Amata Welcomes House Passage of Interior Appropriations

Maintains Operations Funds with $3 Million for ASCC

Washington, D.C. –Congresswoman Uifa’atali Amata is welcoming this week’s House passage of the Department of the Interior, Environment and Related Agencies Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2025, H.R. 8998, that funds American Samoa’s DOI Operations fund, and all federal interior and insular grants and services, as well as local EPA grants and the work of EPA Region 9.

“Our territory relies on dependable federal funding and the services they support,” said Congresswoman Amata. “The Senate is doing their appropriations work as well, and I’ve communicated the need for our yearly funding with the key Chairmen and Ranking Senators.”

The House-passed bill retains American Samoa’s operations DOI account funding at over $28.1 million, specially designating $3 million of these funds to American Samoa Community College (ASCC) operations at Amata’s request for the second straight year.

After previous decades of level funding, American Samoa’s operations fund was increased for six straight years at Amata’s request from fiscal years 2018 to 2023, for a substantial boost of $5.4 million yearly.

“After fiscal year 2023, the overall allocation for ‘Assistance to Territories’ was cut back, but despite that, the funding for American Samoa was preserved intact, while there was fiscal belt-tightening elsewhere in the DOI budget,” noted Congresswoman Amata. “I’m happy we kept our requested $3 million in key ASCC funding, supporting the education of our students.”

Prior yearly requests, dating back to fiscal year 2018, resulted in increased amounts of $250,000, $718,000, $400,000, $500,000, $2.5 million, and $1 million, all of which are accumulated and are preserved in this legislation.

Nationwide, the overall bill promotes domestic energy production, reduces wasteful spending, protects access to public lands, and notably increases funding for wildland fire programs and wildland firefighter pay.

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