Washington, D.C. –

The fiscal year 2023 Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies bill provides a total discretionary funding level of $40.45 billion, which is $2.45 billion more than the fiscal year 2022 level. In addition, the bill provides $2.55 billion for the Wildfire Suppression Operations Reserve Fund, and, in accordance with the Great American Outdoors Act, allocates $1.9 billion for projects within National Parks and Public Land Legacy Restoration Fund and $900 million for projects within the Land and Water Conservation Fund. Finally, in an historic first, the bill provides an advance appropriation for the Indian Health Service which totals $5.129 billion for fiscal year 2024.

U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.),

Chair of the Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee, said:

“This bill funds programs that modernize our water systems; protect our national parks, monuments, and outdoor recreation; promote healthy forests and ecosystems; champion critical projects long-sought by communities and tribes in every corner of America; and so much more, all while creating good-paying jobs. And at a time when wildfires are an ever-growing threat to the West, including my home state of Oregon, this bill makes big investments in preventing and fighting dangerous megafires and the hazardous smoke they produce. Also, at a time when lapses of appropriations and continuing resolutions have become political tools, this bill ensures that Native Americans who receive health care services through IHS are protected from budget uncertainty by including, for the first time, an advance appropriations to IHS to ensure the continuum of health care in unpredictable budget years. I am excited to see how these investments will play a key role in strengthening America for generations to come.”