Making appropriations for the Department of the Interior, environment, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2024, and for other purposes.
Analysis under review: This bill has generated analysis that may be too generic or incomplete. Clause-level evidence remains available below.
Summary
What This Bill Does
This appropriations bill funds the Department of the Interior, Environmental Protection Agency, Forest Service, Indian Health Service, and cultural agencies like the Smithsonian for fiscal year 2024. Beyond funding, it includes over 90 policy riders that block or delay specific environmental regulations, mandate oil and gas lease sales, and restrict agency spending on various programs.
Who Benefits and How
- Oil and gas industry: Benefits from mandated quarterly onshore lease sales and at least 2 offshore lease sales per year in the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska, plus prohibition on using social cost of carbon in cost-benefit analyses
- Coal-fired power plants: Protected from EPA emissions standards for greenhouse gases and hazardous air pollutants
- Mining companies: Benefit from blocked regulations and expedited permitting for projects like Caldwell Canyon Mine
- Ranchers and farmers: Protected from regulations on lead ammunition/tackle and water rights transfers as conditions of permits
Who Bears the Burden and How
- Environmental regulators (EPA, Interior): Prohibited from implementing numerous proposed rules on emissions, endangered species, and climate policy
- Conservation groups: Face restrictions on protections for lesser prairie-chicken, northern long-eared bat, grizzly bears, and sage-grouse
- Wind energy developers: Face delays and studies required before offshore wind leasing in Florida and onshore wind in Idaho
- State of California: Blocked from receiving EPA waiver for small off-road engine zero-emission rules
Key Provisions
- Mandates minimum oil and gas lease sales: 4 per year onshore in major producing states, 2 per year offshore in Gulf of Mexico and Alaska
- Prohibits use of social cost of carbon in any federal cost-benefit analysis
- Blocks implementation of multiple EPA rules on power plant emissions, vehicle emissions standards, and Good Neighbor Plan for ozone
- Delists gray wolf and Greater Yellowstone grizzly bears from Endangered Species Act protections
- Prohibits funds for diversity, equity, and inclusion programs under Executive Orders 13985, 14035, and 14091
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Appropriates funds for the Department of the Interior, Environmental Protection Agency, related agencies for fiscal year 2024, while imposing numerous policy restrictions on environmental regulations and federal land management.
Who Benefits
- Oil and gas extraction companies
- Coal-fired power plants
- Mining companies
Who Bears Costs
- Environmental Protection Agency
- Conservation and environmental groups
- Wind energy developers
Key Policy Areas
Appropriations, Environment, Public Lands, Energy, Wildlife Conservation, Native American Affairs, Arts and Culture
Primary Purpose
Appropriates funds for the Department of the Interior, Environmental Protection Agency, related agencies for fiscal year 2024, while imposing numerous policy restrictions on environmental regulations and federal land management.
Policy Domains
Legislative Strategy
"Use appropriations process to advance energy production priorities and block Biden administration environmental regulations through policy riders, while maintaining funding for core agency operations."
Legislative Progress
ReportedReceived; read twice and placed on the calendar
Mr. Simpson, from the Committee on Appropriations, reported the following …
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Indian Education, Bureau of Land Management
Bureau of Land Management, Department of the Interior, Environmental Protection Agency, Federal agencies funded by this Act, Forest Service, National Park Service, Tribal organizations with self-determination contracts face effects in multiple directions
Positive-direction: Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Land Management wild horse program, Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, Department of the Interior bureaus, EPA Inspector General, Environmental regulators, Everglades restoration programs, Federal Highway Administration, Federal employees and agency visitors, Federal real property appraisers, Federally recognized tribes, Federally recognized tribes operating schools, Federally recognized tribes with unmet needs, Forest Service ecosystem health programs, Smithsonian Institution, U.S. Geological Survey
Negative-direction: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Council on Environmental Quality, EPA advisory and consulting functions, EPA diversity and inclusion programs, EPA enforcement division, EPA program offices, Federal agencies and facilities, Federal fish hatcheries, Federal land acquisition programs, Federal regulatory agencies, Federally recognized tribes with higher funding, Forest Service land managers, Hong Kong Economic and Trade Offices, Interior Department administrative operations, Interior Department employees who bike to work
Anti-plastic pollution advocates, Arctic wildlife and conservation groups, Bison conservation and restoration programs
Positive-direction: Great Basin saline lake ecosystems, National Monument conservation
Negative-direction: Anti-plastic pollution advocates, Arctic wildlife and conservation groups, Bison conservation and restoration programs, Bison conservation programs, Climate advocates, Climate and conservation programs, Conservation advocates, Conservation and environmental groups, Conservation and tribal groups, Conservation groups, Conservation organizations, Endangered species populations, Environmental and climate advocacy groups, Environmental and public health advocates, Environmental and public lands advocates, Environmental litigation groups, Environmental litigation groups (Sierra Club, CBD), Freshwater mussel species, Greenhouse gas reduction programs, Grizzly bear conservation programs, Marine species and ecosystems, North Atlantic right whale population, Texas Kangaroo Rat species, Wildlife affected by lead poisoning (birds, fish), Wildlife affected by secondary poisoning, Wildlife conservation organizations
Energy and mining companies, Fossil fuel energy companies, Fossil fuel industry
Positive-direction: Energy and mining companies, Fossil fuel energy companies, Fossil fuel industry, Fossil fuel producers, Fossil fuel project developers, Offshore drilling and fishing industries, Offshore oil and gas companies, Offshore oil and gas operators, Oil and gas companies in Thompson Divide area, Oil and gas companies operating in NPR-A, Oil and gas companies with Alaska leases, Oil and gas industry, Oil and gas operators in Permian Basin, Oil and gas operators in Rock Springs area, Oil and gas operators in Texas, Oil and gas operators in western Colorado, Oil and gas operators on BLM lands, Oil and gas operators on federal lands, Oil and gas producers, Oil and gas producers in lesser prairie-chicken habitat, Oil and gas producers in sage-grouse habitat, Onshore oil and gas producers, Pipeline companies
Negative-direction: Offshore oil and gas drilling operators, Oil and gas companies seeking National Monument leases
Ammunition manufacturers, Chemical manufacturers, Domestic iron and steel producers
Positive-direction: Ammunition manufacturers, Chemical manufacturers, Domestic iron and steel producers, Domestic wood processors in lower 48 states, Fishing tackle manufacturers, Heavy-duty truck and engine manufacturers, Heavy-duty truck manufacturers, Industrial emitters and power plants, Industrial facilities and power plants, Industrial polluters in disadvantaged areas, Industrial polluters in disadvantaged communities, Industrial polluters near communities, Lead ammunition and tackle manufacturers, Medical device sterilization facilities, Pesticide manufacturers, Plastic manufacturers and food service industry, Rodenticide manufacturers, Small engine manufacturers (lawn equipment, etc.)
Negative-direction: Electric equipment manufacturers, Electric truck manufacturers, Electric vehicle manufacturers, Foreign iron and steel exporters
Coastal environmental justice communities, Communities downstream of power plants, Communities exposed to toxic chemicals
Mining and energy companies near monument, Mining and energy interests in Railroad Valley, Mining and extraction companies
Positive-direction: Mining and energy companies near monument, Mining and energy interests in Railroad Valley, Mining and extraction companies, Mining claim holders, Mining companies, Mining companies in Thompson Divide area, Mining companies near Grand Canyon, Mining companies on federal lands, Speculative mining claimants
Negative-direction: New mining claim patent applicants
Existing concessionaires at Gulf Islands, Glacier National Park visitors, Hunters and anglers
Positive-direction: Existing concessionaires at Gulf Islands, Glacier National Park visitors, Hunters and anglers, Hunters and recreational shooters, Hunters and wildlife advocates in Idaho, Hunters on federal lands, Organized recreational event operators, Outdoor recreation users and hunters, Recreational fishers on federal lands, Recreational shooters
Negative-direction: Park visitors seeking quiet experiences
Clean energy and climate programs, Clean energy and climate technology firms, Clean energy developers
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of the Interior
- "the_administrator"
- → Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of Agriculture (for Forest Service)
- "the_secretary"
- → Context-dependent (Interior or Agriculture)
- "the_administrator"
- → Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency
Note: 'The Secretary' refers to Secretary of the Interior in most of the bill but to Secretary of Agriculture when discussing Forest Service matters in Title III and section 407.
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
The operator designated for facilities subject to inspection under 43 U.S.C. 1348(c) for offshore drilling operations
A population of individuals, including urban minorities, who have historically been outside the purview of arts and humanities programs due to factors such as high incidence of income below the poverty line or geographic isolation
Products made primarily of iron or steel including lined or unlined pipes and fittings, manhole covers, hydrants, tanks, flanges, pipe clamps, valves, structural steel, reinforced precast concrete, and construction materials
The offshore administrative boundary for a State depicted in Federal Outer Continental Shelf Administrative Boundaries extending from the Submerged Lands Act Boundary seaward to the Limit of the United States Outer Continental Shelf
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology