U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: FY2024 Appropriations

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: FY2024 Appropriations

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Updated April 15, 2024
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: FY2024 Appropriations
Introduction
enacted amounts are taken from the volume two years later than the
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), an agency
fiscal year indicated.
within the Department of the Interior (DOI), has a mission
Notes: Appropriations generally exclude supplemental funding,
to conserve, protect, and enhance fish, wildlife, and plants
transfers, rescissions, and cancellations. Figures are adjusted to
and their habitats. Congress funds FWS through
FY2023 constant dollars using Office of Management and Budget,
discretionary and mandatory appropriations. FWS
Historical Tables, Table 10.1: Gross Domestic Product and Deflators Used
discretionary appropriations typically are included in the
in the Historical Tables: 1940-2029.
annual Department of the Interior, Environment, and
Related Agencies Appropriations Acts. Discretionary
Table 1. Discretionary Funding by Account for FWS
appropriations fund many activities related to the agency’s
(nominal $ in millions)
mission, such as resource management and conservation,
construction projects, and payments and grants to states and
FY2023
FY2024
FY2024
other parties. This In Focus focuses primarily on annual
Account
Enacted
Request
Enacted
discretionary funding for FWS for FY2024.
Resource
1,555.7
1,854.1
1,520.3
FWS sometimes receives supplemental funding in addition
Management
to annual discretionary appropriations. For instance, the
Construction
29.9
51.0
19.3
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA; P.L. 117-58),
enacted in 2021, provided FWS with supplemental funding
Cooperative
of $91.0 million annually from FY2022 to FY2026. The
Endangered Species
24.6
23.7
23.0
monies were provided for activities under the Resource
Conservation Fund
Management account, including fish and wildlife passage
National Wildlife
restoration and regional ecosystem restoration. Further,
13.2
0.0
13.2
Refuge Fund
mandatory (permanent) appropriations are provided to FWS
under various statutes within the jurisdiction of authorizing
North American
committees. The Interior Budget in Brief, Fiscal Year 2025,
Wetlands
50.0
50.0
49.0
estimated FWS mandatory appropriations at $1.92 billion
Conservation Fund
for FY2024. This total does not include $95.0 million in
Neotropical Migratory
annual mandatory funding authorized under the Great
Bird Conservation
5.1
9.9
5.0
American Outdoors Act (P.L. 116-152) for deferred
Fund
maintenance.
Multinational Species
FWS Discretionary Appropriations
21.0
22.0
20.5
Conservation Fund
From FY2015 to FY2024, FWS received, on average, $1.84
State and Tribal
billion annually in discretionary funding (adjusted to
73.8
76.6
72.4
Wildlife Grants
FY2023 dollars; see Figure 1). For FY2024, the
Administration requested $2.09 billion in discretionary
Damage Recovery
0.0
5.0
0.0
funding for FWS across eight accounts (Table 1).
Provision
Figure 1. FY2015-FY2024 FWS Discretionary Funding
Total
$1,773.3
$2,092.2
$1,722.7
(in FY2023 dollars)
Source: CRS using data from the Congressional Record, vol. 170, no.
39 (March 5, 2024), pp. S1801-S1803.
Notes: The FY2024 request included $5.0 million for a damage
recovery provision as an administrative cost. Values may not sum to
totals shown due to rounding.
For FY2024, Congress appropriated $1.72 billion to the
FWS for FY2024 under Division E, the Department of the
Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies
Appropriations Act, 2024 (P.L. 118-42). FY2024 annual
appropriations were $369.6 million below the FY2024
Source: CRS using P.L. 118-42, Division E, and “budget authority”
President’s budget request of $2.09 billion and $50.6
data from Appendix A of The Interior Budget in Brief. In general,
million below the FY2023 enacted level of $1.77 billion.
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In earlier FY2024 action, H.R. 4821, as passed by the
damage recovery provision). In FY2024, Congress
House on November 3, 2023, would have provided $1.54
appropriated $15.2 million below FY2023 levels.
billion for FWS. This was $552.7 million below the
Administration’s FY2024 request and $183.2 million below
Status of FY2024 Administration
the FY2024 enacted level. S. 2605, as reported by the
Proposals
Senate Appropriations Committee on July 27, 2023, would
For FY2024, Congress considered whether to enact
have provided $1.80 billion for FWS for FY2024. This was
Administration proposals as set out in The Interior Budget
$288.4 million below the FY2024 request and $81.2 million
in Brief, Fiscal Year 2024. For example, one
above the FY2024 enacted level.
Administration proposal sought to expand the authority for
agencies to transfer funds under the IIJA to FWS to
Resource Management Account
accelerate and improve environmental reviews in support of
The Resource Management account comprises the majority
development of infrastructure projects and energy solutions.
(88% in FY2024) of the FWS annual discretionary
The Senate Appropriations Committee noted in its report on
appropriation (Table 1). For FY2024, the Administration
S. 2605, the Interior appropriations bill reported by the
requested a $298.4 million increase from the FY2023
Committee, that the requested transfer authority of
enacted level for this account. In FY2024, Congress
unobligated IIJA funding to FWS (and the National
appropriated $35.4 million below the FY2023
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National
appropriation. Table 2 shows the funding levels for
Marine Fisheries Service [NMFS]) was included in S. 2309,
activities within the account.
the Financial Services and General Government
Appropriations bill reported by the Committee. P.L. 118-
Table 2. Activities Within Resource Management
47, Division B, Section 754, authorized the transfer of
(nominal $ in millions)
unobligated IIJA funds to the FWS and NMFS, subject to
specified terms and conditions, for the costs of carrying out
FY2023
FY2024
FY2024
responsibilities related to the Endangered Species Act (16
Activity
Enacted
Request
Enacted
U.S.C. §§1531 et seq.).
Ecological Services
296.0
384.5
288.3
As a second example, a proposal included in The Interior
Habitat Conservation
74.2
100.1
72.0
Budget in Brief, Fiscal Year 2024, sought to shift the Office
of Subsistence Management from FWS to the DOI
National Wildlife
541.6
624.9
527.0
Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs, with a related shift of
Refuge System
funding from activities within Resource Management.
Conservation and
According to FWS, the change would facilitate expanded
175.0
223.2
173.7
Enforcement
tribal co-management partnerships and incorporation of
Indigenous knowledge into subsistence management. The
Fish and Aquatic
241.6
259.8
226.8
explanatory statement accompanying P.L. 118-42 expressed
Conservation
that the “Office of Subsistence Management function and
Science Support
35.4
55.5
33.8
funding has been moved from the [FWS] and is provided
for within the Office of the Secretary” (Congressional
General Operations
166.3
206.2
153.8
Record, March 5, 2024, p. S1677). Specifically, P.L. 118-
Stewardship Priorities
25.6
0.0
44.9
42, Division E, provided that funds within the DOI Office
of the Secretary may be transferred to and merged with the
Total
$1,555.7 $1,854.1 $1,520.3
FWS Resource Management account “only to implement
Source: CRS using data from the Congressional Record, vol. 170, no.
the functional transfer of the Office of Subsistence
39 (March 5, 2024), pp. S1799-S1801.
Management to the Office of the Secretary and maintain
uninterrupted execution of ongoing subsistence
Note: Values may not sum to totals shown due to rounding.
management activities” (Congressional Record, March 5,
Other FWS Accounts
2024, p. S1163).
In FY2023, $217.6 million in annual discretionary funding
was appropriated for seven other FWS accounts that
Caitlin Keating-Bitonti, Analyst in Natural Resources
support construction, conservation activities, financial and
Policy
technical assistance, and revenue sharing, among other
Carol Hardy Vincent, Specialist in Natural Resources
activities. For FY2024, the Administration requested a
Policy
$15.6 million increase from the FY2023 enacted level for
IF12540
these seven accounts (and an additional $5.0 million for a

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U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: FY2024 Appropriations

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