Environmental Coalition Letter of Support for Increased FY23 Funding

Dear Chairman Leahy, Vice Chairman Shelby, Chairwoman DeLauro, and Ranking Member
Granger:

On behalf of our tens of millions of members and supporters across the country, we respectfully request that you support significantly increased funding for environmental agencies and programs in the FY23 omnibus. We also ask that you reject any anti-environmental policy riders, including those carried forward from prior funding bills.

We support the FY23 bills that the House approved this summer, and similarly appreciate many of the funding increases in the draft Senate bills as well as the omission of harmful riders. In the omnibus, it is particularly important that Congress meets the House allocation of $44.8 billion
for Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies. While multiple subcommittees provide for critical environmental work, an inadequate allocation for the Interior bill would uniquely hamper the nation’s efforts to promote environmental justice and protect our health, lands, wildlife, air, water, oceans, and climate.

Also of critical importance is the need to reject harmful anti-environmental policy riders. These damaging provisions have no place in the appropriations process and over the years have contributed to significant and avoidable environmental degradation. We urge you to keep anti-environmental provisions out of the FY23 omnibus, whether they are new this year or carried forward from previous appropriations bills.

Funding in FY23 must go further than merely keeping pace with inflation, providing for current services, and restoring lost capacity. The Interior bill received a 4.6% increase last year following a decade of insufficient funding imposed by the draconian spending caps of the Budget Control Act. That increase was less than the rate of inflation and below the average increase of 6.7% across all nondefense discretionary spending in FY22. It translated to little-to-no practical increase for many critical environmental programs. Funding these crucial programs will create good-paying union jobs and revitalize our communities while reducing harmful pollution, promoting environmental justice, and protecting public lands, oceans, and wildlife.

Under your leadership, Congress has an historic opportunity to make a genuine difference in the lives of the public by securing a more just and prosperous future for all and protecting the health of our planet.

We again urge you to pass an omnibus spending bill this December with a robust allocation to the Interior and Environment subcommittee well above inflation. We also urge you to refrain from including anti-environmental policy riders.

We thank you for your consideration of our views and stand ready to support you in meeting this
request.

Sincerely,