WASHINGTON — In response to the House Appropriations Committee vote to advance the Fiscal Year 2026 Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies budget bill, GreenLatinos expresses deep concern over what can only be described as a coordinated attack on environmental protection, public health, and equitable access to public lands.
“This bill reflects an unfortunate disinvestment in the agencies and programs that keep our air clean, our water safe, and our communities resilient in the face of environmental injustice,” said Pedro Hernández California State Program Manager for GreenLatinos. “The impacts will fall hardest on frontline and rural Latino communities who rely on these protections—not only to survive environmental hazards but to thrive economically and culturally through heritage tourism and access to nature.”
The bill proposes a staggering 23% cut to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)—a move that would hobble the agency’s ability to enforce environmental laws, monitor pollution, and protect public health. These cuts come alongside a 62% reduction in water infrastructure funding, stripping communities of the tools needed to address aging water systems and increasing threats from contaminants.
In addition to these sweeping budget cuts, the bill includes 72 poison pill riders that would:
- Eviscerate implementation of the Endangered Species Act (ESA)
- Expand oil and mineral extraction on public lands
- Block efforts to limit harmful hunting and timber practices and,
- Enforce gag orders on agencies warning the public of cancer-causing pollutants
This short-sighted budget threatens 63 national parks and the broader network of public lands that generate $upwards of $55 billion annually, mostly in rural communities. These areas support cultural tourism, jobs, and natural heritage—critical pillars for Latino and Indigenous communities across California and the West. Furthermore, the bill slashes over $200 million from the National Park Service (NPS) on top of previous reductions and Congress’ failure to reauthorize the Great American Outdoors Act. Funding for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH)—which directly supports Latino cultural institutions and local artists—is also on the chopping block, with the Smithsonian facing a 12% cut.
“This isn’t just a budget bill—it’s a blueprint for environmental collapse,” Hernández added. “It removes the very tools our communities need to remediate decades of environmental injustice. It puts polluters over public health and abandons our collective stewardship of the land. The time to act is now—before the damage is irreversible.”
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Acerca de GreenLatinos
VerdeLatinos (NOTA: GreenLatinos es UNA PALABRA) es una comunidad activa de líderes latinos, envalentonados por el poder y la sabiduría de nuestra cultura, unidos para exigir equidad y desmantelar el racismo, con recursos para ganar nuestras batallas ambientales, de conservación y de justicia climática, y motivados para asegurar nuestras políticas, Liberación económica, cultural y ambiental.
