LETTER: 60 Environmental Organizations Call for Increased Funding for Environmental Programs

The 60 organizations below sent the below letter to House and Senate appropriators urging them to increase the 302(b) allocation for the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies appropriations bill at least 5% from FY26 effective spending levels to ensure that Congress provides the resources to ensure that these necessary and popular programs can run successfully.

 

May 11, 2026

The Honorable Susan Collins
Chair
Committee on Appropriations
U.S. Senate
Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Patty Murray
Vice Chair
Committee on Appropriations
U.S. Senate
Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Tom Cole
Chair
Committee on Appropriations
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515

The Honorable Rosa L. DeLauro
Ranking Member
Committee on Appropriations
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Chairs Collins and Cole, Vice Chair Murray, and Ranking Member DeLauro:

On behalf of our tens of millions of members and supporters across the country, the 60 undersigned organizations urge you to preserve environmental funding in annual appropriations bills for Fiscal Year 2027 (FY27), to exclude any anti-environmental policy provisions, and to ensure that all funding enacted by Congress is faithfully executed, including the salaries of all career civil servants charged with protecting our environment and our health.

Congressional support for the agencies and programs that protect our health, lands, wildlife, air, water, and oceans has never been more important. Even before this year, agencies were constrained by decades of underfunding. Recent administrative actions—including significant workforce reductions and the withholding of congressionally appropriated funding—have further undermined these agencies’ abilities to carry out their vitally important missions. Underfunded environmental programs mean higher health care and energy costs for families, degraded public lands and waters, and higher risk to communities from climate-fueled natural disasters, among many other impacts to people across the country.

In FY27, we request a 302(b) allocation for the Interior-Environment Subcommittee at no less than a 5% increase from FY26 effective spending levels to ensure that Congress provides the resources to ensure that these necessary and popular programs can run successfully. We also ask that the Committee reject any harmful anti-environmental policy riders, which have no place in the appropriations process.

Finally, our groups recognize that appropriations bills are painstakingly negotiated each year on a bipartisan basis. Negotiations are contingent on the assumption that the administration will faithfully execute these laws in their entirety. It is critical that Congress conducts the necessary oversight to ensure the Administration’s compliance with current law and sets additional guardrails to further protect the programs American taxpayers are funding. 

With your leadership, we can—and must—equip the crucial agencies and programs that protect the air we breathe, the water we drink, the lands we hold dear, the wildlife we cherish, and so much more. Not only is this funding necessary to address the climate and biodiversity crises, but these investments also create good-paying jobs, bring more clean, affordable energy online, support thriving businesses large and small, and revitalize our communities. We thank you for your consideration and stand ready to support you in meeting this request.

Sincerely,

Alaska Wilderness League

Alliance for the Great Lakes

American Bird Conservancy

American Forests

American Hiking Society

American Rivers Action Fund

Animal Welfare Institute

Appalachian Leaders Network

Appalachian Mountain Club

Chesapeake Bay Foundation

Clean Water Action

Climate Action Campaign

Coltura 

Conservation Lands Foundation

Conservation Law Foundation

Creation Justice Ministries 

Defenders of Wildlife

Earthjustice Action

EDF Action

Endangered Species Coalition

Environmental Investigation Agency

Environmental Law & Policy Center 

Environmental Protection Network 

Great Old Broads for Wilderness

GreenLatinos

Inland Ocean Coalition

Kids for Saving Earth

League of Conservation Voters

Los Padres ForestWatch

Monterey Bay Aquarium

Mountain Mamas 

National Parks Conservation Association 

National Wildlife Federation

Natural Resources Defense Council

NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice

Next 100 Coalition

Northern California Council, Fly Fishers International

Ocean Defense Initiative

Oregon Natural Desert Association

Partnership for Policy Integrity

Physicians for Social Responsibility

Plug In America

Project Eleven Hundred

Public Citizen

Sierra Club

Silvix Resources

The Alaska Center

The Last Plastic Straw

The Wilderness Society

Trust for Public Land

Tuleyome

Union of Concerned Scientists

Western Leaders Network

Western Watersheds Project 

Western Wildlife Conservancy

WildEarth Guardians

Wildlife for All

Wolf Conservation Center

Wyoming Wilderness Association

Wyoming Wildlife Advocates

Cc:

Speaker Mike Johnson, U.S. House of Representatives

Republican Leader John Thune, U.S. Senate

Democratic Leader Charles E. Schumer, U.S. Senate

Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, U.S. House of Representatives

Chair Lisa Murkowski, Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies

Ranking Member Jeff Merkley, Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies

Chair Mike Simpson, House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies

Ranking Member Chellie Pingree, House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies