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House Republicans on Wednesday passed what is expected to be the final government funding bill before August recess, proposing steep cuts for the Environmental Protection Agency�s budget for fiscal year 2025.

The annual Department of Interior and EPA funding bill passed 210-205 late Wednesday. Democrats have come out in staunch opposition to the measure
over proposed cuts to the EPA and other areas like the National Park
Service, the Smithsonian and National Gallery of Art.

The bill�s narrow passage comes as House Republicans� ambitious hopes of passing all 12 annual government funding bills by the August recess have crumbled. House leadership canceled votes on three other funding bills
this week, including yanking one off the floor at the last minute Tuesday night, and announced Wednesday they would begin their annual summer recess
a week early.

GOP leadership on Wednesday night could be seen talking with members
during the vote as the tally appeared touch and go at certain points.

�Well they had whipped it pretty much. They called and just wanted to talk
it through, which was good. It ended up swaying a lot of people,� Rep.
Ralph Norman (R-S.C.), a hardline conservative that had previously been undecided on the bill before backing it on Wednesday night, told The Hill.

However, he also voiced frustration with some proposed amendments offered
by conservatives that went down during the vote.

Five Republicans voted against the legislation, while one Democrat was in favor.

The bill faces tough odds in the Democratic-led Senate in its current
form. But it helps provide a starting place for Republicans ahead of
eventual funding negotiations with the upper chamber.

In remarks from the House floor this week, Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho),
head of the subcommittee that crafted the bill, acknowledged that �cutting funding is never easy, but with the national debt totaling nearly $35
trillion and inflation at an unacceptable level, we had to make tough
choices in this bill to rein in unnecessary discretionary spending.�

�This legislation prioritizes critical needs and addresses specific
interests and concerns brought to our attention through more than 8,800
Member requests,� he said, while also noting that the bill �takes critical steps to reduce regulatory burdens imposed by the EPA and promote domestic energy production.�

He also defended the bill as a measure that �permanently fixes wildland firefighter pay, helps manage our public lands wisely, upholds our
commitments to Indian country, and restores the fiscal responsibility
necessary to get our economy back on track.�

The bill�s funding levels called for an overall decrease compared to
current spending levels, with a GOP summary outlining a 20 percent cut to
EPA funding, cuts upwards of 8 percent for the Bureau of Land Management
and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, while also eliminating funding for
the Presidio Trust and slashing dollars for the Council on Environmental Quality.

At the same time, Republicans have pointed to funding boosts for the
Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Wildland Fire Management and the Abandoned
Mine Reclamation Fund.

Democrats sharply criticized the proposed cuts and argued the bill
inadequately addresses climate change.

�Climate change is a clear and present danger, and experts agree that we
must take bold action to avoid major, irreversible catastrophe,� Rep.
Chellie Pingree (D-Maine), top Democrat on Simpson�s subcommittee, said on
the floor this week. �So, I am greatly disappointed and frustrated by the
bill before us that completely disregards the reality of a warming planet
and ignores the need for us to do more, not less.�

�This bill abandons our most vulnerable groups that currently bear a disproportionate share of negative environmental impacts, which includes
large swaths of rural communities that I, and many of my colleagues across
the aisle, represent,� she added.

She also pointed to what she and Democrats have described as �poison pill� riders in the bill, as Republicans have pursued a list of partisan
provisions to lock down support in the conference across their 12 funding
bills � but at the expense of backing from the other side of the aisle.

https://thehill.com/homenews/house/4791709-government-funding-epa-
interior/

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