Congresswoman Betty McCollum (D-MN), Chair of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee, delivered the following remarks at the Subcommittee's hearing on the fiscal year 2020 budget request for the National Park Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, and U.S. Geological Survey:
Good afternoon, this hearing will come to order.
Today, the Interior-Environment Subcommittee continues our series of budget hearings for the fiscal year 2020, by looking more closely at three Interior bureaus.
Joining us this afternoon are Mr. Dan Smith, Deputy Director, National Park Service; Ms. Margaret Everson, Principal Deputy Director, Fish and Wildlife Service; and Dr. Jim Reilly, Director, US Geological Survey.
We are more than two years into the Trump Administration, and I am disappointed we do not have permanent directors for the Park Service or Fish and Wildlife Service.
However, I am pleased Mr. Smith came out of retirement in 2018 to become the deputy director of the National Park Service and is acting in the capacity of the director.
Ms. Everson was appointed to the position of Principal Deputy Director of the Fish and Wildlife Service in October 2018. She previously worked as Ducks Unlimited’s chief policy officer. We are pleased she is acting in the capacity of the director.
Dr. Reilly became the 17th Director of the U.S. Geological Survey in May 2018. Prior to joining the Department, Dr. Reilly, a former astronaut, served as a subject matter expert on space operations and as a technical advisor supporting the National Security Space Institute of the U.S. Air Force. He has also served as a U.S. Navy Reserve officer. We thank you for your service.
For fiscal year 2020, the Interior Department is seeking $11.4 billion for the bureaus and programs funded through the Interior appropriations bill, a 12 percent reduction from the 2019 enacted level. Unfortunately, that reduction increases as we narrow our focus and examine the individual Interior Bureaus.
Specifically, the FY 2020 budget requests:
* $2.7 billion for the National Park Service, a reduction of $481 million or 15 percent;
** meaning fewer Park Rangers helping visitors, and less attention to protecting natural habitats on our public lands.
* $1.3 billion for the Fish and Wildlife Service, a reduction of $250 million or 16 percent;
** Meaning less funding for endangered species, and for grants to assist States in protecting species and habitats.
* $983 million for the U.S. Geological Survey, a reduction of $177 million or 15 percent;
** This includes eliminating Environmental Health; cutting five of eight regional Climate Science Centers; and eliminating funding for Cooperative Research Units and Water Resources Research Institutes, both of which are pipelines for new scientists.
These cuts are part of larger Departmental reductions. For example, the Land and Water Conservation Fund is proposed at only $6 million. In FY 2019, we appropriated $435 million. It still puzzles me that the President signed the bill to permanently reauthorize the LWCF just one day after he released his 2020 budget that doesn’t fund it!
Reducing science investments, especially for climate science, makes no sense when the Fourth National Climate Assessment, released in November 2018 and produced by a team of more than 300 of the country’s top scientists, many from this Department, concludes that human activities are driving global climate change, and the impacts are already being felt in this country. We cannot escape climate change’s calling card when we witness extreme weather events, devastating storms and floods, and wildfires.
Despite the clarity of that message and the need to act now, the Department’s budget instead chooses to invest $25.3 million in an ill-advised reorganization proposal. Now, I am not opposed to shared services, finding efficiencies, and increasing collaboration and cooperation. But you don’t need to relocate to make those improvements. Nowhere in these budget justifications does it explain what the American taxpayers get for their money from a reorganization.
The funding levels in the Trump budget cause needless worry on the part of many Americans who care deeply about our public lands and the people who work to protect them. Our constituents see these cuts, thinking this is the final say, and imagine that the services and opportunities in our parks and our wildlife refuges, and the science we need to understand our world and anticipate natural hazards, will be severely curtailed. Tribal nations are also impacted by reductions in these bureaus.
Funding is eliminated in the Park Service for Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Grants and American Indian& Native Hawaiian Art and Culture Grants. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Tribal Wildlife Grants are eliminated. USGS Tribal Climate Adaptation Science is eliminated, and Tribal Water Cooperative Matching Funds are cut by 50%.
As we discussed with Mr. Cameron when he testified before this Subcommittee last week, this is not a thoughtfully constructed budget to help the Bureaus carry out their mission. These budgets were developed solely to hit an arbitrary allocation from OMB.
I hope our discussion this afternoon will provide a better understanding of the true needs of each of your bureaus, including staffing levels. Our goal as Appropriators is to produce a bill that will better reflect the will of our constituents and protect our natural and cultural resources for future generations.
Before hearing your opening statements, I would like to yield to our Ranking Member, Mr. Joyce, for any opening remarks he would like to make.
Source: U.S. Department of HCA
