H.R. 4754

Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2026

Sponsor: Michael K. Simpson · 0 cosponsors

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Official summary

Written by the Congressional Research Service.

Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2026

This bill provides FY2026 appropriations for the Department of the Interior, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and several related agencies.

The bill provides appropriations to Interior for

  • the Bureau of Land Management,
  • the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
  • the National Park Service,
  • the U.S. Geological Survey,
  • the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management,
  • the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement,
  • the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement,
  • the Bureau of Indian Affairs,
  • the Bureau of Indian Education,
  • the Bureau of Trust Funds Administration,
  • Departmental Offices, and
  • Department-Wide Programs.

The bill also provides appropriations to the EPA and the Forest Service.

Within the Department of Health and Human Services, the bill provides appropriations for

  • the Indian Health Service,
  • the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, and
  • the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.

The bill provides appropriations to several related agencies, including

  • the Council on Environmental Quality and Office of Environmental Quality,
  • the Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board,
  • the Institute of American Indian and Alaska Native Culture and Arts Development,
  • the Smithsonian Institution,
  • the National Gallery of Art,
  • the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts,
  • the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars,
  • the National Endowment for the Arts,
  • the National Endowment for the Humanities,
  • the Commission of Fine Arts,
  • the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation.
  • the National Capital Planning Commission,
  • the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, and
  • the U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission.

Additionally, the bill sets forth requirements and restrictions for using funds provided by this and other appropriations acts.

Text of the bill

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I DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

II ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

III RELATED AGENCIES

IV GENERAL PROVISIONS

Sec. 404.

(a) Limitation of funds. None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available pursuant to this Act shall be obligated or expended to accept or process applications for a patent for any mining or mill site claim located under the general mining laws.

(b) Exceptions. Subsection (a) shall not apply if the Secretary of the Interior determines that, for the claim concerned: (1) a patent application was filed with the Secretary on or before September 30, 1994; and (2) all requirements established under sections 2325 and 2326 of the Revised Statutes (30 U.S.C. 29 and 30) for vein or lode claims, sections 2329, 2330, 2331, and 2333 of the Revised Statutes (30 U.S.C. 35, 36, and 37) for placer claims, and section 2337 of the Revised Statutes (30 U.S.C. 42) for mill site claims, as the case may be, were fully complied with by the applicant by that date.

(c) Report. On September 30, 2027, the Secretary of the Interior shall file with the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations and the Committee on Natural Resources of the House and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate a report on actions taken by the Department under the plan submitted pursuant to section 314(c) of the Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1997 (Public Law 104–208).

(d) Mineral examinations. In order to process patent applications in a timely and responsible manner, upon the request of a patent applicant, the Secretary of the Interior shall allow the applicant to fund a qualified third-party contractor to be selected by the Director of the Bureau of Land Management to conduct a mineral examination of the mining claims or mill sites contained in a patent application as set forth in subsection (b). The Bureau of Land Management shall have the sole responsibility to choose and pay the third-party contractor in accordance with the standard procedures employed by the Bureau of Land Management in the retention of third-party contractors.

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