	Introduction

On August 2, 2005, the President signed the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act for FY2006 ( P.L. 109-54 , H.R. 109-54 provided $7.73 billion for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), subject to an across-the-board rescission of 0.476%. Even after both rescissions, the FY2006 appropriation for EPA is an increase above the Administration's request of $7.52 billion, but a decrease below the FY2005 appropriation of $8.03 billion. There were varying degrees of interest in specific programs and activities funded within EPA's appropriation. Among the prominent issues in the debate over the Interior bill were the adequacy of funding for wastewater infrastructure, cleanup of hazardous waste sites under the Superfund program, cleanup of commercial and industrial sites referred to as brownfields, EPA's homeland security activities, and "congressional project priorities" or earmarks. In addition to funding, another issue receiving significant attention was EPA's use and consideration of intentional human dosing studies for determining potential human health risks from exposure to pesticides. At the end of the first session, the 109 th Congress passed the conference agreement on the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for FY2006 ( H.R. It included a government-wide rescission that reduced FY2006 funding for EPA and all other federal agencies by 1%, except for the Department of Veterans Affairs and excluded spending designated as an "emergency" requirement. 109-148 also reallocated $8 million in emergency funds to EPA for responding to leaking underground tanks in Gulf Coast states affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. This recommendation was part of a proposal to reallocate $17.1 billion among numerous federal agencies, which was provided in two supplemental appropriations acts ( P.L. 109-148 did not include a $166 million rescission for EPA's clean water State Revolving Fund (SRF). This fund provides federal assistance to states for issuing loans to communities for constructing and upgrading wastewater infrastructure to meet federal requirements, discussed later in this report. Among individual programs and activities, P.L. Title II of P.L. The Administration had requested a reallocation of $15 million for this purpose in October 2005. Prior to the two rescissions, P.L. In recent years, Congress has appropriated significantly more funding than the Administration has requested for the clean water SRF. 109-54 provided the following amounts for these grants:
$50 million for wastewater infrastructure projects along the U.S./Mexico border, the same as the House, Senate, and Administration had proposed, and close to the FY2005 appropriation; $35 million for the construction of wastewater and drinking water facilities in Alaska Native Villages, compared to $15 million proposed by the House and the Administration, and $40 million proposed by the Senate, all of which were less than the FY2005 appropriation of nearly $45 million; and no funding for drinking water infrastructure improvements to the Metropolitano community water system in San Juan, Puerto Rico, as the Senate had proposed, whereas the House and the Administration had proposed to maintain funding at the same level as the FY2005 appropriation of $4 million. Prior to the two above rescissions, P.L. 109-54 provided $900 million for the clean water SRF, a $170 million increase above the $730 million request but nearly a $200 million decrease below the FY2005 appropriation of $1.09 billion. EPA's funding was moved from the jurisdiction of the House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Veterans Affairs, Housing and Urban Development (VA-HUD), and Independent Agencies to that of the Interior subcommittees beginning with the FY2006 appropriation.
Early in the first session, the 109th Congress eliminated the Veterans Affairs, Housing and Urban Development (VA-HUD), and Independent Agencies appropriations subcommittee and moved funding jurisdiction for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to the Interior subcommittee. As enacted in August 2005, Title II of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act for FY2006 (P.L. 109-54, H.R. 2361) provided $7.73 billion for EPA, subject to an across-the-board rescission of 0.476%. The appropriation included an additional $80 million in unobligated funds "rescinded" from past appropriations. Overall, P.L. 109-54 provided more funding for EPA than the Administration's FY2006 request of $7.52 billion, but less than the FY2005 appropriation of $8.03 billion. Among individual programs, funding decreased for some activities and increased for others, compared with the FY2006 request and the FY2005 appropriation.
At the end of the first session, the 109th Congress enacted a government-wide rescission in the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for FY2006 (P.L. 109-148, H.R. 2863). This rescission reduced FY2006 funding for EPA and all other federal agencies by 1%, except for the Department of Veterans Affairs and excluding "emergency" spending. P.L. 109-148 also reallocated $8 million in emergency funds to EPA for responding to leaking underground tanks in areas affected by Hurricane Katrina. The Administration had recommended $15 million for this purpose in October 2005, as part of a $17.1 billion reallocation of emergency funds. The law did not include the $166 million rescission for EPA's clean water State Revolving Fund (SRF) that the Administration also had proposed in October, as part of a $2.3 billion rescission affecting numerous federal agencies.
In the debate over the Interior bill, considerable attention focused on the adequacy of federal assistance to states to support the clean water and drinking water SRFs. States use these funds to issue loans to communities for constructing and upgrading wastewater and drinking water infrastructure to meet federal requirements. Prior to the two rescissions noted above, P.L. 109-54 provided $900 million for the clean water SRF, an increase above the Administration's request of $730 million, but a decrease below the FY2005 appropriation of $1.09 billion. P.L. 109-54 also provided $850 million for the drinking water SRF, which was the same as the Administration had requested and similar to the FY2005 appropriation, prior to the two above rescissions.
Other prominent issues in the debate over FY2006 appropriations for EPA included the adequacy of funding for the cleanup of hazardous waste sites under the Superfund program, the cleanup of commercial and industrial sites referred to as brownfields, EPA's homeland security activities, "congressional project priorities" or earmarks, and EPA's use and consideration of intentional human dosing studies for determining potential human health risks from exposure to pesticides. There also were varying levels of interest in numerous other activities funded within EPA's accounts. This report reflects final congressional action on FY2006 appropriations for EPA and will not be updated.