Today, eight of Congresswoman Boebert’s bipartisan amendments, two of her bipartisan bills, two of her bipartisan community project requests, and 14 other bipartisan appropriations requests passed the House as part of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2024.

Congresswoman Lauren Boebert (CO-03) said, “This week I secured 26 legislative victories for the Third Congressional District through passage of the House Interior Appropriations bill. Since taking office, Joe Biden has waged an all-out war on American energy, public lands, and water rights. The passage of my critical amendments allows us to roll back Biden’s burdensome regulations, reduce federal spending, and reallocate funds from federal bureaucrats to important causes such as improving school bus routes for the Southern Utes and Ute Mountain Utes. My amendments will also help combat wildfires by transferring $10 million to fund active forest management and hazardous fuels reduction activities, prohibit radical rule changes to the Endangered Species Act, prohibit a new Biden regulation attacking oil and gas producers, and block a 1.6-million-acre land grab in Colorado that prevents oil and gas production. The bill also funds my requests for the Gunnison and Silt Water Treatment Plants. Special thanks to everyone in the Third Congressional District who brought these priorities to my attention and worked with me to get them passed through the House.”

Background:

Today, the House passed H.R. 4821, the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2024. Included in this bill were 26 of Congresswoman Boebert’s bipartisan legislative initiatives including eight of her bipartisan amendments, two of her bipartisan bills, two of her bipartisan community project requests, and 14 other bipartisan appropriations requests submitted by the Congresswoman.

In the 118th Congress, Congresswoman Boebert has been an extremely effective legislator, focusing on the needs of Colorado’s Third Congressional District and delivering numerous legislative victories. Specifically, five of the Congresswoman’s bills, 53 of her amendments, and 38 of her appropriations requests have passed the House. She has also passed seven bills through the House Committee on Natural Resources and the House Committee on Administration. In addition, the Congresswoman has secured $19.7 million for 10 important water and infrastructure projects in the Third District through Community Project Funding requests that are included in House Appropriations bills.

Here are the eight amendments of Congresswoman Boebert’s that passed the House:

Boebert Amendment 18 – Transfers $5,000,000 to fund active forest management at the United States Forest Service (USFS) from federal bureaucrats to prevent catastrophic wildfires, save lives and property, and improve water quality. The year the Congresswoman was elected, Colorado suffered the worst fire season in Colorado history with the three largest wildfires ever recorded. Hundreds of homes were destroyed and evacuated as Coloradans endured more than 100 days of fire. The Cameron Peak Fire burned more than 208,000 acres and more than 460 structures to the tune of $6 million in property losses. The East Troublesome Fire on the border of the Congresswoman’s district killed 2 people. According to the Colorado State Forest Service more than 24.4 million acres of Colorado forestland impact Colorado’s water supply, where 80% of the state’s population relies on those forested watersheds for municipal water supplies. More than 1 billion acres throughout the country are currently at risk of catastrophic wildfires. Devoting more resources to actively manage our forests reduces the devastation and severity of wildfires.

Amendment #18 passed by a voice vote with unanimous bipartisan consent.

Boebert Amendment 19 – Transfers $5,000,000 to hazardous fuels reduction activities within the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) from federal bureaucracy. Similar to Boebert amendment #18, amendment #19 transfers important resources to the BLM to proactively reduce the threat of wildfires and hazardous fuels on public lands. Catastrophic wildfires cause significant damage to the environment. NASA concluded that one catastrophic wildfire can emit more carbon emissions in a few days than all vehicle emissions in an entire state over an entire year. Coloradans also suffered severe health issues resulting from significant smoke from these fires. Wildfire smoke causes serious disorders, including eye and respiratory tract infections, reduced lung function, bronchitis, exacerbation of asthma, and even premature death. Devoting more resources to hazardous fuels reduction activities improves the environment and reduces the threats of wildfires.

Amendment #19 passed by a voice vote with unanimous bipartisan consent.

Boebert Amendment 39 – Prohibits the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration from taking any action to finalize, implement, or enforce the Biden Administration Proposed Endangered Species Act (ESA) rules that undermine and rescind the Trump administration ESA modernization rules. The Biden rules include bringing back the blanket 4(d) rule, expanding listing and habitat designations under the ESA, reversing the simplified interagency consultation process, and undermining modernization efforts that protected the rights of property owners in the West.

Amendment #39 passed by a recorded vote of 213-212 with four Democrats voting in favor of the amendment.

Boebert Amendment 40 – Prohibits the Bureau of Land Management from taking any action to finalize, implement, or enforce a draft resource management plan and draft supplemental environmental impact statement to end new oil and gas leases on 1.6M acres in Colorado. The BLM’s 1.6-million-acre land grab is yet another blatant overreach designed to dismantle the fossil fuel industry, increase gas prices, and force a green transition.

Amendment #40 passed by a voice vote with unanimous bipartisan consent.

Boebert Amendment 41 – Prohibits the Bureau of Land Management from taking any action to finalize, implement, or enforce the proposed rule on Fluid Mineral Leases and Leasing Process. This new fluid mineral leasing rule is further proof that Joe Biden is using every tool in his administration to dismantle American energy production and fossil fuels. Representative Boebert has also introduced standalone legislation to block this egregious Biden regulation that undermines American energy security. We can’t rely on other foreign nations to control our oil and gas supplies.

Amendment #41 passed by a voice vote with unanimous bipartisan consent.

Boebert Amendment 42 – Transfers $2 million to the Holocaust Memorial Museum account from federal bureaucrats. This amendment signifies a reallocation of financial resources to support the operations and initiatives of the Holocaust Memorial Museum, which will enhance its ability to carry out its important educational and commemorative functions.

Amendment #42 passed by a voice vote with unanimous bipartisan consent.

Boebert Amendment 44 – Prohibits funding for the Bicycle Subsidy Benefit Program of the Department of the Interior. DOI employees are going to bike to work because they want to bike to work, not because American taxpayers are being forced to shell out $20 a month to individual federal bureaucrats that participate in this ridiculous program.

Amendment #44 passed by a voice vote with unanimous bipartisan consent.

Boebert Amendment 53 – Transfer $1.5 million to the Bureau of Indian Affairs for dirt school bus routes from government bureaucracy. The amendment provides financial support to enhance the conditions of these critical transportation routes serving Indigenous communities including the Southern Ute Tribe and the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe in Colorado, improving education access and infrastructure in these areas.

Amendment #53 passed by a voice vote with unanimous bipartisan consent.

Congresswoman Lauren Boebert submitted 17 appropriations requests that were included in the base bill. Read the full letter from Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Subcommittee Chairman Mike Simpson to Congresswoman Boebert listing these priorities HERE.

Congresswoman Boebert’s appropriations requests found in the base bill include:

1. $1.75 million for Gunnison, CO, for the Water Treatment Plant Project.
2. $1.75 million for Silt, CO, for the Water Treatment Plant Renovations project.
3. $28.72 million for the irrigation project fund at the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
4. $2 million for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Wolf Livestock Loss Demonstration program that compensates ranchers and farmers for livestock killed by gray wolves.
5. Bill language repealing the Biden admin’s “Waters of the United States” (WOTUS) land and water grab rule that will negatively impact ranchers, farmers, municipalities, and small businesses.
6. A provision requiring the Secretary of the Interior to reissue the final rule removing the gray wolf from the list of endangered and threatened wildlife. Representative Boebert has also introduced standalone legislation on this matter.
7. Fully funds the Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) program which provides millions of dollars to Colorado counties.
8. $1 million for the cooperative landslide hazards and assessment competitive grant program to states and $4.52 million for landslide hazard data and science research at the United States Geological Survey.
9. $35 million for Environmental Protection Agency National Priorities rural water technical assistance grants.
10. $27 million for Environmental Protection Agency Technical Assistance for Wastewater Treatment Works rural clean water technical assistance grants.
11. $42.91 million for the United States Geological Survey’s 3D Elevation Program.
12. The bill rescinds $1.35 billion from the Inflation Reduction Act (P.L. 117-169) for the Environmental Protection Agency’s Environmental and Climate Justice Block Grants.
13. Bill language prohibiting funds to carry out the program for Federal employees at the Department of the Interior regarding ecogrief.
14. No funding is provided for Nancy Pelosi’s Presidio Trust and the bill rescinds $200 million in Inflation Reduction Act funding for the Presidio earmark.
15. Report language requiring the Forest Service address invasive species on U.S. Forest Service lands including the bark-beetle that has devastated Colorado’s forests.
16. Report language requiring the U.S. Forest Service to report on the status of a salt cedar and Russian olive trees reduction pilot program that Congresswoman Boebert passed for Montezuma County.
17. Bill language prohibiting the Secretary of the Interior from listing the greater sage-grouse, the Columbian Basin distinct population, and the Bi-State distinct population segment for greater sage-grouse as a threatened or endangered species.

Additional Background Courtesy of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies:

The Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies bill provides new non-defense discretionary spending totaling $25.417 billion, which is $13.433 billion (35%) below the Fiscal Year 2023 enacted level and $21.371 billion below the President’s Budget Request.

This appropriations bill also:

Cuts Wasteful Spending

• Reduces funding for nearly every account to below FY23 enacted levels.

• Cuts funding for programs that are unauthorized for FY24.

Claw-backs of Prior Appropriations

• Rescinds $7.8 billion from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund created in the IRA.

• Rescinds $1.4 billion for Environmental and Climate Justice funding provided in the IRA.

• Rescinds $200 million designated by the Department of the Interior for the Presidio Trust.

• Rescinds $55 million for the Council on Environmental Quality

Reins in the EPA

• Repeals the Biden Administration’s Waters of the United States (WOTUS) regulation.

• Prohibits EPA from allowing California to require that new small off-road engines, such as lawn care equipment, be zero-emission and prohibits funding for EPA regulations on light, medium, and heavy-duty vehicles.

• Prohibits funding for EPA regulatory overreach regarding ozone emissions and steam electric power plants.

Provides Protections for Oil and Gas

• Requires oil and gas lease sales in the Central Gulf of Mexico Planning Area and the Western Gulf of Mexico Planning Area and in the Alaska region.

• Requires the Secretary of the Interior to conduct quarterly onshore oil and gas lease sales.

Protects Hunting, Fishing, and Recreational Access

• Prohibits the regulation of lead content in ammunition and fishing tackle.

• Prohibits funds to ban lead ammunition and fishing tackle on Federal lands or waters made available for hunting or fishing activities unless certain conditions are met.

• Blocks restrictions on hunting, fishing, and recreational shooting on Federal lands.

• Improves the Department of the Interior cost recovery processes for special recreation permits on federal lands.