Interior, Environment and Related Agencies Appropriations for Fiscal Year 2022 (June 16, 2021)
Summary
A subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Appropriations met on Wednesday, June 16, 2021, with Senator Jeff Merkley presiding, on the Department of Interior's fiscal year 2022 budget request in Secretary Haaland's first hearing before the subcommittee. Rachael Taylor, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy, Management, and Budget, joins the Secretary. Senator Merkley says the request totals $15.95 billion, an increase of 20 percent or $2.5 billion, and that CO2 concentrations hit 419 parts per million. In closing, Senator Merkley asks the Secretary to help protect Monarchs and milkweed plots, and Secretary Haaland answers "Yes, Chairman." Statements and questions for the record were due by June 20, and the subcommittee recessed at 11:54 a.m.
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[Senate Hearing 117-]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, ENVIRONMENT AND RELATED AGENCIES
APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2022
----------
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 16, 2021
U.S. Senate,
Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations,
Washington, DC.
The subcommittee met at 10:05 a.m., in room SD-124, Dirksen
Senate Office Building, Hon. Jeff Merkley (Chairman) presiding.
Present: Senators Merkley, Feinstein, Reed, Tester, Van
Hollen, Heinrich, Murkowski, Hyde-Smith, and Hagerty.
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR JEFF MERKLEY
Senator Merkley. Welcome, everyone, to the hearing focused
on fiscal year 2022 budget request for the Department of
Interior.
Welcome to my colleague who gets the award for being the
first to arrive this morning. Good to have you.
This hearing will review the Department of Interior's
fiscal year 2022 budget request. Secretary Haaland, welcome to
your first hearing before the subcommittee. Your historic role
as the first Native American to lead the Department of Interior
has received significant attention and for good reason.
I'm grateful that your voice has been lifted up and I can
see from this budget request that you're taking the opportunity
to lift up the voice of others who are too often silenced.
From honoring the trust and treaty responsibilities to
Native communities to caring for the precious and often sacred
lands and animals, we're fortunate to have your experience and
your perspectives as we confront the challenges facing us
today.
Joining Secretary Haaland is Rachael Taylor, the Principal
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy, Management, and Budget.
Welcome, and we appreciate that you've provided wise counsel to
this subcommittee for 16 years and now we get to see you on the
other side of the dais taking your experience to the Executive
Branch.
Before we dive in, I wanted to note that we have not
distributed water bottles today because of the conversation
that Ranking Member Murkowski and I had last week and we're not
distributing them because we're recognizing the growing
challenges that plastics pose for both our ecosystems and for
human health.
The fiscal year 2022 request for the Department of Interior
totals $15.95 billion, an increase of 20 percent or $2.5
billion.
Secretary Haaland, thank you for this historic request. I'm
not thanking you for the budget figures but how this budget is
constructed, the disciplined laser focused attention to most
urgent issues facing our country and the world.
Budgets send messages and this budget sends a message that
the Biden administration is committed not only to preserving
but to fight for our natural world.
The request reflects the climate chaos, conservation, and
how we manage our lands and resources are not separate issues
but deeply connected. It represents a remedy to the hollowing
out of the department's capacity to answer the call for action
and these sorts of bold proposals are desperately needed.
We are in a climate emergency and the evidence of climate
chaos is piling up around us. After more than a year of limited
activity across the globe because of the pandemic,
CO2 emissions dipped only slightly and have sprung
right back to where they were before, and the cumulative
concentrations of CO2 have continued going up and
hit the high last month, the highest ever recorded of 419 parts
per million.
I was reflecting on how just in the time I've been in the
Senate, these numbers have gone up dramatically. After we were
hitting 350, it became very clear that the world needed to try
to keep the concentration from going up and needed to return to
350, certainly not above 400, and here we are today.
Just for reflection, for the last 800,000 years, the
concentrations have fluctuated between a 180 and 280 parts
permission. While compared to that 280 parts permission, we're
now talking a 50 percent increase and we're going up about
three points a year even with all the efforts we're undertaking
and the results in our natural world are deeply damaging.
It's affecting our forests, our fishing, our farmland.
Certainly we're seeing fire seasons starting earlier and ending
later. They're more intense. We certainly have witnessed one
devastating fire season after another, culminating in last
year's Labor Day fires in Oregon where I traveled 600 miles,
never left the smoke, saw town after town that had been burned
to the ground.
We're seeing fiercer storms. We're seeing smaller snow
packs. We're seeing acidity in the ocean affecting our
shellfish, and we're certainly seeing droughts, droughts such
as the mega drought that's currently striking the Western
United States. For the first time in a 105 years, there is no
water in the Klamath Basin for our irrigators, either our
ranchers or our farmers. This C'waam and Koptu sucker fish and
salmon scared to the Tribes in the Klamath Basin are in dire
straits.
Last night I had a town hall in Central Oregon with a
county in Central Oregon, Jefferson County, and every person
who stood to speak talked about the impact on their farms in 4
years of drought and the effect of the personal stress they
were experiencing and the financial stress they were
experiencing and the potential loss, bankruptcy, perhaps sale,
the collapse of farms that have been in their families for
generations.
I just wanted to show some of the best evidence of how
quickly things are changing in our country, starting with
temperature. These are average temperatures over 30-year
periods. 1961 through 1990, that 30 years, the most recent 30
years, 1991 through 2020, both of these in my lifetime, these
are comparisons to the averages in the 1900s, 1901 through the
year 2000. So that 30 years from 1961 through 1990, basically
you see that, oh, it's a little bit cooler, a little bit warmer
in different parts of the country but nothing dramatic.
But what a change from one 30-year period to the next 30-
year period where you can see such an acceleration of heat
across the entire Nation. Now this is not 1 year, this is not
an anomaly. This is a 30-year average. No wonder we're having
such fiercer fires across the country and devastating impacts,
and it's not just the temperature, it's also the change in
water patterns.
Again, we see in the 30 years from 1961 through 1990 rough
scattering of some parts of the country get a little more rain
and a little less rain than the 1900s, but the new see really
pronounced patterns over the last 30 years and the beginning of
what you see as the historic droughts in the West encompassing
everything from New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, West.
That's the type of impact that my farmers are talking about
throughout my State and we're talking about last night in
Jefferson County, and we're seeing other dramatic impacts.
I want to put up just one particular chart on Monarch
butterflies. Now when you see Monarchs growing up as a kid,
you're pretty excited. It's a pretty cool thing to see. You
just think about how beautiful they are and how incredible
their journey is that they migrate thousands of miles. The
butterflies migrate thousands of miles.
Well, in just 20 years, we have seen a complete collapse of
the Western Monarch, a complete collapse basically down to near
zero. It's described by scientists as an over 99 percent
collapse in a 20-year period.
How are we changing our world so fast as to have such
dramatic changes in such a short period of time? The policies
that we undertake through your department are policies that
should respond to these challenges and I look forward to
working with you in partnership and partnership with all the
Members of the subcommittee as we consider these issues
affecting our farmers, our ranchers, our forest industries, our
fishing industries, and our natural ecosystems.
So we have to drive a fast transition to renewable energy
from the burning of fossil fuels and to accomplish that, you
have to have a department that can stand on its feet and to
restore the capacity and bureaus that have been hollowed out
and hamstrung over the last few years.
So I look forward to your work to make this happen and your
explanation of how the increases in that you have in your
budget will help to tackle these challenges.
Certainly the infrastructure bill coming up is a great
opportunity and it should pack a punch. We need investments in
infrastructure and clean energy future, building a resilient
grid, putting more renewable on to that grid, being able to use
electricity coming out of the grid for ways we have
traditionally used fossil fuels, ranging from electric buses to
electric cars to electric pickup trucks to electric tractors
and all kinds of ways of changing from fossil fuel heat to
electric heat and heat pumps.
We need to invest in our natural infrastructure,
particularly our forests. We have so many millions of acres of
second growth forests, primed to burn. The canopies are all at
the same height. We have trees closely spaced together, and we
know we have to do a significant amount to make these forests
more resilient so that our firefighters have a chance to stop
the fires when they're burning and particularly when they're
burning close to our towns.
I encourage the administration to build on their plan for a
leasing pause to a leasing stop and I know we had a decision
from a court last night that affects the leasing pause. We have
to keep thinking about the fact that we are already in a
situation where we have a massive amount of stranded fossil
fuel assets and if we burn it all, we destroy the planet.
I want to thank you for your request for Tribal programs,
for emphasis on telling the stories of under-represented
groups, the struggle for civil rights, and the continuation of
the fire effects, all topics I'll address in my questions, and
it's really a celebration of our second year of the Great
American Outdoors Act and in particular thank you that among
the projects being undertaken is the rehabilitation of parts of
Crater Lake National Park, a park that accommodates some
700,000 people per year.
I've met people all over the country who say my dream is to
visit Crater Lake. Well, we want the park in good condition
when they come.
So with that, let me turn to Ranking Member Murkowski for
any remarks she would like to make.
OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR LISA MURKOWSKI
Senator Murkowski. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and good
morning, Madam Secretary.
Thank you for the opportunity to review the budget that is
before us today, the President's proposed budget, pretty
stunning increase actually, $2.5 billion increase for this
subcommittee's programs. That certainly gets your attention.
For many of the programs the department manages, there is a
seemingly bottomless amount of need. We've had an opportunity
to talk about that in the context of those programs,
particularly as they relate to American Indians, Alaska
Natives, but I think it's important for us to recognize that
oftentimes it's not just a matter of increasing funding but
it's how we plan for the execution of these funds.
So we're still awaiting the details of many of the
proposals that are contained in the budget request and I'm
going to be looking forward to evaluating them as we're
considering our fiscal year 2022 bill.
I will note that I read through your 17-page statement in
full last night and I actually read it a second time because I
was really struck by the fact that in 17 pages of discussion
outlining the budget for the Interior, Environment, and Related
Agencies, there really is no recognition for the production on
our Federal lands and the role that that plays.
I was just looking at page 2. You note the department's
Economic Contributions Report for fiscal year 2019 in stating,
``Interior's mission activities supported an estimated 1.9
million jobs and $336 billion in economic output. We recognize
again so much of that economic output comes from our ability to
produce responsibly and with good oversight on our public
lands.''
So, know that these will be at the heart of many of my
questions this morning.
We have had multiple conversations since your nomination to
discuss our shared commitment to our Native people. While the
proposal to spend an additional $723 million over the fiscal
year 2021-enacted levels appears to be forward progress across
the board for all Tribal programs, it's hard for me to make
that definitive statement without further detail. So, we'll
wait on the program details. We hope that we'll receive those
soon.
One issue that the subcommittee has struggled with over the
last few years is the 105L lease, Tribal lease agreements.
We've talked about that. I was glad to see the proposal to
reclassify this funding. I think that this is a good step
forward in attempting to bring back some predictability to the
appropriations process for Tribal programs. So, we thank you
for that.
The overall increase for public safety and justice
activities will help to support safe Tribal communities, but
there's still a few areas, high-priority programs, such as
Public Law 280, where we can't determine what funding levels
are being proposed, even though there is an overall increase.
So I'll address that more in my questions, but funding for
Public Law 280 has been critical for States like Alaska and
will continue to be a high priority for me.
I also appreciate the request commitment to critical
mineral development. I've worked on this issue for a number of
years to increase our domestic production of critical minerals.
I think we talk about it a lot around here, both
Republicans and Democrats. If you want to get to your renewable
energy future, we're going to have to have critical minerals
and in order to have critical minerals, we can't just recycle
everything. We have to actually produce some of the critical
minerals first before we can recycle and so I'm pleased to see
that there is the department's commitment to continue the
advancement of an OCS Critical Mineral Inventory and to
expanding efforts of identifying onshore critical minerals as
reserves, as well.
Resource issues in Alaska. Madam Secretary, you know that
we're under a political microscope in the State. The management
of public lands in Alaska are often the subject of people
who've never been there. They quite possibly and probably don't
understand Alaskans' commitment to our lands and our wildlife
and they don't appreciate the importance in Alaska of
opportunities to responsibly develop our critical natural
resources that provide jobs and power our Nation.
This was part of our Statehood Compact. It was part of the
terms within which we came into these United States was that we
would have that opportunity to develop our resources.
The Willow Project, we've talked about a lot, went through
a rigorous permitting process. It's proceeding to development
because, because we have demonstrated in Alaska that we can
hold our projects to an extremely high standard and then meet
that standard.
So, it was one of the reasons why it wasn't a surprise but
no less a disappointment to learn that your department was
suspending leases in Alaska's 1002 area in direct conflict with
the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. I have shared with you directly
and I have spoken to others within the department bottom line
we expect you to follow the law and the law mandates an oil and
gas leasing program to be established on the non-wilderness
coastal plain which I will remind everyone this was set aside,
this was purposely set aside for future exploration and
development in the law that created the Arctic National
Wildlife Refuge and then ordered at least two lease sales by
2024.
The oil and gas leasing program establishing for the 1002
area meets the legal mandates that were required by Congress,
including imposing a framework with a range of environmental
safeguards that are successfully guiding production elsewhere
in Northern Alaska.
This action serves political interests while obstructing
Alaska's economy and putting our Nation's energy security at
greater risk, all while the department has acknowledged with
the Willow Project that Alaskans can do this and we're
committed to developing our resources responsibly. We've
demonstrated our ability to do so safely to others in this
country and to the world.
The Chairman here noted a Federal District Court ruling
yesterday that the department's halting of lease sales is
unlawful. So, in light of this very important ruling, I expect
today to hear your plans to resume implementation of those
lease sales. As we were reminded yesterday, it is the
Secretary's job to faithfully execute the laws as they are
written, not as one wishes they were.
These lease sales are causing States to lose our on
``millions if not billions,'' this was the quote from the
judge's ruling yesterday, ``causing States to lose out on
millions if not billions in revenue and funding for critical
conservation and land acquisition programs'' that are important
to all of us but you, Madam Secretary, have championed and that
your department relies on.
This is where you get that source of economic revenue and
gain. So, Secretary Haaland, you and I don't always see eye to
eye on the issues related to Alaska, but we need to be able to
have these discussions back and forth, you to hear me from
Alaskans' perspective and me to hear you. I respect that. I
know that Alaskans are looking forward to your promised visit
later this summer where you'll have an opportunity to meet
folks from around the State and see for yourself how Alaskans
are working every day to not only develop the promise that was
made at statehood but to be a good strong supportive partner to
the other 49 States as we help to develop our resources for the
benefit of all Americans and our friends.
So with that, Mr. Chairman, I look forward to hearing the
exchange with the Secretary this morning and the questions from
my colleagues.
Senator Merkley. Thank you very much.
I think we're jumping straight into your testimony. The
floor is yours.
STATEMENT OF HON. DEB HAALAND, SECRETARY, DEPARTMENT OF
THE INTERIOR
Secretary Haaland. Thank you very much, Chairman, Ranking
Member Murkowski. Thank you for your opening statements. I
appreciate that very much.
Members of the subcommittee, it's an honor and privilege
for me to be here with you today on behalf of the Department of
the Interior. It's deeply meaningful to me as the first Native
American Cabinet Secretary to be here on the ancestral
homelands of the Anacostia and Piscataway people speaking
before you.
The subcommittee plays an important role in the success of
the Department of the Interior and our many programs. The work
you have done on a bipartisan basis to support priorities, such
as the Great American Outdoors Act, Wildland Fire and Tribal
Programs is integral to the ability of Interior to meet its
mission. This support has profound impacts on the lives of
Native Americans and Alaska Natives and communities across our
country and in that spirit, I come before you today to present
the fiscal year 2022 budget and to talk about how we can work
together to ensure the department is ready to meet the moment.
The 2022 budget reflects the important role Interior will
play to accomplish the administration's goals to move our
country forward in this unprecedented time. The President's
budget responds by proposing $17.6 billion in discretionary
investments in Interior as well as legislative proposals to
implement the American Jobs Plan.
The programs you see reflected in this request lift up the
President's goals of addressing the climate crisis, providing
much-needed resources to Tribal nations, restoring balance on
public lands and waters, advancing equity and environmental
justice, investing in a clean energy future, and creating good-
paying jobs.
I will walk through a few high-level details now and I look
forward to discussing those details further with you and, of
course, look forward to the ongoing conversations as time goes
on.
First, the budget supports partnership programs that will
advance the America the Beautiful Initiative, our
administration's effort to conserve 30 percent of U.S. lands
and waters by 2030 through locally-led and voluntary projects.
The request also allocates the full mandatory funding for the
Land and Water Conservation Fund, a program I care deeply about
as a Member of Congress and am thrilled to help direct as
Secretary.
It also includes $86 million for the Civilian Climate Corps
Initiative. All told, the budget includes unprecedented
investments to address the climate crisis, including more than
$1.9 billion in new funding toward conservation, clean energy,
climate science, and electrification of the Federal fleet.
The budget includes an increase of $133 million to
accelerate and expand activities that support clean energy
deployment across Federal lands and waters. It includes more
than $300 million to support fuels management activities to
reduce wildland fire risk, funds to help prevent wild fires
from taking hold, growing in severity, and threatening
communities and resources.
The budget request prioritizes investments in science,
including $200 million in new funds that will help to
understand climate impacts and make better decisions about how
to mitigate, adapt, and increase resilience across landscapes
and in our communities.
It also provides $300 million to support the President's
Reclamation Jobs Initiative and clean up legacy pollution by
plugging orphan oil and gas wells and cleaning up abandoned
mines.
The budget calls for major investments for Indian Country
by including $4.2 billion across all Indian Affairs programs
which is $728 million above fiscal year 2021 levels.
We focus on strengthening Tribal sovereignty by including a
proposal for a $150 million to re-establish the Indian Lands
Consolidation Program within the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
Additionally, this request has important increases for
Tribal public safety and justice programs, including $16.5
million for programs, like Interior's Missing and Murdered Unit
that addresses the missing and murdered Indigenous People's
Crisis. We want to put the full weight of the Federal
Government into investigating these cases and marshal law
enforcement resources across the Cabinet and throughout Indian
Country.
Finally, to ensure our Nation's legal obligations to Tribes
are fully met, the budget proposes shifting funding for Tribal
water settlements, contract support costs, and Tribal lease
payments to mandatory spending starting in fiscal year 2023.
These are just some of the highlights of this budget
request. I look forward to working with each of you to achieve
these important goals.
I commit to you that I will continue to honor and respect
the role of this subcommittee with a confident expectation that
working together we can accomplish great things on behalf of
the American people.
This concludes my opening remarks and thank you again for
having me and I look forward to questions.
[The statement follows:]
Prepared Statement of Hon. Deb Haaland
Chairman Merkley, Ranking Member Murkowski and Members of the
subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to testify in support of
the Interior Department's fiscal year 2022 budget proposal.
It is an honor and privilege for me to be here with you today to
represent the Department and our tens of thousands of dedicated
professionals. It is also deeply meaningful for me, as the first Native
American Cabinet Secretary, to speak to you from the ancestral
homelands of the Anacostan and Piscataway people.
I honor Interior's long tradition of working closely and
collaboratively with this subcommittee and I respect the important role
you play in the success of the Department and our programs. Working
together, we can accomplish great things on behalf the American people.
Interior's 2022 budget request totals $17.6 billion, of which $16.0
billion is within the jurisdiction of this subcommittee. Our 2022
budget request is a $2.5 billion or a 17 percent increase from the 2021
enacted appropriation. This budget will help implement the President's
ambitious vision to lift up the Nation in this unprecedented time by
addressing the climate crisis, providing much-needed resources to
Tribal nations, restoring balance on public lands and waters, advancing
environmental justice, and investing in a clean energy future.
Interior's wide-ranging programs create economic opportunities and
jobs for the American people. As reflected in the Department's Economic
Contributions Report for Fiscal Year 2019, Interior's mission
activities supported an estimated 1.9 million jobs and $336 billion in
economic output. Interior has an important and unique mission to uphold
and honor the Nation's trust responsibilities and commitments to Native
Americans, Alaska Natives, and affiliated island communities to help
them prosper.
The 2022 budget lays out the important role Interior will play to
accomplish the administration's goals to move our country forward. This
request includes the President's American Jobs Plan, which provides a
longer-term strategy to create millions of good-paying union jobs,
rebuild our country's infrastructure, and position America to out-
compete others on the global stage.
Interior plays an important role in the President's plan to
reinvest in the foundations of the Nation's strength. The 2022 budget
addresses the need to invest in America at this critical time, when the
Nation faces challenges from a pandemic, an economic downturn, climate
change, and a reckoning with racial injustice. As such, Interior's 2022
budget invests in America's future. Programs focus on adaptive
management and increasing resilience to the changing climate; creating
jobs and economic development; using science to inform; strengthening
Tribal nations' self-determination; expanding inclusion of historically
underrepresented communities; promoting environmental justice;
delivering Interior's core services; and providing effective
stewardship of America's national treasures.
A key component of the administration's investment strategy to
address climate impacts on the ground through land stewardship and
conservation is leveraging the power of Americans across the country.
The administration recently released a preliminary report to the
National Climate Task Force--Conserving and Restoring America the
Beautiful--recommending a 10-year, locally led campaign to conserve and
restore America's lands and waters. The report provides an overarching
framework to implement the President's goal to conserve 30 percent of
U.S. land and waters by 2030, which will help address the climate
crisis and its impacts on nature, improve equitable access to the
outdoors, and strengthen the economy. The report recognizes and
celebrates the voluntary conservation efforts of farmers, ranchers, and
forest owners; the leadership of sovereign Tribal nations in caring for
lands, waters, and wildlife; the contributions and stewardship
traditions of America's hunters, anglers, and fishing communities; and
the vital importance of investing in playgrounds, trails, and open
space in park-deprived communities.
The America the Beautiful initiative is intended to serve as a call
to action to support locally led conservation and restoration efforts
across public, private, State, and Tribal lands and waters. The
initiative welcomes all communities wishing to steward their lands and
waters, boost the economy, and support jobs. Supporting these
principles, the 2022 budget includes increases across Interior to
support local partnership programs.
Consistent with congressional direction, the 2022 President's
budget allocates mandatory funding available through the Great American
Outdoors Act (GAOA). That funding includes up to $1.6 billion for
deferred maintenance projects in the Bureau of Land Management (BLM),
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), National Park Service (NPS), and
the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE).
Thanks to broad bipartisan support of GAOA in 2020, $900.0 million
in mandatory LWCF resources is made available annually for conservation
and recreation activities managed by Interior and the U.S. Forest
Service. In 2021, Interior is providing $420.8 million, which includes
$19.0 million from discretionary funds, to States and other partners
for local conservation and recreation programs through non-Federal
grants and $280.7 million for Federal programs, including voluntary
land acquisition and easement programs in the BLM, FWS, and NPS. In May
2021, Interior awarded $150.0 million to local communities through the
Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership grant program. Funded through the
LWCF, this competitive program enables urban communities to create and
reinvigorate outdoor recreation spaces and connect people and the
outdoors in economically underserved communities. The LWCF programs
directly support land and resource conservation and increase access to
outdoor recreation across America.
In the 2022 budget, Interior proposes to allocate $700.9 million
for LWCF programs, which includes $19.0 million from discretionary
funds. The 2022 budget estimates an additional $128.3 million will be
available for State LWCF grants as a result of revenue derived from
certain offshore oil and gas sales in the Gulf of Mexico.
The 2022 budget proposal includes new investments for climate-
related investments to conserve and adaptively manage natural
resources, increase understanding of how natural resources are changing
and what that means, build resilience to protect communities and lands
from significant impacts, and contribute to the reduction of greenhouse
gases. The budget proposal also contains funding for wildland fire
management, drought mitigation, and science-based investments that will
help the Department and communities prepare for and address the
aftermath of natural hazard events. These efforts will be supported by
investments for science-driven conservation to align management of the
Nation's natural resources with America's climate, biodiversity, and
clean energy needs.
To address the growing threat of wildfire to public health and
community safety, the fiscal year 2022 request includes a robust
increase of $117.8 million in Interior's wildland fire programs. This
features an increase of $107.4 million for hazardous fuels and burned
area rehabilitation programs. This funding will support efforts to
manage vegetation and reduce the intensity, severity, and negative
effects of wildfire, in line with the administration's science-based
approach to risk management and complementing our other efforts to
improve land health and resilience to climate change and reduce carbon
emissions. As we head into what is already a challenging wildland fire
season due to historic levels of drought in the West, these important
investments in risk reduction continue to be top of mind.
The 2022 budget proposes to rebuild core functions and capacities
within Interior that have been diminished in recent years with
investments in USGS science and staffing, and the core operations of
parks, wildlife refuges and public lands. The investments in Interior's
budget request also provide a key opportunity for the administration
and Congress to work together to restore levels of investment in
programs at the Department and across government, and to lay a
foundation for core programs that improve the life of everyday
Americans.
To implement the American Jobs Plan, the 2022 budget includes new
investments to create good-paying jobs with a free and fair chance to
join a union, rebuild the country's infrastructure, address the climate
crisis, and position the United States to out-compete other countries.
The proposal includes an increase of $300.0 million to support efforts
to plug orphan oil and gas wells, clean up abandoned mines, and
decommission offshore oil and gas infrastructure, which will help
create jobs and improve the environmental quality of energy communities
by addressing serious safety hazards and risks from associated air,
water, or other environmental damage. As part of this proposal, the
budget includes $169.2 million for a new Energy Community
Revitalization Program (ERCP), which will help accelerate this
remediation and reclamation work on Interior-managed lands and support
work on non-Federal lands through grants to States and Tribes. The new
ECRP will include $75.0 million to address reclamation and restoration
within Interior and also provide $70.0 million for assistance and
support to States and $20.0 million for reclamation on Tribal lands.
The program will provide technical assistance and funding to inventory
abandoned mines and oil and gas wells and to support reclamation
projects.
As part of a White House forum with Federal agencies, States,
industry, and labor in March 2021, the administration announced a
commitment by the Departments of the Interior, Energy, and Commerce to
increase renewable energy development on Federal waters and set a
target to deploy 30 gigawatts (30,000 megawatts) of offshore wind by
2030, creating nearly 80,000 jobs. Work is already underway to meet
this ambitious goal. In the first months of the administration, the
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) approved the first major
offshore wind project in U.S. waters, the 800 MW Vineyard Wind project,
which will create 3,600 jobs and generate enough power for 400,000
homes and businesses. BOEM also issued a lease for the first wave
energy research project in Federal waters off the U.S. West coast,
identified a new Wind Energy Area in the New York Bight, and announced
intent for environmental reviews for projects offshore New Jersey,
Rhode Island, and Massachusetts. The budget includes $249.1 million in
funding to increase renewable energy production on public lands and in
offshore waters, which will create jobs and help transition the county
to a clean energy future. The funding primarily supports infrastructure
permitting for onshore and offshore renewable energy projects such as
solar, wind, wave and geothermal.
In anticipation of large-scale development of offshore wind energy
on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), the Bureau of Safety and
Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) is preparing to take on new
responsibilities with respect to renewable energy workplace and process
safety management, environmental protection, and decommissioning and
site restoration. BSEE is also assuming safety and environmental
enforcement operational functions for Federal OCS offshore renewable
energy development. In 2022, the BSEE budget includes $9.8 million, an
increase of $9.0 million, to establish a core foundational program to
support the development of a safe, robust, and environmentally
responsible offshore wind industry in the United States. The funding
will enable timely and rigorous industry plan reviews, initiate a
robust compliance assurance program, promote science-based renewable
energy research, and demonstrate BSEE's commitment and leadership in
driving safety performance in the offshore wind industry.
In May 2021, BLM announced final approval of the Crimson Solar
Project on BLM lands in Riverside County, CA. The project has the
potential to deliver enough energy to power roughly 87,500 homes. The
project is located within one of the areas designated for development
in the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan, identified through a
process of extensive review and coordination. The budget includes $55.6
million, an increase of $25.0 million, for onshore clean energy
programs managed by BLM. This amount includes $44.6 million in the
Renewable Energy program, an increase of $14.0 million from the 2021
enacted level, and a program increase of $11.0 million in the Resource
Management Planning program to support renewable energy project siting.
This funding will support the permitting and rights-of-way work
associated with siting new projects and transmission lines. To ramp up
to meet the administration's renewable energy goals, BLM is reviewing
policies and resources, working with other agencies to improve
coordination, and reviewing current applications that could be
expedited.
The 2022 budget includes an additional $13.0 million in FWS to
accommodate increased permitting reviews associated with clean energy.
The 2022 budget also includes an increase of $7.0 million to support
clean energy programs and grid infrastructure in the Insular Areas. In
the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), program funding for clean energy
deployment programs in Indian Country totals $66.0 million, an increase
of $50.0 million from the 2021 enacted level.
President Biden has challenged Federal agencies to leverage the
purchasing power of Federal procurements to spur the deployment of
clean energy technologies and supporting infrastructure and the jobs
they create. Interior's fleet includes approximately 30,800 vehicles.
The 2022 budget includes $73.0 million to start transitioning
Interior's fleet to zero emission vehicles (ZEVs) as part of a
governmentwide initiative. Funding will support either acquiring ZEVs
within the owned fleet or transitioning to the General Services
Administration's leased fleet, investment in the related charging
infrastructure, and planning and integration to effectively support the
initiative.
To address abandoned coal mine cleanup, the 2022 budget includes
$165.0 million, an increase of $50.0 million, for the Abandoned Mine
Land and Economic Revitalization (AMLER) program in the Office of
Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement. The program provides grants
to the six Appalachian States with the highest amount of unfunded
Priority 1 and Priority 2 Abandoned Mine Lands (AML) sites and the
three Tribes with AML programs. Grants are awarded for projects that
accelerate the remediation of AML sites and encourage economic and
community development.
Science is valued at Interior, and it guides management decisions.
Science is a cornerstone of the 2022 budget, with strong investments in
science across the Department to better support bureau missions,
address climate change on the ground, and invest in tools to monitor,
measure, and model solutions to important resource challenges. The 2022
budget includes $1.3 billion for research and development programs, and
these investments in mission-specific science provide a new approach to
developing and delivering actionable products and reducing barriers
between science production and user application.
USGS is Interior's primary science organization, with a broad
portfolio related to the earth and biological sciences. The 2022 budget
includes $1.6 billion for USGS, an increase of $326.9 million from the
2021 enacted level. The budget for USGS includes an increase of $205.0
million, to make science the centerpiece of the Biden administration's
commitment to tackling the climate change crisis, and another $83.0
million increase in other research and development, including support
for conservation programs, such as the America the Beautiful
initiative. The 2022 investments in USGS science span the range of
climate adaptation and land change science, carbon sequestration and
greenhouse gas monitoring, critical minerals, mine waste reclamation
and reuse, hazards monitoring, and water prediction.
The 2022 USGS budget accelerates the development of tools
supporting planning, monitoring, and projection, including the
Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US) and the Land
Change Monitoring, Assessment, and Projection (LCMAP) initiative. These
two tools provide solutions to the growing need for conservation
planning and information about the fundamental drivers of land change
and the consequences of human-caused and natural changes. Collectively,
these investments will accelerate discoveries with the potential to
transform America's understanding of the natural world, launch the next
generation of Landsat to study and improve life on Earth, and enable
U.S. independence from adversarial nations for industrial materials
needed for current technologies.
The 2022 budget includes $60.0 million in USGS collaborative
research with the new Advanced Research Projects Agency for Climate
(ARPA-C) within the Department of Energy. This high-risk, accelerated
research can achieve transformational advancement in climate adaptation
and resilience in areas in which industry by itself is not likely to
invest due to technical and financial uncertainty. The investment will
focus on work in five areas critically important to Interior's mission
and to tackling the climate crisis: planning tools to support habitat
health and biodiversity, models for drought prediction, predictive
tools for wildfire and post-wildfire risk management, coastal change
and vulnerability forecasts for planning and disaster response and
recovery, and models to assess the potential and risks for geologic
storage of hydrogen created using renewable energy.
The Civilian Climate Corps (CCC) is an important jobs initiative
that draws on America's strength to work together and build back better
to revitalize public lands, infrastructure, and communities--and, in
doing so, create jobs. The idea builds from the Civilian Conservation
Corps, which put hundreds of thousands of young people to work on
public and private lands, providing them with jobs and training to
tackle the crises of the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression. The
President calls for a broad CCC initiative in the American Jobs Plan,
which stretches across Federal agencies and non-Federal partners
throughout the country. Complementing this broader effort, Interior's
discretionary 2022 budget includes $85.5 million for CCC work on
Interior's lands. In 2022, the CCC program will build upon existing
programs and partnerships that share the same objectives--to tackle
climate change on the ground, provide a living wage, provide skills and
a pathway to employment, and reflect the diversity of America.
The Biden-Harris administration made its commitment to Tribal
nations clear from the start, emphasizing the need to strengthen and
respect the government-to-government relationship with Tribes.
Underscoring that focus on Indian Country, the 2022 budget proposal
includes $4.2 billion, an increase of $727.8 million from the 2021
enacted level, across all Indian Affairs programs. The budget invests
in core Indian Affairs programs and addresses outstanding gaps in areas
such as environmental quality and ensuring Tribal communities are part
of the national priorities to address climate change and move toward
clean energy.
The 2022 budget includes $2.7 billion for BIA programs, an increase
of $614.9 million from the 2021 enacted level. The budget includes
$346.5 million to fully fund estimated Contract Support Costs, an
increase of $61.0 million from the 2021 enacted level, and $36.6
million for Payments for Tribal Leases, $15.0 million above the 2021
enacted level. The budget proposes to reclassify discretionary funding
for Contract Support Costs and Payments for Tribal Leases to mandatory
funding starting in 2023. Doing so will provide Tribal nations with
certainty that these commitments will be met with a dedicated,
predictable funding source.
The BIA request also includes $150.0 million for a new Indian Land
Consolidation Program (ILCP) to enhance the ability of Tribal
governments to plan for and adapt to climate change and to build
stronger Tribal communities. Reducing land fractionation and achieving
Tribal majority ownership in lands enables Tribes to make decisions
about land management, use, and protection that facilitate climate
resilience. The new program reflects the ongoing need to continue to
address fractionation on Indian lands as the Land Buy-Back Program for
Tribal Nations (LBBP), established as part of the Cobell Settlement,
ends in November 2022. The program estimates that by the time the LBBP
program concludes, 60 percent of the unique locations within
fractionated land will not have been visited by the program. Without
further efforts, the program expects the number of fractional interests
will likely return to pre-program levels within approximately 20 years.
The 2022 budget includes $395.8 million for BIA Trust Natural
Resources Management programs, an increase of $136.9 million from the
2021 enacted level. The budget increases funding across the full
spectrum of Tribal natural resource programs, recognizing their
economic importance as well as their contributions to environmental
quality and conservation. Within Trust Natural Resources, the budget
includes $61.0 million for the Tribal Climate Resilience program, an
increase of $44.0 million from the 2021 enacted level. The increase
includes $23.0 million to expand Tribal Climate Adaptation Grants,
$11.0 million in additional funding for Alaska Village Relocation
Grants, and $10.0 million for a Tribal CCC. The budget includes $56.2
million for Minerals and Mining projects, which focus on clean and
alternative energy programs, an increase of $40.1 million from the 2021
enacted level.
BIA's 2022 budget includes $507.1 million for Public Safety
services, an increase of $38.5 million. This increase includes $10.0
million to support the McGirt v. Oklahoma Supreme Court decision, $10.0
million to support a body-worn camera initiative for officers, $8.2
million to continue support for BIA participation in the Federal Opioid
Initiative, and $5.0 million for implementation of the Violence Against
Women Act. The budget includes $116.4 million, an increase of $10.0
million, for detention and correction programs and $43.2 million, an
increase of $4.2 million, for Tribal courts.
The 2022 BIA budget includes a $14.1 million increase to support
Human Services activities, including $3.0 million to expand the Tiwahe
Initiative. The Tiwahe Initiative is a holistic approach to addressing
overall Tribal community needs that support youth, family, community
safety and stability, and cultural awareness. The initiative
facilitates collaboration within Tribal communities--which can help to
leverage resources, share expertise, reduce duplication, and exchange
information about families' needs--to formulate the most responsive
approach to provide service.
The 2022 BIA budget maintains strong support for the Missing and
Murdered Indigenous American Indians and Alaska Natives initiative,
including $16.5 million for the program, an increase of $5.0 million
from the 2021 enacted level. The 2022 budget also includes specific
investments to address environmental quality problems on Tribal lands.
Within BIA Construction, the budget includes $29.9 million specifically
to address water safety and sanitation requirements related to BIA-
owned drinking water and wastewater infrastructure.
The 2022 budget includes $270.2 million for Indian water rights
settlement activities, an increase of $71.9 million from the 2021
enacted level. This amount includes $75.2 million within BIA, an
increase of $30.2 million from the 2021 enacted level, and $157.6
million within the Bureau of Reclamation, an increase of $36.8 million,
for settlements. The budget proposes to reclassify discretionary
funding for enacted Indian water settlements, including these two new
settlements, to mandatory funding starting in 2023. Doing so will
provide Tribal nations with certainty that these commitments will be
met with a dedicated, predictable funding source.
The 2022 budget includes $1.3 billion for Indian Education
programs, an increase of $110.6 million from the 2021 enacted level.
The primary focus of funding remains on support for the day-to-day
operations of BIE-funded elementary and secondary schools. Funds will
enable BIE to improve opportunities and outcomes in the classroom,
provide improved instructional services, and support improved teacher
quality, recruitment, and retention. The budget requests $24.7 million
for Early Child and Family Development, an increase of $3.7 million, to
expand preschool opportunities at BIE-funded schools. The budget also
invests in postsecondary programs, including $45.0 million for Tribal
scholarships and adult education, an increase of $10.2 million from the
2021 enacted level, and includes $5.0 million for the Science Post
Graduate Scholarship Fund, an increase of $2.0 million, for a new
initiative providing research internships to highly qualified students
from economically disadvantaged rural communities.
The BIE is working collaboratively with Tribes and communities to
alleviate the strains imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic on BIE students
and their families, as well as on teachers, administrators, and staff
across BIE's schools and the Tribal Colleges and Universities. The 2022
budget includes funding to maintain the important investments in
distance learning infrastructure provided during the pandemic. The
budget includes $35.4 million for Education Information Technology,
which is an increase of $20.1 million from the 2021 enacted level. This
increase provides critical funding to support upgraded broadband access
at BIE schools, including recurring operating costs for network
systems, such as annual learning software subscriptions and licenses.
These investments will enable BIE to continue delivering education
during the pandemic as well as substantially improve the efficiency and
quality of education upon return to in-school learning.
To support infrastructure needs, the 2022 budget also includes
$264.3 million in discretionary education construction funds to replace
and repair school facilities and address priority maintenance needs at
183 schools. The budget continues to invest in activities that promote
educational self-determination for Tribal communities and includes
$94.9 million, an increase of $8.0 million, for Tribal Grant Support
Costs to cover the administration costs for Tribes that choose to
operate BIE-funded schools. This level of funding supports 100 percent
of the estimated requirement.
President Biden's EO 13985 on Advancing Racial Equity and Support
for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government clearly
states the administration's policy: ``The Federal Government should
pursue a comprehensive approach to advancing equity for all'' to
include those who have been historically underserved, marginalized, and
adversely affected by persistent poverty and inequality. The
President's call to agencies to advance equity for all is being put
into action at Interior.
The Department is taking stock of current programs across Interior
that address equal employment opportunity, civil rights, diversity and
inclusion, accessibility, workplace culture transformation, and
discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation. As part
of this process, the Department is working with bureaus and offices to
identify gaps, challenges, and best practices and to examine Department
and bureau roles, responsibilities, and governance to ensure that any
necessary changes are implemented. The 2022 budget includes a $12.8
million increase across Interior bureaus and offices to better address
diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility in Interior's
workforce.
The administration's emphasis on equity for all and inclusion is
also a part of how Interior executes its core missions. As part of the
NEPA process, bureaus and offices must consider the impacts on the
natural or physical environment as well as social, cultural, and
economic impacts. The Department is committed to ensuring the Federal
Government honors the government-to-government relationship with Tribes
and strengthens Tribal sovereignty through meaningful Tribal
consultation.
The fiscal year 2022 budget request promotes racial justice and
equity in underserved communities by embedding environmental justice
and racial equity goals into programs across the Department, with
discrete investments in key areas. The NPS plays a particularly
important role in ensuring cultural diversity in Federal programs and
connecting underserved communities to the Department. The NPS is also
charged with preserving and caring for structures and artifacts that
tell the story of all Americans. Providing outdoor recreation
opportunities, the telling of America's story, and preservation of our
collective history are an essential element of Interior's mission. The
NPS 2022 budget includes $15.0 million to expand capacity at more than
16 national park units and programs that preserve and tell the story of
historically underrepresented and marginalized groups, including $5.0
million for the African American Civil Rights Network. The budget
includes an additional $5.0 million for competitive historic
preservation grants to increase support to State and local efforts to
preserve sites that document the struggle for equal opportunity for
African Americans. The budget includes $10.0 million for construction
at the Selma Interpretive Center for a voting rights center that honors
the legacy of civil rights leaders, including the late Representative
John Lewis.
The 2022 budget expands ongoing programs working to connect new
audiences to the outdoors and Interior's mission activities. The U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service budget includes $12.5 million for its Urban
Wildlife Conservation Program, an increase of $7.0 million from the
2021 enacted level. The program features 101 national wildlife refuges
that are within a 25-mile radius of an urban area, such as Bayou Savage
National Wildlife Refuge near New Orleans. With 80 percent of Americans
living in cities, the program is helping people to get outside, engage
with their community, and become part of the next generation of outdoor
enthusiasts.
EO 14008, Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad,
establishes the Justice40 Initiative that will seek to bring 40 percent
of the overall benefits of relevant Federal investments to underserved
communities. The initiative will focus on clean energy and energy
efficiency, clean transit, affordable and sustainable housing, training
and workforce development, the reduction of legacy pollution, and the
development of critical clean water infrastructure. Interior programs
will play a strong role in this initiative to address racial equity and
environmental justice through inclusive initiatives, such as
Reclamation Jobs and Clean Energy for Tribal Communities, as well as
core mission activities to construct drinking water and irrigation
systems in underserved communities, encourage open areas and recreation
in cities through urban refuges and parks, and increase access to
broadband and power in the hard-to-reach parts of America.
The 2022 budget includes important investments in programs needed
to help build back America to be better and more competitive as the
world continues to change. This includes funding to support a strong,
talented workforce at Interior and strengthen the core infrastructure
needed to continue to deliver Interior's missions. Staffing declined
during the past 4 years by 4,382, or 6.7 percent, from 2017 through
2020. Current staffing is expected to increase so that by the end of
2021, Interior staffing levels will be roughly where they were at the
end of 2018. With the 2022 budget, staffing is estimated to surpass
2017 staffing levels by 3.2 percent. As the Department works to rebuild
its workforce, Interior will seek to recruit, hire, and train the next
generation of talent that reflects the diversity and strength of the
United States. Complementing our diverse workforce, the Department is
committed to providing the tools critical for success across Interior.
Interior manages an infrastructure portfolio valued at more than
$330 billion, ranging from large dams and canals in the West to iconic
national landmarks across the country. In total, the Department is
responsible for roughly 43,000 buildings, 100,000 miles of road, and
80,000 structures. Operations, maintenance, recapitalization, and
modernization of Interior's infrastructure are a significant part of
annual cost requirements. The 2022 budget includes $2.8 billion for
operations, maintenance, repair, and construction of Interior
facilities, an increase of $241.8 million from the 2021 enacted level.
This amount includes maintenance and construction across the
Department, including water project construction, maintenance, and dam
safety.
Much of Interior's workforce worked remotely during the pandemic,
and bureaus and offices worked quickly to adapt and ensure that staff
had the right equipment and bandwidth to telework effectively. These
efforts increased demand on the Department's networks and heightened
attention to the importance of a strong cybersecurity posture at
Interior. The 2022 budget includes an increase of $25.5 million to
support the post-SolarWinds Department-wide cyber defense capability
and address related gaps identified in specific bureaus.
Interior's central Financial and Business Management System (FBMS)
requires modernization, and the budget requests an increase of $5.0
million for the first year of a 2-year system infrastructure migration
to prevent technical obsolescence. FBMS supports the administrative
systems requirements of all Interior bureaus for core accounting,
budget execution, acquisition, aspects of financial assistance, real
and personal property management, fleet management, travel integration,
enterprise information management, and reporting. The migration will
modernize and transform Interior's administrative operations,
strengthen the cybersecurity of Federal networks and critical
infrastructure, and implement security measures. As part of the
modernization of FBMS, the 2022 budget includes an increase of $4.0
million to support migration to improved cloud hosting with sufficient
virtual in-memory servers needed to support the size and complexity of
the Departmentwide FBMS system.
The 2022 budget includes a $17.5 million increase to begin the next
phase of the Office of Natural Resource Revenue's (ONRR's) ongoing IT
Modernization effort of the Minerals Revenue Management Support System.
The modernization is focused on the design, development, and deployment
of the new systems and the eventual decommissioning of the legacy
system. ONRR ensures that revenue from Federal and Indian mineral
leases is effectively, efficiently, and accurately collected, accounted
for, analyzed, audited, and disbursed in a timely fashion to
recipients. Revenue distributions, which totaled $8.1 billion in 2020,
benefit States, Tribes, individual Indian mineral royalty owners, and
U.S. Treasury accounts. The modernization will improve the timeliness
and accuracy of payments to fund recipients by reducing the need for
manual processes.
The President believes we must use every lever at our disposal to
meet the moment and make necessary progress. I firmly believe we have
the opportunity of a lifetime to strengthen our country, protect our
environment, and improve our way of life for generations to come.
I look forward to working with you to achieve these goals. Thank
you again for having me. I am pleased to answer any questions you may
have.
Senator Merkley. Thank you very much.
We'll get right into those. We have about an hour before
the vote and we want to try to get to everyone and get through
as many questions and your thoughts as possible and let's begin
by talking about fire.
FIRE BORROWING TO SHUT DOWN ACTIVITIES ON BLM AND FOREST SERVICE LAND
One of the challenges has been fire borrowing in which
agencies have had to shut down their activities on BLM land or
Forest Service land in order to fund fighting fires. That
firefighting fire borrowing was ended but the law that ended it
was based on budget caps that disappeared at the end of this
fiscal year.
So, as we look forward and want to make sure that fire
borrowing does not return, have you been in conversation with
Secretary Vilsack and OMB about how we make sure the fire fix
continues?
Secretary Haaland. Thank you so much for that question,
Senator. I speak with Senator Vilsack consistently. We
recognize that this is an important issue that both of us are
working on together and I will absolutely work with you to make
sure that Interior and the Forest Service continue to have
access to the firefighting resources that we need.
WILDFIRE DISASTER CAP ADJUSTMENT
The wildfire disaster cap adjustment has been a game-
changer for the last 2 years, enabling us to access
supplemental fire suppression funding in real time without
having to cut other important programs. I agree with you we
don't want to return to the cycle of borrowing or forced cuts
to programs, especially when wildland fires are more severe and
more often. It's turned from a fire season to fire year.
So, thank you so much and you can count on us to continue
to work to bridge that.
Senator Merkley. Thank you. That's essential.
HAZARDOUS FUELS PROJECTS
You have an Interior's Office of Wildland Fire, a proposed
increase of 84 million or 38 percent for hazardous fuels
projects, combined with the Forest Service's proposed funding
$400 million would be spent on fuels reduction, and yet the
scientists are telling me we need to spend $2 to $3 billion a
year to get ahead of the curve because of the fuels that have
built up in our forests.
What are your plans to ensure the department has
firefighting resources and the leadership to address this
buildup of fuels that sets the stage in combination with the
longer, hotter summers to prevent the sort of devastating fires
we've been seeing?
Secretary Haaland. Thank you so much for the question. Part
of our plan essentially is to ensure that we can address this
work by passing the American Jobs Plan, as well. That is an
important ideal that we all strive for because we know that
that will help us to achieve those goals.
With that being said, Interior is absolutely committed to
reducing this risk to communities across the country. Thank you
for the maps you put up. We see that and we understand it.
FUELS MANAGEMENT
The budget includes an $84 million increase for fuels
management. That includes increases for projects conducted by
Tribal nations. We're working in close contact with Tribes
across the country because we share those issues, and we'll
hire 325 new personnel, including firefighters, scientists, and
ecologists, and implement more intensive mechanical, chemical,
and seeding projects in some places to aid and address invasive
species.
JOINT FIRE SCIENCE RESEARCH
Senator Merkley. Well, thank you, and the reason I'm asking
this series of questions on fires is just the dramatic impact
the fires are having on the West and another piece is fire
research and I do see you have a modest amount of money for the
Joint Fire Science Research Program. It's an increase of $5
million.
I just want to note, no need for you to really respond, but
I think understanding the carbon cycle in the forests and how
to make the forests more fire resilient is absolutely essential
to forest management and while the Forest Service, I realize,
is not in your department, these broad issues kind of bridge
your work and the Department of Agriculture which controls the
Forest Service.
So, it's very important for Interior to be engaged and also
recognizing that BLM lands are very much part of this equation,
as well.
I'll keep going unless there's something you want to point
out in terms of that research.
Secretary Haaland. Thank you, Senator. I appreciate that,
and if you'd like to keep going, I would be happy to.
Senator Merkley. Okay.
Secretary Haaland. I know your time is limited.
MANAGEMENT OF THE BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS AND THE BUREAU OF INDIAN
EDUCATION
Senator Merkley. Well, I really think that it's so
important to recognize that a lot more has to be done and your
budget in terms of our management of Indian Affairs and your
budget requests a total of $4.2 billion for the Bureau of
Indian Affairs and the Bureau of Indian Education. It's nearly
a 20 percent increase. It has a priority on supporting Tribal
sovereignty and self-government.
What do you see as the three most important things to be
accomplished with the greater investment in Indian Affairs?
BROADBAND INTERNET SERVICE
Secretary Haaland. Thank you so much for that. Of course,
one of the main issues that has been extremely important to me
since I was a Member of Congress is broadband Internet service.
We all talk about the disparities that were highlighted during
the pandemic and that was definitely one of them in terms of
health care, education, housing, you name it.
So true Tribal self-governance is one of the priorities for
us. Tribal nations know what's best for their communities far
better than we could say and that's why we have been adamant
about Tribal consultations. We'd like to see direct funding go
directly to Tribes so they can make the decisions that they
need to make.
INFRASTRUCTURE AND INVESTMENTS IN INDIAN COUNTRY
Infrastructure is also a key starting point for investments
in Indian Country. For example, there's some folks in Indian
Country who still don't have running water. So, infrastructure
is key. It's the biggest barrier to economic development for
many Tribal communities, especially in rural areas, and so
infrastructure is a priority.
We also see that increased access to financing and support
to encourage businesses are very critical.
Senator Merkley. I'll make this comment. I realize I'm over
time, so my apologies. The mention of infrastructure is very
important.
WARM SPRINGS RESERVATION AND THE LIONSHEAD FIRE
We have the Warm Springs Tribal Nation. Mary and I were
hiking on the Warm Springs Reservation when the Lionshead fire
started last year and that was a big deal. It burned a lot of
their timber, but they also have the challenge of a completely
broken water system and somehow before this funding year is
out, we have to find a way to assist Tribes like the Warm
Springs that have been boiling their water and unable to have
kind of anything approaching a normal water system for years
and so I look forward to that conversation over infrastructure.
I'll turn this over to our Ranking Member.
Senator Murkowski. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
ARCTIC NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE (ANWR)
Madam Secretary, at the top of my list, not surprisingly,
is the matter of ANWR that I mentioned in the opening
statement. Current law mandates that two lease sales be held in
the 1002 area.
As Secretary, you are specifically required to hold the
second lease sale by 2024. This is as mandated by law. I
mentioned I was encouraged by yesterday's District Court ruling
that determined that the administration's pause is outside of
the law.
So, the question very directly is do you believe that you
are required by current law to hold a lease sale in the 1002
area of ANWR by 2024?
Secretary Haaland. Senator, thank you for the question, and
I know we have spoken about this even at my confirmation
hearing. I emphasized that I will always, always follow the
law, and we will follow the law and if that is in the law, we
will follow the law.
OIL AND GAS PROGRAM
Senator Murkowski. Good. I appreciate that because I don't
think that there's any ambiguity in the language. It says,
``The Secretary of the Interior shall offer a second lease sale
under the Oil and Gas Program under this section not later than
7 years after the date of the enactment of the Act.''
So, I do believe that that's pretty clear. So, I appreciate
you confirming that here this morning.
CONTAMINATED LANDS
ALASKA NATIVE CLAIMS SETTLEMENT ACT
I want to ask about contaminated lands, if I may. This is a
very significant issue and in Alaska, I had a roundtable
discussion on contaminated sites that have been conveyed not
only to the State of Alaska but to our Native people under the
Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act.
This is an issue that has been going on for a long time,
certainly predates your tenure here, but these contaminated
sites not only continue to exist but there's no proper
inventory. There is an inventory but it is outdated and it is
one that I think needs to be addressed.
INVENTORY AND REMEDIATION OF CONTAMINATED LANDS
For years in the Interior bill, we have included directives
for the department to provide an inventory and then beyond
that, what's the plan for remediation of these contaminated
lands?
I look at this and say if there's ever a matter of
environmental justice to our Native people, it's this one. We
promised we were going to give you the lands that were part of
the Native Claims Settlement Act. We give you lands that are so
contaminated you cannot use them. It is absolutely a travesty.
So, I would ask that you work with us, provide us an update
on the status of the efforts to get a complete inventory of the
contaminated lands and then that next step further which is so
what do we do about it? What is our action plan here?
Secretary Haaland. Thank you so much for the question,
Senator, and we're absolutely willing to continue the
conversation with you and offer any information or data that
you require.
I know that this is an important issue to you and I just
want to assure you that we're doing all we can to explore the
options to address the issue of contaminated lands.
RECLAMATION JOBS INITIATIVE
REMEDIATION ON INTERIOR LANDS, GRANTS TO TRIBES, AND GRANTS TO STATES
FOR STATE LANDS
In the Reclamation Jobs Initiative, there's $75 million
available for the bureaus, including BLM, to support
remediation on Interior lands, which could include addressing
Alaska legacy wells, $20 million available for grants to Tribes
for remediation on Tribal lands and $15 million available for
grants to States for remediation on State lands.
We're always going to be responsive to you and your staff
and look forward to providing whatever you need in terms of
information.
ENERGY COMMUNITY REVITALIZATION PROGRAM
Senator Murkowski. So, let me ask about that because I
noticed the budget request includes a $169 million to create a
new departmentwide program. You call it the Energy Community
Revitalization Program to focus on reclamation of abandoned
mine lands and orphan oil and gas wells. This is not what we're
talking about with these contaminated lands that have been
conveyed.
So, I understand that the department is taking a keen look
at some of these legacy contaminated issues. Will this Energy
Community Revitalization Program fund remediation of
contaminated lands that have been conveyed to Alaska Natives
and to the State? Is this also a resource that we might
consider?
Secretary Haaland. Yes, Rachael can answer that.
Senator Murkowski. Good morning, Rachael.
Ms. Taylor. Good morning. We are going to take a hard look.
We would be happy to meet with your folks offline, Senator, but
I think what the Secretary was saying was that this was one
resource that might possibly be available, depending on the
nature of the contamination.
I think there are other resources within the Bureau of
Indian Affairs. The budget, as you probably know, has a focus
on environmental justice, which includes contaminants issues in
Indian Country, and there's some particular investments called
out, including one in Arizona, but I think the idea would be
that we're going to take a hard look at some of these issues
across the country when we allocate funds, if Congress so
provides them. I know that we would want to work with you to
have a better idea of the nature of the problem and we'll look
forward to following up with you about that.
LETTER FROM THE GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF ALASKA OUTLINING THE EXTENT OF
THE CONCERNS AND ISSUES ABOUT CONTAMINATION
Senator Murkowski. Well, I appreciate that, and I will
commend you to a letter that, Secretary Haaland, you received
along with other Secretaries in the Cabinet from the Governor
of the State of Alaska outlining the extent of the concerns and
the issues, also asking for updated inventory and action plan.
ALASKAN NATIVE VILLAGE CORPORATION ASSOCIATION UPDATE ON NUMBER 1
PRIORITY
So, this is not just my initiative, that the Governor, the
State is very fully behind it. Just yesterday, I had
representatives from ANVCA, the Alaskan Native Village
Association, representing all of the villages across the State,
who came back specifically to inform us and update on this
issue as their Number 1 priority.
So please, please be working with us to address this issue.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Senator Merkley. Senator Feinstein.
Senator Feinstein. Thanks very much, Mr. Chairman.
FEDERAL LAND IN CALIFORNIA
I am really concerned with fire on Federal lands and there
is so much Federal land in California. My understanding is that
58 percent of California's forest land is Federal. That's 19
million acres with a 32-million-acre total, and we've had a lot
of fire, 10,000 structures destroyed this past year, 5,000 of
them homes.
WILDLAND FIRE FUND VACANCIES
It's my understanding that the Wildland Fire Fund has 550
vacancies. The difference between a firefighter in California
who's paid about $70,000, that comparison is about $38,000 for
a Federal firefighter. That's a problem, and I've gotten very
much involved in fire and with global warming, it's going to be
more and more fire and the need for watching electric lines,
litter, tree breaks, all of those kinds of things become more
and more.
CALIFORNIA FIREFIGHTER AND FEDERAL FIREFIGHTER SALARIES
I'm really very concerned about the low salary that the
department pays which I understand is a $38,000 for a Federal
firefighter compared to the California salary of $70,000 for a
wildland firefighter.
To me, that's a huge problem. Is there any effort to
increase salaries of Federal firefighters so that there can be
competition and these 550 vacant jobs can get filled?
Secretary Haaland. Thank you so much for the question,
Senator, and, of course, wildland fire is one of the biggest
concerns for our department, as well.
Our workforce transformation efforts are ongoing and our
intermediate step in addressing the pay and compensation parity
concerns. We also recognize that, yes, there are vacancies and
we're working hard to fill those, as well.
We're aware of the proposals to raise the annual pay cap
for the most experienced wildland fire responders and we're
looking at that very closely and we appreciate your concern and
raising it here today. We are happy to stay in touch with your
office regarding this issue and look forward to discussing it
further, but thank you for raising it and we understand.
LETTER SENT TO SECRETARY HAALAND AND SECRETARY VILSACK REQUESTING
FIREFIGHTING AGENCIES CONTINUE TRANSITION TO MEET CHALLENGES PASSED
WITH NO RESPONSE TO THAT LETTER
Senator Feinstein. Well, in March of this year, Senator
Padilla and I, along with 21 of our House colleagues, wrote to
you and Secretary Vilsack requesting that the Federal wildland
firefighting agencies continue the transition to meet the
challenges passed by what is clearly becoming a year-round fire
season and we have never to date had a response to that letter.
So, would it be possible to get a response to that letter?
Secretary Haaland. Yes, yes, Senator. Thank you. It's duly
noted.
Senator Feinstein. Thank you very much.
FIRE ON FEDERAL LAND IN CALIFORNIA AND VACANCIES AND HIRING
My final question is we're a big State. There's a lot of
land involved. Fire is bad. We lost about 5,000 homes last year
in fire and fire on Federal land, which, as I said, is 51
percent of our forest, is owned by the Federal Government has
to be competitive and be able to hire people.
My understanding is that there are a large number of
vacancies, is that correct, and what are the vacancies?
Secretary Haaland. Senator, I can't answer now with that
particular data. We're absolutely happy to get back with your
office and stay in touch about that. Otherwise, I'd be happy to
have Rachael add some detail.
HIRING FIREFIGHTERS IN THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA AT A COMPETITIVE RATE
Senator Feinstein. Well, I appreciate that very much, but,
Mr. Chairman, my big interest is fire in this area because
these fires are large and, you know, 58 percent of our forest
land is federally-owned. You have to be able to hire in the
State at a competitive rate which in California is not a
competitive rate.
I believe we've added some money in the budget to increase
the amounts but the department does not want to seem to want to
respond.
So can I get some kind of a commitment on the department
working to see that their pay is competitive in the areas so
the areas can hire firefighters?
Secretary Haaland. Senator, you absolutely have our
commitment to address this issue and I'd like to ask Rachael to
provide a few more details.
Senator Feinstein. Good. Thank you.
Ms. Taylor. Thank you, Senator Feinstein. I know that this
is an issue you've worked personally on for many years, and I
had the opportunity to work with you on for many years, as
well.
So, I appreciate you raising the letter and I will go back
today and see where that is in process, but just two updates on
the issues that you raised.
CALIFORNIA FIREFIGHTER PAY PARITY
One is the pay cap issue and I can assure you, we are
having meetings, including regular meetings with the White
House to talk about readiness issues. This administration takes
these very seriously and the issues that you raise, which are
particularly acute in California about pay parity, are
absolutely part of those discussions.
I think we need to take a hard look about making sure we're
using all of the tools in our tool chest we have right now to
get those positions filled and get the firefighting workforce
up and then we'll be happy to work with the subcommittee going
forward to see what else might be needed.
DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR'S EFFORTS TO CREATE A FULL-TIME, YEAR-ROUND
WORKFORCE
On the point you raised which, I would start by saying
thank you for supporting the Department's efforts to create a
full-time, year-round workforce. I would note that we are still
in the process of implementing some of the increases that
Congress provided generously last year. Some of vacancies may
be due to the fact that we're still hiring under the new
authority that we have.
I think as of June 10, we have about 57 of the positions
identified for the new year-round workforce which are either
hired or in process of being hired. So, we are making progress.
We hear your urgency loud and clear, but we appreciate the
additional resources. We think when it's fully implemented,
this is going to mean about 570 positions that are going to
move to full time. So that's going to be an important resource
for the Department.
Senator Feinstein. Well,----
Senator Merkley. I thank you very much.
Senator Feinstein [continuing]. May I just thank her for
that?
Senator Merkley. Please, indeed.
Senator Feinstein. And would you keep in contact of how
those hirings go so we might know?
Ms. Taylor. Absolutely.
Senator Feinstein. Thank you.
Senator Merkley. Thank you, Senator Feinstein, and thank
you for your emphasis on effectiveness in this area.
Senator Hyde-Smith.
Senator Hyde-Smith. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you,
Secretary Haaland, for appearing before the subcommittee today
to discuss your budget request for the Department of Interior
and your department really does play a vital role in my State.
LAND AND WATER CONSERVATION FUND PROJECTS
MEDGAR EVERS HOME PROJECT AND THE FORK IN THE ROAD PROJECT AT THE
NATCHEZ NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK
The Land and Water Conservation Fund Projects offer an
opportunity to shed light on the civil rights movement
preservation through projects like Medgar Evers Home Project
and more recently the Fork in the Road Project at the Natchez
National Historical Park, and I am thankful that projects like
Fork in the Road are being recognized. I appreciate that, and I
look forward to working together to ensure that an investment
in Federal funds and personnel is achieved to fully complete
those projects.
AFFECTS OF THE OFFSHORE OIL AND GAS LEASING ON MISSISSIPPI CONSTITUENTS
My first question is I want to discuss the recent action by
a Federal judge on the offshore oil and gas leasing pause.
Offshore oil and gas leasing affects the livelihood of many of
my constituents as well as the Bureau of Ocean Energy
Management, an agency whose budget relies on offsetting
collections received from offshore oil and gas leasing
receipts.
Given the recent decision by this Federal judge, where does
your department stand on the continuation of an oil and gas
leasing pause?
Secretary Haaland. Thank you very much, Senator, for the
question, and, first, it's a fresh decision. We all found out
about it the same time, last night.
Our Department is reviewing the judge's opinion as we speak
and consulting with the Department of Justice. All I can say
really is that today, we're reviewing the judge's opinion. We
will respect the judge's decision in this issue and any other
information will be forthcoming.
Senator Hyde-Smith. Thank you very much.
BUREAU OF OCEAN ENERGY MANAGEMENT AND THE 5-YEAR LEASING PROGRAM
The budget highlights that the Department of Interior
through the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management maintaining a
leasing program that the current 5-year plan expires July 1,
2022. I know that's 13 months away, and I'm just curious. Will
the department begin to develop a new 5-year plan during the
duration of this case since the expiration of the current plan
is getting so close?
Secretary Haaland. Thank you so much, Senator. I am very
fortunate to work with a team of very experienced and talented
individuals who stay on task when it comes to deadlines. I can
turn it over to Rachael and perhaps she has some insight to
offer.
Senator Hyde-Smith. Thank you.
COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW OF THE FEDERAL ENERGY PROGRAMS
Ms. Taylor. Thanks, Senator, for that question. I would
just add that we are undertaking the comprehensive review of
the Federal energy programs and I think a lot of the long-term
questions about development are posed through that review
process.
We're hopeful that the results of that will be forthcoming
and I think when that is out there, we will have more to say on
that and we'll be looking forward to updating the subcommittee
when that happens. So, we'll be in touch with all of you.
Senator Hyde-Smith. Thank you.
RESTORATION OF THE VICKSBURG NATIONAL MILITARY PARK AND THE VICKSBURG
NATIONAL CEMETERY
My second question, Madam Secretary, early last year the
National Park Service committed to the full restoration of
Vicksburg National Military Park and Vicksburg National
Cemetery after more than 28 inches of rainfall caused severe
soil erosion, road collapse and damage to 64 grave sites of
United States colored troops and other unknown burials from the
1860s.
This is the most visited tourist attraction in Mississippi.
It's a fabulous park, and I've been there several times. I
appreciate that commitment because these sites are significant
and historic economic draws for Vicksburg in my State.
Will you give me an update on the progress of that work and
any outlook for work on any other backlog maintenance needs
there because it is really a serious concern for all
Mississippians and really important to me?
Secretary Haaland. Thank you, Senator. Yes, it absolutely
is important to us, too, and I want you to know that.
We know that the park is unfortunately still impacted by
the record rainfall that it received in 2019 and 2020 and
additional storms are predicted, and they've continued to cause
issues. We know that vehicle access continues to be limited and
a portion of the park is still closed, although foot access
remains intact.
VICKSBURG NATIONAL CEMETERY TERRACE AND INDIAN MOUND
The work continues to recover and protect the remains and
stabilize the National Cemetery Terrace and Indian Mound, and
also to repair roads. So, the park has a number of repair
projects underway. We are working on that. We're more than
happy to keep you updated as time goes on, but I want you to
know that it's important to us, as well.
If you have any other specific questions we're happy to
provide you with a briefing on exactly where we are, but the
repairs are underway.
Senator Hyde-Smith. Thank you. The updates would be greatly
appreciated as we make progress. I truly appreciate that.
Secretary Haaland. Absolutely.
Senator Hyde-Smith. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Secretary Haaland. Thank you.
Senator Merkley. Senator Reed.
Senator Reed. Well, thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
Welcome, Madam Secretary, and you're in good company with
Rachael Taylor.
BLACKSTONE RIVER VALLEY NATIONAL PARK AND THE NATIONAL PARK SYSTEM
My first question will be familiar to Ms. Taylor, which is
the creation of the Blackstone River Valley National Park, an
effort that began with my predecessor John Chaffee decades and
decades ago.
This historic park would bridge both Massachusetts and
Rhode Island but principally Rhode Island, and I understand the
final step in the process to establish the park as a formal
unit of the National Park System is secretarial approval of the
park's boundaries, and where are you in this process, Madam
Secretary?
Secretary Haaland. Thank you so much for the question,
Senator. Thank you for your leadership to make this park a
reality.
OLD SLATER MILL
The park recently acquired the Old Slater Mill. That was an
important milestone because the park needs to build capacity.
SLATER MILL DAM
The next step is finalizing the boundaries, something that
the Park Service is currently working through, and they're
continuing to work with the Rhode Island Department of
Environmental Management and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
to secure the Slater Mill Dam.
We'll absolutely be happy to work on coordinating with your
office on timing for any announcements or anything that you
need regarding this. We'd be happy to be in touch.
Senator Reed. Thank you, Madam Secretary.
Can you give an estimate? Are we talking about 30 days, 60
days, 90 days, or are we talking about something longer?
Secretary Haaland. Rachael perhaps can have some insights.
Ms. Taylor. I know this is a priority to get done, and I
don't have a specific number of days to give you, Senator, but
I think the Park Service is trying to finish its review and get
it to the Secretary. This is a big milestone for the park and
something that's really important to your State. So, we'll
absolutely make sure that we're coordinating with you when we
get close to having a decision so you know it's coming and that
we have the appropriate attention on what we do then to
memorialize it.
Senator Reed. Thank you. Obviously, Madam Secretary, I
would invite you up for the formal celebration. If you could
come, we'd be very delighted. So, thank you.
BALMAIN NOAA AND WIND FARMS OFFSHORE
Let me shift to another issue, that's offshore wind.
There's a new collaboration between Balmain NOAA to ensure that
there is a collaboration especially when it comes to the
fisheries. Our local fishing fleets depend upon access and
obviously the construction of wind farms offshore. Some of that
access is restricted.
In addition, what has happened is that the monitoring of
the waters has also been circumscribed because they can't get
into the structures very easily, but Balmain NOAA are committed
to working together to make sure that appropriate surveys are
conducted.
BALMAIN NOAA AND STEPS TAKEN TO ENSURE FISHERMEN ARE COMPENSATED FOR
LOSSES
Can you discuss this partnership with Balmain NOAA and what
other steps Balmain might be taking to ensure that fishermen
are compensated for any losses they might experience?
Secretary Haaland. Senator, thank you so much for the
question, and with this project and any project that our
Department undertakes, there's a commitment to consulting with
stakeholders.
BOEM MEETINGS AND WORKSHOPS
BOEM will hold meetings, workshops. They'll ask for public
input throughout the entire renewable energy development
process. People on the ground, their input is very important to
us, and I can commit to you that we will absolutely reach out
to the fishing community and happy to keep you updated on those
issues, but we're committed to that consultation and input from
the community.
Senator Reed. Thank you very much, Madam Secretary.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you.
Senator Merkley. Thank you very much, Senator Reed.
Senator Van Hollen.
Senator Van Hollen. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Madam Secretary, it's great to you see and your team, and I
appreciate the budget proposal you've put forward.
REPORT TO THE NATIONAL CLIMATE TASK FORCE: CONSERVING AND RESTORING
AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL
As you indicate in your testimony, the administration
recently released a preliminary report to the National Climate
Task Force, Conserving and Restoring America the Beautiful,
recommending a 10-year locally-led campaign to conserve and
restore America's lands and waters, providing a goal to
conserve 30 percent of U.S. land and waters by the year 2030,
and I'm pleased to report that the Chesapeake Bay Watershed
States of six States, plus the District of Columbia, are
working hard to achieve that goal within the watershed.
CHESAPEAKE BAY AND THE DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR'S INVOLVEMENT
I wanted to ask you about the Chesapeake Bay and the
Department of Interior's involvement because in the last
Congress, as part of the America's Conservation Enhancement
Act, we created an authorization for $10 million for the Fish
and Wildlife Service to be involved in our Chesapeake Bay
preservation and cleanup efforts. This was just recently
authorized. It's not included in your budget, but I would like
your commitment to work with this subcommittee, the
Appropriations Committee, in providing the funds and then
making sure that we deploy them in the most effective way in
the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. Can you commit to that?
Secretary Haaland. I will always work with you, Senator.
We'll commit to working with you on that. Thank you.
Senator Van Hollen. I'll be talking to the Chairman and the
Ranking Member in terms of making sure we provide that
appropriation going forward.
MIGRATORY BIRD TEATY ACT AND RECOVERING DAMAGES FROM BP AFTER THE DEEP
HORIZON'S OIL SPILL
I wanted to commend you and the administration on the
actions you've taken with respect to the Migratory Bird Treaty
Act. The Ranking Member's not here, but she knows well that I
sort of was in, you know, at least rhetorical combat with the
previous administration over this issue because they changed
their interpretation of that important treaty in a way that
would have prohibited taxpayers and the Federal Government from
recovering damages from BP after the Deep Horizons' oil spill.
They did that first through what they called the M Opinion
and then later worked to do it in regulation. So I was pleased
to see you quickly reverse the M Opinion and I know you're in
the process of addressing the regulatory piece.
Can you talk about what you might ultimately replace this
with? There are issues, legitimate issues regarding concern
over people potentially being penalized for incidental and
unintentional but also very incidental deaths. Can you talk
about how we can resolve this on a permanent basis?
Secretary Haaland. Thank you so much. So, with respect to
this issue, we just ended the 30-day public comment period,
that was on June 7, on the proposed rule to revoke the rule
you're speaking of. The Fish and Wildlife Service is now
reviewing those public comments. That will have everything to
do with how they come out on the other end with a proposed rule
so I can't say specifically what the Fish and Wildlife Service
will do currently, but, we're happy to stay in touch with you
and work with you going forward.
Senator Van Hollen. I look forward to doing that because
there are some issues that, you know, we'd like to resolve.
First, we have to undo the damage that was done through the
previous administration's actions, but then I do think there's
room for some, you know, greater certainty in this area so we
don't go back and forth.
Secretary Haaland. Thank you and I appreciate that. Thank
you.
CIVILIAN CLIMATE CORPS AND FUNDS REQUESTED BY THE PRESIDENT
Senator Van Hollen. So, I was pleased to see the President
requested funds for the Civilian Climate Corps. Could you just
take 30 seconds to talk about how you would be implementing
that, what your vision is?
Secretary Haaland. Absolutely. Well, first of all, that's
one of my favorite initiatives and I look forward to hopefully
implementing that, but the Department of the Interior has a
long history of programs that involve Americans who want to
work in our public lands.
PUBLIC LANDS CORPS AND THE ANCESTRAL LANDS CONSERVATION CORPS
Past examples of getting Americans to work in our public
lands are the Public Lands Corps, Giving Young Adults and
Veterans a Pathway to Federal Service through Conservation, the
Ancestral Lands Conservation Corps, Connecting Tribal Youth and
Natural and Cultural Resources Conservation with Scientists and
Parks Program that brings aspiring scientists to national parks
and supports STEM education.
Those are all experiences that we've had in involving
Americans in the work that could inspire them for a lifetime of
public service to our country and to our public lands.
CIVILIAN CLIMATE CORPS
I feel like that gives us a start and an eye into how we
might implement the Civilian Climate Corps. There are some
things that are very timely because of climate change. For
example with Wildland Fire, there's lots of work out in fuels
reduction on our public lands and so the ideas for putting our
Civilian Climate Corps to work are virtually endless. So, I
think that will kind of follow our previous programs and that
gives us a starting point.
Senator Van Hollen. Thank you, Madam Secretary.
Senator Merkley. Senator Hagerty.
Senator Hagerty. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I appreciate the opportunity to be here with you,
Secretary. Congratulations on your new position.
GREAT AMERICAN OUTDOORS ACT
I'd like to take us to something that's very close to me
and my home State, that's the Great American Outdoors Act. That
law was passed by Congress last year, signed into law by
President Trump.
My predecessor, Senator Lamar Alexander, had a great deal
to do with that, and I want to voice my appreciation for his
efforts.
The Great American Outdoors Act is going to reduce the $12
billion maintenance shortfall in our parks by about half and
the revenues to address this come from energy development, both
onshore and offshore.
GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK
I think it's got tremendous potential, particularly when I
think about my home State, because we have the Great Smoky
Mountains National Park there, some 12 million visitors a year.
It's the most visited national park in America.
If I look at what's happening right now, comparing 2021 to
2019, which is the last year of normal operation, in the first
4 months of 2021, we were up a million visitors already versus
the record that was set back in 2019.
So, my sense is that as Americans come back out and seek
the great outdoors, we're going to see even more pressure on
that great resource, the Great Smoky Mountains.
GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS MAINTENANCE BACKLOG
The park right now has a $235 million maintenance backlog
and the majority of that of that backlog is tied up in roads,
trails, restrooms, visitors centers, things of that nature, and
the Great American Outdoors Act has already begun to reduce
that burden, but I want to emphasize that we've got to make
sure that we have the funds ready and sustain the investments
into the future on this property.
PRIORITIZING PROJECTS FUNDED BY THE GREAT AMERICAN OUTDOORS ACT
Secretary Haaland, can you discuss for me how your
department will prioritize which projects out of this backlog
will be funded by the Great American Outdoors Act?
Secretary Haaland. Thank you so much for the question,
Senator. First, what I can say is that every bureau selects
projects a little bit differently, but essentially reducing the
deferred maintenance backlog is the priority and that means
focusing on projects where funds will have the most impact for
the National Park Service.
PRESIDENT'S BUDGET REQUEST FOR THE GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK
That means we're using funds for some of our larger and
more complex projects that are difficult to fund through annual
appropriations and these also include our large transportation
and water system projects. It doesn't mean that anything in the
Great Smoky Mountains wouldn't be prioritized. I also want to
mention that the President's budget request for the Great Smoky
Mountains National Park is $23 million. That's an increase of
$2.4 million from 2021.
So those increases include $500,000 for fixed costs, like
employee pay increases, $1 million for research learning
centers, $900,000 for natural resources restoration.
The budget also includes $14.5 million in Great American
Outdoors mandatory funds to rehabilitate and expand the park's
Sugarlands Headquarters.
Senator Hagerty. Yes,----
Secretary Haaland. Yes, so----
Senator Hagerty [continuing]. Foothills parkway, too, I
think is on that list.
Secretary Haaland. Perhaps, yes.
Senator Hagerty. And I appreciate your continued attention
to that, Madam Secretary. It's critically important to the
people of Tennessee but everybody on this side of America. This
is the most visited national park in the Nation and I think
very worthy of the attention that I know that you and your team
will pay to it.
ASIAN CARP AND THE SPECIES OF ASIAN CARP
I'd like to turn to another issue that is not unique to
Tennessee but it's something that is creating a huge problem
and that is Asian carp and the species of Asian carp are
predatory. They are destroying our waterway systems, the
ecosystems within our State, and whether it be lakes, streams,
waterways. They will reproduce multiple times a year. They have
no natural predators, and they are endangering our lakes and
rivers in Tennessee and also I'd highlight this. We have one of
the most valuable ecosystems in the world in the Mississippi
River Basin. That's coming under fire from this breed of carp.
If you look at what the economic impact of this is, fishing
and recreational boating generates $7.2 billion of annual
economic value in my State of Tennessee, supports over 27,000
jobs. So, this has not only an environmental impact but it has
an enormous economic impact, as well, and we find Asian carp
now all the way from Chattanooga to Memphis. It's rapidly
evolving and incredibly invasive.
Thanks to the leadership of this subcommittee in the past
few years, Congress has provided over $25 million a year to the
Fish and Wildlife Service to help contain the spread.
I'd just like to get your input on how the funds have been
distributed across the States and, you know, how that funding
will have an impact on containing the spread. I'd love to get
your perspective, Madam Secretary.
COMBATING INVASIVE CARP
Secretary Haaland. Thank you so much, and, yes, we're quite
aware how important and dire the situation with invasive carp
is.
The Fish and Wildlife Service has found that contract
fishing is very successful in combating invasive carp. I will
have Rachael to highlight some of the numbers for you.
Senator Hagerty. Thank you.
Secretary Haaland. But I can tell you that contract fishing
has been an important tool in this issue and we're more than
happy to stay in touch with you about the progress.
Ms. Taylor. Yes. I could follow up with your staff to
provide additional detail of what's in the 2022 request, but as
the Secretary said, we're well aware of the bipartisan interest
from the subcommittee and well aware of the success that we've
had in some of the investments and look forward to working with
you going forward.
Senator Hagerty. Thank you, Rachael. I appreciate your
doing that, and I certainly intend to speak with Shannon
Estenoz, who's your nominee for Assistant Secretary. We want to
stay on this issue and work closely with you.
Secretary Haaland. Yes.
Senator Hagerty. Thank you so much.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Senator Merkley. Thank you.
Senator Tester.
Senator Tester. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member
Murkowski.
CONFIRMATION OF TRACY STONE-MANNING AS DIRECTOR OF THE BUREAU OF LAND
MANAGEMENT
I appreciate the opportunity to visit with you, Secretary
Haaland. I want to start out with something that I think is
really, really important and that's the head of the BLM. It's a
person by the name of Tracy Stone-Manning. She's from Montana.
I worked with her closely over the last 20 years. There's a lot
of--I'll just call it this way for what it is. There's a lot of
crap being spread about her that's not correct. This has all
been litigated before and proven not to be correct in
confirmations in the Montana State Legislature.
I would just hope that you would put your full support
behind her and make sure you're doing everything you can do to
get her confirmed. The BLM is a really critically important
position. This lady knows her stuff and would be an incredible
asset to this Nation.
Secretary Haaland. Thank you very much, Senator, and we're
supportive of all of President Biden's nominees. Thank you.
MILK RIVER ST. MARY'S PROJECT
Senator Tester. Right. So, I don't know if you're familiar
with the Milk River St. Mary's Project. It is an engineering
marvel that was built over a 100 years ago that's been wore out
for the last 40 years and, in fact, last year we had two drops
fail, catastrophic failures, and with the help of reclamation
we got them rebuilt.
We've got to rebuild the whole system. Otherwise, the Milk
River runs dry. People don't have drinking water. Farmers don't
have irrigation water. Cattle don't have water to drink. It's a
really important project.
ST. MARY'S DIVERSION DAM
Can I get your commitment to work with me to make sure that
reclamation is actively supporting a bill that I'm carrying to
rehabilitee the St. Mary's diversion dam and the whole Milk
River project?
Secretary Haaland. Senator, we'll be happy to follow up
with your staff on that issue and appreciate your flagging it
for us.
Senator Tester. I cannot tell you the importance of this
issue and I can't tell you how wore out this is and it's an
engineering marvel. It's amazing what people could do in the
days before electricity because this is all run by gravity and
it's an amazing project, critical to both Montana and I believe
this country as a whole.
REVIEW OF OIL AND GAS LEASING
Look. I want to talk real briefly on oil and gas leasing.
We've got more acres of lease than we have developed which
tells me that even if you support oil and gas jobs, which I
believe we do, there's some improvements that could be made,
but as this review rolls on, a leasing pause gives folks
working in the oil and gas industry a lot of uncertainty.
It's getting harder and harder to extend that trust without
hard information and a review; namely, when are we going to see
the review? What's it going to cover? Is there going to be any
concrete policy recommendations for Congress to consider?
So, the first question I have is can you tell me when this
review is going to be ready for prime time?
Secretary Haaland. Thank you, Senator. We have said all
along that early summer. It's almost early summer.
Senator Tester. Yes, it is.
Secretary Haaland. My guess is they'll be getting it
sometime in the near future.
Senator Tester. So, today's the 16th. Five days from now is
the beginning of summer. So, I'm taking that as it'll be out in
the next month. Okay?
Secretary Haaland. Thank you, Senator.
FORT BELKNAP TRIBE AND THE INDIAN WATER SETTLEMENT
Senator Tester. That'll be great. I want to talk a little
bit about Fort Belknap Tribe and the Indian Water Settlement
that goes with it. It's the last one for our State and this has
been going on for over 20 years.
I've dropped a bill in. The folks at Fort Belknap, good
people, they've been negotiating their settlement and actually
those negotiations with Fort Belknap began 50 years ago, when I
was 14. Okay. It passed the State legislature in 2001.
I'll just make this recommendation to you. I think you
really do need to help the Fort Belknap Tribe and make sure
that they are doing the right things to get this water
settlement done so that we, the United States, can live up to
our trust responsibilities.
Could I get your commitment to work with me to make sure
that we get that settlement passed?
Secretary Haaland. Senator, we're committed to meeting all
of our Tribal settlement obligations and thank you for caring
so much about that.
Senator Tester. Yes. I'll tell you I'm not going to be able
to do it alone.
Secretary Haaland. I understand.
Senator Tester. I need your help.
Secretary Haaland. Thank you.
Senator Tester. Fort Belknap needs your help.
Secretary Haaland. We'll absolutely be happy to speak with
you in more detail about that.
BLACKFEET TRIBE AND THE FIX TO THEIR WATER SETTLEMENT
Senator Tester. Okay. We've got about 4 years left to get
$296 million out the door to the Blackfeet Tribe to fix their
water settlement. You're asking for about $85.1 million this
year between BIA and reclamation for that settlement.
Do you believe the budget request is going to get us where
we need to be over the next 4 years?
Secretary Haaland. Yes, we take this water settlement and
all settlement commitments very seriously. As you mentioned,
the budget includes $45 million for the Blackfeet settlement in
BIA, assuming level funding, we are on track to make the final
payment in fiscal year 2024. In Reclamation, the budget
includes $40 million and that assumes incremental increases in
out years to meet the settlement date.
Senator Tester. Thank you. Thank you for being here today.
Mr. Chairman, I do have one question for the record on the
CSKT Compact that I will hope to get a timely response on.
Secretary Haaland. You absolutely will. Thank you.
Senator Merkley. Senator, thank you for educating us about
the Milk River.
Senator Heinrich.
Senator Heinrich. Thank you, Chairman.
I want to reiterate Senator Tester's comments about Tracy
Stone-Manning and the importance of getting leadership in place
at BLM and we will continue to work with you on that,
Secretary.
Secretary Haaland. Thank you.
PROTECTING TRIBAL RELIGIOUS AND CULTURAL OBJECTS FROM THEFT AND
TRAFFICKING
Senator Heinrich. As you know, for centuries Tribes have
fought to protect our religious and cultural objects from theft
and trafficking, and we now have some laws on the books that
make it illegal to sell certain cultural items in the United
States. However, it's still legal to export them and to sell
them overseas.
Senator Murkowski and I have legislation to fix this
problem and to make sure that these sacred items can't be
exported for sale at auction houses in Europe, but we also need
your department to work to encourage the voluntary return of
these objects, both here and overseas.
So, I just wanted to ask what tools the department is using
to ensure the return of these items to sovereign Tribes.
Secretary Haaland. Thank you, Senator. The legislation was
of particular importance to me during my time in Congress and I
thank you for your leadership on that issue and it brings back
some terrible memories about what Tribes have gone through. So,
thank you for caring about this.
We take this call to action very personally. What I can say
is I'm committed to working with you. We want to ensure that
these cultural items are returned. I have to believe that every
case is different, but you have my personal commitment that I
will work with you on this issue and that we will do what needs
to be done.
LAW ENFORCEMENT RESOURCES TO DEAL WITH PROTECTING TRIBAL CULTURAL
RESOURCES
Senator Heinrich. Do you feel like you have sufficient law
enforcement resources at this point or is that an area that
needs more attention added from the appropriators in
particular?
Secretary Haaland. If Rachael wouldn't mind adding a little
detail to that answer, I'd be very grateful.
Ms. Taylor. Yes. I'd be happy to follow up on some more
granular details, but I think in general you've seen the
Department support additional resources, including in the Fish
and Wildlife Service, to support the enforcement side of
things, and we would be happy to work with the subcommittee not
just on that issue but on the bigger thrust of the budget to
deal with protecting Tribal cultural resources more generally.
We're trying to implement the statute. We're trying to
provide additional resources to Tribal historic preservation
offices. I think you see an all of Department approach and we
will get back to you on the details specifically.
Senator Heinrich. I appreciate that. I think law
enforcement at Interior is something that we need to focus more
on in this subcommittee certainly at Fish and Wildlife and with
respect to cultural items but also just in general if you look
at the law enforcement that we have associated with the
millions of acres of BLM lands. It's just not adequate for the
kinds of things that we're seeing out on the landscape at this
point.
CHACO CANYON AND THE CHACO CULTURE NATIONAL HISTORIC PARK
Secretary, I just want to thank you for your longstanding
incredible leadership on protecting the landscape around Chaco
Canyon. You supported legislation to withdraw the area when you
were in the House. The President's budget request continues the
moratorium in that area, but I think it's time we move away
from stopgap measures and 1 year pauses and while we in the
House and Senate have worked through the legislative process
for permanent protection of that landscape, I would just ask
that you work with us to go through the process of
administratively withdrawing the region around Chaco Culture
National Historic Park so that we can get that legislation
across the finish line.
Secretary Haaland. Thank you, Senator. Thank you for your
commitment, as well, and thank you for raising the issue and
sending a letter. We'll absolutely be in touch with you about
this issue.
As Rachael mentioned, all of these issues are extremely
important to us and certainly Chaco culture has a personal
place in my heart and we're going to work with you on this
issue. So, thank you.
Senator Heinrich. Thank you for all that you're doing at
the department right now, Secretary, and I have a few other
questions that I'll just submit for the record, Mr. Chairman,
including one that just has to do with how we do a better job
of streamlining the process for removing dilapidated buildings
across Tribal lands and the role of the BIA there, but my time
has expired, and I will yield back.
Senator Merkley. Thank you, Senator Heinrich.
FIRES IN FORESTS AND DROUGHT ON LAKES, RIVERS, AND IRRIGATION FOR
FARMING AND RANCHING
So, we're now turning to our second round of questions. I
began the first round on fire and I'm going to start the second
round on drought. They're kind of two pieces that go hand-in-
hand but having a huge impact, fires in our forests and the
drought on everything, our lakes, our rivers, certainly our
irrigation for farming and ranching.
KLAMATH BASIN
Thank you for providing assistance to the Agriculture
community and irrigation and to the Tribal community of Klamath
Basin and the initial assistance is significant but more is
needed.
Can you give us an update on if more is possible for the
Klamath Basin and then also if you can give us any insights on
assistance you can provide in other Bureau of Reclamation
areas, including in Central Oregon?
As I mentioned, last night I heard from farmer after farmer
after farmer in Central Oregon about the impact of the 4 years
of drought and I realize a lot of that falls in the Department
of Agriculture, but wherever there's a Bureau of Reclamation,
well, that's Interior.
Secretary Haaland. Thank you for the question, Chairman,
and I want you to know that we have staff who are fully
committed to this and they work on this issue every single day.
We're always happy to have a conversation with you and answer
any of those ongoing questions, so don't ever hesitate to reach
out.
I think you've been in touch with my senior counselor Liz
Klein, who works on this issue daily.
DROUGHT RELIEF WORKING GROUP
So, first, I'll just let you know that, and you likely know
this already, Interior is part of a Drought Relief working
group that was formed last month to essentially marshal the
resources of the entire Federal family to address this crisis.
We're working closely with NOAA, local irrigation districts,
other stakeholders who are on the ground to ensure that we're
getting the right balance between the needs of the ranchers,
farmers, Tribes, and the species.
Reclamation committed $15 million in immediate aid through
the Climate Project Drought Response Agency, another $3 million
in technical assistance for Tribes. We're looking to see if we
can do more to leverage additional resources and provide more
flexibility.
We work on this issue every day. It's extremely important
to us and, of course, we will take your ideas, as well.
Senator Merkley. Thank you and I know that there are other
possibilities in the works in terms of reprogramming. So, I
look forward to talking with you about that and to follow up on
the other Bureau of Reclamation areas, including in Central
Oregon, as to how the department can be helpful.
CASCADE SISKIYOU MONUMENT
Let me turn to some specific Oregon issues. The Cascade
Siskiyou Monument was expanded under President Obama but it
lacks a management plan. Can we get that plan done? Can you
have a plan for us from 6 months from today, if not sooner?
Secretary Haaland. Thank you for that timeline, Senator. We
will absolutely do our best to answer the call to the urgency
that you stated and so we'll do our best and we're absolutely
happy to keep you updated on our progress.
Senator Merkley. Well, without a revision to that Monument
Management Plan, BLM cannot conduct ecological forest
restoration projects to reduce wildfire risks and protect
communities in the Monument. So, it's extremely important. It's
well over 4 years since this Monument has been expanded. We
need that plan.
Secretary Haaland. Thank you. I will make sure that the BLM
knows and understands how important this is.
COOS BAY WAGON ROAD ACT OF 1939
Senator Merkley. The Coos Bay Wagon Road Act of 1939
requires the Federal Government to make payment in lieu of
taxes to Douglas County and Coos County and to disburse the
revenues and the law requires the Secretary of Interior to
convene a three-person committee every 10 years to examine the
payment formula, make sure that that is done fairly. That has
not happened in 43 years.
So, I was really pleased to hear that last week the three
committee Members have been selected. Thank you. Is it possible
that they can complete their evaluation and get a report within
6 months from today?
Secretary Haaland. Senator, we're making plans to convene
the committee as early as next month and we will absolutely do
our best.
Senator Merkley. Thank you. How about next week? Zooms are
amazing.
Secretary Haaland. Thank you, Chairman. Your urgency is
noted. I appreciate that very much.
APPRAISAL PROCESS FOR LAND ACQUISITION
Senator Merkley. Thank you. Turning to the issue of
appraisals, the Land and Water Conservation Fund has gained a
significant boost from the Great American Outdoors Act but to
acquire land, it has to be appraised. This has proved to be a
real roadblock.
So, can we put the appraisal process into high gear in
order to proceed to be able to acquire these sensitive and
special lands for the people of the United States of America?
Secretary Haaland. Chairman, I'd like to defer to Rachael
to answer that question for you.
Ms. Taylor. Thanks for the question, Mr. Chairman. You
know, we're excited about the growth of the Land and Water
Conservation Program made possible by the Great American
Outdoors Act but recognize that means that we're going to have
a great structure around the program going forward.
We are working to speed up the appraisal process and get
those pieces in place so we are faster and more effective. You
know, you correctly noted that there's been some historical
funding and staffing challenges.
HIRING PLAN TO RECRUIT APPRAISERS
I would note that we have a hiring plan in place and that
we are working to recruit appraisers, trying to fill all the
vacancies by the end of the fiscal year 2022.
Senator Merkley. Well, let me interrupt you.
Ms. Taylor. Yes, sir.
Senator Merkley. All right. So fiscal year 2021, we
provided $19 million to double the number of staff. So, when I
hear you saying you want to fill these positions by the end of
fiscal year 2022, that's like September of next year. No, no,
no, no, no. Like fill these positions like in the next 2
months.
Ms. Taylor. I totally understand. We are trying to expedite
hiring. We'd be happy to follow up with the staff with a more
granular detail on what the hiring plan looks like.
I think the point I'm trying to raise is that we hear your
urgency, we share it, and we want to make sure we're also
collaborating with the bureaus to make sure their processes and
staffing are in place to move these projects along. So, thank
you for raising that and appreciate the opportunity to work
with you in the process to move this along.
Senator Merkley. I realize that often those of us who are
outside of a department can't appreciate the complexity of what
has to happen inside the department. We're like convene the
meeting tomorrow and that's at least the attitude that I hope
that the department will take because the cost of acquiring
these special places only goes up.
We want the American taxpayer dollar to be used in the most
effective fashion possible. We have authorized the hiring. We
provided the funding to hire those staff. We have the funding
in the Land and Water Conservation Fund to conserve these
lands. We have the Great American Outdoors Act in place. We
have the vision provided by America the Beautiful and the
President's Plan. Everything's lined up. So, it's like
tomorrow.
Secretary Haaland. Thank you, Chairman.
Senator Merkley. Thank you.
Ranking Member Murkowski.
Senator Murkowski. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
PUBLIC LAW 280 STATES
Madam Secretary, I mentioned the issue of Public Law 280
States and wanted to ask a little bit further about that.
Again, I appreciate the efforts that are being made as we try
to address the issues surrounding missing, murdered American
Indians, Alaska Natives.
So, you've got an increase of $58 million for public safety
and justice. So, as I'm looking for additional details here,
it's my understanding most of these increases will support
direct services and Tribal courts, but as you know, we've got
States like Alaska, California, Public Law 280 States, and so
they're just a little bit different. These traditional funding
streams will not reach our States even though clearly the need
is significant. We've talked about this. You recognize it.
So, I have over the years provided specific funding for
Public Law 280 States in the annual appropriations process.
Rachael's very familiar with this. In fiscal year 2021 funding
for Public Law 280 States was at $15 million.
So, can you share with me what the proposed funding level
for Public Law 280 States in the fiscal year 2022 proposal is?
TRIBAL COURT PROGRAMS
Secretary Haaland. Senator, thank you so much for the
question. We do still need an estimate on 2022, but I want you
to know that the budget makes needed investments in public
safety and justice, including a $5 million increase for Tribal
court programs.
I will be happy to follow up with you on the record with
specifics and details. I'll turn it over to Rachael if she
wants to add anything.
Ms. Taylor. Just that we know the budget got a little bit
of a late start this year. We recognize that some of the
justifications are still to be published and so we'll work on
expediting that to help provide additional detail and answer
any questions that the justification does not provide.
Senator Murkowski. That would be helpful because if it is
an increase to Tribal courts, I mean, obviously, you know, I'm
a big supporter of Tribal courts, that's good, but if it
doesn't, if it doesn't account for the Public Law 280 States, I
want to make sure that once again at the subcommittee level we
are directing that.
So, if you can give us that level of detail, that's really
appreciated.
105L ISSUE
I also mentioned the 105L issue. This is something that we
have raised over the years. Again, Rachael, your expertise here
on the subcommittee is very helpful with regards to this, but
one of the concerns that the subcommittee has had with the DOI
Tribal leases is the wide range of different facilities that
are eligible for these leases. It's everything from schools,
general government buildings, natural resource structures.
So, the fiscal year 2021 Omnibus Bill included a separate
funding account for 105Ls. The estimated cost at the time of
passage was $21.6 million. The fiscal year 2022 budget
estimates $36.6 million. This is an increase of roughly $15
million.
TYPES OF LEASES THE DOI IS AGREEING TO
So, can you walk me through how or what types of leases
that the DOI is agreeing to? Are these agreements with schools,
general government buildings? Are there new leases, and then
have you started to develop guidelines as we set out in the
Omnibus Bill last year that kind of walk us through these
105Ls?
Secretary Haaland. And I'll give this question to Rachael,
as well, Senator. Thank you.
Ms. Taylor. Thank you, Senator. Yes, we know this is a
personal priority of yours. It's a personal priority of ours,
as well. It's such an important funding source for Tribal self-
determination.
With respect to the budget estimate, I'd be happy to follow
up. That's one of the pieces that still has not been
transmitted to the subcommittee yet. So, we could follow up on
the formulation.
You are aware that there has been significant interest in
different types of facilities and so one of the things that
we're trying to do still is follow up on the mandate that you
noted from the Omnibus that would have the Department and the
Indian Health Service work together to go out and do more
robust consultation and talk to Tribes and obviously the
consultation process is something that we take very seriously.
We will be happy to update you on the schedule and the
look-ahead for what that means, but that is going to help frame
the specifics of the program going forward.
Senator Murkowski. Well, again, keep us in the loop on
that. I think we recognize that it's hard to get a handle on
the number and projecting forward if we haven't really defined
what leases we're talking about here.
Two more questions for me then, Mr. Chairman, and then I'm
ready to wrap.
ALASKA VILLAGE RELOCATION
The budget proposal includes an $11 million program for
what you're calling Alaska Village Relocation. I'm interested
in finding out a little bit more about this.
As you know, there are many villages in the State of Alaska
that are experiencing coastal erosion. The village of Newtok is
still in the process of relocation as they've seen homes
claimed by the river, the airstrip there, but relocation is not
cheap and in order to do it, it takes extraordinary resources.
Newtok is estimating the cost for their move to Mertarvik
to be over a $100 million when everything's complete and in
fairness, they got a lot of support from other accounts that
wouldn't necessarily be included. They had the military come
out and construct a landing barge there at Mertarvik, you know,
laying out so much of just the foundational work, so well over
a $100 million. When we look at estimates for communities like
Shishmaref and Kivalina, again the estimates are well over a
$100 million.
So, while I appreciate that there is a specific look and
account for Alaska village relocation, my question is, is how
is this going to be distributed, for what purpose? It's a very,
very, very small increment to an extraordinarily large problem,
but curious to hear your vision on it.
Secretary Haaland. Thank you so much, Senator, and, of
course, we'll absolutely rely on consulting with those
communities, with those Tribal communities and with you on any
of these issues moving forward.
When you mention the cost of the one village, this looks
like it pales in comparison to that and we recognize the need
is great.
What we're thinking of with respect to the $11 million for
Alaska village relocation grants is to support the planning and
design to support the relocation and so that is where that
comes in.
We see additional funds in the Jobs Plan, as well, that
would support that effort. A separate program for Alaska Native
villages reflects the greater challenges they face. We
understand that because of the temperature change melting
permafrost and so forth.
So, the program would prioritize funding in communities in
the Arctic Circle and if Rachael has anything to add.
Ms. Taylor. I think the consultation aspect of it is really
important in terms of framing up how the money would be spent
and to your point, Senator, the money that's in the annual
appropriations is a relatively small investment, but the
planning is important.
CLIMATE-RELATED RELOCATION CHALLENGES
Obviously, the major infrastructure investments are much
greater and are going to have to be financed in part with
assistance from other agencies and so the President's Jobs Plan
does have a $2 billion set-aside for things like climate-
related relocation challenges that could be used and we're
having conversations about how and when to engage other Federal
partners.
I know the Denali Commission has been really engaged on
this issue in Alaska with HUD and EPA. There are a lot of
equities at the table. So, I think this is really an area where
the whole of government approach is required.
Senator Murkowski. Good. Mr. Chairman, I've got one more
question and I know we've got to vote.
Senator Merkley. We do have a vote, and I have some more
questions, as well. Can we make it very quick?
Senator Murkowski. Very, very, very short.
Senator Merkley. Thank you.
PRESIDENT BIDEN'S PROPOSAL ON THE 30X30 PLAN
Senator Murkowski. And this relates to a question that I
have asked I think just about every Cabinet Secretary. This
relates to the President's proposal on the 30x30. I'm not
opposed to conservation by any stretch of the imagination, but
I think it's important to recognize that I come from a State
where nearly 30 percent of our State is already conserved under
ANILCA alone. About 25 percent of the State of Alaska was
placed into your expanded Conservation Unit.
So, I've been trying to get a little more detail from folks
in the administration as to what types of lands qualify as
being conserved or protected and then I'll just ask also. We've
had many conversations about the PLOs and my extreme
dissatisfaction about the actions from the administration
there, particularly as they related to selections by our Alaska
Native Vietnam Veterans, but if those withdrawals were lifted
and that land was made available to Alaska Native Vets under
their allotment selections or their statehood entitlements,
would these lands be counted toward or against the conservation
goal?
I'm trying to wrap my head around what 30x30 actually means
in terms of designated lands.
Secretary Haaland. Thank you, Senator, and we're not quite
sure how we're going to count the progress on that. We know we
will work that in partnership with Tribes, States, private
landowners, folks who are contributing to this goal, but we
intend for working lands to be a part of the 30X30. We intend
for existing lands to be a part of it.
We will absolutely be in touch with you as we move forward
on this initiative and once we're able to come to an idea about
how to count the progress, I think that will answer a lot of
the questions that you have.
Senator Murkowski. Well, I know that there are many of us
that have it and I know that many in our Tribal and Native
communities are also very curious about it. So, the level of
discussion and openness before action consultation is always
key.
So, thank you,----
Secretary Haaland. Thank you.
Senator Murkowski [continuing]. Mr. Chairman, for the
allowance of time.
Senator Merkley. Thank you very much, Senator Murkowski.
COLLAPSE OF THE WESTERN MONARCH
And in the very little time I have, I'm going to turn to
the issue of Monarchs and I'm going to put up again the chart
that shows the collapse of the Western Monarch over just a few
short years.
I think every schoolchild in America wonders how their
parents' generation could let this happen. The Monarchs that
are east of the Rockies are in trouble, as well. Herbicide,
pesticide use, far less wild milkweed, and the milkweed that is
growing is regularly contaminated with pesticides.
In fact, a study that was undertaken found that on 200
milkweed plants collected across migratory route in Central
California, so this is the Western Monarch, there was pesticide
residue on every single sample, every single sample.
So, we have to plant pesticide-free milkweed and with every
passing year, it's going to be much harder to restore the
Western Monarch. It's going to be very difficult anyway. It's
genetically very, very similar. There are butterflies that
cross back and forth between the two populations. So, a small
number, a limited number can be re-established if we move
quickly, which means, first, that we need to have a fund set
aside within the Conservation and Restoration Program.
You are getting an increase, well, hopefully you'll get an
increase by the action of this subcommittee in the Conservation
and Restoration Program, and I'd like first for you to
immediately convene a meeting within Interior of everyone who
has anything to do with the Conservation and Restoration
Program to brainstorm over how to restore the Western Monarch.
So that's Action Item Number 1.
Can that be accomplished within the next few weeks?
Secretary Haaland. I believe so, Senator.
Senator Merkley. Thank you. And I would like to join that
meeting conversation, invite any Members of the committee who
share my concerns or any Members of the Senate.
The second is if the committee establishes such a fund
within the Conservation and Restoration Program, I realize you
have some flexibility even apart from anything we establish,
can we lay out a plan on how to use those funds to plant
milkweed up and down the route that is pesticide-free?
Secretary Haaland. Chairman, that sounds like an important
issue and we are very happy to discuss that.
Senator Merkley. Third, I don't want to just discuss it, I
want to get it done.
Secretary Haaland. Thank you.
PARTNERSHIPS FOR THE PLANTINGS MAKING SURE THEY ARE PESTICIDE-FREE
Senator Merkley. And third is the Civilian Climate Corps
creates an opportunity to have many people go to work
establishing the partnerships for the plantings that would be
maintained by volunteer groups throughout Western United States
to be able to engage in the actual plantings.
You think about how along highways you'll see signs that
some local club is maintaining that highway, but we could have
local clubs maintaining these milkweed plots, making sure
they're pesticide-free, making sure that any of the sort of
mowing contracts don't spray pesticides on them and protect
them and so on and so forth. We have to move quickly.
Do you share my sense of the joy and beauty that's
symbolized by the Monarchs and will you do everything you can
to help change this extinction event that's happening on our
watch?
Secretary Haaland. Yes, Chairman.
Senator Merkley. Thank you very much.
On that note, I'm going to conclude because we have not
just one vote but two votes which means first vote could close
and we'd better hurry over there.
I do have a lot more points and questions that I'll follow
up with you, but I really appreciate the expertise you bring to
this incredibly significant responsibility as Secretary of the
Interior, and I know that together between the efforts of the
House and the Senate helping to outline the budget and the
policies will help guide your work and your team and the
restoration and expansion of your team, we will do some great
things for America. Thank you.
Secretary Haaland. Thank you very much, Chairman. We're
honored to be here and we'll appreciate future opportunities to
work on these issues.
Senator Merkley. Thank you.
Let me note that any statements for the record or questions
for the record can be submitted within a certain length of time
which is June 20.
SUBCOMMITTEE RECESS
Senator Merkley. And the meeting is adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 11:54 a.m., Wednesday, June 16, the
subcommittee was recessed, to reconvene subject to the call of
the Chair.]
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