The Bear Necessities: No Pork, Just Salmon
Washington, D.C. – This Fat Bear Week, we're celebrating the one place where unchecked growth is encouraged: Katmai National Park. As brown bears gorge on fish, embrace the bloat, and prepare for hibernation, we're reminded that some things shouldn't be supersized. Federal spending is certainly one of them. Our FY27 Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies bill recipe? Cut the pork and leave the salmon to the bears.
The Bear Necessities: FY27 Interior Bill Highlights
- Protecting Our National Parks: Provides $3.23 billion for the National Park Service, including the requested $134 million increase for Park Protection, which includes targeted funding for the U.S. Park Police.
- Keeping the Great Outdoors Accessible: Blocks certain restrictions on hunting, fishing and recreational shooting on federal lands, as well as additional regulations on ammunition and fishing tackle.
- Preparing for Wildfire Season: Provides $1.54 billion for the proposed U.S. Wildland Fire Service and $5.2 billion for Forest Service Wildland Fire Management, including authorized fire suppression funding.
- Supporting Local Communities: Fully funds Payments in Lieu of Taxes, estimated at $650 million, to support local governments in communities with federal lands.
- Upholding Tribal Responsibilities: Provides $3.21 billion for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, a 29% increase over FY26, including $774.84 million for Tribal Public Safety and Justice programs to combat drug trafficking and address violent crime.
- Strengthening Domestic Energy and Mineral Production: Provides the requested increase for onshore oil and gas development and includes provisions to expand access to domestic critical minerals, reinstate certain mineral leases and address regulatory barriers to mining.
- Investing in Water Infrastructure: Includes $1.032 billion in Community Project Funding for 1,197 water and wastewater infrastructure projects requested by 316 Members of Congress.
- Trimming Federal Spending: Provides a total discretionary allocation of $38.9 billion and reduces EPA funding by $1.8 billion, or 20%, compared with FY26 enacted levels.
Fat Bear Week may reward the biggest appetite, but responsible budgeting calls for a different approach. Our FY27 Interior bill – which was successfully reported out of the full committee – reflects priorities spanning national parks, wildfire preparedness, Tribal communities, domestic energy, and fiscal discipline. The goal is to fund essential responsibilities while making hard choices and maintaining key oversight of critical investments.
And with our appropriations priorities laid bear... we're turning to Chairman Simpson for one final, weighty decision!
WATCH: Subcommittee Chairman Simpson makes his Fat Bear Week pick! LINK
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