House Republicans on Wednesday approved what is expected to be the final government funding bill before the August recess, proposing drastic cuts to the Environmental Protection Agency’s budget for the 2025 fiscal year.
The annual Department of the Interior and EPA funding bill passed 210-205 on Wednesday. Democrats came out in strong opposition to the measure over proposed cuts to the EPA and other areas such as the National Park Service, the Smithsonian and the 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 collapse. 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 that it would begin the annual summer recess a week early.
Republican Party leadership on Wednesday night could be seen talking to members during the vote, as the count appeared complicated at certain points.
“Well, they had whipped it quite a lot. They called and just wanted to talk about it, which was fine. It ended up influencing a lot of people,” Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.), a hard-line conservative who had previously been undecided on the bill before supporting it Wednesday night, told The Hill.
However, he also expressed frustration with some proposed amendments put forward by the Conservatives that were rejected during the vote.
Five Republicans voted against the legislation, while one Democrat was in favor.
The bill faces difficulties in the Democratic-led Senate in its current form. But it helps provide a starting point for Republicans ahead of eventual funding negotiations with the Upper House.
In comments from the House floor this week, Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho), head of the subcommittee that drafted the bill, recognized that “cutting funding is never easy, but with the national debt totaling nearly $35 billion and inflation at an unacceptable level, we had to make difficult choices in this bill to control 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 the regulatory burdens imposed by 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 needed to get our economy back on track.” ”.
The bill’s funding levels called for an overall reduction compared to current spending levels, with a summary from the Republican Party outlininga 20 percent cut in EPA funding, cuts of more than 8 percent to the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, while eliminating funding for the Presidio Trust and cutting dollars for the Environmental Quality Council.
At the same time, Republicans pointed to funding increases for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Wildland Fire Management and the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund.
Democrats sharply criticized the proposed cuts and argued that 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 a major and irreversible catastrophe,” Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-Maine), the top Democrat on Simpson’s subcommittee, said on the floor. this week. “Therefore, I am very disappointed and frustrated with the bill before us, which completely ignores the reality of a warming planet and ignores the need for us to do more, not less.”
“This bill neglects our most vulnerable groups, who currently bear a disproportionate share of negative environmental impacts, which includes large swaths of rural communities that I and many of my colleagues represent,” she added.
She also pointed to what she and Democrats described as “poison pills” in the bill, as Republicans sought a list of partisan provisions to secure conference support in their 12 funding bills — but at the expense of the support across the hall.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
