Today, the Trump administration released its budget blueprint for Fiscal Year 2018. Chairman Rob Bishop (R-UT) issued the following statement:
“Bold and creative solutions are sorely needed to reform bloated agencies and programs so they better serve the American people. This framework is a positive start. I look forward to building on these ideas through the budget process and our Committee’s work.”
Background
Reduces new major federal land acquisitions and refocuses budget on maintaining and improving existing federal lands
Increases funding for the Department of the Interior (DOI) programs that support environmentally responsible development of energy on public lands and offshore waters
Streamlines management operations to support responsible land stewardship in the National Park Service (NPS), Fish and Wildlife Service and Bureau of Land Management
Uses funds to leverage private investment in federal lands, reducing costs to the taxpayer and creating innovative streams of revenue
Increases funding for the NPS’s deferred maintenance backlog
Eliminates unnecessary, lower priority or duplicative programs including discretionary Abandoned Mine Land grants that overlap with existing mandatory grants
Provides funding for DOI’s U.S. Geological Survey to focus investments in essential science programs
Eliminates a number of unnecessary programs within National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration while codifying their core function in fishery management
Supports tribal sovereignty and self-determination across Indian Country by focusing on core funding and services to support ongoing tribal government operations
