 |
|
|
|
 |
d
Senate FY19 Appropriations Bill Permits Increased Spending
The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies
"This bill . . . reject[s] unwarranted decreases proposed in the budget and mak[es] investments in our highest priorities," Subcommittee
Chairman Lisa Murkowski (R-AL)
stated. Further, Chairman Murkowski began the meeting by noting, "[t]he administration's request for the 2019 Interior Bill is approximately $28.3
billion, a roughly 22.5% reduction from the FY18 enacted level. The subcommittee's 302B allocation for FY19 is $35.85 billion which is $600
million more than last year."
She then explained that some of these program increases "could not be
avoided," listing fire suppression, "contract support costs in Indian country,"
and "staffing costs associated with new healthcare facilities operated by the [Indian Health Service] or by tribes under compact agreements" as examples.
The bill also includes increases for park construction, park maintenance, the
Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds, the State and Tribal Wildlife Grants, and the North American Wetlands Conservation Action.
At the end of the markup, Subcommittee Chairman Murkowski expressed that
she was "proud that this bill prioritizes the health and well-being of our
nation's rural communities."
The FY19 Interior Environment Appropriations Bill was also approved on
Thursday with all 31 of the Appropriation Committee members voting to pass
the bill.
The following table lists the bill's major funding appropriation components.
|
Purpose
|
Proposed Funding Amount
(in billions)
|
|
Department of the Interior
|
$13.109
|
|
EPA
|
$8.058
|
|
U.S. Forest Service
|
$6.29
|
|
Wildland Firefighting
|
$4.345
|
|
National Parks Service
|
$3.21
|
|
Fish and Wildlife Service
|
$1.57
|
|
Bureau of Land Management
|
$1.34
|
|
U.S. Geological Survey
|
$1.148
|
For a full list of the committee's proposed appropriations, refer to the Appropriation Committee's
website.
Senate Agriculture Committee Sends the
Farm Bill to the Floor, House Will Vote Soon
At its markup hearing on Wednesday morning, the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry spent two and a half hours discussing
less than half of the 180 amendments
to the Senate's version of the Farm Bill.
As anticipated, the committee spent time debating
the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), farm loans, limits on farm subsidy payments, and land conservation.
After a 20-1 vote, the bill was "ordered to be reported favorably to the Senate as amended" by Chairman Pat Roberts. The day before voting against the motion, Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA),
explained that while he is in favor of a safety net
for farmers, he believes that there must be "real and enforceable payment limits for farm subsidies,", and directly spoke against the House Farm Bill for its lack
of an income cap for such subsidies.
That same day he also noted, "I know Chairman Roberts and Ranking Member Stabenow have worked hard to get us
to this point. However, there are some improvements needed to get a Farm Bill that we can justify to the
American taxpayers."
At Wednesday's markup, Sen. Grassley spent most of his time
describing
the multiple components of the bill that he supported, but he took issue with the
lack of (1) "common sense reforms [he]... offered on farm program eligibility"
and (2) a Congressional Budget Office score on the Senate Farm Bill. In
response to the passage of the bill, the Iowa Senator
expressed
his concern that, should the bill not include limits to farm safety net payments, "real, working farmers" would have access to fewer resources.
Following the vote, Chairman Roberts ended the meeting by stating, "this
is not the best-possible bill, but, rather, this is the best bill possible. I am proud and stand by the work conducted here at the committee. I thank . . . all
members in attendance conducting legislative work through regular order and utilizing the committee process in a bipartisan and transparent manner."
The House Farm Bill, on the other hand, is markedly partisan. After members
of the conservative House Freedom Caucus voted against the first version of the bill in hopes of gaining leverage on an unrelated immigration vote, Republicans are relying on winning the group's votes in order to pass the latest version of
t
he bill. Their votes are necessary because of the 198 Representatives who voted
for the first version of the bill, none of them were Democrats.
Therefore, with
the House's second vote tentatively scheduled for just one week away, the
future of the bill depends on the outcome of an ongoing internal debate among Republicans over different pieces of immigration legislation.
|
News from Around the Basin
Energy
🔗 TVA Phases Out Rebates for Home Energy Upgrades That Do Not Build
🔗 State Department OKs Boosting Cross-Border Natural Gas Pipeline's Capacity
🔗 Executive Director of Renew Missouri Speaks about Energy Sufficiency
🔗 Independence, Missouri, Now Receiving 14.7 MW of Solar Power from Community Solar Projects
🔗 Efficiency Plan from Missouri's Largest Utility Is Backed by Clean Energy Supporters
🔗 PSC Reviews State of Kentucky's Electric Power Plants; Coal Demand in Decline
🔗 USDA Announces $7.4 Million in Loans to Improve Iowa's Rural Energy Infrastructure
🔗 Iowa Hints at How It Became a Nation-Leading Wind Powerhouse
🔗 Illinois REC Prices Published for Distributed Generation, Community Solar
🔗 New Map Details Ohio's Clean-Energy Economy
🔗 In Minnesota, Connecting Solar Projects to Grid Is About to Get Easier
🔗 Minnesota Solar Market Surges
🔗 Largest Energy Fair of Type in Nation Is This Weekend
Water Resource Management
🔗 Citizen-Scientists in Minnesota and Wisconsin Demand Action after Finding
🔗 DNR Makes It Easier to Address Water Quality in Agriculture
🔗 Auburn Leads Project to Improve Phosphorus Management on Farms
🔗 Dedicated Funding Flows to Worthy Minnesota Natural Resource Projects
🔗 Group That Filed Algae Lawsuit Seeks Comprehensive Cleanup Strategy
🔗 A Wave of Smart Water Solutions
🔗 Indiana Harbor Ship Canal Dredging Begins as Agencies Study Where to
Store Most Toxic Sediments
🔗 Research Focuses on Iowa as Mississippi River Nitrate Villain
🔗 Drought Contingency Response Network: June 5th Arkansas Natural
Agriculture
🔗 Iowa Ag Department Receives $1M Grant
🔗 Illinois Farmers Could Be Casualties in Escalating Trade War
🔗 Indiana Agriculture Law Foundation to Host Estate and Succession Planning Event
🔗 Minnesota Pig Farmers Fear Impact of Mexico Trade Dispute
🔗 It's Almost Strawberry Picking Time in Minnesota!
🔗 Local Representative Asks to Extend Herbicide Use
🔗 Arkansas Rice Still on Track Despite Storms, Difficult Spring
🔗 Modest Progress in Ag Conditions
🔗 Grant Will Help Address Farmers Market Issues
Biodiversity, Wildlife, and Invasive Species
🔗 Black Vultures: How Tennessee Deals with Them
🔗 Did You Know? Tennessee Has the Most Wildlife Diversity of Any Inland
🔗 Gypsy Moth Traps to Be Set
🔗 Study Continues Amid Confirmation of Invasive Species in Arkansas
🔗 Mississippi Catfish Are Going to the Birds - Cormorants, Others
🔗 Wright County Requiring Boat Inspections to Access Lakes
🔗 Recreational Activity Impacts Rare Wyoming Bird Population
🔗 Wildlife Officials Sample Sandusky River for Grass Carp
🔗 Say Hello to Big Seed
🔗 Tree-Killing Bug Returns to Ames
🔗 Restoring Forest Habitat Has Filled Missouri Forests with Birdsong Again
🔗 Don't Dump Your Bait, Including Crayfish and Minnows
🔗 Black Bears Becoming More Common Sight in Tennessee
Infrastructure
🔗 Studies: Climate Change Wreaking Havoc on Indiana's Infrastructure
🔗 The Mississippi River Lock and Dam System Is Critical to the Economy, but
🔗 Contaminated Water Systems in Cenla Can Lead to Crisis Similar to Flint
🔗 Additional $55.9 Million to Support Miss. Water Projects
🔗 Aging Infrastructure Challenges Missouri Cities
🔗 Preliminary Work Continues on Wisconsin Trail Project
Politics and People
🔗 Record Numbers of Women Are Running, But How Many Can Win?
🔗 The Rundown: Here's Where Things Stand as the Special Session Nears and More
🔗 Election Win Puts Democrats Close to Taking Wisconsin Senate
🔗 Transparency a Priority for New MO Governor
Selected Hearings
🔗 Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Oversight Hearing:
🔗 Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Markup: FY19 Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill - June 12th
🔗 Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Markup:
🔗 Senate Energy Subcommittee on Water and Power Legislative Hearing -
June 13th
🔗 Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works Hearing: "Innovation
🔗 Senate Environment Subcommittee on Superfund, Waste Management, and Regulatory Oversight Hearing: "Oversight of the Army Corps' Regulation of Surplus Water and the Role of States' Rights" - June 13th
🔗 Senate Committee on Appropriations Markup: FY19 Interior, Commerce, Justice, and Science, and Legislative Branch Appropriations Bills - June 14th
Other News
🔗 Kentucky to Receive Nearly $1 Million for Outdoor Recreation
🔗 Louisiana to Get $992,000 for Outdoor Recreation and Conservation
🔗 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Releases Work Plan for Fiscal 2018 Civil
🔗 GOP Must Find Courage to Stand Up to Trump's Ruinous Trade Tactics
🔗 Exclusive: Mexico Studies Tariffs on Billions of Dollars of U.S. Corn, Soy
e-Newsletters, Publications, Journals, Multimedia
🔗 "Mississippi Rising" by Scott St. George in Nature, vol. 556 (Apr. 2018)
🔗 "Rapid Climate Change-Induced Collapse of Hunter-Gatherer Societies in the Lower Mississippi River Valley between ca. 3300 and 2780 Cal. Year BP" by Tristram Kidder et al. in Science China Earth Sciences, vol. 61 (Feb. 2018)
🔗 "Can Data from Disparate Long-Term Fish Monitoring Programs Be Used to Increase Our Understanding of Regional and Continental Trends in Large River Assemblages?" by Timothy Counihan et al. in Public Library of Science One
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
