Department Of Interior

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Office of the Secretary
Contact:Mark Pfeifle
For Immediate Release: Nov. 10, 2003
202-208-6416

 

Secretary Norton Lauds Congressional Support for Interior's 2004 Budget

 

(WASHINGTON) - Interior Secretary Gale Norton today applauded members of the United States Congress for their support of the Department's Appropriation Bill, which President Bush signed into law today.

The 2004 Interior budget provides $9.9 billion for the Department's programs and operations, which exceeds the 2003 level by 111.5 million and funds vital land, water, and wildlife management programs across the nation.

"We are pleased with Congress's support for our conservation vision," Secretary Norton said."The bill provides funding for major initiatives to improve national parks, build and restore Indian schools, improve forest and rangeland health, and suppress catastrophic wildlandfires. It also contains provisions to enhance traditional and renewable energy and to improve management of our wildlife refuges and other public lands."

Including a recent budget amendment of $99 million for fire, the President's budget request for discretionary appropriations for Department of the Interior programs in the Interior bill totaled $9.86 billion. The conference agreement is $58 million or 0.6 percent below the President's budget request. 

Budget highlights include the following:

·        For the second year, Congress has provided increases for Secretary Norton's Cooperative Conservation Initiative. The total 2004 appropriation for CCI is $110.3 million.  This is $18.9 million over 2003 and cumulatively $35.4 million over 2002. This includes an increase over 2003 of $4.8 million for the Fish and Wildlife Service's Partners for Fish and Wildlife program. 

·        The 2004 budget provides $497,000 for Take Pride in America - to rally citizens to become engaged through volunteerism and fund raising to leverage federal investments in conservation partnerships effectively and efficiently.

·        Congress provides $788 million for the Department's fire program, including $99 million to repay funds borrowed in 2003.  Suppression activities are funded at the ten-year average, and the bill continues robust funding of $185 million for fuels treatment.  

 For the Hazardous Fuels Reduction program, DOI will emphasize collaborative efforts to protect wildland urban interface communities. Fifty percent of on-the-ground fuels reduction monies will fund contracts to protect communities and aid local economies, and many of the fuels reduction contracts will be awarded to small, local companies.

·        The Congress funded the Department's request of $10 million in grants funding to help equip and train rural fire departments for wildfire preparedness and initial attack capability.

·        Funding for the NPS maintenance backlog is $704 million, comparable with the request.  Combined with DOT funding for roads, the 2004 program will provide over $1 billion to parks maintenance.

·        Congress provides $297 million, slightly more than the requested level for BIA education construction.  This investment supports the President's "No Child Left Behind" initiative and will allow us to replace school facilities at seven or more locations and address critical health and safety concerns at a number of other schools.

·        The 2004 appropriations provide $72 million for the Natural Resource Challenge - our program to improve the management of natural resources in parks.  This brings cumulative increases in the program since 2001 to $100.5 million.

·        The Congress funds federal land acquisition at $109 million, $34 million below the request.  The State grants component of LWCF is funded at $94 million, $66 million below the request.

·        Congress funds our unified Indian trust budget at $456 million. Congress limited funding for historical accounting to $45 million, $85 million below our request.  Bill language limits the scope of accounting in 2004 pending actions by Congress to amend the 1994 Trust Management Reform Act.

·        The budget for the Bureau of Land Management included increases for resource protection and restoration while also facilitating access for energy development, funding to reinvigorate forest health treatments, improve recreational opportunities, and services on public lands, and funding to strengthen law enforcement capabilities.

·        The budget for the Fish and Wildlife Service included increases for endangered species activities, refuge operations and maintenance, migratory birds, law enforcement programs and hatchery operations and maintenance.

·        For the National Park Service, Congress funded the majority of the $16.4 million increase for park base operations and the $14.3 million increase request for cyclic maintenance.

 

 

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