WASHINGTON - Congresswoman Nita M. Lowey (D-NY), Chair of the House Appropriations Committee, delivered the following remarks at the Committee's markup of the fiscal year 2021 Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies bill:
I thank Chair McCollum and Ranking Member Joyce for your work on this bill as well as the staff for your efforts to review member requests and craft the product before us.
House Democrats reject the Trump administration’s pandering to the fossil fuel industry at the expense of the environment and our public lands. Instead, we will promote solutions that preserve our landscapes, protect endangered species, and help prevent the worst impacts of climate change.
The Fiscal Year 2021 Interior Appropriations bill would fulfill these obligations by investing:
* $9.37 billion for EPA, an increase of $318 million, including an increase of $13 million for Superfund;
* $3.2 billion, an increase of $55 million, for the National Parks Service; and
* $170 million for both the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
EPA’s geographic programs serve to protect the health of the American public as well as our most important ecosystems, which enables both enhanced recreational and business opportunities. When I first came to Congress, I promised to clean up the Long Island Sound. I’m proud to have secured record levels of funding to rehabilitate this precious resource in the Lower Hudson Valley, including $30.4 million in this bill today for the Long Island Sound Regional Program.
I look forward to moving this bill to the Floor of the House of Representatives. I urge all members to support it.
Source: U.S. Department of HCA
