Sponsor
Michael K. Simpson
Representative · R-ID
Representative · R-ID
Official title: Making appropriations for the Department of the Interior, environment, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2027, and for other purposes.
Introduced June 5, 2026 by Michael K. Simpson
The bill gives DOI and federal agencies greater flexibility to respond to wildfires and manage certain programs (speeding emergency repairs and improving some oversight and program continuity) but does so alongside broad limits on environmental and regulatory authorities, added administrative restrictions, and mechanisms that can shift costs and obscure budgetary impacts — trading faster operational flexibility for weaker long‑term environmental protections and greater fiscal and administrative/
Residents near DOI-managed lands and DOI staff: faster, on‑the‑ground response to wildfires and other disasters because DOI can use existing appropriations to repair/replace critical aircraft, vehicles, and facilities, fund wildland fire suppression and burned‑land rehabilitation, and reimburse other agencies for lost equipment without waiting for new appropriations.
Taxpayers and congressional appropriations committees: increased transparency and formal congressional oversight because federal agencies must disclose overhead/reprogramming/working‑capital charges and seek Appropriations Committee approval for certain actions, and funds may not be used for public lobbying on pending legislation.
Tribes and tribal-lands residents: short‑term flexibility to address inequities because Tribal Priority Allocation funds can be temporarily redistributed to unmet needs while individual tribal cuts are capped (10% in FY2027).
All Americans, especially communities near regulated sources and vulnerable populations: multiple provisions block or delay environmental and health protections (limits on ESA listings/enforcement, bans on IRIS assessments, restrictions on considering social cost of carbon and certain EPA rules), which could worsen pollution, harm public health, and reduce species and habitat protections.
Taxpayers and Congress: allowing DOI to use appropriations for emergencies and prior‑year wildfire obligations and requiring only prompt supplemental requests can mask budget shortfalls, shift funds away from planned programs, increase pressure for emergency supplemental appropriations, and reduce congressional control over spending priorities.
Workers, tribes, and local communities: prohibiting funding for certain remediation and conservation programs (e.g., abandoned mine reclamation payments, Presidio Trust cuts) could halt remediation projects, reduce local remediation jobs, and shift or eliminate services relied on by local visitors and taxpayers.
Based on analysis of 5 sections of legislative text.
Permits Interior appropriations to be used for emergency response/repairs after disasters, adds fiscal controls and riders that block specified regulations and change certain statutory dates.
Allows Department of the Interior to use appropriations in the bill (with Secretary approval) to respond to and rebuild after emergencies on DOI lands — including wildland fire suppression, emergency rehabilitation, flood/storm/earthquake response, oil‑spill contingency actions, and certain pest and reclamation work — subject to exhausting designated Interior emergency funds first and requiring replenishment by supplemental appropriation. The bill also contains a series of general fiscal rules and multiple policy riders that prohibit use of funds to implement specific regulations, change several statutory dates, limit certain testing requirements for pesticides/chemicals, require BLM procedures for mineral examinations, and direct administrative corrections to coastal barrier maps. Places additional restrictions and reporting and approval requirements on how funds in the Act may be carried over, charged for overhead, and used to influence legislation; continues select existing appropriations provisions for FY2027; and includes targeted prohibitions blocking implementation or enforcement of named regulatory actions from EPA, BLM, and OSMRE while adjusting the effective duration of several prior statutory provisions.