Diaz-Balart Secures Funds for the Everglades, the Miccosukee Tribe, and other Southern Florida Priorities in FY 2026 Interior Funding Bill

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Mario Díaz-Balart (FL-26), Vice Chair of the House Appropriations Committee, Dean of the Florida Delegation, and Co-Founder and Co-Chair of the Congressional Everglades Caucus, issued the following statement after the House Appropriations Committee approved the Fiscal Year 2026 Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill:

“I was proud to support the FY 2026 Interior funding bill, for which I obtained critical funding for Everglades preservation and restoration efforts, Big Cypress National Preserve, and the Miccosukee Tribe, among other Southern Florida priorities.

“This bill also promotes American energy independence, enhances U.S. competitiveness, ensures access to public lands, and reduces burdensome Biden-era red tape, all while cutting wasteful spending by six percent.

“My deepest gratitude to Chairman Simpson for working directly with me to address key priorities of Florida’s Miccosukee Tribe of Indians, the true stewards of our unique and treasured Everglades National Park.” 

Díaz-Balart secured these priorities for Southern Florida:

• $973,000 for the Town of MiamiLakes Big Cypress DrainageImprovements Project.
• $11.6 million for the Everglades Restoration Project through the National Park Service.
• $73.8 million for the State and Tribal Wildlife Grant Program for the development and implementation of programs benefiting wildlife and their habitats.
• $6 million to address water qualityby providing funding for critical harmful algal bloom research.
• $1 million in direct funding for South Florida to expand water quality and ecosystem health monitoring and prediction network.
• Report language supporting the Tribe’s ongoing efforts with the Department of the Interior to review subsurface mineral rights on their land.
• Report language prohibiting drilling inBig Cypress National Preserve.
• Report language recognizing the recent passage of the Miccosukee Reserved Area Amendments Act (H.R. 504), which expands the Miccosukee Reserved Area to include Osceola Camp in Everglades National Park and directs the Department of the Interior, in consultation with the Tribe, to take necessary actions to protect structures within the camp from flooding.
• Bill language ensuring that no part of Big Cypress National Preserve may be designated as wilderness, a longstanding priority of Congressman Díaz-Balart to protect access for the Tribes and broader public.
• Reduce our reliance on foreign countries for critical minerals by promoting access to resources here at home.
• Ensures chemical and pesticide manufacturers are not overburdened with requirements that would drive businesses overseas and threaten American competitiveness.
• Provides no funds for the American Climate Corps, eco-grief training, or environmental justice activities.
• Blocks Biden-era regulations that were imposing costs on American families and industry, such as:
  • EPA’s car emission regulations on light, medium, and heavy-duty vehicles;
  • EPA’s Clean Power Plan 2.0; and
  • Regulatory overreach regarding ozone emissions.

A summary of the bill is available here.

Bill Report is available here.

Bill Text is available here.

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