Why It Matters

The House Appropriations Committee's fiscal 2027 bill for the Department of the Interior (DOI) would hold overall funding roughly flat with fiscal 2026, rejecting the Trump administration's request for an 18% cut, according to a new Congressional Research Service (CRS) report. But Congress must enact a full-year fiscal 2027 Interior appropriations bill or an additional continuing resolution before Dec. 12, or face a funding gap that may shut down certain affected activities. ​

H.R. 9171, reported by the House Appropriations Committee on June 5, would provide $42.67 billion for Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies, which is $109.6 million (0.3%) above the fiscal 2026 enacted level of $42.56 billion. The President's request of $34.82 billion would cut that total by $7.75 billion (18%).

The Big Picture

The gap between the administration's request and the House committee bill is widest at the Environmental Protection Agency. The President's request would cut the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) by $4.61 billion (52%) from fiscal 2026 enacted levels, while H.R. 9171 would cut it by $1.78 billion (20%). Across the full Interior bill, H.R. 9171 would provide $7.86 billion (23%) more than the President's request.

Wildland fire funding reflects a structural disagreement over the administration's proposed reorganization. The administration proposed consolidating both DOI and Forest Service programs under a new U.S. Wildland Fire Service (USWFS), with a $6.91 billion unified appropriation. The Secretary of the Interior established the USWFS on Jan. 12 under Secretarial Order 3448.

H.R. 9171 declines to route Forest Service wildland fire funding through the USWFS, instead providing $1.54 billion for the USWFS and $5.20 billion through the Forest Service's separate account, for a combined $6.74 billion. The committee stated it "accepts the Administration's proposal to unify wildfire fighting activities across the Department of the Interior" but said it looked "forward to considering the proposal in future budget requests."

The Great Salt Lake presents another area of sharp divergence. The President requested $1.00 billion for a new Great Salt Lake Watershed Recovery Program; H.R. 9171 contains $10.0 million for it. The committee directed DOI to report within 180 days on goals, timelines and funding needs for the lake.

The CRS report cautions that different comparison methods such as accounting for rescissions, supplemental appropriations, Indian Health Service advance appropriations and proposed reorganizations, can produce varying dollar and percentage differences.

The Bottom Line

The continuing resolution enacted as P.L. 119-103 funds Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies through Dec. 11; without further action, a funding gap could begin Dec. 12.

H.R. 9171 remains at the floor consideration stage, placed on the Union Calendar on June 5.

Interim funding for the Interior bill runs through Dec. 11, and Congress must enact the regular FY2027 bill or another continuing resolution covering it before then to avoid a funding gap beginning Dec. 12.

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