In a session dominated by House Republicans, an appropriations package for the fiscal year 2024 saw approval on Friday. The bill suggests a marked reduction of nearly 40% in the budget assigned to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
"I voted YES on House Republicans’ Interior and Environment Appropriations package," said an undisclosed source.
According to The Fiscal Times, the Republican-controlled House passed this appropriations bill with a vote count of 213-203 primarily divided along party lines. This includes significant budget cuts, especially affecting the EPA. Three Republicans – Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Mike Lawler and Marc Molinaro of New York – voted against it. Conversely, Democrat Vicente Gonzalez of Texas supported it. Under this GOP plan, total funding for the bill would be cut by 35%, potentially resulting in the smallest EPA budget in thirty years – approximately $6.2 billion. This proposed budget reduces EPA's funding by 39%, almost $4 billion less than in FY2023 and significantly lower than President Joe Biden's budget request by nearly $6 billion.
Republicans have portrayed these potential cuts to EPA's budget as steps towards fiscal responsibility and response to what they perceive as "extreme anti-energy policies" and expensive regulatory expansions instigated by the Biden administration as reported by The Fiscal Times. Rep. Mike Simpson from Idaho, chairing the Appropriations subcommittee responsible for this legislation, stated that curtailing federal spending through tough choices was imperative given national debt exceeding $33 trillion alongside current inflation rates. Despite being unlikely to become law, these proposed budget cuts from House GOP establish a point of reference for future negotiations with Democratic-led Senate which supports a plan calling for $42.7 billion in total funding compared to House package’s $25.4 billion.
According to E&E News, the approved bill labelled as H.R. 4821 will also revoke $9.4 billion in funding assigned by the Inflation Reduction Act to EPA, Presidio Trust, and the Council on Environmental Quality. This bill results in a drastic reduction of nearly 40% to EPA's budget thereby reducing it to $6.2 billion. Conversely, the Department of Interior would get $14.3 billion in funding which represents a $677 million budget cut. Rep. Simpson also drew attention to this bill's provisions aimed at simplifying regulations and promoting energy production.
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