Interior spending bill advances with support for the Marianas

The House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday approved the Fiscal Year 2026 Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, which includes significant funding for the Office of Insular Affairs (OIA) to support programs in the Marianas and other U.S. insular areas. The bill provides the following allocations:

• Assistance to Territories – Technical Assistance Program - $22,640,000

• Assistance to Territories – Maintenance Assistance Program - $4,375,000

• Energizing Insular Communities Program - $15,000,000

• Brown Tree Snake Control - $4,000,000

• Coral Reef Initiative & Natural Resources - $2,825,000

In addition to funding, the accompanying committee report includes language I requested directing OIA to assess the reinstatement and modernization of the Pacific Policy Reports, as authorized under Public Law 99–239. These reports, which were discontinued after 2000, once played a key role in supporting interagency coordination and long-term strategic development across the Pacific region and provides the opportunity for the Pacific territories to clearly understand what is the federal government's goals for our islands. The Interior appropriations bill now moves to the House floor for consideration.