During Tuesday’s House Appropriations Committee hearing, Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-ME) spoke about cuts to the Department of the Interior.
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00:00With that, I'd yield to Ranking Member Ms. Pingree for any opening remarks that she may have.
00:06Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. Thank you for holding this hearing this morning.
00:10And, Secretary Berg, thank you very much for being with us today.
00:13I appreciated that the slight delay in committee gave me a chance to say an initial hello to you
00:19and nice to meet, even though I represent Maine, a fellow Midwesterner since I was born in Minnesota.
00:24Yeah, sure, you betcha.
00:25I do want to thank you for bringing your many skills as a former governor and a businessman to this very important position.
00:34The Department of Interior is tasked with protecting and managing our natural resources and cultural heritage
00:40to providing scientific information about those resources and honoring our trust and treaty responsibility.
00:46But I will warn you, I am very concerned about the state of the Department of Interior.
00:50From my view, in just four months, the Department has been destabilized,
00:54and there has been a stunning decline in its ability to meet its mission.
00:58Given your extensive executive experience, I am disappointed that you would allow this to happen.
01:04In partnership with Elon Musk's what I consider a rogue agency, the Doge,
01:09you have illegally canceled grants for conservation, for ecosystem restoration, and other important work.
01:15Over 1,700 probationary employees have been recklessly fired,
01:20and 7,600 people, or 11 percent of the interior workforce, have been pushed to resign.
01:25These are not just numbers.
01:27These people are experts and dedicated public servants with decades of programmatic and institutional knowledge
01:33that is critically needed to ensure the Department fulfills its mission and is a guardian of our public lands.
01:40To make matters worse, the agency has a hiring freeze,
01:44and you are considering even further reductions in force.
01:48I don't see this ending well for this precious agency that this committee is dedicated to oversee,
01:53and this committee has devoted hundreds of hours to nurturing this agency.
01:57I am very proud to serve on a committee that generally works in a bipartisan way
02:01to make sure that the Department of Interior stays strong.
02:04Further, due to the policies you have instituted, employees are hamstrung from accomplishing everyday tasks
02:11by absurdly limiting credit card expenditures to $1.
02:15This is no way to efficiently run an organization.
02:18In fact, these actions seem to be designed to obstruct employees from doing their job.
02:24Even the National Park Service feels that it's been under attack.
02:28Ahead of peak season, you have gutted staff,
02:30so my national park, like Acadia in my home state of Maine, is understaffed
02:34and without the resources needed to keep summer visitors safe.
02:38Our parks are pristine and need to be protected.
02:42Fiscal year 2026 is equally devastating,
02:45with a proposed cut to the Department of 30 percent.
02:48That budget eviscerates the U.S. Geological Survey
02:51with a proposed $564 million cut,
02:54targeting scientific research on national and natural hazards, ecosystems, water, and earth mapping.
03:02These programs help us monitor and provide real-time earthquake and hazard information.
03:07They strengthen our assessment of groundwater and surface water systems,
03:11and they help ensure our national security
03:13by informing the management of our mineral and energy resources.
03:16Without these programs at USGS,
03:20our communities will be left vulnerable to natural disasters
03:23and deprived of the scientific data that guides responsible land management.
03:29This budget, with a 30 percent cut,
03:31shamefully abandons our trust and treaty obligations to Native Americans,
03:35slashing the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Public Safety, and Justice programs by 19 percent
03:40when we are already only meeting a fraction of the need.
03:44The budget also chooses to eliminate funding for a desperately needed school construction,
03:49leaving a $1 billion repair backlog untouched.
03:54So, Secretary Berghum, the document we're here to discuss today is more than just a budget.
03:59It's a blueprint for dismantling the very mission of the Department of Interior,
04:03making it impossible to protect our natural resources and iconic national parks
04:08or uphold our commitments to tribal communities now and for future generations.
04:14As the ranking member on this committee, I wholeheartedly oppose these cuts.
04:18I cannot stand by and watch this agency be hollowed out.
04:24So, thank you again for being here this morning.
04:26I'm sorry that we disagree on the perspective on how this department should be run,
04:30and I do hope you are here to give us a rationale for these decisions
04:33or to work with us to reverse them.
04:35And I yield back.