Senate Tees Up Senator Murkowski’s Interior Appropriations Bill
Murkowski Named to Manage Bill Package on Senate Floor
Today the U.S. Senate moved to consider its second Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 government funding package, which includes Senator Lisa Murkowski’s (R-AK) Interior, Environment and Related Agencies appropriations bill. This marks the first time that the Interior bill has been on the floor for full Senate consideration since FY 2010. Senator Murkowski, a senior member on the Appropriations Committee and chairman of the Interior, Environment and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee, was selected to manage the legislation on the Senate floor.
The four-bill funding package combines the Interior-Environment; Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development (T-HUD); Agriculture; and Financial Services appropriations bills. In June, the Senate passed its first FY 2019 funding package, which combined the Energy and Water; Military Construction-Veterans Affairs; and Legislative Branch Appropriations bills.
“I have long believed that a return to regular order, where we vote appropriations bills out of committee with bipartisan support and bring them, like we have today, to the Floor, is crucial. All members of the Senate should have an opportunity to debate appropriations bills and offer amendments,” said Senator Murkowski. “I’m particularly pleased as Chairman of the Interior appropriations subcommittee to be on the floor today. This is the first time that the Interior bill has been before the full Senate since FY 2010. It is an important example of the commitment that both sides have made to create an environment where we can work through tough issues in a bipartisan fashion.”
(Click here and image above for video of Senator Murkowski’s floor speech.)
The Interior bill was approved by the full Appropriations Committee through a historic, unanimous vote on June 14. It includes funding for all of the major federal land management agencies -- the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the Fish and Wildlife Service, the Forest Service, and the Environmental Protection Agency. It also provides funding for essential Indian health, education, and resource management programs through the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Indian Health Service, and funding for important cultural institutions like the Smithsonian Institution, the National Gallery of Art, and the National Endowments for the Arts and Humanities.
