H.R. 2691 , the FY2004 Interior and Related AgenciesAppropriations Act, was enacted into law on November 10, 2003 ( P.L. 108-108 ). The conference report had passed the House narrowly (216-205) on October 30,2003, and was approved by the Senate (87-2) on November 3, 2003. On January 23, 2004, the President signed H.R. 2673 , the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2004 ( P.L. 108-199 ). This act contains anacross-the-board cut of 0.59% for Interior and related agencies, as well as most otherFY2004 appropriations laws. The FY2004 enacted numbers in this report reflect thiscut. The annual Interior and related agencies appropriations bill includes funding foragencies and programs in four separate federal departments, as well as numeroussmaller agencies and bureaus. The bill includes funding for the Interior Department,except for the Bureau of Reclamation (funded by Energy and Water DevelopmentAppropriations laws), and funds for some agencies or programs in three otherdepartments -- Agriculture, Energy, and Health and Human Services. Title I of thebill includes agencies within the Department of the Interior which manage land andother natural resource or regulatory programs, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, andinsular areas. Title II of the bill includes the Forest Service of the Department ofAgriculture; several activities within the Department of Energy, including researchand development programs, the Naval Petroleum and Oil Shale Reserves, and theStrategic Petroleum Reserve; and the Indian Health Service in the Department ofHealth and Human Services. In addition, Title II includes a variety of relatedagencies, such as the Smithsonian Institution, National Gallery of Art, John F.Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, theNational Endowment for the Humanities, and the Holocaust Memorial Council. In this report, the term "appropriations" generally represents total funds available, including regular annual and supplemental appropriations, as well asrescissions, transfers, and deferrals, but excludes permanent budget authorities. Increases and decreases generally are calculated on comparisons between the fundinglevels appropriated for FY2003 and requested by the President or recommended byCongress for FY2004. For FY2003, Congress enacted ( P.L.108-7 ) which appropriated $18.96 billion for Interior and related agencies, plus $825.0 million for wildland fire fighting effortsin FY2002, for a total of $19.79 billion. Congress subsequently enacted P.L. 108-83 containing an additional $324.0 million in FY2003 emergency funding, consistingof: $5.0 million for the Fish and Wildlife Service for Resource Management, $36.0million for the Bureau of Land Management for wildland firefighting, and $283.0million for the Forest Service for wildland firefighting. With the emergency funding,the FY2003 total was $20.11 billion. On July 7, 2003, the Administration requested emergency FY2003 supplemental funding that included $289.0 million for firefighting efforts. The request consistedof $253.0 million for the Forest Service, and $36.0 million for the Bureau of LandManagement (BLM) for fighting fires on lands of the Department of the Interior(DOI). The President stated that the monies were needed to ensure sufficient fundingfor the 2003 fire season, as large portions of the West are at risk of catastrophic firethis summer. The money was intended for fire suppression and emergencyrehabilitation activities. The President stated that with the supplemental money,funding for wildland fire suppression would be at the 10-year average. On July 11, 2003, the Senate passed H.R. 2657 containing the requested level ($289.0 million) of supplemental funding for wildfires. The Senatealso adopted an amendment adding another $25.0 million to remove dead trees inforests devastated by insects, which could exacerbate fire threats. On July 21, 2003,the House Committee on Appropriations ordered reported a draft measure containing$319.0 million in FY2003 supplemental funds for fire fighting, reflecting a $30.0million increase over the President's request. However, the House passed H.R. 2859 on July 25, 2003, without supplemental funds for wildlandfire fighting. On July 31 the Senate passed the bill without amendment, clearing itfor action by the President. The law ( P.L.108-69 ) did not contain supplemental fundsfor wildland fire fighting. Congress subsequently included FY2003 emergency supplemental funding for wildfire fighting in the FY2004 Legislative Branch Appropriations Act. As enacted, P.L. 108-83 contained $319.0 million for wildland firefighting efforts in FY2003,comprised of $36.0 million for the Bureau of Land Management and $283.0 millionfor the Forest Service, plus $5.0 million for Resource Management of the Fish andWildlife Service. The Senate-passed version of the FY2004 Interior and related agencies appropriations bill, H.R. 2691 , contained an additional $400.0 millionin emergency funding for wildfire fighting, comprised of $75.0 million for the BLMand $325.0 million for the Forest Service. The President subsequently submitted a$400.0 million supplemental request for fire funding, consisting of $99.0 million forBLM and $301.0 million for the Forest Service. While the House-passed bill did notcontain emergency monies, the House conferees were instructed to support the Senatefunding level in conference. The FY2004 law contained $98.4 million in emergencyfunding for BLM firefighting efforts, and $299.2 million for the Forest Service, fora total of $397.6 million in emergency funds. The money was appropriated to replacefunds borrowed from other accounts for wildland fire fighting. President Bush's FY2004 budget for Interior and related agencies totaled $19.89 billion. On July 10, 2003, the House Committee on Appropriations reported a bill( H.R. 2691 , H.Rept. 108-195 ) for Interior and related agenciescontaining a total of $19.60 billion for FY2004. On the same date, the SenateCommittee on Appropriations reported a companion bill ( S. 1391 , S.Rept. 108-89 ) containing $19.61 billion for FY2004. On July 17, 2003, the House passed H.R. 2691 (268-152) containing a total of $19.60 billion for Interior and related agencies for FY2004. OnSeptember 23, 2003, the Senate passed its version with $19.61 billion, plus $400.0million in emergency funding for wildland fire management to repay transfers fromother accounts for fire fighting efforts in FY2003, for a bill total of $20.01 billion. With the additional fire funds, the Senate total was $411.2 million more than passedby the House and $121.3 million more than requested by the Administration. However, the Senate-passed level for FY2004 was $99.2 million less than the totalappropriated for FY2003, including the emergency supplemental in P.L.108-83 . Following passage of the bill, the Senate appointed conferees on H.R. 2691 on September 23, 2003. The House subsequently appointedits conferees on October 1. Before appointing its conferees, the House agreed to amotion to instruct its conferees to support the additional $400.0 million inemergency firefighting funds included in the Senate-passed version of the bill. OnOctober 27, 2003, a brief formal conference committee meeting was held. Aconference report ( H.Rept. 108-330 ) was filed on October 28, 2003, and narrowlypassed the House (216-205) on October 30 and was approved by the Senate (87-2)on November 3. The narrow passage in the House has been attributed to theinclusion in the bill of a provision that led to a stay -- a temporary suspension -- ofa court decision requiring an exhaustive, expensive accounting of Indian trust landsand trust asset transactions since 1887. The President signed H.R. 2691 into law on November 10, 2003, as P.L. 108-108 . From the start of FY2004 on October 1, 2003 until the enactmentof the bill, Interior and related agencies were funded under the provisions of acontinuing resolution. The FY2004 Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act contained $20.01 billion for FY2004, which reflected an across-the-board cut in the law of0.646%. This figure, and figures throughout this report, reflect an additionalacross-the-board cut of 0.59%, which was included in the ConsolidatedAppropriations Act of 2004 ( P.L. 108-199 ). This across-the-board cut also appliesto most other FY2004 appropriations laws. The FY2004 enacted level was slightly less than enacted for FY2003 (less than 1% lower). See Table 21 below for a comparison of FY2003-FY2004 InteriorAppropriations. The FY2004 level was essentially the same as the amount approvedby the Senate (less than 1% higher), and higher than the House-passed total (2%higher) and the President's request (less than 1% higher). The appropriate levels offunding for wildland firefighting and land acquisition were among the major issuesdebated. The FY2004 law contained $2.76 billion for wildland fire fighting by theForest Service and the Department of the Interior, approximately 13% less than thetotal enacted for FY2003.