Skip to main content
Congresswoman Betty McCollum logo

Chair McCollum’s $37.3B Interior-Environment Funding Bill Passes House

June 25, 2019

The House of Representatives passes a package of five appropriations bills (H.R. 3055)

Congresswoman Betty McCollum (DFL-Minn.), Chair of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies, released the following statement after the passage of the FY 20 Interior-Environment funding bill, part of a five-bill appropriations minibus, H.R. 3055:

"The FY 20 Interior-Environment funding bill rejects the dangerous cuts proposed by the Trump administration and instead invests billions in the health of our communities and the environment," Chair McCollum said. "With this bill, we are protecting and preserving our public lands and natural resources, ensuring clean and safe drinking water and protecting air quality, and honoring our federal trust and treaty responsibilities to Native American communities. This $37.3 billion funding bill confronts the Trump administration's policies of climate denial and begins to address the serious challenges climate change poses to the American people – today and in the future."

Among other measures, highlights of the $37.3 billion Interior-Environment funding bill include:

  • $9.52 billion for the EPA to ensure that all Americans have equal access to safe water to drink and clean air to breathe.
  • $13.79 billion for the Department of Interior to protect our National Parks, endangered species, and natural and cultural resources.
  • $10 billion to support and strengthen Indian Country programs to honor our trust and treaty responsibilities and improve health care, education, and public safety within Native American communities.
  • $167.5 million each for the National Endowment for the Arts and National Endowment for the Humanities to fund programs that enrich our culture, build community, and drive our local economy.
  • Throughout the bill, funding has been included to address climate change and build resiliency, restore funding for critical programs that suffered deep cuts by past GOP-controlled Congresses, as well as funding to conductoversight to hold the Trump administration accountable.

A fact sheet on the FY 20 Interior-Environment Appropriations bill can be found here. The text of the bill can be found here. The bill report can be found here.

H.R. 3055 also contains the FY 20 Commerce-Justice-Science, Agriculture and Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, and Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development funding bills, which contain important investments for the American people:

  • The Agriculture-Rural Development-FDA bill contains $24.3 billion in funding for rural community infrastructure, food programs for those in need, and medical product innovation and food and drug safety activities, including funding for cosmetics safety oversight.
  • The Commerce-Justice-Science bill includes $73.9 billion in funding to keep communities safe and prevent gun violence, promote civil rights, combat climate change, tackle the opioid epidemic, and more, including funding to ensure all persons are counted in the 2020 Decennial Census, as required by the Constitution.
  • The Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development bill contains $137.1 billion in funding to invest in America's infrastructure by improving transportation safety, protecting vulnerable populations, building resilience to climate change, and expanding access to safe, affordable, and fair housing.
  • The Military Construction and Veterans Affairs bill invests $46.4 billion to ensure our military has the facilities needed to meet current and emerging threats, veterans have access to the quality care and services they've earned, and families have access to clean and safe housing.

# # #