About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

1 [1] (August 26, 2019)

handle is hein.crs/govbavd0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional Research Serice lnforringihe legislatie debate since 1914 August 26, 2019 Bureau of Land Management: FY2020 Appropriations The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) manages 246 million acres of grasslands, forests, high mountains, arctic tundra, deserts, and other public land, nearly all in the western United States. Under its multiple-use mission, BLM manages lands for diverse purposes, including livestock grazing, recreation, and preservation. Also, the agency administers onshore federal energy and mineral resources covering more than 700 million acres of federal subsurface mineral estate, and supervises mineral operations on about 60 million acres of Indian trust lands. At issue for Congress is determining the amount of funding to provide for BLM programs and activities for FY2020, the terms and conditions of such funding, and whether to enact related Trump Administration proposals. For FY2020, the Administration requested $1,187.4 million in discretionary appropriations for BLM, a $158.8 million (11.8%) decrease from the FY2019 enacted level of $1,346.2 million. On June 25, 2019, the House passed H.R. 3055 with $1,411.8 million for BLM (in Division C). This would be $65.6 million (4.9%) more than the FY2019 enacted level and $224.4 million (18.9%) more than the FY2020 request. (See Table 1.) In earlier action, the House Committee on Appropriations reported H.R. 3052 (H.Rept. 116-100) with FY2020 funding for BLM. BLM discretionary appropriations generally are provided in Title I of Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies appropriations laws. Mandatory (permanent) appropriations also are provided to BLM under various statutes within the jurisdiction of authorizing committees. For FY2020, BLM estimated its mandatory appropriations at $201.3 million. This would be a decrease from the $241.2 million estimated for FY2019, in large part due to an anticipated reduction in receipts from sale of BLM land in Nevada. Appropriations Accounts BLM discretionary appropriations are provided through several accounts. The Administration's FY2020 request for these accounts is shown in Figure 1. Table 1 contains account-level funding for the Administration's FY2020 request and the FY2020 House-passed bill, as compared with FY2019 enacted amounts. Management of Lands and Resources. The largest account-Management of Lands and Resources- comprised 89% of the request. This account funds an array of BLM programs, including energy and minerals, rangelands, wild horses and burros, wildlife and fisheries, threatened and endangered species, recreation, resource protection, law enforcement, resource management planning, and facility maintenance. As compared with FY2019 enacted funding, the Administration's FY2020 request contained lower funding for the account overall and for many of its programs, including rangeland management, wildlife and aquatic habitat management, and resource management planning. However, the Administration requested increases for some programs, including management of coal and renewable energy as part of a domestic energy strategy. H.R. 3055 included higher appropriations for this account than requested for FY2020 and enacted for FY2019. It would increase funding for many programs, such as management of wild horses and burros, wildlife and aquatic habitat, recreation, and the National Landscape Conservation System. The bill also would rescind $14.0 million in unobligated prior year funds, and change the period of availability of most account funds from no-year (available until expended) to two-year. Reorganization. For FY2019, Congress appropriated $14.1 million for Department of the Interior (DOI) reorganization of five agencies, although the portion for BLM was not specified. The intent of the reorganization is to improve public service, communication, and efficiency. The FY2020 request for BLM included $7.7 million to support DOI reorganization by achieving common regional boundaries of agencies, transferring some headquarters functions to the field, and integrating agencies' business operations. The FY2020 House bill did not identify funding for BLM reorganization. The House Appropriations Committee was not convinced of the efficacy of moving additional personnel out of the headquarters area when approximately 93 percent of Bureau employees are already working in the field, and directed that no additional relocations of headquarters staff take place. (H.Rept. 116-100, p. 13.) Figure I. BLM FY2020 Administration-Requested Appropriations (dollars in millions) Source: Prepared by CRS with information from the House Appropriations Committee. Not shown are rescissions for the Land Acquisition account (-$10.0 million) and $0 for Service Charges, Deposits, and Forfeitures due to a match by offsetting collections. Land Acquisition. BLM typically receives appropriations from the Land and Water Conservation Fund to acquire lands. To focus on maintaining current BLM lands, the Administration's FY2020 request did not include funding htps:/crreportscongressgov 0

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most