House bill boosts EPA funding amid infrastructure plan fallout

The House Appropriations Committee passed its Fiscal Year 2020 (FY20) Interior & Environment Appropriations bill in May, which funds the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and included a significant increase for key EPA programs. This occurred on the same day President Trump broke off discussions with Congressional leaders on a comprehensive infrastructure package.

The FY20 House bill, which passed the Committee on a party-line vote and now heads to the full House of Representatives for a vote in June, includes a large increase for the EPA. The legislation brings proposed total agency funding to $9.5 billion in FY20, more than $700 million more than FY19 funding. These increases are a loud push-back on cuts to EPA, such as staffing levels, proposed in the White House 2020 budget. With the House flipping to Democratic control this year, such increases were anticipated. The Senate, which has not released its FY20 funding bills yet, is expected to propose funding levels closer to recent years for agencies like the EPA.