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1 [1] (October 22, 2019)

handle is hein.crs/govbbmq0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional Research Serice Informi[ jhe legiat ye debate since 1914 0 Updated October 22, 2019 Bureau of Land Management: FY2020 Appropriations The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) manages 246 million acres of federal land, nearly all in the West. Under its multiple-use mission, BLM manages lands for diverse purposes, including livestock grazing, energy development, recreation, and preservation. The agency also administers onshore federal energy and mineral resources generally and supervises mineral operations on 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, BLM is receiving continuing appropriations at the FY2019 level through November 21, 2019 (under P.L. 116-59), unless full-year appropriations are enacted sooner. The Administration requested $1,187.4 million in discretionary appropriations for BLM for FY2020, 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), which would be $65.6 million (4.9%) more than the FY2019 enacted level and $224.4 million (18.9%) more than the FY2020 request. On September 26, 2019, the Senate Appropriations Committee reported S. 2580 with $1,399.4 million for BLM. This would be $53.2 million (4.0%) more than the FY2019 enacted level and $212.0 million (17.9%) more than the FY2020 request. (See Table 1.) 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 the sale of BLM lands in Nevada. Appropriations Accounts BLM discretionary appropriations are provided through several accounts. Figure 1 shows the Administration's FY2020 request for these accounts. Table 1 contains account-level funding for the FY2020 request, House- passed bill, and Senate committee-reported bill. Management of Lands and Resources. The largest account-Management of Lands and Resources- comprised 89% of the request. It funds varied programs, including energy and minerals, rangelands, wild horses and burros, wildlife and fisheries, recreation, resource protection, law enforcement, and facility maintenance. Overview. 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. H.R. 3055 and S. 2580 included higher appropriations for this account than requested for FY2020 and enacted for FY2019. H.R. 3055 would increase funds for many programs over FY2019, such as management of wild horses and burros, wildlife and aquatic habitat, recreation, and the National Landscape Conservation System. Also, the House bill would change the period of availability of most funds from no-year (available until expended) to two-year. The Senate committee bill generally would provide level or increased funding for programs, with the largest increase ($35.0 million, 43%) for wild horse and burro management. Reorganization. For FY2019, Congress appropriated $14.1 million for Department of the Interior reorganization but did not specify the BLM portion. The reorganization seeks to improve public service, communication, and efficiency. The FY2020 BLM request included $7.7 million to foster common regional boundaries of agencies, transfer some headquarters functions to the field, and integrate agencies' business operations. The FY2020 House bill did not identify funding for BLM reorganization. The House Appropriations Committee expressed that 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). The Senate committee bill does not make explicit whether funds are included for BLM reorganization. Figure I. BLM FY2020 Administration-Requested ADDroDriations (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 for particular acquisition projects or for acquisitions that generally facilitate access to BLM land for recreation. The https:Hcrsreports~congress gov

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