To: Members of the U.S. House Committee on Appropriations
From: National Taxpayers Union
Date: June 3, 2026
Subject: NTU’s Views Regarding the Committee Markup of FY 2027 Interior and THUD Bills
I. Introduction
On behalf of National Taxpayers Union, the nation’s oldest taxpayer advocacy organization, we write to express our views regarding two bills slated for consideration before the House Committee on Appropriations on June 3, 2026. In light of this year’s estimated $1.8 trillion federal budget deficit and our overall federal debt of $39 trillion, NTU requests that the Committee carefully consider the interests of taxpayers before considering any increases in discretionary allocation over last year’s authorized levels. Any increase in spending should be fully offset elsewhere, in light of our massive federal debt level, and should generally be avoided.
II. NTU Views Regarding June 3 Markup
Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill - NTU Opposes
The Full Committee Mark of the fiscal year 2027 Interior bill proposes a total discretionary allocation of $38.9 billion, an increase to taxpayers of $300 million over the FY 2026 enacted level. While the bill does deliver on a series of taxpayer wins, including helping expand mining and energy production on public lands and cutting Biden-era green energy mandates and wording, in an era when all parts of the federal budget need to be placed under increased scrutiny in light of our nation’s massive level of federal debt, this bill is not taxpayer-friendly.
As an aside, the bill includes $1 billion in earmarks for over 1,100 “water and wastewater infrastructure projects.” For the 316 members who benefited from this spending, which is limited to no more than 0.5% of discretionary spending in the bill, we congratulate them for generally receiving exactly $746,868 in taxpayer dollars for each of their local projects. A number of members received multiple earmarks, each mostly priced at that exact $746,868 level. However, it is difficult to see a reason why the federal government should foot the bill for projects like fixing a water main in Middleburg, VA, or a water storage tank in Farmingdale, NY. These projects don’t cross state lines, or serve a strategic trade or security purpose. We hope that future earmarks will be better vetted from a federal perspective, as most of the projects should be paid for by local taxpayers.
Even though the Committee has proposed budget reductions at several agencies covered by this bill, including a 20% proposed cut for the Environmental Protection Agency, it is simply hard to justify large planned budget increases for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Indian Education, Indian Health Service, and the National Park Service. We recommend a closer look at these proposed allocations in light of our nation’s fiscal restraints.
Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies (THUD) Bill - NTU Supports
This draft legislation proposed a total discretionary allocation of $92.2 billion for fiscal year 2027, a 10% decrease from the 2026 authorized level of approximately $102.9 billion. The bill increases spending in a few select areas, including for hiring more air traffic controllers and increasing highway infrastructure spending and the bill proposes spending reductions in several agencies that deserve fewer taxpayer dollars, including at the Federal Transit Administration and the Department of Housing and Community Development. It also eliminates over $8.7 billion in previously authorized projects that no longer serve the needs of taxpayers, including $7.9 billion from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). While the bill unfortunately maintains some “Buy America” provisions that will continue to increase the taxpayer cost of building roads and bridges, leading to fewer miles paved over time, we believe that the Committee did consider the interest of taxpayers when designing this legislation, and therefore support its passage.
While we do support the overall bill, we are not supportive of many of the $3.6 billion in earmarks included in this bill. Many of the over 3,000 projects in this year’s THUD bill do not serve a legitimate federal purpose. Some, like $5 million in improvements on Interstate 69 in Tennessee or $2 million for Interstate 10 improvements in Texas, serve federal taxpayers. But taxpayers in Arizona should not be paying for a teen center in Newtown, CT, or for an Animal Teaching Facility at Colorado State University.
III. Conclusion
In light of the ballooning level of federal debt, taxpayers can no longer afford increases in any federal appropriations bill without direct offsets within the bill itself. The era of uncontrolled federal spending needs to end before our nation’s fiscal trajectory veers dangerously off course. We appreciate the efforts of the Committee in proposing lower spending in one of the two bills being considered at this markup, and request that the current version of the 2027 Interior bill be revised to better reflect taxpayer concerns before moving forward. Should you have any questions about the recommendations in this memo, please do not hesitate to reach out to David Timmons (dtimmons@ntu.org).