with a membership
of more than 400 institutions and 2,500 health information
professionals. AAHSL supports academic health sciences libraries and
directors to advance the patient care, research, education and
community service missions of academic health centers through visionary
executive leadership and expertise in health information, scholarly
communication, and knowledge management.
We thank the subcommittee for the opportunity to submit testimony
supporting appropriations for the National Library of Medicine (NLM),
an institute of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and recommend
$521 million for NLM in FY24, a 5% increase. Working in partnership
with the NIH and other Federal agencies, NLM is a key link in the chain
that translates the results of research, including data, findable and
accessible to all who need it. As NLM works to achieve key objectives
of its Strategic Plan--accelerating data powered discovery and health,
reaching new users in new ways, and preparing a workforce for a future
of data-driven research and health--it also supports NIH-wide efforts
to answer the call to respond to national priorities, close the gap in
health disparities, and capitalize on fundamental investments. NLM
accomplishes this through effective preservation of valued scientific
and data resources, judicious investments in extramural and intramural
research, informed stewardship of Federal resources, and innovative
partnerships to align priorities and leverage investments across HHS,
the Federal Government, and the biomedical research community.
As health sciences librarians who use NLM's programs and services
every day, teach others how to use NLM resources, and promote NLM in
our local communities, we can attest that NLM resources literally save
lives. Investing in NLM is an investment in good health.
leveraging nih investments in biomedical research
NLM's budget supports information services, research, and programs
that drive the Nation's biomedical research enterprise. In FY24 and
beyond, NLM's budget must continue to be augmented to support the
transformation and expansion of its information resources, services,
research, and programs which collect, organize, and develop new ways to
make readily accessible rapidly evolving biomedical knowledge resources
and data. NLM maximizes the return on investment in research conducted
by the NIH and other organizations. It also makes the results of
biomedical information and data accessible to researchers, clinicians,
business innovators, students, and the public, enabling such data and
information to be used more efficiently and effectively to drive
innovation and improve health. Rapid growth of data also necessitates
funding that will ensure long-term sustainability of these valuable
information resources. NLM is unique because it stimulates and supports
innovative research in data science and information management that
transcends specific disease areas and data types. This is especially
crucial in an era where artificial intelligence algorithms are being
rapidly developed and integrated into the systems of daily life,
including healthcare.
NLM plays a critical role in NIH's data science and open science
initiatives. Its intramural and extramural research programs develop
and apply data science techniques to accelerate discovery and improve
health through all stages of life. `` In support of open science, NLM
collaborates across NIH and the Federal Government to accelerate public
access to federally funded research results through PMC and other
relevant NLM data repositories. ``
NLM builds, sustains, and augments a suite of almost 200 databases
which provide information access to health professionals, researchers,
educators, and the public. It supports the acquisition, organization,
preservation, and dissemination of the world's biomedical literature.
In FY 2022, NLM continued to support sharing of genetic sequence data
in support of public health response. It launched the SARS-CoV-2
Variants Overview interactive web resource. This free, open-access tool
supports the identification of emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants, and
provides the public health community with valuable information needed
to guide COVID-19 pandemic research and response efforts. NLM continued
to support NIH and interagency initiatives to make SARS-CoV-2 and
COVID-19 sequence data widely available for public health response.
growing demand for nlm's information services
Each day, millions of people use NLM websites and download more
than 115 terabytes of data. Thousands of researchers and businesses
upload approximately 15 terabytes of data daily. Annually, NLM
information systems process more than six billion human requests and
eight billion computer-to-computer interactions. NLM's information
services help researchers advance scientific discovery and accelerate
its translation into new therapies; provide health practitioners with
information that improves medical care and lowers its costs; and give
the public access to resources and tools that promote wellness and
disease prevention. Every day, medical librarians across the Nation use
NLM's services to assist clinicians, students, researchers, and the
public in accessing information to save lives and improve health.
Without NLM, our Nation's medical libraries would be unable to provide
quality information services that our Nation's health professionals,
educators, researchers and patients increasingly need.
NLM's data repositories and online integrated services such as
GenBank, MedlinePlus, dbGaP, MedlinePlus, dbGaP, PubMed, and PubMed
Central (PMC) are revolutionizing medicine. GenBank is the definitive
source of gene sequence information. This past year, more than 430
million users accessed consumer-level information about health topics,
which contains more than 22,000 links to authoritative health
information on over 1,000 health topics. PubMed, with nearly 35 million
references to the biomedical literature, is the world's most heavily
used source of bibliographic information with almost 3.3 million users
each day. PubMed Central is NLM's digital archive which provides public
access to the full-text versions of more than 9 million biomedical
journal articles, including those produced by NIH-funded researchers.
In FY22, PubMed Central had an average of 3.2 million unique sessions
per weekday.
NLM continually expands biomedical information services to
accommodate a growing volume of relevant data and information and
enhances these services to support research and discovery. NLM ensures
the availability of this information for future generations, making
books, journals, technical reports, manuscripts, microfilms,
photographs and images accessible to all Americans, irrespective of
geography or ability to pay, and guaranteeing that citizens can make
the best, most informed decisions about their healthcare.
disseminating clinical trial information
NLM's ClinicalTrials.gov is the world's largest publicly accessible
database of privately and publicly funded clinical studies. In FY 2022,
NLM received registration information for more than 38,000 new clinical
research studies. NLM also added more than 4,000 new results summaries
to ClinicalTrials.gov. Making this information visible and accessible
improves transparency, accountability, and encourages public trust in
science consistent with legislative requirements. With the support of
NIH, NLM continued its ClinicalTrials.gov modernization effort and
launched the first beta release of the modernized ClinicalTrials.gov
website in FY 2022. This first release of the modernized website
provides a more responsive design with an updated search experience and
new study record display. The website also makes information about race
and ethnicity, sex and gender, and age of participants easier to find
and access.
partnerships ensuring outreach and engagement in communities across the
nation
NLM's outreach programs are essential to the MLA and AAHSL
membership and to the profession. The NLM coordinates its Network of
the National Library of Medicine (NNLM) of more than 8,800 academic
health science libraries, hospital and public libraries, and community
organizations to improve access to health information for all. Through
the NNLM, NLM educates medical librarians, health professionals, and
the general public about its services and provides training in their
effective use. The NNLM serves the public by promoting educational
outreach for public libraries, secondary schools, senior centers and
other consumer settings, and its outreach to underserved populations
helps reduce health disparities.
Since May 2018, the NNLM has partnered with the NIH All of Us
Research Program to support community engagement efforts by United
States public libraries and to raise awareness about the program.
Together, NLM and NIH have built the NNLM All of Us Community
Engagement Network (CEN). The CEN focuses on NNLM's mission to improve
the public's access to health information and provide awareness of All
of Us to communities that are Underrepresented in Biomedical Research
by partnering with libraries across the United States. The CEN is
designed to leverage the mission of the NNLM to help libraries in
supporting the health information needs of their users.
NLM's MedlinePlus provides consumers with trusted, reliable health
information on 1,000 topics in English and Spanish. It attracts more
than 1 million visitors daily. NLM continues to enhance MedlinePlus and
disseminate authoritative information via the website, and social
media. MedlinePlus and MedlinePlus en Espanol have been optimized for
easier use on mobile phones and tablets. NIH MedlinePlus Magazine and
NIH MedlinePlus Salud are available in doctors' offices nationwide, and
NLM's MedlinePlus Connect enables clinical care organizations to link
from their EHR systems to relevant patient education materials.
strengthening data science and open science capacity
NLM is a leader in data science and open science, including the
acquisition and analysis of data for discovery and the training of
biomedical data scientists. The library aims to strengthen its position
as a center of excellence for health data analytics and discovery, and
to spearhead the application of advanced data science tools to
biological, clinical and health data. NLM is building a workforce for
data-driven research and health by funding PhD-level research training
in biomedical informatics and data science. The library also partners
with NIH to ensure inclusion of data science and open science core
skills in all NIH training programs, and is expanding training for
librarians, information science professionals, and other research
facilitators. NLM is participating in NIH-wide efforts to foster a
culture that advances science and ensures the development and retention
of a diverse, safe, and respectful workforce for data-driven research
and health well into the future. In FY 2022, NLM hosted 28 postdoctoral
researchers, 10 post-baccalaureate trainees, 3 predoctoral researchers,
18 summer interns, 19 research fellows, 1 clinical fellow, and 2
visiting scientists. It also launched a new research summer internship
program in data science and informatics that provides biomedical
informatics training and research opportunities to students from
diverse backgrounds, including those from underrepresented groups. The
inaugural cohort of five interns worked on a variety of projects to
improve methods to derive meaning from free text clinical data, explore
whether different modes of gene expression occur within a tumor,
characterize elements of cells that control genetic expression, use AI
to predict progression of eye disease, and understand bias in machine
learning.
responding to the coronavirus (covid-19)
NLM has continued to support the response to the COVID-19 pandemic
through the SARS-CoV-2 Sequencing for Public Health Emergency Response,
Epidemiology, and Surveillance (SPHERES) consortium. NLM's involvement
resulted in improved SARS-CoV-2 data submission and validation
processes, enhanced graphic interfaces for data retrieval, coordinated
U.S. efforts to provide publicly accessible SARS-CoV-2 data via GenBank
and SRA, and support for the mpox public health emergency response with
the creation of a reference genome sequence as a template for
submissions. NLM continued to participate in the NIH Accelerating
COVID-19 Therapeutic Interventions and Vaccines (ACTIV) Tracking
Resistance and Coronavirus Evolution (TRACE) initiative to develop
processes and infrastructure to monitor and evaluate emerging SARS-CoV-
2 variants, and to standardize, gather, and share variant sequencing
data. In FY 2022, as part of its engagement in ACTIV TRACE, NLM refined
data processing and analysis methods, and provided results in a format
that supports findability of data records and large-scale analysis.
supporting biomedical informatics research and health information
technology innovation
NLM conducts and supports informatics research, training and the
application of advanced computing and informatics to biomedical
research and healthcare delivery. NLM's National Center for
Biotechnology Information (NCBI) focuses on genomics and biological
data banks, and the Lister Hill National Center for Biomedical
Communications (LHC), is a leader in clinical information analytics and
standards. Many of today's biomedical informatics leaders are graduates
of NLM-funded informatics research programs at universities nationwide.
A number of the country's exemplary electronic and personal health
record systems benefit from findings developed with NLM grant support.
A leader in supporting the development, maintenance, and dissemination
of standard clinical terminologies, NLM partners with the Office of the
National Coordinator for Health Information Technology to support the
interoperability of EHRs. NLM also develops tools to make it easier for
EHR developers and users to implement accepted health data standards
and link to relevant patient education materials. In FY 2022, NLM
funded 208 awards across the country, including 28 co-funded with other
NIH Institutes, Centers, and Offices. NLM-funded researchers develop
methods to improve access, storage, retrieval, management,
dissemination, and use of biomedical data and information to support
discovery and decision-making. Active NLM-supported projects develop
and test health IT solutions that support clinical care and patient
self-management, employ computational approaches and tools to interpret
and analyze health records, and develop new AI and machine learning
tools and approaches.
closing the gap in health disparities
The National Library of Medicine supports NIH's efforts to close
the gap in health disparities and improve the diversity of the
biomedical information science workforce. Their work supports our
mission and core values to make MLA and AAHSL more diverse and
inclusive organizations. NLM accomplishes this by:
--Providing open access to scientific literature through PubMed and
PubMed Central make scientific literature accessible, lading to
biological discoveries and providing the foundation to
developing clinical guidelines that inform health care.
Resources include PubMed Special Query for Health Disparities
and Minority Health Information Resources.
--Utilizing the Network of the National Library of Medicine to
provide equal access to biomedical information and improves the
public's access to information. NNLM supports events including
the recent DEI webinar series ``Nine Conversations that Matter
to Health Sciences Librarians'' as well as NNLM Reading Clubs
on Disability Health, LGBTQ Health, Racism and Health and
Diversity in Medicine.
--Funding grant programs that support research to advance health
equity and grants to reduce health disparities research
supplements to promote diversity in health research and
leveraging health information technology to address minority
health and health disparities.
--Raising awareness and sparking conversations about the intersection
of society and ethical considerations in biomedical research
and technology through the annual NLM Science, Technology, and
Society lecture series.
The NLM Information Resource Grants to Reduce Health Disparities
support projects that bring useful and understandable health
information to populations affected by health disparities and to their
health care providers. In FY 2022, NLM awarded two grants to develop:
1) an online guide for people in rural Georgia living with and managing
autism spectrum disorder, as well as resources for physicians, and 2) a
combination digital resource and training program for Afghan and Syrian
refugees to improve reproductive health literacy. The NLM Grants for
Scholarly Works in Biomedicine and Health supports the development of
monographs and books by health professionals, public health officials,
biomedical researchers, and health science historians. In FY 2022, NLM
awarded three grants for scholarly works about: 1) the history of
health care in U.S. prisons, 2) a comparative study of medical examiner
and coroner offices in the United States, and 3) the role of statistics
and statisticians in modern medicine.
We look forward to continuing this dialogue and thank you for your
efforts to support funding of at least $521 million for NLM in FY24,
with additional increases in future years.
[This statement was submitted by Mary M. Langman, Director,
Information Issues and Policy, Medical Library Association.]
______
Prepared Statement of the Metlakatla Indian Community
Recommendations:
1) Support increased overall funding and advance appropriations for
the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA)
2) Provide full funding and continued advance appropriations for
the Indian Health Service (IHS)
3) Fund critical infrastructure investments for the Indian health
system (IHS)
4) Ensure mandatory funding for Contract Support Costs and 105(l)
lease payments
5) Amend Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act
(ISDEAA) to clarify CSC provisions
6) Increase funding and authorize a self-governance funding
mechanism option for the Special Diabetes Program for Indians (IHS)
7) Support for Tribal Hatcheries at the Bureau of Indian Affairs
(BIA)
8) Support for U.S. Canada Pacific Salmon Treaty (BIA)
9) Support for Tribal Court Assistance for Tribes subject to PL 83-
280 (BIA)
10) Support funding to address the impacts of climate change (BIA)
11) Continue increases for Native language programs (BIA)
12) Reduce dependence on competitive grants for Indian Country (all
agencies)
Thank you Chair Merkley, Ranking Member Murkowski, and Members of
the subcommittee for the opportunity to share our funding priorities
for the FY 2024 Federal budget. The Metlakatla Indian Community (MIC)
is located on the Annette Islands Reserve in southeast Alaska, a land
base of 87,000 acres which includes significant fish and forestry
resources. 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 ISDEAA. The
following testimony provides recommendations on FY 2024 BIA and IHS
priorities.
increased funding and advance appropriations for the bia
In FY 2024, we recommend a substantial increase for the Operation
of Indian Programs at the BIA. This base funding is critical in the
functioning of our government and our survival as a Tribal Nation. As
noted by the National Congress of American Indians ``Tribal nations are
resilient and have demonstrated their resolve and dedication since time
immemorial, yet are uniquely reliant on their Federal partner to
fulfill the promises made in exchange for the land that created the
foundation of the United States.'' These funds are essential as they
provide for social services, law enforcement, court services, child
care services, public health and safety, and other essential government
functions.
Unfortunately, year after year, we experience large funding
shortfalls across all BIA-funded programs, causing government services
in our community to constantly depend on an inconsistent patchwork of
Federal funding. For example, we have been forced to choose between
meeting water quality standards or providing scholarships to our
students. In some cases, these shortfalls force us to cut services
altogether. The programs that have been impacted are realty, higher
education, Tribal scholarships, social services, and limiting services
from the fire department.
Additionally, we request that BIA appropriations be funded on an
advance appropriations cycle. It has sadly become the norm that the
Tribe does not receive its full yearly appropriation until several
months (sometimes longer) after the start of the fiscal year. These
funding delays make it impossible for the Tribe to plan and manage
their annual budgets. Congress recognized these challenges when it
provided the Veterans Administration with advance appropriations over a
decade ago and then last year in a historic step, finally provided
advance appropriations for key IHS accounts. However, when it comes to
our critical BIA accounts, Tribes still remain vulnerable while
awaiting funding. The practical implication of this is that the Tribe
does not have the ability to plan our finances even weeks ahead due to
the uncertainty as to the level of funding. It is nearly impossible to
Tribes to plan, grow, or achieve self-sufficiency. Advance
appropriations for the BIA would lead to better stability for Tribal
self-governance, reduce dependence on uncertain grant funding, and
improve practices over all.
improving the indian health system
Full Funding for the IHS: Appropriations are essential to this
effort and in fulfilling the Federal Government's trust and treaty
obligations by ensuring critical programs and services receive adequate
funding to fulfill their intended purpose. We support the IHS Tribal
Budget Formulation Workgroup calculated need of $51.4 billion for full
funding in FY 2024.
Continuing Advance Appropriations for the IHS: For many years,
Tribes have requested that the IHS be funded on an advance
appropriations cycle, a position championed by the Biden Administration
and many on this subcommittee. In the FY 2023 Consolidated
Appropriations Act, Congress in a historic move, finally provided
advance appropriations for the IHS for FY 2024. We thank this
subcommittee for your decisive leadership of this effort and applaud
the 117th Congress for supporting this. Going forward, we urge the
subcommittee to take the necessary steps to continue advance
appropriations for the IHS for FY 2025 and beyond.
Fully Fund Critical Infrastructure Investments: We would like to
thank the subcommittee for funding Electronic Health Record
modernization at $217 million for FY 2023, which was an increase of
$72.5 million (50%) over FY 2022. For FY 2024, we ask that the
subcommittee continue robust funding for full implementation of
interoperable Electronic Health Records (EHR) and tele-health. This
will ensure that IHS can provide services that are similar to other
health providers. For Tribes and Tribal health organizations who have
committed their own resources to move away from RPMS and making their
systems functional, IHS should take this into consideration with any
new resources and ensure these programs are not only interoperable, but
compensated accordingly. We were thrilled to see that the Sanitation
Facilities Construction program received $3.5 billion in appropriations
in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (Public Law 117-58). That
said, it is critical that Congress make still significant investments
in Tribal health facilities construction. IHS and Tribal facilities are
some of the oldest in the Nation, meaning that facilities are out of
date, or not appropriate for the size of the patient populations they
serve. Therefore, consistent with the Budget Formulation Workgroup's
request, we recommend $9.6 billion for Facilities in FY 2024.
Mandatory Funding for Contract Support Costs and 105(l) Lease
Payments: We appreciate the subcommittee's commitment to ensuring that
Contract Support Costs (CSC) and 105(l) lease costs are fully funded by
including an indefinite discretionary appropriation in recent years for
both of these accounts. We support the Biden Administration's request
to transition these accounts to mandatory funding. This change would
bring appropriations process into line with the clear legal
requirements of the authorizing statute. CSC and 105(l) lease funds are
already an entitlement under substantive law for the ISDEAA to function
as intended by Congress. It is contradictory and problematic to
appropriate funding for CSC on a discretionary basis. A simple
amendment to a permanent appropriations statute could solve this
challenge.
Amend Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act to
Clarify CSC Provisions: We also request that the committee consider
amending the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act
(ISDEAA) to clarify that when agency funding paid to a Tribe for
program operations is insufficient for contract and compact
administration, contract support costs will remain available to cover
the difference. In the recent court decision Cook Inlet Tribal Council,
Inc. v. Dotomain, a Federal appeals court held that costs for
activities normally carried out by IHS are ineligible for payment as
CSC-even if IHS transfers insufficient, or even no, funding for these
activities in the Secretarial amount. Under this new ruling, if
facility costs are higher for a Tribe than for IHS, the Tribe is forced
to cover the difference by diverting scarce program dollars. Recently,
this serious misinterpretation of the ISDEAA that has been applied to
one Tribal organization resulting in a 90% reduction of contract
support costs reimbursement threatens Tribal self-governance and self-
determination. Therefore, we call upon Congress to provide a
legislative fix to clarify the intent on Congress for this matter, and
ensure consistency with precedent.
Extend Self-Governance Funding Options to the Special Diabetes
Program for Indians (SDPI) and Increase Funding to $250 million/year:
While we understand that SDPI is not under the jurisdiction of the
subcommittee, we appreciate that Congress included a 3-year
reauthorization of SDPI in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021
(Public Law 116-260). SDPI's success rests in the flexibility of its
program structure that allows for the incorporation of culture and
local needs into its services. Congress should authorize SDPI
participants the option of receiving their Federal funds through either
a grant (as currently used) or self-governance funding mechanisms under
ISDEAA. Additionally, SDPI has not had an increase in funding since FY
2004. We recommend permanent reauthorization for SDPI at a minimum of
$250 million per year with annual adjustments for inflationary
increases.
Tribal Hatcheries: We deeply appreciate the $1 million increase for
the operation of fish hatcheries in the Fish, Wildlife, and Parks sub-
activity within the BIA Trust-Natural Resources Management budget in FY
2023 and are asking the subcommittees to continue increased funding
levels FY 2024.
U.S./Canada Pacific Salmon Treaty: Pacific salmon migrate through a
broad geographic range that includes rivers, streams and the coastal
waters of both the United States and Canada. Recognizing this reality,
the Pacific Salmon Treaty was negotiated between the U.S. and Canada in
1985 to prevent overfishing and provide optimum production and fair
sharing of the salmon harvest. In the U.S., salmon fisheries governed
by the Treaty provide nearly 27,000 full time jobs and add nearly $2
billion annually to the gross domestic product. Funding to carry out
different elements of the Treaty is appropriated through the
Departments of Interior, State and Commerce. In the Department of
Interior's budget, this funding is appropriated through the BIA Trust-
Natural Resources Rights Protection Implementation sub-activity and the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Pacific Marine Fisheries Commission.
We thank the subcommittee for your continued support for this program
in FY 2023, including the $3.5 million increase for Rights Protection
Implementation, and encourage further investments in FY 2024.
Tribal Court Assistance for Tribes Subject to PL 83-280: We
appreciate the much-needed support for Tribes who are affected by
Public Law 83-280 and who are striving to serve our communities with
competent and appropriate judiciary systems. Specifically, under the
BIA Public Safety and Justice Law Enforcement-Tribal Justice Support
program element we appreciate the helpful report language continued
from the FY 2021 Senate Appropriations Committee report (116-123) that
outlined additional support for BIA to work with ``Indian Tribes and
Tribal organizations to consider options that promote, design, or pilot
Tribal court systems for Tribal communities subject to full or partial
State jurisdiction under Public Law 83-280.'' We also appreciate the $2
million increase for this program in FY 2023 and ask that in FY 2024,
the subcommittees continue to include PL 280-specific funding under
this program element and continue to reference the Senate
Appropriations Committee report (116-123).
Increased Funding to Address the Impacts of Climate Change: Like
many Tribal communities we continue to be impacted by the growing
challenge of climate change on our environment. Threats such as
flooding, erosion, sea level rise, ocean acidification, increased
wildfires, extended drought, and changes in seasons all contribute to
the serious challenges that Tribal communities currently face. We are
forced to reduce emissions, mitigate and adapt, but to be successful we
need additional support. We appreciate the $216 million provided to the
BIA through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (Public Law 117-
58). We also appreciate the subcommittee's inclusion of $34.9 million
for Tribal Climate Resilience in FY 2023 appropriations, but request
significantly more investment in this account, specifically to
implement mitigation actions identified through Climate Resilience
plans. Tribal Nations throughout the United States, and especially in
Alaska, are increasingly impacted by the threats of climate change.
Continue Increases for Native Language Programs: As we have seen in
the news everyday, through wars, plague, famine, and climate change,
our health and wellbeing is under threat from many directions. While we
urgently need the Federal Government to support our efforts to face
these often existential challenges, there is also an invisible threat
lurking all around us. Honorable Members of this subcommittee, the
heritage language of my people is dying. Those in academia refer to the
Tsimshian language as ``critically endangered.'' Just as our ocean
coastline is eroding away, so too is the Sm'algyax, the Tsimshian
language. There are only a few dozen speakers remaining in the entire
world. We must impart the grave seriousness to every Member of this
subcommittee. With permanent reoccurring annual funding as part of our
compact, we can, in partnership with Congress, meet this challenge, and
hold back the coming storm. We would like to thank to the subcommittee
for the $2 million increase to the Community Development Central
Oversight sub-activity under the Community and Economic Development
activity directed towards supporting Native language instruction and
immersion programs to Native students not enrolled at Bureau of Indian
Education schools, including those Tribes and organizations in States
without Bureau-funded schools.
Reduce Dependence on Federal Grants: In addition to the critical
funding needs that are outlined above, we also support moving away from
competitive grants for Federal funding mechanisms across all
departments. The Federal trust responsibility does not require that we
jump through a myriad of hoops and onerous applications and compete
against other Tribes to see that services are provided to our people.
Tribes must also be granted the flexibility needed to respond to the
specific needs of our own communities, not those prescribed by Federal
grants. This also means providing enough resources so that funds are
provided in meaningful amounts to all Tribes.
[This statement was submitted by David R. Boxley, Councilmember and
Chairman of the Finance Committee for the Metlakatla Indian Community.]
______
Prepared Statement of the National Association of Abandoned Mine Land
Programs
My name is Benny McCament and I serve as the Chief of the Ohio
Department of Natural Resources Division of Mineral Resources
Management. I am providing this statement on behalf of the National
Association of Abandoned Mine Land Programs (NAAMLP), for which I
currently serve as President. NAAMLP represents 32 States and Tribes,
of which 27 implement abandoned mine land reclamation (AML) programs
authorized under Title IV of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation
Act (SMCRA), and many implement state level programs for hardrock AML.
My office's address is 29371 Wheelabout Road, McArthur OH 45651 and my
office phone number is (740) 274-4947. My email is
Benny.Mccament@dnr.ohio.gov.
State and Tribal Hardrock AML Grants NAAMLP represents many States
and Tribes with significant hardrock and noncoal AML problems
(``hardrock AML'' hereafter). Hardrock AML threatens and damages the
health and safety, environment, and economic vitality of impacted
communities throughout the Country, especially in the West, but in
every other region as well. There is no comprehensive accounting of the
National hardrock AML problem at this time, but it is often cited in
the tens of billions of dollars. In the absence of a steady hardrock
AML funding source, State and Tribal hardrock AML programs struggle to
maintain adequate funding and make consistent progress, and many States
and Tribes with hardrock AML problems have no state/Tribal level
program at all.
The $3 billion funding authorization for hardrock AML grants ($1.5
billion for States and Tribes) in Section 40704 of the Infrastructure
Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) is a very exciting development, despite
the funding not yet being appropriated on the scale authorized. The
$1.7m in funding for States and $400k for Tribes appropriated in FY
2022 and 2023 for the energy community revitalization program (ECRP) is
an encouraging start but is not enough to go around or to make
meaningful progress addressing hardrock AML problems. We urge Congress
to appropriate the amount authorized for hardrock AML by the IIJA at a
rate of $300m per year.
NAAMLP and IMCC have been working closely with DOI's Office of
Environmental Policy and Compliance (OEPC) since the passage of the
IIJA. We convened a group of 40+ States and Tribes to provide input to
OEPC on how the new grants program should work. We believe a good plan
has been developed, based on the amount of funding available, and
appreciate OEPC's willingness to take state/Tribal input. These plans
include a new national hardrock AML inventory being developed by USGS
with State and Tribal input, which will eventually provide Congress
with a nationwide picture of the scope and cost of the hardrock AML
problem. It will take a significant amount of time and resources for
this inventory to be fully developed.
Congress does not need to wait for the inventory to be completed
before increasing hardrock AML funding. The States and Tribes already
know where the most dangerous safety and environmental problems exist.
The know-how, planning, and will are already in place for States and
Tribes to deliver immediate and ongoing benefits to communities in
virtually every State.
IIJA Coal AML Funding Implementation The infusion of much-needed
funding for coal AML in the IIJA has ushered in a new, re-invigorated
era for coal AML work. We thank Congress for recognizing the critical
role the AML programs play in health and safety, environmental
restoration, and the creation of jobs and economic growth. These
benefits are appreciated throughout the Country, especially in places
like Appalachia that are most affected by the energy transition. We
also thank Congress for the passage of the STREAM Act at the end of
last year, which ensures the gains enabled by the IIJA for AML water
restoration will be lasting.
We have been working closely with our sister organization, the
Interstate Mining Compact Commission (IMCC), as well as our Federal
partners at the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement
(OSMRE) on implementing the new AML funding. We are confident the
program will be successful in delivering the many benefits Congress
envisions. However, implementation of the IIJA coal AML funding has met
with challenges. While some progress is being made in addressing them,
we believe that Congressional oversight would be helpful to ensuring
the new funding is implemented in the best way possible.
The States and Tribes have primacy under SCMRA and are on the
forefront of implementation of the new IIJA funding--but we have found
OSMRE's willingness to collaborate with and accept the input of the
States and Tribes on IIJA implementation to be lacking. We have
repeatedly and in a variety of ways communicated our concerns to OSMRE
and DOI leadership. We recently held a Roundtable meeting with OSMRE at
DOI headquarters in attempt to improve the working relationship between
the agency and the States and Tribes. This meeting was a promising step
forward and led to a breakthrough for collaboration on a particular
aspect of IIJA implementation. However, the majority of OSMRE's IIJA
implementation plans currently remain unchanged.
The changes OSMRE plans for the AML program are generally
burdensome, reflect misunderstanding of how State and Tribal AML
programs operate, and will ultimately be detrimental to the program and
the AML-impacted communities that rely on it. For example, OSMRE is
requiring entirely separate grant applications for the new IIJA
treasury-sourced funding and pre-existing AML fee-based funding,
despite the fact that the funding is for the same programs and purposes
and could easily be tracked separately without separate applications.
OSMRE reportedly plans to hire roughly 70 new staff to help it
implement its new, unnecessary grant application and reporting
processes. Congress should seek to ``right-size'' OSMRE's budget to
give the agency the personnel it needs to efficiently oversee and
manage the AML program but not allow it to over-manage and smother the
program with bureaucracy.
The State and Tribal AML programs have long been committed to
preventing fraud, waste, and abuse, which is evidenced by the more than
45-year history of the program absent any such issues. The unfortunate
irony is that OSMRE's new requirements will themselves result in waste
by diverting State and Tribal AML staff time and energy toward
unnecessary, disproportionate administrative requirements and away from
their core mission of planning and conducting AML projects. State and
Tribal AML programs have no staff time to spare on non-essential
activities. The bottom-line is that, for the IIJA-funded AML program to
be maximally successful, Congressional oversight would be useful to
encourage OSMRE to listen to the States and Tribes that implement these
programs on the ground and retain as much as possible the existing
processes for the well-established, reasonably efficient, and highly
successful AML program. OSMRE's current plans for its training programs
are another particular concern.
OSMRE's current plans for the training program are not adequate to
provide for the the upcoming influx of new State and Tribal AML
personnel, which is necessary for the State and Tribal AML programs to
utilize the greatly increased funding provided by the IIJA. The demands
of implementing the increased funding will also mean that the training
program will not be able to rely on volunteer trainers from State
agencies as it currently does. We recommend Congress increase NTTP/TIPS
funding and consider report language to encourage OSMRE to hire full-
time, paid instructors for the training program.
OSMRE's current plans for the inventory funding provided by the
IIJA is another cause for concern. IIJA section 40701(g) made $25
million available ``to provide States and Indian Tribes with the
financial and technical assistance necessary for the purpose of making
amendments to the inventory maintained under section 403(C) of
[SMCRA]''. We believe the intent for this funding was that all of it be
delivered to the States and Tribes to supplement their efforts to
visit, catalogue, and assess AML problem areas so that a more complete
inventory of coal AML problems can be achieved. However, we understand
that OSMRE intends to distribute only $8 million to the States and
Tribes and keep the rest for cyber-security related and other upgrades
to the inventory database known as e-AMLIS. We believe that these kinds
of updates to e-AMLIS should be funded out of OSMRE's budget and not
from funding set aside for States and Tribes' inventorying work.
SMCRA Title IV Coal AML We encourage Congress to maintain OSMRE
funding for SMCRA Title IV purposes that serves the agency's role of
supporting State and Tribal AML programs. For example, we recommend
continued funding for technical assistance and applied science. We also
recommend continued funding for the NTTP and TIPS programs, including
moneys for State and Tribal travel. These initiatives provide essential
training, continuing education, and technical assistance for State and
Tribal AML personnel.
We also recommend funding for Watershed Cooperative Agreements be
maintained. This funding serves an important role in facilitating State
and local partnerships, thereby helping to leverage outside sources of
funding and preserve precious reclamation grant funding.
AMLER The States are proud of the projects they have conducted
through the Abandoned Mine Land Economic Revitalization (AMLER) program
(formerly known as the ``pilot program''), which look for creative ways
to turn AML sites into opportunities for economic development. We
request that funding in the amount of $135 million continue. However,
we remain concerned with implementation of the AMLER program, which has
been impeded by the same kind of untenable administrative processes and
lack of respect for state primacy described above.
The AMLER program suffers most of all from the ``vetting'' process,
in which, despite not being anticipated in the law, OSMRE reviews and
approves or denies every potential AMLER project before they have been
fully planned. Poor communication and opaque vetting standards have led
to paralyzing delays and uncertainty and a disproportionate amount of
AML program staff time being devoted to this program. Meanwhile,
OSMRE's review in the vetting process adds little if any value to AMLER
project outcomes. The process involves slow, unproductive back-and-
forth regarding project details and administrative concerns and often
amounts to OSMRE asserting its own opinions on how best to approach
AMLER projects in place of the States and Tribes' better, more locally-
informed expertise. This is not how the AMLER program was meant to
work.
The vetting process has also become increasingly untenable for the
States' project partners, whose cooperation is essential. Local
businesses and community groups find it difficult to navigate the
process or receive reasonable assurance that their projects will
succeed if they do things right. For example, a proposed AMLER project
that would have built affordable housing in an economically depressed
coal community in Virginia was caught up in the OSMRE vetting process
for over 1,200 days with virtually no communication until the project
proponents withdrew due to their understandable frustration.
We ask that Congress conduct oversight of the AMLER program and
consider how to alleviate these problems. Stronger report language
encouraging clearer vetting standards and better deference to State
programs would be welcome. However, we believe report language is not
enough to resolve the issues at hand and that a deeper change is
necessary.
We recommend OSMRE be directed to distribute AMLER funding directly
to eligible State and Tribal Programs for deposit into State and Tribal
accounts within 60 days. This would return the AMLER program to the way
we believe Congress originally intended for it to operate, in which
projects would be chosen and developed by States and Tribes in
consultation with their economic development agencies and local
stakeholders without unnecessary, unproductive involvement by OSMRE
through vetting. The oversight and reporting processes already in place
in the AML program will be more than enough to ensure funding is spent
transparently and in the proper way as Congress envisions. The bottom-
line is that this approach would yield more, faster, and better health,
safety, environmental, and economic benefits from the AMLER program.
conclusion
In closing, the States and Tribes represented by NAAMLP again
express our gratitude to Congress for the recognition of the value of
the AML programs, both coal and hardrock, and the investment in their
future represented by the IIJA. We look forward to beginning this new
chapter for coal AML and are thrilled to be moving toward a national-
scale hardrock AML grants program as well. With Congress' continuing
attentiveness to AML implementation issues, we feel confident that
continued success of the State and Tribal AML programs can be assured.
Statement of Benny McCament, Chief, Division of Mineral Resources
Management, Ohio Department of Natural Resources, on Behalf of the
National Association of Abandoned Mine Land Programs re. the FY 2024
Proposed Budgets for the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and
Enforcement and Energy Community Revitalization Program before the
Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies subcommittee of the Senate
Appropriations Committee--May 24, 2023.
[This statement was submitted by Benny McCament, Chief, Division of
Mineral Resources Management, Ohio Department of Natural Resources.]
______
Prepared Statement of National Association of Clean Water Agencies
The National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA) represents
over 350 public wastewater and stormwater utility members nationwide,
who collectively provide essential clean water services to more than
150 million Americans daily. These utilities serve communities both
large and small, urban and rural, in nearly every State and work around
the clock to protect public health and the environment and support
economic growth.
Providing these essential clean water services comes with a great
deal of complex challenges including reinvesting in aging
infrastructure, managing escalating operation and maintenance costs and
supply chain disruptions, attracting and retaining a skilled workforce,
addressing water quality impairments and regulations such as for per-
and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), emerging contaminants, and
nutrients, and investing in climate resilience and system security.
Public clean water utilities are working each day to overcome these
challenges and provide the highest level of service to the communities
they serve while ensuring rates remain affordable for families and
local businesses.
NACWA greatly appreciates the direct appropriations provided for
clean water by Congress under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs
Act (IIJA). Other programs were authorized but not directly or fully
funded through IIJA itself. It is important that Congress fully
appropriate the clean water programs authorized and reauthorized under
the IIJA to ensure local communities have the complete resources they
need to provide essential public wastewater and stormwater services.
Below are NACWA's FY24 Appropriations requests. As always, NACWA
appreciates the subcommittee's strong engagement and collaboration with
the Association and our members and consideration of these clean water
priorities.
clean water state revolving fund (cwsrf)
The CWSRF is the primary Federal clean water financing tool that
communities and public clean water utilities utilize to help meet their
Clean Water Act (CWA) obligations and infrastructure needs. The CWSRF
has been instrumental to communities' successes in advancing water
quality and public health protection. While the IIJA provided a 5-year
infusion of additional funds into the CWSRF, NACWA knows that it was
clearly the intent of Congress for these funds to supplement--not
supplant--continued robust annual CWSRF appropriations. NACWA supports
annual CWSRF funding at the full IIJA authorized level of $3 billion
for FY24.
Additionally, NACWA members who benefited from Congressionally
Directed Spending greatly appreciate the direct funding provided them
through the FY23 Omnibus Appropriations. But as the Committee considers
Congressionally Directed Spending moving forward, NACWA requests that
funding for these projects not be taken from the CWSRF's annual
appropriation. This will help ensure that communities who secured
Congressionally Directed spending for their projects are funded without
reducing access to the CWSRF by all eligible communities in a State,
and will protect the revolving funds' long-term viability.
Lastly, NACWA wishes to emphasize that innovative technology will
play a vital role in ensuring public clean water utilities are able to
continue efficiently and cost-effectively providing the highest level
of safe, sustainable wastewater and stormwater services for their
residents. NACWA appreciates the work of the subcommittee in the FY23
Omnibus Appropriations package to enhance the use of clean water
technology and looks forward to building on the role of innovative
technology in FY24.
NACWA requests that the Committee include language prioritizing
eligibilities for technological innovation through the CWSRF by
allowing States the ability to use up to five percent of the funds
provided to them for projects that utilize proven or emerging clean
water technology for publicly owned treatment works optimization and to
meet or enhance local public health and environmental objectives.
sewer overflow and stormwater reuse municipal grants
Reducing sewer overflows has been a key driver of financial strain
on many communities and their ratepayers. This is especially clear in
communities under Federal consent decrees, addressing aging
infrastructure, and/or adjusting to population and economic shifts, all
while dealing with the growing impacts of climate change and extreme
weather events.
The Sewer Overflow and Stormwater Reuse Municipal Grants program
provides grant dollars that can assist municipal clean water utilities
and communities in more affordably managing combined sewer overflows,
sanitary sewer overflows, and capturing stormwater flows for water
reuse. NACWA strongly supports this key program which provides
communities with direct grant dollars (as opposed to loans) to make
these critical investments and supports full funding of the
reauthorized level of $280 million in FY24.
low-income water assistance
NACWA has long supported the creation of a Federal low-income water
assistance program to assist households in maintaining access to
affordable and reliable public clean and drinking water services.
Similar Federal programs exist to help low-income households with food
and energy costs, and the time has come for water to be equally
recognized as a costly but vital public health need. A robust and
permanent Federal water assistance program is critical to ensuring
communities and public utilities can provide service to all customers
while also being able to charge the rates necessary to maintain safe,
reliable water and wastewater systems.
NACWA is grateful for the steps Congress has taken to advance this
important need by providing funding for a temporary emergency Low
Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP) administered by the
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), as well as
authorizing the establishment of an EPA low-income water customer
assistance pilot program in the IIJA.
However, HHS' LIHWAP funding is set to expire at the end of 2023,
potentially leaving many struggling families in a position to not be
able to afford their essential water services. Additional resources are
needed to bridge this gap and ensure long-term viability of a permanent
low-income water assistance program, and NACWA requests the Committee
provide $225 million in FY24 for EPA to implement its pilot program.
integrated planning
Integrated Planning (IP), codified into the CWA by Congress in
2018, can assist both large and small communities in managing costs and
sequencing and prioritizing their clean water investments-empowering
communities to maximize environmental benefits and prioritize their
most critical environmental outcomes. The IP approach requires a shift
from business as usual, requiring significant work upfront by
communities, States, and EPA to achieve improved outcomes.
NACWA greatly appreciates the $2 million provided by the Committee
in the FY23 Omnibus Appropriations package to provide EPA with
dedicated resources to help communities develop IP frameworks. The
Agency is working with state regulators to incorporate IP approaches
into permitting and enforcement, a critical step. NACWA requests an
additional $2 million in FY24 appropriations to continue these efforts.
water workforce infrastructure grants program
The public clean water sector can provide stable career paths
across skill levels where workers can take pride in serving their
community. However, the water utility workforce is retiring rapidly,
and public utilities are struggling more than ever to compete with
other sectors for workers.
NACWA strongly supports EPA's Water Workforce Infrastructure
Development Grant Program and requests that FY24 funding is provided
at, or higher than, the FY23 level of $6 million. This funding will
support innovative efforts to develop tomorrow's utility workforce and
ensure long-term stability in the sector.
water infrastructure finance and innovation act (wifia) program
The WIFIA program is a complement to the SRFs, accelerating
significant water infrastructure investments and leveraging limited
Federal resources. NACWA supports funding equal to the FY23
appropriated amount of $75.6 million in FY24. NACWA also supports an
additional $5 million for the SWIFIA program, which allows state
financing authorities that administer the SRFs to apply for WIFIA loans
directly through EPA. This ability of a State to bundle multiple
projects on its approved intended use plan can increase participation
in smaller, rural, and lesser-resourced communities.
clean water infrastructure resilience and sustainability program
NACWA is strongly supportive of this program that was established
under the IIJA to help clean water utilities that are on the front
lines of mitigating the impacts of climate change and wet weather
events. Communities vary with regard to how climate change is impacting
their utility systems and are trying to implement locally-appropriate
solutions that ensure resilience for critical water services. NACWA
requests the fully authorized amount of $25 million in FY24 to
jumpstart this program.
pfas
Clean water utilities are very concerned about the presence of
emerging contaminants in their influent, the impacts these chemicals
have on their treated effluent and biosolids, and the potential costs
that may accrue to public ratepayers. NACWA urges funding for EPA to
advance its work to better develop a scientific understanding of PFAS
in the environment--particularly exposure pathways, toxicity levels,
and treatment technologies--to guide the development of appropriate,
scientific, risk-based standards that protect public health and the
environment. This work can also help advance source control and the
transition from PFAS in products and supply chains to alternative
materials. It is vital that EPA get the science right and determine
actual risk levels from PFAS to human health before moving too quickly
on regulatory requirements that could impose significant costs on
public clean water utilities and the communities they serve.
As a key part of this, NACWA urges Congress to provide dedicated
funding to bolster EPA's Biosolids Program, which regulates the
beneficial reuse of wastewater treatment residuals. EPA's ongoing work
on the problem formulation for biosolids is critical to providing
certainty regarding continued safe residuals management.
NACWA strongly supported the $1 billion in appropriations under the
IIJA for clean water utilities to address emerging contaminants such as
PFAS. However, since these funds are flowing through the CWSRF there
have been challenges to getting these funding plans approved and funds
disbursed quickly. Some of the most immediate costs clean water
utilities are facing is to proactively understand and limit PFAS in
their systems through monitoring, analysis, and implementing
pretreatment programs in conjunction with industries to reduce
concentrated PFAS discharges into public sewer systems. However, these
important steps are not necessarily eligible uses for IIJA funds as
those dollars are coming through the CWSRF, which is focused on capital
investments.
NACWA has been working to identify potential near-term clean water
utility uses of the IIJA PFAS funds that align with the CWSRF
eligibilities and providing EPA and our members with recommendations.
However, Congressional clarity from the Committee that these IIJA CWSRF
emerging contaminant funds can be used for PFAS monitoring and
assessment work would be an important step to ensure the funds are be
put to their best possible use, meeting timely clean water PFAS needs.
Clarifying language will support the work public clean water agencies
are doing to understand and control PFAS before they enter the utility
system or are released to the environment.
additional key programs
NACWA also supports increased funding for EPA's Geographic
Programs, which support critical watershed-based investments; Section
319 Nonpoint Source grants that support watershed solutions to
pollution driven by nonpoint sources, which remain the largest
outstanding driver of water quality impairments; and for EPA's National
Priorities Water Research grant program which supports work on timely
national water research priorities.
[This statement was submitted by NACWA Director of Legislative
Affairs, Jason Isakovic, jisakovic@nacwa.org.]
______
Prepared Statement of 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 FY
2024 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 (CAA), which
are part of the State and Tribal Assistance Grant (STAG) program. NACAA
has four recommendations with respect to FY 2024 appropriations. The
association urges Congress to 1) provide $500 million in grants to
State and local air agencies, which is an increase of $251 million over
the FY 2023 appropriation of $249 million and $100 million above the
Administration's request; 2) provide flexibility to State and local air
quality agencies to use Federal grants to address the highest priority
programs in their areas; 3) retain grants for monitoring fine
particulate matter (PM2.5) under the authority of Section 103 of the
Clean Air Act, rather than shifting it to Section 105; and 4) provide
grant increases under authorities of the CAA that do not require
matching funds (e.g., Section 103) as much as possible to allow
agencies that do not have sufficient matching funds to still obtain the
additional grants.
NACAA is the National, non-partisan, non-profit association of air
pollution control agencies in 40 States, including 117 local air
agencies, the District of Columbia and five territories. NACAA exists
to advance the equitable protection of clean air and public health for
all, and to improve the capability and effectiveness of State and local
air agencies. These agencies have the ``primary responsibility'' under
the CAA for implementing our Nation's clean air programs. As such, they
conduct an array of critical activities intended to improve and
maintain air quality and protect public health.
air pollution poses serious public health problems
Overall, very few problems this subcommittee addresses pose greater
threats to public health than air pollution and climate change. Air
quality programs under the CAA have greatly reduced air pollution
while, at the same time, our country has continued to experience strong
economic growth.\1\ However, air pollution continues to threaten public
health and welfare, especially in overburdened environmental justice
communities that disproportionately suffer adverse human health and
environmental impacts.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ https://www.epa.gov/air-trends/air-quality-national-summary
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Every year tens of thousands of Americans die prematurely from air
pollution and millions are exposed to unhealthful levels of air
contaminants, resulting in cancer, damage to respiratory,
cardiovascular, neurological and reproductive systems and other health
problems.\2\ In 2021, approximately 30 percent of the U.S. population--
about 102 million people--lived in areas that exceeded one or more
Federal health-based air pollution standards.\3\ Additionally, EPA's
most recent hazardous air pollution data show that ``millions of people
live in areas where air toxics pose potential health concerns.'' \4\
Environmental justice communities are particularly at risk.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ https://www.epa.gov/clean-air-act-overview/air-pollution-
current-and-future-challenges
\3\ https://www.epa.gov/air-trends/air-quality-national-summary
\4\ https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2023-02/
AirToxScreen_2018%20TSD.pdf (page 113)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
With respect to climate change, there is much work to be done to
address increasing greenhouse gas emissions that result in more and
worse wildfires, longer ozone seasons and upward-trending global
temperatures. State and local governments have led the way by
instituting some of our Nation's strongest climate change programs,
making meaningful progress towards reducing greenhouse gases. It is
essential that these and other programs be well funded.
state and local air agencies continue to be underfunded
Under the CAA, State and local agencies have the primary
responsibility for implementing the Federal clean air program. This
massive undertaking calls for monitoring, issuing permits, planning,
developing emission-reduction strategies, enforcing rules, educating
the public, hiring and training staff and conducting many other complex
activities. Increasingly, these agencies are tasked with new and high-
priority responsibilities to reduce air pollution, address the
disproportionate harm facing overburdened communities and tackle
climate change. Unfortunately, this simply cannot be accomplished with
current levels of funding.
State and local air agencies have been underfunded for many years.
Federal grants to State and local air quality agencies (under Sections
103 and 105 of the CAA) were not much higher in FY 2023 than they were
20 years ago, representing a substantial decrease in purchasing power
when factoring in inflation. During this time, air quality issues have
become more and more complicated and costly. Moreover, while Federal
grants were originally intended to cover 60 percent of the cost of
implementing the CAA, they cover less than a quarter of that today,
with the remainder coming largely from State and local programs
themselves.
funds from recent legislation and permit fees are not the answer
On August 12, 2022, Congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act
(IRA),\5\ which includes essential and welcome funding for State and
local air agencies to address climate change in particular. However,
the IRA funds are not a substitute for the increases NACAA recommends,
the latter of which are intended to make up for the historical deficits
in State and local grant funding and bring the appropriations to the
level they should be for these agencies to carry out the ongoing
responsibilities that existed prior to the IRA and will continue into
the future. It is essential that many State and local agencies hire new
staff to carry out their traditional responsibilities and new programs
to address more complex clean air and climate change programs. To cover
the continuing costs of increased staffing, agencies require ongoing
and permanent additional resources, such as those we are recommending
here. The limited-time IRA funds will not replace the need for such
increases. Finally, the successful implementation of the IRA will
likely increase the responsibilities typically borne by State and local
air agencies' core programs, but for which the measure did not allocate
specific additional funding.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\5\ https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/5376/
text
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Similarly, funds from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act
\6\ are not the solution, as most are directed to water and
infrastructure projects. While worthwhile, they do not address the day-
to-day work of State and local air agencies and much of those funds are
tied to specific new work, rather than existing responsibilities, which
does not address the current funding deficit.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\6\ https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/3684/
text
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Finally, the permit fee program under Title V of the Clean Air Act
is not the solution to State and local air agencies' financial
problems. While it provides essential revenues, it has significant
limitations. First, Title V fees only support the operating permit
program and must not be used for other activities (i.e., Federal grants
and permit fees must not be mingled). Second, those fees apply only to
major sources and do not cover the significant costs for non-major
sources (e.g., permits, monitoring, enforcement, compliance
assistance). Third, the current fees already are substantial and there
would be considerable resistance to any increases. Fourth, and perhaps
most significantly, fee revenue has decreased drastically due to
reductions in emissions on which they are based (i.e., success in
controlling emissions results in diminished fee revenue).
These two significant pieces of legislation and the Title V fee
program, while important to State and local agencies, are not the
solutions to the funding shortfall. Traditional Federal grants must be
expanded to meet the significant resource requirements.
how would additional funding be used?
Many agencies report inadequate funding for the basic
responsibilities identified above, which are the foundations of their
programs. The recommended increases would allow for the continuation of
these essential activities. In addition, increased Federal grants would
support:
--advancing new programs and expanding existing efforts that protect
all Americans, especially vulnerable communities that continue
to bear the greatest pollution burdens;
--strengthening pollution detection and visualization efforts through
monitors, sensors and airborne- and mobile-detection equipment
for a variety of pollutants;
--supporting small business programs and emission reductions from
smaller sources, including inspections, compliance assistance
and technical support;
--addressing climate change with efforts including planning,
monitoring, permitting and enforcement; energy-transition
assistance for communities dependent on fossil fuels; and
adaptation and resilience for communities that face extreme
weather and climate impacts;
--empowering State and local agencies to take on the additional air
quality responsibilities in new Federal clean energy and clean
transportation programs; and
--tackling the ever-increasing threats posed by wildfires, including
mitigating adverse health impacts and communicating with the
public.
agencies need flexibility in the use of grants
Air pollution problems are not the same everywhere and each State
or local agency must adapt its approach to fit its unique circumstances
and the issues facing its community. A one-size-fits-all strategy for
grants applied nationally may not recognize the need to focus resources
effectively. Therefore, NACAA recommends that Congress provide State
and local air agencies with the flexibility to use grant funds on the
highest priority programs in their areas.
allow agencies that cannot match to receive grants
Section 105 of the Clean Air Act requires grant recipients to
provide matching funds, while Section 103 does not. Providing certain
grants under Section 103 authority, therefore, is very helpful for
those State or local agencies that are unable to raise additional
matching funds.
In the past, EPA has proposed shifting the PM2.5 monitoring grant
program from Section 103 authority to Section 105. NACAA has asked
Congress in previous years to retain PM2.5 monitoring grants under
Section 103 so that no agencies would be forced to refuse critical
monitoring grants due to their inability to afford the required match.
We are very grateful that Congress has been agreeable to this request
in the past and we ask that these funds once again remain under Section
103 authority in FY 2024.
Concerns about agencies' abilities to match grant funds go beyond
just the PM2.5 monitoring grant program, however. While some agencies
have adequate matching funds, others do not. Often, these are the same
agencies in dire need of the additional grants we are seeking.
Therefore, we request that Congress provide as much of the grant
increase as possible under authorities that do not require matching
funds (e.g., Section 103), so that no agency would be ineligible for
the additional grants, even if they do not have sufficient matching
funds.
conclusion
Federal grants to State and local air quality agencies are a
relatively small piece of the National budget. Yet the return on
investment is among the highest when considering the benefits of
protecting public health and the environment against the serious
threats posed by air pollution and climate change.
State and local air quality agencies' efforts to protect and
improve air quality are critically important both for public health and
a sound economy. NACAA recommends that in FY 2024 Congress 1) provide
$500 million in grants to State and local air agencies, which is an
increase of $251 million over the FY 2023 appropriation of $249 million
and $100 million above the Administration's request; 2) provide
flexibility to State and local air quality agencies to use Federal
grants to address the highest priority programs in their areas; 3)
retain grants for monitoring PM2.5 under the authority of Section 103
of the Clean Air Act, rather than shifting it to Section 105; and 4)
provide grant increases under authorities of the CAA that do not
require matching funds (e.g., Section 103) as much as possible to allow
agencies that do not have sufficient matching funds to still obtain the
additional grants.
Thank you very much for this opportunity to provide testimony. If
you require additional information, please contact Miles Keogh
(mkeogh@4cleanair.org) or Mary Sullivan Douglas
(mdouglas@4cleanair.org) of NACAA.
[This statement was submitted by Miles Keogh and Mary Sullivan
Douglas of NACAA.]
______
Prepared Statement of the National Association of State Energy
Officials
Chairman Merkley, Ranking Member Murkowski, 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 Directors and their Offices. NASEO submits
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 $50 million in FY'24, including
specific report language directing that the funds be utilized only for
the ENERGY STAR program. The program received $54 million a decade ago
and is now down to $38 million. 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.
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 virtually every State,
including Oregon and Alaska. The States and the public utilize ENERGY
STAR because it is seen as unbiased and delivers cost-saving benefits
to businesses, consumers and State and local governments.
The ENERGY STAR program is focused on voluntary efforts that reduce
energy waste, 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 closely with EPA and approximately 40 States are ENERGY STAR
Partners. With very limited funding, EPA's ENERGY STAR program
coordinates with the State Energy Offices to give consumers and
businesses the opportunity and technical assistance tools to make
better energy decisions and catalyzes product efficiency improvements
by manufacturers without regulation or mandates. The program is
voluntary.
ENERGY STAR focuses on energy-efficient products as well as
buildings (e.g., residential, commercial, and industrial). Over 300
million ENERGY STAR qualified products were sold in 2019 alone, not
including another 300 million ENERGY STAR certified light bulbs. The
ENERGY STAR label is recognized across the United States. Approximately
90 percent of households recognize the ENERGY STAR label and a majority
of surveyed U.S. households reported having purchased an ENERGY STAR
product. The manufacturing, installation, design, wholesale
distribution, and provision of professional services related to ENERGY
STAR products employed almost 827,000 American workers in 2019. It
makes the work of the State Energy Offices much easier, by engaging 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. We are also encouraged by the ENERGY STAR
Home Upgrades Program.
Marketplace barriers are also eradicated through the ENERGY STAR
program's collaborative approach to consumer education. State Energy
Offices are working with EPA to promote ENERGY STAR products, ENERGY
STAR for new construction, ENERGY STAR for public housing, etc. Another
ENERGY STAR success is in the manufactured housing sector. Some States
and utilities offer modest rebates for ENERGY STAR manufactured homes
in order to deliver both energy cost savings to homeowners and lower
overall electric grid operation costs for all customers.
In 2022, millions of consumers and thousands of voluntary partners,
including manufacturers, builders, businesses, communities, and
utilities, tapped the value of ENERGY STAR and achieved impressive
financial and environmental results.
More than 840 utilities, State, and local governments and non-
profits utilize ENERGY STAR in their energy efficiency programs, as do
1,800 manufacturers.
The State Energy Offices are very encouraged by progress made at
EPA, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy, and in our
States to promote programs to make schools more energy-efficient while
improving indoor air quality and comfort. In fact, there are over 150
ENERGY STAR-rated schools in States from Arizona to Maine. In addition,
many States' private sector partners voluntarily utilize ENERGY STAR to
promote energy efficiency and lower operating costs.
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 which has been used voluntarily in approximately 50%
of the commercial buildings in the United States. Portfolio Manager is
used to measure, track, assess, and report energy and water
consumption.
Additionally, the industrial sector embraces ENERGY STAR at job-
creating companies such as GM, Eastman Chemical, Nissan, Raytheon, and
Boeing. At the close of 2021, more than 750 U.S. industrial sites had
committed to the ENERGY STAR Challenge for Industry.
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.
For example, in Oregon, the State is focused on decarbonization
efforts, and ENERGY STAR is a useful tool to promote sustained
investments in energy efficiency. In Alaska, the State has worked with
partners to promote the Village Energy Efficiency Program, and ENERGY
STAR has been critical.
Moreover, Oregon and Alaska have significant ENERGY STAR activities
underway:
--Oregon is home to more than 180 businesses and organizations
participating in U.S. EPA's ENERGY STAR program: 9
manufacturers of ENERGY STAR certified products; and 10
companies supporting independent certification of ENERGY STAR
products and homes 49 companies building ENERGY STAR certified
homes. ENERGY STAR Partner Activity in Oregon includes 1.9
million customers served by ENERGY STAR utility partners in
2020; 3,607 buildings (255 million square feet) benchmarked
using EPA's ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager; 26,522 homes earned
the ENERGY STAR to-date; 437 buildings earned the ENERGY STAR
to-date, including 107 schools, 3 hotels, 6 hospitals, 142
office buildings and 5 industrial plants.
--Alaska is home to more than 20 businesses and organizations
participating in U.S. EPA's ENERGY STAR program; has 153
thousand customers being served by ENERGY STAR utility
partners; 437 buildings that have been benchmarked using EPA's
ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager; 11,891 homes have earned the
ENERGY STAR label; 31 schools, and 4 hospitals.
conclusion
The ENERGY STAR program saves consumers billions of dollars every
year. The payback and job creation benefits are enormous. NASEO
supports robust program funding of at least $50 million in FY'24.
Funding for the ENERGY STAR program is justified. It is a solid public-
private relationship that leverages resources, time and talent to
produce tangible results by saving energy and money and, in light of
Administrator Michael Regan's commitment to environmental justice, can
provide immense benefits to high-need and underserved communities.
NASEO endorses these activities as well as the constructive
partnerships that the State Energy Offices have with EPA to
cooperatively implement a variety of critical national programs without
mandates.
Contact: David Terry, NASEO President (dterry@naseo.org); and Jeff
Genzer, NASEO Counsel (jcg@dwgp.com).
[This statement was submitted by David Terry, President.]
______
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 House Committee
on Appropriations, subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related
Agencies regarding our fiscal year (FY) 2024 appropriations
recommendations. Our priorities focus primarily on appropriations for
the USDA Forest Service (Forest Service) State, Private, and Tribal
Forestry (SP&TF) programs, as well as the Research and Development
(R&D) Forest Inventory and Analysis Program.
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
SP&TF mission area provides vital support to deliver these services,
which contribute to the socioeconomic and environmental health of rural
and urban areas. The comprehensive process for delivering these
services is articulated in each State's Forest Resource Assessment and
Strategy (Forest Action Plan), authorized in the 2008 Farm Bill and
continued in the 2018 Farm Bill. State Forest Action Plans-completed in
2010, updated in 2015, and comprehensively revised in 2020 by all 59
States, U.S. territories, freely associated States, and the District of
Columbia-offer practical and comprehensive roadmaps for investing
federal, State, local, and private resources where they can be most
effective in achieving national conservation goals. SP&TF programs
provide a significant return on the Federal investment by leveraging
the boots-on-the-ground and financial resources of State agencies to
deliver assistance to forest landowners, Tribes, and communities. As
Federal and State governments continue to face financial challenges,
state foresters, in partnership with the SP&TF mission area of the
Forest Service, are best positioned to maximize the effectiveness of
available resources by focusing work on priority forest issues where
resources are needed most.
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA/BIL) has provided
game changing support in the form of flexible funding for State Forest
Action Plan implementation-allowing States to address the highest
priority forest management activities within their state, as identified
and developed collaboratively with partners and stakeholders.
Additionally, the IIJA/BIL provided critical support for the State Fire
Assistance and Volunteer Fire Assistance Programs. We look forward to
working with you to develop pathways for these historic investments to
continue beyond FY2026.
Your support of the following programs is critical to helping
States address the many and varied challenges outlined in Forest Action
Plans.
state fire assistance (sfa) and volunteer fire assistance (vfa)
More people living in fire-prone landscapes, high fuel loads,
drought, and deteriorating forest health have led most state foresters
to identify wildland fire as a priority issue in their Forest Action
Plans. We now grapple with increasingly expensive and complex wildland
fires--fires that frequently threaten human life and property. In 2022,
roughly 69,000 wildland fires burned more than 7.5 million acres.\1\
State and local agencies respond to the majority of wildfires across
the country; in 2022 State and local agencies were responsible for
responding to 57,492 (83%) of the 69,988 reported wildfires across all
jurisdictions.\2\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ National Interagency Fire Center, Historical Wildland Fire
Summaries, Last accessed March 14, 2023 at https://www.nifc.gov/fire-
information/statistics/wildfires
\2\ Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
SFC and VFC are 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. SFC 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 minimal as possible.
Attacking fires when they are small is the key to reducing fatalities,
injuries, loss of homes, and cutting Federal fire-fighting costs. The
need for increased funding for fire suppression on Federal lands has
broad support. The need to increase fire suppression funding for state
and private lands, where roughly 80 percent of wildfires occur, and
where many Federal fires begin, is just as urgent. NASF supports
funding the State Fire Capacity Program at $79 million, a $3M increase
from the FY 2023 enacted level. and Volunteer Fire Capacity Program at
$22 million in FY 2024, a $1M increase from the FY 2023 enacted level.
forest pests and invasive plants
Also among the greatest threats identified in the Forest Action
Plans are native and non-native pests and diseases which 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.
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. An estimated 81 million acres
at risk of attack by insects and disease.\3\ These extensive areas of
high insect or disease mortality can set the stage for large-scale,
catastrophic wildfire.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\3\ Tkacz, Bory, et al. 2014. NIDRM 2012 Report Files: Executive
Summary. 2013-2027 National Insect and Disease Forest Risk Assessment.
Last accessed on March, 5, 2019 at: http://www.fs.fed.us/foresthealth/
technology/pdfs/2012_RiskMap_Exec_summary.pdf
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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. 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 damaging pests and pathogens. NASF supports funding
the Forest Health-Cooperative Lands Program at $39.43 million in FY
2024, a $6.43M increase from the FY 2023 enacted level.
assisting landowners and maintaining healthy forests--forest
stewardship program and forest legacy program
Actively managed healthy forest landscapes are a vital part of
rural America, providing an estimated 900,000 jobs, clean water, wood
products, and other essential services to millions of Americans. Over
50% of U.S. forestland is privately owned and supports an average of
eight jobs per 1,000 acres.\4\ 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 (FSP) and the Forest Legacy Program
(FLP) are key tools identified in the Forest Action Plans for keeping
working forests intact and providing a full suite of benefits to
society. With the Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA) signed into law,
the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) will receive permanent
annual funding at the full authorized level, nearly doubling historical
appropriations for the LWCF. FLP should receive significantly increased
funding levels commensurate with the increased funding provided to the
LWCF by the GAOA.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\4\ Forest2Market. The Economic Impact of Privately-Owned Forests.
2009.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
FSP is the most extensive family forest-owner assistance program in
the country and is delivered in partnership with state forestry
agencies, cooperative extension services, certified foresters,
conservation districts, and other partners. FSP equips private forest
landowners with the unbiased, science-based information they need to
sustainably manage their forests now and into the future, helping to
keep forests as forests. In addition to delivering technical assistance
directly to forestland owners, the Forest Stewardship Program often
serves as a gateway to other landowner cost-share assistance
programming, like the USDA Environmental Quality Incentives Program,
State programs, and partner programs, that can help landowners keep
their forests working and intact. In FY2022, the Forest Stewardship
Program added 1.68 million acres of new or revised plans for a total of
over 20 million acres currently enrolled in the program. Forest
landowners with management plans are almost three times more likely to
meet their management objectives compared to those without management
plans. The FSP leads landowners to reach their management objectives
while tying them to the State's Forest Action Plan. Increased Federal
funding for FSP will allow state forestry agencies to ramp up outreach
efforts and provide additional technical assistance to landowners to
ensure that private forestland acres are maintained. Forest Stewardship
plans provide guidance for family forest landowners to keep their land
healthy and productive and often serve as management roadmaps for
several generations.
Following congressional direction, NASF has worked closely with the
Forest Service to modernize the funding allocation formula to State
agencies for FSP, focused on improving program delivery with greater
emphasis on performance-based outcomes. Under the new allocation
formula, priority areas and priority resource concerns have been
designated in each State and greater emphasis has been placed on
providing technical assistance and implementing land management plans
in those priority areas. NASF supports funding for the Forest
Stewardship Program at $22 million, a $9.5M increase from the FY 2023
enacted level and the Forest Legacy Program at $128 million in FY 2024,
a $50M increase from the FY 2023 enacted level.
urban and community forest management challenges
Urban forests are essential for achieving energy savings, improved
air quality, neighborhood stability, aesthetic value, reduced noise,
and improved quality of life in municipalities and communities around
the country. Urban trees and forests provide a wide array of social,
economic, and environmental benefits to people living in urban areas;
today, more than 83 percent of the Nation's population lives in urban
areas. 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).
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. In FY 2022, the U&CF program delivered technical,
financial, educational, and research assistance to 7,447 communities
across all 50 States, U.S. territories, three nations in compacts of
free association with the U.S., and the District of Columbia. NASF
supports funding the Urban and Community Forestry Program at $42
million in FY 2024, a $2M increase from the FY 2023 enacted level.
importance of forest inventory data in monitoring forest issues
The Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program, managed by Forest
Service, Forest and Rangeland Research, is the only comprehensive
inventory system in the United States for assessing the health and
sustainability of the Nation's forests across all ownerships. FIA
provides essential data related to forest species composition, forest
growth rates, and forest health data, and it delivers baseline
inventory estimates used in Forest Action Plans. Further, this data is
used by academics, researchers, industry, and others to understand
forest trends and support investments in forest products facilities
that provide jobs and products to society. The program provides
unbiased information used in monitoring of wildlife habitat, wildfire
risk, insect and disease threats, invasive species spread, and response
to priorities identified in the Forest Action Plans.
As the key partner in FIA program delivery via State contribution
of matching funds, state foresters look forward to continued work with
the Forest Service to improve efficiency in delivery of the program to
meet the needs of the diverse user groups for FIA data. This will
ensure that, at a minimum, the historical level of base program
delivery is accomplished, which should include funding the collection
of data on a 7-year cycle in the east and 10-year cycle in the west.
NASF appreciates Congress supporting this program with a significant
increase in FY 2023, and encourages ongoing support of the Forest
Inventory and Analysis Program at $32.4 million in FY 2024, a $200K
increase from the FY 2023 enacted level. Furthermore, we continue our
request that you to work with the Forest Service to establish a budget
line item for FIA for salaries and expenses.
landscape scale restoration (lsr)
The Landscape Scale Restoration (LSR) program is an important way
that States address critical forest priorities across the landscape, in
collaboration with the Forest Service and other partners. LSR projects
focus on the most critical priorities identified in each State's Forest
Action Plan and on achieving resource objectives outlined in the 2018
Farm Bill. The program prioritizes funding projects that reduce the
risk of uncharacteristic wildfires, improve fish and wildlife habitats,
maintain or improve water quality and watershed function, mitigate
invasive species, insect infestation and disease, improve important
forest ecosystems, and measure ecological and economic benefits
including air and soil quality and productivity. As a result, LSR
contributes to achieving results across the landscape and to making
meaningful local, regional, and national impacts. NASF supports funding
the Landscape Scale Restoration Program at $20 million in FY 2024, a
$3M increase from the FY 2023 enacted level.
NASF appreciates the opportunity to share our FY 2024
appropriations recommendations for the Forest Service with the
subcommittee.
[This statement was submitted by Kacey KC, Nevada State Forester,
and President, NASF.]
______
Prepared Statement of National Association of Tribal Historic
Preservation Officers
Chair Merkley, Ranking Member Murkowski, and Members of the
subcommittee, I appreciate this opportunity to present the National
Association of Tribal Historic Preservation Officers' (NATHPO)'s
recommendations for Fiscal Year 2024 appropriations. My name is Valerie
Grussing and I am the Executive Director.
We greatly appreciated the Committee's decision to include $23
million in the Tribal line item of the Historic Preservation Fund (HPF)
in the Fiscal Year 2023 Interior Appropriations bill, which matched the
Biden Administration's request. And we were beyond thrilled that the
FY23 Omnibus bill followed through on this commitment! What this means
for THPOs: for the first time in the history of the Federal Tribal
Historic Preservation Program, funding at this level provides each one
an average of $108,000 per THPO, which funds one whole staff member per
Tribe. Following decades of underfunding, we and our members have been
ecstatic at this increase and its real impacts on THPOs' ability to
protect Tribal Nations' cultural resources and sacred places.
It is imperative that the subcommittee continue to close the gap by
adequately funding the Tribal line item of the HPF. We urge the
subcommittee to provide funding for Fiscal Year 2024 that continues to
make up for more than two decades of failures to adequately support the
Federal THPO program. Specifically, we urge the subcommittee to support
these funding levels:
1. National Park Service, Historic Preservation Fund, Tribal line item
($34 million)
2. National Park Service, National NAGPRA Program:
a. Exclusively for NAGPRA Grants ($10 million)
b. Program administration ($1 million for Program Use)
3. Bureau of Indian Affairs--Create line items and support the
following divisions:
a. Cultural Resource compliance at the 12 Regional BIA Offices ($8
million);
b. Central Office cultural resource efforts throughout the bureau
($800,000);
c. NAGPRA compliance work ($1.5 million);
d. To fight ARPA crimes on Indian reservations ($850,000);
e. Museum property and curation ($400,000).
4. Smithsonian Institution: For repatriation activities, including
Review Committee and repatriation office ($3 million)
5. Bureau of Land Management: Tribal Liaison Program, NAGRPA compliance
($3 million)
What are Tribal Historic Preservation Officers (THPOs)? THPOs are
an exercise of Tribal sovereignty, appointed by federally recognized
Tribal governments that have an agreement with the Department of the
Interior to assume the Federal compliance role of the State Historic
Preservation Officers (SHPO), per the National Historic Preservation
Act (NHPA). Tribal historic preservation plans are grounded in self-
determination, traditional knowledge, and cultural values, and may
involve projects to improve Indian schools, roads, health clinics, and
housing. THPOs are the first responders when a sacred site is
threatened or when Native ancestors are disturbed by development. THPOs
are often responsible for their Tribe's oral history programs,
operating museums and cultural centers, leading revitalization of
Native traditions and languages, and many more related functions.
What is NATHPO NATHPO is a national non-profit association of THPOs
protecting culturally important places that perpetuate Native identity,
resilience, and cultural endurance.
1. Historic Preservation Fund (HPF), administered by NPS--Tribal line
item ($34 million)
As of March 1, 2023, there were 215 National Park Service (NPS)-
recognized THPOs. Each THPO represents an affirmative step by an Indian
Tribe to assume the responsibilities of the SHPO for their respective
Tribal lands, as authorized by Congress in the 1992 amendments to the
National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA). Collectively, they exercise
responsibilities over a land base exceeding 50 million acres in 30
States. The HPF is the sole source of Federal funding for THPOs. We
recommend $34 million to carry out the requirements of the NHPA. This
would provide the 215 federally recognized THPOs an average of $158,139
each to run their programs. Funding THPOs and staff creates jobs,
generates economic development, and spurs community revitalization. It
also facilitates required environmental and historic review processes,
including for energy and infrastructure permitting. Tribes don't want
to stop this development--they need it more than anyone. But they also
need to reap the benefits rather than just continue to incur the costs.
If these review processes are to proceed, THPOs must be able to do the
required work.
What is at stake? As the number of Indian Tribes with THPO programs
increases, the amount of HPF funding appropriated to THPOs must catch
up. Native American cultural properties on millions of acres of Tribal
lands are at risk. For the past several years, each THPO program has
been asked to conduct important Federal compliance work with fewer
financial resources. In the first year of congressional funding support
for THPOs (FY 1996), the original 12 THPOs each received an average of
$80,000, while in FY 2022, 208 THPOs received an average of $76,923.
This funding was inadequate for THPOs to handle their current
workloads, which have increased exponentially with the enactment of the
Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill. Additionally, the number of Tribes with
a THPO continues to grow; around 10 Tribes successfully establish a
THPO program each year. The epidemics we see rampant in Indian Country
are the symptoms of historical trauma--of people systematically cut off
from their families, languages, practices, and lands. Reconnecting
Native peoples to their cultural heritage, traditions, and places has
the power to help heal deep generational wounds. Treating the cause:
that is the work THPOs do. To continue this work in Indian Country, it
is essential that THPO programs receive increased funding to meet the
increasing need. The chart below demonstrates the program growth and
funding need.
Additional HPF programs administered by the National Park Service:
NATHPO supports the request of the National Trust for Historic
Preservation that Congress provide a total FY 2024 HPF appropriation of
$225 million. Within that funding we recommend:
--$70 million for State Historic Preservation Officers (SHPOs);
--$34 million for Tribal Historic Preservation Officers (THPOs);
--$28 million for competitive grants related to African American
Civil Rights;
--$7 million for the History of Equal Rights Grants program;
--$13 million for grants to Historically Black Colleges and
Universities;
--$40 million for Save America's Treasures grants;
--$17 million for Paul Bruhn Historic Revitalization grants;
--$5 million for grants related to communities underrepresented on
the National Register of Historic Places and National Historic
Landmarks;
--$5 million for grants related to communities underrepresented on
the National Register of Historic Places and National Historic
Landmarks;
--$11 million for the Semiquincentennial grant program to preserve
historical sites commemorating the 250th Anniversary of the
United States of America.
We also recommend the Committee encourage the NPS to work with
States and Tribes to improve what has become a burdensome apportionment
process so that SHPOs and THPOs can more readily and efficiently access
funding Congress has allocated for their work.
2. National Park Service, National NAGPRA Program
The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA)
provides for the disposition of Native American cultural items \1\
removed from Federal or Tribal lands, or in the possession or control
of museums or Federal agencies, to lineal descendants, Indian Tribes,
or Native Hawaiian organizations based on descent or cultural or
geographic affiliation. NAGPRA prohibits trafficking of Native American
cultural items and created a grants program exclusively for Indian
Tribes, Native Hawaiian organizations, and public museums.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Cultural items include human remains, funerary or sacred
objects, and objects of cultural patrimony.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
NAGPRA Grants Program:
The National Park Service is currently revising the regulations
implementing NAGPRA. These revisions will dramatically increase the
burden on Indian Tribes, Native Hawaiian organizations, and museums. We
request that the NAGPRA grants program be funded at $10 million to be
used exclusively for NAGPRA Grants to Indian Tribes, Native Hawaiian
organizations, and museums. We also request that you direct the
Government Accountability Office to evaluate the effectiveness of this
grant program.
Administration of National NAGPRA Program:
$1 million, additionally, for NAGPRA program administration,
including the publication of Federal Register notices, grant
administration, civil penalty investigations, and Review Committee
costs. We also request that you direct the Government Accountability
Office to evaluate the effectiveness of the National NAGPRA Program's
implementation of civil penalty investigations.
3. Bureau of Indian Affairs--Create line items and support the
following divisions
The BIA has federally mandated responsibilities to work with Indian
Tribes and comply with the NHPA, the National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA), NAGPRA, and the Archaeological Resources Protection Act (ARPA).
Currently the BIA does not have any budget line items devoted to
complying with these Federal laws. Funds are not only needed for the
BIA to comply with their internal development efforts, such as roads
and forestry, but also to conduct project reviews of outside
development projects, such as oil and gas development. ARPA crime on
Indian reservations continues to be a major problem, as looters and
traffickers continue to steal valuable cultural resources from Tribal
and Federal lands. Until recently, the BIA did not have any special
agents or law enforcement forces to combat this uniquely destructive
crime in Indian Country. There are now four agents nationwide and we
urge the Committee to enable two additional agents nationwide plus two
in Alaska.
NATHPO recommends the BIA create line items and support the
following divisions:
a. Cultural Resource compliance at the 12 Regional BIA Offices ($8
million);
b. Central Office cultural resource efforts throughout the bureau
($800,000);
c. NAGPRA compliance work ($1.5 million);
d. To fight ARPA crimes on Indian reservations ($850,000);
e. Museum property and curation ($400,000).
4. Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of the American Indian and
the National Museum of Natural History Repatriation Programs
NATHPO requests that the Smithsonian Institution receive $3 million
specifically directed to expediting its repatriation activities.
5. Bureau of Land Management: Tribal Liaisons and 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. We appreciate the Committee's commitment to ongoing
oversight of the Department's reorganization. NATHPO and many other
organizations are profoundly concerned with the impact of the
reorganization and loss of staff within the Cultural Resources
Division. The cultural resources program also supports NHPA Section 106
review of land-use proposals, Section 110 inventory and protection of
cultural resources, compliance with NAGPRA, and consultation with
Tribes and Alaska Native Governments. We are very appreciative of the
Committee's continuing support for the agency to enhance its National
Cultural Resources Information Management System (NCRIMS).
Additionally, responsive to recommendations in the 2010 GAO report
on NAGPRA, BLM stated at that time that nine new positions and $22
million were needed to improve compliance. Neither of these has
happened, and now the current proposed NAGPRA regulation changes are
anticipated to present further demands that BLM (and other agencies as
well as Tribes) are not equipped to meet. It is incumbent upon this
Committee to provide commensurate resources to assist with the critical
and overdue task of bringing ancestors home. We recommend providing
specific funding of $3 million above enacted, specifically to continue
building the vital Tribal Liaison Program, including the Headquarters
agency lead and 12 State Office positions, and staffing related to
NAGPRA compliance.
Thank you for considering our testimony. I would be pleased to
answer any questions you have.
[This statement was submitted by Valerie J. Grussing, PhD,
Executive Director.]
______
Prepared Statement of the National Endowment for the Arts
Chairman Merkley, Ranking Member Murkowski, and members of the
subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to provide testimony in
support of Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 funding for the National Endowment for
the Arts (NEA) on behalf of The Creative Coalition. We respectfully
request the Committee provide $211 million for the NEA in the upcoming
fiscal year, building on the continued investment made by this
Committee in Fiscal Year 2023 to support the arts economy of the United
States.
Founded in 1989 by prominent members of the entertainment
community, The Creative Coalition dedicates itself to educating,
mobilizing, and activating its members on the necessity of access to
the arts for ALL Americans and the benefit of the arts to our society
and economy.
Art is a form of creative expression encompassing various
disciplines, such as painting, sculpture, music, dance, theatre,
literature, and film. Each of these aspects is an integral part of our
society and the economy, reflecting the cultural, social, and economic
values held. Year after year, the question arises about the importance
of funding for the arts. While some continue to argue it is an
unnecessary use of resources, The Creative Coalition sincerely
appreciates the Committee's and Congress' recognition that Federal
funding for the arts is a valuable investment, as illustrated by the
historic level of funding provided to the NEA in the last fiscal year.
Our testimony today reiterates the benefits of Federal funding for the
arts, as well as arts education, and why both are prudent investments
for society and the economy.
Funding for the arts in education has numerous benefits, both for
students and society as a whole. First and foremost, art education
fosters creativity and imagination, two critical skills essential for
success in any field. Art classes encourage students to think outside
the box, experiment with different materials, and develop their own
unique style of expression. This creativity can spill over into other
subjects, such as science, technology, engineering, and mathematics
(STEM)\1\, helping students approach problems and challenges in
innovative ways.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Huser, Joyce et al (2020). STEAM and the Role of the Arts in
STEM. New York: State Education Agency Directors of Arts Education
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In addition, art education can have a significant impact on
academic achievement. Studies have shown that students who participate
in arts programs tend to have higher grades, better attendance records,
and are more likely to graduate from high school.\2\ This is because
art education engages students in learning and helps them develop
critical thinking skills. For example, a student learning to draw a
still life must analyze the shapes, proportions, and colors of the
objects in front of them. This kind of analysis and problem-solving
applies to other subjects such as science, math, and social studies.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ Thomas. M. K., Singh, P. & Klopfenstein, K. (2015). Arts
education and the high school dropout problem. Journal of Cultural
Economics, 39 (4): 327-339
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Arts education also positively impacts the mental health and well-
being of students. According to the CDC's Adolescent Behaviors and
Experiences Survey, more than 40 percent of high school students
surveyed expressed feelings of sadness and or hopelessness for weeks at
a time.\3\ Addressing the mental health crisis is a priority for all
Americans, especially in the wake of the pandemic that so profoundly
impacted our collective mental health. Arts education provides
opportunities for students to improve cognitive development, self-
esteem, and relationship skills to enhance their lives.\4\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\3\ Jones SE, Ethier KA, Hertz M, et al. Mental Health,
Suicidality, and Connectedness Among High School Students During the
COVID-19 Pandemic--Adolescent Behaviors and Experiences Survey, United
States, January-June 2021. MMWR Suppl 2022;71(Suppl-3):16-21. DOI:
http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.su7103a3external icon
\4\ Goessling, K., & Doyle, C. (2009). Thru the Lenz: Participatory
Action Research, Photography, and Creative Process in an Urban High
School. Journal of Creativity in Mental Health, 4(4), 343-365.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Moreover, funding for the arts in education can promote cultural
understanding and tolerance. Art classes expose students to different
styles, cultures, and traditions, allowing them to appreciate and
respect diverse perspectives. This appreciation of diversity is
essential in a globalized and changing world, where understanding
different cultures and perspectives is becoming increasingly important
to professional and personal development.
Funding for the arts is not only a good investment in education but
also in the economy. The arts sector contributes significantly to the
economy in terms of job creation and revenue generation. According to
the Department of Commerce, the arts and culture sector generated $1.02
trillion in economic activity in 2021, supporting 4.9 million jobs.\5\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\5\ Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA): Arts and Cultural Production
Satellite Account, U.S. and States, 2021 (March 15, 2023). https://
www.bea.gov/news/2023/arts-and-cultural-production-satellite-account-
us-and-States-2021
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Funding for the arts can also help revitalize local economies,
which is another critical contribution as we recover from the pandemic.
Arts and cultural institutions such as museums, galleries, and theatres
attract tourists and visitors, stimulating the local economy. These
visitors spend money on transportation, lodging, food, and other goods
and services, creating jobs and generating tax revenue. For example,
the New Orleans French Quarter Festival attracted over 500,000
visitors, generating a total economic impact of $190 million annually
for the local economy in 2019.\6\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\6\ French Quarter Festival Facts (2019): https://
frenchquarterfest.org/festival-facts/
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In addition, funding for the arts can spur innovation and
creativity in other industries. Many technological advancements have
been made possible because of the intersection between art and
technology. For instance, computer graphics and animation were
initially developed for the film industry but are now widely used in
video games, advertising, and virtual reality. This kind of cross-
disciplinary innovation can create new products, services, and
industries, leading to job creation and economic growth.
Despite the notable benefits of funding for the arts and arts
education, some argue it is a waste of limited Federal resources. They
argue art is a luxury society cannot afford, particularly in times of
economic hardship, and that private funding can sustain the arts.
However, this argument ignores the fact that art is not just a form of
entertainment but an essential component of human expression and
cultural heritage. It also ignores the mission of the NEA, which is to
ensure that even the most impoverished Americans experience the arts.
The NEA funds projects that are unlikely to benefit from private
funding because of their location.
Funding for the arts, and thereby the NEA, is not just about
supporting artists and performers, but also about supporting the
communities and institutions that promote art. Funding for the arts can
help maintain and improve museums, galleries, theatres, and other
sites, which is necessary for local revenue and economic growth. In
President Biden's FY24 budget request, 40 percent of grant funding for
promoting the arts is dedicated to NEA's State and Regional Partnership
Program.\7\ Furthermore, in 2021, nearly 20 percent of NEA projects
occurred in rural and small communities, impacting Americans from all
walks of life.\8\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\7\ NEA: Budget Request for Fiscal Year 2024 (March 13, 2023)
https://www.arts.gov/sites/default/files/NEA-FY24-Congressional-Budget-
Request.pdf
\8\ NEA: NEA Quick Facts (August 9, 2022) https://www.arts.gov/
sites/default/files/NEA-Quick-Facts-8.9.22-two-pager.pdf
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
NEA funding is also directed to Americans and organizations in
great need of mental health and financial support. Thirty-five percent
of Arts Endowment grants take place in high-poverty neighborhoods, and
35 percent of grants reach low-income audiences or underserved
populations such as people with disabilities, people in institutions,
and veterans. NEA funding supports military families through its
Creative Forces program, a collaboration with the Departments of
Defense (DoD) and Veterans Affairs (VA) to serve the unique needs of
military patients and Veterans diagnosed with traumatic brain injury
(TBI) and psychological health conditions such as post-traumatic stress
disorder (PTSD). During visits to Walter Reed and Fort Belvoir over the
years, members of The Creative Coalition have witnessed firsthand the
healing power of the arts and art therapy. This funding is a necessary
instrument to better the lives of our heroes through the arts.
Thank you for this opportunity to submit this testimony, and thank
you to Congress for demonstrating its support for the arts in America.
The Creative Coalition again urges the Committee to continue to support
all Americans' access to the arts by providing at least $211 million
for the National Endowment of Arts for Fiscal Year 2024.
[This statement was submitted by Robin Bronk, CEO, The Creative
Coalition and Tim Daly, President, The Creative Coalition.]
______
Prepared Statement of the National Endowment for the Arts
Thank you for providing the opportunity to submit outside witness
testimony as you consider investments in vital Federal agencies,
including the National Endowment for the Arts (Arts Endowment). The
Western States Arts Federation (WESTAF), a regional partner of the Arts
Endowment, writes to affirm the integral impact the Endowment plays in
communities throughout the West. Through innovative programming,
advocacy, research, technology, and grantmaking, WESTAF encourages the
creative advancement and preservation of the arts in the West, serving
the States and jurisdictions of Alaska, American Samoa, Arizona,
California, Colorado, Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands,
Guam, Hawai'i, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah,
Washington, and Wyoming. We express gratitude for Congressional support
in funding the National Endowment for the Arts and the National
Endowment for the Humanities in the FY 2023 Interior Appropriations
bill at the historic level of $207 million to broaden opportunities for
western Americans to realize the cultural, educational, and economic
benefits of the arts and to advance creativity and innovation in
communities across the United States. We know that arts and creativity
strengthen our Nation. Arts and creativity make us stronger-as
individuals, families, communities, States and as a country. They are a
backbone of innovation, prosperity, and thriving people and places.
Public investment in arts and creativity is a high return investment
that benefits every American in every city, town and rural community
nationwide. As such, we urge you to increase the Arts Endowment's FY
2024 budget to at least $211 million.
Because of the leadership of Congress, this increase will mean
expanded investment in arts and culture across the West driven by
decisions made at the community level, indeed the structure of NEA and
NEH investments are focused on the local control model. We also urge
Congress to continue bipartisan support in substantially increasing
National Endowment for the Arts and National Endowment for the
Humanities funding in the FY 2024 Interior Appropriations Bill in order
to broaden opportunities for Western Americans to engage in the
cultural, educational, and economic benefits of the arts and to advance
creativity and innovation in communities across the United States. We
further request you to support the arts sector by allowing the Arts
Endowment to continue to provide more and larger grants, and offer
general operating support funding to be provided within the scope of
its grantmaking to arts and cultural organizations. Finally, we ask
that Congress maintain parity between the National Endowment for the
Arts and National Endowment for the Humanities budgets.
We deeply understand the importance of the Arts Endowment's
leadership in the West and would like to point out the following:
1. The Arts Endowment is a significant funder and a positive force for
arts development in the West, a fast growing and exceptionally
diverse region that is home to nearly a quarter of the U.S.
population.
2. Arts Endowment investment reaches every congressional district in
the West and throughout the United States. Its support is a
critical component in ensuring that arts funding reaches every
community in the U.S. Its support increases the grant making
capability of state arts agencies.
3. The federal-state partnership is vital to the WESTAF region with
nine States and jurisdictions receiving over a third of agency
funds from the National Endowment for the Arts. Investment is
particularly critical to the most rural States and
jurisdictions within the region.
4. Every dollar of Federal funding invested in the National Endowment
for the Arts leverages $9 of additional funding nationally.
Investment into state arts agencies in our region alone
provides a nearly 10:1 return on investment based on 2023 data
(see table below). In addition to leveraging significant State
and local government dollars, the Arts Endowment is also
leading to increased investment of private foundation funds
beneficial to arts activity and economic development.
Arts Endowment Contribution to State Arts Agency Revenue in the West in FY23
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
% of Total Funding
State Total Agency Arts Endowment From Arts
Revenue ($) funds ($) Endowment
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alaska.............................................. $2,791,414 $770,707 27.6%
American Samoa...................................... $481,180 $327,680 68.1%
Arizona............................................. $7,449,832 $1,008,332 13.5%
California.......................................... $58,273,600 $1,397,600 2.4%
Colorado............................................ $2,921,849 $867,500 29.7%
Guam................................................ $947,800 $336,400 35.5%
Hawai'i............................................. $8,082,489 $805,300 10.0%
Idaho............................................... $1,795,822 $889,160 49.5%
Montana............................................. $2,069,937 $943,700 45.6%
Nevada.............................................. $2,996,692 $828,600 27.7%
New Mexico.......................................... $2,320,400 $827,400 35.7%
Northern Marianas................................... $533,634 $309,700 58.0%
Oregon.............................................. $12,912,833 $901,800 7.0%
Utah................................................ $11,178,800 $857,400 7.7%
Washington.......................................... $14,190,957 $983,800 6.9%
Wyoming............................................. $1,768,683 $797,183 45.1%
WESTAF region....................................... $130,715,922 $12,852,262 29.4%
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: National Assembly of State Arts Agencies, 2023
Examples of the Arts Endowment's support in the West include grants
for local arts agencies in Juneau and Fairbanks, Alaska to regrant to
interior communities and direct grants to organizations such as the
Sitka Fine Arts Camp. Arts Endowment programming also includes Creative
Forces(r) in partnership with the U.S. Departments of Defense and
Veterans Affairs to improve the health, well-being, and quality of life
for military and veteran populations exposed to trauma. The Arts
Endowment invests in projects that represent all communities in the
West, but the agency's support has been particularly important to
engaging rural communities, indigenous communities, young people, and
the full range of communities and cultures that make up the West in
terms of race and ethnicity. The Endowment's long standing focus on the
underserved, prompted in part by Congressional leadership, inspires the
work of state arts agencies across the West and the work of WESTAF.
In the West, jobs in creative occupations, creative industries
earnings, and cultural nonprofit revenues have been on an upward growth
trajectory for a decade. The National Endowment for the Arts acts as
the flag bearer for this vital industry in our Nation that in the West
alone grew by 85% between 2011 and 2020 (Creative Vitality Suite,
2022).
creative industries earnings growth in the west, 2011-2021
Arts and creativity are an American economic engine. According to
the BEA, in 2021 Arts and cultural economic activity accounted for 4.4
percent of gross domestic product (GDP), or $1.02 trillion. They
provide people with the foundation for creativity, equipping an
innovative workforce, generating new ideas in every field, and keeping
our Nation globally competitive. Arts and creativity strengthen
economic health by creating jobs in multiple industries, driving
tourism, and providing workforce development opportunities for young
people. Empirical analysis conducted by Douglas Noonan at Indiana
University studied the role of the arts in economic recovery following
the Great Recession revealed that the creative sector grew more quickly
than the general economy. Unlike conventional industrial supply chains,
the arts often grow independently from other sectors, which helps to
diversify state economies. States with varied arts ecosystems posted
bigger economic gains after the Great Recession than their less-
diversified neighbors. Creativity stimulates economic development while
bolstering civic engagement, making the arts a powerful catalyst for
building economic strength.
Since 2020, the arts and cultural sector has faced tremendous
challenges due to the in-person nature of the sector's work. Due to
inflation, rising salaries, increased demand for services post-
pandemic, and receding pandemic-related support, experts are predicting
a fiscal cliff in the sector. Investing in the creative economy will
allow industries to get back on track and will reap rewards for the
region and the Nation as a whole.
Public funding for arts and creativity improves the lives of all
Americans, equips an innovative workforce, and keeps us competitive
globally. It is a great example of good management in government that
fuels public-private partnerships, leverages considerable additional
public and private investment far surpassing the required Federal match
of 1:1, and puts tax dollars and decision-making authority into State
and local hands. We encourage the Senate Interior Appropriations
subcommittee to work with other Congressional leaders to build a
specific path to index funding for the National Endowment for the Arts
and National Endowment for the Humanities at $1 per capita. Currently
funding is at about $0.62 cents per capita. A more robust agency budget
would move us toward ensuring that the arts contribute to the present
and future strength, pride, cohesion and economic success of every
community in the United States.
Sincerely,
Teniqua Broughton
Chair
Christian Gaines
Executive Director
David Holland
Deputy Director
Endorsed by:
Regional Organization
Western Arts Advocacy Network
Co-Chairs: Andrew Schneider, Jessi Wasson
State-Wide Organizations
Arizona Citizens for the Arts
Inspire Washington
Colorado Business Committee for the Arts
Creative New Mexico
Utah Cultural Alliance
[This statement was submitted by David Holland, Deputy Director,
Western States Arts Federation in support of the National Endowment for
the Arts.]
______
Prepared Statement of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation
Thank you for the opportunity to submit testimony regarding fiscal
year FY 2024 funding and thank you for your years of steadfast support
of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation's (NFWF) natural resource
conservation work. Consistent with its mission, NFWF works to sustain,
restore and enhance the Nation's fish, wildlife, plants and habitats
for current and future generations. Many NFWF conservation outcomes
also enhance nature-based infrastructure that protects communities
across the Nation from the impacts of flooding, drought, wildfire, and
other natural threats.
NFWF will match FY 2024 funding provided to the Foundation at least
dollar for dollar with non-federal funds to increase conservation
benefits across the country through local partnerships. NFWF will
accomplish this by applying 100% of the appropriated funding to on-the-
ground conservation projects with ZERO administrative cost to the
Federal Government as required by law.
We believe that NFWF is a sound investment because of our proven
track record of leveraging Federal funding with private contributions
to maximize the impact Federal resources can achieve. We appreciate the
subcommittee's past support and respectfully request your approval of
funding at the following levels:
--$3.0 million provided through the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM)
Management of Lands and Resources appropriation and restoration
of legislative bill text directing BLM to provide this funding
for NFWF to administer in support of BLM's wildlife
conservation efforts \1\;
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Prior to the FY18 spending bill, the appropriations language
required BLM to provide NFWF the full amount of appropriated funds. The
FY18 appropriation bill changed the law by making the provision of
funds to NFWF the discretion of the Director of the BLM and removed the
language from the bill. This created questions about BLM's legal
authority to provide funding to NFWF and has hindered the two
organizations' ability to partner in the most effective manner. We
request that the FY17 bill language be restored in the FY24 bill.
--$7.032 million provided through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service's Resource Management appropriation and inclusion of
this legislative text in the legislation as opposed to the bill
report in past years \2\ (same funding level as FY 2023); and
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ In the past, the FWS appropriation for NFWF was included in the
report accompanying the appropriations bill. We respectfully request
that it be included in bill language. This will make NFWF's direct
appropriations in the Interior, Environment and Related Agencies Bill
consistent across all agencies in the bill and expedite the permitting
of conservation projects. The exclusion of this provision from the bill
text increases the time needed by FWS to approve permitting of
conservation projects and significantly delays the implementation of
urgent conservation efforts.
--$3.0 million with the standard bill language through the Forest
Service's National Forest System appropriation (same funding
level as FY 2023).
bureau of land management
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has partnered with NFWF for
many years to further conservation efforts on public lands throughout
the United States. In the past 5-years (FY 2018--FY 2022), NFWF
leveraged $10.8M in BLM appropriated funds across 102 projects into a
total of $63.3 million in on-the-ground conservation impact. NFWF
continues to work closely with the BLM, other Department of the
Interior agencies, and 11 western States to achieve significant
conservation gains.
For example, the Foundation has administered a program since 2019
that conserves habitat and migration corridors to maintain healthy
populations of migratory animals. To date, the program has awarded
$11.7 million across 52 projects, leveraging $57.5 million in matching
contributions to generate a total conservation impact of more than
$69.2 million. The projects collectively will protect 111,060 acres of
private land from fragmentation through voluntary conservation
easements; restore 68,000 acres of public, private and Tribal land
through efforts like invasive weed and conifer removal treatments;
improve management on 695,500 acres of public, private and Tribal land
through efforts like grazing and wildlife management plans; remove or
improve 670 miles of fencing to be more wildlife friendly, reducing
direct mortality and increasing landscape connectivity; and reconnect
307 miles of migration corridors for big game species.
The committee's support for continuing funding for NFWF from BLM
appropriations would help continue this work and help drive other
conservation outcomes. For FY22, NFWF worked with BLM's Wildlife
Division to determine allocations and priorities for four NFWF program
landscapes, including Northern Great Plains, RESTORE Colorado, Pecos
Watershed Conservation Initiative, and Southwest Rivers Headwaters.
These programs focus on outcomes including perennial grassland
management through the Northern Great Plains Program; wet meadow and
sagebrush restoration through the Rocky Mountain Rangeland Program;
watershed and associated upland restoration to benefit declining
species through the Pecos, and emerging Gila River Initiatives. Other
BLM partnership areas of interest include pollinator recovery through
the Monarch Butterfly and Pollinators Conservation Fund and desert
conservation through a new Mojave Desert Tortoise Initiative. Each of
these programs provides opportunities to leverage BLM resources with
corporate and foundation private sector partners.
Requested restoration of FY17 BLM Bill Language for FY 2024:
``; of which $3,000,000 shall be available in fiscal
year 2024 subject to a match by at least an equal
amount by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation for
cost shared projects supporting conservation of Bureau
lands; and such funds shall be advanced to the
Foundation as a lump-sum without regard to when
expenses are incurred.''
united states fish and wildlife service
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has been a
trusted partner since NFWF was created by Congress in 1984. In the past
5-years (FY 2018--FY 2022), NFWF leveraged $34.2M in FWS appropriated
funds across 344 projects into a total of $185.2 million in on-the-
ground conservation impact. The funds appropriated to NFWF serve as a
magnet to attract funds from the private sector to create public-
private partnerships critical to restoring fish, wildlife, eco-system
restoration, improving aquatic passage, addressing climate change, and
increasing natural processes for immediate carbon sequestration.
In the past, the FWS appropriation for NFWF has existed in the
report accompanying the appropriations bill. However, we respectfully
request that it be included in bill language. This will make NFWF's
direct appropriations in the Interior, Environment and Related Agencies
Bill consistent across all agencies in the bill and expedite the
permitting of conservation projects. The exclusion of the FWS
appropriation for NFWF from bill text increases the time needed to
approve permitting of conservation projects and significantly delays
the implementation of urgent conservation efforts.
Requested FWS Bill Language for FY 2024:
``; of which $7,032,000 shall be available in fiscal
year 2024 subject to a match by at least an equal
amount by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation for
cost-shared projects supporting conservation of
wildlife and other natural resources; and such funds
shall be advanced to the Foundation as a lump-sum grant
without regard to when expenses are incurred.''
Additionally, because NFWF works with FWS on discretionary
cooperative agreements for conservation programs, we respectfully
support the highest possible funding levels for the Delaware River
Basin Conservation Act, Klamath Basin Restoration, Chesapeake WILD
program, efforts to combat white-nosed syndrome in bats, and Recovery
Challenge matching grants within the FWS, Resource Management
appropriation.
united states forest service
Congress has appropriated approximately $3 million in annual
funding to NFWF for partnerships with the United States Forest Service
(USFS) since FY 1998. In the past 5-years (FY 2018--FY 2022), NFWF
leveraged $15.0M in USFS appropriated funds across 198 projects into a
total of $110.5 million in on-the-ground conservation impact. This
partnership between NFWF and USFS has proven extremely successful
providing a 7:1 return on investment for Federal USFS dollars. We
respectfully request that the Committee continue supporting cost
effective partnership.
Retain US Forest Service Language for FY 2023 as it has been in
past years:
``Pursuant to section 2(b)(2) of Public Law 98-244, up
to $3,000,000 of the funds available to the Forest
Service may be advanced to the National Fish and
Wildlife Foundation in a lump sum to aid cost-share
conservation projects, without regard to when expenses
are incurred, on or benefitting National Forest System
lands or related to Forest Service programs: Provided,
That such funds shall be matched on at least a one-for-
one basis by the Foundation or its sub-recipients:
Provided further, That the Foundation may transfer
Federal funds to a Federal or non-Federal recipient for
a project at the same rate that the recipient has
obtained the non-Federal matching funds.''
environmental protection agency
NFWF has partnered with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
since FY 1997 and since FY 2000 has worked with EPA to make grants to
States and other grantees within the Geographic Programs appropriation.
Therefore, we respectfully support the highest possible funding levels
for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, Chesapeake Bay, Gulf of
Mexico, and Long Island Sound within the Environmental Protection
Agency Geographic Programs. We also respectfully ask that the long-
standing report language that delineates the amount of funding for
nutrient and sediment removal grants and small watershed grants within
the Chesapeake Bay program be continued (Approved FY 2023 Senate
language is below).
Chesapeake Bay.-The Committee recommends $91,000,000
for the Chesapeake Bay program. The Committee directs
the Agency to allocate this funding and the Fiscal Year
2023 supplemental appropriation of $47,600,000 provided
in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (Public
Law 117-58) to support the three successful grant
programs that drive conservation dollars to State and
local partners as follows: at least $20,500,000 for
nutrient and sediment removal grants; at least
$25,500,000 for small watershed grants to control
polluted runoff from urban, suburban, and agricultural
lands; and at least $22,708,000 for State-based
implementation in the most effective basins.
An example of a project made possible with EPA Geographic Programs
funding is the Nutrient and Sediment Reduction through Healthy Soils
and Regenerative Agriculture project. NFWF awarded $764,000 which was
matched by the grantee with another $764,800 to a total conservation
impact of $1,528,000. The project will use partnerships to catalyze
nutrient and sediment reduction through healthy soils and regenerative
agriculture in Maryland. Project will combine entry-level educational
opportunities, advanced peer-to-peer learning via knowledge
cooperatives; financial incentives for practice implementation; state-
specific economic case studies; and vouchers for technical assistance
to support the adoption of soil health management systems (SHMS) and
drive demand for soil health resources.
nfwf background
NFWF was established by Congress in 1984 to catalyze private
investments to conserve fish, wildlife and their habitats. NFWF raises
private funds not only to leverage appropriated dollars, but also to
support the associated management costs of implementing the
appropriated funds. Since its creation by Congress in 1984, NFWF and
its partners have funded more than 21,600 projects and supported more
than 6,000 grantee organizations. The Foundation's investments since
its founding have leveraged matching contributions from grantees and
other partners to generate a total conservation impact of $8.1 billion.
NFWF remains fully transparent and is required by law to notify
Congress 30 days in advance of every grant that exceeds $10,000 in
Federal funds. Details of all projects awarded during FY 2022 can be
found in NFWF's annual investment guide and all NFWF's grants can be
found on our website: https://www.nfwf.org/grants/grants-library
In FY 2022, NFWF was audited by an independent accounting firm and
issued an unqualified report with no material weaknesses identified and
no deficiencies identified. This is the FOURTEENTH consecutive year of
unqualified audits. In addition, NFWF has continually qualified as a
low-risk auditee under OMB guidelines.
Chairman Merkley, Ranking Member Murkowski and members of the
subcommittee, we greatly appreciate your continued support and stand
ready to answer any questions you or your staff might have.
[This statement was submitted by Will Heaton, Director, External
Relations, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.]
______
Prepared Statement of the National Humanities Alliance
On behalf of the National Humanities Alliance (NHA), with our more
than 260 member organizations, I write to express strong support for
the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH).
overview
For FY 2024, we respectfully urge the subcommittee to consider no
less than $211 million for the National Endowment for the Humanities.
While we recognize the difficult choices that are before this
subcommittee, we believe that expanding the capacity of the NEH is
essential at this moment in the Nation's history, when the humanities
are so needed to 1) build strong communities and foster civic dialogue;
2) preserve cultural heritage, including Indigenous languages; 3)
cultivate knowledge of world histories and cultures; and 4) shore up
local tourism economies and community institutions.
The NEH has a clear track record of supporting programs that work
towards these ends, and additional capacity is needed to ensure that
these crucial goals are met around the country. The NEH does not have
the capacity to fund many of the highly rated proposals it receives-in
FY 2020, 1,605 applications with high ratings were not funded,
amounting to a total of $184,789,512.
building strong communities and fostering civic dialogue
NEH funding builds strong, civically-engaged communities through
its support of cultural organizations. The agency's grantmaking helps
establish and sustain robust community institutions, providing
opportunities for learning, empathy, and understanding. The
International Storytelling Center in Jonesborough, Tennessee, regularly
hosts programs that promote discussion and dialogue. Ninety-three
percent of respondents to an NHA survey indicated that they were
``motivated to listen to the stories of people whose background was
different from their own'' after participating in a program featuring
the stories of Black Appalachians. Meanwhile, Dialogues on the
Experiences of War grants strengthen communities by offering veterans
the chance to reflect upon their experiences while building bonds with
each other and with civilians. Ninety-nine percent of respondents
across eight programs reported a desire to ``keep in touch with some of
the people [they] met during the program.'' Programs have been held
throughout the U.S. and are tailored to local audiences. In California,
San Francisco's Chinese Historical Society of America is hosting a
program on Chinese American Veteran experiences, while Cal Poly
Pomona's program featured California voices more broadly. In Maryland,
Bowie State University's program brings together ROTC cadets, student
Veterans, and Veterans from the broader community, while a 2017 program
hosted by the University of Maryland was designed for women Veterans.
NEH funding has an especially outsized role in small and rural
communities, where it can build and support the infrastructure and
programs that are vital to strong communities. Foundational support
from the NEH has enabled Bend, Oregon's High Desert Museum to create
engaging exhibitions and programs that showcase the region's diverse
history. Recently, NEH funding has helped the museum strengthen
relationships with and support for local Indigenous populations. In
Matewan, West Virginia, NEH funding has proven transformative for the
grassroots Mine Wars Museum, enabling it to hire staff, engage with
partners and stakeholders, and create events for the local community
that explore the region's significance to U.S labor history and the
struggle to unionize the southern coalfields. And in Red Cloud,
Nebraska, NEH funding helped the Willa Cather Foundation expand its
facilities and programming, having a robust impact on the rural town of
1,000 as both an employer and as an educational and cultural center
that hosts theatrical adaptations on Cather's work, children's film
screenings, and an annual conference.
preserving cultural heritage, including indigenous languages
Our cultural heritage lives in many forms, from presidential
letters and great works of art to community archives and endangered
languages. It is also vulnerable and requires protection from natural
and man-made disasters as well as decay over time. NEH funding is
indispensable to ensuring that our cultural heritage is both accessible
now and preserved for future generations. The NEH funds documentary
editions that make the papers of significant Americans accessible-from
The Papers of John Adams and Civil War Governors of Kentucky to New
Mexico's Amador Family Correspondence, 1856-1949. In a partnership with
the Library of Congress, the agency's Chronicling America program is
digitizing the historic newspapers of every State. And the NEH helps
small and mid-size institutions invest in their own preservation needs.
Institutions such as Dothan, Alabama's Wiregrass Museum of Art and the
Stillwater Public Library in Oklahoma have used NEH funds to help
ensure their collections are protected for the future.
Funding for documenting traditional cultures and endangered
languages supports Indigenous people throughout the United States.
Through the Dynamic Language Infrastructure-Documenting Endangered
Languages (DEL) program, a partnership with the National Science
Foundation, NEH funding has preserved and made accessible languages
spoken by Indigenous communities, having a profound impact on their way
of life. In North Dakota, DEL grants have supported Sitting Bull
College's Standing Rock Lakota/Dakota Language Project, including funds
for a Master-Apprentice Language Learning Program and to expand an
accessible digital language archive. NEH support for the Coeur d'Alene
Online Language Resource Center helped create a single, searchable
repository for a wide range of language resources, from dictionaries to
archival recordings of personal narratives and coyote stories. The NEH
additionally supports the documentation and revitalization of
Indigenous American languages through its regular grant programs.
cultivating knowledge of world history and cultures
Established in the midst of the Cold War, the NEH has always
provided funding to support research and programs that help Americans
understand and engage with timely world issues. From scholarly
exchanges with the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe and language
institutes in the 1970s to international research support for American
scholars and professional development for schoolteachers today, NEH
funding supports efforts to understand other nations' languages,
cultures, and geopolitical contexts. NEH funding has supported the
research and publication of books such as Treason in Transit: Soviet
Defectors and the Borders of the Cold War World (2022), by Erik R.
Scott, and Iron Curtain: The Crushing of Eastern Europe, 1944-1956
(2013)- among many other works of history that shed light on current
events. NEH-supported English translations of Ukrainian literature,
including Words for War: New Poems from Ukraine (2017) and The White
Chalk of Days: The Contemporary Ukrainian Literature Series Anthology
(2017) bring Ukrainian literature to broader American audiences.
NEH funding also provides high-quality education on world affairs
for school teachers and college educators. Using the Holocaust as a
case study, Kean University's 2021 two-week seminar ``The Search for
Humanity after Atrocity'' helped higher education faculty integrate
atrocity studies into their research and curricula. A 2016 program for
K-12 educators, hosted by Ferris State University, explored U.S.-
Russian/Soviet relations from 1776 to the present. Moreover, from 2013-
2018, a series of NEH grants helped community colleges throughout the
U.S. integrate the study of world cultures into their curricula. These
programs included content on Latin America, Asia, Russia, Eastern
Europe, and the Middle East, among other topics.
building local tourism economies and shoring up community institutions
NEH funding catalyzes growth in local tourism economies and shores
up local institutions so that they can continue serving their
communities. A series of grants to the Dubuque County Historical
Society, in Iowa, helped the organization transform from a small,
regional museum into a world-class institution dedicated to the
Mississippi River and its history-one that contributes more than $10.5
million per year to the local economy. NEH support has also proven
crucial to Thomas Jefferson's Monticello, which is an important
economic driver in its Virginia region: 50 percent of the site's
400,000 annual visitors stay in a hotel for at least one night,
contributing no less than $13.1 million to the local economy.
Humanities organizations play a crucial role in their communities,
and NEH funding helps ensure their financial stability and longevity.
From offering COVID relief funding to New Hampshire's Currier Museum of
Art, to supporting Appalshop following historic flooding in Kentucky,
NEH funding helps cultural organizations survive times of crisis. NEH
funding also offers crucial financial support necessary for
accomplishing the more mundane tasks that private funders often
overlook, such as replacing the roof on Libby, Montana's Heritage
Museum or upgrading HVAC systems and improving ADA compliance at
Detroit's Opera House.
[This statement was submitted by Stephen Kidd, Executive Director,
National Humanities Alliance.]
______
Prepared Statement of the National Indian Health Board
Chair Merkley, Ranking Member Murkowski, and the distinguished
members of this subcommittee, on behalf of the National Indian Health
Board (NIHB) and the 574 sovereign federally recognized American Indian
and Alaska Native (AI/AN) Tribal nations we serve, thank you for the
opportunity to provide testimony on the Indian Health Service (IHS).
Tribal nations have a unique legal and political relationship with
the United States. Through its acquisition of land and resources, the
United States formed a fiduciary relationship with Tribal nations
whereby it has recognized a trust relationship to safeguard Tribal
rights, lands, and resources.\1\ In fulfillment of this Tribal trust
relationship, the United States ``charged itself with moral obligations
of the highest responsibility and trust'' toward Tribal nations.\2\
Congress reaffirmed its duty to provide for Indian health care when it
enacted the Indian Health Care Improvement Act (25 U.S.C. Sec. 1602),
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 to provide
all resources necessary to effect that policy. Unfortunately, those
responsibilities and legal obligations remain unfulfilled and Indian
Country remains in a health crisis.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Worcester v. Georgia, 31 U.S. 515 (1832).
\2\ Seminole Nation v. United States, 316 U.S. 286, 296-97 (1942).
\3\ U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for
Disease Prevention and Control, Provisional Life Expectancy Estimates
for 2021 (hereinafter, ``Provisional Life Expectancy Estimates''),
Report No. 23, August 2022, available at: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/
data/vsrr/vsrr023.pdf, accessed on: October 13, 2022 (total for All
races and origins minus non-Hispanic American Indian or Alaska Native).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
the health status of indian country
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) now reports
that life expectancy for AI/ANs has declined by nearly 7 years, and
that our average life expectancy is now only 65 years-equivalent to the
Nationwide average in 1944.\3\ With a life expectancy 10.9 years less
than the National average,\4\ Native Americans die at higher rates that
those of other Americans from chronic liver disease and cirrhosis,
diabetes mellitus, unintentional injuries, assault/homicide,
intentional self-harm/suicide, and chronic lower respiratory
disease.\5\ Native American women are 4.5 times more likely than non-
Hispanic white women to die during pregnancy.\6\ The CDC also found
that, between 2005 and 2014, every racial group experienced a decline
in infant mortality except for Native Americans \7\ who had infant
mortality rates 1.6 times higher than non-Hispanic whites and 1.3 times
the National average.\8\ Native Americans are also more likely than
people in other U.S. demographics to experience trauma, physical abuse,
neglect, and post-traumatic stress disorder.\9\ Additionally, Native
Americans experience some of the highest rates of psychological and
behavioral health issues as compared to other racial and ethnic groups
\10\ which have been attributed, in part, to the ongoing impacts of
historical trauma.\11\ The chronic underfunding of the IHS is one
significant contributing factor to this disparities.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\4\ Id.
\5\ See, U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, Broken Promises:
Continuing Federal Funding Shortfall for Native Americans (hereinafter
``Broken Promises''), 65, available at: https://www.usccr.gov/files/
pubs/2018/12-20-Broken-Promises.pdf, accessed on: November 20, 2022.
\6\ Broken Promises at 65.
\7\ Broken Promises at 65.
\8\ Broken Promises at 65.
\9\ Broken Promises at 79-84.
\10\ Walls, et al., Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services
Preferences among American Indian People of the Northern Midwest,
COMMUNITY MENTAL HEALTH J., Vol. 42, No. 6 (2006) at 522, https://
link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007%2Fs10597-006-9054-7.pdf, accessed
on: November 20, 2022.
\11\ Kathleen Brown-Rice, Examining the Theory of Historical Trauma
Among Native Americans, PROF'L COUNS, available at: http://
tpcjournal.nbcc.org/examining-the-theory-of-historical-trauma-among-
native-americans/, accessed on: November 22, 2022.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
the resources provided to the indian health service
Although annual appropriations for IHS have increased significantly
since 2009, after adjusting for inflation and population growth, the
IHS budget has remained static in recent decades.\12\ In December 2018,
the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights' Broken Promises report found that
Tribal nations face an ongoing funding crisis that is a direct result
of the United States' chronic underfunding of Indian health care for
decades, which contributes to vast health disparities between Native
Americans and other U.S. population groups.\13\ We saw this crisis
manifest in the worst way possible during the COVID-19 pandemic, and
now we see it in the data.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\12\ Broken Promises at 67.
\13\ Broken Promises at 65.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Supplemental appropriations enacted during the pandemic were
historic investments for Indian Country. It cannot be lost to history
that Congress' swift action saved lives, democracy saved lives, but it
must also be clear that the IHS is so disproportionately underfunded by
Congress that a historic investment in response to a global virus still
provided less resources than the estimate of annual obligations for IHS
services--an amount collaboratively developed each year by the IHS
National Tribal Budget Formulation Workgroup.
According to IHS data from April 2022, actual IHS spending per user
remains less than half of Medicaid spending per enrollee, less than
half of Veterans medical spending per patient, and less than one-third
of Medicare spending per beneficiary--even after including 3rd party
revenue received by IHS.\14\ The Federal Disparity Index Benchmark,
which assumes IHS users are provided services similar to those
available to the U.S. population, recommends more than twice the
investment per user than IHS receives \15\--an estimate that excludes
approximately two-thirds of the population that could be served by an
appropriately funded IHS.\16\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\14\ Indian Health Service, email correspondence to the National
Tribal Budget Formulation Workgroup, attachment ``2021 IHS Expenditures
Per Capital and other Federal Care Expenditures Per Capita--4-27-
2022,'' dated February 14, 2023.
\15\ Id.
\16\ The Indian Health Service estimates the population served as
of January 2020 at 2.56 million; The U.S. Census Bureau estimates the
AI/AN population as of July 2021 at 7.2 million.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Congress provides more than $1 trillion in resources for Federal
health care each year, it just disproportionately under funds IHS. When
comparing FY 2023 omnibus spending for IHS to other Department of
Health and Human Services (HHS) spending, only 0.66 percent of the
total funding is provided to IHS. While this analysis of HHS spending
includes spending from other Appropriations subcommittee jurisdictions,
it underscores the purposeful inequity that continues to result in AI/
ANs with some of the worst health statistics. Surely, this cannot be
the highest possible health status promised by the United States in the
Indian Health Care Improvement Act.
just like our life expectancy--u.s. spending policy is stuck in the
termination era
Regardless of the Fund source or authorizing provision, Congress is
making an annual budget policy decision much like the dark Termination
Era policy that we pretend is behind us. Tribes and their citizens
originally had a system of health care delivery imposed on them.
Meanwhile, States and local governments violated Tribes' tax
jurisdiction, effectively rendering Tribal nations without a way to
fund basic infrastructure and governance in often isolated and
drastically reduced or wholly taken lands. As part of this imposed
system, the resources provided to the IHS have been chronically
underfunded and measurably unequal compared to investments in other
U.S. populations. We see this systematic isolation, sovereign
infringement, forced dependence, assimilation, and termination in the
annual appropriations process each year. We feel it in our communities,
and the outcomes and data have been placed before us. We cannot expect
Tribal communities' health to improve when they are consistently
starved for resources. Too often, Tribal nations are trapped in a
Federal funding structure operating on the assumption that only State
governments are worthy of base funding, essentially, assuming that we
do not exist as jurisdictional sovereigns.
full funding for the indian health service
Since 2003, Tribal leaders, technical advisors, and other policy
advisors have met during the annual national Tribal Budget Formulation
work session to collaboratively develop an estimate for full IHS
funding. The IHS need-based funding aggregate cost estimate for Fiscal
Year (FY) 2024 is approximately $51.4 billion, and the cost estimate
for FY 2025 is $53.8 billion.\17\ For FY 2024 and 2025, the Workgroup
continues to request the Hospitals & Health Clinics ($13.6 billion for
FY 2025) and Purchased/Referred Care ($9.1 billion for FY 2025) IHS
line items receive the largest increase. The Workgroup also continues
to request the Alcohol and Substance Abuse ($4.8 billion for FY 2025),
Mental Health ($4.5 billion for FY 2025), Indian Health Care
Improvement Fund ($3.7 billion for FY 2025), and Healthcare Facilities
Construction ($2.5 billion for FY 2025) line items receive the next
largest increases for IHS. The annual Workgroup request includes a
detailed justification for spending by IHS account or budget policy
issue and NIHB supports the Tribally-driven, data-based cost estimates
and justifications of the National Tribal Budget Formulation Workgroup
for the IHS.\18\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\17\ Workgroup publications available at: https://www.nihb.org/
legislative/budget_formulation.php, accessed on: February 26, 2023.
\18\ Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
mandatory funding for the indian health service
IHS spending should be provided through mandatory direct
appropriations with adjustments for inflation and population growth in
an allocation mutually agreed to by Tribal governments. NIHB supports
Tribes in their call for a direct appropriation codified in statute.
Additionally, and as this subcommittee has reported for years, certain
IHS account payments, such as Contract Support Costs and Payments for
Tribal Leases, fulfill obligations that are typically addressed through
mandatory spending. Inclusion of accounts that are mandatory in nature
under discretionary spending caps has resulted in a net reduction on
the amount of funding provided for Tribal programs and, by extension,
the ability of the Federal Government to fulfill its promises to Tribal
nations.
expand and sustain ihs advance appropriations
Until such time that IHS is provided mandatory direct
appropriations, advance appropriations for the IHS are consistent with
the trust and treaty obligations reaffirmed by the United States in the
Indian Health Care Improvement Act. The advance appropriation enacted
in the FY 2023 omnibus excluded certain accounts in the IHS budget and
flat-funded the IHS accounts that it did include. While historic in its
inclusion, a flat-funded IHS needs FY 2024 adjustments, at a minimum,
for fixed costs and staffing for newly completed facilities and should
also include the amounts requested by the IHS National Tribal Budget
Formulation Workgroup. As the process begins to normalize, both IHS and
Tribes have the collaborative tools to produce reliable advance
appropriation requests. For this appropriations cycle, Tribes have
already provided official input on the FY 2025 budget to IHS with
representatives of the Office of Management and Budget in attendance.
hold the indian health service harmless in any spending cuts or control
measures
The IHS budget remains so small in comparison to the National
budget that spending cuts or budget control measures would not result
in any meaningful savings in the National debt, but it would devastate
Tribal nations and their citizens. As Congress considers funding
reductions in FY 2024, IHS must be held harmless. As we saw in FY 2013
poor legislative drafting subjected our tiny, life-sustaining, IHS
budget to a significant loss of base resources. Congress must ensure
that any budget cuts--whether automatic or explicit--hold IHS and our
people harmless. We cannot balance the budget on the backs of the First
Americans.
conclusion
This subcommittee can break the cycle of inequity. You can each
stop terminating our people. Tribal nations seek no more than the duty
affirmed and reaffirmed by the U.S. Constitution, treaties, statutes,
court decisions, and Federal administrative law. The Budget Committee
and Appropriations Committee must put the spending caps in place to
achieve Tribal health spending equity, and this subcommittee must
prioritize IHS funding within its jurisdiction. We thank you, again,
for the opportunity to provide testimony and look forward to working
with you for the betterment of the American people. Again, we encourage
you to review in detail the Tribal Budget Formulation Workgroup's
request for IHS, which is available on NIHB's website.
[This statement was submitted by William Smith of the National
Indian Health Board.]
______
Prepared Statement of National Parks Conservation Association
Chairman Merkley, Ranking Member Murkowski 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. We appreciate the opportunity to provide our views
regarding the National Park Service (NPS) FY24 budget and provide
commentary on related agencies supporting park wildlife and resources.
We fear the impact an impending budget deal could have on the
National Park Service in FY24 and even beyond. Ten years ago, the
failure of the Budget Control Act of 2011 to prevent a budgetary
sequester led to a six percent cut to NPS that was deeply damaging. NPS
lost 1,900 permanent and seasonal staff while superintendents were
forced to close facilities, reduce park or facility opening hours,
eliminate visitor programs or otherwise make hard decisions that
threatened resource protection and undermined visitor access. Our
parks-and the countless gateway economies and American families that
depend on them-cannot afford to again fall to the cutting room floor.
The FY24 budget and appropriations process should instead allow for a
needed increase for NPS.
our highest priority: support for the operation of the national park
system (onps)
We commend the committee for increases to the ONPS account in
recent years, in particular the significant $153 million increase in
FY23. These funds were direly needed to help address the challenges
resulting from years of losing ground. The increase is providing for
nearly 500 staff (in FTEs) that can return to parks and supporting
offices to address their many urgent needs. We urge the committee to
build on this increase to continue restoring staffing and provide other
resources to operate our parks.
We request a $266 million increase for ONPS above FY23 levels,
which is equivalent to the president's FY24 request. There is much
justification for this level of an increase. We respect, however, that
this will likely be a difficult year with a constrained allocation. In
this event, we urge the committee to-at a minimum-meet NPS' $125
million in fixed costs. These fixed costs are significant because NPS
is a personnel-heavy agency, which requires annual Cost of Living
Adjustments, merit increases, insurance rate increases and other costs.
With inflation and materials costs on the rise, superintendents also
have increased costs like fuels, contracting with the private sector,
and procurement. Providing for these uncontrollable costs would at
least allow NPS to stay level in real terms because flat funding in
reality would mean that superintendents would have to make cuts.
Unfortunately, NPS is still struggling with basic operating needs
due to the impact of these uncontrollable fixed costs and the long-term
erosion of staffing levels that preceded last year's increase. This
understaffing is being compounded by record visitation increases.
Between 2012 and 2022, NPS gradually lost 13% of its staff capacity, or
nearly 3,000 FTEs. Meanwhile, visits to NPS sites grew by 10 percent.
Even after the FY23 increase, NPS is still more than 2,600 FTEs below
staffing levels in FY12.
High visitation and related needs further accentuate the need for a
sizable ONPS increase: It would be difficult to overstate the impact of
park superintendents' reduced spending power and inability to refill
lapsed positions, particularly in the context of increased visitation
and the challenge of adapting our parks to a rapidly changing climate.
Because of insufficient personnel, sometimes compounded by the need to
divert staff to high visitation, staff commonly cover multiple
collateral duties. It is not uncommon to have, for example,
interpretive staff addressing increased restroom use or law enforcement
assisting with cars in parking lots. As a result, other needs go
unaddressed and morale sinks. Natural and cultural resource protection,
research and monitoring, programming, and other services central to
parks meeting their mission go unaddressed or delayed indefinitely.
ONPS funding must include personnel to implement management changes
including visitation planning processes needed in numerous parks. Parks
have many different tools and techniques that can help protect
resources and ensure a quality visitor experience, but they all require
additional resources to research and implement. NPS should have the
capacity to systematically study outcomes to adapt and improve plans
and ensure they provide fair and equitable access for currently
underrepresented communities. Funding should also provide for
maintenance staff dedicated to visitor facilities and for project
compliance and oversight. These challenges are discussed more below.
ONPS support for cultural resources is needed: We commend the
increases appropriators have been providing for the Historic
Preservation Fund. However, despite these and other investments in
cultural and historic resources, the ability for NPS to staff its
cultural resource operations has fallen disproportionately. Inventory
and monitoring, climate-related needs, museum collections and more are
all overdue for added investments through ONPS. FY24 is an opportunity
to help meet these needs and highlight the importance of NPS' world-
class, nationally significant cultural and historic resources through
an enhanced investment in cultural resource stewardship. A significant
shortfall in cultural resources funding has undermined the agency's
ability to plan and manage the resources in their care. It is difficult
to impossible to care for these resources when NPS has not been able to
even properly inventory the resources they are tasked with stewarding.
Given the threat of climate change to cultural resources under the care
of NPS, we commend the president's proposed investment in Cultural
Resources Climate Assessment Teams. More must be done in the coming
fiscal years to bring the budgetary attention to cultural resources
more on par with natural resource stewardship.
NPS Housing: Unfortunately, the lack of affordable housing facing
countless Americans has been taking a toll on NPS' capacity to house
its employees. Rent and home sale prices have increased prohibitively
so that as staff who have long served parks retire, new incoming staff
cannot afford to live near parks. In absence of housing within a
reasonable commuting distance and with limited housing stock in parks,
prospective park employees turn down jobs and superintendents struggle
to fill positions even when funds are available. We commend the
committee for its increase in FY23 for the NPS housing program and the
president's requested FY24 increases. We ask the committee to continue
investing in this program through multiple accounts to help address
this issue.
Management Planning: We are concerned that planning is not
happening at the pace needed to guide park decision-making, especially
when considering the dual and intersecting challenges of climate change
and skyrocketing visitation at may parks. NPS must be equipped to
successfully respond to rapidly evolving and increasing visitor use to
meet one of its major challenges. We urge investments to conduct
research and prepare and implement visitor use management plans.
Visitor experience and impacts to resources are key considerations.
There are many visitors, some of whom are relative newcomers to outdoor
recreation, whose behaviors can threaten not only their safety and that
of search and rescue crews, but also resources, some of which are
vulnerable to climate change. Concerns include disturbance to
vegetation and soils, wildlife, and aquatic systems; impacts to
cultural resources; human waste impacts; introduction of non-native
species; and impacts to natural sounds. NPS needs support to determine
carrying capacities that consider higher temperatures, fire, drought,
flooding, and other climate change impacts that may compound visitation
challenges.
NPS should be equipped to provide staff and resources to collect
baseline data on visitation and resource conditions to inform visitor
use management planning processes; enhance NPS' capacity for social
science to guide visitor use management planning and adaptive
management; study the application of recreation ecology science in
visitor use management planning; and support coordinated regional
visitor use management planning with gateway communities and other
agencies. With careful planning, visitor use management tools can also
help ensure fair and equitable access for young and more diverse
audiences to discover their parks. NPS can also improve its
communications systems to reach new and underrepresented communities.
Investing in park operations can assist NPS with needs related to
climate change adaptation, resiliency and mitigation. Disaster relief
funding is also critical. Our national parks are on the front lines of
climate change, between storm surges, wildfire risks, and threatened
wildlife habitat and irreplaceable cultural sites. Helping our parks
adapt to a changing climate requires funding. These investments can be
made across diverse subaccounts within park operations, including
Cultural and Natural Resource Stewardship. The president's FY24 budget
contains many needed investments that we support.
Among other climate-related needs, funding is vital to relocate
facilities threatened by erosion and storm surges, combat invasive
species, address catastrophic wildfires, provide critical air and water
quality monitoring and otherwise inventory and monitor cultural and
natural resources to identify threats and develop adaptive management
strategies. Management planning is needed in many areas including
related to climate and increased visitation.
Catastrophic weather events increasingly related to climate
continue to cause massive harm to park communities and infrastructure.
We commend the committee for its $1.5 billion investment in NPS
disaster relief last year, which will go a long way to address the
damage that was caused to numerous parks. We hope that this year will
be a less damaging one for parks and communities. However, when
disasters strike, we urge the committee to respond with needed
investments for our parks whether through supplementals or annual
appropriations bills.
We encourage continuing support for the Heritage Partnership
Program. This program supports National Heritage Areas (NHAs) in dozens
of communities throughout the country. NHAs are strong examples of
truly effective public-private partnerships established in support of
conservation and preservation values. Heritage areas allow local
experts to better protect and interpret stories and resources that are
both regionally distinct and nationally significant. The Federal
funding NHAs receive must be matched dollar for dollar with money from
a non-federal source. We applaud the committee's $2 million increase
for this important program in FY23 and request continuing increases, in
particular now that the NHA system has been formalized through
legislation at the end of the last Congress.
Support for new park designations and other efforts related to
diversity, accessibility and inclusion are needed. We applaud the
president's proposed investment in Racial Justice and Equity for
Underserved Communities Initiative to increase representation in parks
and other public lands. We are particularly heartened by the funding
for new parks. We ask the committee to continue its support for sites
including Amache and Freedom Riders and urge that support to be
extended to Blackwell Schools and other new and emerging NPS
designations. They are important to broaden the stories NPS preserves
and interprets and makes NPS more inclusive, relevant and attractive to
diverse audiences while more completely preserving our history. We also
applaud the committee's support for DOI's efforts towards diversity,
equity, accessibility and inclusion in FY23; we encourage support in
FY24 for the president's budget's targeted investments seeking to make
NPS a more inclusive agency.
Great American Outdoors Act: We applaud the committee's support for
this important law and the oversight it has shown over its successful
implementation. Give the continuing backlog, we hope members of this
subcommittee will support eventual legislation we hope will be
introduced to extend the law's Legacy Restoration Fund with at least an
additional 5 years of funding.
Investments are needed for related agencies supporting the health
of park resources and communities. We commend the committee's work to
better invest in the many agencies and programs that support the
wildlife, clean air and water in our parks and help understand and
address climate change. Park wildlife, for example, benefit from US
Fish and Wildlife Service funding. We urge the committee to make
significant investments in the protection and recovery of our most
vulnerable species, including the more than 600 threatened and
endangered plants and animals in our National parks. The US Fish and
Wildlife Service needs robust funding for Endangered Species Act
programs. Investments in EPA's Geographic Programs are also critical
for restoring and maintaining the health of the Great Lakes, Chesapeake
Bay and other waterways and ecosystems in and surrounding units of the
National Park System. There are many important investments the
committee can continue to make that helps our parks adapt to climate
change. For example, USGS Climate Adaptation Science Centers are
critical to support climate science that benefits our National parks
and their ecosystems. We applaud the support in FY23 and recommend
continuing added investments for scientific support.
On behalf of NPCA and our millions of members and supporters, thank
you again for your investments in our parks and consideration of the
needs facing the National Park Service and related agencies and
programs that protect and support our Nation's cultural and natural
treasures.
[This statement was submitted by John Garder, Senior Director of
Budget and Appropriations.]
______
Prepared Statement of the National Trust for Historic Preservation
Chairman Merkley, Ranking Member Murkowski, and Members of the
subcommittee:
I appreciate the opportunity to present the National Trust for
Historic Preservation's recommendations for FY 2024 appropriations. My
name is Shaw Sprague, and I am the Vice President of Government
Relations. The National Trust is a privately funded nonprofit chartered
by Congress in 1949. We work to save America's historic places to
enrich our future.
We offer our deep gratitude for the robust funding this
subcommittee provided for all historic preservation priorities during
the FY 2023 cycle. Thank you for considering recommendations made by
the National Trust. We look forward to continuing our work with this
subcommittee as you address the ongoing need for investments to sustain
our Nation's rich heritage of cultural and historic resources that also
generate lasting economic and civic vitality for communities throughout
the Nation.
For the fifth year in a row, we have also produced ``The
Preservation Budget: Select Preservation Priorities for FY 2024
Appropriations,'' \1\ which includes more information on the programs
identified below, including funding levels over time and many
remarkable examples of program successes.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ https://forum.savingplaces.org/viewdocument/the-preservation-
budget-fy2024
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
National Park Service: Historic Preservation Fund. The Historic
Preservation Fund (HPF) is the principal source of funding to implement
the Nation's preservation programs. The National Trust is enormously
appreciative of the six successive historic funding levels the
subcommittee has provided to the HPF, including the FY 2023 enacted
level of $204.515 million, the highest appropriated amount in the
program's history. While increased investment in the HPF has
facilitated innovative and impactful historic preservation work across
the country, additional appropriations are needed to ensure a more
complete historic narrative is preserved for future generations and
lesser-known places of historic and cultural significance may continue
to enrich our communities.
HPF funding supports fundamental preservation activities such as
surveying, nomination of properties to the National Register of
Historic Places, public education, and project reviews required for
Federal Historic Tax Credit (HTC) projects. Among many highlights, we
would like to emphasize the subcommittee's sustained support for the
African American Civil Rights grants program to preserve and highlight
sites and stories associated with securing civil rights for All
Americans. We would also like to highlight the extraordinary impact
Paul Bruhn Historic Revitalization Grants have in fostering economic
development in our Nation's rural communities. The competitive grant
programs within the HPF are having a transformative impact in
communities throughout the country and these investments are helping
preserve a broader historic narrative while revitalizing communities
and creating local jobs.
State and Tribal Historic Preservation Offices (SHPOs and THPOs)
are at the forefront of protecting our Nation's historic and cultural
resources and are consistently asked to do more with less funding. The
National Trust strongly supports addressing this unmet financial need.
As Congress contemplates changes to the Federal permitting process, we
urge you to consider the impact limited review times to conduct
National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) oversight will have on SHPO
offices. We support efforts to identify efficiencies in Federal
permitting and believe that adequate funding for SHPO offices is
critical to achieving permitting reform objectives while adequately
safeguarding our historic and cultural resources.
We respectfully request that Congress provide a total FY 2024 HPF
appropriation of $225 million. Within that funding, we recommend:
--$70 million for State Historic Preservation Officers (SHPOs)
--$34 million for Tribal Historic Preservation Officers (THPOs)
--$28 million for competitive grants to preserve the sites and
stories of efforts to advance African American Civil Rights
--$7 million for the History of Equal Rights Grants program to
preserve the sites and stories associated with securing civil
rights for All Americans, including women, American Latino,
Native American, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, and LGBTQ
Americans
--$13 million for grants to Historically Black Colleges and
Universities to preserve and rehabilitate historic buildings
--$40 million for Save America's Treasures grants
--$17 million for Paul Bruhn Historic Revitalization grants
--$5 million for Underrepresented Community grants
--$11 million for Semiquincentennial Grants program
National Park Service: Operation of the National Park System. Over
the past 25 years, more than 50 park units have been added to the
System, many of which preserve historic places and themes that have
been previously underrepresented. We encourage the subcommittee to
provide funding of $3.26 billion to maintain NPS operations, ensure
stewardship of historic and cultural resources and prevent reductions
in visitor services at a time when our National parks are more popular
than ever. Within this funding, we recommend robust funding for
Resource Stewardship, the National Underground Railroad Network to
Freedom, the African American Civil Rights Network, the Reconstruction
Era National Historic Network, and the Japanese American World War II
History Network.
National Park Service: Deferred Maintenance. The NPS is responsible
for maintaining a system comprised of more than 85 million acres that
tell the stories of remarkable people and events in our country's
history. Unfortunately, after over 100 years of operation and
inconsistent public funding, the NPS faces a multi-million-dollar
deferred maintenance backlog. Deferred maintenance in our National
parks puts historic and cultural sites at risk of permanent damage or
loss, and in the absence of funding, the condition of these assets will
continue to deteriorate and become more expensive to repair and
preserve in the future. We also recommend sustained increases for
specific line items to ensure the maintenance backlog continues to
decrease.
--Construction. We recommend $145 million in funding for Line-Item
Construction projects that address the deferred maintenance for
the NPS' highest priority non- transportation assets with
project costs greater than $1 million.
--Repair and Rehabilitation; Cyclic Maintenance. We recommend
additional increases for Repair and Rehabilitation at $150
million and $205 million for Cyclic Maintenance to ensure
routine and emerging needs are met.
National Park Service: Cultural Programs. Within its cultural
programs, the NPS manages many critical historic preservation
activities, including management of the National Register of Historic
Places and the National Historic Landmarks Program, certification of
Federal HTC projects, coordination of Federal archaeology programs, and
the administration of invaluable and targeted grant funding. These
grant programs include the Native American Graves Protection and
Repatriation Act Grants, Japanese American Confinement Sites Grants,
American Battlefield Protection Program Assistance Grants, and many
more. We also urge the subcommittee to support funding for the newly
authorized African American Burial Grounds Preservation Program.
In total, the National Trust recommends $46 million for Cultural
Programs for FY 2024, which includes $3 million for the African
American Burial Grounds Preservation Program. Additional increases in
this account will enhance modernization of the National Register and
support sustained demands to review and approve Federal HTC projects.
National Park Service: National Heritage Areas. We recommend $34
million for the Heritage Partnership Program and National Heritage
Areas (NHAs). This level would provide funding for each of the 62
individual NHAs in 35 States, as well as NPS administrative support for
coordination, guidance, assistance, and training.
Bureau of Land Management: Cultural Resources Management. The
Bureau of Land Management (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. The National Trust recommends $25 million to
bolster this program.
The cultural resources program also supports Section 106 review of
land-use proposals, Section 110 inventory and protection of cultural
resources, compliance with the Native American Graves Protection and
Repatriation Act, and consultation with Tribes and Alaska Native
Governments. Moving forward, we recommend $1 million in dedicated funds
for the agency to enhance its National Cultural Resources Information
Management System (NCRIMS). This collaboration with state historic
preservation offices is one of the Nation's most innovative programs to
support predictive modeling and data analysis to enhance planning for
large-scale, cross-jurisdictional land-use projects.
Bureau of Land Management: National Landscape Conservation System.
The BLM's National Landscape Conservation System (National Conservation
Lands) includes approximately 37 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.
We encourage the subcommittee to provide at least $78 million to
the base program for the National Landscape Conservation System. An
increase in funding will allow for greater inventory and monitoring of
cultural resources in this growing system, prevent damage to the
resources found in these areas, ensure proper management, and provide
for a quality visitor experience.
Independent Agencies: National Endowments for the Arts and for the
Humanities. We urge the subcommittee to provide no less than $211
million each for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and National
Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). NEA and NEH funding is critical to
communities around the country and strengthens our Nation by promoting
the 'lessons of history' to all Americans. This funding has also
supported efforts by the National Trust's Historic Sites and others to
tell a fuller American story and engage visitors in compelling ways.
Independent Agencies: Advisory Council on Historic Preservation. We
recommend $10.5 million for the Advisory Council on Historic
Preservation (ACHP). This increase would enhance the ACHP's ability to
perform its essential role in ensuring the Nation's historic and
cultural resources are protected while also advancing timely delivery
of major infrastructure projects and improving consultation with Indian
Tribes. The increase would also support the ACHPs efforts to promote
enhanced mapping and digitization of cultural resources.
We stand ready to assist the subcommittee in support of our
recommendations.
Sincerely,
Shaw Sprague
Vice President of Government Relations
National Trust for Historic Preservation
[This statement was submitted by Shaw Sprague, Vice President of
Government Relations.]
______
Prepared Statement of National Wildlife Refuge Association
I am pleased to submit testimony on behalf of the National Wildlife
Refuge Association. The Refuge Association and its coalition of
representatives from Refuge Friends organizations and concerned
citizens thank you for your support for the National Wildlife Refuge
System. We request an increase in funding for the Operations and
Maintenance budget of the National Wildlife Refuge System to $1.5
billion. This includes $560 million to address the growing staffing
shortage across the Refuge System, as well as accounts for the addition
of new refuge units, increased programmatic needs and visitation
levels, and rising inflation since FY 2010. We also request $20 million
in LWCF funding for the Everglades Headwaters National Wildlife Refuge,
$50 million for the National Wildlife Refuge Fund, and $75 million for
the Partners For Fish And Wildlife Program.
The National Wildlife Refuge System is the Nation's only set of
Federal lands dedicated to the conservation and management of America's
native wildlife. It is the largest and most diverse network of
conservation lands and waters in the world, encompassing more than 850
million land and marine acres across dozens of unique habitat types.
Our national wildlife refuges are essential for protecting biodiversity
and climate resilient habitats, providing community-driven
conservation, and expanding wildlife dependent recreational
opportunities nationwide. However, increased funding needs paired with
an insufficient budget has led to a Refuge System that is quickly
eroding in habitat management and an ability to even keep refuges open.
Wildlife refuges are economic engines for their communities. Over
64 million people annually visit the Nation's 568 refuges, which are
found in every State and territory, whether for hunting, fishing,
wildlife watching, education, recreation, or photography. This
generates over 41,000 jobs and provides more than $3.2 billion in
economic output each year. For every dollar appropriated to the Refuge
System, an average of nearly five dollars is returned to local
economies.
Despite these incredible benefits to communities across the
country, the biggest challenge facing the Refuge System today is a lack
of funding. The $503 million appropriated to the Refuge System in
FY2010 is worth approximately $689 million today (as of November 2022),
yet actual funding sits at $541 million-a mere 64 per acre, or $5.46
per land acre. The failure to offset the impacts of inflation has
resulted in a Refuge System long strained under the weight of
critically low staffing levels and lost capacity. In this age of
rapidly worsening biodiversity and climate crises, we must invest as
much funding as possible today so these protected areas are available
tomorrow for shifting conservation needs.
While the Refuge System has faced declining budgets over the last
13 years due to inflation, the Refuge System has still continued to
grow, adding 14 new refuge units and hundreds of millions of acres of
marine national monuments. It has also added new services, such as the
Urban Wildlife Conservation Program launched in 2012 that seeks to
address inequalities in recreational access and conservation
participation. This program has dramatically changed the way
conservation is delivered to communities, and visitor numbers have
grown to over 67 million visitors a year in FY2022--an increase of 34%
since FY2010. While the additional acreage, the creation of the urban
program, and the increased visitors have enhanced the Refuge System and
benefited the communities around these refuges, this growth has also
put more pressure on the already stressed and underfunded System. These
reductions have been so severe that most refuges can no longer operate
effectively, efficiently, or, at times, safely. Additionally, more and
more units are facing the reality of having no staff to conduct even
the most basic management and public use activities.
Over 800 permanent positions have been lost since FY2011--an
enormous 25% loss in capacity. Several much-needed positions are
eliminated every year due to lack of funding. No refuges are fully
staffed, and more than half of refuges have zero staff on site. Many
refuges are closed to the public and are completely unmanaged. Today,
the Refuge System is staffed by approximately 2,400 permanent staff
while the actual need is estimated to be 7,300. An additional $560
million is estimated to be needed to hire enough staff to reach full
staffing capacity. As an example of these dire staffing challenges,
there are currently 214 law enforcement officers patrolling 850 million
acres of land and water. Excluding the water acres, that's an average
of 440,000 acres per officer, leaving much of the Refuge System
virtually unprotected. In many cases, one officer alone is responsible
for an entire state, with their refuge units hours away from each
other. Similar examples can be made of impacts from the loss of
biological, maintenance, and visitor services staff. Many volunteer
programs-critical for the operation of individual refuges-have been cut
back or completely eliminated due to lack of supervision from
professional full-time staff.
Funding for planning has also largely been eliminated due to budget
cuts. By law, the Refuge System must update their Comprehensive
Conservation Planning (CCP) every 15 years. Up-to-date management plans
ensure that each wildlife refuge can be adaptable to present and
upcoming needs, from a changing climate and extreme weather events like
wildfires, to rising recreational visitors and commercial uses.
However, lack of funding has resulted in more than 40% of refuges with
no current CCP. Either an existing CCP is older than the recommended 15
years or there is no plan. Not only do some wildlife refuges not have
the staff or capacity to carry out a new CCP process, but some simply
do not have the resources to renew these important plans. With an
increased planning budget, the Refuge System could modernize and update
these important management plans that help them reach their
conservation goals.
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
healthy ecosystems. Increasing funding for the System will empower and
enable individual refuge units to deliver on-the-ground conservation
that benefits not only wildlife and recreation, but also local
communities across the Nation.
everglades headwaters nwr-the land and water conservation fund
EHWNR goals include the protection of 100,000 acres with
conservation easements, which protect the land from development and
conserve its wildlife and water values while keeping the land in
private ownership, privately managed (which reduces public costs), and
on the tax rolls. An additional 50,000 acres will become (if protected)
public conservation lands open to public recreational access, supported
by the sportsmen's community.
EHWNR has 38 federally listed endangered species and is one of
those rare refuges that can hit all of these refuge priorities:
conserves or protects against threats to resources, protects ESA
habitat, ecosystems, water, biodiversity, and cultural and historic
resources, strengthens resilience to climate change impacts, has
recreational access, benefits underserved or at-risk communities, and
demonstrates strong local partner engagement and support.
The National Wildlife Refuge Association requests $20 million in
LWCF funding for the Everglades Headwaters NWR in FY2024.
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% of its
tax-offset obligations since 2001.
Reduced funding threatens the partnerships that are so important
for successful conservation, and the negative impact on local
communities is felt even more starkly in difficult economic times. We
also ask that this Committee consider converting or rolling the Refuge
Fund into the PILT (Payment in Lieu of Taxes) program. Some refuge
lands are included in PILT and others are included in the Refuge Fund.
One funding mechanism for all refuge lands makes sense and would
streamline the process of returning funds to local communities.
The Refuge Association requests $50 million for the National
Wildlife Refuge Fund in FY2024.
partnerships--partners for fish and wildlife program
With 75% 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
twenty-five 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 Refuge Association
requests $75 million for the Partners For Fish And Wildlife Program in
FY2024. Such a funding level would result in an additional $400 million
worth of conservation across the Nation.
Thank you for the opportunity to submit comments on the FY 2024
Senate Interior Appropriations bill. We look forward to working with
you to fund these important programs, and to bring the Refuge System
back to a place where it can protect and grow our natural heritage for
the 21st century. Please feel free to contact me at
lmarking@refugeassociation.org for any questions.
[This statement was submitted by Libby Marking, Director of
Government Affairs & Public Policy for the National Wildlife Refuge
Association.]
______
Prepared Statement of National Wildlife Refuge System
On behalf of the undersigned hunting and fishing organizations,
thank you for your ongoing work to enhance our Nation's prized public
lands. Without a supportive budget or your efforts to maintain it, we
would be unable to properly steward our waters and lands, nor could we
safely fish or hunt on them. We were especially pleased to see the
budget increase in Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 to $541 million for the U.S
National Wildlife Refuge System (the System) and we are extremely
appreciative of the President's proposed budget of $624 million for the
System. Both these actions are strong, necessary steps to enhance this
vital public land system.
We are writing today to express our support for continued funding
increases to the System. As you begin work on the FY24 Interior,
Environment, and Related Agencies appropriations bill, we urge you to
provide the System with an even more robust funding to correct both
historic underfunding and meet the growing needs of the System.
Hunting and fishing are fundamentally linked to the System, and
trace back to earliest days of the refuge System. With the passage of
the Wildlife Refuge Improvement Act of 1997, Congress recognized
wildlife-dependent recreational uses--which includes hunting and
fishing--as priority uses in refuge planning and management. Therefore,
ensuring accessible opportunities to fish and hunt on wildlife refuges
continue to grow remains critically important for our organizations. We
applaud the Biden Administration decision to open over 2 million acres
in the System to angling and hunting, and deeply appreciated the Trump
Administration actions to open 2.3 million acres. These activities
provide the opportunity for more citizens to safely enjoy wildlife
refuges with their families and bolster the strong contributions
outdoor recreation provides for our economy and local communities.
Despite its many benefits for hunters and anglers, the System is at
risk. Since 2010, visitation to the System has increased 38 percent,
now hosting over 65 million annual visitors. At the same time, the
System's budget has remained generally stagnant, not growing alongside
the System's expanding needs. This funding crisis has led to a loss of
over 800 full time employees throughout the System, including law
enforcement officers who serve to maintain visitor and community safety
on refuge lands. On some refuges, lack of funding means, there are no
full-time, on-site staff. The funding shortfalls hamper the System's
ability to uphold its conservation mission--many wildlife refuges have
been unable to keep management plans current. Over 40 percent of these
plans, known as Comprehensive Conservation Plans, are outdated despite
their requirement by law to be revised every 15 years. As such, refuge
management is not keeping pace with today's challenges and
opportunities.
Since its establishment in 1903, the System has been our best
example of how to balance conservation and recreation on Federal public
lands. To date, there are 567 wildlife refuges that manage 760 million
marine acres and 95 million land acres. With its primary mission of
conservation, the System helps conserve 2,000 different species,
including 1,000 species of fish, 700 species of birds, 250 species of
reptiles and amphibians, and 220 species of mammals. Currently, 75
percent of wildlife refuges are open to the public, with 376 open to
angling, 427 open to hunting, and 101 urban refuges.
As stewards who care about the wellbeing of our wildlife, fish,
lands, and waters, it is critical that opportunities to hunt and fish
on responsibly managed refuges continue to grow. With a significant
increase in appropriations to the System, vacant positions can be
filled, conservation goals can be reached, management plans can be
updated, and more people can enjoy all these prized waters and lands
have to offer.
Thank you for your consideration of this request. We look forward
to continued collaboration honoring this System.
Sincerely,
American Sportfishing Association
Archery Trade Association
Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies
Backcountry Hunters & Anglers
California Waterfowl
Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation
Delta Waterfowl
Ducks Unlimited
Houston Safari Club
Izaak Walton League of America
Minnesota Prairie Chicken Society
National Bobwhite & Grassland Initiative
National Deer Association
National Shooting Sports Foundation
National Wild Turkey Federation
National Wildlife Federation
North American Grouse Partnership
Orion: The Hunter's Institute
Pheasants Forever
Pope & Young Club
Quail Forever
Ruffed Grouse Society and American Woodcock Society
Safari Club International
Texas Wildlife Association
The AFFTA Fisheries Fund
The Conservation Fund
The Wildlife Society
Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership
Trout Unlimited
Whitetails Unlimited
Wild Sheep Foundation
Wildlife Forever
Wisconsin Sharp-tailed Grouse Society
[This statement was submitted by Trout Unlimited, Grace Olscamp.]
______
Prepared Statement of National Wildlife Refuge System
Federal public lands make up thirty percent of Montana. While
public lands provide invaluable hunting, fishing and outdoor recreation
opportunities and contribute to local economies, these lands are not
part of the tax base, impacting county budgets and the ability to
provide essential services for our citizens. With a supportive Federal
budget that includes Federal land payments and funding for proper land
management, we can both enjoy the benefits of public lands and receive
much-needed revenue for essential services like schools and roads. We
appreciate the work you have done to steward these lands and waters.
Fulfilling its role as a good neighbor, the Federal Government
provides annual payments to counties and local governments for their
tax-exempt lands. Within the U.S. National Wildlife Refuge System, this
payment program is called the Refuge Revenue Sharing Fund (RRS), which
compliments other programs like Payments in Lieu of Taxes. We are
writing to express our support for increasing appropriations to RRS for
Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 while opening a dialogue on how to permanently
improve this program. As you develop appropriations bills, we hope you
will provide RRS with additional funds.
In Montana, we have 20 Wildlife Refuges which account for 1.15
million acres of land in the state. On them, we find respite and make
memories on pristine landscapes brimming with wildlife and fish. Our
Wildlife Refuges are hidden gems of recreation where we can still enjoy
wild places. In 1935, when the Refuge Revenue Sharing Act became law,
Wildlife Refuges became more than a place to enjoy--they became an
integral part of our communities. Annual RRS payments help fund public
needs such as schools, roads, social services, police departments, and
fire departments. Of Montana's fifty-six counties, thirty receive RRS
payments. However, a lack of appropriations from Congress and
resistance to reforming RRS means that annual payments have fallen
short.
RRS is funded through commercial net receipts from Wildlife Refuges
and Congressional appropriations when collected fees fall short. In
FY21, counties were authorized to receive $80 million in RRS funds, but
net receipts only totaled $4.3 million, and Congress appropriated $13.2
million. Thus, in FY21, RRS only provided $17.5 million in funding,
21.9% of the authorized amount. Every year since 2014, despite net
receipts and allowed amounts that generally increased, Congress has
only appropriated $13.2 million. Since 2003, less than 50% of the
authorized amount has been paid to counties.
While some densely populated Wildlife Refuge communities may be
able to make up for this difference through visitor expenditures, rural
Wildlife Refuge communities cannot. The impact of these lost funds
hurts our ability to provide public services. Congress should enact
long-term solutions to this issue, namely reforming the RRS formula,
which will provide fair and predictable funding. However, these
legislative efforts require significant time to see through to fruition
and the lack of funds is felt now. For example, Beaverhead County in
2022, where the Red Rocks National Wildlife Refuge is located, should
have received $194,059, 60% of which is allocated for the Lima Public
School District. However, due to the RRS being underfunded, Beaverhead
County received only $41,913, leaving the Lima Public School District
with only $25,147. This insufficiency creates problems for the school
district in the County. Increasing RRS funding for FY24 and the
following years will immediately improve community health while we
collaborate with leaders like you on long-term solutions.
Thank you for your consideration of this request. We look forward
to continued coordination.
Sincerely,
Beaverhead County Commission
Montana Association of Counties
Montana Wildlife Federation
National Wildlife Federation
Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership
[This statement was submitted by Grace Olscamp, Trout Unlimited.]
______
Prepared Statement of the Natural Science Collections Alliance
The Natural Science Collections Alliance appreciates the
opportunity to provide testimony in support of fiscal year (FY) 2024
appropriations for the Smithsonian Institution and the Department of
the Interior. We encourage Congress to make new investments that
address agency backlogs and secure future efforts for the preservation,
curation, growth and study of scientific and cultural collections
within the Department of the Interior and the Smithsonian Institution.
We request that Congress provide the National Museum of Natural History
with at least $60 million in FY 2024, with new funding to correct for a
lack of adequate increases in recent years. Please provide the United
States Geological Survey (USGS) with at least $1.85 billion in FY 2024,
with increased support for collections related activities.
The Natural Science Collections Alliance is a non-profit
association that supports natural science collections, their human
resources, the institutions that house them, and their research
activities for the benefit of science and society. Our membership
consists of institutions that are part of an international network of
museums, botanical gardens, herbaria, universities, and other
institutions that contain natural science collections and use them in
research, exhibitions, academic and informal science education, and
outreach activities.
Scientific collections, and the collections professionals and
scientists who make, care for, and study these resources, are a vital
component of our Nation's research infrastructure. These collections
and their associated experts contribute to the expansion of our
bioeconomy. Whether held at a museum, government managed laboratory or
archive, or in a university science department, these scientific
resources form a coordinated network of specimens, samples, and data
(for example, genetic, tissue, organism, and environmental) that are a
unique and irreplaceable foundation from which scientists are studying
and explaining past and present life on earth.
Preservation of specimens and the strategic growth of these
collections are in the best interest of science and the best interest
of taxpayers. Existing scientific collections that are properly cared
for and accessible are a critical component of the US science
infrastructure and are readily integrated into new research on
significant questions. Specimens that were collected decades or
centuries ago are now routinely used in research in diverse fields
related to genomics, human health, biodiversity sciences, informatics,
environmental quality, and agriculture.
According to the U.S. Interagency Working Group on Scientific
Collections (IWGSC), ``scientific collections are essential to
supporting agency missions and are thus vital to supporting the global
research enterprise.'' A 2020 report by the IWGSC highlights the long-
term benefits of scientific collections and presents a framework for
estimating and documenting these benefits, both monetary and non-
monetary, generated by Federal institutional collections. Additional
recent reports have highlighted the value of mobilizing biodiversity
specimens and data in spurring new scientific discoveries that grow our
economy, improve our public health and wellbeing, and increase our
National security.
In 2019, the Biodiversity Collections Network (BCoN) issued a
community informed call for the development of an Extended Specimen
Network. The report, Extending U.S. Biodiversity Collections to Promote
Research and Education, outlined a national agenda that leverages
digital data in biodiversity collections for new uses and called for
building an Extended Specimen Network: ``Science and industry rely on
physical specimens housed in U.S. biodiversity collections,'' the
report suggests. ``Rapid advances in data generation and analysis have
transformed understanding of biodiversity collections from singular
physical specimens, to dynamic suites of interconnected resources
enriched through study over time. The concept of the 'extended
specimen' conveys the current perspective of the biodiversity specimen
as extending beyond the singular physical object, to potentially
limitless additional physical preparations and digital resources.''
This endeavor requires robust investments in our Nation's scientific
collections, whether they are owned by a Federal or state agency or are
part of an educational institution or free-standing natural history
museum or other types of research or educational centers.
A 2020 report by the National Academies of Science, Engineering and
Medicine (NASEM), Biological Collections: Ensuring Critical Research
and Education for the 21st Century, provided guidance to the NSF
regarding the sustainability of living stock and natural history
collections. It argued that collections are a critical part of our
Nation's science and innovation infrastructure and a fundamental
resource for understanding the natural world. The report's
recommendations for establishing an action center for biological
collections and requiring specimen management plans for research
proposals generating new specimens underscore the importance of
biodiversity specimen collections and have been supported by the CHIPS
and Science Act. Such a center will provide leadership, support, and
coordination for federal, non-federal, and private collections and
encourage transformative research to address persistent grand-challenge
questions in human health, bioeconomy, climate change, and
pharmaceutical discovery.
The NASEM, BCoN, and IWGSC reports articulate a common vision of
the future of biological collections and define a need to broaden and
deepen the collections and associated data to realize the potential for
biodiversity collections to inform 21st century science. Collections
are a critical resource for advancing the knowledge needed to address
current global challenges such as climate change, biodiversity loss,
and pandemics. The COVID-19 crisis has demonstrated how humans are
inextricably part of the natural world. Biological collections, their
extended data, and the experts that build and study them are globally
important for understanding where viruses such as SARS-CoV-2 exist in
nature or when they cross from their current hosts to humans.
The Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History
(NMNH) is the central Federal partner in the curation and research on
scientific specimens. Scientists at the NMNH care for 146 million
specimens and ensure that the institution remains a global leader in
scientific research and public engagement. To increase the availability
of these scientific resources to researchers, educators, other Federal
agencies, and the public, NMNH is working on a multi-year effort to
digitize its collections. Funding is required to ensure this work is
completed.
The National Museum of Natural History is also working to
strengthen curatorial and research staffing and to backfill positions
left open by retirements and budget constraints. The current staffing
level is insufficient to provide optimal care for the collections.
Future curatorial and collections management staffing levels may be
further jeopardized given insufficient funding increases in recent
years. This lack of funding for collections care jeopardizes our
bioeconomy at a time when critical investments are needed to leverage
our network of collections to address the myriad issues facing the
country.
Interior is an important caretaker of museum collections as well;
the Department and its bureaus collectively manage an estimated 206
million museum specimens. Although many of the department's collections
are located in bureau facilities, numerous artifacts and specimens are
cared for in non-governmental facilities, such as museums and
universities. The Interior Museum Program supports these collections by
providing oversight, policy development, advocacy, technical
assistance, training, and data management support.
In addition, the USGS furthers the preservation, inventory, and
digitization of geological scientific collections, such as rock and ice
cores, fossils, and samples of oil, gas, and water. The National
Geological and Geophysical Data Preservation program helps States with
collections management, improves accessibility of collections data, and
expands digitization of specimens to ensure their broader use. One
example of the returns from this program is the potash mineral deposit
discovered in Michigan that is valued at an estimated $65 billion. Rock
samples from Michigan were entered into a national database, where
private companies discovered the deposit's existence and are now
assessing the potential for mining.
USGS supports the documentation and conservation of native
pollinators through its Native Bee Inventory and Monitoring Lab (BIML).
Pollinators, such as bees, are critical components of ecosystems and
play an integral role in wildlife and habitat management and
restoration. Three-fourths of the world's flowering plants and about 35
percent of the world's food crops rely on pollinators to reproduce.
Given that pollinator populations are in decline globally, BIML's work
in developing a nationwide method to inventory and monitor bee
population trends on public lands is crucial.
USGS has more than a million specimens of birds, mammals,
amphibians, and reptiles that are housed at the Smithsonian's National
Museum of Natural History. The Biological Survey Unit (BSU) consisted
of USGS scientists stationed at the NMNH, where they conducted research
on USGS-specimens of fish, reptiles, birds, and mammals that are
curated at the NMNH. This arrangement went back to 1889. These
specimens, data, and the research they enable are required to inform
Department of the Interior land and natural resource management
decisions, and often also support decision-making by State and Tribal
governments. With the BSU eliminated, the Smithsonian has taken over
care of these collections. The work that BSU supported and conducted at
the NMNH was important and in the National interest.
The Bureau of Land Management manages nearly 4 million museum
objects and archives and has a large backlog of cultural resources to
inventory on public lands. Currently, only about 11 percent of public
lands have been assessed for heritage resources. Such assessments need
to be conducted before unique resources are lost to looting, vandalism,
fire, or environmental change.
The National Park Service must continue its investments in
scientific collections into the future in order to monitor the Nation's
protected natural heritage, which means cataloging millions of museum
objects and connecting the resulting databases to national and global
data portals to monitor changes through time. The National Park Service
curates a wide range of specimens and artifacts, from historical and
cultural items to preserved tissues from protected species and living
microorganisms collected in our National Parks. Several parks have made
progress on addressing planning, environmental, storage, security, and
fire protection deficiencies in museum collections, but much work
remains, and present and future collections will be fundamental for
effective management efforts.
conclusion
Scientific collections are critical research infrastructure that
help support the Nation's bioeconomy. Research specimens connect us to
the past and are used to document and solve current problems. They
allow us to predict threats to human health, find successful methods
for ensuring food security, and address the impact of future
environmental changes. Sustained investments in scientific collections
are in our National interest. We also see these investments as critical
for our efforts to grow diversity and inclusion in the scientific
workforce.
The budget for NMNH has not seen adequate increases in recent
years. We urge Congress to provide NMNH with at least $60 million in FY
2024 to allow the museum to undertake critical collections care, make
needed technology upgrades, and conduct cutting edge research. Please
support adequate funding for programs within Interior bureaus that
support the preservation and use of scientific collections--a truly
irreplaceable resource. We urge Congress to provide the USGS with at
least $1.85 billion in FY 2024, with increased support for collections.
Thank you for your thoughtful consideration of this request.
[This statement was submitted by Gil Nelson, Ph.D., President,
Natural Science Collections Alliance.]
______
Prepared Statement of the Nature Conservancy
Chair Merkley, Ranking Member Murkowski and members of the
subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to submit recommendations
for fiscal year 2024 (FY24) appropriations. The Nature Conservancy
(TNC) is a nonprofit conservation organization working around the world
to protect ecologically important lands and waters for people and
nature. TNC appreciates Congress's work to pass the bipartisan
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act in 2021 and the Inflation
Reduction Act in 2022. These investments in our natural systems will
help bolster resiliency, respond to climate change, and, if equitably
implemented, aid socially and economically disadvantaged communities.
These investments complement but do not supplant the need for ongoing
program funding through the appropriations process. Indeed, a robust
appropriations package will serve as the foundation for implementing
these bills and ensuring long-term success for critical programs under
the subcommittee's jurisdiction.
Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF). Passage of the Great
American Outdoors Act and the dedicated funding of LWCF positions the
program to provide more support for landscape-level conservation,
working forests and ranchlands, access to the outdoors for underserved
communities, climate resilience, conservation of historical and
cultural sites, and advancing the America the Beautiful initiative.
However, project demand in every State and county continues to far
outstrip the $900 million a year in available funding for the program.
TNC appreciates the continued support from Congress to improve the
appraisal process and real estate policies of the agencies delivering
the LWCF programs. While there is more to do, the organization is
grateful for the subcommittee's efforts to lay the foundation for
ongoing work with the agencies.
Forest Restoration and Fire. TNC also recommends funding for U.S.
Forest Service (USFS) and Department of the Interior (DOI) programs
that address catastrophic megafires, pests and drought--all impacts
exacerbated by climate change--in our forests. TNC supports substantial
reinvestments in programs that increase forest resilience, specifically
those that support collaboratively developed, science-based, climate-
informed and ecologically focused activities across all forests. These
programs not only contribute to forest resilience but also create jobs,
support local economies and reduce wildfire risk to communities, among
other benefits.
TNC's funding recommendations for the USFS are based on the modern
budgeting practices undertaken by USFS. The organization also
recommends increased salaries and expenses proportional to any program
increases, as well as directing the USFS and DOI to identify and
prioritize projects based on best-available climate vulnerability,
watershed conditions, and fire risk assessments.
Investing in Wildfire Resilience. Congress took a major step toward
stabilizing the USFS and DOI budgets with the 2018 ``fire fix,'' for
which TNC continues to be thankful. The organization urges Congress to
ensure the fire fix remains durable and comprehensive. An estimated 50
million acres are in critical need of wildfire resilience treatments
across all forests due to the impacts of these challenges. A TNC report
recommends an investment surge of $5-6 billion per year over the next
10 years for the highest-priority work of increasing wildfire
resilience and providing communities with much-needed resources for
infrastructure and adaptation.
TNC recommends investing in the USFS's Hazardous Fuels Program at
$323 million and DOI's Fuels Management Program at $293 million. In
addition, TNC urges the subcommittee to repeat its FY21 instructions
for allocating funds to priority landscapes in both wildland-urban
interface and wildland settings for prescribed burning. TNC also
supports fully funding the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration
Program at $80 million, and State Fire Assistance at a minimum of $76
million. TNC appreciates the critical investment in Burned Area
Rehabilitation in the IIJA supporting forest recovery. This is a
significant management need and has been historically overlooked. TNC
supports sufficient funding for post-fire restoration for Burned Area
Rehabilitation activities in FY24.
Investing in Ecosystem Restoration, Reforestation and Planting. TNC
supports sufficient funding for programs that enhance water quality,
biodiversity, and forest health. TNC additionally recommends funding
the Urban and Community Forestry program at a minimum of $40 million to
support the increase in tree cover in urban landscapes to improve air
quality, reduce electricity, and help cities mitigate stormwater and
floodwater.
Research and Planning. TNC recommends sufficiently funding research
programs to include the USFS Research and Development Program (with
carve-outs for climate research and climate hubs), Forest Inventory and
Analysis (FIA), and Joint Fire Science for USFS and DOI. The Research
and Development Program offers a vital scientific basis for policies
that improve the health and quality of urban and rural communities.
Advances in FIA technology in measuring and monitoring are critical for
public and private forest carbon management. Investments in the Joint
Fire Science programs would provide competitive and focused applied
science solutions to improve the management of forests and watersheds
while protecting communities, water and air through interagency
partnerships. TNC also recommends sufficiently investing in land
management planning, inventory, and monitoring. USFS must update many
outdated forest plans and increase its efforts to appropriately
incorporate climate change into land management planning and project-
level documentation under the National Environmental Policy Act.
Endangered Species. TNC supports continuing funding of at least $60
million for the Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund. This
funding supports critical matching grants to States and territories for
conservation and species recovery efforts on non-federal lands. TNC
requests the subcommittee's continued support for Habitat Conservation
Plan (HCP) funding and HCP Land Acquisition Grants.
State and Tribal Wildlife Grants. Substantial Federal investments
are essential to support strategic actions by State, Tribal and Federal
agencies, and the conservation community, to protect wildlife and their
habitats. TNC appreciates the continued support from members of this
subcommittee to address these significant funding needs through its
work to pass the bipartisan Recovering America's Wildlife Act (S.
1149).
Wildlife Conservation Programs. TNC urges the subcommittee to
continue funding for North American Wetlands Conservation Act grants,
the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Fund, Migratory Bird Joint
Ventures, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) Migratory Bird
Management Programs and FWS Coastal Program at no less than the FY23
funding levels. Likewise, TNC supports continued strong funding for the
Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program, the Cooperative Landscape
Conservation and Adaptive Science programs and the National Fish
Habitat Initiative.
International Programs. The international conservation programs
appropriated annually within DOI and the USFS encompass DOI's Office of
International Affairs, FWS Multinational Species Conservation Funds,
FWS Wildlife Without Borders regional and global programs, the National
Park Service's International Program and the USFS International
Program. TNC requests increases over FY23 funding levels for these
programs and for implementation of the Lacey Act to manifest U.S.
leadership in addressing the dual crises of biodiversity loss and
climate change globally.
National Wildlife Refuge System. Found in every State and
territory, national wildlife refuges conserve the diversity of
America's environmentally sensitive and economically vital ecosystems,
including oceans, coasts, wetlands, deserts, tundra, prairies and
forests. TNC supports increased funding for the system's operations and
maintenance accounts to meet the well-documented needs of the National
wildlife refuge system. At a minimum, funding for the program should be
maintained at FY23 enacted levels.
Sage Grouse Conservation. TNC requests $85 million to support the
implementation of the Greater Sage-grouse Conservation Strategy (BLM:
$75 million, FWS: $5 million, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS): $5
million). These resources are needed to implement on-the-ground
projects and monitor habitat treatments, address rangeland fire and
noxious and invasive grasses, fund suppression and restoration efforts
and facilitate the partnership and science necessary for effective
conservation in western States. TNC continues to request the removal of
language that would bar FWS from proposing a rule to list the Greater
Sage-grouse under the Endangered Species Act from the FY24 bill.
BLM Land Management and Renewable Energy Development. TNC supports
ongoing work to expedite renewable energy development, including
funding to operationalize the Renewable Energy Coordination Offices and
regional clean energy plans. TNC recommends robust funding to support
BLM's thoughtful planning and management of public lands. This includes
the National Landscape Conservation System (no less than FY23 level of
$62 million), the Resource Management Planning (no less than FY23 level
of $69 million), the consolidated Wildlife and Aquatic Habitat
Management budget line ($150 million) and the Renewable Energy
Development program ($35 million).
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Geographic Programs.
TNC urges the subcommittee to continue robust funding for EPA's
geographic programs, including the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative
and the Chesapeake Bay, Puget Sound, Long Island Sound and Gulf of
Mexico programs, to make significant contributions to protecting
habitat, improving water quality and enhancing resilience in the large
landscapes they encompass.
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 the recovery of four
threatened and endangered fish species in the upper Colorado River
basin. The FWS budget includes approximately $1.5 million to support
these programs as well as fish hatchery needs associated with the
recovery plans. TNC requests the subcommittee maintain this funding in
FY24.
Restoring Rivers and Streams. Removing problematic dams and
upgrading culverts can improve public safety and provide environmental
and social benefits. TNC recommends at least level funding at $35
million for the FWS National Fish Passage Program and robust funding to
support the USFS restoration of streams by removing and restoring dam
and culvert barriers through programs including the Legacy Roads and
Trails program, State and Private Forestry programs and National Forest
System programs such as Vegetation and Watershed Management. Demand for
aquatic connectivity funds far exceeds the amount of funding available
as demonstrated by applicants in one region alone of FWS requested $110
million this year for the Investment in Infrastructure and Jobs Act-
funded portion of the National Fish Passage Program.
Federal Priority Streamgage (FPS) Network. USGS operates the FPS
Network to provide continuous streamflow information at over 8,400
locations nationwide. TNC supports $32 million for the FPS Network to
maintain existing gages. TNC also requests $68 million in Cooperative
Matching Funds (CMF) for streamgaging and protecting the approximately
5,275 CMF-supported streamgages already in place and functioning
nationwide. Lastly, TNC supports $35 million for the Next Generation
Water Observation System to expand this program and allow USGS to
modernize water data delivery systems across the United States.
3D Elevation Program (3DEP): 3DEP sponsors satellite topographical
mapping that provides communities with high-quality elevation mapping.
This mapping provides critical information that communities need to
assess and develop strategies to abate various challenges such as flood
risk, drought, coastal and riverbank erosion, and inform investments in
infrastructure and water resource management and protection, and much
more. In addition, 3DEP provides USGS and other Federal agencies with
the best scientific information to prepare for threats from natural
hazards. Knowledge of flood risks and natural hazards can help prevent
communities from developing in unsafe areas and allow risk mitigation
in developed areas. TNC supports continued funding of $42.9 million in
FY24 for 3DEP to promote resilient communities and environments.
Thank you for the opportunity to submit TNC's recommendations for
the FY24 Interior, Environment and Related Agencies Appropriations
Bill.
[This statement was submitted by Brent Keith, Federal Lands Policy
Team Lead, The Nature Conservancy.]
______
Prepared Statement of Navajo Agricultural Products Industry
On behalf of the Navajo Agricultural Products Industry (NAPI)
please find below our requests for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 Interior,
Environment, and Related Agencies appropriations bill.
As you know, NAPI is an agricultural enterprise wholly owned by the
Navajo Nation that manages over 70,000 acres of farmland. We employ 300
people annually and an additional 350-375 seasonal workers during
harvest. NAPI's crops include potatoes, wheat, beans, alfalfa, chili,
organic watermelon, organic squash, sumac, and corn.
In 1962, Public Law 87-483 authorized the development of 110,630
acres of farmland and an annual diversion of 508,000 acre-feet of water
from the Navajo Reservoir to Navajo Indian Irrigation Project (NIIP)
lands in exchange for the diversion of 100,000 acre-feet of water from
the Navajo Nation's claim in the San Juan Basin to the Rio Grande
Basin. In 1970, the Navajo Nation established the Navajo Agricultural
Products Industry (NAPI) to operate the NIIP and manage the Nation's
industrial agri-business to build a profitable commercial enterprise,
provide jobs and training for Navajo people, and to expand markets for
NAPI's products.
Approximately 35,000 of the 110,630 acres of farmland authorized
for construction under Public Law 87-483 (also referred to as the NIIP
Act) remain undeveloped. Funding to build out the NIIP and increase
farming capacity is critically needed. Appraisal level costs provided
by the US Bureau of Reclamation estimated $985 million to complete the
project in 2019 costs. It should be noted that the basis of the
estimate for the CCE (Construction Cost Estimates) assumed an estimated
$35 million in yearly appropriations with an estimated completion date
of 2059. Additionally, under an existing Indian Self- Determination and
Education Assistance Act (ISDEAA) contract, the Federal Government is
obligated to cover the NIIP's operations and maintenance (O&M)
expenses. However, the BIA has failed to keep pace with increasing O&M
expenses for the NIIP and other Indian Irrigation Projects, thus
failing in its trust responsibility. The NIIP Condition Assessment,
which was conducted by the Bureau of Indian Affairs in 2016, estimates
over $175 million in remediation costs resulting from an extensive
deferred maintenance backlog. Increased funding is desperately needed
to ensure the NIIP remains operating at necessary levels.
NAPI respectfully requests that the subcommittees ensure the
Federal Government upholds its trust responsibility to the Navajo
Nation with increased funding to the three programs below in the FY
2024 Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill:
1. Full funding of the NIIP O&M expenses in FY 2024. Due to a
continued lack of past necessary funding, total funding needs
for NIIP's O&M will be $8.1 million in FY 2024. We therefore
request the Natural Resources Management, Irrigation Operations
& Maintenance funding be increased to $25.5 million total in FY
2024. This increase will ensure that the NIIP receives enough
funding to continue to operate at maximum levels.
2. Increased funding for the WIIN Act, Public Law 114-322, Title III,
Subtitle B, Irrigation Rehabilitation and Renovation for Indian
Tribal Governments and their Economies from $10 million
annually to $35 million annually. These provisions of the WIIN
Act provide Indian Irrigation Projects with funding to address
deferred maintenance.
3. NAPI is ready to complete Block 9 stage 2 and 3 of the NIIP but
lacks obligated funding from the Federal Government to do so.
We respectfully request that the Resources Management
Construction fund be increased to $110 million in FY 2024 and
that the NIIP be funded at a minimum of $12 million from this
fund.
The Navajo Nation has not received all of what it was guaranteed in
the NIIP Act or in our ISDEAA contract with the Federal Government. As
a result, we are leaving valuable land unfarmed and Navajo Nation water
rights entitlements unused. In addition, NAPI is forced to cover the
government's O&M funding shortfalls. NAPI is requesting what was
promised over 60 years ago.
All three of these requests are important to the continued
operation and expansion of the NIIP and the Navajo Nation's farm
system. Thank you for your consideration of our requests.
[This statement was submitted by Dave Zeller, Chief Executive
Officer Navajo, Agricultural Products Industry.]
______
Prepared Statement of the Nez Perce Tribe
Thank you for the opportunity to provide this testimony on behalf
of the Nez Perce Tribe (Tribe) as the Committee evaluates and
prioritizes FY 2024 appropriations. This testimony covers funding for
the needs of Tribal Nations regarding the Bureau of Indian Affairs
(BIA), Indian Health Service (IHS), Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA), Forest Service, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS).
The Nimiipuu people 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 government, and all members of our communities. We are
deeply grateful that the many funding increases to Tribal programs in
the final FY 2023 appropriations build on the increases Congress
provided in FY 2022.
Like any government, the Tribe performs a wide array of work and
provides a multitude of services to its Tribal membership as well as
the community at large. The Tribe has a health clinic; a Tribal police
force; a social services department; and a comprehensive natural
resources program that does work related to forestry, wildlife
management, land services and land management, habitat restoration, air
quality and smoke management, water quality, and sewer service. The
Tribe also operates one of the largest fisheries departments of any
Tribe in the Nation working on the recovery of listed species under the
Endangered Species Act. Each of these programs is necessary and vital
for the Tribe as a sovereign nation that preserves and protects the
Treaty rights of the Nez Perce People and provides day-to-day
governmental services to our members and surrounding communities.
The 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 Tribe and our members. All the Tribe's work is
guided by this principle. 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. To accomplish this
work, as members of this subcommittee frequently note, the U.S. must
affirm its trust responsibility to Indian Tribes by properly funding
programs. The impact of such underfunding was documented in the 2018
report of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, Broken Promises. This
report was updated in 2020 to show how this chronic underfunding
exacerbated the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in Indian Country.
bureau of indian affairs
The Tribe requests that overall funding of $3.8 billion for the BIA
and Bureau of Indian Education in FY 2023 be maintained in FY 2024. The
Tribe also supports the indefinite appropriation for contract support
costs at $328 million for BIA in FY 2024. The Tribe also recommends
that these costs should be reclassified from discretionary to
mandatory.
In relation to the BIA Public Safety and Justice account, the Tribe
advocates for maintaining funding for law enforcement that was enacted
for that account in FY 2023. The Nez Perce Reservation spans 1,200
square miles, covering five counties, and has a mixture of Tribal and
non-Tribal residents. The Tribe provides a full-service law and justice
program and recently completed construction of a jail facility. The
Tribe has a fully trained and staffed police force, a fully staffed
Tribal court, a prosecutor, a public defender, and other personnel that
perform related administrative functions. The Tribe received just over
$1,382,595 in BIA base funding and $990,238 in BIA direct Contract
Support Cost funds. Currently, the Tribe contributes $1,179,941 to
cover the shortfall in BIA funding for the Tribe's law enforcement and
corrections, $745,624 for judicial services/probation, $480,040 for
prosecutorial services, $318,057 for public defender services, and
$486,046 for prisoner boarding. This supplemental funding is derived
from Tribal taxes on goods and fuel and Tribal gaming revenues that
would otherwise be used for Tribal governmental services. Funding for
these programs, including additional funding to operate the new jail
facility, needs to be maintained and ultimately increased to account
for shortfalls in funding the Tribe must absorb to continue the
operation of these important services on the 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 is used to
supplement research efforts of the Tribe relative to other sensitive
species. The Tribe recommends a $1 million increase for the BIA
Endangered Species Program. This account provides the Nez Perce Tribe
with technical and financial assistance to protect endangered species
on trust lands. Also, the Tribe recommends an increase of $2.8 million
for BIA Natural Resource Tribal Priority Allocations which will help
increase Tribal land and management capabilities.
In addition, the funding provided under the BIA Rights Protection
Implementation account is critical to support the exercise of treaty-
reserved, off-reservation hunting and fishing for Tribes. The Tribe
supports, at a minimum, the $49.2 million in funding provided in FY
2023. These funds provide the foundation for core program
administration and treaty rights protection activities, such as harvest
monitoring. These efforts are central to the Tribe's fisheries
management responsibilities as established by the Nez Perce Treaties of
1855 and 1863 and further delineated in court decisions regarding
implementation of hunting and fishing Treaty rights. It is also
important to understand that this funding is used for job creation.
The Tribe supports maintaining the FY 2023 funding for the BIA
Fish, Wildlife and Parks account. The Tribe, through our fisheries
programs, has invested a significant amount of personnel and resources
into the restoration of salmon. The States of Oregon, Washington, and
Idaho, as well as sports fisheries, directly benefit from this work.
These programs have been successful with funding under the Tribal
Management and Development Program which is critical for the Tribe's
management of fish and wildlife. We recommend funding a $4 million
increase over FY 2023 funding for the Tribal Management and Development
Program.
The Tribe recommends continued funding for the Columbia River In-
Lieu Treaty Sites by supplementing the $4.5 million provided in FY 2023
to implement the Columbia River In-Lieu and Treaty Fishing Access Sites
Improvement Act
indian health service
The Tribe operates Nimiipuu Health, a healthcare clinic on the Nez
Perce Reservation in Lapwai, Idaho, and its satellite facility located
65 miles away in Kamiah, Idaho. Nimiipuu Health provides services to
approximately 4,000 patients each year. Annually, this computes to at
least 40,000 medical/dental provider visits which does not include
pharmacy or laboratory visits.
The Tribe applauds the $7 billion provided for FY 2023 and the
advanced appropriations for FY 2024 of $5 billion. We recommend
maintaining these levels going forward, but it must be noted that this
funding amount will not cover the costs the Nez Perce and other Tribes
have in order to maintain current services because we also have to
ensure that programs and facilities keep pace with medical and non-
medical inflation and with population growth. Recommendations of
substantially increasing this funding to as high as $9 billion has been
supported by the Tribe.
The Tribe also supports an increase in funding for purchased/
referred care (P/RC) since this funding has not adjusted with
inflation. The Tribe recommends that this $996.7 million allocation be
substantially increased to continue to meet the P/RC spending needs of
Tribal health facilities caused by medical inflation.
The Tribe supports the funding for contract support costs for FY
2023 of $969 million. However, this change in funding should not be
accomplished or be offset by reducing other funding for these agencies
that would adversely affect services or programs. This funding should
not be reduced by excessive set-asides for administration.
The Tribe recommends permanent, mandatory funding of the Special
Diabetes Program at no less than $150 million per fiscal year. In that
regard, similar levels of funding are recommended for mental health and
substance abuse treatment. The current annual allocation for mental
health and substance abuse, while very important, falls well below the
financial needs to provide adequate care and treatment on reservations.
Finally, the Tribe would like to express our support for the budget
recommendations of the Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board
including, but not limited to recommendations on increases to the $111
million provided in FY 2023 for 105(l) lease costs and to make the
funding mandatory.
u.s. fish and wildlife service
The Tribe relies heavily on funding sources within the USFWS.
First, the operations of Kooskia National Fish Hatchery are funded by
the USFWS. The Tribe manages the hatchery pursuant to the terms of the
Snake River Water Rights Act of 2004 (Act). The hatchery is in dire
need of a new water supply to reduce the extraordinary amount of
sediment that accumulates in the current water at the facility so the
Tribe can continue to meet its production goals. The USFWS should be
allocated adequate funding for the operations of this important
facility to ensure the United States meets its obligations under the
act.
Second, the USFWS-administered State and Tribal Wildlife Grants
program is an important and cost-effective expenditure for the Federal
Government and is one of the few sources of funds Tribes can tap into
for wildlife research. Over the last several years, the Tribe has
received grants funding for work on diverse issues such as rare plant
conservation and Condor habitat research. Continued funding for the
State and Tribal Wildlife Grants program will allow recipient Tribes to
build capacity and maintain involvement in key conservation issues. The
Tribe strongly urges this subcommittee to not reduce, but instead
increase, funding for these competitive grants to $75 million and
increase the Tribal share to $6.5 million.
environmental protection agency
The Tribe works closely with EPA on many programs that are
essential to the health and safety of the 18,000 Tribal and non-Tribal
citizens residing within the Nez Perce Reservation. These programs also
protect the Treaty-reserved resources of the Tribe that the United
States has a trust obligation to preserve. These programs include: the
Clean Water Act 106 Program; the Clean Water Act 319 Nonpoint Source
(NPS) Pollution Prevention Program; the Indian General Assistance
Program; the Tribal Brownfields Response Program; the Underground
Storage Tank Program; the Delegation of Nez Perce Federal
Implementation Plan; the Clean Air Act 103 Grant-Nez Perce Tribe Air
Quality Project; and the EPA Region 10 Pesticide Circuit Rider Program.
The Tribe recommends that the Indian General Assistance Program be
funded at $75 million; the Tribal allocation under the Clean Water Act
106 program be increased by 20 percent; Tribal Air Quality Management
be funded at $16 million; the Brownfields Program be maintained at $100
million; and a funding amount be specifically allocated in lieu of the
percent cap on Tribal funding for NPS pollution control.
The Tribe requests the Columbia River Basin Restoration Program,
authorized under the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation
Act of 2016, be funded at no less than the $3 million provided to EPA
in FY 2023 but recommends that number be substantially increased.
forest service
The Tribe does a tremendous amount of work with the Forest Service
including landscape restoration and resource management. The Tribe
entered into a Good Neighbor Authority agreement with the Forest
Service in 2022 that will allow more collaboration on work that will
help protect Treaty-reserved resources on forest system land. It is
important that these programs receive stable and consistent funding to
allow this work to continue.
As you can see, the 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.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify today.
[This statement was submitted by the Nez Perce Tribe.]
______
Prepared Statement of Nisqually Indian Tribe
Summary of Budget Requests:
I. Bureau of Indian Affairs--Increase funding for Western Washington
Program
II. Bureau of Indian Affairs--Increase funding for Tribal Climate
Resilience Program
III. Environmental Protection Agency--Increase funding for Puget Sound
Program
IV. Environmental Protection Agency--Funding to Address Impacts of
6PPD Quinone
introduction and background
Greetings Chair Merkley, Ranking Member Murkowski, and Honorable
Members of the subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related
Agencies. My name is William Frank III and I have the honor of serving
as Chairman of the Nisqually Indian Tribe (``Tribe''). Thank you for
the opportunity to provide written testimony regarding the Tribe's
funding priorities within the subcommittee's jurisdiction. It is also
an honor to continue my father, Billy Frank, Jr's, lifetime commitment
and fight to protect our salmon, water, and environment.
The Nisqually Indian Tribe has treaty reserved rights enshrined in
the Treaty of Medicine Creek of 1854 and upheld by Federal courts in
U.S. vs Washington, also known as the Boldt Decision, in 1974 and in
numerous decisions in the intervening 48 years. These rights include,
at their most fundamental of understanding, the ability to continue to
exist as the Nisqually Indian Tribe in return for allowing the peaceful
settlement of Americans in our region. The Tribal leaders that were
signatory to the Treaty envisioned perpetual survival of our people,
our traditions and cultures, our use of our homelands, and the access
and use of the natural resources that have been central to our
existence since time immemorial.
Access and use of our treaty secured natural resources has been
diminished significantly over time. Specifically, the salmon of the
Nisqually River have decreased in numbers over the past 25 years to the
point where there are two species listed as threatened under the
Endangered Species Act (``ESA''), the Fall Chinook salmon and the
steelhead trout; and there are two more candidates for future listing
considerations, the unique Nisqually late chum and the coho salmon.
As recently as the 1980's, and throughout time, Nisqually Tribal
members regularly fished 8 months a year on the river that bears our
name. By 2015, fishing time has been constrained to a mere 8 days to
conserve the diminishing resource for future generations. Eight days is
not using our homelands and waters as promised; 8 days is not
practicing our cultures and traditions; and 8 days is not honoring the
promises contained in the Treaty of Medicine Creek.
bureau of indian affairs: rights protection implementation-western
washington (boldt decision)
The Boldt Decision reaffirmed our Tribe's right to co-manage
fishery resources with the State of Washington. To honor this Federal
decision and many other court decisions upholding Tribal rights, the
Department of the Interior provides Tribal funding under the Rights
Protection Implementation (``RPI'') Program. Particularly, the Western
Washington Program provides specific Federal funding to meet its treaty
obligations to Western Washington Tribes, including the Nisqually
Indian Tribe.
The Nisqually Indian Tribe has utilized this vital Federal funding
to revive our precious fish resources and to build a strong and
dedicated Natural Resources Program. The Tribe has over 40 staff in
eight different programs that utilize science-based management of our
fisheries. These eight different programs include shellfish management,
environmental management, salmon hatchery operations, salmon recovery,
Geographic and Information Services, and salmon restoration and
research. The Tribe is putting all its efforts into the survival of our
fisheries and trust resources, stretching every dollar. Our obligations
to manage under the Boldt Decision and the ESA are growing more
complicated as our world continues to change.
Despite the effectiveness of RPI, the funding levels are simply
insufficient. The Tribe has never received dedicated environmental
staffing support to deal with climate change and impacts from growth.
Unfortunately, the fiscal resources have failed to keep up with
economic challenges and competition for staff fully support the proper
management of our trust resources and treaty protected rights.
The Tribe appreciates the Administration's proposal to increase
funding for Rights Protection Implementation by $342 thousand over the
previously enacted level. This includes an increase of $86 thousand for
the Western Washington Program. We urge the subcommittee follow suit
and increase RPI funding to ensure that the Federal Government meets
its treaty obligations.
bureau of indian affairs: tribal climate resilience program
Climate change is real and is having dramatic and significant
impacts on our people and the resources we depend upon. As a result of
rising sea levels, we are seeing changes to the Nisqually Delta habitat
in ways that are impacting salmon survival. The culturally important
plant species that we use for our food, medicine, and crafts are
becoming scarcer as their range is being reduced with rising
temperatures and changes in the timing and magnitude of rainfall.
We have invested a tremendous amount of time and resources to
protect and restore our watershed while increasing resiliency, but the
changes are occurring at a pace that is challenging to match with our
efforts alone. We need to increase the pace and magnitude of our
efforts while working on solutions to the climate change that imperils
the very resources that we all care for and are dependent on for our
very survival.
With Western Washington Tribes being on the frontlines of climate
change, we are encouraged by the Biden Administration's proposal to
increase funding for the Tribal Climate Resilience Program (``TCRP'')
by $13 million over the previously enacted level. The TCRP is
instrumental in assisting Tribal governments with climate adaptation
and preparedness, implementing strategies for resilient communities,
and encouraging cooperative solutions. The Nisqually Indian Tribe
requests that the subcommittee provide substantial increases in funding
for the Tribal Climate Resilience Program.
environmental protection agency: puget sound program
There are many issues challenging our salmon's very survival in the
Nisqually River and throughout Puget Sound. The Puget Sound is our
regional icon and it has been designated as an estuary of National
Significance under the Clean Water Act. The Puget Sound represents the
promise of a clean, healthy, and vital environment that is central to
our lives in Western Washington. It is as important to our region as
the Great Lakes and the Everglades are to those living in those
watersheds.
The plight of the salmon is also the plight of our people. Losing
our promised and generational connection to the salmon and the river
and our traditional practices has long lasting impacts on our
communities. When we have salmon, when we have time on our river, when
we eat our traditional foods and practice our culture, we are healthy.
When these things are lacking, we too are at risk. Our physical,
emotional, and spiritual health is directly and permanently connected
to our river and our salmon. Saving salmon is saving our people.
We are not alone feeling the impact of disappearing salmon runs.
Our brothers the Orca of Puget Sound are also struggling. The Southern
Resident Killer Whales, salmon eaters like us, are now listed as
threatened under the ESA and are slowly slipping away into extinction.
We all watched helplessly in shock and horror the vision of the mother
Orca carrying her dead baby for 18 days in Puget Sound in 2018. As go
the salmon, goes the Orca and the Nisqually People.
Under the EPA's Puget Sound Program, the Nisqually Indian Tribe
receives important funding to conduct research and implement programing
to revitalize the salmon population. Compared to other nearby bodies of
water, salmon in the Puget Sound have a much lower survival rate.
Federal funding allows our researchers to understand why this is
happening in the Puget Sound. Once we understand the cause, we can
provide the best measures to protect the salmon. The Nisqually Indian
Tribe requests that the subcommittee increases funding EPA's Puget
Sound Program to further assist us in tackling the complicated issues
in the Puget Sound.
environmental protection agency: funding to address impacts of 6ppd
quinone on salmon
The Nisqually Tribe has grave concerns regarding the deadly threat
that 6PPD Quinone is having on our salmon and treaty protected
resources. The Tribe needs the EPA to provide the critical leadership
and sense of urgency needed to immediately solve this problem. This is
a crucial issue for the Tribe and all Tribes that depend upon salmon.
We have seen our salmon populations decline dramatically over the past
30 years and the negative impacts that has had on our treaty rights,
our culture and traditions, and the health of our communities. 6PPD is
killing our fish every time it rains.
We assert that there needs to be two pathways that are fully
supported for success. The first is source removal and we request that
the pertinent regulatory agencies be fully funded to expedite their
involvement. The previous administration gutted key programs within the
EPA and NOAA, resulting in the Federal Government likely being the
weakest link in approving a safe alternative for time manufacturing and
future monitoring and research.
The second pathway must be a commitment to treating stormwater for
6PPD-Q, and other numerous toxics coming off our roadway with each
rain, in the Pacific Northwest while we deal with the legacy of 6PPD in
current tires. The Nisqually Indian Tribe has led an effort to find an
affordable and scale-able treatment system for roadway runoff with a
specific focus on 6PPD. Our pilot project is proving successful and
could be used region wide. Funding for installation and monitoring and
maintenance is lacking to address the problem at the magnitude of the
challenge. The Tribe urges the subcommittee to provide funding that
will address the deadly impacts that 6PPD Quinone is having on the
salmon population.
conclusion
The Nisqually Indian Tribe appreciates the opportunity to share our
Fiscal Year 2024 funding priorities with the subcommittee.
[This statement was submitted by William Frank III, Chairman.]
______
Prepared Statement of Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission
Chair Merkley, Ranking Member Murkowski, and Honorable Members of
the Subcommittee, for the record my name is Ed Johnstone, and I am
Chair of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission (NWIFC). The NWIFC
is composed of the twenty tribes in western Washington that are party
to United States v. Washington, which upheld the tribes' treaty-
reserved right to harvest and manage natural resources on and off-
reservation, including salmon and shellfish. On behalf of the NWIFC, we
are providing testimony for the record on our natural resource
management and environmental program funding requests for the Bureau of
Indian Affairs (BIA), Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) and Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) Fiscal Year 2024 appropriations. These programs
support tribes to carry out their natural resource management
responsibilities including the management of Pacific salmon fisheries,
which contribute to a robust natural resource-based economy and the
exercise of our treaty rights.
Summary of Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24) Appropriations Requests
Bureau of Indian Affairs
--Provide $66.0 million for Rights Protection Implementation
(collective request)
--Provide $17.146 million for Western Washington Fisheries
Management
--Provide $3.748 million for Washington State Timber-Fish-Wildlife
--Provide $7.42 million for U.S./Canada Pacific Salmon Treaty
--Provide $2.4 million for Salmon Marking
--Provide $15.0 million for Fish, Wildlife & Parks Projects (non-TPA)
--Provide $1.109 million for the Salmon and Steelhead Habitat
Inventory and Assessment Program within the Tribal Management/
Development Program Subactivity
--Fully Fund Contract Support Costs
--Provide $2.0 million for Western Washington Treaty Tribes' Wildlife
Management
--Provide $48.04 million for Tribal Climate Resilience
Fish & Wildlife Service
--Provide $8.0 million for Tribal Wildlife Grants
Environmental Protection Agency
--Provide $96.4 million for General Assistance Program
--Provide $54.0 million for Puget Sound Geographic Program
justification of requests
Bureau of Indian Affairs
--Provide $66.0 million for BIA 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
$66.0 million for the Rights Protection Implementation (RPI)
subactivity is necessary to support essential tribal treaty-reserved
resource management. This request is a $16.8 million increase over the
FY23 enacted level of $49.2 million. The large disparity between our
collective request and the enacted level demonstrates that the basic
natural resource management functions of the treaty tribes continue to
be underfunded. Faced with the difficult combination of increasing
natural resource scarcity and cumulative environmental stressors,
tribal natural resource management has become more complex and resource
intensive. Considering this challenge, additional capacity is needed to
manage treaty-reserved resources and protect tribal rights.
Unfortunately, most of the programs under RPI, such as Western
Washington Fisheries Management, have not received a meaningful
increase since FY18. A summary of the subaccounts of importance to us
within RPI are identified below.
--Provide $17.146 million for BIA Western Washington Fisheries
Management
We respectfully request $17.146 million, an increase of $5.543
million over the FY23 enacted level of $11.603 million. Funding for
this program supports the tribes to co-manage their treaty-reserved
resources with the state of Washington, and to continue to meet court
mandates and legal responsibilities. For example, funding supports
harvest planning, population assessments, data gathering for finfish,
shellfish and groundfish, and other natural resource management needs.
This funding is critical to support the day-to-day operations of
essential fishery management. Reduced abundance and increased
regulatory scrutiny of fisheries, coupled with ongoing salmon habitat
loss, increased recreational pressures and climate change are greatly
increasing the difficulty (and cost) of co-managing salmon and other
resources.
--Provide $3.748 million for BIA Washington State Timber-Fish-
Wildlife (TFW)
We respectfully request $3.748 million, which is $28,000 above the
FY23 enacted level of $3.72 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 funding
supports the tribes' participation in the TFW Agreement--a
collaborative intergovernmental and stakeholder process between the
state, industry and tribes.
--Provide $7.42 million for BIA U.S./Canada Pacific Salmon Treaty
We respectfully request $7.42 million, an increase of $628,000
above the FY23 enacted level of $6.792 million. This request is
consistent with that of the Pacific Salmon Commission (PSC) and is
necessary to implement the Annex chapters of the Pacific Salmon Treaty
(PST). Tribes assist the U.S. government in meeting its obligations to
implement the treaty by participating in fisheries management
exercises, cooperative research and data gathering activities. This
funding also supports participation in the PST process.
--Provide $2.4 million for BIA Salmon Marking
We respectfully request $2.4 million, an increase of $948,000 over
the FY23 enacted level of $1.452 million. This request would support
ongoing coded wire tagging and adipose fin clipping (marking)
operations at tribal hatcheries. Marking is used to differentiate
hatchery-origin salmon from natural spawning ones. Since 2003, Congress
has required that all salmon released from federally funded hatcheries
are marked for conservation management purposes. Coded Wire Tags are
used to provide a unique identifier to a particular hatchery stock,
which is then used in salmonid abundance assessments and catch rates.
The NWIFC uses automated trailers to provide efficient centralized
tagging and marking services to our 20-member tribes. This state-of-
the-art equipment is very complex and requires expert technicians to
operate and maintain. The operations and maintenance of the trailers,
coupled with an increasing demand for these important services,
continues to increase our costs to carry out this Federal directive.
--Provide $15.0 million for BIA Fish, Wildlife & Parks Projects (Non-
TPA) for Hatchery Operations and Maintenance
We respectfully request $15.0 million for Hatchery Operations and
Maintenance within the Fish, Wildlife and Parks Projects account, an
increase of $2.055 million over the FY23 enacted level of $12.945
million. More specifically, we request $8.0 million for Hatchery
Operations and $7.0 million for Hatchery Maintenance. This 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. Without hatcheries, tribes would lose their most
basic ceremonial and subsistence fisheries that are central to our
tribal culture. We currently estimate that more than 80% of the salmon
harvested are hatchery-origin fish. Yet despite the central importance
of these facilities, tribes face millions of dollars in deferred
maintenance costs and significant funding shortfalls in operations.
--Provide $1.109 million for BIA Salmon and Steelhead Habitat
Inventory and Assessment Program (SSHIAP) (within the Tribal
Management/Development Program)
We respectfully request $1.109 million, an increase of $206,000
above the FY23 enacted level of $903,000 for SSHIAP within the Tribal
Management/Development Program subactivity. SSHIAP is vital to the
western Washington tribes because it provides essential environmental
data management, analysis, sharing and reporting to support tribal
natural resource management. It also supports our tribes' ability to
adequately participate in watershed resource assessments and salmon
recovery work.
--Fully Fund BIA Contract Support Costs
We respectfully request that Congress fully fund Contract Support
Costs (CSC) and reclassify CSC as mandatory. Funding for CSC ensures
tribes and tribal organizations have the capacity to manage Federal
programs under self-determination contracts and self-governance
compacts.
--Provide $2.0 million for Western Washington Treaty Tribes' Wildlife
Management
We respectfully request $2.0 million for western Washington treaty
tribes' wildlife management programs from an account within the Bureau
of Indian Affairs Trust--Natural Resources Management Activity. The
member tribes reserved the right to fish, hunt and gather natural
resources throughout their ceded territories. Part and parcel with the
tribes' reserved right to hunt and gather outside of their reservation
boundaries is the need to co-manage wildlife resources with the State
of Washington. Requested funding will provide capacity to participate
in state-tribal co-management forums, develop wildlife management
plans, develop and enhance tribal hunting codes, and design and
implement applied research projects. These capabilities are fundamental
to the protection of our tribes' treaty rights and there is currently
no dedicated account or funding to directly support this critical work.
--Provide $48.04 million for BIA Tribal Climate Resilience
We request $48.04 million for Tribal Climate Resilience
subactivity, an increase of $13.049 million over the FY23 enacted level
of $34.991. Climate change is one of the largest threats to tribal
rights and resources. Funding from this competitive grant program will
support tribal participation in critical issues that impact treaty-
reserved resources, adaptation and promote climate resiliency.
fish & wildlife service
--Provide $8.0 million for FWS Tribal Wildlife Grants
We respectfully request $8.0 million for the nationwide Tribal
Wildlife Grants program, an increase of $1.8 million over the FY23
enacted level of $6.2 million. Funding from this competitive grant
program supports the conservation of wildlife and their habitat,
including species that are culturally or traditionally important to
tribes.
environmental protection agency
--Provide $96.4 million for EPA General Assistance Program (GAP)
We request $96.4 million for the nationwide GAP, an increase of
$21.65 million over the FY23 enacted level of $74.75. We also
respectfully request bill or report language that would improve
flexibility in the GAP to ensure individual tribal priorities and
implementation activities would be eligible and that newly proposed
allocations will not result in a decreased proportion of funds for EPA
Region 10 tribes and consortia. The GAP builds essential tribal program
capacity to address environmental issues that impact tribes' health,
safety and treaty-reserved resources. The GAP also provides critical
funding to tribal consortia to support intertribal coordination on
environmental issues.
--Provide $54.0 million for EPA Puget Sound Geographic Program
We request $54.0 million for Puget Sound consistent with the FY23
enacted level. This Geographic Program provides essential funding that
will help protect and restore Puget Sound--an estuary of national
significance. Funding for this program supports tribal participation in
a broad range of collaborative Puget Sound recovery work, including
scientific research, resource recovery planning and policy discussions
that affect our treaty rights.
conclusion
We respectfully request the subcommittee's support for these
requests. We greatly appreciate your attention to these matters and
thank you for your continued commitment to the tribes.
[This statement was submitted by Ed Johnstone, Chair of the
Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission.]
______
Prepared Statement of Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board
Greetings Chairman Merkley and Ranking Member Murkowski, and
Members of the subcommittee. My name is Nickolaus Lewis, and I serve on
the Lummi Indian Business Council, and as Chair of the Northwest
Portland Area Indian Health Board (NPAIHB or Board). I thank the
subcommittee for the opportunity to provide testimony on the FY 2024
Indian Health Service (IHS) budget and for their continual support for
increased funding for IHS every year.
NPAIHB was established in 1972 and is a Tribal organization under
the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (ISDEAA),
Public Law 93-638, that advocates on behalf of the 43 federally-
recognized Indian Tribes in Idaho, Oregon, and Washington on specific
health care issues. The Board's mission is to eliminate health
disparities and improve the quality of life of American Indians and
Alaska Natives (AI/AN) by supporting Northwest Tribes in the delivery
of culturally appropriate, high quality health programs and services.
``Wellness for the seventh generation'' is the Board's vision. In order
to achieve this vision, I respectfully ask that this subcommittee
consider Tribal sovereignty, traditional knowledge, and culture in all
policy initiatives and funding opportunities.
I provide the following testimony to address our long-standing
needs in the Northwest:
Health Equity. AI/ANs in the Northwest face high health disparities
compared to non-Hispanic White (NHW). AI/AN people in the Northwest
have a life expectancy that is about 7 years lower than that of NHW
people in the region. Data from the Northwest show that AI/AN people
experience disparities at all stages of life, and are particularly
vulnerable to chronic diseases such as heart disease and diabetes,
injuries, substance misuse and overdoses, and violence. In the past
year, there has been an alarming increase in Fentanyl overdoses in
Northwest Tribal communities. AI/AN people in the Northwest are less
likely to have health care coverage and access compared to their NHW
counterparts.
These disparities are the consequence of centuries of neglect and
broken promises by the Federal Government to adequately fund
healthcare. IHS is chronically underfunded with the overall budget
covering only a fraction of the healthcare needs of AI/AN people.\1\
Year after year, Northwest Tribes have unmet healthcare needs due to
the chronic underfunding and any budget cut to the IHS will result in
further barriers to accessing health services in the Northwest.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ U.S. COMM'N ON CIVIL RIGHTS, BROKEN PROMISES: CONTINUING
FEDERAL FUNDING SHORTFALL FOR NATIVE AMERICANS AT 19 (2018) available
at https://www.usccr.gov/pubs/2018/12-20-Broken-Promises.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Provide Advance Appropriations for IHS. We thank Members of the
subcommittee for their support in upholding the Federal Government's
obligations to provide health services to AI/AN by authorizing advance
appropriations in FY 2024. Previous government shutdowns have caused
undue hardship to Northwest Tribes--from Federal employees not
receiving a paycheck to clinics cutting down their hours. Advance
appropriations provide predictable funding to enable IHS, Tribes, and
urban Indian organization leaders to effectively manage budgets,
coordinate care, and improve outcomes for AI/ANs without any service
interruptions. For this reason, NPAIHB requests the subcommittee
continues to provide advance appropriations for FY 2025.
Provide Mandatory Appropriation for ISDEAA Section 105(l) Leases
and Contract Support Costs (CSC). Although we are appreciative of the
subcommittee's support in securing an indefinite appropriation for
105(l) leases and CSC, we need 105(l) leases and CSC to be moved to
mandatory appropriations. This will ensure that these appropriations
are funded year after year without impacting annual programmatic
increases to IHS and Tribal health facilities.
1. The Tribes in the Northwest have been relentless advocates for
Tribal Self-Determination and Self-Governance which is one of the most
successful programs funded by the Indian Health Service. However, the
Cook Inlet decision is destabilizing on our Tribal health program
operations and threaten our indirect cost recovery to support Northwest
Tribal health program operations. We urgently request the subcommittee
to support a legislative fix to the Indian Self-Determination and
Education Assistance Act to restore the longstanding interpretation of
the act.
Provide Full, Mandatory Funding for IHS. We are concerned on the
minimal increase of $327 million to the IHS in the FY 2023 Omnibus
Appropriations Act. This increase does not support President Biden's
historic request for an increase of $2.2 billion for the IHS in FY
2023. The Northwest Tribes will never be able to adequately address
their chronic health disparities without substantial increased funding
for the IHS. The National Tribal Budget Formulation Workgroup
recommended, and our Area supports, the request of $51 billion in FY
2024 to fully fund the IHS.\2\ Although we support the Biden
Administration putting forward a historical request for mandatory
funding, we request that the IHS and the subcommittee works and
supports the Portland Area Tribes to develop a legislative proposal for
mandatory funding for IHS.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ National Tribal Budget Formulation Workgroup Recommendation,
Indian Health Service Fiscal Year 2024 Budget, https://www.nihb.org/
docs/09072022/
FY%202024%20Tribal%20Budget%20Formulation%20Workgroup%20Recommendations.
pdf (last visited May 19, 2023).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fund Community Health Aide Program (CHAP) Expansion. Tribal Leaders
in the Portland Area support long term sustainable solutions that build
up our communities, create opportunities for our youth and Tribal
citizens, educate our healers and train the next generation of work
force. The CHAP is vital not only to expanding access to care in our
Tribal communities but tackling important social determinants of
health. CHAP builds an accessible education ladder into the health care
professions, increases access to culturally relevsant, trauma informed
primary care, and creates professional wage jobs in our communities.
However, the IHS has not provided adequate funding to expand CHAP in
the Portland Area to support education programs and member Tribes to
integrate CHAP providers into their health programs. For FY 2024, we
request $60 million for continuation of the National expansion of CHAP
with $10 million for Portland Area. We request $5 million to build
clinical classrooms to train community health aide providers in the
Portland Area.
In FY 2021, 2022 and 2023, $2 million was allocated for dental
health therapy education programs educating students in Washington,
Oregon, Idaho, and Alaska. But, the IHS has not provided any of this
funding to the Portland Area and will not unless there is an
appropriation increase. For FY 2024, we request $4.2 million for the
Dental therapy education programs with a $1.7 million earmark to
Portland Area and $2.5 million to support Alaska.
Fund Purchased and Referred Care (PRC) at $8 billion. The FY 2023
Omnibus Appropriations Act included a 1% increase to PRC-a nominal
increase that does not even cover inflation and population growth
costs. Our Area has to purchase all specialty and inpatient care
because there is no IHS hospital in the Portland Area. The PRC program
makes up over one-third of the Portland Area budget. When there is no
increase or consideration of population growth and medical inflation,
Northwest Tribes are forced to cut health services. Areas with IHS
hospitals can absorb these costs more easily because of their
infrastructure and large staffing packages.
When there are increases to the PRC budget, the Portland Area
Tribes receive additional funding to account for the lack of an IHS/
Tribal hospital in the Area, often referred to as the access to care
factor. However, the IHS has only ever funded this access to care
factor three times in the past 13 years-in FY 2010, 2012, and 2014.
Without year to year increases to PRC to fund the access to care
factor, inpatient care for Portland Area Tribes goes severely
underfunded. For FY 2024, our Area requests that PRC is funded at $8
billion. And, PRC should be the second highest budget line item
increase to conform with the National Tribal Budget Formulation
Workgroup's Recommendations.
Fund Mental Health and Substance Abuse at $3.5 billion. In our Area
and nationwide, there are high rates of depression, anxiety, and
relapses because of isolation during the pandemic. Our Tribes need
funds to support mental health provider shortages, expansion of
services, and training. NPAIHB is particularly concerned about our AI/
AN adolescents and young adults. Suicide is the second leading cause of
death for AI/AN adolescents and young adults. AI/AN suicide mortality
in this age group (10-29) is 2-3 greater, and in some communities 10
times greater, than that for non-Hispanic whites.
Mental Health and Substance Use programs could be expanded by
funding programs authorized but never funded under the Indian Health
Care Improvement Act (IHCIA), including Sections 702, 704, 705 and 715.
These programs would increase prevention and treatment services,
community mental health workers and behavioral health research. In
order to address anticipated needs and to fund much needed programs in
FY 2024, NPAIHB recommends funding Mental Health and Substance Abuse at
$3.5 billion.
In addition, we recommend that all IHS Behavioral Health
Initiatives provide an option for Tribes to receive funds through
ISDEAA Title I and Title V compacts and contracts. These programs
include the Tribes know how to manage and maximize funds to best meet
the behavioral health needs of their patients. These programs include
the Substance Abuse and Suicide Prevention Program, the Domestic
Violence Prevention Program, the Zero Suicide Initiative, and may
include the recently established Special Behavioral Health Program
(opioid program).
Special Diabetes Program for Indians (SDPI). We request permanent
reauthorization of SDPI at $250 million per year with medical inflation
rate increases annually. We also request that an option be created for
Tribes to receive SDPI funds through Title 1 or Title V compacts or
contracts. Specifically, we recommend that 42. U.S.C. Sec. 254c-3(c) be
amended with the addition of the following language: ''(2)
APPROPRIATIONS.--On request from an Indian Tribe or Tribal
organization, the Secretary shall award diabetes program funds made
available to the requesting Tribe or Tribal organization under this
section as amounts provided under Subsections 106(a)(1) and Subsection
508(c) of the Indian Self-Determination Act, 25 U.S.C. Sec. 5325(a)(1)
and Sec. 5388(c), as appropriate.''
Increase Indian Health Professions Funding by $25 million. COVID-19
has exacerbated the recruitment and retention issues our Northwest
Tribal communities face with health care providers. In order to address
these provider shortages, NPAIHB supports an increase for Indian Health
Professions to fully fund scholarships for all qualified applicants to
the IHS Scholarship Program and to support the Loan Repayment Program
to fund all physicians, nurse practitioners, physician's assistants,
nurses and other direct care practitioners.\3\ For FY 2024, we request
the subcommittee to increase the Indian Health Professions program by
$25 million.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\3\ NPAIHB Resolution18-03-07.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Increase Funding for Small Ambulatory Program, Joint Venture
Construction Project and New Innovative Approaches for Health Care
Facilities Construction by $21 billion. No funds have been allocated to
Portland Area Tribes for new facility construction for at least 20
years. For this reason, Portland Area Tribes only support funding for
specific construction programs and new innovative approaches for health
care facility construction. We request a program increase of $21
billion in FY 2024 to support the Small Ambulatory Program (SAP) with
funding for staffing packages, the Joint Venture Construction Program
(JVCP), and funding for innovative approaches to address unmet
construction needs for health care facilities construction under 25
U.S.C. Sec. 1631(f).
Portland Area Regional Specialty Referral Center. The FY 2023
President's Budget Request includes $165 million in nonrecurring
expense funds for the Portland Area's regional specialty referral
center. This center is a priority of the Northwest Tribes to address
the continual barriers AI/AN face in accessing specialty care in the
Northwest. We look forward to partnering with IHS to develop the
center. We request that the subcommittee considers additional funding
to construct the two other facilities in the Portland Area.
Make Information Technology Modernization Funding Available to
Tribes. Health IT modernization must be a priority of the IHS with an
expedited implementation over the next three to 5 years. Resource and
Patient Management System (RPMS) cannot meet the evolving healthcare
delivery needs of our Tribes without substantial investment in IT
infrastructure and software. Tribes in the Northwest have had to invest
significant amount of their own funds to modernize their Health
Information Technology. Yet, none of the funds appropriated for HIT
modernization has been distributed to Tribes. We request that funding
is provided to our Tribes to reimburse and provide on-going financial
support for Tribal facilities that have purchased and implemented
commercial off the shelf systems. For FY 2024, NPAIHB recommends
funding at $356 million for planning and phased-in replacement of RPMS
with $22 million for Portland Area Tribes for reimbursement of their
health IT modernization efforts.
Fund HIV at $60 million and HCV at $600 million. From 2013 through
2017 rates of new diagnosis of HIV for AI/AN people increased to 7.8
per 100,000--although rates of new HIV diagnosis decreased or stayed
stable for all other racial and ethnic groups. We thank the Committee
for the $5 million for HIV and Hepatitis C initiatives in FY 2021. For
FY 2024, NPAIHB requests funding of $60 million for HIV to support
Ending the HIV Epidemic. According to the IHS National Data Warehouse,
it is estimated that there are at least 40,000 AI/AN people with a
current HCV infection being served by IHS, Tribal and urban Indian
facilities. For FY 2024, $600 million is needed for IHS to provide the
life-saving HCV treatment to the 40,000 AI/ANs with HCV.
Thank you for this opportunity to provide recommendations on the FY
2024 IHS budget. I invite you to visit Portland Area Tribes to learn
more about the utilization of IHS funding and health care needs in our
Area. I look forward to working with the subcommittee on our
requests.\4\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\4\ For more information, please contact Karol Dixon, NPAIHB, at
kdixon@npaihb.org or (907) 301-2899.
[This statement was submitted by Nickolaus Lewis, Chair, Northwest
Portland Area Indian Health Board.]
______
Prepared Statement of Norton Sound Health Corporation
The requests of the Norton Sound Health Corporation (NSHC) for the
FY 2024 Indian Health Service (IHS) budget are as follows:
--Recognize Alaska Native communities as Native communities in the
IHS Sanitation Deficiency System (SDS), eliminating the notion
of ineligible costs for sanitation projects.
--Recommend IHS create and fund the operation and maintenance (O&M)
of sanitation infrastructure.
--Fund construction of employee housing quarters.
--Fund construction of patient lodging to support expansion of
medical and behavioral health care services.
--Support funding opportunities for Tribal Health to construct day
care facilities.
--Increase funding for behavioral health social detoxification
programs through the Preventing Alcohol Related Deaths (PARD)
program under the Snyder Act or through the creation of a
Special Behavioral Health Program for Indians, similar to the
Special Diabetes Program for Indians.
--Ensure mandatory funding for Contract Support Costs and 105(l)
lease payments and clarify CSC provisions.
Headquartered in Nome, Alaska, Norton Sound Health Corporation is
owned and managed by the 20 federally recognized Tribes of the Bering
Strait region. Our Tribal system includes a regional hospital, nursing
home, and 15 village-based clinics, which we operate under an Indian
Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (ISDEAA) agreement\1\.
Our rural and remote Arctic region remains unconnected by roads, and we
are 500 air miles from Alaska's economic hub of Anchorage. Our service
area encompasses 44,000 square miles.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Funding for Water & Sewer Projects and Operation and Maintenance:
Recognize Alaska Native communities as Native communities in the
IHS Sanitation Deficiency System (SDS), eliminating the notion of
ineligible costs for sanitation projects. In the Bering Strait region,
we face a $261 million sanitation need. Five communities in our region,
Diomede, Wales, Shishmaref, Stebbins, and Teller, remain completely
unconnected to running water and sewer. The community of Gambell is 70%
served, with 43 homes in the village remaining unconnected to water and
sewer. Ongoing sewer and water upgrades and maintenance backlogs remain
concerns in seven communities. An estimated 520 homes in the Bering
Strait region have no running water, nor flush toilets.
The health impacts of a lack of sanitation and clean water
infrastructure, in combination with a shortage of housing in our
communities, remain an ongoing public health crisis. The CDC has noted
that one in three infants from communities without running water is
hospitalized for respiratory infections. The communities of Diomede,
Unalakleet & Wales are on the Environmental Protection Agency's EET
list of water systems out of compliance with Federal regulations for
arsenic, uranium, and/or THMs (probable human carcinogen), with levels
over what EPA has deemed safe for human consumption in the long-term.
In the authorizing statute (Indian Health Care Improvement Act) for
the IHS, Congress reaffirmed the Indian Health Service as the agency
with ``primary responsibility and authority to provide necessary
sanitation facilities,'' and furthermore, ``it is in the interest of
the United States and it is the policy of the United States, that all
Indian communities and Indian homes, new and existing, be provided with
safe and adequate water supply systems and sanitary sewage waste
disposal systems as soon as possible'' (25 USC 1632). These services to
Norton Sound communities cannot come soon enough. Basic human needs
that most Americans take for granted do not exist in many of our
communities.
We are opposed to the decision of the IHS to implement in the
FY2018 Sanitation Facilities Construction appropriation using a
methodology to serve Alaska Native homes. This methodology is based on
the premise that our Alaska Native villages are 'non-Indian'. Our
unserved communities on average are over 90% Alaska Native. The SDS
policy places Indian communities in the same category as ``non-Indian''
communities, requiring that Tribes find contributions for ineligible
buildings such as public schools, clinics, Tribal buildings, and
teacher housing. All community buildings are for the benefit of the
Native community, including schools, which serve in some cases as the
community's evacuation center and primary gathering place for healthy
community activities. Schools and teacher homes are also often the only
facilities connected to sewer and water, creating significant
sanitation inequities in a community.
However, in order to fully address the sanitation crisis in our
communities, we urge that Congress formally remove the regulatory
barriers to our unserved and underserved communities and allow
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) funds to cover the
ineligible costs as requested in the FY22 Tribal consultation.
Recommend IHS create and fund the operation and maintenance (O&M)
of sanitation infrastructure. The National Congress of American Indians
passed Resolution ANC-22-041, that recommends IHS fund the operation
and maintenance (O&M) of sanitation infrastructure as authorized in 25
USC 1632 (b). A request for O&M funding was also included in the FY
2024 Tribal Budget Recommendations put forward by the National Tribal
Budget Formulation Workgroup. In addition, the unprecedented amount of
funding provided by Congress for construction and repair of sanitation
facilities through the IIJA underscores the need to protect the Federal
investment and ensure the maximum life cycle and sustainable operation
of these sanitation systems for as long as possible. O&M costs should
also be used for existing systems to keep projects that are already
complete off the SDS list in the future. Congress has provided IHS
funding to train operators, but not a designated O&M fund. IHS must
request appropriations in the FY 2024 budget for the operation and
maintenance of sanitation facilities systems, and further such funding
should be made available through ISDEAA self-governance agreement.
Funding for employee housing quarters. Since NSHC opened its new
hospital facility in 2013, the workforce living in both Nome and the
villages has increased by 12 percent and 23 percent respectively.
Unfortunately, when the facility was constructed, housing quarters were
not included with the construction project. NSHC owns 29 apartment
units in Nome, but still leases over 70 apartment units from various
landlords in an attempt to meet the needs for adequate housing for new
hires, locum physicians, nurses, clinicians, health aides in training,
and students. NSHC's usage of such a large portion of currently
available Nome housing has created a significant housing shortage for
Nome. This housing shortage has held NSHC back from filling critical
health care positions and has created further impediments to hiring a
permanent local workforce. Typhoon Merbok exasperated the already
limited housing situation in Nome when the flood destroyed housing
units and the subsequent fire destroyed a local hotel, which was
housing homeless individuals and families.
The approved Port Project for the City of Nome, will require an
influx of people to the community and vacant housing is non-existent.
NSHC proposes to construct three, 20-unit apartment buildings, this
would adequately meet its growing Nome workforce needs. By owning its
own housing, NSHC would be able to release 70 apartment units which
could be consumed by Nome Port Project laborers, teachers, and homeless
individuals and families. NSHC received $5M from the FY23 Omnibus Bill
to support patient and employee housing construction; the total cost
for three 20-unit apartment buildings is $30.75M.
In the surrounding villages, the ability to recruit and retain a
permanent provider to work at the local clinic and live in the
community is contingent on housing. There is also a lack of housing for
local employees. While NSHC has received some funding to construct
housing in some of its villages, other communities are still challenged
with inadequate housing: Gambell, Stebbins, Teller, White Mountain,
Brevig Mission, Shaktoolik, and Elim. The cost to build a total of two
duplexes in both the communities of Gambell and Stebbins is $26M.
Funding for the construction of patient lodging to support
expansion of medical and behavioral health care services. Over the past
10 years, in-region healthcare services have expanded, and the volume
of visits has nearly doubled. NSHC's Nome-based Patient Hostel, which
opened in 2008, is often fully occupied. To meet patient care needs,
NSHC must locate overflow patient lodging which is rarely available at
local hotels due to an influx in tourism after COVID-19 restrictions
lifted and the aftermath of Typhoon Merbok, (which took another local
hotel out of operation.) The new Wellness and Training Center opened in
June 2020. The clinical infrastructure is available to provide
intensive outpatient and partial hospitalization services. In order for
outlying village residents to benefit from this treatment, additional
housing is necessary. The infrastructure is now available to support
substance abuse treatment for the region, but housing is needed. In the
short-term, NSHC will be converting the former Community Health
Services building into overflow patient lodging. In the long-term, more
patient lodging needs to be constructed, which is collocated next to
the Norton Sound Regional Hospital. The number of housing units needed
in total is estimated at 50 at a total cost of $15M. NSHC received $5M
from the FY23 Omnibus Bill to apply to patient & employee housing.
Funding for Tribal Health to construct day care facilities. There
is a lack of childcare providers in the Bering Strait region. Childcare
is a basic need that hinders recruitment and retention. NSHC is
planning to address its workforce childcare needs through a Nome-based
facility that is in the conceptual design phase for a 7,460 square foot
building. The facility would be available to employees and patients for
drop-in appointments and for village-based health aides during training
sessions. The project is estimated at $10.35 M. NSHC received $2.5M
from the FY23 Omnibus Bill to support this project.
Recommend the IHS increase funding for behavioral health social
detoxification programs through the Preventing Alcohol Related Deaths
(PARD) program under the Snyder Act or through the creation of a
Special Behavioral Health Program for Indians, similar to the Special
Diabetes Program for Indians (SDPI). As the alcohol and opioid abuse
problem intensifies with the wider availability of heroin, oxycodone,
and often-lethal synthetics such as fentanyl, the need for treatment
services has grown exponentially. As a result, national and State
entities and governments have openly recognized and called for the need
to arm providers with more resources and funding; however, despite the
evidence of rampant substance use concerns, back-logged psychiatric
facilities, and reimbursements inadequate to meet the expenses of
providing services, there is an imbalance between the magnitude of the
problem and appropriate funding. For the Bering Strait region, the
substance abuse/misuse data for 2021 is staggering:
--918 unique individuals across 1,469 encounters presented at Norton
Sound Regional Hospital's emergency department under the
influence of substances. Of those, 565 had a primary diagnosis
of Alcohol Abuse; an additional 100 had a secondary substance
diagnosis, and 72 had a tertiary.
--The Nome Volunteer Ambulance Department's 7 primary volunteers
responded to 424 substance-related calls accounting for an
astounding 68.8% of all calls totaling 27,984 hours of response
time.
--The Nome Police Department were dispatched for 3,394 substance-
related calls in 2021, 73% of all arrests were substance-
related. There were 10 officers available to respond to these
calls.
--90% of inmates served time for substance-related crimes at Nome's
Community Residential Center (CRC) and Anvil Mountain
Correctional Center (AMCC). With 128 beds at AMCC at $168.74
per inmate per day, and 50 beds at the CRC at $117.00 a day,
the cost of substance-related incarceration was $9,004,587.
Imprisoning someone is far more expensive than funding
prevention, diversionary, and treatment services.
Because our region is in remote Alaska, resources with which to
work are fewer than those in urban areas; this often results in sending
our people hundreds of miles away to Anchorage or Fairbanks for higher
levels of care.
Mandatory Funding for Contract Support Costs and 105(l) lease
payments. We appreciate the subcommittee's commitment to ensuring that
Contract Support Costs (CSC) and 105(l) lease costs are fully funded by
including an indefinite discretionary appropriation in FY 2024 for both
of these accounts. This change would bring appropriations process into
line with the clear legal requirements of the authorizing statute.
Amend Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act to
Clarify CSC provisions. We also request that the committee consider
amending the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act
(ISDEAA) to clarify that when agency funding paid to a Tribe for
program operations is insufficient for contract and compact
administration, contract support costs will remain available to cover
the difference in response to a recent court decision.\2\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ Cook Inlet Tribal Council, Inc. v. Dotomain, 10 F.4th 892 (D.C.
Cir. 2021).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thank you for considering the priorities of the Norton Sound Health
Corporation.
[This statement was submitted by Angela Gorn, President/CEO, Norton
Sound Health Corporation.]
______
Prepared Statement of Outdoor Alliance
Summary of Recommendations
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Agency Program Funding Recommendations
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Department of Agriculture Forest -Recreation, Heritage, and
Service\1\ Wilderness: $94.367M
-Land Mgmt. Planning,
Assessment, and Monitoring:
$26.429M-Cap. Improvements &
Maintenance, Trails: $27.857M,
including $11.957M for
National Scenic and Historic
Trails
-Cap. Improvements &
Maintenance, Roads: $109.64M
-Legacy Roads and Trails: $100M
-Forest and Rangeland Research:
$413.369M
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Department of Interior Bureau of Land -Recreation Resources
Management Management: $93.398M
-Resource Management Planning:
$97.759M
-National Conservation Lands:
$78M
-Wilderness Management:
$25.701M
-National Trails System:
$13.75M
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Department of Interior National Park -National Recreation and
Service Preservation: $118.465M,
including $17.09M for Rivers,
Trails and Conservation
Assistance
-National Trails System:
$20.964M
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Other Priorities -Land and Water Conservation
Fund: $1.35B, including $135M
for Outdoor Recreation Legacy
Partnership.
-American Conservation &
Stewardship Atlas: $25.5M
-Hardrock Abandoned Mine Lands:
$287M
------------------------------------------------------------------------
All Forest Service appropriations should be accompanied by a
commensurate increase to Salaries & Expenses.
Outdoor Alliance is a coalition of 10 member-based organizations
representing the human powered outdoor recreation community. The
coalition includes Access Fund, American Canoe Association, American
Whitewater, International Mountain Bicycling Association, Winter
Wildlands Alliance, The Mountaineers, the American Alpine Club, the
Mazamas, Colorado Mountain Club, and Surfrider Foundation and
represents the interests of the millions of Americans who climb,
paddle, mountain bike, backcountry ski and snowshoe, and enjoy coastal
recreation on our Nation's public lands, waters, and snowscapes.
National public lands provide outstanding opportunities for outdoor
recreation, including at some of the world's most iconic recreation
destinations. These opportunities, as well as the irreplaceable
cultural, ecological, and scenic values found across public lands, in
turn support the growing outdoor recreation economy, which accounted
for $862 billion in gross economic output, 1.9 percent of U.S. gross
domestic product, and 4.5 million jobs in 2021.\2\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ Bureau of Economic Analysis, BEA 22-55, Outdoor Recreation
Satellite Account, U.S. and States, 2021 (2022).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Due to decades of underinvestment, Federal land management agencies
face staffing and resource challenges that have left them unable to
meet modern needs related to recreation access, conservation, and
sustainability. In recent years, Congress has provided significant
funding for these agencies through the Great American Outdoors Act
(GAOA), the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), and the
Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). However, robust baseline budgets remain
necessary to ensure that land managers can meet the growing needs of
the American public, adapt to the climate crisis and other challenges,
and to achieve the maximum return on investment for GAOA, IIJA, and IRA
dollars.
In particular, we see a need to increase staffing levels and staff
retention across all Federal land management agencies, particularly at
the Forest Service and BLM. As frequent visitors to public lands, the
outdoor recreation community regularly sees the consequences of
inadequate staffing to manage current levels of recreational use and to
plan and implement recreation infrastructure and restoration projects.
Investments in staffing are essential for ensuring that agencies have
the capacity to plan effectively and efficiently and advance projects-
supported by the IRA and IIJA-in a manner that maximizes impact,
including for co-benefits like outdoor recreation.
usda forest service
Recreation, Heritage, and Wilderness: $94.367M. Outdoor Alliance
strongly supports the agency's FY24 request for Recreation, Heritage,
and Wilderness-the agency's primary account for providing sustainable
recreation opportunities to the American public. National Forests have
seen a steady increase in recreational visits over the past decade.\3\
However, from 2002-2020 the Recreation, Heritage, and Wilderness
program saw a 48% decrease in staffing and a 27% decrease in
appropriations adjusted for inflation.\4\ Providing $94.367M will help
the agency proactively manage recreational use and deliver the
opportunities that support local economies.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\3\ See, Gwendolyn Aldrich and Evan Hjerpe, The Conservation
Funding Crisis, Conservation Economics Institute (2022), at 16.
\4\ Historical budget data derived from Forest Service budget
justifications.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Land Management Planning/Assessment/Monitoring: $26.429M. Forest
plans form the foundation for sustainable recreation opportunities and
restoration activities across our National Forests. Currently, 99 out
of 128 Forest Service land management plans are outdated. Outdoor
Alliance supports the agency's efforts to increase the pace and scale
of forest plan revisions through a new national initiative called the
Planning Service Organization, which will help initiate more than 30
plan revisions over the next 4 years, including seven beginning in
2024.
Capital Improvements and Maintenance, Trails: $27.857M. The Forest
Service manages more than 160,000 miles of trails, which provide access
to extraordinary scenic, cultural, and ecological resources across the
National Forest system. Increasing trails funding will help the agency
maintain its trail system, expand it where appropriate, and strengthen
trails partnerships.
Capital Improvements and Maintenance, Roads: $109.64M. Forest
Service roads, bridges, and parking lots are critical access points for
outdoor recreationists. Significantly increased resources are needed to
help the agency improve recreation access and increase the resilience
of the extensive Forest Service road system to high use levels and
extreme weather events.
Legacy Roads and Trails: $100M. Outdoor Alliance supports the
Washington Watershed Restoration Initiative's request for $100M for
Legacy Roads and Trails. Although Congress permanently authorized this
program in the IIJA at $50M per year, this number does not meet the
existing need for road and trail repair, road decommissioning, and
other needs. The IIJA investments should be augmented with an
additional $100M to help prevent adverse impacts to water quality,
sensitive species, and outdoor recreation from Forest Service roads.
Forest and Rangeland Research: $413.369M. Forest Service research
is critical to understanding our natural world. This research is more
important than ever in a changing climate and with novel pressures
facing our forests and grasslands. Increasing research funding will
help address pressing ecological questions and develop new techniques
for forest and rangeland management.
bureau of land management
Recreation Resources Management: $93.398M. BLM manages innumerable
important recreation resources but needs additional capacity to manage
the challenges (and opportunities) of increased visitation. BLM plans
to launch a new ``21st Century Recreation Strategy'' in FY24 to
modernize the agency's approach to managing sustainable recreation.
Increased funds are needed to implement the new strategy, to address
ongoing capacity issues for BLM recreation staff, and to account for an
increase in the quantity and diversity of recreational use across BLM
lands.
Resource Protection and Maintenance-Resource Management Planning:
$97.759M. Outdoor Alliance strongly supports the agency's request for
$97.759M for Resource Management Planning. BLM planning ensures the
best use of BLM lands, including balancing recreation with other
multiple use values. Approximately 134 of the BLM's 169 Resource
Management Plans are outdated, and additional plans need to be
completed for new National Monuments.
National Conservation Lands: $78M. Outdoor Alliance is grateful for
the increase in funding provided for National Conservation Lands in
FY23. The National Conservation Lands system includes some of our
country's marquee destinations for outdoor recreation. Investing in
these lands is critical for their long-term protection and their
ability to deliver economic benefits to local communities. Despite the
recent increase, the budget for the National Conservation Lands has
decreased over the past 20 years accounting for inflation while the
number of acres covered by the system has more than doubled.
Appropriations are needed to account for the increase in acres
protected, and to address the backlog of management plans for recently
protected areas.
Wilderness Management: $25.701M. Outdoor Alliance strongly supports
the agency's FY24 request for $25.701M for Wilderness Management. BLM
Wilderness lands, which include a network of 263 Wilderness areas and
487 Wilderness Study Areas totaling more than 21 million acres, provide
some of the Nation's best opportunities for backcountry recreation.
Increased appropriations are needed to help maintain these areas'
Wilderness character, while sustaining the ecological and cultural
resources that these areas provide.
national park service
National Recreation and Preservation: $118.465M, including $17.09M
for the Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance program. NPS
requires additional resources to meet the challenges of increased
visitation, climate, and other stressors. Additionally, RTCA is a
critically important program for helping local communities realize
their visions for improved recreation resources.
other appropriations priorities
American Conservation and Stewardship Atlas: $25.5M. Outdoor
Alliance strongly supports the administration's request for $25.5M for
the U.S. Geological Survey for the creation of the American
Conservation and Stewardship Atlas. The Atlas will establish a baseline
of protected areas in the U.S., and will help prioritize restoration
and conservation actions. Appropriations are needed to develop a
robust, scientifically-informed Atlas that will guide effective
conservation actions that support benefits including increased access
for outdoor recreation.
Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF): $1.35B, including $135M
for the Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership. Congress guaranteed
permanent dedicated funding of $900M per year to the LWCF through the
GAOA. While significant, this funding is intended as a baseline for
LWCF, and the number of time-sensitive projects seeking funding far
surpasses $900M.
National Trails System: We support an increase in appropriations
for the National Trails System across agencies, including $20.964M at
NPS, $13.75M at BLM, and $11.957M at USFS. This funding will ensure
that Federal agencies and stewardship partners can keep these iconic
trails accessible, maintained, and sustainable.
Hardrock Abandoned Mine Lands: $287M. The outdoor recreation
community is profoundly affected by legacy mining pollution, which
poses an ongoing safety and public health hazard across affected
watersheds in the western U.S. Congress established a new abandoned
hardrock mine cleanup program through Section 40704 of the IIJA.
Providing $287 million in FY24 will enable BLM to inventory abandoned
mine lands and accelerate remediation efforts.
[This statement was submitted by Louis Geltman, Policy Director,
Outdoor Alliance
______
Prepared Statement of Office of Navajo Hopi Indian Relocation
introduction
In 1974, Congress passed the Navajo-Hopi Land Settlement Act \1\-an
Act which led to the largest forced relocation of American citizens
since the Japanese Internment Camps of World War II.\2\ To carry out
the forced relocation, Congress created the Office of Navajo Hopi
Indian Relocation (ONHIR, formerly known as the Navajo Hopi Relocation
Commission),\3\ an independent Federal agency. Specifically, the act
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Pub. L. 93-531 (Dec. 22, 1974), 88 Stat. 1712.
\2\ Hollis A. Whitson, A Policy Review of the Federal Government's
Relocation of Navajo Indians Under Public Law 93-531 and Public Law 96-
305, 27 Arizona Law Review 371, 372-73 (1985).
\3\ Formerly the ``Navajo and Hopi Indian Relocation Commission''
but amended to ONHIR in 1988. See Pub. L. 93-531, Sec. 12, as amended
by Pub. L. 100-666, Sec. 4, (Nov. 16, 1988), 102 Stat. 3929, formerly
25 U.S.C. Sec. 640d-11.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
[A]uthorized and directed [ONHIR] to relocate . . . all such
households and members . . . and their personal property, including
livestock, from any lands partitioned to the Tribe of which they are
not members.\4\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\4\ Pub. L. 93-531, Sec. 14(a), formerly 25 U.S.C. Sec. 640d-13(a).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In its report on the act, the Senate stated that ``because of the
Federal Government's repeated failure to resolve the land disputes, the
major costs of resolution should be properly borne by the United
States.'' \5\ Nonetheless, the government's failures have continued and
the Navajo people have suffered greatly for it. Therefore, we write to
you once more requesting that you properly bear the costs for the harms
the United States has wrought.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\5\ S. Rep. No. 93-1177, at 20 (1974).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Navajo Nation has always objected strongly to the forced
relocation of thousands of its people. The initial relocation was to be
completed within 5 years through a ``generous relocation program to
minimize the adverse social, economic, and cultural impacts of
relocation on affected Tribal members,'' \6\ however, nearly 50 years
have passed and the relocation has not been completed and the process
has never been generous. The relocations that have occurred were done
in such haphazard and shoddy fashion that they destroyed traditional
lifeways, undercut spiritual practices, and created a range of social
ills that have had terrible spiritual, physical, and economic
consequences on the Navajo people.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\6\ S. Rep. No. 93-1177, at 19-20.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The harms caused by the relocation have been further exacerbated by
ONHIR's inability to act and the federally-imposed development freezes
that were in place for decades. ONHIR has not had a presidentially
appointed Commissioner since 1994 and has been chronically underfunded.
The Commissioner role is essential for ONHIR to carry out its statutory
obligations, including working directly with Navajo political
leadership, as well as to provide oversight and accountability for the
relocation program.
The initial funding for ONHIR was allocated with the anticipation
that roughly 1,000 Navajo people would be relocated, but the actual
number-so far-is over 15,000 Navajo people.\7\ In addition to the lack
of funding for the relocation, many of the ``host communities'' for the
relocation were ill-equipped-and not separately funded-to receive such
large influxes to their populations. As a result, areas such as the
Dzil Yijiin region have been overly burdened and suffered impacts to
their housing, infrastructure, grazing capacity, and other aspects of
community life.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\7\ See Fast Facts, GAO-18-266, U.S. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY
OFFICE (Apr. 24, 2018), https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-18-266.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Navajo Nation near northeast Arizona has suffered two federal-
imposed development freezes. The first impacted what is now known as
the Navajo Partitioned Lands (NPL) and lasted from 1958-1979. This
freeze was a construction freeze on the joint use area (JUA) and was
only resolved with the partitioning of those lands into the Hopi
Partitioned Lands (HPL) and NPL respectively. The impacts of this
freeze have not been addressed by Congress and, as a result, many
homes, Chapter Houses, senior centers, in need of dire repair and, in
some cases, replacement. Many of these locations lack access to usable
roads, and to basic necessities such as water, sewer, electricity, and
communication services. On average, residents of the NPL must travel
over 50 miles for hospital services, and police assistance is located
more than 40 miles away.
The second major freeze was the ``Bennett Freeze'' from 1966 to
2009, a development freeze that left 1.6 million-acres-comprised of
nine Navajo Chapter communities along the western part of the Navajo
Nation-ineligible for any Federal aid or Tribal aid, including aid for
poverty, economic development, construction and infrastructure, as well
as for programs designed specifically for Indians. The Bennett Freeze
was initially enacted by then-Commissioner of Indian Affairs who
believed that it could be used to ease centuries-long land disputes
between the Navajo and Hopi Tribes by requiring both Tribes-who had
just engaged in contentious litigation over the land \8\-to consent to
any improvements made to the disputed land. In 1980 \9\ and 1988
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\10\ the Settlement Act was amended to include the Bennett Freeze.
All in all, the Bennett Freeze was in place for 43 years and severely
stunted and harmed the people on these lands. Critical and immediate
investment is needed to address the lack of housing, safe drinking
water, electricity, emergency services, communications, and more.
\8\ Healing v. Jones, 210 F. Supp. 125 (1962).
\9\ Pub. L. 93-531, Sec. 10, as amended by Pub. L. 96-305 (July 8,
1980), Sec. 3, 94 Stat. 929, formerly 25 U.S.C. Sec. 640d-9.
\10\ Pub. L. 93-531, Sec. 10(f), as amended by Pub. L. 100-666,
Sec. 6, formerly 25 U.S.C. Sec. 640d-9.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The harms caused by the United States' forced relocation of Navajo
citizens and its decades-long development freezes must be resolved.
Therefore, we call on Congress to begin the final resolution through
appropriations that address its outstanding obligations to the Navajo
people.
summary of requests
1. Immediate transfer of not less than $15 million in ``excess''
funds held by ONHIR to the Navajo Rehabilitation Trust Fund (NRTF) to
address current needs of relocatees and relocation communities.\11\
ONHIR States that it has more funds than it needs to complete its
mission, which it has narrowly defined. The Navajo Nation disagrees and
believes that these ``excess'' funds should be transferred to the NRTF,
which was established pursuant to the Relocation Act and whose monies
are ``solely for purposes which will contribute to the continuing
rehabilitation and improvement of the economic, educational, and social
condition of families, and Navajo communities, that have been affected
by'' the Relocation.\12\ Transferred funds should not be subject to any
repayment obligation.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\11\ Proposed legislative language: ``Not less than $15,000,000 of
the unobligated balances of the Office of Navajo and Hopi Indian
Relocation shall be transferred to the Navajo Rehabilitation Trust
Fund; however, such funds shall not be subject to the reimbursement
obligations of Pub. L. 93-531, Sec. 32(e), as amended by Pub. L. 100-
666, Sec. 7.''
\12\ Pub. L. 93-531, Sec. 32(d), as added by Pub. L. 100-666,
Sec. 7, previously codified at 25 U.S.C. Sec. 640d-30(d).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. ONHIR should be funded for a period of 10 years to oversee a
multi-agency program to redress adverse impacts of relocation. There
should also be a program to rehabilitate areas where development has
been frozen for many years.\13\ The Relocation Plan reflects the intent
and mandate of the Relocation Act both to provide for relocation and
``to rehabilitate an area in which development has been frozen for many
years.'' In support of that mandate, the Relocation Act authorizes
ONHIR to ``call upon any department or agency of the United States to
assist . . . in implementing the relocation plan'' and mandates that
any such agency called upon ``shall provide reasonable assistance so
requested.'' \14\ ONHIR, along with the Navajo Nation and the following
Federal agencies should develop a multi-agency rehabilitation plan to
benefit the relocatees: Interior, HUD, Agriculture, Transportation; EPA
and Commerce.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\13\ This multi-agency initiative should also apply to the former
Bennett Freeze area. Notably, the FBFA was a part of the relocation
law. See Pub. L. 96-305, Sec. 3, 94 Stat. 929, 930 (1980) (adding
Relocation Act Sec. 9(f)), repealed by Pub. L. 111-18, 123 Stat. 1611
(2009).
\14\ Pub. L. 93-531, Sec. 12(e), as amended, previously codified at
25 U.S.C. Sec. 640d-11(e).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. Forgiveness of Navajo Rehabilitation Trust Fund Loan. The NRTF
provided resources to the Navajo Nation to address ``the rehabilitation
and improvement of the economic, educational, and social condition of
families and Navajo communities that have been affected by'' the
relocation law. The legislative history makes clear that the NRTF was
designed to ensure that the infrastructure promises made in the
Settlement Act were fulfilled. When the Trust Fund was added to the law
the idea was that the United States would front the fund to begin
infrastructure development and the Nation would repay those funds out
of revenue generated from lands selected in New Mexico. However, the
New Mexico lands have never been developed and so this 25+ year old
debt, on obligations the United States should have undertaken anyway,
has not been reimbursed. The NRTF was authorized to $60 million in
1995, only $16 million of which was appropriated. The Navajo Nation
respectfully requests that the full amount of allocations be
reauthorized, and that past and future appropriations be forgiven, as
the costs of addressing the impacts of the relocation are more properly
borne by the Federal Government.
4. Expansion of Office of Navajo and Hopi Indian Relocation
Authority. Authorizes the Commissioner to carry out a rehabilitation in
the Former Bennet Freeze Area for housing construction and renovation,
and initiatives for infrastructure improvements and economic
development. The bill would require the Commissioner issue implementing
regulations and enter into self-determination contracts to carry out
this work upon request by the Navajo Nation or Hopi Tribe.
5. Funding for Navajo Thaw Initiative and Former Bennett Freeze
Area Rehabilitation Trust Fund. The Navajo Thaw initiative was created
by the Navajo Nation government to provide comprehensive planning for
the recovery of these areas. The Navajo Thaw initiative requires
funding so it can carry out its duties regarding the planning for and
recovery of affected areas. A trust fund in the U.S. Treasury for
disbursement to the Navajo Nation for efforts to immediately
rehabilitate the economic, housing, infrastructure, health,
educational, and social conditions in Navajo communities affected by
the Former Bennett Freeze. The fund shall continue until, upon petition
by the Navajo Nation, the Secretary of Interior acting as trustee of
the fund determines that its purposes have been fulfilled.
6. Funding of a Navajo Partitioned Lands Rehabilitation Trust Fund.
To be used by the Navajo Nation to immediately provide rehabilitation
to the Navajo Partitioned Lands, for not less than $20 million per
annum until its purposes have been fulfilled
7. Funding for studies, analyses, and reports concerning the Navajo
relocation and construction/development freezes. These studies will be
used to analyze the impact of the relocation and development freezes on
multiple generations of Navajo families, economic development,
infrastructure, traditional lifeways, the Navajo aquifer, and other
areas as determined through coordination with the Navajo Nation.
8. Support for the Navajo Technical Amendments. This legislation
that has been introduced for several Congresses that would implement or
advance many of the items identified above. Although this is not a
matter for appropriations, it is something that we hope members of the
subcommittee will support.
[This statement was submitted by Raymond Maxx, Executive Director,
Navajo-Hopi Land Commission Office, Navajo Nation.]
______
Prepared Statement of Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and
Enforcement
Compact Commission (IMCC). My address is 437 Carlisle Drive, Suite
A, Herndon, VA 20190. My phone number is 703 709 8654. My email is
tclarke@imcc.isa.us. We request that $69.89 million be provided in the
budget of the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement
(OSMRE) of the Department of the Interior for State and Tribal
regulatory grants under Title V of the Surface Mining Control and
Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2024. We also
request that a significantly increased amount, at least $65 million, be
appropriated for the hardrock abandoned mine lands program authorized
by section 40704 of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA)
in FY 2024.
I appreciate the opportunity to present this statement conveying
the views of IMCC's 26 member States on the FY 2024 budget for OSMRE.
The Compact is comprised of 26 States that together produce over 98% of
the Nation's coal, as well as other important minerals. Among the
Compact's purposes are to advance the protection and restoration of
land, water and other resources affected by mining through the
encouragement of programs in each of the party States that will achieve
comparable results in protecting, conserving and improving the
usefulness of natural resources.
States are given exclusive regulatory jurisdiction over the
environmental impacts of coal mining under Title V of SMCRA. This means
that the core regulatory functions under this Federal law are being
carried out at the state level by IMCC member States. Primacy States
perform all the duties mandated by SMCRA, including inspection and
enforcement, ensuring that timely reclamation occurs following mining,
designating lands as unsuitable for mining and permitting. In addition
to performing the regulatory work Congress required in SMCRA, States
pay a significant portion of the cost of meeting this mandate. Half of
the cost of regulation on non-federal lands is borne by the States. In
the aggregate, the States are paying approximately 46% of the total
cost of SMCRA regulation (all of the cost of regulation on Federal
lands is borne by the Federal Government). In addition to the fact that
States bear a large part of the cost of regulation, another feature of
state regulation that makes it cost-effective is lower personnel cost.
The biggest single category of program expense is payroll and state pay
scales are, for the most part, lower than those of the Federal
Government. Accordingly, fulfilling the Federal mandate for effective
environmental regulation of coal mining impacts comes at a bargain to
the Federal Government.
It is no secret that coal production in America has declined.
Instead of simplifying the regulatory challenge for States, the effect
of this decline has been the opposite. The challenge of effectively
regulating the environmental impacts of an industry in decline is much
greater than when its markets were robust. Not only do States have the
challenge of gaining compliance from mine operators who face declining
cash flow, they also have the challenge of navigating their way through
complex, high-stakes bankruptcies. Meanwhile, the number of permits
that States must inspect has not declined at anywhere close to the
falling rate of coal production. Adequate funding for protection of
people and the environment from the adverse impacts of coal mining is
more important than ever. Continued appropriation of adequate funding
for State regulatory programs is essential if these programs are to
achieve the objectives Congress established for them.
Congress has appropriated $68.59 million in Federal funding for
State and Tribal SMCRA Title V regulatory programs in five of the last
seven fiscal years.\1\ This has been done in the face of proposed
budgets in recent years that would have gutted appropriations for State
regulatory programs, cutting them by as much as $25 million per year
(proposed budget FY 2021). Congress has wisely rejected these proposed
reductions and continued a much-needed trend of appropriating an amount
for State regulatory grants that aligns closely with the States
demonstrated needs. The States are grateful for this. Against this
amount, consider that the total grant requests for all State and Tribal
Title V regulatory programs combined have consistently exceeded $70
million. For the last five fiscal years, the total of State and Tribal
Title V budget requests has ranged from $70 to $76 million. These
requests represent the amounts the States believe they will need from
the Federal Government to operate their regulatory programs for the
year.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Grant funding for the Tribes' regulatory effort also comes from
this appropriation. As appropriate in context, references herein to
``States'' should be read to include the Tribes.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The amount the States have been able to actually spend for
operation of these regulatory programs has averaged $63 million per
year. Importantly, the gap between actual expenditures and the States'
projected funding needs has been closing. The States' actual
expenditures are on an upward trend. A variety of factors have
prevented the States from spending all of their budgeted funds. These
generally include the time it takes to fill vacancies under state
personnel procedures, State-wide hiring and/or spending freezes imposed
when States face budgetary issues and state revenue shortages that
affect a State's ability to match Federal dollars for program
operation. State primacy under the SMCRA regulatory program dates to
the early 1980's. As this regulatory program reached maturity in recent
years, employees who began their employment when the State programs
began have reached retirement age and moved on. When these senior
employees have retired, they have often been replaced from within by a
less senior employee. Less senior employees have often been replaced by
junior employees, who have been replaced by new hires. It is not
unusual for a State to go through the hiring process three times to
eliminate the vacancy caused by a single retirement. During the time
such vacancies persist, the money budgeted for the positions
necessarily is not being spent. Because personnel costs are the biggest
single cost driver for most State programs, vacancies are among the
biggest of the challenges that a State program faces in operating
according to budget. As the declining gap between budget needs and
actual expenditures may demonstrate, the States are nearly past this
wave of retirements and the multiple vacancies that can result from
them. Multiple vacancies should pose less of a budgetary challenge in
the future, so the States' future needs from the Federal Government
should be closer to what they have budgeted.
With many States now in a position to utilize more of their full
grant amount, it is imperative that funding be maintained at a level
that meets the estimates of program needs the States made in their
budget requests. Those requests reflect the ongoing work associated
with state program implementation including permit reviews, inspections
and enforcement at all inspectable units. Even with reduced coal
production, the States' workload has not correspondingly decreased--and
in many cases has increased given the tenuous financial condition of
some coal companies. Higher levels of vigilance are necessary to ensure
contemporaneous reclamation and abatement of violations.
This calls for vigilance by Congress. Inflation and other costs
beyond the control of the States cannot be allowed to undermine State
efforts to realize needed program improvements and enhancements or,
more importantly, to jeopardize their efforts to minimize the potential
adverse impacts of coal extraction operations on people and the
environment. Our analysis of state program funding needs for FY 2024
based on recent estimates indicate that a full Federal appropriation of
$68.59 million will be required for the existing State and Tribal
programs. This represents a good middle ground figure that balances the
need to assure that adequate funds will be available to enable the
States to perform this vital work with the recognition that factors
beyond state control may continue to have some effect on States'
ability to spend the entirety of their projected regulatory budgets. In
addition, sufficient funds need to be provided for the new state
program in Tennessee. Tennessee has been pursuing primacy. If it
attains primacy, this will add $1.3 million to existing Title V State
grant needs.\2\ Therefore, we urge appropriation of $69.89 million for
State Title V grants.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ While money for the Tennessee program might be an increase in
the appropriation for State grants under SMCRA, it should be noted that
it is merely a shift in existing SMCRA funding. OSMRE currently bears
the entire cost of operating the Tennessee program from funds it
receives for operation of Federal regulatory programs. When Tennessee
attains primacy, the State will begin to bear half of the cost of the
program there, with the other half coming from OSMRE's funds for state
program grants. We urge you to consult OSMRE regarding the fiscal
impact of Tennessee primacy on OSMRE.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Clear indications from Congress that reliable, consistent funding
will continue into the future has done much to stimulate support for
these programs by State legislatures and budget officers who, in the
face of difficult fiscal climates and constraints, have had to deal
with the challenge of matching Federal grant dollars with state funds.
This is particularly true for those States whose match is partially
based on fees from the mining industry, where significant reductions in
mining and permitting activity translate to lower revenue, but not
necessarily a corresponding reduction in the volume of regulatory work
for State agencies. Be aware that any cut in Federal funding generally
translates to an additional cut of an equal amount for overall program
funding for States, especially those without Federal lands, because, as
a general matter, these States can only match the grant funds they
receive from the Federal Government.
A forward-looking observation that should be made concerns the
potential impact of actions to eliminate emissions of greenhouse
gasses. A foreseeable collateral impact of greenhouse gas regulation
may be reduction or elimination of the revenue from the coal industry
many States have been using to pay for their state share of the cost of
SMCRA Title V regulatory programs. If this happens, the States are
likely to need a significant increase in the Federal Government's share
of regulatory program funding to make up the difference. In the
aftermath of any significant new regulation of greenhouse gas
emissions, well-funded State regulatory programs will be essential to
the effort to effectively address the environmental impacts of existing
mines.
For all the above reasons, we urge Congress to approve not less
than $69.89 million for State and Tribal Title V regulatory grants in
FY 2024, the same amount enacted by Congress in most of the recent
fiscal years, plus an additional $1.3 million to cover the grant needs
of the State of Tennessee in its efforts to attain primacy. In doing
so, Congress will continue its commitment to ensuring the States have
the resources they need to continue their work on the forefront of
environmental protection and preservation of public health and safety.
In addition to State regulatory grants, the States have a great
degree of interest in the appropriations for OSMRE's National Technical
Training Program (NTTP) and Technical Information and Professional
Service (TIPS). The States rely heavily on the NTTP and TIPS training
classes for their new employees and for refresher courses for more
seasoned employees. These training programs are especially important as
States find themselves at a point where many of their employees are
finishing careers and must be replaced with less experienced people.
Any adjustments to these two programs should involve the States working
through the NTTP/TIPS Steering Committee.
With regard to funding for State Title IV Abandoned Mine Land (AML)
program grants, in FY 2024, the States and Tribes should receive the
mandatory appropriation (before sequestration) under the pre-existing
AML Title IV program as well as grant amounts set under Section 40701
of the IIJA. We also support appropriation of $135 million for the AML
economic revitalization (AMLER) program for economic and community
development goals. IMCC also supports a continuation of funding for
watershed cooperative agreements at $1.5 million. Much valuable work
has been accomplished through this program, especially given the
matching funds that come from other sources besides OSMRE's share for
these worthwhile projects.
Section 40704 of the IIJA authorized a multi-year $3 billion
hardrock AML program that would provide badly needed grants to States
and Tribes to address the legacy hazards of non-coal mining.
Unfortunately, the appropriation necessary to make this program a
reality was omitted from the IIJA. Appropriations for FY 2022 and 2023
have only supplied $5 million per year for the program, with only $1.7
million per year targeted to State grants. We appreciate that demands
for Federal funding are great, but much more is needed to enable this
program to make meaningful progress in eliminating legacy mining
hazards. The amounts in the Administration's proposed budgets for FY
2022 and 2023, $65 million per year, would be a good start. We urge you
to appropriate at least $65 million for the IIJA Section 40704 hardrock
AML program in FY 2024 and to consider increasing this amount in future
years.
We appreciate the opportunity to submit this statement on OSMRE's
budget for FY 2024. We also endorse the statement of the National
Association of Abandoned Mine Land Programs (NAAMLP), which goes into
greater detail regarding the implications of OSMRE's funding for the
States and Tribes related to the AML program, as well as hardrock AML
funding needs. We would be happy to answer any questions.
[This statement was submitted by Thomas L. Clarke, Executive
Director of the Interstate Mining.]
______
Prepared Statement of Oregon Water Resources Congress
fisheries restoration irrigation mitigation act (frima) program
The Oregon Water Resources Congress (OWRC) is writing to express
its strong support for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's (USFWS)
Fisheries Restoration Irrigation Mitigation Act (FRIMA) program and is
requesting $15 million in FY2024, which is the previously authorized
amount. The FRIMA program is an essential cost-share funding program
that helps water users and fishery agencies better protect sensitive,
threatened, and endangered fish species while ensuring water supply
delivery to farms and communities.
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, fish screens and
fish passage, and hydropower facilities.
fy2024 appropriations
The FRIMA program meets a critical need in fishery protection and
restoration, complimenting other programs through USFWS. Fish passage
and fish screen installations are a vital component to fishery
protection with several benefits:
--Keep sensitive, threatened and endangered fish out of canals and
water delivery systems
--Allow fish to be safely bypassed around reservoirs and other
infrastructure
--Reduce water quality risks to fish species
There are over one hundred irrigation districts and other special
districts in Oregon that provide water supplies to over one million
acres of irrigated cropland in the state. Almost all these districts
are affected by either State or Federal Endangered Species Act listings
of salmon, steelhead, bull trout or other sensitive, threatened or
endangered species. The design and installation of fish screens and
fish passage facilities to protect the myriad of fish species is often
cost-prohibitive for individual districts to implement without outside
funding sources.
The cost of addressing fish screening and fish passage needs in
Oregon far outweighs current appropriations or the program
authorization as a whole. Oregon irrigation districts anticipate at
least $25 million in funding is needed to meet current fish passage and
fish screen needs in our state alone. Limited cost-share funds are
available from the Oregon Watershed Enhanced Board (OWEB), but the
primary cost-share for fish screen and fish passage projects has been
provided by the districts and their water users. Projects include
construction of new fish screens and fish passage facilities as well as
significant upgrades of existing facilities to meet new requirements
(new species or science) from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA) Fisheries Service and the USFWS. Upgrades are
often needed to modernize facilities with new technologies that provide
better protection for fish species as well as reduced maintenance and
increased lifespan for the operator.
background of the fisheries restoration irrigation mitigation act
(frima) program
FRIMA, originally enacted in November 2000, created a Federal
partnership program incentivizing voluntary fish screen and fish
passage improvements for water withdrawal projects in Idaho, Oregon,
Washington and western Montana. The funding went to local governments
for construction of fish screens and fish passage facilities and is
matched with non-federal funding. Irrigation districts and other local
governments that divert water for irrigation accessed the funding
directly, while individual irrigators accessed funding through their
local Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD), which are local
governments affiliated with USDA's Natural Resources Conservation
Service (NRCS).
The original legislation in 2000 (PL.106-502) was supported and
requested by the Pacific Northwest Partnership, a coalition of local
governmental entities in the four Northwest States, including OWRC. The
FRIMA legislation authorized $25 million annually, to be divided
equally among the four States from 2001 to 2012, which was when the
original authorization expired. The actual funding appropriated to the
FRIMA program (through Congressional write-ins) ranged from $1 million
to $8 million, well short of the $25 million originally authorized and
far short of what is needed to address fish passage and screening needs
across the region. However, that small amount of funding was used to
leverage other funds and assisted the region in making measurable
progress towards installing fish screens and fish passage critical to
protecting and restoring populations of sensitive, threatened, and
endangered fish species.
FRIMA funding was channeled through USFWS to state fishery agencies
in the four States, and distributed using an application and approval
process based on a ranking system implemented uniformly among the
States, including the following criteria: Fish restoration benefits,
cost effectiveness, and feasibility of planned structure. All projects
provided improved fish passage or fish protection at water diversion
structures and benefitted native fish species in the area, including
several state or federally listed species. Projects were also subject
to applicable State and Federal requirements for project construction
and operation.
FRIMA was reauthorized as part of the Water Infrastructure
Improvements for the Nation Act (WIIN) of 2016. However, a fifth state,
California, was also added as an eligible FRIMA cost-share recipient
and the program was only reauthorized for $15 million, well short of
the estimated $500 million in fish screening and passage needs in the
Pacific Northwest alone. Now that the program has been reauthorized, it
is imperative the program receive appropriations so all five States can
better leverage State and local funding to meet their fish passage and
screening needs.
program benefits
FRIMA projects provide immediate protection for fish and fills a
large unmet need in the Western United States for cost-share assistance
with fish screening and fish passage installation and improvements.
Compared to other recovery strategies, installation of fish screens and
fish passage has the highest assurance for increasing populations of
sensitive, threatened, and endangered fish species in the Pacific
Northwest. Furthermore, the construction of these facilities have
minimal impact on water delivery operations, and projects are done
cooperatively using methods well accepted by landowners and rural
communities.
Funding of the FRIMA program has catalyzed cooperative partnerships
and innovative projects that provide immediate and long-term benefits
to irrigators, fishery agencies, and local communities throughout the
Pacific Northwest. This program is also a wise investment, with past
projects contributing more than the required match and leveraging on
average over one dollar for each Federal dollar invested. FRIMA
provides for a maximum Federal cost-share of 65%, with the applicant's
cost-share at 35% along with on-going maintenance and support of the
structure for passage or screening purposes. Applicants operate the
facilities and State agencies review and monitor the projects.
oregon projects & benefits
Twenty-six fish screen or fish passage projects in Oregon were
previously funded using FRIMA for part of the project financing. These
projects have led to:
--Installation of screens at 17 diversions or irrigation pumps
--Removal or modification of 12 fish passage barriers
--Three-hundred sixty-five miles of surface waters re-opened to safe
fish passage
In addition, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) has
used some of the FRIMA funding to develop an inventory of needed fish
screens and passages in the state. Grants ranged from just under $6,000
to $400,000 in size with a local match averaging 64% of the project
costs, well over the amount required under the act (35%). In other
words, each Federal dollar invested in the FRIMA program generates a
local investment of just over one dollar for the protection of fish
species in the Pacific Northwest.
The following are examples of how Oregon has effectively utilized
FRIMA money. Additional examples of projects in other States are
available from USFWS at: https://www.fws.gov/pacific/Fisheries/
reportpub/Documents/FRIMA%20Accomplishments%20Report%202002-2012.pdf
Santiam Water Control District: Fish screen project on a large 1050
cubic feet per second (cfs) multipurpose water diversion project on the
Santiam River (Willamette Basin) near Stayton, Oregon. Partners are the
Santiam Water Control District, ODFW, Marion Soil and Water
Conservation District, and the City of Stayton. Approved FRIMA funding
of $400,000 leveraged a $1,200,000 total project cost. Species
benefited included winter steelhead, spring Chinook, rainbow trout, and
cutthroat trout.
South Fork Little Butte Creek: Fish screen and fish passage project
on a 65 cfs irrigation water diversion in the Rogue River Basin near
Medford, Oregon. Partners are the Medford Irrigation District and ODFW.
Approved FRIMA funding of $372,000 leveraged a $580,000 total project
cost. Species benefited included listed summer and winter steelhead,
Coho salmon, and cutthroat trout.
Running Y (Geary Diversion): Fish screen project on a 60 cfs
irrigation water diversion in the upper Klamath Basin near Klamath
Falls, Oregon. Partners are the Wocus Drainage District, ODFW, and
Jeld-Wen Ranches. Approved FRIMA funding of $44,727 leveraged a total
project cost of $149,000. Species benefited included listed red-band
trout and short-nosed sucker.
Lakeshore Gardens: Fish screen project on a 2 cfs irrigation water
diversion in the upper Klamath Basin near Klamath Falls, Oregon.
Partners are the Lakeshore Gardens Drainage District and ODFW. Approved
FRIMA funding of $5,691 leveraged a total project cost of $18,970.
Species benefited included red-band trout, short-nosed sucker and Lost
River sucker.
conclusion
Providing funding for the FRIMA program fills a vital funding gap
for fish screens and fish passage projects that are needed to protect
and restore sensitive, threatened, and endangered fish species, which
in turn benefits the economy, local communities, and the environment.
Eligible FRIMA funded projects are ready for construction and will
provide immediate habitat benefits for fish as well as jobs and
economic revitalization for local communities. Dollar-for-dollar,
providing screening and fish passage at diversions is one of the most
cost-effective uses of restoration dollars, creating fishery protection
at relative low cost, with low risk and significant benefits.
The return of a robustly funded FRIMA program will once again
catalyze cooperative partnerships and innovative projects that provide
immediate and long-term benefits to irrigators, fishery agencies, and
local communities throughout the Pacific Northwest. We respectfully
request an appropriation of $15 million for U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service's Fisheries Restoration Irrigation Mitigation Act program for
FY2024.
[This statement was submitted by April Snell, Executive Director,
Oregon Water Resources Congress.]
______
Prepared Statement of Oregon Water Resources Congress
clean water state revolving fund loan program
The Oregon Water Resources Congress (OWRC) is highly supportive of
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Clean Water State
Revolving Fund Loan Program (CWSRF). OWRC respectfully requests FY2024
appropriations for this program be increased to at least $3 billion, as
proposed in the President's Budget and included additional authorized
funding found in the Bi-Partisan Infrastructure Bill (BIL). The CWSRF
is an effective loan program that addresses critical water
infrastructure needs while benefiting the environment, local
communities, and the economy. As an existing and proven program, it is
a perfect fit for increased investment during a time of need for
climate and environmentally friendly infrastructure.
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, fish screens and
fish passage, and hydropower production facilities.
fy2024 appropriations
We recognize our country must make strategic investments with
scarce resources, particularly as our economy recovers from pandemic-
related impacts and inflation. The CWSRF is a perfect example of the
type of program that should have funding increased because it creates
jobs while benefiting the environment and is an efficient return on
taxpayer investment. CWSRF projects provide much needed construction
and professional services jobs, particularly in rural areas facing
economic hardship. 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.
In Oregon, the CWSRF is administered by the Oregon Department of
Environmental Quality (DEQ), which has updated its rules implementing
the program to reflect new criteria enacted under the BIL. DEQ
responsibly maintains the program through repaid loans, interest, fees,
and available Federal capitalization grants. According to EPA, for
every $1 of Federal capitalization funding, $3 worth of assistance is
provided, leveraging available funds to maximize benefits for local
communities, the environment, and the economy. Unfortunately, available
funding for water infrastructure projects continues to be woefully
insufficient to meet the growing water infrastructure funding needs in
Oregon and nationwide. Appropriations for the CWSRF needs to be
increased in FY2024, as authorized in the BIL, to support water
infrastructure projects that are addressing these critical needs.
background of cwsrf usage by oregon irrigation districts
During the program's thirty-plus year history in Oregon, numerous
OWRC member districts have successfully used CWSRF for projects that
improve water quality and water conservation associated with water
delivery diversions, canals, and pipelines throughout the state. OWRC
and our members are highly supportive of the CWSRF, including promoting
the program to our members, hosting workshops with agency staff, and
annually submitting Federal appropriations testimony in support of
increased funding for the CWSRF. We believe it is an important funding
tool for irrigation districts and other water suppliers that are using
it for innovative piping projects that provide multiple environmental
and economic benefits.
Numerous irrigation districts and other water suppliers need to
pipe currently open canals, which significantly reduces sediment,
improves water temperature, and provides other water quality benefits
to rivers and streams. Piping immediately improves the efficiency of
the water delivery system and helps increase available water supplies
for aquatic life and irrigators alike. These projects also decrease
energy consumption (from reduced pumping), and have opportunities for
generating renewable energy, primarily through in-conduit hydropower.
CWSRF is often an integral part of an overall package of local, State,
and Federal funding sources necessitating a higher level of Federal
loan funding availability for planned water infrastructure projects.
Reductions in CWSRF appropriations could lead to loss of matching grant
funding and delay or derail beneficial projects irrigation districts
have been developing for years.
The success Oregon districts have experienced using the loan
program to design and implement multi-beneficial projects has led to
increased applications to the CWSRF. Irrigation districts are once
again eligible for a key funding element, principal forgiveness, up to
50% and capped at $500,000 for projects in a distressed community or
eligible for the Green Project Reserve designation. As a result, we
expect to see even more interest in the program. OWRC is hopeful there
will be enough funding available to complete projects that will not
only benefit the environment and the patrons served by the water
delivery system, but also benefit the rural economy.
cwsrf needs in oregon
The appropriations for the CWSRF program prior to the BIL had
fallen far short of what is needed to address critical water
infrastructure needs in Oregon and across the Nation. This has led to
fewer water infrastructure projects, and therefore a reduction in
improvements to water quality and water conservation. However, OWRC is
pleased with the 5-year commitment to increased funding authorized in
the BIL. This Federal commitment is important as infrastructure needs
have become more expensive and even more time critical.
The most recent Intended Use Plan (IUP), updated on January 6,
2023, includes 22 loan applications for a total of $174,783,989 in
requested funding. Currently, the loan program has $312,610,437 net
available to lend for state FY2023. DEQ can award a maximum individual
loan amount of $46,891,566. The following irrigation district projects
are included in the current FY2023 IUP. Increased funding will help
catalyze many more projects like the ones below in Oregon and
throughout the Nation:
oregon projects on fy23 iup
Owyhee Irrigation District (Malheur County)--$500,000.
Construction--Kingman Lateral First Mile Piping Project. Owyhee
Irrigation District will construct 5,800 feet of piping of the Kingman
Lateral canal to address embankment instability caused by seepage. The
piping will prevent sediment loading and other water quality issues in
the Owyhee River basin caused by seepage and/or catastrophic failure of
this canal section. The project includes installation of pipe between
the lateral headgate and a tunnel at the end of the worst problem
section.
Rogue River Valley Irrigation District and Medford Irrigation
District (Jackson County)--$24,334,500. Design and Construction--Joint
System Canal Piping Project. Rogue River Valley Irrigation District and
Medford Irrigation District jointly use the Joint System Canal to serve
several thousand customers with crop irrigation. Seepage and
evaporation are occurring along the canal, which is resulting in lost
water and ultimately less water flowing through the canal downstream to
other water bodies. The proposed project includes design and
construction of piping up to 4.4 miles of canal and diversions,
replacement of siphons, improvements to water diversion structures, and
fish passage. The project will address water quantity and quality
downstream, including South Fork Little Butte Creek, which experiences
low flow in some seasons. The project focuses on best management
practices for irrigation to improve water quality from non-point
sources and is consistent with the 2014 Nonpoint Source Management
Program Plan sections 3.6.1 Watershed Approach Basin Reports and 6.1
Clean Water State Revolving Fund.
North Unit Irrigation District (Deschutes County) $8,150,000--Sec.
319, Design and Construction: Lateral 43 and Juniper Butte Piping
Project. The District's System Improvement Plan (2017) proposes to pipe
the district's open canal network, including the addition of pressure
reducing stations, reuse/retention reservoirs, and metered turnouts for
every water user. The current project proposes to start in one portion
of the district by piping laterals 31, 32, 34 and 43, which represents
a total of 8.2 miles of leaky canal and serves over 9,800 acres of
agricultural land. The project will improve water quality in the lower
Crooked River, Lake Billy Chinook, and the lower Deschutes River by
removing canal seepage and minimizing and eliminating return flow from
agricultural lands. Piping of the laterals will also encourage on-farm
efficiency by providing pressurized water, which enables the switch
from furrow irrigation to sprinkler irrigation, reducing excessive
seepage and agricultural runoff from fields. The project is consistent
with Section 3.6.1 of the 2014 Nonpoint Source Management Plan and
Section 6.1 of the CWSRF.
examples of green project reserves in oregon
Oregon irrigation districts and other water suppliers are on the
forefront of innovative piping projects that provide and leverage
multiple benefits, including ``green'' infrastructure projects.
Otherwise known as Green Project Reserve (GPR), DEQ is required to use
at least 10 percent of annual Federal capitalization grants on projects
that promote water and energy efficiency, are environmentally
innovative, or include green infrastructure.
East Fork Irrigation District (Hood River County) $4,000,000--
Design and Construction--EFID Canal and Pipe Improvements. The proposed
loan will support several water quality/water conservation projects
that have been identified as high priority actions in recent East Fork
Irrigation District planning studies. The primary projects will replace
open canals or non-pressure rated pipe with pressure-rated pipe and
pressure reducing stations. Additional potential projects would reduce
warm water return flows; reduce sediment and chemical inputs to the
Hood River; reduce water loss and remove sediment from the system;
reduce operation and maintenance costs; and improve fish screening and
increase instream flow. The proposed projects will meet multiple water
quality improvement objectives including: 1) Decrease stream
temperatures in the East Fork and mainstem Hood River (both reaches are
covered by the Columbia-Hood River TMDL); and 2) Reduce sediment,
pesticide, fertilizer, and other chemical inputs to the East Fork Hood
River, Neal Creek, and the mainstem Hood River, all of which have water
quality 303(d) listings.
Arnold Irrigation District (Deschutes County) $8,699,900--Design
and Construction--Infrastructure Resiliency and Modernization Project.
The Arnold Irrigation District Infrastructure Resiliency and
Modernization Project will enclose 11.9 miles (62,868 length-feet) of
open porous canal into leak-free piping resulting in the conservation
of 11,083 acre-feet (AF) of water per year. Piping the canals has two
immediate outcomes: (1) a substantial reduction in water quantity
diverted; and (2) substantial increase of water quantity remaining
instream. These outcomes have an immediate benefit to improving
streamflow that will result in improvements to water quality, habitat,
and habitat availability in the Deschutes River downstream from Wickiup
Reservoir.
Providing increased appropriations for the CWSRF program will help
implement additional innovative and multi-benefit projects like these
in Oregon and across the Nation.
conclusion
In conclusion, OWRC is strongly supportive of increased
appropriations to the CWSRF program, allowing Oregon's DEQ to continue
making targeted loans that address Clean Water Act issues and improve
water quality while incentivizing 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. We
respectfully request an appropriation of at least $3 billion as
authorized in the Bi-Partisan Infrastructure Bill for the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Water State Revolving Loan Fund
for FY2024.
[This statement was submitted by April Snell, Executive Director,
Oregon Water Resources Congress.]
______
Prepared Statement of the Pacific Salmon Commission
Mister Chair, and Honorable Members of the Committee, in March 1985
the United States and Canada agreed to cooperate in the management,
research and enhancement of Pacific salmon stocks of mutual concern by
ratifying the Pacific Salmon Treaty (PST). I am Ron Allen, the 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 United States and Canada completed revisions of five
of the Annex Chapters to the PST in 2019. The Annex Chapters contain
the details for operations of fisheries under the Treaty and will be in
operation for the next 10 years.
Funding to implement the PST comes from the Departments of
Interior, Commerce, and State. 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 within the
Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) budget as a line item within Rights
Protection Implementation.
In order to meet the increased obligations under the
Pacific Salmon Treaty Agreement, the 25 affected Tribes
identified costs at $7,420,000 for Tribal research and
monitoring projects and participation in the U.S.-
Canada Pacific Salmon Treaty process. This represents a
9.3% increase from FY 2023 levels. 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 funding needs as follows:
USFWS participation in the Treaty process is currently
funded at $372,362. In addition, the Pacific States
Marine Fisheries Commission (PSMFC) Regional Mark
Center receives support from the USFWS to provide data
services to the PSC process at $236,189 annually. The
U.S. Section recommends increasing the funding for
PSMFC by $150,000. The recommended total for the two
programs for FY 2024 is $758,551. The USFWS also
received an additional $4,700,000 for Pacific Salmon
Treaty Implementation in the Hatchery Operations
account starting in FY 2020. The USFWS uses these funds
to work with State agencies and Tribes to implement
projects on anadromous salmonids subject to the PST.
For FY 2023 the USFWS plans to transfer $400,000 of the
additional funds to the BIA to support Tribal
implementation of the PST. The U.S. Section recommends
maintaining that level of funding for FY 2024.
The base funding for the USFWS supports critically important on-
going work and participation in the process. The funding for Pacific
States Marine Fisheries Commission's Regional Mark Processing Center is
utilized to meet Treaty requirements concerning data exchange with
Canada. These program recommendations are integrated with those of
participating State and Federal agencies to avoid duplication of effort
and provide for the most efficient expenditure of limited funds.
The U.S. Section of the PSC and the Treaty Tribes appreciate the
increases in funding for the Tribes to implement the revised chapters
of the Pacific Salmon Treaty. Tribal programs are essential for the
United States to meet its international obligations. Tribal programs
have taken on additional management responsibilities over time. The
revised Chinook Chapter includes a new metric for evaluating terminal
area fisheries. The CYER (Calendar Year Exploitation Rate) metric
requires additional data collection and data management by the affected
Tribes. All participating agencies need to be adequately supported to
achieve a comprehensive U.S. effort to implement the Treaty. The U.S.
Section of the PSC recommends the proposed increase in funding to
support the work carried out by the twenty-five Treaty Tribes'
participating in implementation of the Treaty. Programs carried out by
the Tribes are closely coordinated with those of participating State
and Federal agencies.
The USFWS activities are essential, so the U.S. can maintain the
coded wire tag database necessary 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 aimed 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. The U.S. Section
appreciates the $4,700,000 in the Hatchery Operations account of the
USFWS budget to work with State agencies and Tribes on producing
hatchery fish to mitigate for catch reductions in the revised Chinook
Chapter and for additional Tribal support. The U.S. Section recommends
maintaining that funding for FY 2024.
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-cut budget summary to the Committee.
Adequate funding from all three Departments is necessary for the U.S.
to meet its Treaty obligations. All 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 and
Oceans in Canada. The commitment of the United States is matched by the
commitment of the Government of Canada.
Mister Chair, 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 thirty-eight years, the work of the Pacific
Salmon Commission continues to be essential for the wise management of
salmon in the Pacific 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 fishers harvest sockeye salmon from
Canada's Fraser River in the Strait of Juan de Fuca and in Puget Sound.
Canadian trollers off 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 Pacific Salmon Commission provides a forum to ensure
cooperative management of salmon populations. The United States and
Canada reached agreements for revised Annex Chapters for management of
Chinook, Coho, Chum, Fraser River Sockeye and Pink, and transboundary
salmon populations for the next 10 years. It is critically important to
have adequate resources for U.S. participants to implement the revised
agreements and protect our Tribal Treaty resources.
Before the Pacific Salmon 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 because 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 recommitted to that goal in
1999 when adopting a coastwide abundance-based approach to harvest
management. Under this approach, harvest management has complemented
habitat conservation and restoration activities 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 updated Annex Chapters continue these commitments. The
combination of these efforts is integral to achieving success in
rebuilding and restoring healthy, sustainable salmon populations.
Finally, you should consider 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 commercial, recreational
fisheries, and the economic diversity they provide for local economies
throughout the Pacific Northwest and Alaska, is immense. The Commission
funded an economic study of the fisheries and determined that this
resource creates thousands of jobs and is a multi-billion dollar
industry. The value of these fish to the twenty-four Treaty Tribes in
Washington, Oregon, and Idaho goes far beyond their monetary value, to
the cultural and religious lives of Indian people.
The Commission funded a study to capture the socioeconomic value of
the fisheries to U.S. Tribes and Canadian First Nations. A significant
monetary investment is focused on salmon due to the listings of Pacific
Northwest salmon populations under the Endangered Species Act. Given
these resources, we continue to utilize the Pacific Salmon Commission
to develop recommendations that help with the development and
implementation of solutions to minimizing impacts on listed stocks. We
continue to work towards the true intent of the Treaty, and with your
support, we will manage this shared resource for mutual enhancements
and benefits.
Mister Chair, that concludes my written testimony submitted for
consideration by your Committee. I want to thank the Committee 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 Committee members may have regarding the U.S. Section
of the Pacific Salmon Commission budget.
[This statement was submitted by W. Ron Allen, Tribal Commissioner
and Chair of the Finance and Administration Committee.]
Prepared Statement of Pinon Community School
Pinon Community School is located on the Navajo Nation Reservation
in Pinon, Arizona. We serve as a 1st-12th grade residential community
for students who attend school at the Pinon Unified School District
throughout the School Year. We also operate a kindergarten day school
on our campus. We are a community grant school, funded by the Bureau of
Indian Education (BIE) and operated pursuant to the Tribally Controlled
Schools Act (Public Law 100-297). At Pinon Community School, we strive
to be a resource for our students, their parents, and the greater
community. Our Navajo language, culture, and values are at the heart of
what we do. Pinon Community School is also a Member of the Dine Bi Olta
School Board Association (DBOSBA), which represents all of the locally-
elected school boards within the Navajo Nation. We would like to
associate ourselves with DBOSBA's FY 2024 appropriations testimony and
tell our school's story to provide context for these priorities. Our
testimony highlights the following FY 2024 priorities for the Bureau of
Indian Education budget:
--Increases for School Facility Construction and School Replacement
Construction (BIE);
--Full and Forward Funding for School Facilities Operations and
Maintenance (BIE);
--COVID-19 Relief Funds Expeditiously Distributed for Ventilation
Repairs (BIE);
--50% Increase for ISEP Formula Funds (BIE);
--Full Funding for Teacher and Counselor Pay Parity (BIE); and
--Ensuring that employees of all BIE-funded schools are eligible to
participate in the Federal Employee Retirement System (BIE).
School Facilities Improvement & Repair and School Replacement
Construction funding in the BIE's Education Construction budget not
only impacts the health and safety of our students and staff, it
impacts the useful life of our buildings. Our school was built in 1995
and is already facing significant facilities challenges: the buildings'
foundations are shifting, there are critical piping issues with our
hydraulic line, we lack a functioning HVAC system, our boiler needs
parts replaced, our alarm system is not fully functional, and various
other building renovations are needed. We have diligently logged these
pressing concerns in the MAXIMO system; hired engineers and contractors
with relevant experience to provide site assessments, designs, and
proposals; contacted the BIE; and contacted the Bureau of Indian
Affairs Division of Facilities Management and Construction (DFMC), all
to little avail. Many of these issues could have been avoided if
corners had not been cut when our school buildings were replaced in
1995 and in the following years the BIE and DFMC had properly
maintained these buildings. The DFMC when pressed, offers small,
nominal fixes for discrete building problems when comprehensive
solutions are needed. While the BIE owns the buildings we use, the BIE
and DMFC have not taken the necessary actions to properly repair and
maintain them.
School Facilities Operations and Maintenance funds also play a
pivotal role in the health and safety of our students and staff. More
funding is needed to address the BIE system-wide maintenance backlog,
to hire staff with sufficient repair and maintenance expertise, to
ensure schools have enough funding to adequately heat and cool our
buildings with adequate air circulation to reduce the risk of
coronavirus transmission, and to ensure that safety inspections are
completed and provided to schools in a timely fashion (we are still
waiting for the results of our most recent safety inspection). We also
encourage Congress to shift these two accounts to the forward funded
portion of the BIE's budget to help further insulate schools from the
disruptive uncertainties of continuing resolutions and government
shutdowns.
COVID-19 Relief Funds Must Be Expeditiously Distributed for
Ventilation Repairs. Our HVAC system is a fundamental, pressing
concern. Since 2017, Pinon Community School has requested assistance
from the BIE and DFMC for HVAC improvements to address excessive heat.
Currently on our campus, the dormitories, recreational building,
kindergarten classrooms, and cafeteria building are without HVAC units,
which provide critical ventilation and air conditioning. The Navajo
Nation is requiring all schools to conduct a walkthrough of school
facilities to assess and document findings that may impede students
from safely returning to school. Unfortunately, we have been unable to
complete the walk through due to our lack of ventilation. An improved
HVAC system is not only a critical safety measure, it is critical to
our ability to bring our students back for in-person services. A safe
and healthy in-person living and residential environment is crucial to
the well-being of our students and community. We have worked diligently
to take steps to improve the HVAC system. Recently, the DFMC began
construction on a portion of the project; however, the project is very
limited in scope and will not permit proper ventilation for the
entirety of the school campus, including the kindergarten classroom.
Despite this, we have secured design plans and estimates for what it
would take fully repair and replace the HVAC and associated hydraulic
cooling system. We have also selected contractors who are licensed to
perform this work. The estimate we were provided is roughly $4
million--far more than Pinion Community School has been allocated in
emergency COVID-19 relief funds. The DFMC's tinkering around the edges
of this problem is not acceptable, particularly when COVID-19 relief
funds have been allocated by the BIE to help schools repair, replace
and upgrade our HVAC systems.
We would like to sincerely thank Congress, and specifically these
subcommittees, for appropriating several rounds of urgently needed
COVID-19 relief funds to the BIE school system. Your support helped our
students, teachers and schools weather the worst of the pandemic and we
could not have come this far without these emergency funds. The delays
on the BIE and DFMC's implementation, however, have frustrated our
attempts to make the critical improvements to our facilities, which are
needed to safely welcome back our students.
Given the urgency of our School's needs and Congress' intent to
rapidly deploy COVID-19 relief funds, we find BIE and DFMC
implementation delays particularly troubling. We note that from the
three rounds of COVID-19 relief funds Congress appropriated ``for
programs operated or funded by the BIE'', 10 percent or $125.9 million
was set-aside for the BIE's ``national-level support/administrative
reserve.'' The BIE in subsequent webinars, communications to schools
and press releases specified that the ``national-level support/
administrative reserve'' funds are focused on the following: mental
health services; learning management system investments; HVAC & indoor
air quality improvements; emergency management and coordination;
communications outreach; system enhancements (NASIS); oversight and
records support; and ``other priorities''. Further, BIE specified that
schools wishing to access these funds should enter this into MAXIMO,
and contact the BIE and the DFMC, which we have done. While some of the
BIE's other identified uses of the ``national-level support/
administrative reserve'' funds appear to have, at best, only a
tangential impact on keeping our students and staff safe, ``HVAC &
indoor air quality improvements'' are fundamental to their health and
safety. We urgently need $4 million for our HVAC repair and replacement
project and we urge the DFMC to provide this funding without further
delay.
ISEP Formula Funds are our core operating account. This account
funds everything from classroom instruction materials and teacher
salaries to gifted and talented programs, summer programs, and food
services. Increases in ISEP Formula Funds directly benefit students and
help attract and retain the quality teachers vital to our students'
academic success, but this account is severely underfunded and the
nominal increases each year have very seriously lagged behind inflation
year over year. Further, while the $40.8 million increase to ISEP
Formula Funds between FY 2022 to FY 2023 is indeed one of the most
significant increases this budget category has seen in some years, it
was spread across the 183 schools in the BIE system, resulting in only
an average increase of $223,234 per school. BIE-funded schools across
the Nation are facing a significant teacher shortage, but that shortage
is particularly acute here on the Navajo Nation, where many schools
operate in remote locations and because the surrounding public schools
in New Mexico and Arizona have responded to the teacher shortage by
substantially increasing teacher pay. We are currently working to
increase enrollment but the state of our facilities and our
difficulties attracting and retaining teachers and staff is holding us
back from fully realizing our potential as a school and as a resource
for our community. For example, we are exploring the concept of
offering vocational education options for our high school students but
more funding would be needed to develop that curriculum and hire the
teachers and staff to run it. Having the resources to attract and
retain quality teachers and counselors is a significant challenge for
us. A 50% increase to ISEP would help us regain some the ground we have
lost to decades of negative inflation-adjusted budget growth.
Full Funding for Teacher and Counselor Pay Parity is a critical
tool for attracting and retaining quality teachers. Federal law
requires the BIE to provide funding so that teachers and counselors in
the BIE-funded school system may be paid equivalent salaries to their
counterparts in the Department of Defense Education Activity. Federal
law also provides that, at the discretion of the local school board, a
BIE-operated school may pay salaries consistent with those paid by
public schools in the state where the BIE school is located.
We would like to thank the subcommittees for the FY 2021 House
Report 116-448 and the Joint Explanatory Statement accompanying the
2021 Consolidated Appropriations Act which direct the BIE to ``clearly
display funding amounts required to comply with Defense Department-
equivalent pay rates as part of future budget justifications and to
include sufficient funding in its budget request to fully fund these
requirements''. We ask the subcommittees to continue to hold the BIE
accountable for quantifying and requesting the correct amount for
teacher and counselor pay parity and ensuring that the amounts provided
are sufficient to match the increases provided by the Defense
Department schools or are consistent with the rate of pay of public
schools in the States where our BIE-operated and tribally controlled
schools are located, whichever of these rates are higher. Given the
acute teacher shortages, this parity is essential to our school's
ability to recruit and retain qualified teachers and counselors.
Ensuring that employees of all BIE-funded schools are eligible to
participate in the Federal Employee Retirement System (FERS) would
significantly bolster the ability of grant schools in the BIE school
system to attract and retain quality teachers. Congress recently
extended grant schools the opportunity to offer their employees
insurance through the Federal Employee Health Benefits (FEHB) and
Federal Employee Group Life Insurance (FEGLI) programs. Also, in House
Report 117-400 accompanying the FY2023 Consolidated Appropriations Act,
Congress directed Indian Affairs to ``study the systems, processes, and
authorizations necessary to extend FERS benefits to police officers
employed under a Public Law 93-638 contract or compact.'' Pinon
Community School is seeking similar language for teachers and staff
employed by Bureau of Indian Education-funded, Tribally Controlled
Schools operated under Public Law 100-297 grants or Public Law 93-638
contracts.
Thank you. We would like to thank the subcommittees for your
support and partnership throughout the pandemic. The resources you
allocated for BIE system schools helped keep our students and teachers
safe and connected. We also deeply the appreciate the recent increases
provided to the key BIE accounts we depend on and for your ongoing
oversight of the BIE. We consider you our partners in this important
endeavor of preparing our students for a bright future. Thank you for
the opportunity to provide this testimony. Please consider us a
resource if you have any questions.
[This statement was submitted by Sharon Begay, Governing Board
President and Joe Benally, Principal, Pinon Community School.]
______
Prepared Statement of Preservation Action
Chair Merkley, Ranking Member Murkowski and Members of the
subcommittee, on behalf of Preservation Action's thousands of members
and supporters--representing nearly every State--we appreciate the
opportunity to present written testimony on the Department of
Interior's FY 2024 Appropriations for the National Park Service and its
historic preservation programs. Founded in 1974, Preservation Action is
a 501(c)4 nonprofit organization created to serve as the National
grassroots advocacy organization for historic preservation. We
represent an active and engaged grassroots constituency from across the
country, and this testimony reflects their priorities.
First, we would like to thank the subcommittee for their strong
support of historic preservation programs and priorities in the past
several Interior Appropriations bills--especially for the FY23 Interior
Appropriations bill, which funded the Historic Preservation Fund at
$204.515 million. This marked the eighth consecutive year of record
funding for the program--again exceeding the program's outdated $150
million authorized level--reflecting the growing need of State and
Tribal Historic Preservation Offices and the impactful work the HPF
makes possible through competitive grant programs. Thanks to your
support, all Americans continue to benefit from programs that have a
proven track record of saving places Americans value, revitalizing
communities, combating climate change by reusing infrastructure, and
creating jobs.
Preservation Action's mission is to demonstrate that historic
preservation is a national priority. For 49 years we've advocated for
sound preservation policy, including two of the most important tools
for historic preservation: the Historic Preservation Fund (HPF) and the
Federal Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit (HTC).
national park service: historic preservation fund
The Historic Preservation Fund (HPF) is the principal source of
funding to implement the Nation's historic preservation programs. Since
1976 the HPF has helped to recognize, save, revitalize, and protect
America's historic resources.
HPF funding is critical to ensure State and Tribal Historic
Preservation Offices (SHPOs/THPOs), whose job it is to administer
Federal historic preservation program, have the staffing capacity
needed for the timely review of infrastructure and other Federal
projects per requirements under the National Historic Preservation Act.
HPF funding also supports critically important competitive grant
programs. The Paul Bruhn Historic Revitalization Grant Program is
helping to foster economic development in rural communities through
subgrants, like the Oregon Historic Theaters Subgrant Program that has
revitalized historic theaters in small towns across Oregon or a program
to rehabilitate National Register properties in Sitka, Alaska. While
programs like the African American Civil Rights Grant Program, the
History of Equal Rights grant program, the Underrepresented Communities
Grant Program, and others are helping to tell a more diverse and
inclusive American story.
Preservation Action recognizes the strong support Congress,
especially this Committee, has shown for the HPF in recent years. But
more is needed, especially as SHPOs and THPOs face increased workloads
as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act is implemented.
--Preservation Action recommends this subcommittee to continue their
strong support of historic preservation by appropriating $225
million in funding for the Historic Preservation Fund in FY24's
Department of Interior budget, including funding at the
following levels:
--$70 million for State Historic Preservation Officers (SHPOs). SHPOs
carry out the primary functions of the National Historic
Preservation Act: finding and documenting America's historic
places, nominating places to the National Register, aiding
rehabilitation tax credit projects, reviewing impacts of
Federal projects, working with local governments, and
conducting preservation education and planning. Due to 2023
changes to SHPO apportionments, 23 States did not receive an
increase in funding from 2022 to 2023.
--$40 million for Save America's Treasures Program. The Save
America's Treasures grants program helps preserve nationally
significant historic properties and collections that convey our
Nation's rich heritage to future generations of Americans.
--$34 million for Tribal Historic Preservation Officers (THPOs).
THPOs are designated by federally recognized Tribal governments
and assume the Federal compliance role of the SHPO on their
respective Tribal lands. Tribal historic preservation plans are
based on traditional knowledge and cultural values, and may
involve projects to improve Indian schools, roads, health
clinics and housing. THPOs are chronically underfunded. Funding
levels have not kept pace with the growing number of Indian
Tribes with THPO programs, resulting in a lower average
apportionments per tribe.
--$28 million for the African American Civil Rights Initiative
Grants. A competitive grant program to preserve the sites and
stories of the African American struggle to gain equal rights.
--$13 million for Historically Black Colleges and Universities
(HBCUs). Funding provides grants to HBCUs to preserve and
repair historic buildings on their campuses.
--$17 million for Paul Bruhn Historic Revitalization Subgrants.
Supports the rehabilitation of historic properties and fosters
economic development of rural communities through subgrants.
--$11 million for the Semiquincentennial Grants. Competitive grant
program that preserves publicly-owned historic sites
commemorating the 250th anniversary of the founding of the U.S.
--$7 million for the History of Equal Rights Grant Program. A
competitive grant program to preserve sites and stories related
to the struggle of all Americans to achieve equal rights.
--$5 million for the Under-Represented Communities Grant Program.
These competitive grants support the survey and nomination of
properties to the National Register of Historic Places
associated with currently under-represented communities.
Total FY 2024 Historic Preservation Fund Request: $225 million
--Preservation Action also encourages support for the Historic
Preservation Reauthorization Act (H.R. 3350). This bill would
reauthorize the Historic Preservation Fund for 10 years and
increases the authorized level to $250 million. The HPF's
authorization has not been increased since the program's
inception in 1976 and the program's current authorization is
set to expire in September of this year. This would provide
much needed certainty to the States, Tribes, and local
communities that rely on this funding to carry out their
critical preservation work.
national park service: federal historic rehabilitation tax credit
The Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit (HTC), administered by
SHPOs, THPOs, and the National Park Service is the most significant
Federal investment in historic preservation. The HTC has supported
historic rehabilitation projects across the country, like the
renovation of the 1928 New Redmond Hotel in Redmond, OR or the
rehabilitation of the historic McKinley Tower Apartments in Anchorage,
AK. The HTC has been a catalyst for development and job creation, and
is responsible for:
--Rehabilitating more than 48,000 historic buildings across the
Nation.
--Leveraging over $199 billion in private investment.
--Creating more than 3 million jobs since its inception.
--Producing over 185,000 affordable housing units.
--Rehabilitating buildings and revitalizing communities in all 50
States.
--Returning more to the Treasury than the cost of the program.
Preservation Action supports the bipartisan Historic Tax Credit
Growth and Opportunity Act (S. 639), which would increase the value of
the HTC, improve access to the credit, and make the credit more
appealing for smaller projects.
--Preservation Action urges the Committee to continue to support the
Historic Tax Credit by sufficiently funding SHPOs, THPOs and
the National Park Service who administer the program.
national park service: african-american burial grounds preservation
program
--Preservation Action supports $3 million in funding for the newly
authorized, African-American Burial Grounds Preservation
Program.
This program was established by Congress as part of the
Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 and was included in the
President's budget request. This program will identify, document,
preserve, research, and interpret these historic and sacred burial
sites whose protection and documentation has too often been neglected
or forgotten.
national park service: national heritage areas
--We express our support for $33.5 million for the Heritage
Partnership Program, which supports National Heritage Areas
(NHAs) nationwide.
Designated by Congress, NHAs are community-driven sites that weave
cultural, natural, and historic resources together to tell nationally-
significant stories. NHAs rely on public-private funding where every
Federal dollar allocated is matched with an average of $5.50 in public
and private funds. We appreciate the passage of the bipartisan National
Heritage Area Act, which established standardized criteria of NHAs and
ensures long-term sustainability. $33.5 million keeps all NHAs at their
existing funding levels while funding newly authorized NHAs.
independent agency: advisory council on historic preservation
The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) is an
independent Federal agency that promotes the preservation, enhancement,
and sustainable use of the Nation's diverse historic resources, and
advises the President and Congress on national historic preservation
policy. We appreciate the continued support of this important agency.
--Preservation Action recommends the Committee support $10.5 million
for the ACHP in the FY 2023 Interior Appropriations Bill. An
increase in funding will enhance the critical functions of the
agency: ensuring the Nation's historic and cultural resources
are protected, advancing Tribal consultation, and finding
efficiencies to deliver timely Federal review of major
infrastructure projects.
conclusion
Preservation Action appreciates the opportunity to provide our
views on the FY24 Department of Interior budget. We work closely with a
broad cross-section of preservation professionals from the State and
local level and are pleased to add their perspective via our testimony.
Preservation Action continues to value the dedicated work of
National Park Service employees, partnership with the Advisory Council
on Historic Preservation, and the instrumental work of SHPOs and THPOs
in preserving America's cultural heritage.
Thank you for valuing the input of the preservation community as
you consider the FY24 Department of Interior budget and your past
support of vital historic preservation programs. We look forward to
working with the committee and are happy to answer any questions.
[This statement was submitted by Russ Carnahan, President,
Preservation Action.]
______
Prepared Statement of Pueblo of Acoma
Recommendations:
1. BIA--$1.5 million in dedicated funding for NAGPRA
implementation.
2. BIA--$1 million for implementation of the Safeguard Tribal
Objects of Patrimony Act.
3. BIA--$20 million for Tribal Historic Preservation Offices.
4. DOI--Maintain the funding moratorium for energy leasing in the
Greater Chaco Region.
5. DOI--Increase funding for all public lands conservation
accounts.
6. IHS--Provide permanent advance appropriations for the Indian
health system.
7. IHS--Designate Section 105(l) lease and CSC payments as
mandatory funding.
8. IHS--Increase SDPI funding to $250 million with annual inflation
adjustments.
9. IHS--Increase funding for Preventive Health Services.
10. DOI--Support Funding for Indian Water Rights Settlements.
11. BIA--Not less than $90 million for the BIA Roads Maintenance
Program.
12. DOI--Provide targeted funding totaling $ 59 million for
community development.
13. BIA--$40 million for Mesa Hill Bridge Project under Tribal
Transportation Account.
14. BIA OTS--Increase support for traditional irrigation
infrastructure projects.
15. BIE--$15 million to establish Regional BIE Tele-Education
Learning Centers.
16. BIA--Not less than $8 million for the BIA Endangered Species
Program.
17. DOI--$42 million for the BIA Tribal Climate Resilience Program.
I. Safeguard Tribal Cultural Patrimony
1. $1.5 Million for Native American Graves Protection and
Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) Enforcement. The provision of dedicated
NAGPRA enforcement funding has supported the creation of a new FTE
position committed to the protection of Tribal patrimony, as well as
Bureau-wide trainings on the law and the harmful consequences that can
ensue when it is violated. This is contributing directly to the
development of a more culturally competent understanding of the
importance of Tribal patrimony to Native peoples for improved law
enforcement activities. We ask that this funding be maintained in FY
2024 and beyond.
2. $3 Million for Funding Implementation of the Safeguard Tribal
Objects of Patrimony (STOP). Act. This law, passed in the last
Congress, will assure the protection of many sensitive Tribal items
from illegal export. It is important to put in place the necessary
resources in the Federal Government to enable this law to be
implemented. We request that at least $1 million be allocated for FY
2024 for the purposes of implementation and enforcement of this law.
3. $20 Million for Tribal Historic Preservation Offices (THPOs).
The preservation of Tribal sacred and cultural sites is a priority for
all Indian Country. Damage of these sites is often irreversible,
forever altering the way in which we can express ourselves as
indigenous people. More Tribes are establishing THPOs under the
National Historic Preservation Act to protect this heritage, yet
Federal funding has not kept pace with this expansion. It is thus
difficult for Tribal governments to meet their preservation compliance
duties and responsibilities, which include working with other
governments on site identification, conducting surveys, compiling data
and samples, documenting best practices, and assisting in museums and
research centers that preserve and share Tribal material culture. We
request $20 million for THPO support in FY 2024.
4. Maintain the Funding Moratorium Related to Energy Leasing in the
Greater Chaco Region. We request that Congress maintain the moratorium
on oil and gas leasing on Federal land in the withdrawal area of the
Greater Chaco Region. We request this moratorium span the lifetime of
the legislation rather than becoming ineffective upon completion of the
ongoing Tribally-led cultural resource studies. However, if a temporal
limit must be included, we ask the moratorium stay in place until
completion of the studies and the Resource Management Plan Amendment.
5. Increase Funding for All Public Lands Conservation Program
Accounts. Acoma's religious, cultural, social, and ancestral identity
is rooted in the land of Bears Ears, Mount Taylor, and Chaco Canyon-
among countless other sacred landscapes in the region. Any reductions
in the Federal protections accorded to these lands per their status as
National Monuments, Forests, Parks, or Wilderness Areas necessarily
impacts our cultural and spiritual interests. The failure to provide
minimum appropriations to carry out Federal public lands management
responsibilities impairs the ability of Interior agencies to fulfill
trust obligations and places invaluable Tribal resources at risk. We
urge Congress to provide increased funding for public lands
conservation programs across the Department of Interior, including the
NPS, USFS, USFWS, BIA, and BLM.
II. Promote the Health and Well-Being of Indian Country
6. Provide Permanent Advance Appropriations for the Indian Health
System. We ask for full funding for the IHS on a permanent 2-year
advance appropriations cycle to fulfill the United States' obligation
to provide for Indian health. This advance appropriation has occurred
for FY 2024 but needs to be made permanent. We strongly support the IHS
Tribal Budget Formulation Workgroup's recommendation for $49.8 billion
to fully fund the Indian health system budget. It is vital that this
funding be consistently provided on an advance appropriations basis to
promote greater stability in services, medical personnel recruitment
and retention, and facilities management. Indian health should not be
subject to the uncertainties of the annual budgeting process with its
risk of continuing resolutions and government shutdowns. Critically,
advance appropriations would align Federal funding with trust and
treaty obligations. It would also provide the IHS long overdue parity
with the Veterans Health Administration.
7. Mandatory Funding for Contract Support Costs (CSC) and Section
105(l) Lease Payments. We appreciate this subcommittee's commitment to
ensuring that CSC and Section 105(l) lease costs are fully funded by
including an indefinite discretionary appropriation in past years. We
ask that Congress build on this important work in FY 2024 by
designating these accounts as mandatory funding. CSC and Section 105(l)
lease funds are already an entitlement under the Indian Self-
Determination and Education Assistance Act. Changing the appropriation
of these accounts from discretionary to mandatory would bring Federal
funding into line with the clear legal requirements of the authorizing
statute.
8. $250 Million with Self-Governance Funding Mechanism Option for
the Special Diabetes Program for Indians (SDPI). Indian Country has
seen dramatic improvements in the prevention and treatment of diabetes
and diabetes-related conditions under SDPI. Yet, the program has been
flat funded at $150 million since FY 2004. For program stability and
expansion, we seek an increase in mandatory funding to $250 million
with automatic annual adjustments for medical inflation. We also ask
that Congress authorize the use of either a grant (as currently used)
or Public Law 93-638 funding mechanisms for SDPI participants
consistent with our Tribal sovereignty.
9. Increase Funding for Preventive Health Services. Acoma's
experience with the Acoma-Canon cito-Laguna Hospital crisis and the
vulnerabilities in the Indian health system revealed by the pandemic
has taught us the critical value of preventive health. Such services
are a cost-effective use of resources the reduce future incidence rates
of chronic illness, acute conditions, and associated medical costs. We
urge an increase in funding for IHS Preventive Health Services as an
investment in future Indian health.
III. Construct Safe Tribal Communities and Infrastructure
10. Support Funding for Indian Water Rights Settlements. The Pueblo
of Acoma, along with other parties, has negotiated a water rights
settlement with the United States and the State of New Mexico (Rio San
Jose Water Settlement) that has just been introduced in the House and
Senate. We ask that the Congress support full funding for Indian water
rights and would like to note that the President's FY 2024 budget
proposal includes funding to ``build on investments provided in the
Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Budget provides $2.8 billion in
mandatory funding to the Indian Water Rights Settlement Completion
Fund, with $2.5 billion to cover the costs of enacted and future water
rights settlements and $340 million for operations and maintenance
costs associated with enacted water settlements.''
11. Not Less Than $90 Million for the BIA Road Maintenance Program.
Funding for the BIA Road Maintenance program has been chronically below
the level of demonstrated need. In FY 2021, the BIA received only
$36.79 million to address a nationwide deferred maintenance backlog of
almost $300 million-an equivalent to only 12% of documented need. It
costs our Pueblo alone over $650,000 to maintain the 363.8 miles
included on the BIA road inventory within our exterior boundaries (a
further 298.2 miles are not on the inventory). We receive insufficient
funding to cover these costs and are, thus, forced to use our limited
Tribal funds to maintain Federal roads. Congress must start to
alleviate this heavy financial burden by providing not less than $90
million for BIA Roads Maintenance in FY 2024.
12. $59 Million for Community Economic Development Projects. We
seek $59 million in targeted funding to support the development of
shovel-ready community economic projects that would greatly benefit our
Tribe and our citizens. Specifically, these are (1) full reconstruction
of the fifty-year old Haaku Road that has structural failures
throughout its length, contributing directly to dozens of vehicle
crashes over the years ($25 million request), and (2) development of
the Acoma Business Park corridor that is planned to include a business
incubator, retail and service enterprises, post office, and new housing
to create jobs and generate revenue ($34 million request).
13. $40 Million for Mesa Hill Bridge Project under BIA Tribal
Transportation Account. Acoma is bisected by a major transcontinental
railway that is level with the existing roadway with minimal safety
features. The flat terrain, lack of a fixed schedule for freight
trains, and misjudgments on train speed and distance pose a significant
public safety risk to motorists and pedestrians. Distressingly, there
is no way to avoid the danger. Our healthcare and businesses are
located on the north side of the tracks, while our community service
facilities-such as Head Start, residential areas, and government
buildings-are in the south. Our people must face the daily challenge of
traversing the tracks to bring their children to school or attend
medical appointments without the safety of an elevated crossing.
Despite the clear threat to public safety posed by this situation, we
have faced repeated barriers in accessing the necessary funds to
construct the Mesa Hill Bridge. We urge Congress to provide $40 million
in targeted funding under the BIA Tribal Transportation Program to
construct the Mesa Hill Bridge at Acoma Pueblo.
14. Increase BIA Irrigation Infrastructure Funding. Congress
enacted the Pueblo Irrigation Infrastructure Act as Section 9106 of the
Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009. This Act directs the
Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study of the irrigation
infrastructure of the Rio Grande Pueblos, including Acoma. It also
authorizes funding to address deficiencies identified by that study.
The implementation of this act will favorably impact Pueblo traditional
lifestyle and culture, which has been based on agriculture and
irrigated lands for hundreds of years. We urge Congress to increase
support for BIA irrigation projects on all New Mexico Pueblos in FY
2024.
15. Establish Regional BIE Tele-Education Learning Centers.
Broadband is an essential service rapidly changing the educational
landscape in rural communities. Acoma, however, continues to face
significant challenges in this area stemming, in part, from a woefully
inadequate municipal infrastructure and limited economic and
educational resources. Rural education does not and should not mean
limited opportunities for growth and development. We seek to expand
Acoma's horizons by connecting Pueblo members with previously unheard-
of access to local teleeducational resources. We ask for targeted
funding for regional BIE tele-education learning facilities with an
initial allocation of $15 million to establish the account.
IV. Protect Wildlife and Natural Resources
16. Not Less Than $8 Million for the BIA Endangered Species
Program. The effective management and conservation of our natural
resources is not limited to the waters, soil, and trees that form the
rich landscape of Pueblo Country. We must also account and
appropriately care for the diversity of wildlife that is meaningful to
our culture and essential to maintaining our ecosystems' equilibrium.
The BIA Endangered Species Program provides Tribal nations with the
technical assistance and financial resources to protect endangered
species on Tribal lands through natural resources restoration and
management, as well as economic development. We recommend Congress
provide at least $8 million for the BIA Endangered Species Program.
17. $42 Million for the Tribal Climate Resilience Program and
Adequately Fund Cooperative Landscape Conservation Programs. Across
America, communities are facing mounting challenges related to our
progressively unstable natural environment. Invasive species,
disappearing tree lines, and accelerated rates of erosion are also
taking an increasing toll on our agricultural and natural resources.
These two Interior programs equip Tribal nations with the tools to
manage resource stressors, develop adaptive management plans, and
engage in intergovernmental coordination. We request Congress
appropriate $42 million for the BIA Tribal Climate Resilience Program
and restore adequate funding for Department-wide Cooperative Landscape
Conservation programs.
[This statement was submitted by Governor Randall Vicente, Pueblo
of Acoma.]
______
Prepared Statement of Pueblo of Santa Clara
Recommendations:
1. IHS--Provide permanent full funding and advance appropriations
for the IHS.
2. IHS--$250 million with a self-governance funding mechanism
option for SDPI.
3. DOI--Maintain the funding moratorium for energy leasing in the
Greater Chaco Region.
4. BIA--$20 million for Tribal Historic Preservation Offices.
5. BIA--Maintain $1.5 million for NAGPRA enforcement.
6. DOI--$1 million for implementation of the Safeguard Tribal
Objects of Patrimony Act
7. BIA--$300 million for BIA Criminal Investigations and Police
Services.
8. BIA--$50 million for Tribal Courts.
9. BIA--$620,000 for juvenile education in BIA detention
facilities.
10. BIA--Increase funding for all BIA disaster recovery and
prevention programs.
11. BIA--$15 million to establish a BIA Emergency Response Fund.
12. BIA--$42 million for the Tribal Climate Resilience Program.
13. EPA--$100 million for the EPA Tribal General Assistance
Program.
14. USFS--$15 million in priority funding for Tribal Forest
Protection Act implementation.
15. BIE--Increase Tribal Education Department and Sovereignty in
Education grant funding.
16. BIE--$200 million for Facilities Operations and $900 million
for Facilities Maintenance.
17. BIE--$600 million for Indian School Equalization Program.
18. DOI --Request Report Language to encourage waivers on cost
match requirements.
19. BOR--Implementation of the Rio Grande Pueblos Irrigation
Infrastructure Act.
Introduction. Thank you, Chair Merkley, Ranking Member Murkowski,
and subcommittee Members for the opportunity to share our funding
priorities for the FY 2024 Federal budget. My name is J. Michael
Chavarria and I am the Governor of the Pueblo of Santa Clara in New
Mexico. I offer the following recommendations for your consideration
for FY 2024 and urge the Committee to remember that increases must be
significantly greater than the rate of inflation for these programs to
even tread water, when they need to be expanded.
Provide Full and Advance Appropriations for the Indian Health
System. The Indian health system faces annually compounding challenges
related to supplies, staffing levels, infrastructure and facilities,
and high rates of negative health outcomes among AI/ANs as a result of
the chronic failure to fully fund trust and treaty obligations in
Indian health. Until this year, IHS was funded on an annual,
discretionary basis, but at least for the next year it has been
provided with advance appropriations. Santa Clara urges the Committee
to support making advance appropriations permanent on at least a 2-year
cycle, and to support a multi-billion dollar increase to achieve full
funding in FY 2024.
$250 Million with a Self-Governance Funding Mechanism Option for
the Special Diabetes Program for Indians (SDPI). For program stability
and expansion, we advocate for an increase in mandatory funding to $250
million with automatic annual adjustments for medical inflation. We
also ask that Congress authorize the use of either a grant (as
currently used) or Public Law 93-638 funding mechanisms for SDPI
participants consistent with Tribal sovereignty.
Maintain the Funding Moratorium Related to Energy Leasing in the
Greater Chaco Region. We request that Congress maintain the moratorium
on oil and gas leasing on Federal land in the withdrawal area of the
Greater Chaco Region. We request this moratorium span the lifetime of
the legislation rather than becoming ineffective upon completion of the
ongoing Tribally-led cultural resource studies. However, if a temporal
limit must be included, we ask the moratorium stay in place until
completion of the studies as well as the Resource Management Plan
Amendment.
$20 Million to Support the Vital Work of Tribal Historic
Preservation Offices (THPOs). The preservation of Tribal sacred and
cultural sites is a priority for all Indian Country. Damage of these
sites is often irreversible. More Tribes are establishing THPOs under
the National Historic Preservation Act to protect this heritage. Our
expert officers identify sites and coordinate with appropriate
officials and third parties on their protection, as well as support the
work of museum and research centers that house Tribal material culture
and repatriated items. We request $20 million for THPO support in FY
2024.
$1.5 Million for Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation
Act (NAGPRA) Enforcement. The provision of dedicated NAGPRA enforcement
funding has contributed directly to the development of a more
culturally competent understanding of the importance of Tribal
patrimony to Native peoples for improved law enforcement activities. We
ask that this funding be maintained in FY 2024 and beyond.
$1 Million for Funding Implementation of the Safeguard Tribal
Objects of Patrimony (STOP) Act. This law, passed in the last Congress,
will assure the protection of many sensitive Tribal items from illegal
export. It is important to put in place the necessary resources in the
Federal Government to enable this law to be implemented. We request
that at least $1 million be allocated for FY 2024 for the purposes of
implementation and enforcement of this law.
$300 Million for BIA Criminal Investigations and Police Services.
Tribal law enforcement and emergency services personnel strive to
provide high-quality and responsive public safety services. They must
often do this notwithstanding the effects of serious understaffing and
insufficient resources. We urge a minimum of $300 million for BIA
Criminal Investigations and Police Services to effectively serve and
protect our community, including additional resources for officer
equipment, training, and innovation.
$50 Million for Tribal Courts on a Permanent Ongoing Basis. Our
Tribal Court requires additional resources to continue functioning
efficiently and to address challenges related to resources, facilities,
and court administration. To strengthen our court system, we encourage
the subcommittee to maintain its commitment to public safety and
justice on Tribal lands and ask for at least $50 million for Tribal
Courts (TPA).
Increased Detention Services Funding and $620,000 for Juvenile
Detention Center Education. Public safety facilities and housing
construction programs have been critically needed for many years. In
the southwest the situation is particularly acute owing to the lack of
any integrated substance abuse behavioral modification detention
program since the closure of the Turning Point Program in Yuma,
Arizona, in 2017. We need culturally-responsive detention services to
improve recidivism rates and support long-term rehabilitation. We
request increased funding for BIA detention services and at least
$620,000 for juvenile detention center education.
Increase Funding for BIA Disaster Recovery and Prevention Programs.
The stewardship of natural resources is key to both the economic and
cultural well-being of Pueblo people, particularly in this era of
increasing climate uncertainty. Santa Clara has been devastated by
three catastrophic wildfires with the threat of new fires and floods
always on the horizon. We have invested heavily in the development of
fire preparedness and suppression resources to protect life and
property. We understand the fundamental importance of beneficial
partnerships with the BIA and other agencies in this effort. Because of
this work, we are proud to say that Santa Clara is home to award-
winning Tribal forestry and land management departments. Expanding
access to BIA disaster programs and deepening the resources available
is critical. We ask for an increase across all these line items.
$15 Million to Establish a BIA Emergency Response Fund. Many Tribal
governments are hindered by the upfront investment costs and cost-
sharing requirements of certain Federal emergency response programs.
When coupled with bureaucratic delays in distributing funds, it often
takes an unacceptable amount of time to receive disaster relief
precisely when time is of the essence. We anticipate the need for these
resources will only continue to grow and with quick access to funding
becoming a top response need. We recommend an initial amount of $15
million be allocated to establish a BIA Emergency Response Fund within
the Office of Trust Services.
$42 Million for the Tribal Climate Resilience Program and Restore
Cooperative Landscape Conservation Programs. Across America,
communities are facing mounting challenges related to our progressively
unstable natural environment. Invasive species, disappearing tree
lines, and accelerated rates of erosion are also taking an increasing
toll on our agricultural and natural resources. These two Interior
programs equip Tribes with the tools to manage resource stressors,
develop adaptive management plans, and engage in intergovernmental
coordination. We request Congress appropriate $42 million for the BIA
Tribal Climate Resilience Program and restore adequate funding for
Department-wide Cooperative Landscape Conservation programs.
$100 Million Minimum for the EPA Indian General Assistance Program.
EPA resources enable our Pueblo to establish and maintain technical
ability to support an array of projects that protect human health and
the environment for our people and safeguard the natural resources that
provide us with physical and spiritual sustenance. Without these funds,
we would face tremendous hurdles in developing and maintaining
environmental programs such as water quality monitoring and hazardous
waste management. EPA Tribal GAP is an essential program assisting
Tribes in developing the internal capacity to manage their own
environmental protection programs. We request Congress provide at least
$100 million for EPA Tribal GAP funding to advance sustainable
environmental protection measures in Indian Country.
$15 Million in Priority Funding for Tribal Forest Protection Act
(TFPA) Implementation. The TFPA (Pub. L. 108-278) authorizes the
Interior Secretary to give special consideration to Tribally proposed
Stewardship Contracting or other projects on Forest Service or BLM land
bordering or adjacent to Tribal lands to protect trust and Federal
resources from fire, disease, and other threats. This is a smart
policy. Stewardship agreements are an important tool for fighting the
ever-growing threat of wildfires that have devastated the west in
recent years. TFPA was authorized, however, without a designated
funding mechanism. As a result, efforts to the implement its beneficial
provisions have been impeded. We request report language encouraging
agencies to prioritize TFPA implementation to the greatest extent
possible with at least $15 million in dedicated funding.
Increase Funding for BIE Tribal Education Department (TED) and
Sovereignty in Education Grants. These funds support the development of
TEDs to improve educational outcomes for students and efficiencies and
effectiveness in the operation of BIE-funded schools. The goal of the
grants is to promote Tribal educational capacity building, which it has
achieved in our community through our Department of Youth and Learning
and Pueblo-operated Kha'p'o Community School. To strengthen the
exercise of sovereignty in Tribal education additional funding is
needed for these grants, particularly as the TED line item has been
flat funded for several appropriations cycles.
$200 Million for BIE Facilities Operations and $900 Million for BIE
Facilities Maintenance and Construction. To flourish academically and
personally, we must provide our children with safe and vibrant
classrooms and engaging areas to play, as well as with after-hours
wraparound services, but too many Tribal school facilities are in
various States of disrepair. The backlog of unmet needs for these
accounts has grown exponentially with Interior leadership testifying in
July 2019 to a total identified deferred need of $725 million, but
increased costs since then justify $900 million. We urge full funding
of this unmet need for BIE Facilities Maintenance and for Operations.
$600 Million for the Indian School Equalization Program (ISEP).
These funds provide the core budget account for BIE-funded schools by
covering teacher salaries, aides, principals, and other personnel. ISEP
funds are often reallocated to cover the program cuts in other areas of
education. ISEP must have adequate funding to ensure all program needs
are fulfilled and must not be reduced to provide funds for new
initiatives that have not been vetted by Tribes. We strongly support an
influx of investment in the ISEP in FY 2024 to at least $475 million.
Report Language to Encourage Waiver of Cost Match Requirements.
There are many Federal programs that require a Tribal cost match,
frequently in an amount that is beyond the means of many Tribes,
resulting in Tribes not being able to take advantage of a particular
program or source of funding. Santa Clara urges the Committee to
include report language that encourages Federal agencies to provide the
maximum waiver possible for cost matches applicable to Tribes and
Pueblos.
Implementation of the Rio Grande Pueblos Irrigation Infrastructure
Act. In 2009, the United States Congress passed the Omnibus and Public
Lands Act authorizing planning and implementation of improvements to
irrigation infrastructure for the 18 Pueblos in the Rio Grande Valley
in New Mexico. In February 2022, an amended report was released setting
forth many of the needed improvements. Santa Clara urges this committee
to fund these identified improvement needs.
[This statement was submitted by Governor Michael Chavarria, Pueblo
of Santa Clara.]
______
Prepared Statement of Ramah Navajo School Board
Honorable Chair, Ranking and subcommittee Members, Ya'at'eeh. My
name is Martha Garcia, President of the Ramah Navajo School Board, Inc.
Board of Trustees, joined by Ms. Carolyn Coho, Board member, and Mr.
David Nez, Pine Hill School Superintendent. On behalf of the Ramah
Navajo people, we are grateful to all the members of the U.S. House and
Senate Appropriations subcommittees on Interior, Environment and
Related Agencies for the opportunity to share our testimony. We are
here today to respectfully inform you of our most pressing priorities
for funding, all of which address our current challenges and are
essential for continuing the vital programs and services that will move
our community forward. These priorities are:
--Increased Funds for Our Community Services (BIA, BIE)
--BIA Human Services (Social Services, Welfare Assistance, Housing
Program);
--BIA Community and Economic Development (Job Placement and
Training);
--BIA Tribal Government (Aid to Tribal Government);
--BIE Elementary and Secondary Programs (Johnson-O'Malley
Assistance Grants); and
--BIE Post Secondary Programs (Scholarships & Adult Education)
--Increased Funds for Our School Operations (BIE)
--BIE Elementary and Secondary Programs Forward Funded (ISEP
Formula Funds, Student Transportation); and
--BIE Elementary and Secondary Programs (Facilities Operations &
Maintenance)
--Increased Funds for Our Health Services (IHS)
--IHS Services (Hospitals & Health Clinics, Dental Health, Mental
Health)
--Funds for RNSB Infrastructure Upgrades and New Energy Efficient
Buildings
--Funds for Ramah Trading Post Renovation
increased funds for our community services (bia, bie)
Funding to support the community programs in our two Master
Contracts is based on annual Congressional appropriations for key sub-
activities in the BIA budget (Social Services, Welfare Assistance,
Housing Program, Job Placement and Training, Aid to Tribal Government)
and the BIE budget (Johnson-O'Malley Assistance Grants, Scholarships &
Adult Education). Over the years, there have been no substantive
increases in these contracts for RNSB. We respectfully request a
significant increase in these budget sub-activities so that we can
fully develop the programs and services that will help our community
thrive. Because the annual funding for these mature contracts has
remained static and largely unchanged since the days of Federal
sequestration several Administrations ago, staff salaries have remained
frozen and program costs have not been aligned with the increases that
have occurred in inflation and the cost of living.
increased funds for our school operations (bie)
Our core BIE account, ISEP Formula Funds, supports our school's
operations. ISEP funding increases are vital to enhancing learning
opportunities for all of our students through the training, development
and retention of excellent teachers. Schools across the Nation are
facing a significant teacher shortage and that shortage is particularly
acute in more remote communities like ours on the Navajo Nation. New
Mexico has responded to this nationwide teacher shortage by
significantly increasing teacher pay. RNSB does not have the budget to
compete with the salaries offered by the public schools in New Mexico.
In order to effectively address this problem, we need increases in ISEP
funds, paired with Full Funding for Teacher and Counselor Pay Parity,
and opportunities to expand the benefits package that we offer our
teachers and staff, including the opportunity to participate in the
Federal Employee Retirement System (FERS). RNSB is also greatly
concerned by the increased costs for student transportation and the
deteriorating conditions of the roads serving our community. RNSB has
been troubled by the BIE's outdated and incomplete student
transportation funding formula, which currently underestimates Student
Transportation needs. Most BIE-funded grant schools on the Navajo
Nation exhaust their student transportation allocation by February of
each school year. Additionally, full funding and forward funding for
Facilities Operations & Facilities Maintenance (O&M) are urgently
needed to cover the actual costs of repairing and maintaining all our
buildings and facilities. Our current O&M funds only take care of 51%
of the costs of operating and maintaining our buildings. In addition,
that 51% of O&M costs must also include all the utilities costs. So, in
the end, once the utilities are paid for, only 30 cents of every dollar
needed to keep our buildings functioning properly is left. Further
complicating matters, the Facilities Operations & Facilities
Maintenance sub-activities are not forward funded, while most of the
other accounts we need to operate our school are. This means that, if
there are government shutdowns or continuing resolutions, we sometimes
do not receive our limited O&M funds until the end of the school year!
increased funds for our health services (ihs)
The Pine Hill Health Center serves three counties in New Mexico and
one county in Arizona: Cibola, McKinley, Catron, and Apache. Services
are provided to the 19,023 residents of the four counties from the IHS
Hospitals & Health Clinics budget activity. The Pine Hill Health Center
has 6,462 active charts--5,252 are Native Americans and 1,210 are non-
Native Americans. But our current funding, which is for 2,619 Native
Americans, is wholly inadequate. With sufficient funding, the Pine Hill
Health Center could provide services to 10,000 Native Americans and
others, resulting in savings to the Federal Government. This high
quality care is projected to cost $5,000 per capita, annually. Our
Behavioral Health program, funded by the IHS Mental Health budget
activity needs to double its staff to accommodate a care team panel
size of 2,626 clients. Nationwide, 50% of all healthcare patients have
mental health issues, and we only have one care team available. In
addition, our dental program, funded by the IHS Dental Health budget
activity, currently has only one dentist on staff and a panel size of
1,600 patients. We need four dentists to accommodate 5,252 patients,
and the funds to recruit and hire them.
funds for rnsb infrastructure upgrades and new energy efficient
buildings
In order to provide quality services and programs, we must have
high quality, modern infrastructure in place to support what we do. We
need good roads, as well as upgraded and expanded water and wastewater
systems, electrical lines, utilities lines and access to broadband. We
also need new buildings for our programs. Most of RNSB infrastructure
was built in the 1970s and early 1980s. Through natural wear and tear
and despite having done due diligence in operations and maintenance,
much of our infrastructure is in dire need of repair or replacement.
The Federal funds we receive are primarily for providing direct
services to the community and not for infrastructure repairs and
replacement.
Thanks to recent infusions of Federal infrastructure and safety
funding--some of which was from the CARES Act and American Rescue Plan
Act (ARPA), we have successfully upgraded our dilapidated and dangerous
high-voltage electrical system at Pine Hill. Additionally, we are in
the planning phase with the BIA Division of Facilities Management and
Construction for a new gymnasium and the renovation of our school
buildings. While it has been both challenging and rewarding to be able
to modernize some of our critical infrastructure with recent funding,
much more needs to be done, which is described below.
energy transition strategic planning for rnsb and ramah navajo
community
Energy costs continue to climb higher and higher for our old
buildings and much of the infrastructure in these buildings, such as
the HVAC systems, are inefficient or are no longer repairable. Looking
towards the necessity of living in a changing climate and world, we
want our buildings and work spaces to be safe and healthy, as well as
climate-resilient and self-reliant. With designs that incorporate into
these buildings our Dine teachings and Indigenous knowledge and
technologies, we will be contributing to addressing the issues of
climate change, such as the extreme weather and drought conditions that
we face today, in a forward-looking manner. Key to this would be the
development of a comprehensive strategic plan for energy transition as
a first step. Such a plan would serve as a blueprint, outlining the
goals for energy use, transition and resilience; completing energy
audits at RNSB and in-community for all sectors of energy use (i.e.,
RNSB and community facilities, water/wastewater, residential housing,
transportation, communications, safety, etc.); exploring the
feasibility of retrofitting current RNSB and community facilities and
energy usage sectors for energy production and efficiency, as well as
opportunities for designing and creating new, sustainable and resilient
energy-efficient systems (e.g., solar electricity, heat pumps, micro-
grids) for RNSB facilities and in-community, thereby reducing
greenhouse gas emissions and the overall costs of energy usage over
time while increasing local energy sovereignty and resilience; and
determining priorities for on-the-ground energy transition projects,
their financing and timeframe. In order to initiate and complete this
energy transition strategic plan, RNSB will need additional funding to
hire experienced and highly qualified staff and consultants to assist
in this critically important undertaking. We need Congress to consider
these systemic challenges and opportunities that we face and to
appropriate funding accordingly.
new energy efficient rnsb facilities needed plan design build
A number of our federally funded programs at RNSB, such as
administrative services, finance, social services, adult/continuing
education and RNSB archives, are housed in temporary portable BIA
buildings that date back almost a half century. Other programs, like
KTDB community radio station, are in facilities that have been damaged
by moisture and mold, which have compromised the integrity of the space
as well as the health of our staff, or have outgrown their space, such
as the Pine Hill Health Center and Behavioral Health program. All of
these buildings are now beyond routine maintenance and repair and are
in desperate need of replacement with permanent facilities. These new
facilities are envisioned to be 21st century work spaces, equipped with
state-of-the-art energy-efficient and water conservation systems, while
integrating design elements that reflect Ramah Navajo history, culture
and lifeways. Ensuring that our staff have culturally-sensitive, safe,
healthy and inviting work environments that are also accessible to the
public will require additional funding to begin the process of
planning--designing--building these urgently needed new, permanent
facilities. Unfortunately, there appears to be no budget line item to
fund the replacement of the very buildings that we use to operate and
carry out these vital, federally-funded programs. We need Congress to
change this.
funds for ramah trading post renovation
The Ramah Trading Post served as an economic and social hub for
Ramah Navajo families up until the 1980s. Not only does the trading
post mark a particular historical and economic period for the Ramah
Navajo people, its greatest significance comes from its location on
Ramah Navajo ancestral lands, not far from the original ancestral home
of our people in the Zuni Mountains. Funds are needed to plan for the
usage and restoration of this historic trading post and the adjacent
structures and land surrounding it (7 acres). And, once given a new
Indigenous life, it is envisioned that the Ramah Trading Post will be
more than just a place of memories and stories, but a place where the
rich and complex history of the Ramah Navajo people resonates--a
history that underscores our enduring strength and resilience through
periods of encroachment, terror and imprisonment during the Long Walk,
settler colonialism and the return to self-determination-a place that
will evolve to serve our people and the global community in new and
vibrant ways into the future.
In closing, we appreciate your kind consideration and support of
these priorities and look forward to working closely with you and your
staff to address these priorities. Ahehee' thank you!
[This statement was submitted by Ramah Navajo School Board, Inc.]
______
Prepared Statement of the Recording Academy
As the only trade association in Washington representing all music
creators--songwriters, performers, and studio professionals-the
Recording Academy is pleased to offer testimony to the Senate Committee
on Appropriations subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related
Agencies in support of a continued increased funding for the National
Endowment for the Arts (NEA) in Fiscal Year 2024 of no less than the
$211 million. The Recording Academy is proud to support the NEA and its
initiatives to enrich American music and culture.
The NEA brings music and the arts to communities across the
country, and its mission has never been more important. The agency is
an indispensable part of the Nation's $867 billion creative economy and
is well-positioned to invest in local arts sectors in all 50 States. As
such, the Recording Academy supports increasing funding of the NEA for
the coming fiscal year.
Through supporting music and the arts, the NEA empowers local
communities, improves student development, and advances cultural
achievements. Considering that NEA grants yield more than $500 million
in matching support-leveraging outside funds at a ratio of 9:1-it is
financially one of the smartest investments the government can commit
to. In the music industry, the NEA supports more than $50 million in
music related direct grants each year-bringing music, and matching
investments, to your States. From Eugene Concert Choir in Oregon
($10,000, in 2023) to the Juneau Jazz & Classics in Alaska ($10,000,
2023); and from Seattle Pro Musica in Washington ($15,000, 2023) to the
Bowdoin International Music Festival in Maine ($10,000 in 2023), the
NEA has proven to support and foster local music communities and
opportunities.
The Recording Academy applauds Congress's bipartisan and bicameral
willingness to support the NEA during recent appropriations processes,
but the Agency remains in need of additional funding in order to fulfil
its mission of expanding access to and participation in the arts.
Robust funding for the NEA will ensure the agency can provide grants
across all 50 States, while promoting more equitable access and
reaching more diverse audiences.
As you finalize appropriations for FY24, please make a strong
commitment to the arts and music with robust funding for the NEA.
[This statement was submitted by Todd Dupler, Acting Chief Advocacy
Officer, Recording Academy.]
______
Prepared Statement of Self-Governance Communication & Education Tribal
Consortium
On behalf of SGCETC, I am submitting this written statement
regarding funding priorities for the FY 2024 budgets for the
Departments of the Interior's (DOI) Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA),
Health and Human Services' (HHS) Indian Health Service (IHS) and
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
The fiduciary responsibilities of the United States to Tribal
Nations arise from commitments made in treaties and agreements, in
exchange for which Indians relinquished vast tracks of homelands and
resources.\1\ More than 380 Tribal Nations have entered into Self-
Governance agreements with the DOI and/or IHS to transfer Federal
resources and programs from Federal to Tribal administration to better
serve the needs of their citizens and communities. Tribal Nations that
elect to administer Federal programs through Self-Governance agreements
know that increased Tribal control and decision-making authority
results in improved social and economic well-being at the local level.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Pub. L. No. 114-178, Sec. 101, 130 Stat. 432 (2016) (codified
at 25 USC Sec. 5601).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tribal Nations assuming administration over programs once
administered by Federal agencies, do so knowing that this does not
abrogate the Federal Government's treaty and trust obligations. It
empowers Tribal governments as sovereign nations to best determine the
needs of their citizens and communities while bolstering Tribal
economies and job creation for Indian country and surrounding non-
Native communities. As such, we offer the following recommendations:
increase base budgets and recurring funding for indian programs and
reduce reliance on grant funding
Across the board, Federal Indian programs are significantly
underfunded. The lack of adequate funding puts the lives of Tribal
citizens at risk and limits the services provided by Tribal
governments. Increases in base budgets for Indian programs will allow
Tribes to fund core Tribal government programs and will provide an
opportunity for additional Tribal Nations to participate in Self-
Governance.
SGCETC supports the growing sentiment expressed by Tribal Nations
that we do not want our funding sources to be increasingly supplemented
by grants. Short-term competitive grants hinder Self-Governance because
it creates uncertainty in planning, imposes extensive regulations and
reporting requirements, and restricts the use of indirect costs. Tribal
Nations are not non-profit organizations and should not be treated as
such. The signers of the over 400 treaties between Tribal Nations and
the United States did not sign with the intent of being dependent on
grants. Lives were not lost, nor land ceded for our needs to be
dependent on the review of a grant application package.
reclassify section 105(l) costs as mandatory spending
Pursuant to the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance
Act (ISDEAA), most Tribal Nations now administer programs that were
previously administered by the Federal Government, which results in the
need for Tribal facilities to house these programs. Section 105(l) of
the ISDEAA, 25 USC Sec. 5324(l), provides that the Secretaries of DOI
and HHS must enter into leases with an Indian Tribe or Tribal
organization for the administration and delivery of services under the
ISDEAA. Section 105(l) requires both Secretaries to compensate each
Indian Tribe or Tribal organization for infrastructure costs, including
rent, depreciation, operation and maintenance, and other reasonable
expenses. Tribal Nations across the country are successfully entering
into Section 105(l) agreements with both DOI and HHS to be compensated
for the use of Tribal facilities that are needed to fulfill Federal
responsibilities.
Tribal Nations commend Congress in recognizing the Federal
Government's obligation to fully fund 105(l) leases. The next step in
fostering this progress is by reclassifying Section 105(l) lease
funding from discretionary to mandatory spending.
reclassify contract support costs (csc) as mandatory spending
ISDEAA obligates the Federal Government to provide Tribal Nations
with the necessary funding to ensure that a Tribal Nation has the
resources to contract or compact Federal programs. In 2005 and 2012,
the Supreme Court confirmed that the ISDEAA requires full payment of
CSC to each contractor even when Congress caps CSC appropriations at a
level insufficient to fully pay all contractors.\2\ Despite the
progress realized, Congress still funds CSC as an indefinite
discretionary appropriation which creates an environment of competition
with other programs funded in the agencies' discretionary budget.
Additional progress cannot be achieved, in this matter, until CSC is
not required to compete against funding for Indian programs. The way to
remove this element of competition is to appropriate CSC on a mandatory
basis.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ Cherokee Nation of Okla. v. Leavitt, 543 US 631 (2005); Salazar
v. Ramah Navajo Chapter, 567 US 182 (2012)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
advance appropriations for tribal programs and services
We are grateful that Congress enacted Advanced Appropriations for
the Indian Health Service for FY2024; however, we now urge Congress to
extend advanced appropriations to the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the
Bureau of Indian Education (BIE). Providing appropriations 1 year in
advance for the BIA and BIE will mitigate the adverse financial effects
of Federal budgetary uncertainties and allow Tribal Nations to engage
in more effective strategic planning, spend funds more efficiently,
grow our Tribal economies and businesses and increase the quality of
care and well-being of our Tribal citizens and communities.
support the expansion of tribal self-governance authority in epa
Tribal Nations have proven their ability and effectiveness
administering Federal programs that provide services to their citizens
and communities. Now is the time to support expansion of this
successful approach for the delivery of Federal programs, services,
functions, activities, and resources to Tribal communities beyond just
the DOI, HHS, and Department of Transportation. We request that the
Committee includes funding for a Tribal-Federal workgroup on the
feasibility of expanding Self-Governance to EPA and how such authority
would be implemented, possibly as demonstration projects.
Thank you for the opportunity to share our recommendations with the
subcommittee.
[This statement was submitted by Hon. W. Ron Allen, President,
Board of Directors, Self-Governance Communication & Education Tribal
Consortium (SGCETC) and Tribal Chairman/CEO, Jamestown S'Klallam
Tribe.]
______
Prepared Statement of the Society for American Archaeology
The Society for American Archaeology (SAA) once again appreciates
this opportunity to present its recommendations for fiscal year 2024
cultural resources program appropriations for the Department of the
Interior. I am Dr. Daniel H. Sandweiss, president of the SAA.
The SAA is an international organization that, since its founding
in 1934, has been dedicated to research about and interpretation and
protection of the archaeological heritage of the Americas. With more
than 5,500 members, the SAA represents professional and avocational
archaeologists, archaeology students in colleges and universities, and
archaeologists working at Tribal agencies, museums, government
agencies, and the private sector. The SAA has members throughout the
United States, as well as in many nations around the world.
The members of the SAA thank the subcommittee for supporting an
increase in funding for Federal and federally funded historic and
cultural preservation programs in FY 2023. These programs, created
under the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and other preservation statutes and
funded through annual appropriations, constitute the foundation of
these activities in the United States. These activities comprise the
principal means of preserving and protecting our Nation's irreplaceable
historic, archaeological, and cultural treasures. In addition to
ensuring that all Americans can learn about and enjoy the artifacts and
knowledge of America's history, funding Federal archaeology programs
facilitates economic growth and infrastructure project delivery.
Given the above, our testimony for FY 2024 appropriations continues
to emphasize the message that we have expounded on for the past 3
years-protecting our irreplaceable historic and cultural legacy
requires the necessary staffing and resources, especially for State
Historic Preservation Offices (SHPO) and Tribal Historic Preservation
Offices (THPO), and in Federal archaeologist staff levels. Some
progress was made during FY 2023, but to maintain the momentum, we urge
increased allocations for FY 2024.
department of the interior-increase archaeologist staff: $10 million
Federal archaeologists perform a huge number of important tasks.
Recent fiscal years saw an increase in the number of Federal
archaeologists. In FY 2020, there were 1,371 archaeologists government-
wide. Federal archaeologists increased by 37 in FY 2021, and by 70 in
FY 2022, for a total of 1,478 (1,377 were permanent Federal employees,
and 101 were term or seasonal appointments). Of that number, 572
currently work in the Department of the Interior. This represents some
progress in the government's ability to meet the increase of projects
authorized under recent legislation including the Bipartisan
Infrastructure Law, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), and the Great
American Outdoors Act. Nevertheless, the scale of the work is immense.
The following table shows the number of acres overseen by the top land-
managing agencies and the number of archaeologists each agency employs
to carry out reviews under Section 106 of the NHPA for federally funded
projects, projects requiring a Federal permit, or projects on Federal
lands; conducting surveys for historic and cultural resources under
Section 110 of the NHPA; protection of archaeological sites and
materials and investigating instances of looting of sites under the
Archaeological Resources Protection Act (ARPA); preservation and
repatriation of highly sensitive cultural and spiritual Tribal objects
under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act
(NAGPRA); consultation with Indigenous and descendant communities on
the effects of Federal actions on their cultural resources; addressing
cultural resources in NEPA documents; development of contracts and
cooperative agreements between Federal agencies and private firms or
universities; technical assistance on archaeological matters;
coordination and management of volunteers helping to preserve cultural
sites; and curation of Federal archaeological collections.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Agency Acreage Archaeologists
------------------------------------------------------------------------
BLM......................... 244 million 217
USFS........................ 191 million 462
USFWS....................... 89 million 22
NPS......................... 80 million 268
DOD......................... 9 million* 305
Total................... 613 million 1,274
------------------------------------------------------------------------
*Domestic acreage only
If the Section 106 process is to function effectively, and
federally sponsored undertakings are to be delivered in a timely
manner, the NPS, BLM, other DOI agencies need still more archaeologists
to satisfy the statutorily required and program responsibilities.
national park service-national recreation and preservation cultural
programs: $44.1 million
The overwhelming majority of our Nation's parks contain historical
and cultural sites, including sacred lands of deep meaning and critical
importance to Indigenous Americans and places that tell the story of
America's history and development. NPS National Recreation and
Preservation Cultural Programs provide vital technical assistance and
other support for resource protection within National Parks and for
other Federal agencies. The archaeological component identifies,
documents, and inventories archaeological resources in parks; produces
archaeological technical and programmatic publications; implements
regulations for protecting archaeological resources; and assists other
agencies through program development and training. The SAA greatly
appreciates the $39.3 million allocation in the final FY 2023 bill and
supports the administration's request for $44.1 million for FY 2024. $3
million of the requested increase for FY 2024 should go to fund the new
African American Burial Ground Network program. Other priorities that
the subcommittee should support include:
--Establishing baseline data-baseline information about
archaeological sites (their types, locations, and condition) is
vital for meeting resource management objectives and in
complying with statutes that protect our Nation's cultural
heritage. Accurate baseline data expedites NHPA Section 106
compliance in particular, especially related to infrastructure.
Some NPS units still have inadequate baseline inventory data.
--Digital data management-the NPS manages over 80,000 archaeological
sites. There is a ``Cultural Resources Inventory System''
(CRIS) that contains information about archaeological sites,
cultural landscapes, historic structures, and ethnographic
resources. Many fields within the database remain unpopulated,
however, and more information is needed that would aid park
planning efforts, make data accessible during emergencies, and
support geospatial modeling to facilitate identification of
resources most vulnerable to climate change or looting.
Improving the CRIS database would greatly improve access to
data about archaeological sites and improve planning and
management.
--Digitizing the permitting process-the NPS is exploring the
feasibility of creating a web-based process for ARPA and
Antiquities Act permitting, which would reduce review workloads
and approval time frames for program staff. A more efficient
process is now critical, as more infrastructure and renewable
energy projects that require NHPA Section 106 compliance are
proposed for NPS lands. This model could also be applied by
other agencies.
In addition to the administration's request, Congress should
explore applying funding under the IRA to the above initiatives.
national park service-historic preservation fund: $225 million
The Historic Preservation Fund (HPF) provides crucial support to
SHPOs and THPOs and matching grants to nonprofits and local governments
to preserve and document historic resources. The HPF (among other
programs) plays a crucial role in the ability of States and local
municipalities to comply with the preservation system established by
the NHPA-particularly with regard to Section 106 consultations. SHPOs
and THPOs constitute the ``front line'' in the effort to preserve our
cultural heritage. With the passage of the Bipartisan Infrastructure
Law and the Inflation Reduction Act, their workloads continue to
expand. In addition to compliance with Section 106, communities rely on
HPF grants to attract tourism, retain a unique sense of place, and
promote economic development.
The increases for the HPF in the omnibus FY 2023 appropriations
legislation were badly needed. THPOs in particular faced-and continue
to face-a difficult situation. There are 215 offices, and more are
added each year, but even with the current year increase of $7 million
(to $23 million), the average THPO receives just $107,000. Though an
improvement over earlier allocations, this remains an inadequate amount
for the tasks that they continue to face, including engagement on a
government-to-government basis with Federal agencies on many
undertakings. Unfortunately, the president's request of $177.9 million
for the HPF, which would represent an overall decrease of $26.6 million
from FY 2023 enacted levels, is wholly inadequate, even though SHPO and
THPO funding would remain the same. The SAA strongly endorses the
recommendations put forward by the preservation community in February
for a total of $225 million for the HPF in FY 2024, of which $70
million would go to SHPOs and $34 million to THPOs.
Bureau of Land Management-Cultural Resources Management: $25
million
The BLM manages 245 million acres, which makes the agency the
largest land manager in the United States. These lands contain an
enormous number of known and as-yet-undiscovered cultural resources,
many of which are in remote locations, and some are in areas with high
visitation rates. Many sites on BLM lands are subject to looting,
particularly in the Southwest. Patrol, inventory, and monitoring of
cultural heritage sites is essential to their protection, and the 217
archaeologists on staff, along with the small number of other cultural
resources specialists and law enforcement officers, is simply not
enough to accomplish the mission. BLM lands also contain sites and
areas, such Bears Ears, that many Tribes consider sacred. The low
staffing levels make liaising with Tribal officers during project
planning very difficult, especially with respect to sacred sites and
areas. The BLM needs additional funding to support more staff to do its
work around protecting, inventorying, and monitoring cultural
resources, in addition to providing effective Tribal consultation. The
administration's requested increase is insufficient. We urge Congress
to allocate $25 million to this important program.
bureau of land management-national landscape conservation system: $72.9
million
The National Landscape Conservation System (NLCS), first
established in 2000 and authorized by Congress in 2009, contains more
than 35 million acres of National Monuments, Wilderness Areas, Wild and
Scenic Rivers, and other sensitive lands. This land also includes an
extensive and diverse array of the Nation's archaeological and cultural
resources. We thank the subcommittee for supporting the $12.3 million
increase in the FY 2023 omnibus appropriations bill for this account,
thus restoring the NLCS to its FY 2006 funding level of $65.1 million.
In order to secure the gains made to stewardship of these lands and the
cultural resources they contain, we support the administration's
request of $72.9 million for FY 2024, an increase of $11.3 million.
More than $5 million of this increase will go toward much-needed
management changes, and $3 million for the Increasing Representation in
Our Public Lands initiative, which expands preservation of the historic
and cultural sites important to traditionally underrepresented groups.
native american graves protection and repatriation act grants: $3.4
million
The NAGPRA Grants Program is the primary means of restoring
culturally affiliated human remains, funerary objects, sacred objects,
and objects of cultural patrimony to their Native American Tribes and
Native Hawaiian organizations. These ancestors and sacred items
represent critical heritage for their traditional beliefs and
practices. The program fills a key role in facilitating cooperation
between Tribes and museums to document covered items and realize their
repatriation under NAGPRA. Although the law was passed in 1990, over 30
years ago, many museums, universities, and Federal agencies have not
completed their mandated inventories, let alone repatriated remains. In
FY 2022 a total of $2.15 million was allocated to grant recipients for
consultation between Tribes and repositories, documentation of items in
covered collections, and repatriation of claimed objects to affiliated
Tribes and lineal descendants. Nevertheless, FY 2022 saw 17 grant
applications go unfunded. In fact, in most years since the program's FY
1994 inception, the number of requests exceeded the amount of available
funding. We congratulate the subcommittee for agreeing to a FY 2023
allocation of $3.4 million. This substantial increase will go a long
way toward eliminating the backlog of unfunded requests. In order to
ensure that this trend continues, and that sensitive objects of
cultural patrimony are returned to the affiliated Tribes as the law
intended, we ask that the panel approve another $3.4 million for the
NAGPRA Grants Program for FY 2024, no change from the current fiscal
year.
implementing the stop act-$3 million
Late last year the president signed the Safeguard Tribal Objects of
Patrimony Act into law. The SAA applauds this important measure that
will create an explicit prohibition on the export of items obtained in
violation of NAGPRA or ARPA, make it easier for Native American Tribes
to access other countries' law enforcement mechanisms to regain their
stolen property, increase penalties for violations of NAGPRA,
facilitate coordination between the government and Tribes to protect
Tribes' cultural heritage and enable its return, establish an export
certification system to allow for transactions of legally acquired
materials, and establish a Federal framework to support voluntary
returns from private collections. The act authorized $3 million in FY
2024 for its implementation. We ask that the FY 2024 appropriations
legislation include this funding so that the work of carrying out the
STOP Act can begin.
The SAA greatly appreciates your time and consideration of these
important issues. Please contact us if you have any questions or
concerns.
[This statement was submitted by Daniel H. Sandweiss, President of
the Society for American Archaeology.]
______
Prepared Statement of the Society of American Foresters
The Society of American Foresters (SAF) appreciates the opportunity
to submit written public testimony to the Senate Committee on
Appropriations, subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related
Agencies regarding fiscal year (FY) 2024 appropriations. SAF
recommendations focus on supporting programs at the USDA Forest Service
(USFS) and the Department of the Interior (DOI), including the Bureau
of Land Management (BLM).
saf's top federal priorities for fy 2024
(1) Continued investment in the USFS Forest Inventory and Analysis
(FIA) program at no less than $32.2 million in program dollars
and $54.9 million allocated from Forest and Rangeland Research
Salaries and Expenses.
(2) Increased investment in the USFS Research and Development programs
to $80 million and continued support for the Joint Fire Science
program.
(3) Increased investment in the Forest Products program to $47 million
and the Roads program under Capital Improvement and Maintenance
to $86 million to better support National Forest System lands
and rural economies.
(4) Fully funding the Landscape Scale Restoration program at $20
million and increased investment in the Forest Stewardship
program to $22 million.
(5) Permanently authorizing BLM's Forest Ecosystem Health and Recovery
Fund.
Founded by Gifford Pinchot in 1900, SAF is the premier scientific
and educational organization in the United States advancing and
promoting science-based, sustainable management and stewardship of the
Nation's public and private forests. SAF has over 9,000 members
including public and private sector natural resource professionals,
researchers, CEOs, administrators, investment advisors, educators, and
students. As the professionals who study, manage, and care for our
Nation's forest resources, we have a vested interest in ensuring their
long-term health and sustainability.
Americans rely on the 751 million acres of public and private
forests in the US to provide clean and abundant air and water, forest
products, fish and wildlife habitat, recreational opportunities, carbon
sequestration and storage, forage and range resources, energy, and
scenic beauty.
Continuing to sustainably manage our forests for these diverse
benefits has become increasingly challenging due to unprecedented
environmental threats. In particular, the climate change and
biodiversity crises illustrate the need for continued investment in the
forest sector.
While wildfires and carbon storage are likely the most topical
issues in the public discourse surrounding forests today, a myriad of
challenges faced by forestry professionals are intensifying under
changes in climate (e.g., invasive pests, disease, species migration,
water availability). In the face of these challenges, forestry
professionals continue to create an adaptive suite of forest management
solutions that balance resilience, ecological integrity, and natural
resource economies. Implementing these solutions and ensuring the
sustainability of our forests requires continued investment in our
forestry professionals.
Healthy, viable forests are long-term investments. Funding for
research, science, and technology is essential to building effective
programming with sufficient workforce capacity to protect our forests
for the future.\1\ Furthermore, breaking the pattern of unresolved
funding bills and continuing resolutions would be of tremendous help to
our land managers. A commitment to consistent and timely budget and
appropriations cycles from Congress and the Administration provides the
certainty required for resource managers to plan for the upcoming field
season and consider future years as well. This certainty will dictate
management activities and allow managers to provide direction and
instruction on deployment of resources to address critical needs.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Society of American Foresters. Forest Sector Research and
Development. Last updated April 30, 2021.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
specific fy 2024 requests
Advances in research have highlighted the instrumental role that
forests continue to play in mitigating the effects of climate change.
For example, US forests and associated harvested wood products
sequester nearly 16% of economy-wide CO2 emissions each year and store
more than three decades of CO2 emitted from fossil fuels.\2\ USFS
Forest and Rangeland Research is one of the critical bodies ensuring
the longevity and resilience of our forests by advancing climate-smart,
ecological management strategies across the landscape.\3\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ Domke, Grant M.; Walters, Brian F.; Giebink, Courtney L.;
Greenfield, Eric J.; Smith, James E., Nichols, Michael C.; Knott, Jon
A.; Ogle, Stephen M.; Coulston, John W.; Steller, John. 2023.
Greenhouse gas emissions and removals from forest land, woodlands,
urban trees, and harvested wood products in the United States, 1990-
2021. Resour. Bull. WO-101. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Forest Service, Washington Office. 10 p. https://doi.org/
10.2737/WO-RB-101.
\3\ United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service,
Research & Development (2021). Research Improves Climate-Smart
Management of America's Forests and Grasslands (Report No. FS-1175).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
forest and rangeland research
forest inventory and analysis
Forestry professionals and a diverse array of stakeholders rely on
the inventory data and analysis of America's forests provided by the
Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program. This critical information
is needed to support sound policy and forest management decisions
across all landscapes and is increasingly important for decisions
regarding carbon stocks, sustainability, and existing and expanding
markets. We thank you for the additional $10 million in programmatic
funding provided in FY23. This investment will enable the Forest
Service to deliver on stakeholder priorities, including funding States
and cooperators that help deliver the program at the current costs of
doing business, fully funding plot collection in interior Alaska,
bolstering Timber Products Output (TPO) data collection, expanding
analysis of forest carbon, growing remote sensing partnerships with
NASA, and developing new partnerships in urban forest inventory. SAF
recommends at least $32.2 million in program funding for FIA in FY
2024. Additionally, of the amount allocated for Salaries and Expenses
(S&E) in Forest and Rangeland Research, we urge Congress to direct
$54.9 million for the FIA program. Fully operationalizing significant
program expansion as envisioned in the FY23 omnibus necessitates both
programmatic and S&E increases. These two pots of money are used in
tandem by the Forest Service in program delivery.
research and development
Investments in forestry research are essential for the future
health and sustainability of the Nation's forests. Research conducted
at the five USFS research stations, the International Institute of
Tropical Forestry, and in the Forest Products Laboratory is crucial to:
(1) developing new products and practical innovation; (2) identifying
forest ecosystem disturbance responses and forest resilience; (3)
responding to shifting social demands and demographic changes; (4) and
quantifying the contributions of forests to air and water quality.
Without USFS leadership, investigation of these critical research needs
would largely be left unfulfilled. Using Federal investments that are
leveraged in partnership with universities and private-public
consortiums, important research questions, emerging threats, and
potential opportunities are thoroughly researched and vetted. SAF
recommends $80 million for the Research and Development program in FY
2024.
joint fire science
SAF appreciates this subcommittee's commitment to continuing the
important work of the Joint Fire Science Program (JFSP). SAF recommends
funding for the JFSP at or above FY 2023 levels and asks the
subcommittee to encourage active participation by DOI and USFS in
prioritizing investment in fire research and decision support.
capital improvement and maintenance
roads
Roads on National Forest System lands are vital infrastructure
facilitating the use, enjoyment, protection, and long-term health of
Federal lands. Properly maintained roads enable the agency to meet
critical natural resource needs and provide safe access to public
lands. Unfortunately, with annual appropriations not nearly matching
the need, properly maintaining this vital infrastructure has become
increasingly challenging. Deteriorating roads reduce access for
recreation, firefighting, and resource management. Investments in these
critical assets will create jobs in rural communities while also
improving wildlife habitat, hunting and fishing opportunities, public
safety, and resource management. Conversely, a lack of investment in
this program directly impacts fuels reduction work, watershed health,
and other Bipartisan Infrastructure Law projects. SAF recommends $86
million for the Roads program in FY 2024.
national forest system
forest products
The Forest Products program supports the agency's goals to foster
resilient ecosystems, mitigate climate change and wildfire risks, and
strengthen rural communities through timber sales and other removals of
forest products. Increased investment would not only support a
sustainable flow of wood fiber to markets but also launch more projects
focused on removing small diameter, low-value material, and understory
trees that are not commercially viable but need to be removed to reduce
the risk of wildfire or improve forest health conditions. SAF
recommends $47 million for the Forest Products program in FY 2024.
state and private forestry
landscape scale restoration
Landscape Scale Restoration (LSR) projects are key tools for
States, in collaboration with the USDA Forest Service and other
partners, to address the most critical forest priorities identified in
each State's Forest Action Plan. The competitive grant process ensures
innovative approaches to restoration work are proposed and priority is
given to projects that further the advancement of State Forest Action
Plans. Therefore, LSR contributes to achieving results across the
landscape and making meaningful local, regional, and national impacts.
SAF recommends full funding for the Landscape Scale Restoration program
at $20 million in FY 2024.
forest stewardship
The Forest Stewardship Program (FSP) equips private forest
landowners with the unbiased, science-based information they need to
sustainably manage their forests now and into the future, helping to
keep forests as forests. On average, state forestry agencies and other
partners match Federal investments 2:1, which means the impact of
Federal dollars delivered through the FSP have amplified on-the-ground
impacts. Increased Federal funding for FSP will allow state forestry
agencies and forestry professionals to ramp up outreach efforts and
provide additional technical assistance to landowners to ensure that
private forestland acres are maintained and continue to provide a
myriad of public benefits. SAF recommends $22 million for the Forest
Stewardship program in FY 2024.
department of the interior-bureau of land management
forest ecosystem health and recovery fund
Managing BLM forestlands is an important element of maintaining and
improving the health and productivity of our Nation's public lands. The
Forest Ecosystem Health and Recovery Fund (referred to as the 5900
Account by BLM) was originally established in 1993 to help BLM rapidly
respond to forestlands damaged by wildfire, insects, and disease. Over
the years, the authorization has expanded to include a wide range of
proactive forest health treatments to reduce the risk of future damage
as well as a variety of recovery activities including salvage and
replanting.
The Forest Ecosystem Health and Recovery Fund is self-funded with
receipts generated from the sale of forest products resulting from
projects planned and executed to meet the purposes of the fund. Since
its creation, the fund has provided an additional $4-10 million
annually to improve forest health and resilience on BLM forestlands.
SAF believes that the justification for this fund is stronger than
ever. Given hotter and drier summers, our forests are subjected to
increased insect and disease damage and longer and more extreme
wildfire seasons. Public land managers-including BLM foresters-need
proper resources to manage forests to reduce fuel loads, salvage
damaged timber, and make forests more resilient to disturbances. SAF
requests that the subcommittee consider permanent authorization for the
Forest Ecosystem Health and Recovery Fund (PL 102-381).
[This statement was submitted by Terry Baker, Chief Executive
Officer, Society of American Foresters.]
______
Prepared Statement of the Southeastern Wood Producers Association
The Southeastern Wood Producers Association, Inc. represents the
loggers of Florida and Georgia. We 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 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 across
all land ownerships and is increasingly important for decisions
existing and expanding markets.
We thank you for the additional $10 million in FIA programmatic
funding provided in Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 and look forward to working
with you to further improve FIA's capabilities in FY24. The FY23
funding increase will enable the Forest Service to deliver on many of
our priorities, including funding States and cooperators that help
deliver the program at the current costs of doing business, fully
funding plot collection in interior Alaska, bolstering Timber Products
Output (TPO) data collection, expanding analysis of forest carbon,
growing remote sensing partnerships with NASA, and developing new
partnerships in urban forest inventory.
We urge Congress to continue to support FIA with no less than $32.2
million in program dollars for FY24. Additionally, of the amount
allocated for Salaries and Expenses (S&E) in Forest and Rangeland
Research, we urge Congress to direct $54.9 million for the FIA program.
Fully operationalizing significant program expansion as envisioned in
the FY23 omnibus necessitates both programmatic and S&E increases.
These two pots of money are used in tandem by the Forest Service in
program delivery.
Unfortunately, since USFS budget modernization in FY21, Congress
has lost the ability to directly prescribe how much S&E funding is
devoted to FIA. We respectfully ask that Congress reinstate that
authority in its FY24 appropriations bill. By explicitly outlining the
amount directed toward FIA program S&E, Congress can help improve
transparency for all stakeholders.
Programmatic funding increases with commensurate increases to S&E
are critical to fully delivering on Congressional priorities outlined
in the FIA Strategic Plan.\1\ This plan includes improved carbon and
biomass estimates, enhanced timber products monitoring, enhanced
landowner studies, research into land cover and land use change, and
urban forest inventory. All these items add immense value to the
understanding of our Nation's forests but are not possible at current
funding levels and are critical, given the increasing demand for FIA
data.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ https://www.fia.fs.usda.gov/library/bus-org-documents/docs/
strategic-plan-docs/FIA%20Strategic%20Plan%20FS-1079.pdf
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Additionally, budget modernization has made it difficult for
external stakeholders to determine what budget resources FIA devotes to
its various programmatic areas and what budget resources are necessary
for FIA to meet its mission. To further improve transparency, we urge
Congress to direct FIA to annually publish its programmatic cost
elements and prioritization in its annual budget justification and
business report.
Looking forward, we would like to draw attention to the growing
importance of moving to a nationwide 5-year data collection cycle.
Currently, funding allows the eastern United States to be measured
every 7 years, while the west is on a ten-year remeasurement cycle.
Considering increasing frequency and severity of forest disturbances
such as wildfires and hurricanes, the current cycles are inadequate to
capture our rapidly changing forest landscapes.
Given the increasing pressures facing our forests-climate impacts,
wildfire, insects and disease, and development-the FIA program is more
important now than ever before. We look forward to working with
Congress and the Forest Service to continue sustainably growing this
program and ensuring accurate and timely inventory of America's
forests.
[This statement was submitted by Southeastern Wood Producers
Association, Inc.]
______
Prepared Statement of the Squaxin Island Tribal Leadership
On behalf of the Squaxin Island Tribal Leadership and citizens, it
is an honor to provide our priority funding requests and
recommendations for the FY 2024 Budgets for the Bureau of Indian
Affairs (BIA), Bureau of Indian Education (BIE), and Indian Health
Service (IHS) and related agencies. We applaud the Committees' work to
include advance appropriations for the IHS in the FY 2023 omnibus
spending package and we hope that this will remain for each fiscal
year. Squaxin Island is continuing to work to also include the BIA and
BIE funding in advance appropriations to prevent funding lapses and
other unintended consequences associated with short-term funding
measures from disrupting critical services to American Indians and
Alaska Natives provided by the Federal Government. We will also
continue to advocate and urge Congress to shift funding for all Tribal
programs to mandatory direct appropriations with the hope that Tribal
program funding throughout the Federal Government will be exempt from
sequestrations, rescissions, and disproportionate cuts.
SQUAXIN ISLAND TRIBE Specific Requests:
1. +$13 million Construction of New Health Center
2. Northwest Indian Treatment Center (NWITC) Residential Program in IHS
A. +$1.5 million--Medicine Building
B. +$250,000--Sustain Operations
3. +$900,000 Shellfish Management Program--BIA
SUPPORT NATIONAL and REGIONAL FY 2024 BUDGET Requests and
Recommendations for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Indian Health Service
and Bureau of Indian Education--by the National Congress of American
Indians, National Indian Health Board, National Indian Education
Association, Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians and the Northwest
Indian Fisheries Commission
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 in southeastern Mason County, Washington and the Tribe
is a signatory to the 1854 Medicine Creek Treaty. 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 five hundred acres of Puget Sound tidelands.
Our Tribal governance combines our sovereign powers as well as U.S.
Congressional acts related to treaties, statutes, and public law.
Squaxin Island is one of the first 30 Federally recognized Tribes to
enter a Compact of Self-Governance with the United States in both the
Departments of the Interior and Health and Human Services. Prior to
COVID-19, the Tribal government and our economic enterprises
constituted the largest employer in Mason County with over 1,250
employees. We continue to require the assistance of Congress to
mitigate the amplified health inequities in Tribal communities because
of underfunded and under-resourced health systems, limited access to
health services, poor infrastructure, and underlying health
disparities. The Tribe has a current enrollment of 1,123 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%,
and an unemployment rate of about 30%. We appreciate the support we
have received so far.
squaxin island tribe specific requests/justifications
1. +$13 million--Design and Construct New Squaxin Island Health
Center--IHS Division of Facilities Planning and Construction
In 1995, under a Self-Governance compact with the U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services' Indian Health Service, the Squaxin Island
Tribe began construction of the Tribally owned Sally Selvedge Memorial
Health Center (the Center). The original 8,000 square foot facility
housed the primary care, dental, mental health, contract health
services and community health and served an estimated 770 users. The
Center consolidated health programs into one facility and expanded new
services not previously available due to the lack of space and
resources. We remain proud of this accomplishment and what we were able
to offer our citizens using and leveraging funds as we saw fit to meet
our local needs.
On June 17, 2021, IHS testified before the House Committee on
Natural Resources on the status of IHS and Tribal facilities,
``Disparities in the health status of American Indians and Alaska
Natives are directly affected by access to health care services. Health
care services are constrained by the limited capacities of existing
Indian Health Service and Tribal health care facilities. There is a
significant need for expansion, renovation, or replacement of many
buildings.''\1\ This remains true today within the network of over 687
Federal and Tribal health facilities and 41 Urban Indian Organizations
(UIOs) that are located across 37 States providing health care services
to approximately 2.7 million American Indian and Alaska Native people.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ https://www.hhs.gov/about/agencies/asl/testimony/2021/06/17/
examining-federal-facilities-indian-country.html
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thirty years after the Center was built, the Squaxin Island Health
and Human Services (HHS), located in the Center now provides 9,000
patient/clinic visits with over 17,000 pharmacy encounters taking place
each year to 905 AI/AN patients as well as other family members of
those patients. We can no longer accommodate all of our mental health
and substance use disorder programs in the same facility. Our Health
Promotion/Disease Prevention and HIT programs are also located in
another site. Medical services have outgrown our existing space and our
ability to address the public health emergency because our facility was
unable to accommodate any increases to medical or administrative staff.
The Tribe bills Medicare, Medicaid and other third-party payers but the
buying power we once had to build a new health center in 1995 has
diminished in 2023, even more so because of inflation caused by the
pandemic. Our American Indian/Alaska Native patient population has
increased over 25% since 2012. Current medical, dental, and behavioral
services are insufficient for our current population. Laboratory and
lab services are severely under built and would not be able to meet
accreditation standards. The recent pandemic spotlighted our need for
basic health care delivery infrastructure improvements, in both
staffing and buildings, required to address communicable viruses. The
potential consequences on our Tribal members and families with
underlying health conditions remains a concern for us. We can no longer
continue to provide the level of care that we strive to achieve in
facilities that have met their maximum remodeling capacity. Squaxin
Island Tribe is in desperate need of Congressional appropriations to
construct a new facility.
Since 1993 and continues today, the Healthcare Facilities
Construction Priority System (HFCPS) is the methodology that the IHS
uses to identify and prioritize the need for IHS and Tribal healthcare
facilities. Prior to Squaxin Island building the Center, the IHS, in
collaboration with Tribal representatives, used the HFCPS to prioritize
major health facilities' needs. The IHS projects were ranked based on
the population served, the condition of health care facilities,
remoteness, and barriers to care. The overall health care facility
construction need grew from $14.5 billion in 2016 to $23 billion in
2021 due to expanded programs and better reporting. The IHS facilities
construction appropriations have only averaged $194 million annually
since the last report was submitted to Congress.
In March 2020, pre-pandemic, we were in the process of rolling out
the Squaxin Island Tribe Strategic Health Plan; a robust health program
plan which includes all the details about a new facility and expanded
services. Today there is approximately 12,000 square feet that houses
the entire HHS department. Using estimates of current building sizes,
or comps, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation
recently built a 64,000 square foot health center with a user
population of 3,331. Medical facilities average $500 per square foot.
Squaxin Island's user population is approximately 28% the size of
Umatilla. We estimate we need a minimum of 25,000 square feet based on
the Indian Health Care Services' Healthcare Systems Planning tool,
which calculates the current user population and projections of growth
out to 2034.
Estimated total cost for the design and construction of the Squaxin
Island Health Center is $13,000,000.
2. + $1.750 Million Increase for Northwest Indian Treatment Center
(NWITC) Residential Program--IHS--H"D3WXbi Palil'' meaning ``Returning
from the Dark, Deep Waters to the Light"
The Squaxin Island Tribe's Northwest Indian Treatment Center, D3f
bi Pa lil, is a residential treatment facility that serves Native
Americans with chronic substance abuse patterns related to unresolved
grief and complex trauma, including generational trauma. The Center is
Commission on Accreditation of Facilities accredited and a recognized
national model of treatment for treating trauma in the presence of
addiction, uniquely integrating the Best Practice of Dialectical
Behavioral Therapy (DBT) with Plant Medicines. This culturally infused
use of a Best Practice, based on this NWITC program, has been adapted
in many Tribal communities since its development. DBT is a model of
treatment with good research results for the treatment of substance
above and mental health conditions.
In recognition of NWITC's unique model of treatment, the State of
Washington Health Care Authority has requested NWITC to create a video-
documentary describing the key elements. They have provided over
$82,000 to fund this video-documentary which can be used as a model by
other Tribes to help understand the benefits and requirements of the
facility. NWITC has these urgent needs:
A. Medicine Building--this project is shovel ready cost estimated at
+$1.5 million--This building will support and expand the reach
of the activities of the DBT/Plant Medicine program. It will be
a place of medicine making, but also have video capacity
linking this program to other Tribal medicine programs and
creating a library available to Tribal behavioral health
programs and NWITC alumni. The result will be better support
for alumni, but also will help build capacity in Tribal
communities in the Northwest.
B. NWITC Recovery Support Team and Outreach--+$250,000--The pandemic
has attributed to a high relapse rate in Tribal communities
served by NWITC. To better support NWITC alumni, it is
necessary to provide more support. Even though the NWITC has a
Recovery Support Team who actively supports alumni for 1-year
post treatment, in the current environment this is
insufficient. NWITC requires a staff position to provide the
DBT/Plant Medicine training/coaching in the Tribal communities
in which alumni live. Costs include a position to implement
this, plus expenses of alumni to participate, including hotel,
food, etc. In past events NWITC has verified this as the most
successful approach for teaching/coaching alumni.
3. +$900,000--Shellfish Management--BIA
The Squaxin Island Tribe faces an ongoing budget deficit to
maintain and operate the shellfish program at its current level of
operation-a level that leaves 20% of treaty-designated state lands and
80-90% of private tidelands unharvested due to lack of funding. To
address this shortfall and enable effective growth and development of
the program, an annual minimum increase of $900,000 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. Today, we are unable to
fully exercise our treaty rights due to lack of Federal support for our
shellfish management program.
Thank you for considering these FY 2024 funding priorities for the
Squaxin Island Tribe.
[This statement was submitted by Kristopher K. Peters, Chairman,
Squaxin Island Tribe.]
______
Prepared Statement of United States Environmental Protection Agency
We, the undersigned fifty-six education, health, environment, and
children's health groups from coast to coast, are writing to urge the
Committee to include $100 million for the US Environmental Protection
Agency's (EPA) Office of Air and Radiation/Indoor Environments Division
(OAR/IED) to protect school children and personnel from unhealthy
environments in schools and childcare facilities. We also request that
you include an additional $10 million for EPA's Office of Children's
Health Protection to increase public health research and services to
improve children's environmental health.
EPA/OAR/IED needs $100 million to lead a national educational
campaign, backed by expanded national and regional grants, direct
technical assistance, and must prepare guidance for school facilities
to help them stay open or reopen quickly after severe disasters. Indoor
air quality is critical. It takes months or years to fix or rebuild a
school; the Nation's schools need to be able to stay open longer or to
reopen safely and quickly after a disaster.
Indoor air pollution is a serious threat and hard to address: it
takes longer to identify sources and prioritize repairs than other EPA
concerns such as lead in drinking water, PCBs, asbestos, or hazardous
waste. Indoor air pollution can arise from everything that goes right
and wrong with a facility, thus, indoor air quality (IAQ) assessments
begin outside the building, then move to find indoor environment
sources. Pollutants can come from poor construction and siting near
hazardous facilities; leaky roofs and growing molds; chemical spills
and odors from science labs; kitchen, locker room, and or lavatory
stench; carbon dioxide accumulations; lack of incoming fresh air;
carbon monoxide leaks; cleaning and disinfecting products; and pests
and pesticides, or from occupants themselves and the processes and
products used in classes. It is complicated; school leaders and
communities need education, guidance, and support.
In addition, EPA needs $10 million annually provided to the Office
of Children's Health Protection. This funding is needed to restore
investments in research and outreach programs for children's
environmental health shared with the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC), the National Institute of Environmental Health
Sciences (NIEHS), and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease
Registry (ATSDR). This funding will also help EPA in its role as co-
chair of the multi-agency President's Task Force on risks to children's
environmental health (under Executive Order 13045), and to elevate its
critical role in a new interagency group on schools facilities that
includes EPA, ED, DoE, plus offices in the White House, including the
Council on Environmental Quality and Domestic Policy Council.
Why school environmental health and the impact on children are
urgent issues. Education is a social determinant of health. During the
school year, about fifty million children in the US spend the majority
of their waking hours when not at home in public schools. Numerous
studies have documented that school conditions such as polluted IAQ,
mold, dust and debris, high heat, poor siting, proximity to hazards,
noise, and poor lighting and sanitation, damage children's ``health,
thinking, and learning'' (Harvard SPH 2017; NRC 2006). Today, some 40%
of school age children have at least one existing chronic health issues
(CDC), including asthma, which affects 1 in 13 school-aged children and
remains the leading cause of school absenteeism due to chronic illness.
Also, US schools are not climate-ready- suggesting more long-term
school closures ahead in many parts of the country--and not epidemic-
ready, again suggesting more frustrating closures and hybrid learning
schemes ahead that will increase persistent learning losses in the next
generation of adults.
--School attendance is mandatory in all States, and 98% of US
children are in school every day.
--Schools are more densely occupied than nursing homes and less well
maintained.
--Nearly half of all public-school students are children and youth of
color.
--Schools have an exceptionally long history of poor indoor air/
environmental quality worsened by decades of funding shortages,
neglect, and a lack of knowledge on how to address problems
effectively.
--The poorest communities hardest hit by COVID, and climate change
are also the communities where children's health and learning
are impacted by the worst conditions.
--An estimated 50 percent of public schools have outdated heating and
ventilation systems, and thousands of schools likely contain
PCBs and asbestos, among other risks posed by poorly managed
chemicals and pesticides used in and near school buildings.
--Further, the Nation's 100,000 public schools today contain over 8
billion square feet of learning space valued at over $3
trillion, which means more frequent long-term school closures
ahead if they are not physically resilient. Investments in
electric buses and energy retrofits are deeply appreciated and
welcome, but those steps will not guarantee that a facility
will survive the next super storm.
This is the Congress' moment to put the EPA's 30 years of expertise
in indoor air and indoor environments to work to improve school
buildings and grounds, and thus health and learning outcomes for
children, especially for those most disadvantaged, including children
with disabilities.
We appreciate the funding for school infrastructure through the
various COVID programs, ARPA, BIL, and IRA, however EPA gets a scant
$50 million over 10 years from IRA to address indoor air. While the
Department of Energy (DOE), Department of Education (ED), and CDC have
far larger programs, none match EPA's knowledge and experience on the
physical environment of schools and its impact on children. In fact,
neither ED nor CDC have authorizations or in-house expertise on school
facilities. To date, EPA's level of funding is embarrassingly small,
considering the documented environmental problems in schools, and the
lack of knowledge in communities and among education leaders on how to
address those issues effectively.
Of the $100 million annual funding that we recommend for EPA's
indoor air program to improve school indoor air and related issues, we
urge that half be provided through cooperative agreements to States,
Tribes, cities, and nongovernmental organizations to provide ``hands-
on'' technical assistance to schools, training, educational outreach,
and programs to monitor and assess school environmental health
conditions. State capacity to help schools varies significantly, and
EPA funding and guidance can help States track and improve conditions
for schools nationwide, with special attention to schools in poor and
disadvantaged districts and communities of color, as well as rural-
remote schools.
This is your moment to make a big difference in children's lives.
Put US EPA's proven expertise to work to improve health and learning
outcomes for all children, especially those most disadvantaged or with
disabilities. A nation that wants to stay competitive must invest in
the next generation, its children.
Thank you for your consideration of our request.
Sincerely,
21st Century School Fund
Alaska Community Action on Toxics
Allergy Standards Limited
Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments
American Federation of Teachers
American School Health Association
Associated Sheet Metal & Roofing Contractors of CT
Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America Carrier
Center for Cities + Schools, University of California-Berkeley
Children's Environmental Health Network
Children's Environmental Protection Alliance
Coalition for Environmentally Safe Schools
Coalition for Healthier Schools
Collaborative for High Performance Schools
ComingClean
ConnectiCOSH Health Technical Committee Inc.
Connecticut AFL-CIO
Connecticut Education Association
Connecticut Roundtable on Climate and Jobs
EARTHDAY.ORG
First Focus on Children
Foundation for Fair Contracting of Connecticut
Go Green Initiative
Green Schools National Network
Health Promotion Consultants
Heathy Schools Caucus
Healthy Schools Network
iAIR Academy
iAIR Institute
International WELL Building Institute
Maryland Children's Environmental Health Coalition [MD CEHC]
MassCOSH--Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety & Health
National Association of Energy Service Comapanies
National Association of School Nurses
National Center for Healthy Housing
National Education Association
National PTA
National Wildlife Federation
New Jersey Association of Designated Persons
NJ Work Environment Council
PCBinschools.org
Physicians for Social Responsibility Colorado
Protect All Children's Environment
Public Health--Seattle & King County
Rayben Enterprises, Inc. dba Green Facility Solution
Responsible Purchasing Network
San Francisco Bay Physicians for Social Responsibility
School-Based Health Alliance
Selah Natural Medicine
Society for Public Health Education
Society of State Leaders of Health and Physical Education
UConn Health and University of Connecticut's Indoor Air Quality
Initiative
WEACT for Environmental Justice
Women for a Healthy Environment/Healthy Schools PA
[This statement was submitted by Claire Barnett, Executive
Director, Healthy Schools Network.]
______
Prepared Statement of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
The undersigned organizations write to request your support for
full funding of $15 million annually through Fiscal Year 2025 for the
``Grant Program for Losses of Livestock Due to Depredation by Federally
Protected Species (Grant Program)'' (7 USC Sec. 8355). We find common
ground in our work to reduce human-wildlife conflict and its impacts
while supporting working landscapes that underpin rural economies and
provide crucial wildlife habitat. We envision landscapes where people,
livestock, and wildlife all thrive, where effective management
practices reduce conflicts and economic solutions support resilient,
biodiverse working lands.
Given the expanding range of many large carnivores, including
reintroduction efforts throughout their historic range, the need for
additional wildlife-livestock conflict prevention work and livestock
depredation compensation support for producers is rapidly increasing.
At the same time, Federal funding to support non-lethal conflict
prevention work and supplement State-level livestock depredation
compensation funds has remained relatively flat, and nowhere near
enough to meet the demand. This is evident in the Wolf Livestock Loss
Demonstration Project Grant Program administered by the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service (FWS) authorized in 2009, which continues to receive
only $1 million annually in funding. This program provides grants to
State agencies to administer non-lethal conflict prevention techniques,
and supplement existing State programs that compensate producers for
livestock loss, but is often nearly fully expended in only a handful of
western States. Recognizing that this annual appropriation falls well
short of the need, Congress authorized the Grant Program in the
America's Conservation Enhancement Act of 2020.
Working lands are where people and nature come together. Durable
conservation requires wildlife management strategies that are informed
by and supported by those living in wild and working landscapes.
Building that support requires funding on the ground, and it also
requires capacity in State and Federal agencies. Added capacity
provided through the Grant Program to implement non-lethal conflict
reduction methods will benefit both rural communities and wildlife,
bringing us closer to our vision of healthy, connected landscapes
through support for land stewards.
Sincerely,
American Sheep Industry Association
Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies
Boone and Crockett Club
Colorado Wool Growers Association
Centennial Valley Association
Defenders of Wildlife
Greater Yellowstone Coalition
Idaho Rangeland Resource Commission
National Wildlife Federation
Natural Resources Defense Council
Madison Valley Ranchlands Group
Northeast Washington Wolf-Cattle Collaborative
Public Lands Council
Rio Blanco Stockgrowers
Rocky Mountain Farmers Union
Rocky Mountain Front Ranchlands Group
Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership
Upper Green River Cattlemen's Association
Western Landowners Alliance
______
Prepared Statement of the WateReuse Association
Thank you for the opportunity to present our FY 2024 funding
requests for programs administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA). The WateReuse Association (WateReuse) urges you to meet
the President's FY 2024 Budget Request of $25 million for the Pilot
Program for Alternative Water Source Grants (33 U.S.C. 1300).
WateReuse is a not-for-profit trade association for water
utilities, businesses, industrial and commercial enterprises, non-
profit organizations, and research entities that engage in and on water
reuse. WateReuse and its state and regional sections represent more
than 200 water utilities serving over 60 million customers, and over
300 businesses and organizations across the country. Our mission is to
advance safe and sustainable water supplies, to promote acceptance and
support of recycled water, and to advocate for policies and funding
that increase water reuse.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA), 40 U.S. States are experiencing moderate drought or worse.
Droughts have brought severe conditions including wildfires, heat
waves, severely depleted water sources, and reduced crop production.
Despite recent rain events, in the West, conditions are at their driest
point in 1,200 years and are worsening. In parts of Pennsylvania,
Illinois, New England, and other regions across the country,
communities are facing significant and even extreme drought conditions.
As water supply and water quality challenges intensify, the Nation
must invest in water recycling to build resilience, manage energy
demands, support public and environmental health, and ensure America's
economic prosperity. Investments in water recycling ensure reliable and
resilient community water supplies, support sustainable economic
development, and help protect our rivers, lakes, streams, aquifers and
wetlands.
Water reuse is a long-standing practice in supply-constrained areas
in the West. However, water reuse is also now common practice in other
parts of the country, where communities are turning to reuse to
recharge strained aquifers and meet other needs. The drivers for water
reuse are many, including stringent discharge regulations and a need to
reduce pollutant loads to receiving waters. Communities are also
turning to reuse to manage a range of stormwater challenges.
To help communities build resilient supplies and protect water
quality, Congress authorized the Pilot Program for Alternative Water
Source Grants as part of the recently enacted Infrastructure Investment
and Jobs Act of 2021. Through the program, EPA will make competitive
grants to state, interstate, and intrastate water resource development
agencies to engineer, design, construct, and test alternative water
source systems, including water reuse systems.
By investing in the Pilot Program for Alternative Water Source
Grants, Congress can begin to give communities in all 50 States plus
the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico the tools and resources they
need to protect public health and the environment, support economic
development, and create long-term solutions for future generations.
examples of water recycling from around the country
In Virginia's tidewater region, Hampton Roads Sanitation District
is pursuing a multi-benefit water reuse program called the Sustainable
Water Initiative for Tomorrow (SWIFT). HRSD's SWIFT project treats
wastewater effluent to drinking water standards and reuses it to
recharge the regional aquifer. The investment of $1.1 billion in
capital outlays provides critical public health, environmental and
economic benefits by replenishing the overdrawn Potomac Aquifer,
recharging 100 million gallons per day (MGD) of fresh water at full
implementation, providing a reliable safe water supply to support the
region's population and the Nation's critical military assets, and
generating nutrient credits that HRSD can trade--providing an estimated
savings of $1.5 billion for 11 counties across the region.
In Florida's Tampa Bay Region, Hillsborough County's Saltwater
Intrusion and Aquifer Recharge Program (SHARP) is creating a hydraulic
barrier to saltwater intrusion between the Bay and the region's
drinking water aquifer. At a cost of $20 million, SHARP is yielding
significant climate-resiliency benefits by protecting the region's
freshwater aquifer from sea level rise and saltwater intrusion,
reducing pumping costs and energy use by raising groundwater levels and
increasing pressure in the potable freshwater aquifer, generating water
supply credits that offset the project's cost, and supporting seagrass
and fishery recovery efforts by reducing nutrient and other effluent
loadings.
In Texas, El Paso Water is using water recycling and saline
groundwater desalination to produce a drought-resilient, cost-
effective, and reliable water supply to support a vibrant local
economy. Compared to the next best alternative (importing groundwater),
El Paso's water reuse program is reducing energy use by 3.6 million MWH
over the planning period and addressing affordability challenges
related to imported water by saving more than $1.2 billion, or 74
percent.
In California's Chino Basin, local leaders developed the Optimum
Basin Management Program (OBMP) to address the region's water
challenges. The OBMP generates energy savings in excess of 5.8 Billion
kWh over 30 years by relying on local resources rather than energy
intensive water imports, saves ratepayers an estimated $2.4 billion in
water supply costs, and restores instream flows and water quality in
the Santa Ana River, returning a surface water supply and replenishing
and improving water quality in the Chino Groundwater Basin.
[This statement was submitted by Greg Fogel, WateReuse
Association.]
______
Prepared Statement of the Western Governors' Association
Chair Merkley, Ranking Member Murkowski, 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). WGA is an
independent organization representing the Governors of the 22
westernmost States and territories. The Association is an instrument of
the Governors for bipartisan policy development, information sharing
and collective action on issues of critical importance to the western
United States.
The agencies within the subcommittee's jurisdiction wield
significant influence over vast areas of the American West. Ninety-four
percent of all Federal lands are located 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 affects public lands management and Federal agency
interaction with other levels of government and the public.
There is a natural tension between State and Federal Governments
that is embedded in the fabric of the U.S. Constitution. These
sovereign governments must have a close and productive working
relationship to promote efficiency and maximize returns on taxpayer
investments. Improving the partnership between States and the Federal
Government is central to the mission of WGA and is reflected in WGA
Policy Resolution 2021-01, Strengthening the State-Federal
Relationship.
In last year's House committee report accompanying the Interior,
Environment, and Related Agencies Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 appropriations
bill (H. Rpt. 117-400), the Federal agencies funded by the Interior
bill were directed to provide appropriate feedback and decision
rationale related to Tribal input received by agencies through
meaningful consultation in their decision-making processes. Similar
direction to Federal agencies for government-to-government consultation
with States, which is required pursuant to Executive Order 13132,
Federalism, would improve the co-sovereign relationship between States
and the Federal Government.
Federal agencies should provide state, territorial, local, and
Tribal government officials with accessible and clear information on
available Federal resources and programs and the most effective
utilization of those resources in disaster recovery. WGA has worked
with Federal partners to improve interagency coordination on post-
wildfire restoration work, including a roadmap of assistance available
to communities affected by wildfire and identification of
``navigators'' to help communities prioritize post-wildfire restoration
needs. Western Governors urge the Federal Government to prioritize the
funding of these important needs, as they should have a positive effect
on maximizing the value of restoration work and, more importantly,
addressing the needs of communities affected by wildfire.
Reducing wildfire risk also requires conducting active forest
management at an unprecedented pace and scale. This, in turn, relies on
a handful on enabling factors including a qualified land management
workforce and infrastructure to transport and capitalize on the value
of extracted biomass. Western Governors support certain findings within
the USFS' 2022 Wildfire Crisis Strategy Roundtables Synthesis Report,
including that subsidies are needed along with 10- to 20-year
agreements for forest products in order to expand existing forest
product infrastructure and markets. Western Governors laud the USFS'
investments in forest health as part of their ten-year strategy to
confront the wildfire crisis, and request continued funding for all
aspects of wildfire risk reduction.
Responsible land management can only occur when federal, State and
local stakeholders collaborate to improve the health and resilience of
our lands. Likewise, proactive fish and wildlife conservation is most
effective when leveraging the cooperative efforts of State and Federal
officials across multiple disciplines. To this end, Western Governors
support funding for reasonable proactive management efforts to conserve
species, including engaging stakeholders to implement early, voluntary
conservation measures. WGA also believes Federal agencies should
explore expanded use of detail positions and shared staff between State
and Federal agencies to increase interagency coordination.
States possess primary management authority over fish and wildlife
within their borders, and they receive economic benefits associated
with healthy species and ecosystems. At the same time, species listings
can dramatically affect the efforts of western States to promote
economic development, accommodate population growth, and maintain and
expand infrastructure. Western Governors believe that States should be
full partners in listing, critical habitat designations, recovery
planning, recovery efforts, and delisting decisions. State agencies
often have the best available science, expertise and other scientific
and institutional resources such as mapping capabilities, biological
inventories, biological management goals, state wildlife action plans
and other important data. All listing, recovery and delisting decisions
made by the Federal Government should recognize, consult, and employ
these vast state resources and utilize objective, peer-reviewed
scientific literature and scientific observations.
Fish and wildlife migration corridors and habitat are necessary to
maintain healthy populations of species in the West. Western Governors
applaud the past funding for Federal agencies to advance state-
supported programs and projects promoting voluntary migration corridor
and habitat conservation and request that the subcommittee continue to
appropriate these funds. Western Governors note that any Federal
efforts to identify, regulate or conserve wildlife migration corridors
through administrative or legislative action must involve coordination
and consultation with States and should advance collaborative, locally
driven initiatives to conserve key wildlife corridors and habitat.
WGA applauds the full funding for the Payment in Lieu of Taxes
(PILT) program administered by the Department of the Interior for FY23
and recommends the enactment of a permanent and stable funding
mechanism for the program. PILT funding does not represent a gift to
local jurisdictions; rather, it provides important compensation for the
presence of non-taxable Federal lands in the West. Similarly, payments
under the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act
(SRS) compensate communities whose timber industries have been
negatively affected by actions and acquisitions of the Federal
Government. Western Governors request that the subcommittee continue to
appropriate full funding annually for both PILT and SRS in the future.
Western Governors continue to be concerned about the number of wild
horses and burros on BLM lands. This number is presently estimated to
be more than triple the current Appropriate Management Level (AML).
Overpopulation has resulted in the degradation of rangeland, negatively
affecting wildlife and domestic livestock as well as the habitat of
threatened and endangered species. 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. Western Governors recognize BLM's 2019
Path Forward for Management of BLM's Wild Horses and Burros and 2020
Analysis of Achieving a Sustainable Wild Horse and Burro Program as
examples of sensible alternatives to current wild horse and burro
management practices. Western Governors encourage the subcommittee to
continue funding BLM's implementation of the recommendations contained
in these proposals.
WGA remains concerned about the spread of invasive quagga and zebra
mussels in the West, which continue to be a major threat to western
water resources. Western Governors commend the inclusion of additional
funding to address this ongoing threat in the FY23 Consolidated
Appropriations Act and Inflation Reduction Act. Western Governors
request that the BLM, FWS and NPS continue to be provided with the
resources necessary to implement mandatory inspection of all high-risk
watercraft and decontamination of watercraft infested with quagga and
zebra mussels leaving waterbodies under their jurisdiction. Relevant to
this matter, Western Governors acknowledge the addition of the BLM and
NPS to the Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force (ANSTF), and support
funding to enable the ANSTF to carry out the report required in Sec.
11327 of H.R. 7776, the James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization
Act for Fiscal Year 2023 (Pub. L. 117-263). That report seeks to
clarify Federal authority to manage and control aquatic invasive
species on lands and waters under their jurisdiction.
Western Governors applaud NPS for its efforts to preserve iconic
landscapes, habitats and cultural resources. Western Governors are
concerned, however, about the significant maintenance backlog affecting
National Parks. Western Governors appreciate the funding authorized by
the Great American Outdoors Act for priority deferred maintenance
projects administered by Federal land management agencies and support
ongoing NPS operations to address critical infrastructure needs and
restore staff capacity.
Data for water management and drought response planning is critical
to western States. Western Governors appreciate the increased FY23
funding for the Groundwater and Streamflow Information Program
administered by the U.S. Geological Survey and request continued
funding for the program. The data generated by the program is integral
to water supply management decisions of States, utilities, reservoir
operators, and farmers. It is also essential for risk management,
disaster mitigation, and drought and flood forecasting throughout the
West.
Infrastructure management is another crucial element of drought
response, and Federal investments in our Nation's aging water and
wastewater facilities are essential to our Nation's continued economic
prosperity and environmental protection. EPA's Clean Water and Drinking
Water State Revolving Funds (SRFs) provide necessary support for
communities to maintain and enhance their water infrastructure. Western
Governors' Policy Resolution 2021-10, Water Quality in the West,
encourages adequate funding for SRFs. Western Governors appreciate the
SRF appropriations and authorizations included in the Infrastructure
Investment and Jobs Act and FY23 Consolidated Appropriations Act, and
encourage the subcommittee to continue supporting these programs.
Western Governors similarly support the funding of Federal programs
that promote non-federal water infrastructure investment, such as the
Water Infrastructure Finance Innovation Act program. This important
program provides flexible long-term, low-cost supplemental credit
assistance for projects of national and regional significance.
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 control of groundwater resources. Western Governors
encourage Congress to include express and unambiguous language
protecting States' authority over groundwater resources in any water-
related legislation, as well as clear direction to administrative
agencies to respect such authority. Federal agencies should also work
within existing State authorities to address their groundwater-related
needs and concerns. Western Governors urge the subcommittee to ensure
that Federal efforts involving groundwater recognize and respect state
primacy and comply with all statutory authorities.
States also possess delegated authority from EPA to manage air
quality within their borders. Congress and EPA should recognize state
authority under the Clean Air Act (CAA) and accord States sufficient
flexibility to create air quality and emissions programs tailored to
individual state needs, industries and economies. State CAA programs
require financial support from Congress, yet funding has declined since
the CAA's enactment. In addition, given the unique character of the
West and the region's attainment challenges, funding should be
appropriated for EPA to assist western States in research on
background, interstate, and transported ozone. This is especially
important as smoke from an increasing number of wildfires causes air
qualities to exceed the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for
particulate matter and ozone, affecting public health, safety, and
transportation. Western Governors' support full and consistent funding
for Federal and State land managers for prescribed fires when weather
and site conditions are appropriate and public health is protected.
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 the
subcommittee in discharging these critical and challenging
responsibilities.
[This statement was submitted by Jack Waldorf, Executive Director,
Western Governors' Association.]
______
Prepared Statement of the Western Landowners Alliance
The Western Landowners Alliance (WLA) appreciates the opportunity
to provide testimony regarding Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24) appropriations
for the Department of Interior. The following programs advance WLA's
mission of sustaining working lands, connected landscapes and native
species, and will bring increased support to the landowners, farmers
and ranchers that form the foundation of rural communities and
ecosystems in the West. Working lands are the future of conservation in
the West. They are the last best pieces of intact, fertile, habitable
open lands. They are the cornerstones of both human communities and the
ecosystems we all depend on. And they are disappearing. The following
investments, along with other additional forms of support across all
levels of government and the private sector, are a necessary down
payment on our shared economic and ecological future.
u.s. fish and wildlife service
Candidate Conservation: In FY23 Omnibus, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service (FWS) received $15,037,000 for conservation and restoration
activities under the Candidate Conservation budget line item. We
appreciate Congress recognizing the importance of collaborative,
partnership-driven and proactive species conservation long before the
point of a potential Endangered Species Act (ESA) listing. This work
has been historically underfunded and has often been funneled into
other listing and consultation work. In explicitly protecting and
providing these funds for the purpose of proactive work with States,
private landowners and other partners, Congress has taken a prudent
step toward addressing the ``emergency room'' type approach that often
defines conservation under the ESA.
In the President's FY24 Budget Request, the FWS notes that ``The
Service will focus on increasing our capacity to work with landowners
to develop conservation agreements... Additional capacity would allow
the Service to stand up a specialized team that would simplify and
accelerate the process for getting Section 10 permits and associated
candidate conservation plans in place and functioning for working
lands.'' We support this proposal. ESA Regulatory assurance agreements
are a critical tool to ensure that landowners are not inadvertently
burdened with additional regulations or restrictions as a result of
conducting proactive conservation and habitat restoration efforts. At
the same time, they are often incredibly complex, time consuming, and
expensive to develop, putting this tool largely out of reach to the
majority of landowners.
At a minimum, maintaining FY23 funding levels for the Candidate
Conservation line will allow the FWS to continue to work in partnership
with landowners to improve both the function and accessibility of these
agreements.
Livestock Loss Compensation and Non-lethal Conflict Reduction:
Through the America's Conservation Enhancement Act of 2020 (ACE Act),
Congress authorized $15 million annually through FY25 for the ``Grant
Program for Losses of Livestock Due to Depredation by Federally
Protected Species (Grant Program)'' (7 USC Sec. 8355). The Grant
Program would provide $10 million annually in grant funding to eligible
State agencies for the purpose of supplementing existing State
livestock depredation compensation funding, and $5 million annually for
the purpose of implementing non-lethal wildlife-livestock conflict
prevention practices in partnership with producers.
Given the expanding range of many large carnivores, including
reintroduction efforts throughout their historic range, the need for
additional wildlife-livestock conflict prevention work and livestock
depredation compensation support for producers is rapidly increasing.
At the same time, Federal funding through the FWS to support this work
has remained relatively flat ($1 million annually since 2009) and
nowhere near enough to meet the demand. Recognizing this, Congress
authorized the Grant Program through the ACE Act.
This program is bipartisan, widely supported by livestock producers
and conservation organizations, and much needed in the face of
expanding conflicts between wildlife and livestock west-wide. With this
in mind, please see the attached letter addressed to leadership of the
House and Senate Appropriations Committees expressing support for full
funding of the Grant Program.
conclusion
Thank you for the opportunity to submit testimony on these programs
that, if funded, will recognize and expand the many societal and
ecological contributions of working lands stewardship in the West.
Please do not hesitate to reach out with any questions.
[This statement was submitted by Zach Bodhane, Policy Director,
Western Landowners Alliance.]
______
Prepared Statement of the Wilderness Society
Thank you for the opportunity to provide testimony regarding the
FY24 Senate Interior Appropriations bill and process. On behalf of our
one million members and supporters, The Wilderness Society (TWS)
respectfully urges Congress to sufficiently increase funding for the
Department of the Interior (DOI) and the US Forest Service (USFS). When
adequately funded, these agencies create jobs, foster climate
resilience, and manage public lands and natural resources. Funding
conservation priorities pays environmental and social dividends now and
for future generations. Investing in these programs, without short-
sighted corner cutting, saves taxpayer money and mitigates costly
future harms. Proposed caps on discretionary spending at FY22 levels
would have very real and damaging impacts on Federal agencies, the
American people, and vital environmental work. Non-defense
discretionary programs would face cuts of 22%, reducing DOI's budget to
below FY16 levels.
Congress should prioritize the following priorities to address
critical programmatic funding needs in any appropriations package/
legislation:
department of the interior (doi)
Abandoned Mine Lands FY24 Request: at least $287 million
Authorized by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we request at
least $287 million for the new hardrock Abandoned Mine Lands (AML)
program. Between FY17-FY21, the Government Accountability Office (GAO)
estimated public lands agencies annually spent an average of $24
million restoring hardrock mining-impacted lands and communities. The
real funding needs of the program are estimated to be in the billions.
bureau of indian affairs (bia)
Tribal Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) FY24 Request: $12
million
Tribal Nations and communities continue to highlight barriers to
accessing LWCF funding for conservation and recreation LWCF projects
with the existing program requirements to partner with or apply through
States. To strengthen Tribal land management, the FY24 President's
Budget requested $12 million in discretionary unobligated LWCF funds
for BIA to create a new Tribal LWCF land acquisition program. The new
program would protect and conserve natural resource areas of cultural
importance or that have significant recreational benefits for Tribal
Nations and communities. This program would support Tribal sovereignty
and self-determination and support Tribal co-stewardship.
bureau of land management (blm)
Cultural Resources Account FY24 Request: at least $25 million
We urge the subcommittee to provide at least $25 million (and
increase of $4.9 million from FY23) for BLM's cultural resources
management account to help BLM inventory and protect cultural
resources, manage paleontological resources, and improve government-to-
government consultation with Tribes. We also request the subcommittee
include $1 million specifically for the National Cultural Resources
Information Management System (NCRIMS) to support the ongoing
collaboration with Western state historic preservation officers to
standardize and integrate cultural resources data for BLM land.
Finally, we encourage addressing the long-standing vacancies in key
cultural resources positions stipulated in the BLM Tribal Relations
Manual, including the National Curator/NAGPRA Coordinator, National
Tribal Coordinator, and 10 of the 12 State office Tribal Coordinator
positions.
National Conservation Lands FY24 Request: at least $78 million
The National Conservation Lands encompass more than 37 million
acres of National Monuments, National Conservation Areas (NCAs), and
similar designations, as well as Wilderness and Wilderness Study Areas
(WSAs). While we are grateful for the funding increase from the FY23
Interior Appropriations bill, further investment is necessary to ensure
BLM can properly manage this system of critical landscapes, complete
and implement resource management plans, and rebuild staffing needed to
do this work. We also recommend robust funding for National Scenic and
Historic Trails, National Wild and Scenic Rivers, and wilderness areas
that are part of the National Conservation Lands and funded through
this account and other areas of the BLM's budget.
Oil and Gas Management and Oversight FY24 Request: $174.5 million,
including inspection fees
We support the Administration's request of $174.5 million to
enhance capacity, perform inspections, and implement the reforms
enacted in the Inflation Reduction Act while enabling the continued
permitting of renewable energy rights-of-way. We particularly support
the agency's proposal to implement inspection fees pursuant to language
proposed in the FY23 appropriations bill to cover the costs of BLM's
inspection activities--including approximately 5,800 production
inspections, 15,000 environmental inspections, and review of financial
assurances. This would better align the onshore program with the
offshore program and shift the cost burden of these critical
inspections from communities to industry.
Renewable Energy Management Program FY24 Request: $72.5 million
Renewable energy proposals on public lands have increased
dramatically in recent years. In 2022, BLM established 5 Renewable
Energy Coordination Offices (RECOs) to process the increasing number of
wind, solar, and geothermal applications. BLM anticipates a substantial
need for construction and monitoring of RECOs permitting support
through 2030 and beyond.
BLM is working to increase staffing and capacity to prioritize and
improve permitting coordination on many large-scale renewable energy
projects. BLM's Renewable Energy Program is critical to advancing the
Administration's goal to achieve 25 gigawatts of renewable energy on
public lands by 2025, and the goal of a carbon pollution-free power
sector by 2035.
fish and wildlife service (fws)
National Wildlife Refuge System (Refuge System) FY24 Request: $1.5
billion for Operations and Maintenance (O&M); $42 million for the
Conservation Planning Line Item
The Refuge System is the largest network of public lands and waters
dedicated to wildlife conservation in the world. However, current
funding levels are insufficient to hire new biologists, visitor
services staff, planning staff, law enforcement, and maintenance staff.
After a decade of underinvestment, inflation, and soaring visitation,
$1.5 billion is needed for Operations and Maintenance. Within that, we
request $42 million for the Refuge System Conservation Planning line
item. In FY23, this line item was only funded at $3.7 million even
though 40% of refuges lack a current Comprehensive Conservation Plan
(CCP). CCPs are crucial to achieving the conservation mission of the
Refuge System, ensuring good governance, and fulfilling the purposes of
each refuge unit.
national park service (nps)
African American Burial Grounds Preservation Program FY24 Request: $3
million
Authorized in FY23, the African American Burial Grounds
Preservation Program provides critical assistance to assistance to
local partners to identify and preserve historic burial grounds. These
segregated burial sites often failed to receive the type of maintenance
and record-keeping that predominantly white burial grounds enjoyed,
leaving many in a State of disrepair or inaccessibility.
Every Kid Outdoors FY24 Request: $25 million
Every Kid Outdoors (EKO) provides fourth graders and their families
with free access to any national park for an entire year, helping
millions of children build lifelong relationships with their public
lands. However, the EKO program has never been funded by Congress,
leaving EKO unable to reach its full potential of reaching all
families.
Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership (ORLP) Program FY24 Request: $130
million
Established by Congress in 2014 and funded through LWCF's State and
Local Assistance Program, ORLP is a national competitive grant program
that provides funding to urban communities to create new outdoor
recreation spaces, reinvigorate existing parks, and forge connections
between people and the outdoors in economically underserved
communities.
Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance (RTCA) Program FY 24
Request: $15 million
The RTCA program helps local communities and public land managers
develop or restore parks, conservation areas, rivers, and wildlife
habitats. The program bolsters community-led conservation and
sustainable outdoor recreation projects. Through these projects, NPS
has collaborated with more than 20,000 partners to create 1.3 million
acres of parks, build 40,200 miles of trails, and conserve 22,400 miles
of rivers in all 50 States and territories.
US Forest Service (USFS)
Capital Improvement and Maintenance--Trails FY24 request: $23
million
Recreational trails are the gateway to a wide range of activities
in the National Forests. Trail use in the National Forests continues to
grow, and with this growth comes an increase in trail maintenance
needs. Funding the trails program at this requested level will help to
address the agency's significant trial maintenance backlog.
Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program (CFLRP) FY24
request: $80 million
The CFLRP prioritizes holistic restoration at the landscape scale
and has a track record of success. Congress should fully fund and
expand the CFLRP to increase essential science-based forest restoration
projects on public lands.
Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) FY24 request: $32.4 million for
program; $52.9 million for salary and expenses
The FIA makes up the backbone of scientific knowledge on the
current state of the Nation's forests. This information is critical to
support sound policy and forest management decisions, and this
requested increase reflects the many demands currently being placed on
the program, despite inadequate resources for implementation.
Joint Fire Sciences Program (JFSP) FY24 request: $50 million
The JFSP is unique among Federal research programs in its focus on
applied fire science through interagency partnerships. Fire and land
managers from the Administration identify, with community and
collaborator input, the most urgent research needs around fire
management. The JFSP then competitively solicits the best proposals,
and research findings are delivered to fire and land managers and
practitioners through the JFSP-funded Fire Science Exchange Network.
The JFSP, with only a modest budget, is highly efficient and effective
at meeting the needs of fire practitioners.
Land Management Planning, Assessment, and Monitoring FY24 request: $50
million
About one-third of management plans are over 20 years old and
cannot provide adequate guidance in the era of climate change and
unprecedented biodiversity loss. The 2012 planning rule was meant to
speed up planning, engage communities, provide land designation
opportunities, promote species recovery, and establish robust
monitoring programs. Monitoring is essential to enable adaptive
management in the face of changing conditions, but the National Forests
System rarely has the funds needed to conduct adequate monitoring. We
ask Congress to include report language that ensures 25% of planning
funds is devoted to monitoring.
Legacy Roads and Trails FY24 request: $100 million, including salaries
and expenses
The Legacy Roads and Trails program primarily addresses water
quality problems caused by USFS' extensive road and trail network,
particularly old logging roads. Decommissioning unneeded roads,
restoring fish passage, and providing critically needed maintenance to
system roads and trails is essential to protecting water quality,
recreational opportunities, and economic benefits in our National
forests and adjacent communities. Congress should increase funding for
ecologically beneficial road improvements and decommissioning.
Recreation, Heritage, and Wilderness FY24 request: $94.367 million
National Forests and Grasslands provide a great diversity of
recreation opportunities, connecting the American public with nature in
an unmatched variety of settings and activities. Funding at this level
will give the agency the resources needed to continue providing these
opportunities.
Research and Development (R&D) Programs FY24 request: $80 million
Restoring and maintaining healthy ecosystems across National Forest
System lands depends on robust R&D to generate knowledge and
technologies that will help protect habitat and recover at-risk
species. We ask that the subcommittee also include report language to
encourage some of this funding to focus on science foundational to
strategies to enhance the resilience of old-growth and mature forests
to climate-induced changes in fire behavior.
Watershed Restoration Action Plans (WRAPs) FY24 request: $50 million
The Watershed Condition Framework (WCF) identifies and restores
priority watersheds across National Forest System lands. Congress
should provide robust funding for the implementation of WRAPs, which
detail the specific activities needed to improve watershed health and
drinking water quality as part of the WCF. Increased funding for WRAPs
would allow watersheds that are degraded or at-risk to be returned to a
properly functioning condition, while also creating well-paying rural
jobs.
Water Source Protection Plans (WSPP) FY24 request: $50 million
The WSPP encourages watershed restoration partnerships between the
Forest Service and downstream water users. National forests are the
sources of clean drinking water for one in five Americans, yet the
Forest Service lacks funding to work effectively with willing partners
such as water utilities to fund and implement projects that protect
people's water supplies.
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Implementation
We ask the Appropriations Committee to provide funding to ensure
all agencies adequate capacity to conduct environmental reviews under
NEPA. We know that, despite widespread claims, NEPA is not the reason
for permitting delays, and a more inclusive and meaningful
environmental review process can save time, money, and lead to better
decisions. It is therefore critical that agencies receive adequate
resources to staff the positions responsible for shepherding the
environmental review process.
conclusion
TWS thanks the subcommittee for the opportunity to submit comments
on the FY24 Senate Interior Appropriations bill. We ask the
subcommittee to sufficiently fund these agencies and exclude anti-
environmental riders in any FY24 appropriations bills.
Sincerely,
Lydia Weiss
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Senior Director, Government Relations
The Wilderness Society
______
Prepared Statement of the Wildlife Conservation Society
The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) would like to thank
Chairman Merkley, Ranking Member Murkowski, and the members of the
subcommittee for providing this opportunity to submit testimony in
support of funding in the FY24 Interior, Environment and Related
Agencies Appropriations Act for the Multinational Species Conservation
Fund (MSCF), Office of International Affairs (IA), Office of Law
Enforcement (OLE), and Endangered Species Recovery Grants Program
accounts at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), the International
Forestry program at the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), and the Climate
Adaptation Science Centers at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).
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 most important wild places, focusing on 14
priority regions that are home to more than 50% of the world's
biodiversity. We have offices and field programs in more than 60
countries and work with our partners to manage more than 200 million
acres of protected areas around the world, employing more than 4,000
staff including about 200 Ph.D. scientists and 100 veterinarians.
The world faces three existential crises, all caused by humankind:
a pandemic of zoonotic origin, the loss of biodiversity, climate
change. These crises are interrelated, with many of the same causes and
solutions. We know that pandemics of zoonotic origin (passed between
animals and people) such as COVID-19 are directly tied to wildlife
trade and the breaching of the human-wildlife interface through
deforestation and forest degradation. We also know that deforestation
and forest degradation are major causes of carbon emissions, and that
more than a third of the answer to climate mitigation can come from
nature-based solutions. Protected and conserved areas are at the heart:
they protect biodiversity, mitigate climate change, and prevent future
pandemics of zoonotic origin. Ecologically intact areas in and between
protected areas support the well-being of millions, including
Indigenous Peoples, and are critical to achieving the UN Sustainable
Development Goals. Additional funding in the FY24 Interior
appropriations bill for international conservation programs will be
critical to address these crises and continue U.S. leadership in the
world.
FWS-Multinational Species Conservation Fund-$30 Million: Global
priority species, such as tigers, rhinos, African and Asian elephants,
great apes, turtles, and tortoises, face constant danger from poaching
(particularly for illegal trade purposes), habitat loss and
degradation, and other serious threats. MSCF programs have helped to
sustain and recover wildlife populations by combating poaching and
trafficking, reducing human-wildlife conflict, and protecting essential
habitat-all while promoting U.S. economic and security interests across
the globe. These programs efficiently use taxpayer dollars, resulting
in an outsized impact because they consistently leverage two to four
times as much in matching funds from organizations like WCS, foreign
governments, local NGOs, and private foundations.
Funding from the MSCF provides front-line protection against
zoonotic disease by supporting projects that prevent or reverse the
conditions that lead to pathogen spillover events. These events
increase when humans come into closer contact with wildlife through the
destruction and degradation of wildlife habitats, particularly forests,
or at live wildlife markets where animals are crowded for sale and
slaughter. In both situations, wildlife is likely to be severely
stressed, which further increases the potential for pathogen spillover
to occur and for human disease outbreaks. Biodiversity loss, in itself,
can also contribute to zoonotic disease spillover by removing buffer
species that protect against diseases jumping into human populations.
WCS has had great success on projects using funds from the MSCF. In
one ongoing project supported with funding from the Turtle Conservation
Fund, WCS is working with several partners to restore habitat in
Indonesia for the Rote Island snake-necked turtle, which is extinct in
the wild. With this support from FWS, WCS's Bronx Zoo recently sent 36
zoo-bred to the Singapore Zoo as a major step toward the species'
reintroduction into the wild.
FWS-International Affairs-$5.1 Million Increase: The FWS 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 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 FWS Regional Programs for Africa,
Eurasia, and the Western Hemisphere seek to address grassroots wildlife
conservation problems from a broad, landscape perspective, building
regional expertise and capacity while strengthening local institutions.
The IA program works with the MSCF, supporting the conservation of
species that are not specifically addressed by the Fund and funding
conservation of entire habitats, even in cases where they cross
political boundaries.
The President's budget proposes transferring the ePermitting
program and the requisite funding of $7.5 million from IA, where it is
currently managed, to its own line in the FWS budget. Because of this,
the President's request for IA, $26.7 million, represents an actual net
increase of $5.1 million above FY23. WCS asks that the subcommittee
support this increase for the program so that IA can continue its
efforts to conserve landscapes and vulnerable species and better
address the crises facing the planet.
In 2022, FWS IA launched the Species Conservation Catalyst Fund
(SCCF), to serve as a 'conservation accelerator,' focusing on select
species to fully map and understand threats along the wildlife
trafficking chain and identify strategic points of intervention.
Increased appropriations will support this fund to allow FWS IA to
respond to evolving threats, identify species of greatest concern, and
launch targeted, high impact projects to reverse the trajectory of
population declines. The initial round of funding focused on saiga
antelope and cheetah-two species highly vulnerable to overexploitation
from illegal wildlife trade. The list of vulnerable species is ever
increasing, and additional funding is critical for the SCCF to be
nimble and responsive by adding new species and programs annually.
The final bills for the last several years included report language
directing the Department of the Interior to develop policies and
procedures for the execution and oversight of international
conservation programs to ensure that grant recipients have policies in
place that safeguard the rights of Indigenous peoples and the human
rights of individuals and communities in and around protected areas
supported by grant monies. WCS worked with the Department and FWS on
the development of these guidelines and urges the Committee to include
funding to support their continued implementation and enforcement.
FWS-Office of Law Enforcement-$104.4 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 OLE are
tasked with protecting fish, wildlife, and plant resources by
investigating wildlife crimes-including commercial exploitation,
habitat destruction, and industrial hazards-and monitoring
international trade to intercept illegal products like wildlife and
timber and facilitate legal commerce. As the United States developed
and implemented a comprehensive strategy to combat the growing crisis
of wildlife trafficking over the last several years, most of the new
responsibilities placed on FWS are enforced by OLE, and WCS supports
increasing funding to $104.4 million for the agency per the President's
request. A primary need for additional funding is to strengthen OLE's
presence at the U.S. border to protect against the importation of
wildlife that may serve as a host of pathogens that could cause
dangerous diseases of zoonotic origin.
Recent increases in the OLE budget have enabled the agency to
deploy 12 FWS attaches in targeted U.S. embassies overseas in countries
including Tanzania, Gabon, Peru, China, and Thailand, where wildlife
trafficking has proven to be a serious problem. Law enforcement
attaches are experienced criminal investigators who specialize in
wildlife and natural resource investigations and have provided
extensive support to local authorities engaged in wildlife trafficking
investigations. Several investigations of transnational organized crime
networks involved in the trafficking of elephant ivory, rhino horn,
reptiles, and other wildlife and wildlife parts between Africa and Asia
have been initiated as a direct result of attache intervention, and
attaches have assisted extensively in fostering intelligence sharing
and investigative support between affected countries.
FWS-Endangered Species Recovery Challenge Grants-$15 Million:
Funding provided to the USFWS for recovery efforts of endangered
species has been limited for decades. And although the Service has
accomplished some great successes-recovery of the bald eagle and the
brown pelican, for example-hundreds of species are in desperate need of
help to prevent extinction. The Recovery Challenge Grants program
provides matched funds from USFWS to support projects conducted by
outside partners like zoos and aquariums accredited by the Association
of Zoos and Aquariums to develop and implement recovery plans and high
priority recovery actions for endangered species. With limited funding
for recovery, it is more important than ever to invest Federal funding
in programs that leverage the significant resources and expertise of
outside partners to help the USFWS accomplish its objectives in the
most effective way. Increasing funding for endangered species through
the Recovery account and the Recovery Challenge Grant program
specifically would recognize the positive impact this funding has had
on recovery goals and encourage the continued prioritization of these
important functions.
USFS-International Forestry-$22 Million: WCS supports the
President's request for $22 million for the International Forestry
program (FS-IP). With estimates ranging broadly from $51 billion to
$150 billion, the trade in illegal timber threatens the world's
forests, reduces biodiversity, and severely affects countless local
communities that rely on forests for food, employment, and wealth. The
trade also affects the U.S. economy, which has lost approximately $1
billion per year and over 200,000 jobs due to illegal logging. FS-IP
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,
FS-IP helps to improve resource management in countries of strategic
importance to U.S. economic and national security. This work maintains
biodiversity in important natural strongholds and helps some of the
world's last intact forests continue to play a key role in sequestering
carbon, reducing the effects of climate change.
With technical and financial support from FS-IP, WCS has been
conserving the biologically rich Southern Forest Complex in the
southern part of Myanmar. The region comprises tropical rain forests
inhabiting globally endangered species like Indochinese tiger, Asian
elephant, and Malayan tapir. Furthermore, about 600 kilometers of
coastline edged with mangrove forests allows for a considerable variety
of biodiversity, including marine species such as sea turtles and
cetacean species such as whales and dugong. In this landscape, WCS
promotes a participatory approach to landscape level land-use planning
advocating for the establishment of a Community Based Conservation
Corridor along the Myintmoletkhet range, supporting local communities
to conduct biological monitoring surveys within their traditional
village boundaries, within or around protected areas.
USGS-Climate Adaptation Science Centers-$87.3 Million: The USGS
Climate Adaptation Science Centers (CASCs) collaborate with cultural
and natural resource managers and other stakeholders of public lands to
develop research, data, and scientific resources to respond to the
effects of climate variability and change on fish, wildlife,
ecosystems, and the communities they support. The National CASC manages
nine Regional CASCs, which serve every State in the Nation and connect
decision makers to science by educating and conducting actionable
research to answer common concerns about how climate extremes and
trends affect human populations, wildlife, forests, grasslands, rivers,
coastlines, and other natural resources.
Sea-level rise, changing stream and ocean water temperatures, and
extreme weather events are causing Federal, State, and local
governments, businesses, and Indigenous peoples to face new damages and
incur new costs to prepare for new conditions. As the challenges faced
by these entities worsen, CASCs are deploying their research,
education, and outreach capacities to provide science and data to make
strong decisions. But given accelerating demands, additional resources
are required to provide the assistance to anticipate and adapt to these
changing circumstances. Looking to the future, there are opportunities
for CASCs to: expand strategic partnerships with other government
offices and agencies, private-sector partners, and community groups to
increase understanding and implementation of new practices informed by
sound science; expand CASCs role in generating knowledge and the future
workforce to build the capacity of DOI managers, and their partners, to
access and apply climate science; increase development of data and
research that addresses the increasing informational needs of natural
and cultural resource managers; and better inform the DOI strategic
priorities and mission areas with their supporting goals.
WCS appreciates the opportunity to share its perspective and to
make a case for modest increases in Federal investments in conservation
in the FY24 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 national and
global security and building capacity and good governance in developing
countries.
[This statement was submitted by Colin Sheldon, Director of Federal
Affairs.]
______
Prepared Statement of the Wildlife Society
The Wildlife Society (TWS; wildlife.org) appreciates the
opportunity to provide testimony concerning the FY 2024 budgets for the
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS),
and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) (USFS). Founded in 1937, TWS
represents approximately 15,000 wildlife professionals, including
research scientists, biologists, managers, and students, with a mission
to inspire, empower, and enable professionals to sustain wildlife
populations and habitat through science-based management and
conservation.
Appropriations for the following programs within the jurisdiction
of the subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies will
affect the current and future status of wildlife and wildlife
professionals in North America. To enable the appropriate use of
science within these programs and beyond, TWS respectfully requests the
following programmatic funding in FY 2024.
FY 2024 Interior Appropriation Requests--The Wildlife Society
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FY 2023
Agency Program Enacted FY 2024 TWS
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
USGS Climate Adaptation 63.1 M 87.3 M
Science Centers.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cooperative Research 28.2 M 34 M
Units.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
National Wildlife Health *135 M FWS
Center Infrastructure
Improvements.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FWS National Wildlife Refuge 541.6 M 712 M
System.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
State and Tribal Wildlife 73.8 M 100 M
Grants.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ecological Services...... 269 M 384.5 M
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cooperative Endangered 24.6 M 25 M
Species Conservation
Fund.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
NMBCA.................... 5.1 M 9.9 M
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Partners for Fish and 60.3 M 79.7 M
Wildlife.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Migratory Bird Joint 16.8 M 25 M
Ventures.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BLM Wildlife Habitat 149 M 162 M
Management.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
no-year funding request appropriated until expended
u.s. geological survey (usgs)
Within the Ecosystems Mission Area, the Climate Adaptation Science
Centers program responds to regional wildlife, ecosystems, and
community-based stakeholder needs in the face of a changing climate.
Minor funding increases in recent fiscal years have allowed for
increased program responsiveness and additional capacity to ensure
Tribes have proactive opportunities to shape projects and distribution
of resources. However, funding has not kept pace with identified needs,
particularly in ensuring USGS has the resources to communicate
scientific outputs to stakeholders to act on project findings. In FY
2024, we recommend full implementation of the Administration's
proposal, with a goal of reaching no less than $87.3 million.
The Survey-wide National Wildlife Health Center located in Madison,
WI is the Nation's only Federal BSL-3 facility exclusively dedicated to
scientific investigation and research on wildlife diseases that
threaten human, animal, and environmental health. TWS thanks Congress
for providing $55 million in funding for phase one improvements to the
National Wildlife Health Center in FY 2021. However, an estimated $135
million in no-year funding is still required for project completion.
The Center is making progress on the modernization plans and has
awarded contracts for the building design and environmental assessment.
The design is expected to be completed by October 2024, making FY 2024
appropriations especially timely. Securing the remaining funding in FY
2024 would be least disruptive option and would minimize the risk of
rising costs due to inflation. TWS requests the remaining $135 million
in funding, appropriated until expended, to complete these much-needed
infrastructure improvements.
The USGS Cooperative Fish & Wildlife Research Units (CRUs), which
fosters federal, state, NGO, and academic partnerships to provide
actionable science tailored to the needs of natural resource managers,
plays a pivotal role in the implementation of State and Federal
management decisions. The support of many State agencies, universities,
and non-government organizations has allowed the program to be a model
for cooperative natural resource science programming and leverage an
average of three dollars in outside funds for every Federal dollar
invested. The Wildlife Society thanks appropriators for their
understanding of this need and the associated funding increases
provided in FY 2023. In the past year, the program was able to
establish a new unit in the State of Michigan and onboard 37 new unit
scientists. Additional States have discussed the opportunity to host
units responsive to their scientific needs, but have been limited by
available Federal funding. The Wildlife Society requests an increase in
funding to $34 million in FY 2024, which will allow the CRUs to build
on these new partnerships and establish units in States that have long
requested them.
u.s. fish and wildlife service (usfws)
With 850 million acres of lands and waters in every U.S. state and
territory, the National Wildlife Refuge System (NWRS) plays a key role
in the conservation of native species and connects Americans to
recreation opportunities such as hunting, fishing, hiking, and
environmental education. Unfortunately, the current NWRS Operations and
Maintenance (O&M) budget is nowhere close to meeting the needs of
native species and the American public. In order to effectively
conserve species on NWRS lands and align with the multiuse goals of the
Refuge System, significant investments in O&M programming are required.
Conservation planning, a core O&M subactivity that deals with the
creation of multi-stakeholder Comprehensive Conservation Plans for
refuge system units, has been chronically underfunded. As a result, 40
percent of these congressionally mandated plans are either out of date
or do not exist. In addition to inadequate funding for long-term
planning, the NWRS has lacked funding to meet their own identified
needs in bringing diverse audiences into USFWS programming. The Urban
Wildlife Program, housed under NWRS O&M, seeks to target USFWS
investments to underserved communities to bolster recreational access
and conservation outreach. Through the Urban Wildlife Program, and the
more than 100 refuges located less than 25 miles from a city center,
NWRS is well-positioned to engage diverse constituencies in the
conservation of our native species. Unfortunately, NWRS is not able to
meet these needs given currently available funding. TWS urges Congress
to consider the significant shortcomings of the operations and
maintenance accounts of the National Wildlife Refuge System in FY 2024,
and provide at least $712 million in funding to begin making inroads on
adequate visitor services, habitat management activities, and long term
conservation planning.
The State and Tribal Wildlife Grants Program (STWG) is the Nation's
only program that encourages development and implementation of State
Wildlife Action Plans. Collectively, STWG funds support strong
partnerships among federal, state, Tribal, private, and nonprofit
entities that enable wildlife professionals to implement on-the-ground
conservation activities that benefit over 12,000 at-risk species, with
the goal of eliminating the need to list them under the Endangered
Species Act. In FY 2010, appropriations were at $90 million for the
program--allowing States to complete more of the projects deemed
necessary for monitoring and management of at-risk species. Subsequent
budget reductions in STWG, however, have not allowed this highly
successful program to reach its full potential. TWS requests that
Congress once again work to increase funding for the program to at
least $100 million annually.
Through the Ecological Services Program (ESP), USFWS works with
diverse public and private partners to help identify species facing
extinction, reduce threats to their populations, and return species
back to the public trust responsibilities of States and Tribes.
Wildlife professionals in USFWS are working on new strategies to
increase efficacy of ESP, though the primary impediment to
effectiveness remains inadequate funding. To effectively move species
through all components of the ESA listing and delisting process, TWS
requests full implementation of the Administration's FY 2024 request of
no less than $384.5 million for all subactivities.
States and territories are critical partners in the recovery of
species listed under the Endangered Species Act. The Cooperative
Endangered Species Conservation Fund serves as a vital tool for States
and territories to serve as equal partners in implementation of on-the-
ground conservation practices that work towards species recovery. The
Wildlife Society requests Congress allocate no less than the FY 2023
USFWS funding level of $25 million to the Cooperative Endangered
Species Conservation Fund in FY 2024.
Since 2002, the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act (NMBCA)
has provided more than $80 million in grants to support 686 projects in
43 countries. These grants have enabled partner entities and wildlife
professionals to conserve approximately 400 migratory bird species
across more than 5 million acres. Moreover, NMBCA has achieved a
partner match ratio of nearly 4:1 despite requiring only a 3:1 match.
The needs of U.S. migratory bird species and conservation efforts to
keep these species common extends to landscapes far beyond U.S.
borders. As a result, TWS recommends Congress increase funding to no
less than $9.9 million in FY 2024 to achieve greater proactive
conservation results under the NMBCA program.
Further promoting USFWS' partnership with non-federal stakeholders
is the Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program. This program allows
voluntary habitat restoration goals, aligned with identified strategic
priorities, on private lands to be achieved through cost-efficient
financial and technical assistance. If adequately funded, this program
has the potential to serve as a vital tool in implementing private land
conservation efforts and proactively conserving at-risk species prior
to reaching the point of Endangered Species Act listing. TWS supports
an increase in Partners for Fish and Wildlife program funding to no
less than $79.7 million in FY 2024.
The Migratory Bird Joint Ventures (MBJV), part of USFWS' Migratory
Bird Management program, are locally-directed partnerships that develop
and implement science-based habitat conservation strategies for all
species of birds across North America. These partnerships have
leveraged Federal funds at 31:1 to enhance and conserve over 27 million
acres of avian habitat. The MBJV's Urban Bird Treaties grant program
supports partnerships to conserve birds in urban environments by
conserving nearby wetlands and creating parks for local communities to
learn about wildlife. TWS supports $25 million in FY 2024 for the
Migratory Bird Joint Ventures to enhance and promote the program's
highly effective and collaborative partnerships.
bureau of land management (blm)
The Wildlife Habitat Management program maintains and restores
fish, wildlife, and their habitat across a large portion of America's
western landscapes. This includes projects to balance effects of
multiple public land uses, such as energy development and livestock
grazing, with the needs of native species. This program also includes
management of approximately 300 listed species under the Endangered
Species Act. TWS recommends Congress support the Wildlife Habitat
Management program with no less than the Administration request of $162
million in FY 2024. Within the Wildlife Habitat Management line item,
TWS also wants to emphasize our support for the Administration's
request of $2 million in funding for Tribal co-stewardship of lands and
waters that contain natural resources of significance to Tribal
nations.
The Wildlife Society recognizes free-ranging horses and burros in
the U.S. as ecologically invasive, feral species. Free-ranging, legally
designated ``wild'', horse and burro populations on BLM lands were
estimated at over 82,000 individuals in March of last year, only the
second estimated population decrease in a decade. While TWS has been
pleased to see the BLM's increased use of gathers and adoptions,
population estimates still exceed the agency's threshold for ecological
sustainability by more than 55,000 animals. By the BLM's own estimates,
it will take hundreds of millions of dollars and several years more to
reach ecologically sustainable levels. TWS recommends support for the
BLM in their efforts to employ all the tools at their disposal to
achieve ecologically sustainable levels. Additionally, TWS requests the
elimination of an annual appropriations rider limiting sale and/or
destruction of unwanted or unadoptable horses and burros. This will
allow for the flexibilities and long-standing protections to herd
health as outlined in the 1971 Wild Free Roaming Horses and Burros Act
to be implemented as originally outlined by Congress.
[This statement was submitted by Don Yasuda, CWB, President, The
Wildlife Society.]
______
Prepared Statement of the World Wildlife Fund
Thank you for the opportunity to provide written testimony on the
Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24) budget. World Wildlife Fund (WWF) is one of the
world's leading conservation organizations, operating in nearly 100
countries to ensure a future in which both people and nature can thrive
by helping to conserve our planet's biodiversity and the natural
resources upon which we all rely. With one million members in the
United States and over 10 million supporters globally, WWF takes an
approach that integrates global reach and local impact with a
scientific foundation, promoting innovative solutions to meet the needs
of people and nature.
WWF thanks the subcommittee for its past support of important
international conservation and law enforcement programs at the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and
urges continued support for these programs in FY24. U.S. investments in
these programs are playing a critical role in addressing the
biodiversity crisis and the loss, degradation, and over-exploitation of
nature. According to WWF's 2022 Living Planet Report,\1\ population
sizes of mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, and amphibians have declined
by a shocking 69 percent on average since 1970, primarily due to human
activities. Conservation investments are some of the clearest and most
cost-effective solutions to reversing this trend and addressing the
loss of nature and biodiversity, including through support provided by
several important programs at the Department of the Interior. WWF
requests the subcommittee to support funding for the following USFWS
and USFS accounts at these levels in FY24:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ WWF (2022) Living Planet Report 2022--Building a nature-
positive society. Almond, R.E.A., Grooten, M., Juffe Bignoli, D. &
Petersen, T. (Eds). WWF, Gland, Switzerland. Available at: https://
wwflpr.awsassets.panda.org/downloads/lpr_2022_full_report.pdf .
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
--$30 million for the Multinational Species Conservation Funds;
--$26.7 million for US Fish and Wildlife Service International
Affairs;
--$104.4 million for US Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law
Enforcement, including $15 million to implement the 2008 Lacey
Act Amendments and prevent illegal timber trade;
--$22 million for US Forest Service International Programs;
--WWF also requests that the subcommittee direct $2 million to
support the recovery of the endangered black-footed ferret as
part of significantly increased funding for the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service's (USFWS) Ecological Services program.
Modest investments in global conservation made through agencies
such as USFWS and USFS have out-sized impact in protecting species and
habitats in developing countries while supporting local communities,
fostering stability and sustainable growth, combating transnational
organized crime, ensuring U.S. competitiveness in global markets, and
demonstrating U.S. leadership on global challenges. Several recent
reports, including from the Council for Strategic Risks,\2\ detail that
nature is in crisis and increasing rates of biodiversity loss globally
are threatening severe consequences for our societies and economies. We
must work together to reverse these trends and ensure that economic
growth and conservation move forward hand-in-hand on a global scale if
nature is to continue providing the resources that we need. Secure food
supplies, clean air and water, fertile soils, and well-functioning
natural ecosystems are the foundation of our health and prosperity and
powerful antidotes against forces of disruption and discontent that can
take root in impoverished regions. The conservation of forests and
other carbon-rich and biodiverse ecosystems--along with the wildlife
populations they support--is also key to slowing and reversing global
climate change and preventing spillover of new zoonotic pathogens that
can cause future pandemics. For these reasons, U.S. investments in
global conservation should be seen as essential elements of our foreign
policy, development, and national security agendas and should be
resourced commensurately.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ R. Schoonover, C. Cavallo, and I. Caltabiano. ``The Security
Threat That Binds Us: The Unraveling of Ecological and Natural Security
and What the United States Can Do About It.'' Edited by F. Femia and A.
Rezzonico. The Converging Risks Lab, an institute of The Council on
Strategic Risks. Washington, DC. February 2021. Available at: https://
councilonstrategicrisks.org/the-security-threat-that-binds-us/
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
multinational species conservation funds
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Multinational Species Conservation Funds
are highly successful grant programs that support the conservation of
rhinos, tigers, great apes, African and Asian elephants, marine and
freshwater turtles and tortoises, and their habitats. Wildlife
trafficking and poaching, habitat loss, and human-wildlife conflict
threaten these species throughout their ranges. Working with partner
governments and non-governmental organizations in Africa, Asia, and
Latin America, these programs provide dedicated support for habitat
conservation, scientific research and monitoring, wildlife management,
public education, anti-poaching, and wildlife-based tourism
opportunities in developing countries. The programs also support
wildlife health monitoring to detect and prevent transmission of
wildlife-borne diseases, including Ebola among great ape populations in
Central Africa. Since 1989, MSCF programs have awarded over 4,500
grants totaling $330 million, leveraging over $475 million in matching
contributions from partners. Conservation needs continue to surpass
available funding for these programs, which were reauthorized by
Congress in 2019 and have consistently garnered significant constituent
interest and received strong bipartisan support. For these reasons, WWF
requests that the MSCF be fully funded at its authorized level of $30
million in FY24, an increase of $9 million over the FY23 enacted level
and $8 million over the President's Budget Request.
usfws international affairs
The USFWS International Affairs (IA) division supports
international efforts to protect species and their habitat, prevent
wildlife trafficking and human-wildlife conflict, and build
conservation capacity in developing countries in Africa, Asia and Latin
America, including at a regional scale. The program supports efforts to
train wildlife conservation professionals in these regions and works
with governmental and nongovernmental entities to provide technical and
financial assistance to improve wildlife management and conservation of
endangered species, prevent poaching and wildlife trafficking, reduce
demand for illegal wildlife products, and the detection and monitoring
of zoonotic diseases to prevent their transmission, spillover, and
spread, including to human populations. USFWS-IA also supports efforts
to protect critically endangered species that are not specifically
covered by the Multinational Species Conservation Funds and is
responsible for implementing the Convention on International Trade in
Endangered Species (CITES), including related permitting, and other
laws to address wildlife trade and trafficking, such as the END
Wildlife Trafficking Act, which was reauthorized by Congress in 2022.
Increased funding will support global efforts to prevent the spillover
of zoonotic diseases to humans due to high-risk wildlife trade and
other human-wildlife interactions, to upgrade technological systems,
including those supporting USFWS permitting processes, and to provide
resources needed to implement congressional directives on enhanced
safeguards for these programs, given the often challenging places and
social conditions in which they operate. The President's FY24 budget
proposes transferring the ePermitting program and the requisite funding
of $7.5 million out of International Affairs, where it is currently
managed, over to its own line in the FWS budget. Because of this, the
President's request of $26.7 million for USFWS-IA represents an actual
net increase of $5.1 million above FY23. WWF requests that the
subcommittee support the President's requested increase for the USFWS
International Affairs program and fund it at $26.7 million in FY24.
usfws office of law enforcement
USFWS Office of Law Enforcement (OLE) is central to combatting the
illegal trade in natural resources, investigating wildlife crimes,
enforcing wildlife trade and trafficking laws, and implementing the
2008 Lacey Act amendments that prohibit trade in illegal plant and
timber products, with OLE inspectors working in nearly 40 ports of
entry in the US and internationally. Wildlife trafficking is a
transnational organized crime that generates up to $23 billion annually
in illicit profits while driving elephants, rhinos, and tigers and
other trafficked species towards extinction. It also helps finance
criminal syndicates and armed groups, including some with ties to
terrorist activities, while increasing corruption and undermining rule
of law in developing countries. Trafficking and unregulated trade in
species that can transmit dangerous zoonotic pathogens also heightens
the risk of zoonotic spillover that can lead to future pandemics. OLE
works with law enforcement in developing countries and via broader
regional efforts to improve wildlife crime investigations and
enforcement and coordinate anti-trafficking operations across multiple
countries and regions, which have disrupted global wildlife trafficking
networks and resulted in large-scale seizures of illegal wildlife
shipments and the arrest, prosecution, and sentencing of major wildlife
traffickers. USFWS has been able to provide significant support to
these activities through the stationing of law enforcement attaches in
strategic countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Additional
funding is needed to increase the number of OLE personnel playing this
role in more countries as well as dedicated staff support to enhance
investigative capacity and intelligence capabilities, such as the
ability to make use of big data analytics and to address the growth in
online wildlife trafficking. Increased resources will also allow OLE to
fulfill its mandate to enforce the Lacey Act amendments of 2008. The
harvesting and sale of illegal wood products from other countries has a
major impact on the U.S. forestry sector through lost revenues and
wages due to competition from these illegal products, including those
imported and sold in the U.S. These illegal activities are estimated to
cost the U.S. forestry sector as much as $1 billion annually.\3\
Illegal timber trade is also a major driver of global deforestation,
which exacerbates both climate change and the spillover of zoonotic
diseases. In order to meet existing mandates and expand OLE's capacity
in these areas, WWF requests $104.4 million for the USFWS Office of Law
Enforcement in FY24, an increase of $12.3 million over the FY23 enacted
level and level with the President's Budget Request. WWF also requests
that $15 million of this amount be directed specifically towards
implementing the 2008 Lacey Act amendments and efforts to prevent
illegal timber trade.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\3\ https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R42119.pdf
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
usfws black-footed ferret recovery programs
One of North America's most endangered mammals, the black-footed
ferret was saved from extinction in the 20th century through captive
breeding, population reintroductions, habitat protection, and disease
mitigation. Once found throughout the North American Great Plains and
intermountain west, ferret populations declined dramatically with
widespread poisoning of prairie dogs (their primary prey) and the
arrival of a non-native disease--sylvatic plague--in the early 1900s.
Currently, a total of only 316 individuals exist in 15 populations in
eight Western States. Recovering the species will require mitigating
sylvatic plague, supporting land managers willing to host populations,
and securing additional ferret reintroduction sites on private, public,
and Tribal lands. Currently, no dedicated Federal funding exists to
maintain black-footed ferrets in the wild. WWF requests $2 million
specifically to support black-footed ferret recovery as part of
increased funding for the USFWS Ecological Services program.
us forest service international programs
Through its International Programs, the US Forest Service works to
help partner countries improve forest management, including through
provision of technical assistance on timber tracking technologies,
harvesting techniques that reduce ecological impact, and forest
certification regimes. By promoting legal and sustainable global trade
in timber and other forest products, they help ensure a level playing
field for sustainable wood products and producers. The programs also
help to combat invasive species and conserve habitat for migratory
species, such as monarch butterflies, and have supported conservation
of tigers and other iconic species by reducing pressure on their forest
habitats. By helping to stop deforestation, these programs also
contribute to efforts to slow climate change and prevent the spillover
of zoonotic diseases from wildlife to people. WWF requests $22 million
for US Forest Service International Programs in FY2024, level with the
President's Budget Request.
[This statement was submitted by Will Gartshore, Senior Director,
Policy and Government Affairs.]
______
LIST OF WITNESSES, COMMUNICATIONS, AND PREPARED STATEMENTS
----------
Page
Alliance for the Great Lakes, Prepared Statement of the..........
195............................................................
American:
Alliance of Museums, Prepared Statement of the...............
196........................................................
Circus Alliance, Prepared Statement of the...................
199........................................................
Hiking Society, Prepared Statement of........................
200........................................................
Institute of Biological Sciences, Prepared Statement of the..
203........................................................
Lung Association, Prepared Statement of the..................
206........................................................
Nuclear Society, Prepared Statement of.......................
208........................................................
Psychological Association, Prepared Statement of the.........
209........................................................
Rivers, Prepared Statement of
Amin, Faisal, Chief Financial Officer, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency..............................................
93.............................................................
Animal Welfare Institute, Prepared Statement of the..............
215............................................................
Appalachian Trail Conservancy, Prepared Statement of the.........
218............................................................
Association of:
Air Pollution Control Agencies, Prepared Statement of the....
220........................................................
Fish and Wildlife Agencies, Prepared Statement of the........
222........................................................
State Drinking Water Administrators, Prepared Statement of
the........................................................
225........................................................
Zoos and Aquariums, Prepared Statement of the................
228........................................................
Backcountry Hunters & Anglers, Prepared Statement of.............
231............................................................
Central Arizona Water Conservation District, Prepared Statement
of the.........................................................
234............................................................
Center for Invasive Species Prevention, Prepared Statement of the
236............................................................
Chemical Safety and Sustainability, Prepared Statement of the....
239............................................................
Chippewa:
Cree Tribe of the Rocky Boy's Reservation, Prepared Statement
of the.....................................................
240........................................................
Ottawa Resource Authority, Prepared Statement of the.........
242........................................................
Chugach Regional Resources Commission, Prepared Statement of the.
245............................................................
Coalition:
for:
American Heritage, Prepared Statement of the.............
248....................................................
to:
Protect America's National Parks, Prepared Statement of
the....................................................
250....................................................
Colorado:
River:
Basin Salinity Control Forum, Prepared Statement of the..
253....................................................
Basin Salinity Control Program, Prepared Statement of the
Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, Prepared Statement
of the.........................................................
257............................................................
Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, Prepared
Statement of the...............................................
260............................................................
Conservation Fund, Prepared Statement of the.....................
263............................................................
Cooperative Alliance for Refuge Enhancement, Prepared Statement
of the.........................................................
266............................................................
Council of Infrastructure Financing Authorities, Prepared
Statement of the...............................................
268............................................................
Defenders of Wildlife, Prepared Statement of.....................
270............................................................
Department for Professional Employees, Prepared Statement of the.
274............................................................
Dine Bi Olta School Board Association, Prepared Statement of the.
274............................................................
Entomological Society of America, Prepared Statement of the......
277............................................................
Environmental
And Energy Study Institute, Prepared Statement of the........
283........................................................
Council of the States, Prepared Statement of the.............
280........................................................
Federation of State Humanities Councils, Prepared Statement of
the............................................................
285............................................................
Feinstein, Senator Dianne, U.S. Senator From California,
Questions Submitted by
Fischer, Senator Deb, U.S. Senator From Nebraska, Questions
Submitted by...................................................
90.............................................................
Geological Society of America, Prepared Statement of the.........
288............................................................
Great Lakes:
Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission, Prepared Statement of...
293........................................................
Restoration Initiative, Prepared Statement of................
291........................................................
GreenLatinos, Prepared Statement of..............................
296............................................................
Haaland, Hon. Deb, Secretary, Department of the Interior:
Prepared Statement of........................................
42.........................................................
Statement of.................................................
33.........................................................
Summary Statement of.........................................
40.........................................................
Heinrich, Senator Martin, U.S. Senator From New Mexico, Questions
Submitted by...................................................
185............................................................
Historic Preservation Fund, Prepared Statement of................
299............................................................
Hoeven, Senator John, U.S. Senator From North Dakota, Questions
Submitted by...................................................
190............................................................
Hopi Tribe, Prepared Statement of the............................
302............................................................
Hoopa Valley Tribal Council, Prepared Statement of 3.............
Humane Society Legislative Fund and the Humane Society of the
United States, Prepared Statement of...........................
305............................................................
Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe, Prepared Statement of the.............
308............................................................
Kalispel Tribe of Indians, Prepared Statement of the
Land and Water Conservation Fund, Prepared Statement of the......
315............................................................
League of American Orchestras, Prepared Statement of the.........
317............................................................
Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians, Prepared Statement of the
319............................................................
Medical Library Association and Association of Academic Health
Sciences Libraries, Prepared Statement of......................
321............................................................
Merkley, Senator Jeff, U.S. Senator From Oregon, Opening
Statement of
Metlakatla Indian Community, Prepared Statement of the...........
325............................................................
Moore, Mr. Randy, Chief, U.S. Forest Service:
Prepared Statement of........................................
7..........................................................
Statement of.................................................
1..........................................................
Summary Statement of.........................................
6..........................................................
Murkowski, Senator Lisa, U.S. Senator From Alaska:
Questions Submitted by.......................................
186........................................................
Statement of
Murray, Senator Patty, U.S. Senator From Washington, Statement of
National:
Association of:
Abandoned Mine Land Programs, Prepared Statement of the..
328....................................................
Clean Air Agencies, Prepared Statement of................
334....................................................
Clean Water Agencies, Prepared Statement of..............
331....................................................
State Energy Officials, Prepared Statement of the........
337....................................................
State Foresters, Prepared Statement of the...............
338....................................................
Tribal Historic Preservation Officers, Prepared Statement
of.....................................................
342....................................................
Endowment for the Arts, Prepared Statement of the
Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Prepared Statement of the......
349........................................................
Humanities Alliance, Prepared Statement of the...............
352........................................................
Indian Health Board, Prepared Statement of the...............
354........................................................
Parks Conservation Association, Prepared Statement of........
357........................................................
Trust for Historic Preservation, Prepared Statement of the...
360........................................................
Wildlife:
Refuge:
Association, Prepared Statement of...................
363................................................
System, Prepared Statement of
Natural Science Collections Alliance, Prepared Statement of the..
367............................................................
Nature Conservancy, Prepared Statement of the....................
369............................................................
Navajo Agricultural Products Industry, Prepared Statement of.....
372............................................................
Newland, Hon. Bryan, Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs:
Prepared Statement...........................................
151........................................................
Statement of.................................................
143........................................................
Summary Statement............................................
148........................................................
Nez Perce Tribe, Prepared Statement of the.......................
373............................................................
Nisqually Indian Tribe, Prepared Statement of....................
376............................................................
Northwest:
Indian Fisheries Commission, Prepared Statement of...........
378........................................................
Portland Area Indian Health Board, Prepared Statement of.....
381........................................................
Norton Sound Health Corporation, Prepared Statement of...........
384............................................................
Office of:
Navajo Hopi Indian Relocation, Prepared Statement of.........
389........................................................
Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, Prepared
Statement of...............................................
392........................................................
Oregon Water Resources Congress, Prepared Statement of
Outdoor Alliance, Prepared Statement of..........................
387............................................................
Pacific Salmon Commission, Prepared Statement of the.............
400............................................................
Pinon Community School, Prepared Statement of....................
402............................................................
Preservation Action, Prepared Statement of.......................
404............................................................
Pueblo of:
Acoma, Prepared Statement of.................................
407........................................................
Santa Clara, Prepared Statement of...........................
410........................................................
Ramah Navajo School Board, Prepared Statement of.................
413............................................................
Recording Academy, Prepared Statement of the.....................
416............................................................
Regan, Hon. Michael S., Administrator, Environmental Protection
Agency:
Prepared Statement of........................................
110........................................................
Statement of.................................................
93.........................................................
Summary Statement of.........................................
108........................................................
Self-Governance Communication & Education Tribal Consortium,
Prepared Statement of..........................................
416............................................................
Society:
for:
American Archaeology, Prepared Statement of the..........
418....................................................
of:
American Foresters, Prepared Statement of the............
421....................................................
Southeastern Wood Producers Association, Prepared Statement of
the............................................................
424............................................................
Squaxin Island Tribal Leadership, Prepared Statement of the......
425............................................................
Tester, Senator Jon, U.S. Senator From Montana, Question
Submitted by...................................................
185............................................................
Tso, Roselyn, Director, Indian Health Services:
Prepared Statement of........................................
159........................................................
Statement of.................................................
158........................................................
United States Environmental Protection Agency, Prepared Statement
of.............................................................
428............................................................
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Prepared Statement of the........
430............................................................
Van Hollen, Senator Chris, U.S. Senator From Maryland, Questions
Submitted by...................................................
89.............................................................
WateReuse Association, Prepared Statement of the.................
431............................................................
Western:
Governors' Association, Prepared Statement of the............
432........................................................
Landowners Alliance, Prepared Statement of the...............
435........................................................
Wilderness Society, Prepared Statement of the....................
436............................................................
Wildlife:
Conservation Society, Prepared Statement of the..............
440........................................................
Society, Prepared Statement of the...........................
443........................................................
World Wildlife Fund, Prepared Statement of the...................
446............................................................
SUBJECT INDEX
----------
UNITED STATES FOREST SERVICE
Page
Additional Committee Questions...................................
31.............................................................
Confronting the Wildfire Crisis..................................
9..............................................................
Ensuring Equitable Access to and Benefits from the National
Forest System..................................................
9..............................................................
Leveraging Additional Funding Authorities........................
10.............................................................
Management Strategy..............................................
9..............................................................
__________
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
2024 Legislative Proposals.......................................
42.............................................................
Abandoned Mine Land Economic Revitalizaion.......................
85.............................................................
Additional Committee Questions...................................
88.............................................................
Advancing Indian Education.......................................
45.............................................................
Alaska Native Vietnam Vets Allotment Program.....................
79.............................................................
Approval of Premits to Drill.....................................
72.............................................................
America the Beautiful Initiative
61
Building Agency Capacity.........................................
53.............................................................
Chesapeake Bay...................................................
70.............................................................
Creating Jobs and Meeting Energy and Environmental Challenges....
48.............................................................
Conventional Energy..............................................
50.............................................................
Conservation and Healthy Lands...................................
47.............................................................
DOI-Wide Drought Efforts.........................................
61.............................................................
Endangered Species Listing.......................................
77.............................................................
Environmental Permitting.........................................
64.............................................................
Federal Oil and Gas Lease Sales..................................
72.............................................................
Fish Hatcheries..................................................
87.............................................................
Fort Belknap Water Settlement....................................
76.............................................................
GAOA: Legacy Restoration Fund....................................
85.............................................................
Great Lakes Restoration Initiative...............................
65.............................................................
Increasing Representation and Inclusion..........................
52.............................................................
Indian Affairs Section 105(1) Lease Program......................
57.............................................................
Interior's Workforce and Infrastructure..........................
53.............................................................
Investing in:
Technology and Information Management........................
54.........................................................
Tribal Communities...........................................
44.........................................................
King Cove, Alaska................................................
57.............................................................
Klamath Ecosystem................................................
87.............................................................
Leveraging Science...............................................
48.............................................................
Meeting Financial Tribal Trust Responsibilities..................
45.............................................................
Monarch:
Butterflies..................................................
78.........................................................
Monarch Butterfly............................................
81.........................................................
Moving Forward With Clean Energy.................................
49.............................................................
National:
Heritage Areas...............................................
67.........................................................
Park Service Staffing........................................
82.........................................................
NPS Cheasapeake Bay Office.......................................
71.............................................................
Offshore Wind in Maryland........................................
71.............................................................
Ongoing Commitment to Diversity and Equity.......................
52.............................................................
On Shore Oil and Gas Production..................................
73.............................................................
Park Employee Housing............................................
82.............................................................
And Recruitment..............................................
66.........................................................
Promoting Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion of Underserved
Communities....................................................
51.............................................................
Public Safety on Tribal Lands....................................
55.............................................................
Reclamation Jobs.................................................
51.............................................................
Salmon Hatcheries................................................
60.............................................................
Section 7 Consultations..........................................
84.............................................................
Strengthening Tribal Nations.....................................
44.............................................................
Supporting Community Resilience..................................
46.............................................................
Tribal:
Land and Water Conservation Fund Program.....................
80.........................................................
Law Enforcement Recruitment and Retention....................
76.........................................................
Public Safety................................................
74.........................................................
U.S. Park Police, and NPS Special Agents.........................
53.............................................................
Warrior Met Coal Permit..........................................
67.............................................................
Western Oregon Operating Plan....................................
85.............................................................
Wildland Fire Reforms............................................
45.............................................................
__________
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
Achieving Clean and Safe Water for All Communities...............
111............................................................
Additional Committee Questions...................................
137............................................................
Continuing to Restore EPA's Core Capacity and Following the
Science........................................................
113............................................................
Elevating Environmental Justice..................................
113............................................................
Enforcing Environmental Laws.....................................
111............................................................
Ensuring:
Clean and Healthy Air for All Communities....................
111........................................................
The Safety of Chemicals for People and the Environment.......
112........................................................
Safeguarding and Revitalizing Communities........................
112............................................................
Tackling the Climate Crisis......................................
110............................................................
The FY 2024 President's Budget Request...........................
110............................................................
__________
INDIAN HEALTH SERVICES
105L Leases......................................................
168............................................................
Additional Committee Questions...................................
184............................................................
Advance:
Economic Opportunities.......................................
155........................................................
Indian Trust Ownership and Improve Indian Trust-Related
Information................................................
154........................................................
Bureau of:
Indian:
Affairs and Office of the Assistant Secretary for Indian
Affairs................................................
152....................................................
Education................................................
156....................................................
Trust Funds Administration...................................
157........................................................
Casework Response................................................
169............................................................
Capacity Building................................................
155............................................................
Community Health Aid Program.....................................
170............................................................
Contract Support Costs...........................................
172............................................................
Covid-19 Response and Future Emergency Preparedness..............
164............................................................
CSC and 105L Leases
Education:
Construction.................................................
157........................................................
Management...................................................
156........................................................
Funding Flat With Fiscal Year 2022...............................
165............................................................
Gallup Indian Medical Center Replacement.........................
169............................................................
Infrastructure Investment........................................
155............................................................
Invest in Climate Resilience, Natural Resource Management and
Costewardship..................................................
154............................................................
Land and Water Claims Settlements................................
Leadership Priorities............................................
160............................................................
Long-Term Funding Solutions......................................
161............................................................
Loan Repayment Program...........................................
175............................................................
Mandatory....................................................
162........................................................
Mandatory Funding IHS............................................
173............................................................
Modernizing Critical Infrastructure..............................
163............................................................
Nurse Preceptorship Program......................................
173............................................................
OMB VS. CBO Scorces..............................................
168............................................................
Operation of Indian:
Education Programs...........................................
156........................................................
Programs.....................................................
152........................................................
Prioritizing High Quality Health Care............................
162............................................................
Protect and Support Safe Tribal Communities......................
153............................................................
Promote Tribal Self-Determination................................
153............................................................
Recent Accomplishments...........................................
151............................................................
Strengthen Tribal Communities....................................
153............................................................
Supporting Self-Determination....................................
164............................................................
Vacancies/Recruitment and Retention..............................
182............................................................
Water Infrastructure/Warm Springs................................
170............................................................
Unobligated Balances.............................................
183............................................................
[all]