Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies: Overview of FY2026 Appropriations

Contents

• Introduction
• Overview of FY2026 Action
• Comparisons Between FY2025 and FY2026 Appropriations
• Overview of Agencies in the Bill
• Title I. Department of the Interior
• Title II. Environmental Protection Agency
• Title III. Related Agencies

Summary

The Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies appropriations bill—often called the Interior bill—contains funding for about three dozen agencies and entities. They include most of the Department of the Interior and agencies within other departments, such as the Forest Service (Department of Agriculture) and the Indian Health Service (Department of Health and Human Services). The bill also provides funding for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), arts and cultural agencies, and other entities. Perennial issues for Congress include determining the amount, terms, and conditions of funding for agencies and programs.

Because no full-year FY2026 appropriations have been enacted as of September 28, 2025, the House and Senate have considered legislation to fund Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies under continuing resolutions (CRs). No CR legislation has been enacted as of September 28, 2025.

For FY2026, President Trump requested $26.56 billion for agencies and entities funded by the Interior bill (see figure below). On July 24, 2025, the House Appropriations Committee reported H.R. 4754 (H.Rept. 119-215), with $41.70 billion. On the same date, the Senate Appropriations Committee reported S. 2431 (S.Rept. 119-46), with $42.44 billion. All three FY2026 totals included $2.85 billion for certain wildfire suppression activities under an adjustment to discretionary spending limits, the maximum available for FY2026. The total FY2025 enacted appropriation (P.L. 119-4) was $43.37 billion, including $2.75 billion under the discretionary cap adjustment for wildfire suppression, the maximum available for FY2025.

Compared with the FY2025 appropriation, the FY2026 amounts requested by the President, reported by the House Appropriations Committee, and reported by the Senate Appropriations Committee would be overall decreases of varying amounts. The President's FY2026 request would be a decrease of $16.82 billion (38.8%) overall. The request contained decreases for most agencies and entities in the Interior bill, including EPA, the National Park Service, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Indian Health Service (in large part because the President did not request advance appropriations for FY2027), and the Forest Service (in large part because the President proposed to transfer the agency's Wildland Fire Management programs to the Department of the Interior to create a new U.S. Wildland Fire Service). However, for several agencies or entities, the President requested level funding (e.g., the Bureau of Trust Funds Administration) or increased funding (e.g., the U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission) compared with FY2025 levels.

Relative to the FY2025 enacted total, the House Appropriations Committee-reported bill would be an overall decrease of $1.67 billion (3.9%). Among the agencies that would receive decreases are EPA, the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management, and the Smithsonian Institution. The bill would provide level funding for some agencies and increases for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Bureau of Indian Education, and the Indian Health Service, among other agencies.

Relative to the FY2025 enacted total, the Senate Appropriations Committee-reported bill would be an overall decrease of $933.2 million (2.2%). It would provide level funding for various agencies and entities, including the Bureau of Indian Education, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Humanities. The bill also would provide certain increases for various agencies, including the Forest Service, as well as decreases for other agencies (e.g., the Indian Health Service).

It can be challenging to make comparisons between FY2025 and FY2026 total appropriations for agencies and accounts that receive funding in the annual Interior bill. This is due to a variety of factors, including advance appropriations for the Indian Health Service, rescissions of prior-year appropriations, supplemental appropriations, and mandatory appropriations provided to agencies under laws within the jurisdiction of authorizing committees. Including some or all of these variables would provide different comparisons between FY2025 and FY2026 appropriations for agencies and accounts that receive funding in the annual Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies appropriations bill.

Appropriations for Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies by Major Title, FY2025-FY2026

Source: Prepared by CRS with data from the House and Senate Appropriations Committees. Notes: Amounts shown on the bars may not sum to totals shown due to rounding. In general, amounts represent regular annual appropriations for the pertinent fiscal year (FY2025 or FY2026), rescissions of prior-year appropriations, and advance appropriations for the Indian Health Service (in Title III). The FY2026 House committee-reported total included $1.0 million in Title IV. With regard to rescissions, the FY2026 Senate committee-reported total included $91.0 million in rescissions in Title IV.

Introduction

This report examines FY2026 discretionary appropriations for Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies. Issues for Congress include determining the amount of funding for agencies and programs in the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies appropriations bill—often called the Interior bill—and the terms and conditions of such funding.

The report focuses on the regular (annual) appropriations for the Interior bill. It first presents a short overview of FY2026 legislative action and a brief comparison of FY2025 enacted appropriations and FY2026 appropriations requested by President Trump, reported to the House by the House Appropriations Committee in H.R. 4754, and reported to the Senate by the Senate Appropriations Committee in S. 2431.¹ The report then provides an overview of the agencies and other entities funded in the Interior bill. Finally, the report presents a table showing appropriations by agency/entity for FY2025 enacted, FY2026 requested, FY2026 House committee-reported, and FY2026 Senate committee-reported funding. Agency and bill totals in this report generally reflect rescissions. In general, this report does not detail supplemental, advance, and mandatory appropriations.²

Appropriations are complex. Budget justifications for some agencies are extensive (often hundreds of pages long) and contain numerous proposed funding, programmatic, and legislative changes for congressional consideration. Further, appropriations laws provide funds for numerous accounts, activities, and sub-activities. Their accompanying explanatory statements provide additional directives and other important information. This report does not provide in-depth information at the agency, account, and subaccount levels, nor does it generally detail budgetary reorganizations or legislative changes proposed for FY2026. For information on a particular agency or on individual accounts, programs, or activities administered by a particular agency, see the Congressional Research Service (CRS) products provided in footnotes throughout this report; congressional clients also may contact the key policy staff listed at the end of this report.³ In addition, selected reports related to appropriations for Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies, such as individual agencies (e.g., National Park Service) or crosscutting programs (e.g., Wildland Fire Management), are listed under "Interior & Environment Appropriations" on the "Appropriations" Issue Area page on the CRS website, which is available to congressional staff.⁴

Overview of FY2026 Action

Because no full-year FY2026 appropriations have been enacted as of September 28, 2025, the House and Senate have considered legislation to fund Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies under continuing resolutions (CRs).⁵ For instance, on September 19, 2025, the House passed H.R. 5371, but a Senate vote on the bill failed. Also on September 19, 2025, a Senate vote failed on another FY2026 CR—S. 2882. No CR legislation has been enacted as of September 28, 2025.

In earlier action, for FY2026, President Trump requested $26.56 billion for the roughly three dozen agencies and entities funded in the Interior bill. On July 24, 2025, the House Appropriations Committee reported H.R. 4754 (H.Rept. 119-215), with $41.70 billion for Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies. On the same date, the Senate Appropriations Committee reported S. 2431 (S.Rept. 119-46), with $42.44 billion for Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies.

For FY2026, the President's request, House committee-reported bill, and Senate committee-reported bill each included $2.85 billion for certain wildfire suppression activities under an adjustment to discretionary spending limits, the maximum available for this fiscal year. Under law, an adjustment can be made to discretionary spending limits to accommodate enacted funding for wildfire suppression.⁶

FY2025 full-year appropriations for Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies were included in P.L. 119-4, the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025, enacted on March 15, 2025. The law contained $43.37 billion for agencies in the Interior bill.⁷ For FY2025, $2.75 billion was the maximum for wildfire suppression activities under the discretionary cap adjustment, and the FY2025 law contained this amount.

Comparisons Between FY2025 and FY2026 Appropriations

Compared with the FY2025 appropriation, the FY2026 funding requested by the President, reported by the House Appropriations Committee, and reported by the Senate Appropriations Committee reflect overall decreases of varying amounts. The President's FY2026 request would be a decrease of $16.82 billion (38.8%) overall. The request contained decreases for most agencies and entities in the Interior bill, including EPA (54.5%), the National Park Service (36.6%), and the Bureau of Indian Affairs (30.7%). Some of the decreases reflect, at least in part, proposed reforms in funding approaches. For example, the proposed $5.59 billion reduction (67.6%) from FY2025 for the Indian Health Services is in large part because the President did not request advance appropriations for FY2027. Similarly, the $6.42 billion proposed reduction (75.0%) for the Forest Service is partially due to the President's proposed transfer of the agency's Wildland Fire Management programs to the Department of the Interior (DOI) to create a new U.S. Wildland Fire Service. The President's request also would eliminate funding for several agencies and entities for FY2026 (e.g., the Office of Navajo and Hopi Indian Relocation and the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars). However, for several other agencies or entities, the President requested level funding (e.g., the Bureau of Trust Funds Administration) or increased funding (e.g., the request for the U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission represented a tenfold increase from the FY2025 level).

Relative to the FY2025 enacted total, the House Appropriations Committee-reported bill would be an overall decrease of $1.67 billion (3.9%). Among the agencies that would receive decreases are EPA (23.2%), the National Park Service (6.4%), the Bureau of Land Management (7.8%), and the Smithsonian Institution (11.9%). The overall decrease in the committee's bill also reflects elimination of funding for two entities for FY2026 (i.e., the Office of Navajo and Hopi Indian Relocation and the Presidio Trust). However, the bill would provide level funding for some agencies and increases for the Bureau of Indian Affairs (17.8%), the Bureau of Indian Education (12.0%), and the Indian Health Service (11.5%), among other agencies and entities.

Relative to the FY2025 enacted total, the Senate Appropriations Committee-reported bill would be an overall decrease of $933.2 million (2.2%). It would provide level funding for roughly half of the various agencies and entities, including the Bureau of Indian Education, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Humanities. The bill also would provide varying increases for some agencies, such as the Forest Service (1.1%) and the U.S. Geological Survey (2.4%). Among the agencies that would receive decreases are the Indian Health Service (1.3%) and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (8.4%). Further, the bill would eliminate funding for FY2026 for the Presidio Trust.

Different methods of comparison would lead to varying dollar and percentage differences among FY2026 Interior appropriations requested by the President, contained in FY2026 House and Senate committee-reported bills, and FY2025 enacted appropriations. Among other variables, the comparative approach used in this report for the two fiscal years reflects advance appropriations for the Indian Health Service and rescissions of prior-year appropriations for various purposes. Rescissions are treated as an offset to new appropriations. Including these variables, the FY2026 appropriations requested by the President, contained in H.R. 4754 as reported, and contained in S. 2431 as reported would be different levels of decrease from FY2025 enacted appropriations. Figure 1 and Table 1 detail this comparison.

It can be challenging to make comparisons between FY2025 and FY2026 total appropriations for agencies and accounts that receive funding in the annual Interior bill. This is due to a variety of factors, including advance appropriations for the Indian Health Service, rescissions of prior-year appropriations, supplemental appropriations, and mandatory appropriations provided to agencies under laws within the jurisdiction of authorizing committees. Including some or all of these variables would provide different comparisons between FY2025 and FY2026 appropriations for agencies and accounts that receive funding in the annual Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies appropriations bill.

Figure 1. Appropriations for Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies by Major Title, FY2025-FY2026

Source: Prepared by CRS with data from the House and Senate Appropriations Committees. Notes: Amounts shown on the bars may not sum to totals shown due to rounding. In general, amounts represent regular annual appropriations for the pertinent fiscal year (FY2025 or FY2026), rescissions of prior-year appropriations, and advance appropriations for the Indian Health Service (in Title III). The FY2026 House committee-reported total included $1.0 million in Title IV. With regard to rescissions, the FY2026 Senate committee-reported total included $91.0 million in rescissions in Title IV.

Overview of Agencies in the Bill

The annual Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies appropriations bill includes funding and other provisions for agencies and programs in three federal departments and for numerous related agencies. The Interior bill typically contains three primary appropriations titles and a fourth title with general provisions.⁸ Title I provides funding for most agencies in DOI,⁹ many of which manage land and other natural resource or regulatory programs. Title I also typically includes general provisions related to DOI agencies. Title II contains appropriations and administrative provisions for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Title III, Related Agencies, generally funds about two dozen other entities, including the Forest Service in the Department of Agriculture; the Indian Health Service in the Department of Health and Human Services; arts and cultural agencies, including the Smithsonian Institution; and various other organizations and entities. Title III also contains administrative provisions for some agencies funded therein. Title IV, General Provisions, typically contains additional guidance and direction for agencies in the bill. The following sections briefly describe selected major agencies in the Interior bill.

Title I. Department of the Interior¹⁰

DOI's mission is to conserve and manage the nation's natural resources and cultural heritage; provide scientific and other information about those resources; and exercise trust responsibilities and other commitments to American Indians, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, and affiliated island communities.¹¹ There are 10 major DOI agencies and 2 other broad accounts funded in the Interior bill that carry out this mission. Hereinafter, these 12 entities are referred to collectively as the DOI agencies. The DOI agencies and their functions funded in the FY2025 Interior appropriations law included the following:

• The Bureau of Land Management administers about 244 million acres of federal public land, mostly in the West, for diverse uses such as energy and mineral development, livestock grazing, recreation, and preservation. The agency also administers 713 million acres of federal onshore subsurface mineral estate throughout the nation and supervises the mineral operations on Indian trust lands.¹²
• The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service administers 89 million acres of federal land within the National Wildlife Refuge System and other areas,¹³ including 77 million acres in Alaska. It also manages several large marine refuges and marine national monuments, sometimes jointly with other federal agencies. In addition, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, together with the National Marine Fisheries Service (Department of Commerce), is responsible for implementing the Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C. §§1531 et seq.); promoting wildlife habitat; enforcing federal wildlife laws; supporting wildlife and ecosystem science; conserving migratory birds; administering grants to aid state fish and wildlife programs; and coordinating with other federal, state, international, and tribal partners on fish and wildlife issues.¹⁴
• The National Park Service administers more than 80 million acres of federal land within the National Park System, including 433 separate units in the 50 states, District of Columbia, and U.S. territories. Roughly two-thirds of the system's lands are in Alaska. The National Park Service has a dual mission—to preserve unique resources and to provide for their enjoyment by the public. The agency also supports and promotes some resource conservation activities outside the National Park System through grant and technical assistance programs and cooperation with partners.¹⁵
• The U.S. Geological Survey is a science agency that provides physical and biological information related to geological resources; natural hazards; climate and land use change; and energy, mineral, water, and biological sciences and resources. In addition, it is the federal government's principal civilian mapping agency (e.g., topographical and geological mapping) and a primary source of data on the quantity and quality of the nation's water resources (e.g., streamgaging).¹⁶
• The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management manages development of the nation's offshore conventional and renewable energy resources in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Alaska region. These resources are in areas covering approximately 2.5 billion acres located beyond state waters. This acreage is off all coastal states, although much of it (more than 1 billion acres) is in the Alaska region.¹⁷
• The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement provides regulatory and safety oversight for resource development on the outer continental shelf. Among the bureau's responsibilities are oil and gas permitting, facility inspections, environmental compliance, and oil spill response planning.¹⁸
• The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement works with states and tribes to reclaim abandoned coal mining sites. The agency also regulates active coal mining sites to minimize environmental impacts during mining and to reclaim affected lands and waters after mining.¹⁹
• The Bureau of Indian Affairs provides and funds various services to American Indians and Alaska Natives. The agency is responsible for programs that include government operations, courts, law enforcement, fire protection, social programs, roads, economic development, employment assistance, housing repair, irrigation, dams, Indian rights protection, implementation of land and water settlements, and management of trust assets (real estate and natural resources).²⁰
• The Bureau of Indian Education funds and provides education to Indian tribes and Alaska Natives. The agency funds an elementary and secondary school system, institutions of higher education, and other educational programs.²¹
• The Bureau of Trust Funds Administration manages DOI's trust beneficiaries' financial assets. The agency provides fiduciary guidance, management, and leadership for Tribal Trust and Individual Indian Money accounts.²²
• Departmental Offices covers diverse offices and programs. In the FY2025 appropriations law, it covered the Office of the Secretary of the Interior, Insular Affairs, the Office of the Solicitor, and the Office of Inspector General.²³
• Department-Wide Programs covers varied programs and entities. In the FY2025 appropriations law, it covered DOI Wildland Fire Management,²⁴ the Central Hazardous Materials Fund, the Energy Community Revitalization Program, the Natural Resource Damage Assessment Fund, the Working Capital Fund, and the Office of Natural Resources Revenue.²⁵

Title II. Environmental Protection Agency

EPA administers various environmental statutes that have an express or general objective to protect human health and the environment.²⁶ Primary responsibilities include the implementation of federal statutes regulating air quality, water quality, drinking water safety, pesticides, toxic substances, management and disposal of solid and hazardous wastes, and cleanup of environmental contamination. EPA awards grants to assist states and local governments in implementing federal law and complying with federal requirements to control pollution. The agency also administers programs that provide financial assistance for public wastewater and drinking water infrastructure projects.²⁷

Title III. Related Agencies

In FY2025, Title III of the Interior bill funded about two dozen agencies, organizations, and other entities collectively referred to as the related agencies. Among the related agencies funded in the Interior bill, roughly 95% of the funding typically is provided to the following:

• The Forest Service in the Department of Agriculture manages 193 million acres of federal land within the National Forest System—consisting of national forests, national grasslands, and other areas—in 43 states, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. It also provides technical and financial assistance to states, tribes, and private forest landowners and conducts research on sustaining forest resources for future generations.²⁸
• The Indian Health Service in the Department of Health and Human Services provides clinical, public health, community, and facilities infrastructure services to approximately 2.8 million American Indians and Alaska Natives. Health care is provided through a system of more than 600 hospitals, clinics, and health stations on or near Indian reservations. The agency, tribes and tribal organizations, and urban Indian organizations operate these facilities and programs.²⁹
• The Smithsonian Institution is a museum, education, and research complex consisting of 21 museums, the National Zoological Park (National Zoo), and 14 education and research centers, some located in other countries. Established by federal legislation in 1846 with the acceptance of a trust donation by the institution's namesake benefactor, the Smithsonian is funded by both federal appropriations and a private trust.³⁰
• The National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities make up the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities. The National Endowment for the Arts is a major federal source of support for all arts disciplines. Since 1965, it has provided $5.6 billion (in current dollars) in support of arts and awarded more than 158,000 grants, which have been distributed to all states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories. The National Endowment for the Humanities generally supports grants for humanities education, research, preservation, and public humanities programs; creation of regional humanities centers; and development of humanities programs under the jurisdiction of state humanities councils. It also supports a Challenge Grant program to stimulate and match private donations in support of humanities institutions. Since 1965, it has awarded over $6.4 billion in funding (in current dollars) for more than 70,000 projects in all states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories.³¹

Footnotes