S2431-119

What This Bill Does

The Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2026 funds Interior bureaus, EPA, Forest Service, Indian Health Service, and cultural and related agencies, then adds detailed policy riders. Interior provisions address transfer authorities, Bureau of Indian Affairs and Bureau of Indian Education successor accounts, tribal priority allocations, offshore inspection fees, nonprofit cooperation, salmon mass marking, grants and cooperative agreements, Tribally-Controlled School Grants, appraisal and valuation services, sage-grouse and land-management restrictions, direct hiring near field units, Denali naming, and preservation of national parks, trails, wild lands, and scenic lands as federal property. General provisions require overhead-charge disclosure, bar mining patent processing, preserve contract support costs, protect Forest Service plan revisions, limit condemnation, control procurement, require public online reports, cap NEA grant support, require monthly Interior/EPA/Forest Service/IHS reporting, block pornography on networks, support Good Neighbor and cross-boundary forest work, restrict certain water infrastructure project funds, allow grants to fire departments and rangeland fire-protection associations, require reprogramming approval, address oil and gas leasing withdrawal areas, extend 105(l) tribal lease treatment, extend the Forest Ecosystem Health and Recovery Fund, require LWCF allocation timing and balances reports, address Alaska incinerator and timber provisions, limit certain greenhouse-gas or lead-ammunition rules, authorize premium pay for firefighters, waive cost shares for conservation projects, require notices to grantees and contractors, and transfer $764.5 million for wildland fire.

Who Benefits and How

Tribal governments benefit from BIA and BIE account treatment, tribal priority allocation protections, Tribally-Controlled School Grants, 105(l) lease treatment, and contract-support-cost provisions. Tribal schools benefit when Bureau of Indian Education and Tribally-Controlled School Grants language preserves or clarifies funding channels. Forest Service managers benefit from plan-revision protections, cross-boundary agreements, forest-health funding, wildfire transfers, firefighter premium pay, and Good Neighbor authorities. Fire departments and rangeland fire associations benefit from grant eligibility for fire and rangeland protection. Conservation project sponsors benefit from cost-share waivers and Land and Water Conservation Fund allocation timing. Offshore energy operators and oil lease applicants benefit where the bill clarifies inspection-fee use, leasing limits, or withdrawal-area treatment. Mining claimants benefit from continued limits on mining patent processing rather than unexpected title conversions. National Park visitors and public-land users benefit from provisions preserving national parks, trails, wild lands, scenic lands, and federal ownership commitments.

Who Bears the Burden and How

Interior Department budget offices must administer transfer rules, monthly reports, lease notices, LWCF allocations, tribal lease treatment, and public-land restrictions. EPA must manage appropriated accounts, water-project restrictions, monthly reporting, network blocking, grant timing, and greenhouse-gas rider limits. Forest Service staff must carry out wildfire, forest-health, plan-revision, cross-boundary, timber, firefighter-pay, and conservation cost-share provisions. Indian Health Service must provide monthly reports and coordinate with tribal health funding rules. Lead ammunition manufacturers and fishing tackle manufacturers benefit from regulatory limits but environmental regulators bear reduced flexibility where TSCA or wildlife rules are blocked. Federal grantees and contractors must watch new notice, posting, reporting, and account-structure rules before awards, building actions, or lease terminations. Federal taxpayers fund agency operations and the wildland-fire transfer while gaining oversight through rescissions, balances reports, and reprogramming controls.

Key Provisions

• Appropriates fiscal year 2026 money for Interior bureaus, EPA, Forest Service, Indian Health Service, and related cultural agencies.
• Requires tribal account, tribal priority allocation, Tribally-Controlled School Grant, 105(l) lease, and contract-support-cost treatment for tribal programs.
• Limits mining patent processing, condemnation, procurement, certain greenhouse-gas reporting, lead ammunition regulation, fishing tackle regulation, and selected leasing or withdrawal actions.
• Provides wildfire, forest-health, Good Neighbor, cross-boundary, firefighter premium-pay, fire-department grant, rangeland fire, and conservation cost-share tools.
• Requires monthly agency reports, public online reports, reprogramming approvals, LWCF allocations, quarterly balances, grantee notices, contractor notices, and building or lease action notices.
• Transfers $764.5 million for wildland fire and controls rescissions, unobligated balances, Economy Act shifts, and program funding tables.