SENATE APPROPS BILL WOULD SLIGHTLY BOOST EPA FUNDING

Tamar Hallerman
GHG Monitor
09/28/12

Senate appropriators put forward a draft FY2013 spending bill for federal Interior-Environment programs earlier this week that would slightly boost funding for the Environmental Protection Agency above the Obama Administration’s request and currently enacted levels. Released by the Senate Appropriations Committee’s Interior-Environment Subcommittee Sept. 25, the spending bill would fund the EPA at $8.51 billion for FY2013, roughly 2 percent above the Obama Administration’s request and more than $66 million higher than current levels. Within that allocation, the Senate mark would slightly cut funding for climate research and pollution control programs compared to the Administration’s request. The draft would also trim funding for EPA’s Underground Injection Control program, which issues CO2 injection permits for enhanced oil recovery and deep saline storage operations, compared to the Administration’s request to $10.85 million, equal the program’s currently enacted funding level.

Interior-Environment Subcommittee Chairman Jack Reed (D-R.I.) and Ranking Member Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) released the draft bill three days after the chamber cleared a stop-gap measure to fund the government through the end of March, effectively punting any major debates surrounding the federal budget until the new year. In a joint statement, the two acknowledged the Continuing Resolution but expressed hope that the Senate’s draft bill could serve as a springboard for budget negotiations come next year. “While Congress has passed a short-term continuing resolution, we hope this final draft document will serve as a roadmap as discussions continue to finalize a responsible, balanced fiscal year 2013 appropriations bill,” the two said in a joint statement. “We will continue working together, with our colleagues and our House counterparts, to turn this draft into law.”

The bipartisan Senate measure takes a radically different spending approach compared to the House version of the FY2013 Interior-Environment bill that passed the House Appropriations Committee on party lines in June. That draft legislation, which has not yet been considered on the House floor, would slash EPA’s funding by more than 16 percent compared to currently enacted levels and would be the agency’s lowest funding level since 1998 if passed. Supporters said the House bill would help rein in what they say has been EPA’s regulatory overreach in recent years. Meanwhile, Democratic opponents said the measure would set back decades of conservation efforts and gut many key clean air and water programs.