Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2026
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The bill would fund the Department of the Interior, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Forest Service, the Indian Health Service, and related cultural agencies for fiscal year 2026, setting spending levels for public lands, wildfire suppression, tribal programs, and environmental cleanup.
Beyond the dollar figures, it would attach dozens of policy riders blocking or reversing Biden-era environmental rules, mandating new offshore and onshore oil and gas lease sales, and directing the reissuance of rules removing Endangered Species Act protections for gray wolves and Yellowstone-area grizzly bears without judicial review.
What this bill would do
What it would do
The bill would provide fiscal year 2026 appropriations for the Department of the Interior's bureaus (Bureau of Land Management, Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, U.S. Geological Survey, Bureau of Indian Affairs and Education), the Environmental Protection Agency, the Forest Service, the Indian Health Service, and cultural agencies such as the Smithsonian Institution and National Endowment for the Arts. It funds wildland fire suppression, state revolving water infrastructure funds, abandoned mine reclamation, and tribal trust and health programs, while also including a large "wildfire suppression operations reserve fund" for both Interior and the Forest Service. Beyond appropriations, the bill attaches numerous policy riders: it would block funding for dozens of named EPA and Interior rules (covering greenhouse gas standards, vehicle emissions, coal ash disposal, and endangered species protections for the sage-grouse, lesser prairie-chicken, and northern long-eared bat), require the Secretary of the Interior to reissue rules delisting the gray wolf and Yellowstone grizzly bear from Endangered Species Act protection, mandate minimum numbers of offshore and onshore oil and gas lease sales, and prohibit funds for diversity, equity, and inclusion or Critical Race Theory-related activities. It does not create new permanent programs beyond what is specified in the appropriations and riders.
Key provisions
- 1Would appropriate funding for Interior bureaus including BLM, Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, and USGS for FY2026 operations and construction.
- 2Would appropriate funding for the EPA's science, enforcement, Superfund, and state revolving water infrastructure grant programs.
- 3Would fund the Forest Service, Indian Health Service, and related cultural agencies including the Smithsonian and national arts endowments.
- 4Would require the Secretary of the Interior to conduct minimum numbers of offshore Gulf and Alaska lease sales and quarterly onshore lease sales in nine states.
- 5Would direct reissuance of rules delisting the gray wolf and the Yellowstone-area grizzly bear from Endangered Species Act protections, the latter shielded from judicial review.
- 6Would block funding to implement, administer, or enforce dozens of named EPA and Interior environmental rules, including vehicle emissions, power plant carbon, and coal ash regulations.
- 7Would prohibit use of funds for diversity, equity, and inclusion or Critical Race Theory-related activities across covered agencies.
Who would be affected
Federal land and wildlife agencies, oil and gas lease applicants, timber and mining companies, states and tribes receiving grants for water infrastructure, abandoned mine cleanup, and health services, national park visitors, Indian Health Service patients, and grant recipients at cultural institutions like the Smithsonian, National Gallery of Art, and Kennedy Center all depend on the funding and rider provisions in this bill.
Why it matters
Federal agencies would know their FY2026 budgets and operating constraints, while the riders would determine whether specific environmental protections (for wolves, grizzly bears, sage-grouse, and various air and water rules) stay in place or are rolled back, and whether more offshore and onshore public land is opened to oil and gas leasing during the fiscal year.
What would change
Changes to existing law
Amends Endangered Species Act of 1973 (Sec. 128, Sec. 134, Sec. 147)
Directs reissuance of rules delisting the gray wolf and Yellowstone grizzly bear, and blocks funds for several species listing/critical habitat rules.
Amends Mineral Leasing Act (Sec. 143)
Requires immediate resumption of quarterly onshore lease sales and adds new definitions of 'eligible' and 'available' lands for leasing.
Amends Revised Statutes (general mining laws), 30 U.S.C. 42 (Sec. 443)
Adds a new subsection allowing additional mill site claims for mining operations and creates an Abandoned Hardrock Mine Fund.
Reauthorizes Payments in Lieu of Taxes program, 31 U.S.C. 6906 (Sec. 113)
Substitutes 'fiscal year 2026' for 'fiscal year 2019' to extend the PILT payment authority.
Amends 400 Years of African-American History Commission Act (Title I, NPS heading)
Extends the Commission's operating deadline from July 1, 2025 to July 1, 2027.
Amends Clean Air Act, section 136 (methane fee) (Sec. 468)
Blocks funds to develop, implement, or enforce the methane emissions charge provision.
Agencies directed to act
Effective dates
- The appropriations in this Act
- Funds appropriated to the Department of the Interior must be obligated and expended
- Reissuance of the gray wolf delisting rule
- Reissuance of the Yellowstone-area grizzly bear delisting rule
Funding and costs
- $1,193,908,000
Bureau of Land Management management of lands and resources
- $1,374,576,000
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service resource management
- $2,718,124,000
National Park Service operation of the national park system
- $1,368,385,000
U.S. Geological Survey surveys, investigations, and research
- $3,701,902,000
EPA State and Tribal Assistance Grants, including water infrastructure revolving funds
- $2,426,209,000
Forest Service wildland fire suppression and rehabilitation
- $2,480,000,000
Forest Service wildfire suppression operations reserve fund
- $370,000,000
Interior Department wildfire suppression operations reserve fund
- $841,250,000
Smithsonian Institution salaries and expenses
How implementation would work
As an annual appropriations act, the bill's funding levels take effect at enactment and agencies obligate funds through their normal budget processes, subject to reprogramming notification requirements to the House and Senate Appropriations Committees. Several riders require specific agency actions within set deadlines, such as reissuing the gray wolf and grizzly bear delisting rules and resuming quarterly oil and gas lease sales, with reporting back to Congress on missed sales. Other riders operate as blanket funding prohibitions, barring agencies from spending any appropriated money—from this or other acts—to implement dozens of named rules, effectively freezing those regulations without formally repealing them. Congress would need to act again before the funding lapses at the end of FY2026 to continue or revise these programs and restrictions.
Legislative status & sources
Latest action
Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 175.
Official CRS summary
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This bill provides FY2026 appropriations for the Department of the Interior, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and several related agencies.
The bill provides appropriations to Interior for
- the Bureau of Land Management,
- the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
- the National Park Service,
- the U.S. Geological Survey,
- the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management,
- the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement,
- the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement,
- the Bureau of Indian Affairs,
- the Bureau of Indian Education,
- the Bureau of Trust Funds Administration,
- Departmental Offices, and
- Department-Wide Programs.
The bill also provides appropriations to the EPA and the Forest Service.
Within the Department of Health and Human Services, the bill provides appropriations for
- the Indian Health Service,
- the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, and
- the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.
The bill provides appropriations to several related agencies, including
- the Council on Environmental Quality and Office of Environmental Quality,
- the Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board,
- the Institute of American Indian and Alaska Native Culture and Arts Development,
- the Smithsonian Institution,
- the National Gallery of Art,
- the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts,
- the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars,
- the National Endowment for the Arts,
- the National Endowment for the Humanities,
- the Commission of Fine Arts,
- the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation.
- the National Capital Planning Commission,
- the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, and
- the U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission.
Additionally, the bill sets forth requirements and restrictions for using funds provided by this and other appropriations acts.
Legislative subjects
Administrative law and regulatory procedures; Advisory bodies; Alaska; Alaska Natives and Hawaiians; Alternative and renewable resources; American Samoa; Animal protection and human-animal relationships; Appropriations; Arkansas; Art, artists, authorship; Birds; Building construction; California; Climate change and greenhouse gases; Coal; Colorado; Commemorative events and holidays; Computers and information technology; Congressional oversight; Cultural exchanges and relations; Data collection, sharing, protection; Department of Agriculture; Department of Health and Human Services; Department of the Interior; Economics and Public Finance; Educational facilities and institutions; Employment and training programs; Endangered and threatened species; Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); Environmental assessment, monitoring, research; Environmental health; Environmental regulatory procedures; Executive agency funding and structure; Federal-Indian relations; Fires; First responders and emergency personnel; Forests, forestry, trees; Geography and mapping; Government buildings, facilities, and property; Government information and archives; Government lending and loan guarantees; Government studies and investigations; Government trust funds; Great Lakes; Guam; Hazardous wastes and toxic substances; Health care coverage and access; Health facilities and institutions; Health information and medical records; Health programs administration and funding; Health technology, devices, supplies; Historic sites and heritage areas; Humanities programs funding; Hunting and fishing; Indian claims; Indian lands and resources rights; Indian social and development programs; Infrastructure development; Intergovernmental relations; International organizations and cooperation; Lakes and rivers; Land transfers; Land use and conservation; Lease and rental services; Licensing and registrations; Mammals; Marine and coastal resources, fisheries; Marshall Islands; Meat; Michigan; Micronesia; Mining; Minority education; Montana; Monuments and memorials; Motor vehicles; Museums, exhibitions, cultural centers; National Institutes of Health (NIH); Nevada; New Mexico; North Dakota; Northern Mariana Islands; Oil and gas; Oklahoma; Oregon; Outdoor recreation; Palau; Parks, recreation areas, trails; Performing arts; Pest management; Pollution liability; Public contracts and procurement; Research administration and funding; Research and development; Seafood; Smithsonian Institution; Solid waste and recycling; State and local government operations; Strategic materials and reserves; Texas; U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council; U.S. territories and protectorates; User charges and fees; Utah; Virgin Islands; War crimes, genocide, crimes against humanity; Water quality; Water resources funding; Water storage; Wetlands; Wildlife conservation and habitat protection; World history; Wyoming
Committee report
H. Rept. 119-215