Appropriations 101
Adequate funding is one of the biggest obstacles to protecting public land, and it’s a problem that doesn’t get nearly enough attention. Millions of Americans get outside on public lands and waters each year. According to recently released economic and participation data, there has been a rapid growth in outdoor recreation, and therefore, a need for increased funding. Maintaining our public lands and waters is critically important for everyone who loves, and relies on, the outdoors. Outdoor Alliance works to ensure that Congress allocates enough funding for the outdoors.
The process of sending money to the land management agencies (and other agencies) is called appropriations. The process of appropriations is both complex and incredibly important, and there are key ways that Outdoor Alliance, our member groups, and individuals who care about the outdoors can be involved in advocating for better funding for public lands and waters.
The appropriations process is long—lasting almost the entire year!—and is meant to conclude with Congress passing final appropriations bills (usually due by the end of the fiscal year on September 30) that fund the entire government, including land management agencies.
If you’re new to this process, here’s how it’s intended to work. It’s worth noting that nothing goes as it is “supposed to” lately, and that Congress is often passing continuing resolutions (CRs) that simply extend existing funding levels so that lawmakers can defer actually making decisions.
In February, the President releases a budget (usually by February 1 though it won’t be until March this year) to Congress. This budget is more of a political statement than actual policy, since Congress holds the power to actually appropriate funding.
In February and March, House and Senate committees begin to prepare for appropriations hearings. Since appropriations bills have to pass like any other legislation, Congress holds hearings for appropriations bills. These hearings also provide a baseline to the agencies—like the Forest Service—about how much funding to expect. It’s also an important time for the agencies to make the case for their budgets. And Outdoor Alliance usually submits testimony asking Congress to give land managers more funding at this time.
March and April is when the appropriations committees are working to compile many budget requests and starting to put together their bills (to fund the government).
In May, June, and July, the House and Senate committees will start to prepare appropriations bills for various agencies, including Interior and the USDA.
In August, Congress is in recess (which means they are in their home districts and not voting on legislation in D.C.). The Office of Management and Budget (OMB), which is a key player involved in appropriations, is ideally putting together a plan for the following year’s budget at this time.
The end of September is when appropriations are due, since the government’s fiscal year runs October 1 – September 30. However, in recent years, Congress has almost always had to pass a CR to give Congress more time to work out its final appropriations bills. Right now, Congress has passed a few CRs, and the latest one expires February 18.
In October, November, and December, if everything went as it was supposed to, it would be a pretty quiet time for appropriations and OMB would be working toward the next year’s budget. However, given Congress’s recent propensity for waiting until the 11th hour to pass appropriations, it’s become an extremely busy time for appropriations, with many advocacy groups and agencies making late-breaking pitches for funding and having intensive budget negotiations, which have shut down the entire government more than once. It’s also the last time to work with the agencies to make the case for their programs. When a CR expires (usually at the end of December), it’s a rush for Congress to pass the final budget.
At the time of this writing, it’s the middle of February and we are currently operating under a CR that expires at the end of the week. Congress is about to pass an additional CR that will likely extend until March as they work to finalize appropriations for FY22, which would get us until the end of September, at which point the whole process starts over again. We are also getting ready to start on the appropriations process for FY23, and awaiting the President’s budget, which should come out in early March.
There are numerous ways Outdoor Alliance and our member groups are advocating for strong appropriations for public lands and waters during this process, including our report making the case for a bold investment in the Forest Service, and our recent testimony on the implementation of Great American Outdoors Act funding. Many Congressional offices also solicit feedback from constituents on appropriations requests.
More people than ever are visiting our public lands and waters, and the climate crisis has strained public lands through wildfire closures, floods, and more. Robust funding for the outdoors is always important, but more than ever in recent years, especially as the ongoing pandemic fuels greater participation in the outdoors.
Individuals can also make a difference by writing their members of Congress and asking them to advocate for better appropriations for land management agencies and other outdoor recreation programs. If your elected official is a member of an appropriations committee, you have a particularly important voice! (Check out the House committee here and the Senate committee here). Over the last few years, legislation like the Great American Outdoors Act and permanent funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund have secured additional funding for public lands and for maintenance, and would not have happened without a lot of advocacy from people who care about the outdoors.