"This budget proposal would invest heavily in securing America, but in doing so cuts deeply programs that protect so much of what Americans hold dear. These cuts violate our commitment to conserve and invest in our natural heritage and our historic treasures," charged Rahall.

     Overall, the Department of the Interior is asked to take a $322 million cut, including a $100 million cut for the National Park Service.

     In a potentially far-reaching and radical departure from long standing conservation law and ethics, the Administration is proposing to shift seventy percent of the proceeds from selling parcels of Federal lands from conservation programs to the Treasury, where the funds could be used to pay the ever-blossoming price tag of irresponsible tax cuts.

     Further, the Administration continues to promote drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge – despite repeated Congressional rejection -- by pegging its proposal on government "guesstimates" of receipts. These conveniently ever-changing figures combined with the under-funding of domestic alternative fuels programs in this budget undercut the President’s commitment to reducing America’s addiction to oil.

     "Americans are feeling the pinch of rising energy costs every time they fill up their gas tank and pay their home heating bills, yet we continue to feed our addiction to oil and gas by neglecting the budgets for domestic alternative sources of energy that could make us less dependent on foreign sources," declared Rahall.

     One silver lining in the budget is the proposed repeal of an ill-advised, last minute addition to the energy bill signed by the President in August that prohibited the collection of new fees for oil and gas onshore leasing. Reversing this amendment would allow the government to collect fees, estimated at $200 million over the next ten years, from companies that are making billions in profits from drilling on our public resources.

     The FY 2007 budget also proposes to extend the authority to collect the industry-paid fees which finance the Abandoned Mine Lands (AML) program through 2007. At present, short-term extensions have been provided by the Congress under the leadership of U.S. Sen. Robert C. Byrd of West Virginia. Working towards the long-term, Rahall has formed a historic bipartisan partnership with U.S. Rep. Barbara Cubin (R-WY) to reform the program to focus more resources toward combating human health and safety threats, an initiative which has garnered widespread support among those with an interest in abandoned mine reclamation. However, gaining the enactment of this initiative has been complicated by a conflicting Administration proposal which, among things, alienated entire coal producing regions, creating a political backlash and fostering confusion in the reauthorization effort.

     "I am pleased that the Administration apparently has retrenched from its ill-conceived proposal and instead, by expressing support for a simple extension, may signal that they intend to be an honest, rather than divisive, broker in this effort," said Rahall.

     In their budget proposal, the Administration asserts that it is preserving what John Muir described as our "fountains of life". The proposal goes on to claim that it "emphasizes cyclic and preventative maintenance to keep facilities in acceptable condition". Yet this budget proposal cuts $72 million from the National Park Service construction and major maintenance fund.

     "I hardly think that John Muir would have thought responsible stewardship of our National Parks would mean maintaining them in ‘acceptable condition’. Our crown jewels deserve better than the $72 million cut in maintenance that this budget provides," stated Rahall.

     And for the second year in a row, the Administration has proposed zeroing out the Stateside Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) program. For the last forty years, this grant program has provided State and Local Parks and Recreation Directors desperately needed matching funds to help them preserve open space and develop recreational facilities. This year, the total requested for Federal LWCF land acquisition and grants to States totals less than 10% of what is authorized by Congress.

     Attempts to revise the Endangered Species Act have been heatedly debated this Congress. In the meantime, this budget proposal makes significant cuts to programs that enforce the current law that has protected 99% of species in danger of going extinct.

     This budget zeroes out funding for freshwater mussel propagation activities at the White Sulphur Springs National Fish Hatchery in my Congressional district, the Florida manatee rescue and salvage program, and the Peregrine Fund’s Aplomado Falcon Recovery Program, among others. Given that there remain 51 listed species without recovery plans, and the law requires listed species to have them, funding for recovery warrants an increase.

     The species listing program needs at least $30 million, significantly more than the $17.8 million proposed. An increase would enable the Fish and Wildlife Service to make a small dent in the huge backlog of the 282 species that are candidates for listing, and the 524 listed species without critical habitat designations.

     "While I support the Administration’s request proposal to increase the consultation/habitat conservation planning budget, additional funding would enable private citizens and government agencies to proceed with planned projects in a timely fashion. I fear dollars are becoming an endangered species at the Fish and Wildlife Service," said Rahall.

     In addition to shortchanging programs to manage our public lands, the Fiscal Year 2007 budgets for the ocean, coastal and fisheries programs of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) could be on the chopping block. Instead of investing an additional $3.8 billion annually to address the critical needs identified by the bipartisan U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy, NOAA’s budget for fisheries and ocean and coastal science and management could be cut by an estimated $300 million from the Fiscal Year 2006 appropriation.

     "Our national ocean policy is sinking faster than the Titanic when compared with the recommendations of the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy appointed by President Bush. We must do better for the sake of future generations," concluded Rahall.