February 4, 2008

Comments on Budget Impact on Interior Programs

Press Release: Following the submission of the FY 2009 federal budget to Congress, Interior and Environment Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Norm Dicks made the following comments about the budget's impact on accounts within the jurisdiction of the subcommittee:

Overall
The President’s 2009 request for programs under the Interior & Environment Subcommittee jurisdiction is a serious disappointment. It ignores our moral and treaty obligations to Native Americans, devastates the management of our National Forests and dramatically reduces funding for critical environmental and conservation priorities. The $25.4 billion requested is $1 billion below the 2008 level and $1.6 billion below the level required to maintain current service levels for these programs.

While there are a few bright spots, including the continuing commitment to our national parks, the small number of positive proposals can not mask the fact that the overall budget request is an unmitigated disaster and will require major revisions by our Committee and the Congress.

Native American Programs
The President’s request for Native Americans takes Indian children out of their schools, turns away thousands of Indians seeking healthcare, and turns its back on Indian country. The request eliminates Johnson O’Malley education assistance funding and the urban health clinics program, reduces early childhood development programs, reduces scholarships and adult education, eliminates funding for tribal technical colleges, eliminates housing improvement funding, and reduces welfare assistance dramatically.

The Bush Administration’s budget proposal for the Indian Health Service would force the agency to absorb $150 million in costs, resulting in staffing shortfalls and fewer available services. If enacted, this budget would cut healthcare services to people who are already grievously underserved.

National Forest System
The budget request for the Forest Service is especially irresponsible and can not be implemented. It would cause real harm to our 193 million acre national forest system, substantially reduce firefighter preparedness, slash important science programs and nearly eliminate cooperative forestry programs that have a proud, 60 year history of collaboration with the States. All told, this budget request reduces operations funding for the Forest Service by 16% and would require the elimination of 2750 full time staff. The only bright spot is a large increase in emergency wildfire suppression funding, but by eliminating and reducing fire staff preparedness, this budget would guarantee large, expensive wildfires again next year.

Here are just a few of the reductions proposed in this budget affecting the Forest Service accounts:

• Forest Service research, -$24.9 million ($201 million) reduces core research programs affecting forest and rangeland ecosystems and forest products

• Forest Service forest health, -$43.7 million ($55 million) guts State forest health program by 78% and reduces federal lands treatments by 17%

• Forest Service state fire assistance, -$20.6 million($60 million), restricts cooperative actions with States and harms implementation of national fire plan

• Forest Service, forest stewardship, -$24.5 million ($5 million), guts state cooperative forestry program by 83%
• Forest service, urban forestry, -$22.7 million ($5 million), guts urban and community cooperative program by 82%

• National forest system, -$125 million, ($1.344 billion), reduces the operations and management of the 193 million acre system and requires reduction of 1183 FTE’s (over 10% of the workforce)

• National forest trail system, -$26.7 million ($49.7 million), reduces care for the largest trail system in the nation by 35%

• National forest road system maintenance, -$17 million ($117 million), reduces care of the road system so only 20% of the roads will get any maintenance

• Forest Service wildfire preparedness, -$77.4 million ($588 million), reduces sorely needed fire operations by 12% and requires loss of 446 FTE’s out of a total of 5578 FTE’s last year

Conservation Programs
The President’s request for conservation and environmental protection programs eviscerates funding for many critical programs. The $54 million request under the Land and Water Conservation Fund to protect and preserve sensitive lands threatened with development is 74 percent below the already reduced 2008 funding level. Funding for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund to help deal with water and sewer infrastructure needs throughout the United States is reduced by another $134 million to a level 60 percent below the level 4 years ago. This reduction ignores the $388 billion need for this assistance documented by the EPA. Mitigation and adaptation of Climate Change is the single greatest challenge of our generation. This budget would have us cut $30 million from critical Climate Change programs at EPA and USGS.

Home >> Newsroom