NWX-DEPT OF INTERIOR-NBC
Moderator: Frank Quimby
03-04-14/1:00 pm CT
Confirmation # 4607503
Page 1
NWX-DEPT OF INTERIOR-NBC
Moderator:Frank Quimby
March 4, 2014
1:00pm CT
Coordinator:Welcome and thank you for standing by. At this time all lines will be on listen-only mode until the questionandanswer session of today’s call. At that time you will need to unmute your line and record your name clearly as prompted.
The call is also being recorded. If you have any objections, please disconnect at this time. I’d like to introduce Frank Quimby.
Frank Quimby:Welcome to Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell’snews media teleconference on the President’s fiscal year 2015 budget request for the Department of the Interior.
Joining the Secretary on today’s call are Deputy Secretary Michael Connor and Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Kevin Washburn.
There will be an opportunity for questions from credentialed media following the announcement.
Reporters may join the question queueat any time during the call. Also interiors budget and brief book is available online at doi.gov/budget.
Today’s conference will begin with a statement from Secretary Jewell.
Sally Jewell:Hello everybody. It’s great to be back in WashingtonDCafter two canceled flights over the last 24 hours thanks to the weather. But I did have a nice time in the Great Smoky MountainsNational Parkand good to be back in DC this morning.
I want to thank you all for joining in the call today to discuss the President’s fiscal year 2015 budget for the Department of the Interior.
I want to acknowledge my brand-new Deputy Secretary Mike Connor who was just confirmed by the Senate on Friday of last week and just sworn in. So congratulations Mike and it’s great to have you here and also, Kevin Washburn, Assistant Secretary for Indian affairs.
Both Mike and Kevin are going to give a quick rundown on portions of the budget as well.
Just want to say sort of from a big picture standpoint this is a solid budget. It’s responsible. It makes smart investments in Interior’s mission. It also does so within the budget caps that were agreed to in the Murray-Ryan Bipartisan Budget Act.
It is also thankfully a return to regular order in the budget process. And my first year being 2013 I didn’t know what regular order was like and I’m looking forward to it.
And certainly 2014 is a good start and 2015 with approval of a budget will give certainty to our agencies as well as to our nation’s economy and those that depend on the work that we do.
So before I get into specifics on a few of the proposals contained in the budget I want to remind those of you on the call of the pivotal role that the Department of the Interior plays as the driver of jobs and economic activity across the country.
So if you add up the economic impacts from all the department’s activities, things like outdoor recreation, energy and mineral development, water supply, grazing, timber, for example, the Interior contributed an estimated $371 billion to the economy in 2013 and supported an estimated 2.3 million American jobs.
It’s worth noting that Interior consistently generates more revenue for the American people than the department’s annual appropriation.
In 2015 we will take in an estimated $14.9 billion in direct revenue that will be shared with federal, state and local governments to meet a variety of needs, like school funding, infrastructure improvements, water conservation projects and the like.
I make these points because I think it’s clear that when we invest in Interior we’re making a smart investment to strengthen our nation’s economy.
Interior’s total budget proposal is $11.9 billion. That’s $275.4 million or 2.4% higher than 2014. But of that increase $240 million is for emergency fire suppression.
As a new and prudent project framework to ensure that we have adequate funding to suppress severe catastrophic fires as the fire seasons continue to grow hotter and drier, longer, more expensive we can suppress about 99% of all of the fires within a reasonable annual budget.
But there’s 1% of fires like for example the Yosemite rimfire last year that truly are emergencies that truly impact the communities in extraordinary ways.
If we have emergency funding for something like a tornado that hits Joplin, Missouri why wouldn’t we have emergency funding for a forest fire that hits a community like those surrounding Yosemite?
So this proposal takes just those extraordinary catastrophic fires and puts them in the emergency budget without actually increasing that emergency cap at all.
The budget also reflects trade off and tough choices which remain across every bureau within the Department of Interior. In order to pay for $54 million in unavoidable fixed cost increases and program investments the budget makes $413 million in program reduction.
The 2015 request also proposes revenue generating proposals estimated to result in savings to the Treasury of $2.6 billion over ten years.
Offsetting fees are proposed where appropriate to shift costs to industry for services.
We also propose to extend authorization to make 2015 payments to counties the PILT or Payment in Lieu of Taxes program that help counties funds support services for their local community.
The result is a budget that ensures we’re living within our means. It maintains core mission capabilities and affords targeted increases in our priorities, including conservation, expanding domestic energy production, engaging young people, conducting crosscutting science and upholding our commitments to Native Americans.
So with that, I’m going to highlight a few of the key proposals before I turn it over to Mike and Kevin to do the same.
So first the President’s budget continues the nation’s historic commitments to America’s natural and cultural heritage by providing full permanent funding to the Land and Water Conservation Fund.
Since 1965 this revenue program sees revenue primarily from offshore oil and gas development to enhance parksand open spaces in communities across the country.
It’s been one of the most effective tools to expand access for hunting and fishing that create ballfields and other places for children to play and learn to protect Civil War battlefields.
But I will tell you that ever since this fund has been around with the exception of one year it has been shorted in the appropriations process.
So the President’s 2015 budget includes $350 million for land and water conservation programs at Interior and the US Forest Service. And together with the proposed legislation would provide a total of $900 million in 2015.
In 2016 the full $900 million for the program would be available through permanent funding.
Next I want to talk about a critical need. And that is to upgrade and restore our national parks and public lands in the lead up to the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service in 2016, the National Park Service Centennial.
The budget proposes a three-pronged Centennial initiative, the combination of budget and legislative proposals that will enable the National Park Service to attract and host more visitors, leverage additional private philanthropy in the parks and help to build the institutional capacity to maintain the parks for the next 100 years.
Increased investments in current appropriations of $40 million in 2015 combined with permanent investments of $1.2 billion over three years are designed to support the public lands and catalyze private donations.
Complementing the budget request the President’s opportunity, growth and security initiative identifies investments of $100 million for muchneeded deferred maintenance in national parks.
It also includes $100 million for Centennial Land Management Investment Fund, a competitive fund for Interiors land management bureaus and the Department of Agriculture’s US Forest Service that would help meet conservation and maintenance needs.
The President’s budget also proposes nearly $51 million -- an increase of about $14 million over 2014 to support something I care deeply about. And that is partnership programs, hiring and educational opportunity focused on youths and veterans.
This budget supports the ambitious goals we set out at interior to inspire millions of young people to play, learn, serve and work outdoors.
For the health of our economy and our public lands. It’s critical that we work now to establish meaningful and deep connections between young people from every background to the great outdoors.
For example the funding includes $22 million for the National Park Service to expand opportunities for youth education and employment like hiring hundreds of seasonal employees to help prepare the parks for the Centennial.
There’s a $2-1/2 million increase in the Fish Wildlife Service Budget to strengthen their new urban wildlife refuges, partnership which reaches out to the many young people living in cities.
And it includes $2-1/2 million for Indian affairs to engage youth in natural sciences.
This will support programs like the one the Bureau of Indian Affairs set up last summer hiring about 20 young people to conduct an inventory of species vulnerable to climate change and used in traditional practices.
I’m confident that investing in our young people now will pay dividends far into the future when it comes to strengthening our economy and developing the next generation of outdoor stewards.
So as I said at the beginning I think this is a balanced and responsible budget. I look forward to working with Congress to enact this and the important legislative proposals that are accompanying it.
And at this point I’d like to turn it over to our newly minted Deputy Secretary Mike Connor. Mike?
Michael O’Connor:Thank you, Secretary Jewell. It’s a pleasure and an honor to serve as your deputy. And of course I’m a little relieved now to have made it to the confirmation process.
I want to talk about how the Interior budget supports initiatives related to the climate, science, water, fire, building uponyour earlier comments, as well as our energy program.
Climate change is one of the most pressing issues of our time. The President has made clear that we have a moral obligation to act now to help communities, businesses and families prepare for the effects of climate change.
And we need to take responsible steps to cut carbon pollution and develop clean energy to power our economy.
I’ll talk about a few proposals in the budget that build upon the $1 billion climate resilience fund that will go to research on projected impacts of climate change, help communities prepare for climate change affects and three fund breakthrough technologies and resilient infrastructure.
Science the - as I think we all know science is the key to successfully carrying out a majority, vast majority of our responsibilities at Interior.
The budget includes $889 million for research and development activities through the department -- an increase of $60 million from the 2014 enacted level.
This funding includes important investments in the science needed to better understand and address the impacts of climate change.
Interior’s climate science centers, for example, are working to develop regional drought impact scenarios, evaluating coastal flooding impacts and studying impacts on the nation’s plants and wildlife. This work will be critical to understanding the impacts on the landscape levels.
With respect to water the critical drought situation in California and the 14 year drought in the ColoradoRiver basin are vivid reminders of the importance of water and healthy watersheds to our communities and to our economy.
The department’s WaterSMART programs and reclamation and the US geological survey specifically target water sustainability and conservation goals overall and the stretch limited water supplies.
The 2015 budget includes $66.5 million for WaterSMART programs -- an increase of $9.5 million from 2014 with funding for two new efforts related to drought response and resilient infrastructure.
And these are specifically designed to address the challenges of the changing climate on our water resources.
This funding will also support basin and water conservation field studies, valuable tools helping local states and federal stakeholders understand the dynamics of and imbalances of water use in the specific river basins.
I should also note that there’s $116 million in the budget for river restoration activities funded by the Bureau of Reclamation.
With respect to fire, fire seasons are becoming longer and more intense.
As announced by the Presidents last week, his budget for Interior and the forest service proposes to change how fire suppression costs are budgeted to treat the requirements of extreme fire seasons in the same way as other emergency disaster needs.
We budget for fire costs using a ten year average. But in the peak season with catastrophic fires we are forced to move funding from programs across the department to meet the increased costs of wildfire suppression.
For example in 2012 Interiors, fire suppression costs were 23% higher than the ten year average leaving the department to take funds from other accounts, including fire prevention, fuels management and restoration fund at the end of the fiscal year.
In 2013, the two agencies,Interior and the forest service redirected or borrowed about $650 million to fund increased firefighting costs.
The 2015 budget proposal for fire is similar to bipartisan legislation being considered in Congress. It allows for a balanced suppression and proactive fuels management restoration program with flexibility to accommodate peak fire season but not at the cost of other interior missions or by adding to the deficit.
Modeled on the Federal Emergency Management Disaster Relief Program, adding fire to the cap adjustment would fund the most severe 1% of catastrophic fires.
Energy,when it comes to energy the budget proposal maintained for the President’s National Energy Initiative that generate jobs and help the nation achieve greater energy self-reliance.
In current appropriations, fees and permanent funding the 2015 budget for energy programs at $753.2 million -- a $40.7 million increase from 2014.
Within this total is funding for renewable and conventional energy development and basic science and applied research to better understand and manage the impacts of development on wildlife, habitat, water and other natural resources.
This funding - this includes funding to implement the Western Solar Energy Plan that guides, citing and permitting decisions for solar in six states in the West to strengthen conservation outcomes and increase certainty for developers, their investors and utilities.
It also includes funding for ongoing efforts to investigate carbon and methane capture as part of the President’s action plan.
If you take a look at this budget, the administrations all of the above energy strategy means taking a landscaped level approach to development, modernizing programs and practices, streamlining permitting and strengthening inspection and enforcement of on and offshore development. With that, I’ll turn it over to Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Kevin Washburn.
Kevin Washburn:Thank you, Mike. Strengthening tribal nations remains high on the President’s agenda. And our secretary is committed to tribes in the nation’s trust responsibility.
I am proud that are new Deputy Secretary also has a lot of experience in this area with the trust responsibility towards tribes. And I’m proud to be the assistant secretary who gets to be invited to this call today.
The North Star and the President’s budget for Indian Affairs is support for tribal sovereignty and self-determination.
The 2015 budget for the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Bureau of Indian Education is $2.6 billion.In a relatively flat budget environment we are nevertheless seeing an increase of $33.6 million above the FY 2014 enacted level.
The budget request also includes additional proposals that are outside of this $2.6 billion, including a proposal for education and economic development in Indian country as part of the President’s opportunity, growth and security initiative.
Moreover, outside this $2.6 billion are moneys budgeted in other parts of the department such as the Bureau of Reclamation, the National Park Service and Fish Wildlife Service. All of these bureaus also have funds that go to support Indian tribes.
Bigticket item here this year, one of the big ticket items is contract support costs. The budget reflects the tribe’s highest priority to promote self-governance, full funding for contract support costs, which allows federally recognized Indian tribes to operate federally funded programs themselves under contract with the United States.
The request for a contract before funding is $251 million for 2015 -- a $4 million increase over the 2014 enacted level that supports tribally run programs. In other words, it supports tribal self-governance.
The budget also includes a new initiative that should mean a lot to the 566 federally recognized tribes.
It’s a comprehensive and integrated approach known as the tiwaheinitiative to address inter-related problems of poverty, violence and substance abuse facing Indian communities.