The bill includes funding for the Interior Department,except for the Bureau of Reclamation (funded by Energy and Water DevelopmentAppropriations laws), and funds for some agencies or programs in three otherdepartments -- Agriculture, Energy, and Health and Human Services. The Senate-passed version of the FY2004 Interior and related agencies appropriations bill, H.R. FY2004 Budget and Appropriations

President Bush's FY2004 budget for Interior and related agencies totaled $19.89 billion. On July 17, 2003, the House passed H.R. 2691 (268-152) containing a total of $19.60 billion for Interior and related agencies for FY2004. 2691 on September 23, 2003. 108-330 ) was filed on October 28, 2003, and narrowlypassed the House (216-205) on October 30 and was approved by the Senate (87-2)on November 3. 2691 into law on November 10, 2003, as P.L. The FY2004 enacted level was slightly less than enacted for FY2003 (less than 1% lower). The FY2004 level was essentially the same as the amount approvedby the Senate (less than 1% higher), and higher than the House-passed total (2%higher) and the President's request (less than 1% higher). The appropriate levels offunding for wildland firefighting and land acquisition were among the major issuesdebated. The FY2004 law contained $2.76 billion for wildland fire fighting by theForest Service and the Department of the Interior, approximately 13% less than thetotal enacted for FY2003. For landacquisition (and state assistance) by the four major federal land managementagencies, the FY2004 law contained $263.4 million, 36% less than enacted forFY2003. Many controversial issues arose during consideration of the FY2004 Interior andrelated agencies appropriations bill, and were addressed by conferees. The FY2004law (1) continued the automatic renewal of expiring grazing permits and leases forFY2004 -- FY2008 (see "Bureau of Land Management" section below); (2)extended the Recreational Fee Demonstration Program (see "National Park Service"section below); (3) modified procedures for seeking judicial review of timber salesin Alaska, primarily in the Tongass National Forest (see "Forest Service" sectionbelow); (4) capped funds for competitive sourcing efforts of agencies and requireddocumentation on the initiative (see the "Competitive Sourcing of Government Jobs"section below); and (5) led to a stay of a court decision requiring an accounting ofIndian trust funds and trust asset transactions since 1887 (see Litigation in the"Office of Special Trustee for American Indians" section below ). The FY2004 law dropped language barring funds from being used (1) to implement changes to BLM regulations on Recordable Disclaimers of Interest inLand, (see "Bureau of Land Management" section below) (2) for the Klamath FisheryManagement Council (see "Klamath River Basin" section below), and (3) for OuterContinental Shelf leasing activities in the North Aleutian Basin planning area, whichincludes Bristol Bay, Alaska (see "Minerals Management Service" section below). Land Acquisition. d Figures reflect an across-the-board cut of 0.646% in the FY2004 Interior and Related AgenciesAppropriationslaw ( P.L.108-108 ) and a 0.59% across-the-board cut in the Consolidated Appropriations Act for FY2004 ( P.L.108-199 ).
The Interior and related agencies appropriations bill includes funds for the Department of the Interior (DOI), except for the Bureau of Reclamation, and for some agencies or programs withinthree other departments -- Agriculture, Energy, and Health and Human Services. It also fundsnumerous smaller related agencies.
President Bush's FY2004 budget for Interior and related agencies totaled $19.89 billion, $220.5million (1%) less than enacted for FY2003 ($20.11 billion). On July 17, 2003, the House passed H.R. 2691 (268-152) containing a total of $19.60 billion for Interior and relatedagencies for FY2004. On September 23, 2003, the Senate passed its version of H.R. 2691 with a total of $20.01 billion. A conference report was filed on October 28, 2003, and agreedto by the House (216-205) on October 30 and approved by the Senate (87-2) on November 3, 2003. The bill was signed into law on November 10, 2003 ( P.L. 108-108 ).
The final FY2004 appropriation provided $20.01 billion for the Department of Interior andRelated agencies, which reflected two across-the-board cuts: a 0.646% cut in the Interiorappropriations statute ( P.L.108-108 ), and a 0.59% cut in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of2004 ( P.L. 108-199 ).
The FY2004 enacted level is slightly less than enacted for FY2003 (less than 1% lower). It is essentially the same as the amount approved by the Senate (less than 1% higher), and higher thanthe House-passed total (2% higher) and the President's request (less than 1% higher). Theappropriate levels of funding for wildland firefighting and land acquisition were among the majorissues debated. The FY2004 law contained $2.76 billion for wildland fire fighting by the ForestService and the Department of the Interior, approximately 13% less than the total enacted forFY2003. For land acquisition (and state assistance) by the four major federal land managementagencies, the law contained $263.4 million, 36% less than enacted for FY2003.
Many controversial issues arose during consideration of the FY2004 Interior and relatedagencies appropriations bill, and were addressed by conferees. The FY2004 law (1) continued theautomatic renewal of expiring grazing permits and leases for FY2004 -- FY2008; (2) extended theRecreational Fee Demonstration Program; (3) modified procedures for seeking judicial review oftimber sales in Alaska, primarily in the Tongass National Forest; (4) capped funds for competitivesourcing efforts of agencies and required documentation on the initiative; and (5) led to a stay of acourt decision requiring an accounting of Indian trust funds and trust asset transactions since 1887. The law dropped language barring funds from being used (1) to implement changes to regulationsof the Bureau of Land Management on Recordable Disclaimers of Interest in Land, (2) for theKlamath Fishery Management Council, and (3) for Outer Continental Shelf leasing activities in theNorth Aleutian Basin planning area, which includes Bristol Bay, Alaska.
Key Policy Staff
a Division abbreviations: DSP = Domestic Social Policy; G&F = Government and Finance; RSI =Resources, Science, and Industry.