Why It Matters
The Trump administration's Interior and Environment budget proposal would slash agency funding by 18 percent, according to a new Congressional Research Service report.
The President requested $34.82 billion for the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies appropriations bill, compared to the $42.56 billion Congress enacted for fiscal 2026.
The House Appropriations Committee has already responded with a competing proposal that would exceed the President's request by $7.86 billion, or 23 percent.
The Big Picture
The President's proposal would cut the Environmental Protection Agency by 52 percent, reducing its budget from $8.82 billion to $4.20 billion.
The National Park Service would face a 32 percent reduction, falling from $3.27 billion to $2.21 billion, while the U.S. Geological Survey would absorb a 37 percent cut from $1.42 billion to $893 million.
The Forest Service would see its base budget reduced to $2.14 billion under the proposal, which would transfer wildland fire management to a new U.S. Wildland Fire Service within the Department of the Interior (DOI).
The Trump administration also proposed cutting the National Endowment for the Arts from $207 million to $29 million, and the National Endowment for the Humanities from $207 million to $38 million.
In June, the House Appropriations Committee reported H.R. 9171 and placed it on the calendar H.R. 9171 with a proposed budget for Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies of $42.67 billion, exceeding the President's request by $7.86 billion, or 23 percent.
The committee provided $7.04 billion for the EPA, representing a $2.83 billion boost above the Trump administration's proposal, and restored the National Endowment for the Arts to $135 million, still down 35 percent from fiscal 2026 levels, and the National Endowment for the Humanities to $135 million.
The committee also allocated $9.45 billion for the Indian Health Service, $458.2 million more than requested, and provided $1.74 billion above the Trump administration's request for Indian Affairs.
The House passed a continuing resolution on July 21 extending funding through December 4, while the Senate passed a separate measure on August 8 extending through December 11. Both would maintain fiscal 2026 funding levels for most agencies, with specified exceptions for wildland fire management and the Indian Health Service.
The Trump administration also proposed a new $1 billion Great Salt Lake restoration program, which the House committee funded at $10 million.
The Bottom Line
The competing House proposal represents a fundamental disagreement over environmental and interior agency priorities. While the Trump administration seeks deep cuts to environmental protection and natural resource management, Congress is moving toward maintaining current funding levels with targeted increases for Indian health and affairs.
The outcome will likely depend on negotiations during the full appropriations process, with the continuing resolution providing a temporary bridge through December of this year.
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