07/25/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 07/25/2024 22:55
Washington, D.C. - Oregon's U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley-as Chair of the Senate Interior-Environment Appropriations Subcommittee-announced he secured critical investments to strengthen forest health and wildfire resiliency, protect public lands and the environment, boost important programs for Tribes, and support critical projects for Oregon communities.
The federal funding comes through the fiscal year 2025 (FY25) Senate Interior, Environment and Related Agencies Appropriations bill, which encompasses funding for the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI), U.S. Forest Service (USFS), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Indian Education, Indian Health Service (IHS), and several other agencies.
Chair Merkley wrote the Interior-Environment bill to include key priorities for Oregon, including $43.7 million for 25 community-initiated projects throughout the state, as well as significant investments to support programs and projects that help support wildfire management and smoke preparedness, permanently raise wildland firefighter pay, build drought resiliency and conservation, and address the water crisis in the Klamath Basin.
Under Chair Merkley's leadership, the Interior-Environment bill passed the committee with bipartisan support-a key step on the road to becoming law.
"As I hold town halls in each of Oregon's 36 counties, I hear firsthand from folks about what matters most to them. We need to take on wildfire, smoke, and heat threats; give wildland firefighters a permanent raise; modernize our water infrastructure to ensure the delivery of clean drinking water and sanitary systems; fulfill our trust and treaty responsibilities to Tribes; and protect our state's iconic public lands and waters," Chair Merkley said. "The Interior-Environment bill I wrote delivers on these priorities by funding environmental programs, community-initiated projects, and programs supporting Tribal communities that will benefit Oregonians in every corner of the state for years to come."
Merkley is the only Oregon member of Congress from either chamber since Senator Mark Hatfield to serve on the Appropriations Committee, which is one of the most powerful on Capitol Hill. He joined the committee in 2013 so that Oregon would have a strong voice in decisions about the investments our nation should be making.
Merkley, along with Senator Ron Wyden, secured the following 25 Oregon community-initiated projects in the Senate's draft FY25 Interior-Environment funding bill passed by the Committee Thursday:
Click HERE for quotes from community-initiated project recipients included in the draft FY25 Senate Interior-Environment bill.
Protecting Oregon Communities and Forests from Severe Wildfires and Hazardous Smoke
The Interior-Environment bill Senator Merkley wrote includes huge investments to support wildfire management, take on hazardous smoke threats, and support a robust wildland firefighter workforce including permanent pay raises. The funding builds on Merkley's national leadership to ensure communities in Oregon and throughout the West have the resources needed to mitigate and fight severe wildfires and to support resilient forests.
Key elements in the Interior-Environment bill for wildfire prevention and mitigation include:
Wildfire Suppression: The bill provides $4.145 billion for wildfire suppression, of which $2.75 billion is provided in the Wildfire Suppression Operations Reserve Fund. This Reserve Fund provides the USFS and DOI an assured amount of funding to be used when major fire activity requires expenditures exceeding regular base suppression operations funding. This funding level-in addition to carryover balances-is expected to meet the needs for wildfire season in 2025.
Federal Firefighting Workforce: The bill includes language establishing a permanent pay fix and new job series for federal wildland firefighters and provides full funding to meet these obligations. It also creates a $4 million health and wellness program to provide support to combat the real danger of injury and fatigue, which is another consequence of year-round catastrophic wildfire, and directs the agencies to spend at least $8 million to prioritize improvements to firefighter housing.
Wildfire Smoke Mitigation: The bill provides$9 million, an increase of $2 millionto the FY24 level, for the EPA wildfire grant program Merkley established to support efforts by states, Tribes, local governments, and nonprofit organizations to prepare for and protect against wildfire smoke hazards. Examples of this include grants for developing smoke mitigation and filtration plans for schools and community buildings. The bill continues to support the EPA's wildfire smoke monitoring efforts as well as smoke forecasting and communication tools like AirNow Fire and Smoke Map.
Hazardous Fuels Reduction: The USFS and DOI are provided a total of $453 million for hazardous fuels reduction projects, an increase of $63 million to fully restore funding to the FY23 level.
Northwest Fire Science Consortium: The bill includes $1 million to establish a new Fire Science Consortium in the Northwest to support collaboration between researchers, land managers, and the public in the northwest to deliver scientific information and tools on wildfire and smoke management.
Forest Restoration: The bill builds on Merkley's priorities for the USFS, including $34 million, an increase of $3 million, for the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program (CFLRP), which funds projects backed by diverse stakeholders to improve forest landscapes. This funding will allow the work of five collaboratives across Oregon to continue: Northern Blues Forest Collaborative, Southern Blues Restoration Coalition Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Project, Deschutes Collaborative Forest Project, Lakeview Collaborative Landscape Restoration Project, and Rogue Basin Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Project.
Protecting Oregon's Air and Water
As climate chaos continues to strain aging water infrastructure, the Interior-Environment bill makes major modernization investments to help ensure all Oregonians have access to clean and safe air and water, from dependable drinking water and sanitation to a needed water supply for ranchers and growers and protecting Oregon's iconic ecosystems.
Key elements in the Interior-Environment bill for water modernization and environmental protection include:
Water Infrastructure: The bill supports $8 billion for the loan program to build and repair critical water infrastructure under the Water Infrastructure Financing Innovation Authority (WIFIA) Act. Merkley authored the WIFIA program in 2012 and is working to ensure public drinking water and wastewater infrastructure are well maintained to support public health and safety, strong local businesses, population growth, and clean rivers and aquifers. WIFIA was passed into law as part of the 2014 Water Resources Development Act (WRDA).
Environmental Protection Priorities: The bill protects EPA's coreprograms and research, which safeguard communities from harmful pollution. This includes $526 million for EPA enforcement and compliance efforts; $550 million for EPA clean air efforts; and $245 million for EPA's toxic chemical program. The bill also maintains$100 million for EPA's environmental justice program - a program that did not even exist until FY22 when Merkley became Chair of the subcommittee. Current EPA staff will also all remain on the job to keep serving our communities.
Supporting Tribal Communities
Merkley is deeply committed to ensuring Congress is upholding its trust and treaty responsibilities and providing fairness to Indian Country through the federal budget process.
Key elements in the Interior-Environment bill Merkley wrote to support Tribes in Oregon and across the country include:
Indian Health Service (IHS): The bill continues to provide advance appropriations for the IHS, totaling $5.4 billion for fiscal year 2026. Advance appropriations improve the reliability of health care services provided by IHS to more than 2.5 million American Indians and Alaska Natives by ensuring predictable funding and protecting services from future lapses in funding due to government shutdowns and unpredictable budget years. The IHS operates health care facilities within Oregon in Warm Springs and Salem. Additionally, the bill provides $145 million, an increase of $21.5 million, for water and sanitation needs for communities like the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs. The bill also includes $3 million to expand the Community Health Aide Program (CHAP) to the lower 48 states. The program has shown to be a proven model in providing health care in rural communities in Alaska, and the expansion efforts will benefit all of Indian Country including within Oregon.
Tribal Programs and Services: The bill includes $12.6 billion in critical funding for Tribal communities across the country, including $8.5 billion for the IHS. It also includes and $4 million for the Indian Reservation Drinking Water Program through EPA, which addresses water infrastructure challenges like those faced by the Warm Springs community. Additionally, the bill includes $1.4 billion for the Bureau of Indian Education, which oversees 184 schools across 23 states.
Tribal Public Safety and Justice: The bill provides $572.8 million-an increase of $17.2 million from the FY24 enacted level-to sustain support police services, special initiatives to address Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons cases, Tribal courts, and recruit and retain Detention and Corrections staff. Additionally, the bill provides $55.7 million for Public Safety and Justice Construction, an increase of $10 million to the enacted level, for replacement and repairs of corrections and law enforcement facilities.
Columbia River Treaty Fishing Access Sites: The bill continues $9.7 million, including the community-initiated project award, for Columbia River In-Lieu Treaty Sites. The funding for the fishing sites includes construction to further implement Merkley's Columbia River In-Lieu and Treaty Fishing Access Sites Improvement Act.
Protecting Oregon's Great Outdoors, Ecosystems, and Community Services
Merkley is focused on preserving and growing protections for Oregon's most incredible landmarks, lands, waters, and species.
The Interior-Environment bill he wrote maintains investments to strengthen environmental protections and public lands, while supporting Oregon's recreational economy and vital community services.
Klamath Basin Water and Wildlife Conservation: As a key part of Merkley's continued efforts toward a long-term solution in the Klamath Basin, he included $20.6 million, an increase of $2 million to the enacted level, for water monitoring efforts and conservation, including native fish and wildlife habitat restoration. This effort began after Merkley hosted the pivotal Sucker Summit in 2018.
Columbia River Basin Restoration: The Columbia River Basin Geographic Program will receive a $3.5 million grant in the bill, equal to the FY24 level, for restoration efforts in the basin.
Saline Lakes: The bill provides $1.75 million to continue U.S. Geological Survey water monitoring assessment efforts for saline lakes in the Great Basin, like Lake Abert in Oregon.
Land and Water Conservation Fund: The bill allocates $900 million for federal land acquisition and financial assistance to states provided through the Land and Water Conservation Fund(LWCF). This program is critical for improving recreational access to our federal lands, protecting iconic landscapes, creating and protecting urban parks and open spaces, and providing farmers and ranchers with easements to allow them to continue to steward their private lands in the face of development pressures. This includes $5.765 million for the Tualatin Mountain Forest Legacy Project, $1.8 million for the Willamette Valley Conservation Area, $2.5 million for Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument, and $6 million for acquisitions in Mt. Hood National Forest.
Fisheries Restoration and Irrigation Mitigation Act (FRIMA): The bill provides $6 million in funding for Merkley's FRIMA law, an increase of $1 million, for fish passage devices, fish screens, and other related features to mitigate water diversion impacts on fisheries in Oregon, Washington, Montana, Idaho, and California. FRIMA is an important tool to conserve and restore native anadromous and resident fish populations in the Pacific Northwest.
Western Monarch Butterflies: The bill includes a directive for the USFWS to spend not less than $8 million for conservation activities, including an additional $1 million for western monarch butterflies and other pollinators. This funding will continue to support critical conservation actions identified during Merkley's Monarch Summits, as well as the Center for Pollinator Conservation.
Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT): The bill fully funds payments to counties through the PILT program, which are estimated at a total of $600 million nationwide.
National Park Service Staffing Increase: The bill provides $50.3 million to increase national park staffing by 450 park rangers, reversing the trend of staffing losses suffered by National Parks across the country, to support visitor services and resource protection including at Crater Lake National Park and Oregon Caves National Monument and Preserve.
Now that the FY25 Interior-Environment bill has cleared the Senate Appropriations Committee, it next heads to the Senate floor for a vote before the legislation can be conferenced with a counterpart bill in the U.S. House of Representatives. The final, merged legislation must then be passed by both chambers before it is signed into law.
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