Why It Matters

The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies convenes Thursday for a markup of the FY 2027 Interior Environment Appropriations bill, putting Congress on a collision course with a White House budget proposal that would slash the Environmental Protection Agency by more than half and continue a sweeping restructuring of the nation's public lands agencies. The decisions made in H-140 Capitol will determine funding levels for the EPA, national parks, wildfire response, and a range of federal environmental programs that touch virtually every corner of the country.

The Budget Fight

The Trump administration's FY 2027 budget request, released in April, proposes cutting the EPA from approximately $8.8 billion to $4.2 billion, a reduction of roughly $4.6 billion, or 52 percent, according to reporting by Forbes and the Center for Energy and Environment Development. That would bring EPA funding to its lowest level since the Reagan era. The proposed cuts target state environmental programs, water infrastructure, research, Superfund cleanup operations, and climate and environmental justice initiatives.

According to InsideEPA.com, the FY 2027 request "includes a host of demands that Congress largely rejected when it approved EPA's FY26 spending bill, which restored most of the funds the Trump administration" had previously sought to cut. The Interior Environment Related Agencies Subcommittee is now tasked with deciding, once again, how far to follow the White House's lead.

Congressional opposition has already been documented. A Legis1 report noted that a recent hearing put EPA's Chief Financial Officer in the spotlight over the proposed spending cuts, highlighting the sharp divide between the administration's budget request and what members of Congress are prepared to appropriate.

DOGE Cuts

Layered on top of the budget fight is an ongoing controversy over staff reductions at the Interior Department driven by the administration's DOGE cost-cutting initiative. According to GearJunkie, approximately 5,800 jobs have been eliminated from public lands staff across Interior Department bureaus. The Interior Department has stated that "mission-critical functions such as wildfire response and emergency operations remain fully supported," but that assertion is being challenged on multiple fronts.

Rolling Stone reported that national parks are facing escalated wildfire risk following the termination of scientists and fire-adjacent staff, and that the administration was not tracking the number of wildfire-certified personnel lost through DOGE actions. The Center for American Progress characterized the administration as "recklessly axing funding and staff for America's national parks, forests, and public lands."

Those firings have also prompted legal action. The Natural Resources Defense Council reported that "the layoffs have prompted legal action, including a lawsuit filed by a large coalition of unions, local governments, and nonprofits." That legal pressure adds another dimension to the FY 2027 appropriations hearing, as members weigh whether to use the spending bill to set minimum staffing floors or otherwise constrain the administration's workforce reductions.

Wildfire Agency Consolidation

The FY 2027 Interior Department budget 2027 request also revives a proposal that Congress already rejected: consolidating federal wildland firefighting operations from both the Forest Service and the Interior Department into a single agency.

According to Federal News Network, a comprehensive FY 2026 spending deal "did not endorse the Trump administration's plans to consolidate federal wildland firefighting operations into a single agency." The White House has acknowledged in its FY 2027 budget plan that the merger is "contingent upon the enactment of legislation" from Congress, meaning the administration needs lawmakers to act affirmatively, something the subcommittee has so far declined to do.

With public lands staffing already reduced and fire season approaching, the House Appropriations Committee markup will draw scrutiny over whether the bill provides adequate resources for federal firefighting capacity, regardless of what organizational structure it operates under.

A Proposal to Dispose of National Park Sites

Among the more striking proposals in the current budget environment, released in May 2025, is a White House plan that, according to Yubanet, includes "disposing of National Park Service sites, eliminating protections for national monuments, and putting all federal wildland firefighters under the control of a DOGE operative with no firefighting expertise."

In December, Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) proposed an amendment to the Interior Appropriations Bill that would allow the Trump administration to sell national parks to bidders, according to the National Parks Conservation Association. After significant public outcry, he backtracked and filed a new amendment that preserved protective language for national parks but targeted other agency oversight provisions.

Who Is in the Room

Rep. Mike Simpson (R-ID) chairs the subcommittee and will preside over Thursday's markup. Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-ME) serves as ranking member. Rep. Celeste Maloy (R-UT) is vice chair. Other members include Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-MT), Rep. Mark Amodei (R-NV), Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN), Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), Rep. Josh Harder (D-CA), and Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-SC), among others.

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