Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies: FY2015 Appropriations
Released: 2015-01-27T00:00:00

Introduction

The annual Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies appropriations bill includes funding for agencies and programs in three separate federal departments as well as numerous related agencies. The bill typically contains three primary titles. Title I provides funding for most Department of the Interior (DOI) agencies, many of which manage land and other natural resource or regulatory programs. Title II contains appropriations for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Title III funds agencies in other departments, such as the Forest Service in the Department of Agriculture and the Indian Health Service in the Department of Health and Human Services; arts and cultural agencies, such as the Smithsonian Institution; and various other entities. Title III of the bill is referred to as "Related Agencies."

Neither the House nor the Senate passed regular FY2015 appropriations for Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies before the start of the fiscal year on October 1, 2015. Before that date, the House Appropriations Committee had reported H.R. 5171 , the Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2015, containing FY2015 appropriations, and the chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies had released a draft measure and accompanying explanatory statement. Neither measure had subsequent legislative action.

Because regular FY2015 appropriations were not enacted prior to October 1, 2015, continuing appropriations were temporarily provided after that date. Under the Continuing Appropriations Resolution, 2015 (CR), agencies generally received funding at the FY2014 level minus an across-the-board reduction of 0.0554%. Funding was generally provided under the authority and conditions, and to the same extent and manner, as in FY2014. Further, funding could not be used to initiate or resume projects or activities for which funding or authority was not provided for FY2014. The CR provided appropriations through December 11, 2014; two subsequent laws extended continuing funding through December 17, 2014.

On December 16, 2014, regular FY2015 appropriations were enacted for Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies as part of P.L. 113-235 . The law included total appropriations of $30.48 billion for these agencies, primarily in Division F.

This report provides a brief overview of FY2015 appropriations levels. It first addresses the appropriations requested by the President for FY2015 for agencies in the bill and compares the requested appropriations with FY2014 enacted appropriations. It next discusses the FY2015 appropriations contained in H.R. 5171 as reported by the House Appropriations Committee and the appropriations recommended in the Senate Interior Subcommittee draft. It then summarizes the components of the FY2015 enacted appropriations and compares the FY2015 enacted level with funding enacted for the prior five years (FY2010-FY2014) and recommended for FY2015.

Appropriations are complex. For example, the budget requests for some agencies are large, numbering several hundred pages and containing numerous funding, programmatic, and legislative changes for congressional consideration. Further, appropriations laws provide funds for numerous accounts, activities, and subactivities, and the accompanying explanatory statements provide additional directives and other important information. This report does not provide account- and subaccount-level information. Further, it does not discuss agency highlights under the President's request, the House committee-reported bill, the Senate Interior Subcommittee draft, or the FY2015 appropriations law, such as increases, decreases, budgetary reorganizations, and legislative changes. For information on FY2015 appropriations for a particular agency, or for individual accounts, programs, or activities administered by a particular agency, contact the key policy staff identified at the end of this report.

FY2015 Appropriations

Components of the FY2015 President's Request

For FY2015, the President requested $30.69 billion for the approximately 30 agencies and entities typically funded in the annual Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies appropriations law. For the 10 major DOI agencies in Title I of the bill, the request was $10.86 billion, or 35.4% of the total requested. For EPA, funded by Title II of the bill, the request was $7.89 billion, or 25.7% of the total. For about 20 agencies and other entities typically funded in Title III of the bill, the request was $11.94 billion, or 38.9% of the total.

Appropriations for agencies vary widely for a number of reasons relating to the number, breadth, and complexity of agency responsibilities; alternative sources of funding (e.g., mandatory appropriations); and Administration and congressional priorities, among other factors. Thus, although the President's FY2015 request covered approximately 30 agencies, funding for a small subset of these agencies accounted for most of the total. For example, the appropriations for three agencies—EPA, Forest Service, and Indian Health Service—were about three-fifths (59.4%) of the total requested. Further, more than three-quarters (76.3%) of the request was for these three agencies and two others—National Park Service and Bureau of Indian Affairs.

For DOI agencies, the requests ranged from $72.4 million for the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to $2.61 billion for the National Park Service. The requests for 6 of the 10 agencies exceeded $1 billion. Nearly half (47.7%) of the $10.86 billion requested for DOI agencies was for two agencies—the National Park Service and Bureau of Indian Affairs.

For Related Agencies in Title III, the requested funding levels showed even more variation. The President did not seek funding for one agency that received FY2014 appropriations (National Capital Arts and Cultural Affairs), and the President sought amounts ranging from $2.5 million for the Commission of Fine Arts to $5.71 billion for the Forest Service. Other than the Forest Service, the Indian Health Service would have been the only other agency to receive more than $4 billion under the President's proposal. The next-largest request was for the Smithsonian Institution, at $850.9 million. By contrast, 14 agencies would have received less than $80 million each, including 7 with appropriations of less than $10 million each.

Figure 1 identifies the share of the President's request for each of the three titles of the Interior bill. It also depicts the portion of funding requested for particular agencies. Table 1 contains the amount requested by the President for FY2015 for each agency in the Interior bill, the FY2014 enacted appropriations, and the percentage change from FY2014 as compared with the President's request for FY2015.

FY2015 President's Request Compared with FY2014 Enacted Appropriations

The President's request of $30.69 billion for FY2015 would have been an increase of $570.9 million (1.9%) over the total FY2014 enacted appropriations of $30.12 billion. For FY2014, most of the $30.12 billion was provided in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2014. However, $628.5 million of the total was included in the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2014.

The overall increase proposed for FY2015 was the result of various increases and decreases sought for different agencies/entities. For instance, under the President's proposal, the total for all DOI agencies would have increased by $381.3 million (3.6%), funding for EPA would have decreased by $310.0 million (-3.8%), and the total for all Related Agencies in Title III would have increased by $500.5 million (4.4%).

With regard to DOI, for 7 of the 10 agencies the President proposed increases above FY2014. The increases varied in dollar amount and percentage of appropriations, with the lowest dollar increase of $2.4 million (3.1%) for the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement and the highest of $182.2 million (19.5%) for Department-Wide Programs. Most of the increase under Department-Wide Programs was for Wildland Fire Management. For the other three DOI agencies, the President sought decreases varying from $5.3 million (-3.5%) for the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement to $10.4 million (-1.7%) for Departmental Offices.

The President's proposed overall decrease for EPA was largely due to a $529.8 million reduction (-15.0%) for the State and Tribal Assistance Grants (STAG) account. Most of the proposed decrease in the STAG account was attributed to a combined reduction below the FY2014 enacted funding for grants that provide financial assistance to states to help capitalize Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds (SRFs). Respectively, these funds finance local wastewater and drinking water infrastructure projects. The STAG account also includes funds for other grants used by states and tribes. The President sought overall increases for all other EPA accounts above the FY2014 enacted levels. The $113.0 million (4.3%) increase for the Environmental Programs and Management (EPM) account was the largest overall dollar increase among the EPA accounts. The EPM account funds a broad array of activities supporting EPA's development and enforcement of pollution control regulations and standards, technical assistance, and administrative and operational expenses.

The President's overall increase proposed for Title III agencies reflected various increases and decreases. Half of the agencies would have received higher funding under the request, but the three largest agencies would have received the largest dollar increases. Specifically, the President sought an additional $227.6 million (4.2%) for the Forest Service, $199.7 million (4.5%) for the Indian Health Service, and $45.9 million (5.7%) for the Smithsonian Institution. The increase for the Forest Service would have been primarily for suppressing wildland fires and for the National Forest System account. The Indian Health Service would have received additional funds for many programs and activities, including clinical services and contract support costs. The increase for the Smithsonian would have been for the National Museum of African American History and Culture, outreach, facilities services, and revitalization of facilities, among other purposes. For several other agencies funded in Title III, the President sought level funding. For instance, the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities would each have been funded at the FY2014 level of $146.0 million. Still other Title III agencies would have received varying reductions in funding, with funding eliminated for National Capital Arts and Cultural Affairs.

FY2015 House Committee-Reported Bill and Senate Interior Subcommittee Draft

H.R. 5171 , as reported by the House Appropriations Committee on July 23, 2014, contained a total of $30.28 billion for Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies for FY2015. The total included $470.0 million in additional suppression funding for the Forest Service. These funds were intended to address a projected shortfall in fire suppression appropriations for FY2014, according to the House Appropriations Committee. The draft bill released on August 1, 2014, by the chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies recommended $30.71 billion. The total included $1.19 billion in emergency appropriations for Wildland Fire Management activities of DOI and the Forest Service. No further legislative action occurred on either the House bill or the Senate Interior Subcommittee draft.

The Senate Interior Subcommittee draft total was $424.0 million (1.4%) more than the $30.28 billion in the House committee-reported bill, as shown in Table 2 . With regard to the 10 DOI agencies, the Senate Interior Subcommittee draft contained higher funding than the House committee-reported bill for five agencies, the versions were equal for two agencies, and the House committee-reported bill had higher funding for three agencies. Overall, the $11.05 billion total appropriations figure for DOI agencies in the House committee-reported bill was $219.9 million (2.0%) higher than the $10.83 billion in the Senate Interior Subcommittee draft. This was primarily because it included $442.0 million for the Payments in Lieu of Taxes program, which compensates counties and local governments for nontaxable lands within their jurisdictions. The Senate Interior Subcommittee draft did not include funding for this program.

The $8.18 billion recommended by the Senate Interior Subcommittee for EPA was $699.3 million (9.3%) more than the $7.48 billion in the House committee-reported bill. The versions proposed different levels of appropriations for all EPA accounts. The largest dollar difference was for the STAG account, primarily from higher levels in the Senate Interior Subcommittee draft for both the Clean Water and Drinking Water SRFs.

For all Related Agencies in Title III, the House committee-reported bill included $11.75 billion, $55.5 million (0.5%) more than the $11.69 billion included in the draft of the Senate Interior Subcommittee. However, the House committee-reported bill contained higher funding for only one agency—the Indian Health Service—for programs including clinical services and Indian health professions. For all other Related Agencies, the funding recommendations were equal in the two versions or higher in the Senate Interior Subcommittee draft.

Relative to the FY2014 total appropriations of $30.12 billion for Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies, both the FY2015 House committee-reported bill and the Senate Interior Subcommittee draft contained higher appropriations. Specifically, the House committee version included an increase of $162.0 million (0.5%) over FY2014 and the Senate Interior Subcommittee would have provided an increase of $586.0 million (1.9%).

Within the House committee's proposed overall increase over FY2014 were varying rates of increase or decrease for agencies in the bill. Among the proposed increases were the following: $416.3 million (66.8%) for DOI Departmental Offices, $207.9 million (4.7%) for the Indian Health Service, $113.7 million (4.5%) for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and $85.7 million (1.6%) for the Forest Service. The increase in DOI Departmental Offices was largely because of the inclusion of appropriations for the Payments in Lieu of Taxes program. The largest decrease proposed by the House committee was for EPA—$717.3 million (-8.7%) less than the FY2014 level. The overall proposed decrease for EPA was primarily due to reductions in the STAG account for the Clean Water and Drinking Water SRFs.

Under the Senate Interior Subcommittee draft, most agencies in the bill would have received increases over FY2014. Among the proposed increases were the following: $175.9 million (18.8%) for Department-Wide Programs, $111.2 million (2.5%) for the Indian Health Service, $100.5 million (1.8%) for the Forest Service, and $71.2 million (2.8%) for the National Park Service. The increase under Department-Wide Programs was primarily for DOI Wildland Fire Management.

FY2015 Enacted Appropriations

Agencies received widely varying amounts of the $30.48 billion appropriated for FY2015. For DOI agencies in Title I of the bill, appropriations were $11.09 billion, including $372.0 million for the Payments in Lieu of Taxes program. This figure was 36.4% of the total enacted. For EPA, appropriations were $8.14 billion, or 26.7% of the total. For agencies and other entities in Title III of the bill, appropriations were $11.25 billion, or 36.9% of the total.

Moreover, FY2015 appropriations were concentrated on a handful of agencies. Three agencies—the EPA, Forest Service, and Indian Health Service—received nearly three-fifths (58.5%) of the enacted appropriations. Together with the National Park Service and Bureau of Indian Affairs, these five agencies received more than three-quarters (75.6%) of the total FY2015 appropriations.

For DOI agencies, appropriations ranged from $72.4 million for the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to $2.61 billion for the National Park Service. Appropriations for 5 of the 10 DOI agencies were more than $1 billion. The National Park Service and Bureau of Indian Affairs ($2.60 billion) together accounted for nearly half (47.0%) of the $11.09 billion enacted for DOI agencies.

Funding enacted for the 20 Related Agencies in Title III had a wider range, from $1.0 million for the Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial Commission to $5.06 billion for the Forest Service. The second-largest appropriations figure was for the Indian Health Service, with $4.64 billion, and the next-largest was less than $1 billion—$819.5 million for the Smithsonian Institution. By contrast, eight agencies had appropriations of less than $10 million each.

The FY2015 appropriations total was a $358.0 million increase (1.2%) over the FY2014 enacted appropriations of $30.12 billion. Appropriations for all DOI agencies increased by $616.4 million (5.9%), in part because of the inclusion of $372.0 million for the Payments in Lieu of Taxes program. This program was not funded in the FY2014 Interior appropriations law but rather was funded through mandatory appropriations. In addition, most DOI agencies received additional funding. The Bureau of Indian Affairs and National Park Service received among the largest dollar increases. An increase of $70.2 million (2.8%) for the Bureau of Indian Affairs was included for several activities and programs, among them tribal government, human services, education, and construction of educational facilities. An additional $53.1 million (2.1%) for the National Park Service was provided in anticipation of increased visitation for the agency's centennial in 2016. The additional funding was targeted to visitor services, park protection, facility operations and maintenance, and a matching grant program.

The FY2015 appropriations for EPA decreased by $60.1 million (-0.7%) from the FY2014 level. Contributing to the overall decrease was a $40.0 million rescission. Some accounts also decreased, but others increased or remained at the FY2014 level.

FY2015 appropriations for all Related Agencies decreased by $197.3 million (-1.7%) from the FY2014 level, in large part due to a reduction of $423.4 million (-7.7%) for the Forest Service. Funding for the agency's Wildland Fire Management account fell by $440.9 million (-14.3%), whereas other Forest Service accounts increased by a total of $17.6 million (0.7%). Only two other Title III agencies also received decreases. Eleven agencies received the same level of appropriations as provided for FY2014, and six agency budgets grew by varying amounts. The Indian Health Service received the largest dollar increase—$207.9 million (4.7%). Additional funds were provided for many programs and activities, including hospital and health clinics, purchased/referred care, and contract support costs.

Table 2 compares the FY2015 enacted appropriations for Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies with appropriations enacted for FY2014 and recommended for FY2015. Data column one shows the enacted appropriations for FY2014. Data column two presents the President's request for FY2015 appropriations. Data column three provides the levels of appropriations reported by the House Appropriations Committee in H.R. 5171 . Data column four contains the recommendation of the chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies. Data column five shows the FY2015 enacted appropriations.

Five-Year History

Appropriations enacted for Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies over the prior five fiscal years (FY2010-FY2014) peaked in FY2010 at $32.32 billion. Relative to FY2010, FY2015 enacted appropriations decreased by $1.84 billion (-5.7%). The overall decline can be attributed primarily to reduced appropriations for EPA, which fell $2.15 billion (-20.9%). The appropriations for DOI agencies and Related Agencies have increased since FY2010—by $43.7 million (0.4%) for DOI and $277.1 million (2.5%) for Related Agencies.

With the exception of FY2010, FY2015 appropriations were higher than the appropriations enacted for each of the fiscal years during the five-year period. For instance, relative to FY2011 total appropriations of $29.61 billion, the FY2015 level was an increase of $867.0 million (2.9%). Most recently, the FY2015 appropriations level was $358.0 million (1.2%) higher than the FY2014 appropriations level. FY2015 appropriations also were higher than the FY2015 appropriations in H.R. 5171 as reported by the House Appropriations Committee (by $196.0 million, 0.6%). However, FY2015 enacted appropriations were lower than requested by the President for FY2015 (by $212.9 million, -0.7%) and recommended in the Senate Interior Subcommittee draft (by $228.0 million, -0.7%).

Table 3 shows total appropriations enacted for FY2010 through FY2015 for Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies and the appropriations for each title of the bill. It also shows the FY2015 appropriations requested by the President, reported by the House Appropriations Committee, and recommended by the Senate Interior Subcommittee.

Figure 2 depicts appropriations enacted for Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies for FY2015 compared with appropriations enacted for five prior fiscal years (FY2010 to FY2014) and recommended for FY2015.