Bill > S2605

This bill makes appropriations for the Department of the Interior, the Environmental Protection Agency, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2024. * **Department of the Interior:** * Provides authority for emergency reconstruction, replacement, or repair of damaged facilities and equipment, requiring replenishment by supplemental appropriation. * Allows for the use of "no year" appropriations for emergency wildland fire suppression, rehabilitation, and other unavoidable causes, with similar replenishment requirements. * Authorizes various expenditures for the Department, including services of experts, motor vehicles, aircraft, and other operational needs. * Allocates funds for Indian trust management and reform activities, with notification requirements to Congressional committees. * Permits redistribution of Tribal Priority Allocation funds to address tribal funding inequities, with a 10% reduction limit per tribe unless specific circumstances apply. * Authorizes land acquisition for visitor facilities at Ellis, Governors, and Liberty Islands. * Establishes inspection fees for Outer Continental Shelf facilities, with varying rates for different types of facilities and depths. * Allows for multiyear cooperative agreements and contracts, not exceeding 10 years, for the long-term care of excess wild horses and burros. * Mandates mass marking of salmonid stocks released from federally operated or financed hatcheries. * Authorizes the Department of the Interior to make grants or enter into cooperative agreements with private nonprofit organizations to utilize older Americans in programs. * Establishes a "Department of the Interior Nonrecurring Expenses Fund" for information technology modernization and facilities infrastructure improvements, requiring Congressional notification. * Authorizes the conveyance of National Park Service land for the Long Bridge Project, with reversionary clauses. * Allows for higher minimum rates of basic pay for appraisers in the Department of the Interior. * Prohibits the use of funds to propose rules for greater sage-grouse. * Allows the National Park Service to retain up to 7% of State Conservation Grants for administrative costs. * Amends provisions related to Historic Preservation Fund deposits and the retention of concession franchise fees. * Establishes a decommissioning account for Outer Continental Shelf permittees, lessees, or right-of-way holders. * **Environmental Protection Agency (EPA):** * Appropriates $795,055,000 for Science and Technology, available until September 30, 2025. * Appropriates $3,321,727,000 for Environmental Programs and Management, available until September 30, 2025, including funds for environmental justice and grants for Alaska Native corporations and tribes to address contamination. * Appropriates $44,030,000 for the Office of Inspector General, available until September 30, 2025. * Appropriates $48,752,000 for Buildings and Facilities, available until expended. * Appropriates $1,000,676,000 for the Hazardous Substance Superfund, available until expended. * Appropriates $93,145,000 for the Leaking Underground Storage Tank Trust Fund Program, available until expended. * Appropriates $22,031,000 for Inland Oil Spill Programs, derived from the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund, available until expended. * Appropriates $4,521,262,000 for State and Tribal Assistance Grants, available until expended, with significant allocations for Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds, grants for the US-Mexico Border, Alaska Native villages, and brownfields. * Appropriates $68,000,000 for the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Program Account, available until expended, to subsidize direct and guaranteed loans up to $12,500,000,000. * Includes administrative provisions for the EPA, allowing cooperative agreements with Indian tribes for federal environmental programs and authorizing the collection and obligation of pesticide registration service fees and solid waste disposal fees. * Allows for the transfer of up to $373,000,000 for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. * Includes provisions for the use of American iron and steel in projects funded by State water pollution control revolving funds. * **Forest Service:** * Appropriates $1,152,744,000 for Forest Service Operations, available through September 30, 2027. * Appropriates $307,273,000 for Forest and Rangeland Research, available through September 30, 2027. * Appropriates $327,397,000 for State, Private, and Tribal Forestry, available through September 30, 2027. * Appropriates $1,978,388,000 for the National Forest System, available through September 30, 2027, including funds for hazardous fuels management and forest products. * Appropriates $161,630,000 for Capital Improvement and Maintenance, available through September 30, 2027. * Appropriates $664,000 for Acquisition of Lands for National Forests Special Acts. * Appropriates funds for Acquisition of Lands to Complete Land Exchanges. * Appropriates 50% of grazing fees for the Range Betterment Fund, available through September 30, 2027. * Appropriates $45,000 for Gifts, Donations and Bequests for Forest and Rangeland Research, available through September 30, 2027. * Appropriates $1,099,000 for Management of National Forest Lands for Subsistence Uses, available through September 30, 2027. * Appropriates $2,123,956,000 for Wildland Fire Management, available until expended, with a significant portion designated as an emergency requirement. * Provides an additional $2,300,000,000 for the Wildfire Suppression Operations Reserve Fund. * Appropriates $2,000,000 for Communications Site Administration, to be deposited in a special account. * Includes administrative provisions for the Forest Service, allowing for various operational expenses, transfers of funds for IT costs, and reimbursements to the Department of the Interior for wild horse and burro management. * Authorizes the Forest Service to enter into cooperative agreements for forest and grassland collaboratives and to provide technical assistance to rural communities. * Establishes a "Forest Service Nonrecurring Expenses Fund" for IT, administrative expenses, and facilities infrastructure. * Allows for waiver of non-Federal cost sharing for conservation projects. * **Indian Health Service (IHS):** * Appropriates $91,818,000 for Indian Health Services, available until September 30, 2025, in addition to previously appropriated funds. * Appropriates $291,702,000 for the Electronic Health Record System and the Indian Healthcare Improvement Fund, available until September 30, 2025. * Appropriates $4,719,786,000, available October 1, 2024, through September 30, 2026. * Provides funds for contract support costs, tribal leases, and Indian Health Facilities construction and maintenance. * Includes administrative provisions for IHS, allowing for various services, patient care, and the use of collected funds. * Prohibits the use of funds for the selection or implementation of a new IT infrastructure system for the Electronic Health Record system without Congressional consultation. * **Other Related Agencies:** * Appropriates $5,176,000 for the Council on Environmental Quality and Office of Environmental Quality. * Appropriates $14,400,000 for the Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board. * Appropriates $5,024,000 for the Office of Navajo and Hopi Indian Relocation. * Appropriates $13,482,000 for the Institute of American Indian and Alaska Native Culture and Arts Development. * Appropriates $896,855,000 for the Smithsonian Institution salaries and expenses, with specific funds for instrumentation, collections, exhibitions, and museum initiatives. * Appropriates $197,645,000 for Smithsonian Institution Facilities Capital. * Appropriates $171,760,000 for the National Gallery of Art salaries and expenses. * Appropriates $37,480,000 for repair, restoration, and renovation of buildings at the National Gallery of Art. * Appropriates $29,027,000 for operations and maintenance of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. * Appropriates $16,353,000 for capital repair and restoration of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. * Appropriates $15,000,000 for the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. * Appropriates $207,000,000 for the National Endowment for the Arts for grants and administration. * Appropriates $207,000,000 for the National Endowment for the Humanities for grants and administration. * Appropriates $3,661,000 for the Commission of Fine Arts. * Appropriates $5,000,000 for National Capital Arts and Cultural Affairs. * Appropriates $8,585,000 for the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation. * Appropriates $8,750,000 for the National Capital Planning Commission. * Appropriates $65,231,000 for the Holocaust Memorial Museum. * Authorizes the Presidio Trust to issue obligations up to $45,000,000. * Appropriates $15,000,000 for the United States Semiquincentennial Commission. * **General Provisions:** * Includes various restrictions on the use of funds, including prohibitions on promoting or opposing legislation, and requirements for disclosure of administrative expenses. * Prohibits the use of funds to accept or process applications for mining patents, with exceptions. * Continues provisions related to contract support costs. * Prohibits the use of funds for preleasing, leasing, and related activities within certain National Monuments. * Restricts the use of funds for the filing of declarations of taking or complaints in condemnation without Congressional approval. * Prohibits "no-bid" contracts unless specifically authorized. * Requires agencies to post reports on their websites. * Includes provisions regarding grant guidelines and program priorities for the National Endowment for the Arts. * Requires quarterly reports on the status of appropriation balances for the Department of the Interior, EPA, Forest Service, and IHS. * Extends grazing permit provisions and prohibits the use of funds to maintain or establish computer networks that do not block access to pornography. * Authorizes the humane transfer and treatment of wild horses and burros. * Extends various Forest Service authorities related to facilities, fees, and programs. * Includes provisions for the use of American iron and steel in certain projects. * Authorizes local cooperator training agreements and transfers of excess equipment for wildfires. * Extends recreation fee authority and requires advance approval for reprogramming funds. * Addresses Chaco Canyon oil and gas leasing and tribal lease requirements. * Includes provisions related to forest ecosystem health, biomass energy policies, and restrictions on small remote incinerators. * Modifies timber sale requirements in Alaska. * Allows for the transfer of funds to the Federal Highway Administration for National Parks and Public Land Legacy Restoration Fund projects. * Prohibits the use of funds to regulate certain greenhouse gas emissions from livestock production and to implement provisions requiring mandatory reporting of greenhouse gas emissions from manure management systems. * Prohibits the use of funds to regulate the lead content of ammunition, ammunition components, or fishing tackle. * Includes provisions related to firefighter pay caps and technical corrections. * Addresses the allocation of projects for the National Parks and Public Land Legacy Restoration Fund and the Land and Water Conservation Fund. * Includes provisions for the World War I Centennial Commission and rescinds certain unobligated balances. * Includes provisions related to critical minerals and greenhouse gas reporting restrictions. * Includes provisions for the Forest Service Nonrecurring Expense Fund and cost share waivers.