Summary: House Committee Action on the FY 2001 Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill

The House Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Committee reported the 2001 Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill on Thursday, May 25th by a vote of 31 to 22. Floor action is tentatively scheduled for the week of June 12.

The House mark is $7.2 billion for the Department of the Interior, a net decrease of $186.6 million, or 2.2 percent below the 2000 enacted level. It is $1.1 billion, or 13.5 percent, below the President's request.

FY 2000 Supplemental Funding — Fire Program. The House version of the bill includes $200 million for the Interior fire program ($100 million above the request) and $150 million for the USFS fire program. However, the regular 2001 appropriation for the Interior wildland fire operations is $5 million below enacted.

Lands Legacy Initiative/LWCF. Interior's portion of the Land's Legacy Initiative is funded at $155 million — less than one quarter of the total request of $735 million. This is $190 million below the enacted level and $581 million below the President's Budget request. Federal land acquisition is funded at $94 million, $169 million below the enacted level and $226 million below the President's request level of $320 million. The State grants portion of Lands Legacy is funded at $60 million, $20 million below the 2000 enacted level and $355 million below the request. Funding for specific components of the State grants portion of the initiative is discussed in detail below.

Land Management Operations. The bill provides $2.9 billion for land management operations for the Bureau of Land Management, the National Park Service and the Fish and Wildlife Service. While this is $111 million or 3.7 percent above the 2000 enacted level, it is $103 million or 3.4 percent below the President's budget request.

Construction. The construction programs of the Bureau of Land Management, the National Park Service, the Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs are cut $100 million below the enacted level in total. Within these totals, BIA school construction is $13.0 million below the 2000 enacted level and $180.3 million below the request. The President's request provides full funding for six schools on the new school priority list. The House mark assumes phased construction of these six schools.

Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). The House mark funds BIA at $1.9 billion, an increase of $11.8 million or 0.6 percent above the enacted level, but $320.1 million or 14.5 percent below the President's Budget request. The House mark does not provide fixed costs, redirects base funds from one program to another, and approves limited program increases for trust programs, the Rocky Boys water settlement and implementation of the NAPA recommendations. At the House mark level, BIA would be required to reduce and/or eliminate existing programs to maintain the majority of current services.

Office of Special Trustee (OST). The 2001 House mark for OST is $87.4 million, a decrease of $7.6 million below the enacted level and $7.7 million below the President's budget request. The House funds essentially all of the request for trust reform activities, but does not fund the $7.5 million increase requested for Indian land consolidation.

Science Programs. The House mark funds USGS at only $3.3 million over the enacted level, denying funding for new initiatives including the "State Planning Partnerships" component of Lands Legacy. Uncontrollable costs of $18.1 million are not funded in the House mark. The House mark funds $3.4 million of the $13.0 million requested for"DOI Science Priorities." These funds are to be used to fund high priority research needs of the Fish and Wildlife Service.

Abandoned Mine Lands. The House Committee mark does not provide the $14.4 million increase requested by the Administration for reclamation grants to States and Tribes. Instead, the House provides a $2.0 million increase for Pennsylvania to address reclamation and remediation needs in the anthracite region.

More details on funding levels and legislative provisions included in the bill follow.

APPROPRIATION FUNDING LEVELS
Lands Legacy

Lands Legacy: Federal Land Acquisition (Land and Water Conservation Fund)

$000	'00 Enacted	'01 Budget	House	H. +/- 00	H. +/- PB
BLM	45,750	60,900	19,000	-26,750	-41,900
FWS	61,938	111,632	30,000	-31,938	-81,632
NPS	140,775	147,500	45,000	-95,775	-102,468
NPS Maint.	5,000	N/A	N/A	-5,000	N/A
NPS Elwha	10,000	N/A	N/A	-10,000	N/A
Total	263,463	320,032	94,000	-169,463	-226,000
	-64.3%	-70.6%

Note: FY 2000 Enacted includes $20 million in Title VI funding distributed as follows: $5.8 million for BLM; 8.1 million for FWS; and $6.1 million for NPS. The FY 2000 enacted level for FWS also includes $1.25 million for the Werheim NWR that was included in a separate title of the FY 2000 Omnibus Appropriations Act.

The Federal land acquisition portion of the Lands Legacy Initiative receives $94.0 million compared to the request for $320.0 million, a 70.6 percent decrease. Only 34 of the 105 projects requested receive funding. A total of 14 projects ($20.1 million) were added by the House.

DOI's eight major LWCF theme areas receive $38.5 million, or 23.0 percent, of the requested $167.0 million in funds. The following displays the request and allocation for each theme area:

	Request	House
Southern California	$29.4	$7.0
Lower MS Delta	$6.0	$1.8
NJ/NY Watershed	$8.0	$2.5
Florida Everglades	$80.0	$15.0
Civil War Battlefields	$22.0	$7.2
Chesapeake Bay Watershed	$5.0	---
Lewis & Clark	$11.6	$3.0
Northern Forest	$5.0	$2.0
Total	$167.0	$38.5

A table displaying funding by major LWCF theme is attached. BLM receives $19.0 million of its $60.9 million request, with funding for only seven of 24 requested projects. Unfunded projects include: Catellus in California ($14.1 million); Japanese-American Relocation Centers in several States ($0.5 million); and Potrero Creek in California ($2.0 million).

FWS receives $30.0 million of the $111.6 million request, a decrease of 73.1 percent.

Only 14 of 46 requested projects received funding. Unfunded projects include Pelican Island NWR in Florida ($6.3 million) and Cat Island NWR in Louisiana ($4.0 million). Five projects were added on by the House, totaling $4.3 million.

The allocation for NPS is $45.0 million or 30.5 percent of the requested $147.5 million. Thirteen of the 35 requested line-item projects receive funding. Among the projects not funded are: Chesapeake Bay - Holly Beach Farm in Maryland; several Civil War Battlefields; Grand Teton NP in Wyoming ($10.0 million); Great Sand Dunes NM in Colorado ($8.5 million); Martin Luther King, Jr. NHS in Georgia ($1.5 million); Mojave (including Catellus) in California ($0.9 million); and Virgin Islands NP ($3.5 million). The Florida Everglades grant to the State of Florida was only partially funded ($10.0 million of the $47.0 million request). Seven projects were added on for a total of $7.9 million, including two Civil War battlefields and one Revolutionary War battlefield.

Please see attached list, "DOI FY 2001 LWCF" for detail.

Lands Legacy: State Grant Programs

$000	'00 Enacted	'01 Budget	House	H. +/-	H. +/-
State Planning Partnerships	---	50,000	---	N/A	-50,000
Non-Game Wildlife Grants	---	100,000	---	N/A	-100,000
NAWCF	14,900	30,000	15,499	542	-14,501
CESF	23,000	65,000	23,000	---	-42,000
UPRAR	2,000	20,000	2,000	---	-18,000
Land Cons. Grants	41,000	150,000	20,000	-21,000	-130,000
Total	80,900	415,000	60,499	-20,458	-354,501
	-25.3%	85.4%

Note: The FY 2000 Land Conservation Grants figure includes $1.0 million in State Grants administration appropriated in the NPS land acquisition account.

The State grants portion of the Lands Legacy Initiative receives $60.5 million of the $415.0 million requested or 14.6 percent of the funds. The new initiatives of non-game wildlife grants in FWS and State planning partnerships in USGS receives no funding.

UPARR and the Cooperative Endangered Species program are funded at the 2000 enacted level, a combined decrease of $60.0 million from the President's request. The Cooperative Endangered Species program is discussed further below.

While the North American Wildlife Conservation Fund receives $500,000 more than the 2000 enacted level, LWCF stateside land conservation grants are reduced $21.0 million from the 2000 enacted level and are $130.0 million lower than the 2001 request. Bill language requires that the land conservation grants only be used for land acquisition, not wider planning and recreation purposes.

Lands Legacy: Cooperative Endangered Species Fund

$000	'00 Enacted	'01 Budget	House	H +/- PB
State Grants	7,250	41,048	7,250	33,
HCP Land Acq.	15,000	21,125	15,000	-6,125
Cons. Plg. Asst	---	1,625	0	-1,625
Admin/Planning	480	1,202	480	-722
Total	23,000	65,000	23,000	-42,000
	-65.0%

The House mark funds the Cooperative Endangered Species Fund at the 2000 enacted level, $42 million, or 65 percent below the President's Budget. This request is a key component of the Administration's Lands Legacy initiative aimed at helping states and communities preserve habitat and species. Grants to States are reduced by $33.5 million from the request; Habitat Conservation Planning Land Acquisition grants are reduced by $6.1 million; and administrative/planning assistance programs are reduced by $2.3 million.

Land Management Operations

National Park Service Operations

$000	'00 Enacted	'01 Budget	House	H. +/- 00	H. +/- PB
NPS Operations	1,363,764	1,454,098	1,425,617	61,853	-28,481
	+4.5%	-2.0

The bill provides $1.4 million for NPS Operations, a decrease of $28.5 million, or 2.0 percent below the President's request. The bill fully funds the requested increase of $28.4 million for uncontrollable and fixed costs.

The Committee mark provides an increase of $24.0 million for park specific increases, the same as the request and specifies that not less than $2.0 million of total ONPS funds are to be spent on high priority projects to be carried out by the Youth Conservation Corps.

The House funds $9.4 million of the $18.5 million increase requested for the NPS Natural Resources Challenge Initiative.

The House adopts the Administration's proposed change in budget structure, establishing a new subactivity for the United States Park Police. The House funds the Park Police at $75.6 million, $800,000 less than the amount requested.

The Committee agrees to release the $20.0 million previously appropriated for park housing rehabilitation and trailer replacement and provides $5.0 million in new funding. The funds are only to be used for the specific housing projects in the January, 2000 NPS Housing Report.

Fish and Wildlife Service Operations

$000	'00 Enacted	'01 Budget	House	H. +/- 00	H. +/- PB
Resource Mgt	714,543	761,938	731,400	+16,857	-30,538
	+2.4%	-4.0%

The House funds the FWS operating account at $731.4 million, which is $16.9 million above 2000 enacted, but $30.5 million below the Administration's request. Uncontrollable cost increases are fully funded. The House does not fund requested increases of $11.7 million for Law Enforcement or $11.1 million for Alaska Subsistence.

The National Wildlife Refuge System is funded at $281.6 million which is $20.5 million above 2000 enacted and $600,000 above the Administration's request. The amount provided for operations is $3.5 million below the request and the amount provided for maintenance is $4.5 above the request.

The House mark provides $112.4 million for endangered species operations which is $2.9 million below the request (details follow in the next section).

The Habitat Conservation program is funded at $74.7 million which is $3.3 million above 2000 enacted and $1.2 million above the request. The increase over 2000 enacted includes $2.0 million requested for invasive alien species control, but does not include requested increases for FERC relicensing and CALFED. The House provides funding not requested by the President of $1.1 million for the State of Washington bull trout research, $500,000 for the Columbia River Estuary Research program and $400,000 to establish field offices in the Tampa Bay area and the Florida Panhandle.

The National Fish Hatchery Program is funded at $42.7 million, which is $400,000 below the request. The House agrees to the Administration's proposal to direct fund the Lower Snake River Compensation Plan through the Bonneville Power Administration, a reduction of $11.7 million from 2000 enacted. Fisheries and Wildlife Management is funded at $27.1 million, $12.5 million below the request. Requested increases of $11.1 million for Alaska subsistence, $1.8 million for the Klamath River Flow Study, and $1.0 million for Trinity restoration are not funded. The House provides funding not requested by the President of $1.0 million for whirling disease research and $400,000 for Great Lakes fish and wildlife restoration.

The House mark does not fund the $3.2 million increase requested for International affairs programs for CITIES/permit processing and Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation, or the $1.8 million requested for the Klamath River Flow Study.

The House provides that not less than $2.0 million is available for high priority Youth Conservation Corps projects.

FWS Endangered Species Program

$000	'00 Enacted	'01 Budget	House	H. +/- 00	H. +/- PB
Cand. Conserv.	7,388	8,447	7,144	-244	-1,303
Listing	6,208	7,195	6,395	+187	-800
Consultation/HCP	32,342	39,400	39,206	+6,864	-194
Recovery	57,363	55,297	55,297	-2,701	-635
Landowner Inc.	4,981	4,981	4,981	---	---
Total	108,282	115,320	112,388	+4,106	-2,932
	+3.8%	-2.5%

The House mark provides $112.4 million for endangered species operations, $4.1 million above the enacted level and $2.9 million below the request. The request includes a general increase of $6.6 million for consultation and habitat conservation plans. The House $1.0 million for Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan.

Requested program increases for the Candidate Conservation and Listing programs are not funded. The Recovery program is funded at $54.7 million, $600,000 below the request.

The House includes a general increase for the recovery program of $400,000 and provides funding not requested by the President of an additional $500,000 for Florida manatee protection (total of $1.0 million), $500,000 for the Bruneau Hot Springs Snail and $400,000 for the Preble's Meadow Jumping Mouse.

Bureau of Land Management Operations

$000	'00 Enacted	'01 Budget	House	H. +/- 00	H. +/-PB
BLM Operations	742,909	819,458	775,038	+32,129	-44,420
	+.04%	-.05%

NOTE: "Operations" includes BLM's Management of Lands and Resources and Oregon and Ca. Grant Lands accounts.

The House mark provides the $9.0 million increase requested for updating BLM land use plans. The Committee directs the BLM to reallocate these funds for the highest priority land management plans based on the Bureaus' planning priority list.

The House mark provides none of the $16.0 million increase requested for management of monuments, NCAs, Headwaters Forest, Otay Mountain wilderness, WSRs, and the Lewis and Clark trail. From this amount, national monuments were slated to receive an increase of $4.8 million.

Among BLM's requested increases for restoration of the public lands, only the increase for the wild horse and burro management program was funded, at +$9.0 million. Not included in the House mark are increases requested for other restoration objectives, including the Clean Water Action Plan (+$3.5 million) and invasive weed management (+$1.5 million). None of the $3.0 million increase requested to survey and manage special status species is included in the O&C account.

Wildland Fire Management

$000	'00 Enacted	'01 Budget	House	H. +/- 00	H. +/- PB
Preparedness	175,850	182,090	182,090	+6,240	---
Operations	115,107	115,107	110,107	-5,000	-5,000
Total	292,282	297,197	292,197	+1,240	-5,000
	+.00%	-.01%

The House provides an additional $200.0 million funding for 2000, contingent upon a declaration of emergency by the President.

However, the House reduces wildland fire operations $5.0 million below the request for 2001.

Native American Programs

Bureau of Indian Affairs

$000	'00 Enacted	'01 Budget	House	H. +/- 00	H. +/- PB
BIA	1,869,052	2,200,956	1,880,861	+11,809	-320,095
				+0.6%	-14.5%

The House mark funds BIA at $1.9 billion, an increase of $11.8 million or 0.6 percent above the enacted level, but $320.1 million or 14.5 percent below the President's budget request. The mark approves requested transfers, does not fund fixed costs, and redirects base funding from one program to another.

Program increases totaling $48.4 million were requested in the 2001 Tribal Priority Allocations (TPA) budget request for critical programs such as contract support, housing improvement, trust services and road maintenance. The only increases provided are for trust services programs. The House mark reduces base funding for the Housing Improvement Program by $7.0 million to help provide $7.6 million in program increases for the following trust programs: probate (+$3.0 million), real estate services (+$3.5 million) and appraisals (+$1.1 million). Overall, TPA funding is increased by only $1.5 million over 2000 enacted.

An increase of $39.7 million over 2000 enacted was requested for elementary and secondary school operations to maintain academic accreditation, provide safe transportation, and serve an anticipated increase in the school population. The House mark provides an increase of $4.8 million over 2000 enacted for school operations -- a one-percent increase. This funding increase would not cover anticipated teacher salary and transportation cost increases. $1.0 million of the $2.9 million increase requested for the 25 Tribally Controlled Community Colleges is provided.

The House mark does not provide additional funding for the third year of the Presidential Initiative on Law Enforcement in Indian Country. However, the $4.0 million increase requested for implementation of the National Academy of Public Administration recommendations is provided.

To ensure trust management improvements are sustained, the 2001 request included program increases totaling $35.1 million for several trust programs. In addition to the increases described above under TPA, the House mark provides additional funding for the following trust programs: $4.5 million for real estate services, $2.4 million for land titles and records offices, and $1.0 million for land records improvement.

The House mark reduces the Construction appropriation by $13.0 million below 2000 enacted and $181.5 million or 50 percent below the request. The entire reduction is taken from base school construction funds. The House provides incremental funding to begin phased construction of six replacement schools.

The Indian Land and Water Claim Settlements Appropriation is funded at the request level. Therefore, $8.0 million is provided for the Rocky Boys Water Settlement, and the Ute Indian Rights Settlement is continued at the $24.9 million level.

Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians

$000	'00 Enacted	'01 Budget	House	H. +/- 00	H. +/- PB
OST	95,025	95,129	87,428	-7,597	-7,701
	-8.6%	-8.8%

The 2001 House mark for the Office of the Special Trustee is $87.4 million, a decrease of $7.7 million or 8.8percent below the President's budget request and $7.6 million below the 2000 enacted level. The House funds the request for trust reform activities.

The House reduces Executive Direction by $200,000 and does not fund the requested $7.5 million increase for Indian land consolidation to expand the land consolidation program to address fractionation of Indian Lands.

Safe Visits: Maintenance and Construction

Maintenance

$000	'00 Enacted	'01 Budget	House	H. +/- 00	H. +/- PB
BLM	65,390	70,487	67,027	1,637	-3,460
USGS	27,830	39,305	27,830	0	0
NPS	432,556	449,746	446,661	14,105	-3,085
Total	588,463	614,092	608,772	20,309	-3,845
	+3.5%	-0.8%

Note: The BLM estimates include the Wildland Fire figure of $9.270 million in both FY 2000 enacted and FY 2001 request.

The House provides an increase for maintenance funding (based on preliminary estimates for BLM, USGS, and FWS) of $20.3 million over the enacted level, but a decrease below the request of $3.8 million.

The National Park Service does not receive funding for condition assessments and maintenance management systems ($3.0 million requested). BIA is level funded for these two items.

Construction

$000	'00 Enacted	'01 Budget	House	H. +/- 00	H. +/- PB
BLM	11,196	11,200	5,300	-5,896	-5,900
FWS	53,528	44,231	48,395	-5,133	4,164
NPS	226,165	180,000	150,000	-76,161	-29,996
BIA, Education	133,199	300,499	120,199	-13,000	-180,300
BIA, Other	64,205	65,413	64,205	0	-1,208
Total	488,293	601,343	388,103	-100,190	-213,240
	-20.5%	35.5%

Construction funding is $388.1 million, a decrease of $100.2 million and 20.5 percent from the 2000 enacted level and a decrease of $213.2 million and 35.5 percent from the 2001 request.

BLM receives funding for only one project of the eight requested, the Grand Staircase Escalante NM Science Center ($5.8 million) in Utah. In FWS, 24 of the 27 requested projects receive funding. NPS receives funding for 26 of the 34 projects requested. NPS projects not funded include: the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia: the Jacob Riis natatorium in New York; two projects in Keweenaw, Michigan; Carter Barron and Meridian Hill projects in Washington, DC; and the Virgin Islands Environmental and Resource Center. BIA received a $13.0 million reduction in its education construction programs and the 2000 enacted level of $64.2 million in other BIA construction programs.

In total, 13 projects were added on in the House, totaling $13.4 million.

Please see attached list, "FY 2001 Construction," for detail.

Science Programs

U.S. Geological Survey

$000	'00 Enacted	'01 Budget	House	H. +/- 00	H. +/- PB
USGS	813,376	895,379	816,676	+3,300	-78,703
	+0.04%	-0.9%

The House mark provides $3.3 million over the enacted level for the USGS. The House does not include any funding for a new initiative — the "State Planning Partnerships" component of Lands Legacy. Uncontrollable costs of $18.1 million are not funded in the House mark.

Within this total, the Committee measure partially funds increases requested for Real Time Hazards Warnings ($3.2 million of the $7.1 million request), amphibian research and monitoring ($500,000 of the $2.0 million request) and Cooperative Research Units ($300,000 of the $700,000 request). The mark also provided modest increases of $500,000 each for GAP analysis and the Cooperative Geologic Mapping program. Much larger increases for both of these programs were included in USGS's State Planning Partnerships initiative. The Committee also included unrequested increases of $1.0 million to initiate a comprehensive, multi-disciplinary coastal program; $400,000 for Water Resources Research Institutes; and $500,000 for deferred maintenance that the Committee earmarked for the Wellsboro (PA) lab.

The House mark funds $3.4 million of the $13.0 million requested for "DOI Science Priorities." These funds are to be used to fund high priority research needs of the Fish and Wildlife Service. The Committee offset this increase with a corresponding decrease to base funding for the Hazard Support System (HSS), and included report language expressing its displeasure over the Survey's decision to expand its support for the HSS without Congressional approval.

The mark also restored a number of the programmatic decreases that were included in the USGS budget request. One such restoration includes the "Ohio View" or "Gateway to the Earth"pilot. The Committee restored funding for the program to $3.0 million, and directs that $750,000 of the funding be used to support four new partnerships for what the Committee report describes as taking the first steps in transforming the Gateway pilot project to a national program.

The mark does not provide funding for the $5.0 increase USGS requested to assume Landsat-7 mission operations responsibilities.

Crosscutting and Regional Initiatives

Everglades Watershed Restoration

$000	'00 Enacted	'01 Budget	House	H. +/- 00	H. +/- PB
Everglades	145,316	143,756	73,256	-72,060	-70,500
	-49.6%	-49.9%

The bill provides $2.0 million of the $30.0 million requested for FWS refuge land acquisition and $3.0 million of the $5.0 million requested for NPS land acquisition.

The House provided only $10.0 million of the $47.0 million requested for the grant to the State of Florida.

The bill contains language requiring the concurrence of the Secretary of the Interior in regulations for management of the Central and Southern Florida Water Project. The language is substantially the same as that contained in the Administration's WRDA 2000 proposal. The bill also contains language prohibiting land acquisition in the Eight and One Half Square Mile Area.

Forest Plan for the Pacific Northwest

$000	'00 Enacted	'01 Budget	House	H. +/- 00	H. +/- PB
Forest Plan	67,959	71,233	68,074	+115	-3,000
	+0.0%	-.004%

The House did not provide any of the $3.0 million increase requested to survey and manage special status species included in BLM's O&C account.

Amphibian Monitoring and Research

$000	'00 Enacted	'01 Budget	House	H. +/- 00	H. +/- PB
USGS	3,500	5,500	4,000	+500	-1,500
FWS	448	448	---	---	---
NPS	1,000	1,000	---	---	---
BLM	100	100	---	---	---
Total	5,048	7,048	4,000	+500	-1,500

Detailed information by Bureau under review.

Invasive Species

$000	'00 Enacted	'01 Budget
BLM	7,950	9,450
USGS	5,000	7,000
FWS	9,348	11,662
NPS	2,300	4,581
BIA	1,978	1,994
OIS	2,350	2,350
Total	28,926	37,037

Detailed information by Bureau under review.

Coral Reefs

$000	'00 Enacted	'01 Budget	House
OIA	500	500	500
USGS	1,260	3,260	---
FWS	1,250	2,750	---
NPS	1,600	3,600	---
Total	4,610	10,110	500

NOTE: FY 2001 Request for FWS includes $1.25 million for FWS Land acquisition request for Palmyra Atoll.

Detailed information by Bureau under review.

Other Bureaus, Offices, and Programs

Office of Surface Mining

$000	'00 Enacted	'01 Budget	House	H. +/- 00	H. +/- PB
Reg. and tech.	95,860	98,076	97,753	+1,893	-323
AML	195,873	211,158	197,873	+2,000	-13,285
Total	291,733	309,234	295,626	+3,893	-13,608
	+1.3%	-4.4%

The House mark funds OSM at $295.6 million, an increase of $3.9 million over the enacted level, but $13.6 million below the request. At this reduced level, the mark appears to partially fund OSM's uncontrollable cost increases and partially fund the $541,000 increase requested for State Regulatory Grants, which would address primacy States' increasing costs of effectively conducting their regulatory programs.

The House mark does not support the requested $14.4 million increase for AML state and tribal reclamation grants, which included a $2.0 increase requested for the Appalachian Clean Streams Initiative. Instead, the mark contains unrequested bill language earmarking the increase expressly for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to address reclamation and AMD remediation in its anthracite coal region.

Minerals Management Service

$000	'00 Enacted	'01 Budget	House	H. +/- 00	H. +/- PB
Direct Approps.	116,318	130,246,	133,318	+17,000	+3,072
Offset Collect.	124,000	117,410	107,000	-17,000	-10,140
Total	240,318	247,656	240,318	0	-7,068
Direct Apps.	14.6%	+2.4%
Total Resources	0%	-2.9%

In terms of total budgetary resources (both appropriations and offsetting receipts), the House mark funds MMS at slightly below 2000 enacted level. As a result MMS will absorb $6.6 million in uncontrollable cost increases.

The House mark also denies funding increases requested to modernize MMS' Geologic Interpretive Tools technology, which is used in the bid evaluation process, and to accelerate the processing of royalty appeals in accordance with the short deadlines under the Royalty Simplification and Fairness Act.

The House does not accept MMS's proposed reduction of $600,000 to complete the phase-out of the Centers for Marine Resources and Environmental Technology.

The House mark reduces MMS's dependence on offsetting receipts by $17.0 million, commensurate with the projected decrease in lease rental payments that MMS is currently authorized to retain, and fills the void with a corresponding increase of $17.0 million in direct appropriations.

Language is also added to provide MMS greater flexibility in operating the royalty-in-kind pilot program by allowing MMS to use a portion of revenues from sales of oil and gas received under this program to pay for the costs, such as transportation and processing costs, of bringing these products to the wholesale market.

NPS National Recreation and Preservation

$000	'00 enacted	'01 Budget	House	H. +/- 00	H. +/- PB
NR&P	53,399	68,648	49,956	-3,443	-18,692
	+6.4%	+27.2%

The bill provides $49.9 million for NPS Natural Recreation and Preservation, a decrease of $18.7 million below the President's request.

The $49.9 million appropriation is to carry out recreation programs, natural programs, cultural programs, heritage partnership programs, environmental compliance and review, international park affairs, statutory or contractual aid for other activities, and grant administration.

The House funds $3.3 million in Statutory or Contractual Aid, a reduction of $1.2 million from the request. The bill includes an increase of $500,000 for National Constitution Center in Pennsylvania, $300,000 for a National First Ladies Library, but does not provide the $1.2 million requested for the Chesapeake Bay Gateway.

The Committee funds the Urban Parks and Recreation program at $2.0 million, $18.0 million below the request.

NPS Historic Preservation Fund

$000	'00 Enacted	'01 Budget	House	H. +/- 00	H. +/- PB
Historic Pres.	44,793	42,072	41,347	-3,446	-724
Millennium Fund	30,000	30,000	0	-30,000	-30,000
Total	74,793	72,071	41,347	-33,446	-30,724
	-4.5%	-4.3%

The House provides $41.3 million for the Historic Preservation Fund, $30.7 million below the request. The House mark fully funds the amounts requested for State Historic Preservation Offices and Tribal Grants, but slightly decreases the amount requested for Historically Black Colleges and Universities. The House does not fund the "Save America's Treasures" program ($30.0 million requested).

Payments in Lieu of Taxes

$000	'00 Enacted	'01 Budget	House	H. +/- 00	H. +/- PB
PILT	134,385	135,000	134,385	---	-615
	+0.0%	-0.0%

The House mark provides $615,000 less than the Administration's request for the Payments in Lieu of Taxes program.

Office of Insular Affairs

$000	'00 Enacted	'01 Budget	House	H. +/- 00	H. +/- PB
OIA	90,482	94,436	90,216	-266	-4,2220
	+0.3%	-4.4%

NOTE: Estimates include mandatory appropriations. FY 2000 excludes American Somoa Loan Subsidy amount of $3.097 million.

The House mark covers OIA's uncontrollable cost increases ($146,000) and an increase ($154,000) requested to strengthen OIA's grant management and oversight capabilities. The House measure supports a $1.0 million request in technical assistance to help the insular areas in implementing financial management reforms and economic development, but rejects OIA's proposal to target the resources to the Virgin Islands in 2001. The House also rejected a proposed advance appropriation of $10.0 million for Virgin Islands construction.

The mark includes a number of unrequested increases including $200,000 for the Enewetak food support program; an earmark of $700,000 for a payment to the Prior Service Benefits (PSB)Trust Fund; and up to $300,000 for a transfer to the Federal Emergency Management Administration to partially cover the Virgin Island's interest costs on an outstanding disaster assistance loan.

The House accepted the proposed reduction of $3.0 million in discretionary funding provided to Guam in 2000 for impact of Compact assistance, but it did not support offsetting this decrease with a $5.4 million net increase in mandatory Covenant grant funding for the same purpose, as proposed in the President's Budget.

Departmental Offices

$000	'00 Enacted	'01 Budget	House	H. +/- 00	H. +/- PB
Dept Mgt.	62,706	64,469	62,406	-300	-2,063
SOL	40,196	43,952	40,196	---	-3,756
IG	26,086	28,859	26,086	---	-2,773
NRDA	5,374	5,403	5,374	---	-29
Total	134,362	142,683	134,062	-300	-8,621
	-0.2%	-6.0%

The House does not provide the uncontrollable cost increases requested for Departmental Management. The bill does not fund requests to pay for consolidation of Department financial data ($180,000), Department-level auditing of corrections to Indian trust funds ($165,000), funds to support the development of information technology architecture ($250,000), nor funds to support electronic data security ($175,000). In addition, mandatory workers compensation payments to Bureau of Mines former employees are funded at $300,000 less than the outstanding bill.

For the Office of the Solicitor, the House Committee bill does not allow for pay or other uncontrollable costs of $1.4 million or the requested $2.4 million to convert 19 reimbursable positions to direct funding.

For the Office of the Inspector General, the bill does not allow for pay or other uncontrollable costs totaling $1.5 million or the requested $618,000 for five additional auditors or $645,000 for five additional investigators. All three bureaus face possible reductions in force at these funding levels. The Natural Resources Damage and Recovery program also did not receive its request to offset uncontrollable costs.

MAJOR LEGISLATIVE LANGUAGE ITEMS
FY 2001 Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill:

Everglades. The bill contains language requiring the concurrence of the Secretary of the Interior in regulations for management of the Central and Southern Florida Water Project. The language is substantially the same as that contained in the Administration's WRDA 2000 proposal. (Bill Language — NPS/Land Acquisition)

OCS Moratoria. The bill includes the President's proposal to continue the moratoria on Outer Continental Shelf leasing that has appeared in the Interior and Related Agencies Act for a number of years. However, the language does not include the reference proposed in the budget to the President's moratorium statement of June 12, 1998. (House §107-110)

BLM Grazing Permit Renewals. Requires the renewal by the BLM of grazing permits and leases expiring in 2001 until the Secretary completes processing of the permit or lease application. (House §116)

Administrative Law Judges/Indian Probate. The House continues last year's authority to hire individuals other than ALJs on a temporary basis to render Indian probate decisions and reduce the backlog of Indian probate cases. (House §117)

Prohibition on Establishing Kankakee NWR (IL). The bill continues last year's provision limiting establishment of the Kankakee refuge in Indiana that is inconsistent with the Corps of Engineer's efforts to control flooding and siltration in that area. (House §119)

Prohibition on Establishing North Delta NWR (CA). The bill prohibits establishment of the proposed North Delta Refuge in the Yolo Bypass area in the Central Valley of California. (House §122)

American Heritage Rivers. The bill continues a 2000 prohibition on funds being used to support CEQ or other Executive Office of the President functions for purposes related to the American Heritage Rivers program. (House §327)

Prohibition on Use of Answering Machines. The bill continues a prohibition on the use of answering machines by all agencies funded by the bill during core business hours except in emergency situations. (House §328)

Tribal Contracting and Compacting Moratorium. The House includes language continuing the moratorium - imposed in 1999, but not 2000 - on Tribes assuming additional duties through new or expanded P.L. 93-638 contracts, grants and self-governance compacts. The moratorium applies to all agencies funded in the bill, but makes an exception for BIA's education construction program. (House §331)

Interior Columbia Basin Ecosystem Management Project (ICBEMP). The House bill prohibits the use of funds to implement the final record of decision for the Interior Columbia Basin Ecosystem Management Project unless BLM and the Forest Service comply with rulemaking procedures under the Regulatory Flexibility Act. Imposition of this new requirement will prevent completion of the project during the Clinton Administration. (House §334)

Monument Designations - Ban on Funding. The bill prohibits spending on the four new monuments established this ear, as well as on any additional monuments that the President may designate. (House §335)

All amounts are current dollars.
All years referred to are fiscal years unless otherwise noted.

The House Subcommittee reported the bill on May 17, 2000.
The Full Committee reported the bill on May 24, 2000 by a vote of 31 to 22.
House Floor action is tentatively scheduled for the week of June 12.