Clean Power Plan and the Clean Water Rule with much much more is all being debated right now on House floor ~~ (or watch C-SPAN here).
2016 Interior and Environment bill (House - Appropriations Committee Report: H. Rept. 114-170) is currently pending final vote on the House floor while further action remains to be seen from the Senate. Democrats have repeated calls to block appropriations bills that adhere to sequester-level spending limits. In a point-by-point document from EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT; OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET on June 23rd the Administration has reiterated its veto threat.
Betty McCollom [MN-4] of Appropriations committee is fighting to keep GOP amendments from de-fanging Endangered Species Act, privatizing unmanned aerial surveys (UAS) services that several federal agencies need to be able to do for themselves rather than being forced to contract the work in the private sector, etc.
H.R.2822 (bill Title: Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2016) is how the GOP wants to allow more mountain top removal with the tailing being dumped over the edge into the mountain valleys without regard for keeping the valley waters clean, there by causing more robust clusters of many illnesses that none of us want.
This bill Provides appropriations to cabinet level Departments of the Interior, Agriculture, Health and Human Services for:
Departments of the Interior:
the Bureau of Land Management,
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
the National Park Service,
the U.S. Geological Survey,
the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management,
the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement,
the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, and
Bureau of Indian Affairs and Bureau of Indian Education.
Provides appropriations to Interior for Departmental Offices, including the Office of the Secretary, Insular Affairs, the Office of the Solicitor, the Office of Inspector General, and the Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians.
Provides appropriations to Interior for Department-Wide Programs, including Wildland Fire Management, the FLAME Wildfire Suppression Reserve Fund, the Central Hazardous Materials Fund, the Natural Resources Damage Assessment Fund, and the Working Capital Fund.
Provides appropriations to the Environmental Protection Agency.
Provides appropriations to the Department of Agriculture for the Forest Service.
Provides appropriations to the Department of Health and Human Services for the Indian Health Service, the National Institutes of Health for the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.
Provides appropriations to:
the Executive Office of the President for the Council on Environmental Quality and the Office of Environmental Quality;
the Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board;
the Office of Navajo and Hopi Indian Relocation;
the Institute of American Indian and Alaska Native Culture and Arts Development;
the Smithsonian Institution;
the National Gallery of Art;
the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts;
the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars;
the National Foundation on the Arts and Humanities, including the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities;
the Commission of Fine Arts;
the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation;
the National Capital Planning Commission; and
U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.
Sets forth permissible, restricted, and prohibited uses for funds provided by this and other appropriations Acts. Rescinds specified amounts previously appropriated to agencies funded in this bill.
The coastal waters and ecosystems are at greater risk if this GOP bill is passed. By example, North Carolina agitates for prohibition of funds to be spent to slow &/or deny permits for Atlantic off-shore drilling; lease-sales are demanded by GOP in places that have not had relevant geological research and seismic mapping since the 1970's!
That's ancient times in the current scientific and technological reality. Chellie Pingree [ME-1], herself an Atlantic Coast state Member of Congress fought to refuse this ID10T demand by NC Republicans as she cited the necessity of current state-of-the-art scientific data before risking fisheries and tourism waters to ocean drillers.
Fracking continues with accelerated movement if this bill passes as GOP wants it.
Decrease funding of U.S. Forest Service research activities. Federal fire policy is impacted here as well as many, many more crucial issues in forestry and forest management. The debate on the House floor at this moment is on federal fire policy ("wildfires" ~~ let it burn or let no fire burn?) which is increasingly a huge national policy issue as biological, atmospheric weather, tourism and so many other effects are impacted by fire.
EPA’s Science and Technology accounts would either be flat-funded or reduced.
Forget about Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Limits for Power Plants if the GOP bill passes.
Endangered species (gray wolves) should be de-listed in Washington, Oregon, Idaho or not? GOP wants full de-listing instead of de-listing in some states and listing in other states. By de-listing, the burden of paying for wild life management of a de-listed species is thrown onto the individual states which is very expensive and often unrealistic because wild species cross state lines often and in no controlled corridors. Gray wolf is a keystone species and a sacred species for many, if not most, Native Indigenous people ( impacting tribal governments) etc. Tribal enforcement realities for hunting & poaching policies are greatly impacted when species are de-listed. Many states do not have state management plans for species that are de-listed. Lesser prairie chicken is next up for GOP to hammer at through de-listing. Earlier today trafficking in elephant ivory was similarly debated. About 6 species of mussels are next ... hint: mussels are food and tourism is impacted by whether mussels are present since the boating environment is changed when mussel habitat changes due changing water levels if mussels are or are not proteted.
From the preceding paragraph you can begin to see how many unintended consequences can cascade from this too often ignored Appropriations bill. It is not as sexy as Confederate Flag controversies and the like but This bill is huge in its impact on the lives of everyone who is a U.S. citizen, even more so for those who are enrolled in Tribes!
Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) Topline. The Administration opposes the $159 million, or 5 percent, reduction to BIA as compared to the FY 2016 Budget request. This funding level would limit DOI's ability to make key investments in education and wrap-around services to support Native youth, eliminating all increases to post secondary scholarships and $10 million for education program enhancement funds to allow Bureau of Indian Education to drive school improvement and reforms. The bill reduces funding for initiatives aimed at supporting tribal self-determination through the creation of a one-stop portal to facilitate access to Federal resources and funding to address data gaps in Indian Country, and the creation of an Office of Indian Affairs Policy, Program Evaluation, and Data to support effective, data-driven, tribal policy making and program implementation. In addition, this bill eliminates all increases to natural resources management on tribal lands, including funds to help tribal communities prepare for and respond to the impacts of climate change.
Clean Water Act (CWA): The Administration believes that the CWA provisions in the bill undermine efforts to protect America's clean water resources.
etc. etc. etc.
John Garamendi [CA-3] spoke eloquently for strong defense against climate change as cited Pope Francis' recent statements about the real threat of climate change and its consequences for victims of poverty, many main ideas of which are found in Laudato si' (24 May 2015) Encyclical Letter by Pope Francis “On Care for Our Common Home”.
Sheila Jackson Lee [TX-18] amendment for increasing urban reforestation just passed by voice vote -- YAY!
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Administration had requested a large 41 percent boost for a range of activities in the Climate and Land Use Change program in support of the President’s Climate Action Plan, carbon sequestration, and more.
The Ecosystems program would receive a small cut, whereas the Administration had called for a 12 percent increase to advance ecological and drought research in the WaterSMART program, as well as hydraulic fracturing and wind and solar renewable energy studies. Other USGS programs would remain flat.
C-SPAN did a short feature interview (5 minutes) a few days back about some of the main points of controversy.
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