House passes fiscal 2010 Interior-Environment bill

The House on Friday interrupted consideration of climate change legislation to approve the fiscal 2010 Interior-Environment appropriations bill, 254-173.

The $32.3 billion measure, the fourth fiscal 2010 spending bill cleared by the House this year, matches President Obama's request and tops the fiscal 2009 amount by $4.7 billion. The legislation includes $10.4 billion for EPA; $6.8 billion to improve American Indian health care, tribal law enforcement and education; $3.7 billion for wildfire prevention; and $2.7 billion for national parks.

"I think this is one of the best Interior appropriations bills that I can ever remember," House Interior-Environment Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Norman Dicks, D-Wash., said before the vote.

The House wrapped up debate late Thursday night, as Republicans criticized Democratic leaders for limiting the number of amendments. They argued the majority has typically allowed unlimited amendments on appropriations bills, and that limiting the number sets a bad precedent by hurting the minority's abilities to represent constituents.

Republicans also warned that the move to restrict amendments could come back to haunt Democrats when they return to the minority.

"I truly fear that you know not the damage that you do to this institution with these rules," said House Interior-Environment Appropriations Subcommittee ranking member Mike Simpson, R-Idaho.

Over 100 amendments were submitted to the House Rules Committee this week, mostly from Republicans. House Democratic leaders opted to not consider most of them, citing concerns the House might not finish work on the remaining spending bills by the August recess if each faces a flood of amendments.

Of the amendments the House took up, it disposed of eight, including a proposal from Rep. Dean Heller, R-Nev., to prevent any funds to continue construction of an interagency fire center in Carson City, Nev. The House defeated the amendment, 225-202.

An amendment from Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, to reduce spending by $5.7 billion to fiscal 2008 levels also went down, 259-169, as did a proposal from Rep. Cliff Stearns, R-Fla., that would have trimmed EPA funding by $3.9 billion, or 38 percent. That measure failed 261-170.

The House rejected five amendments from Reps. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., and John Campbell, R-Calif., to strike certain earmarks from the measure. They included $150,000 for traditional arts in upstate New York requested by Rep. John McHugh, R-N.Y., who has been tapped by Obama to become Secretary of the Army.