Order Code RS22064
Updated August 16, 2005
CRS Report for Congress
Received through the CRS Web
Environmental Protection Agency:
FY2006 Appropriations Highlights
David Bearden and Robert Esworthy
Resources, Science, and Industry Division
Title II of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act for
FY2006 (P.L. 109-54, H.R. 2361) provides $7.73 billion for the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA), subject to an across-the-board rescission of 0.476%. Section 439 of Title
IV indicates that the rescission is to be applied proportionately among each account,
program, project, and activity specified in the law, accompanying reports, and the
President’s budget request. The total FY2006 EPA appropriation includes an additional
$80 million in unobligated funds “rescinded” from past appropriations, as noted in the
following table. P.L. 109-54 provides 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, P.L. 109-54 reflects decreases and increases throughout the
various EPA appropriations accounts when compared to the FY2006 request and the
FY2005 funding levels.
Considerable debate focused on funding for the State and Tribal Assistance Grants
(STAG) account, particularly the adequacy of funding for assistance to states and
communities for State Revolving Funds (SRFs). These funds provide loans to
communities for sewage treatment plants and for meeting drinking water standards. P.L.
109-54 provides $900 million for the clean water SRF. As passed by the House, H.R.
2361 would have provided $850 million (including $100 million in rescinded funds from
prior years). The Senate-passed version of H.R. 2361 would have provided $1.10 billion.
The Administration’s request would have reduced funding for the clean water SRF from
$1.09 billion in FY2005 to $730 million in FY2006. P.L. 109-54 provides $850 million
for the drinking water SRF, the same as the House and Senate proposed and the
Administration requested, and is similar to the FY2005 appropriation.
Other prominent issues of debate included the adequacy of funding for the cleanup
of hazardous waste sites under the Superfund program, the cleanup and redevelopment
of certain 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. The following table indicates amounts
in P.L. 109-54, the House and Senate-passed versions of H.R. 2361, the Administration’s
FY2006 request, and the enacted appropriation for FY2005, by the eight EPA
appropriations accounts. (For further discussion, see CRS Report RL32856,
Environmental Protection Agency: Appropriations for FY2006.)
Congressional Research Service { The Library of Congress

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CRS-2
Environmental Protection Agency Appropriations Accounts:
FY2005 Enacted, the FY2006 Request, Action on Appropriations
(in millions of dollars)
FY2005
FY2006
House-Passed Senate-Passed
P.L.
Appropriations Account
Enacted
Request
H.R. 2361
H.R. 2361
109-54 a
Science and Technology
$744.1
$760.6
$765.3
$730.8
$741.7
+ transfer from Superfund account
+ $35.8
+ $30.6
+ $30.6
$30.6
$30.6
Science and Technology Total
$779.9
$791.2
$795.9
$761.4
$772.3
Environmental Programs and Management
$2,294.9
b $2,353.8
b $2,389.5
b $2,333.4
b $2,381.8
Office of Inspector General
$37.7
$37.0
$38.0
$37.0
$37.5
+ transfer from Superfund account
+ $12.9
+ $13.5
+ $13.5
$13.5
$13.5
Office of Inspector General Total
$50.6
$50.5
$51.5
$50.5
$51.0
Buildings & Facilities
$41.7
$40.2
$40.2
$40.2
$40.2
Hazardous Substance Superfund
$1,247.5
$1,279.3
$1,258.3
$1,256.2
$1,260.6
— transfer to Office of Inspector General
— $12.9
— $13.5
— $13.5
$13.5
$13.5
— transfer to Science and Technology
— $35.8
— $30.6
— $30.6
$30.6
$30.6
Hazardous Substance Superfund (Net)
$1,198.8
$1,235.2
$1,214.2
$1,212.1
$1,216.5
Leaking Underground Storage Tank Program
$69.4
$73.0
$73.0
$73.0
$73.0
Oil Spill Response
$15.9
$15.9
$15.9
$15.9
$15.9
Pesticide Registration Fund
$19.2
$15.0
$15.0
$15.0
$15.0
— Pesticide Registration Fees
— $19.2
— $15.0
— $15.0
$15.0
$15.0
State and Tribal Assistance Grants: Total
$3,575.3
$2,960.8
$3,127.8
$3,395.5
$3,181.7
Clean Water State Revolving Funds
$1,091.2
$730.0
c $850.0
$1,100.0
$900.0
Drinking Water State Revolving Funds
$843.2
$850.0
$850.0
$850.0
$850.0
Other Grants
$1,640.9
$1,380.8
$1,527.8
$1,445.5
$1,511.7
Funds Previously Appropriated to EPA
—
—
c — $100.0
c — $58.0
c — $80.0
Total EPA Accounts
$8,026.5
$7,520.6
$7,708.0
$7,882.0
$7,732.4
Prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) based on amounts indicated in P.L. 109-54, the conference report
on H.R. 2361 (H.Rept. 109-188), and the House and Senate-passed versions of H.R. 2361 and their accompanying reports
(H.Rept. 109-80 and S.Rept. 109-80 respectively). Numbers may not add due to rounding.
a
Enacted amounts for FY2006 are line-items indicated in Title II of P.L. 109-54, which do not reflect reductions made as
a result of the 0.476% across-the-board rescission required by Section 439 of Title IV.
b
The President’s FY2006 budget included $50 million in offsetting receipts to be derived from proposed legislative
changes to Toxics and Pesticides fees, which have not been enacted. Neither P.L. 109-54, nor H.R. 2361 as passed by
the House or the Senate, included the $50 million offset.
c
The total for the State and Tribal Assistance Grants account includes an offset of $80 million per P.L. 109-54, $58 million
per the Senate, and $100 million per the House, to be rescinded from prior year EPA appropriations not obligated for
contracts, grants, and inter-agency agreements for which the funding authorization has since expired. P.L. 109-54 did
not specify how the $80 million in rescinded funds would be allocated among EPA activities in FY2006, nor did the
Senate specify the allocation of the $58 million in rescinded funds in passing its version of H.R. 2361. As passed by the
House, H.R. 2361 would have allocated $100 million in rescinded funds for the clean water SRF for FY2006.

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