WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Boebert released the following statement after passing 26 legislative initiatives through the House of Representatives, most of which were submitted for or at the request of the local communities represented by Congresswoman Boebert.
Congresswoman Lauren Boebert (CO-03) stated, “Some major victories this week for Colorado and the Third Congressional District were included in the Interior Appropriation’s bill that passed the House of Representatives. I worked with local stakeholders to secure millions of dollars for important water and infrastructure projects in rural communities. We also passed important provisions to block Biden land grabs like the proposed 400,000-acre Dolores Canyon National Monument which would be a disaster for the West Slope. Many of our important local water and infrastructure projects won’t happen without the federal resources included in this bill and I will continue to work hard to get these priorities over the finish line.”
Background
This week, Congresswoman Lauren Boebert (CO-03) passed 26 legislative initiatives, 18 of those were appropriations’ provisions that were included in the base Interior Appropriations’ bill and eight of those were amendments that the Congresswoman passed on the House floor to the Interior appropriations’ bill. Most of these 26 successful provisions were submitted for or at the request of the local communities represented by Congresswoman Boebert. H.R. 8998, legislation making appropriations for the Department of the Interior, environment, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2025, passed the House by a recorded vote of 210-205. Congresswoman Boebert voted in favor of this bill.
To read the full letter from House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole to Congresswoman Boebert detailing her 18 appropriations provisions that were included in the base Interior Appropriations’ bill, click HERE.
Congresswoman Boebert’s 18 appropriations provisions that were included in the base Interior Appropriations’ bill include: - $1 million for Project 7 Water Authority for an important water supply project that will ensure emergency drinking water access for three counties – Montrose, Delta, and Ouray Counties.
- $750,000 for the Town of New Caste for an important sewer line replacement project.
- $303,196 for the Town of De Beque for an important water treatment plant improvement project that will provide a secondary water source.
- $750,000 for Pueblo County for an important stormwater infrastructure improvement project.
- $750,000 for the Town of Sanford for an important water facilities improvement project.
- $35 million for rural water technical assistance grants.
- $25.5 million for rural clean water technical assistance grants.
- Bill language to delist the gray wolf from the Endangered Species list.
- $2.5 million for the Wolf Livestock Loss Demonstration program to compensate ranchers for livestock killed by wolves.
- Fully funds the Payment in Lieu of Taxes program authorization, estimated at $600 million for Fiscal Year 2025, to provide millions of dollars for local counties for roads, bridges, first responders, and education.
- Report language requiring the U.S. Forest Service to take action to mitigate the negative impacts associated with certain invasive species.
- $16.51 million for the Bureau of Indian Affairs Irrigation Operations and Maintenance programs to address the deferred maintenance backlog and increase water storage including the Southern Utes’ Pine River Indian Irrigation Project.
- Bill language prohibiting prohibits a federal listing under the Endangered Species Act of the greater sage-grouse.
- $43.91 million for the U.S. Geological Survey 3D Elevation Program to provide enhanced elevation data and a wide range of other three-dimensional representations of the Nation’s natural and constructed features.
- $14.43 million for the National Landslide Hazards Program at the U.S. Geological Survey to better identify and understand landslide risks, coordinate with local and state agencies, and help improve emergency preparedness.
- Bill language prohibiting funding for the Council on Environmental Quality's job-killing notice of interim guidance titled "National Environmental Policy Act Guidance on Consideration of Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Climate Change."
- Report language increasing transparency of Bureau of Land Management expression of interest fees.
- Bill language removing the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem Population of Grizzly Bears from the Endangered Species list.
Congresswoman Boebert’s eight amendments to the Interior appropriations bill that passed the full House of Representatives include: - Boebert (R-CO) – Amendment No. 17 – Blocks the 400,000-acre Dolores Canyon National Monument and prevents the President from using the Antiquities Act to designate this proposed land grab in Montrose, Mesa County, Montezuma, San Miguel County, and Dolores counties. This unilateral land grab will cancel all mining in the uranium-rich area, end hunting and cattle grazing, and curtail motorized travel.
- Boebert (R-CO) – Amendment No. 16 – Prohibits the BLM from locking up 1.6 million acres of land in Colorado from responsible oil and gas production through Biden’s proposal to revise the current management plans for the Colorado River Valley Field Office (CRVFO) and Grand Junction Field Office (GJFO).
- Boebert (R-CO) – Amendment No. 10 – Transfers $2.5 million from EPA bureaucrats to the Forest Service for active management to help prevent catastrophic wildfires.
- Boebert (R-CO) – Amendment No. 13 – Blocks the BLM’s final rule titled ‘‘Fluid Mineral Leases and Leasing Process’’ that seeks to put the oil and gas industry out of business and prevent responsible American energy production.
- Boebert (R-CO) – Amendment No. 14 – Prohibits funds made available by this Act to be used for the woke Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility Council at the Department of the Interior.
- Boebert (R-CO) – Amendment No. 12 – Transfers $2 million from the EPA bureaucracy to the Holocaust Memorial Museum account.
- Boebert (R-CO) – Amendment No. 11 – Transfers $2 million from EPA bureaucracy to the inspector general to combat waste, fraud, and abuse within the EPA.
- Boebert (R-CO) – Amendment No. 15 – Prohibits funds made available by this division to be used to carry out the wasteful Bicycle Subsidy Benefit Program at the Department of the Interior.
Courtesy of Majority Whip Tom Emmer
Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2025: The FY25 Interior Appropriations Act promotes American oil, gas, and critical mineral production, fully funds the Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) program and prioritizes funding for Tribes and Wildland Fire Management, including permanently addressing wildland firefighter pay and capacity, reins in the Biden Administration’s job-killing climate & environmental regulations, and reduces EPA funding by 20%. - Provides $38.478 billion in total discretionary funding, $72 million (0.2%) below the FY24 enacted level and $4.407 billion (10%) below the President’s Budget Request
- Strengthens our national security and supports domestic energy production and the economic benefits that come with it.
- Requires the Secretary of the Interior to:
- Resume quarterly onshore oil and gas lease sales.
- Issue 5-year offshore oil and gas leasing programs on time.
- Conduct lease sales in the Central Gulf of Mexico Planning Area, the Western Gulf of Mexico Planning Area, and the Alaska region.
- Conduct Lease Sale 262 in the Gulf of Mexico.
- Prohibits funds to cancel oil and gas leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) and National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska.
- Expands access to critical minerals by blocking certain Bureau of Land Management (BLM) withdrawals in Minnesota and reinstating mineral leases in the Superior National Forest.
- Prohibits EPA from imposing the Inflation Reduction Act methane fee on oil and gas producers.
- Halts the Biden Administration’s radical, Green New Deal agenda.
- Blocks EPA’s regulations on light, medium, and heavy-duty vehicles.
- Blocks the NEPA rules that give agencies broad leeway to incorporate climate change in permitting and include social cost of carbon in permit evaluations.
- Prohibits funds for the EPA’s Clean Power Plan 2.0 and regulatory overreach regarding ozone emissions, particulate matter, and steam electric power plants.
- Blocks funds for the American Climate Corps, Climate Justice Alliance, and ecogrief counseling.
- Prohibits agencies from using the Social Cost of Carbon in cost-benefit analyses and blocks the Interagency Working Group on Social Cost of Greenhouse Gases.
- Protects access to America’s public lands.
- Blocks restrictions on hunting, fishing, and recreational shooting on federal lands.
- Stops BLM’s Conservation and Landscape Health rule to ensure continued access to public lands for grazing, recreation, and energy development.
- Blocks a regulation that would make it harder for Americans to use traditional ammunition and fishing tackle, and prohibits restrictions on where lead ammunition and fishing tackle can be used.
- Stops the Administration’s 30x30 initiative, ensuring access to federal lands for mineral exploration and development.
- Prohibits multiple U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service rulings used to weaponize the Endangered Species Act against land users and energy producers.
- Prohibits funding for woke, far-Left priorities including:
- Promoting or advancing critical race theory;
- Executive orders on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI);
- COVID-19 mask or vaccine mandates; and
- Housing for illegal aliens in National Parks.
Courtesy of the Western Caucus
Some of the important provisions in H.R. 8998 include:
- Increasing funding for Wildland Fire Management programs at Department of the Interior and U.S. Forest Service.
- Permanently addressing wildland firefighter pay while increasing funding.
- Preventing the Bureau of Land Management’s Conservation and Landscape Health rule.
- Limits the weaponization of the Endangered Species Act against private landowners.
- Prohibiting funds to cancel oil and gas leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) and National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska.
- Requires oil and gas lease sales in the Central and Western Gulf of Mexico Planning Areas and in the Alaska region.
- Requires the Secretary of the Interior to conduct quarterly onshore oil and gas lease sales.
- Blocking EPA’s car regulations on light, medium, and heavy-duty vehicles.
- Expands access to critical minerals, reducing our domestic reliance on the Chinese supply chain.
- Fully funding the Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) program.
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