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1 [1] (January 30, 2019)

handle is hein.crs/govxze0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional Reseach Service Updated January 30, 2019 Bureau of Land Management: FY2019 Appropriations The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) manages 246 million acres of land, nearly all in the West, under a multiple use mission. Uses of BLM land include livestock grazing, recreation, and preservation. The agency also administers onshore federal energy and mineral resources covering nearly 700 million acres of federal subsurface mineral estate, and it supervises the mineral operations on about 56 million acres of Indian trust lands. At issue for Congress is determining the amount of funding to provide for BLM programs and activities for FY2019, the terms and conditions of such funding, and whether to enact related Trump Administration proposals. Because no regular FY2019 appropriations have been enacted, BLM is receiving continuing appropriations at the FY2018 level through February 15, 2019 (under H.J.Res. 28). Earlier continuing appropriations had lapsed, resulting in a partial agency shutdown between December 22, 2018, and January 25, 2019, during which time BLM operated under a contingency plan. For FY2019, the Administration requested $1,023.3 million in discretionary appropriations for BLM, a $308.7 million (23.2%) decrease from the FY2018 level of $1,331.9 million. On July 19, 2018, the House passed H.R. 6147 with $1,387.0 million for BLM. This was $55.0 million (4.1%) more than the FY2018 appropriation and $363.7 million (35.5%) more than the Administration's request. On August 1, 2018, the Senate passed H.R. 6147 with $1,343.4 million for BLM. This was $11.5 million (0.9%) more than the FY2018 level and $320.1 million (31.3%) more than the Administration's request, but $43.6 million (3.1%) less than the House-passed amount. (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 FY2019, BLM estimates its mandatory appropriations at $74.8 million. This would be a decrease from the $200.2 million estimated for FY2018, in part due to a proposed cancellation of unobligated mandatory funds. Appropriations Accounts BLM discretionary appropriations are provided through several accounts. The Administration's FY2019 request for these accounts is shown in Figure 1. Table 1 contains FY2019 account funding levels in the request, the House- passed version of H.R. 6147, and the Senate-passed version of H.R. 6147 as compared with FY2018 enacted amounts. Management of Lands and Resources. The largest account-Management of Lands and Resources- comprised 89.1% 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. The Administration proposed a budget restructuring within the account to increase flexibility, cost savings, and program integration. Affected budget activities and subactivities included soil, water, and air; riparian areas; rangeland; threatened and endangered species; wildlife and fisheries; abandoned mine lands; and hazardous materials. The Senate, but not the House, adopted this restructuring. The House and Senate included more money for this account than requested for FY2019 and enacted for FY2018. The Administration sought a decrease for this account and most of its activities. However, the request contained additional funds for a few programs, including coal management to improve coal leasing and permitting, and establishment of a competitive oil and gas leasing program on the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. The House and Senate did not specify funding for most of these purposes. The House would provide the most funding for BLM deferred maintenance-$114.2 million. This would be an additional $35.0 million over FY2018, $89.3 million over the request, and $55.0 million over the Senate level. The President's request included $5.9 million to support a Department of the Interior (DOI) reorganization to achieve common regional boundaries for DOI agencies and to transfer some BLM functions from headquarters to the field. The intent is to improve public service, efficiency, and communication. The House and Senate did not explicitly identify funding for BLM reorganization. Figure I. BLM FY2019 Administration-Requested Appropriations (dollars in millions) Source: Prepared by CRS with information from the House Committee on Appropriations. Not shown are account rescissions totaling $12.1 million and a request of $0 for Service Charges, Deposits, and Forfeitures due to a match by offsetting fees. https://crsreportstcongress~go,

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