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Public gives input on proposed Interior, Forest Service budget |
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Roughly 30 officials from interest groups from around the country will converge on the House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee this Thursday to give their take on President Bush's fiscal 2009 budget proposal for the Interior Department and Forest Service.
The hearing is the traditional time in the budget process for interest groups to hold out their hats and ask for funding for specific initiatives such as trail development and grant programs.
A final witness list was not available by press time, but representatives for the Nature Conservancy and the Trust for Public Land are among those scheduled to appear, according to committee sources. Witnesses will be given five minutes each before the committee.
Overall, the president's $10.7 billion budget proposal for Interior released last month represents a slight decrease from last year's budget, with funding shifted from standard functions like construction and range improvement for specific department initiatives like the National Park Service's Centennial Challenge.
The Fish and Wildlife Service budget would be cut $65 million, to $1.302 billion, with the agency's endangered species services being cut by $3.6 million, to just under $147 million.
The committee also has jurisdiction over the Forest Service budget. Fire suppression dominates the $4.1 billion budget plan, with several non-fire programs receiving large cuts.
Schedule: The hearing is Thursday, March 13, at 9:30 a.m. in B-308 Rayburn.
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 11 March 2008 )
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