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Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine), Vice Chair of the House Appropriations Interior Subcommittee, today announced that the full House Appropriations Committee has approved the FY2020 Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill, which increases discretionary funding by $1.73 billion from the 2019 level. The bill lays out a very different vision from the Trump administration’s approach to climate change, public lands, and the arts—including significant funding increases for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), and the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH).

“As the co-chair of the bipartisan Congressional Arts Caucus, I’m pleased to see widespread support for arts agencies in this bill. These agencies directly fund creative economic development in every one of our districts—often in rural areas that otherwise wouldn’t see these kinds of investments. Despite the Trump administration’s continued attempts to eliminate funding for the NEA and NEH, the committee sought to preserve these important agencies; each one of our communities is better off for it.” said Pingree. “I’m also grateful to see increases for science, environmental agencies, and climate change solutions. Our vote today shows we value preserving and protecting the lands we cherish.”

Watch Pingree’s remarks to the Appropriations Committee here.

Highlights from the bill include:

• $672 million increase for the EPA;

•  $85 million increase for the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF); 

• $3.11 billion for Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds;

• $18 million in additional funding for scientific and regulatory work on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), needed to establish a drinking water standard and cleanup standards. This level of funding more than doubles current levels for this work;

• $167.5 million each for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), which is $12.5 million more than the 2019 enacted levels and rejects the President’s budget request proposal to eliminate the Agencies;

• $833 million increase for the Department of the Interior, including $1.4 billion for the Bureau of Land Management, $1.7 billion for U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and $3.39 billion for National Park Service; a $1.73 billion increase from the 2019 enacted level.

Pingree is the co-chair of the bi-partisan Congressional Arts Caucus. She also serves as the Vice Chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies, where she oversees the NEA and arts funding.

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