House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) sponsored H.Res. 5, a resolution adopting the rules of the House of Representatives for the 118th Congress and for other purposes, which, in addition to organizing the chamber for the new Congress, imposed strict budget cuts on future appropriations. The provision capped spending at Fiscal Year 2022 levels, which would translate into a 22% cut for environmental programs from FY23 levels thereby undermining critical agency staffing and funding for programs that address the legacy of toxic pollution and the climate crisis. The rules package also removed a provision that required land transfers to be budget neutral, making it easier to give away our nation’s public lands. At a time of significant concern about the influence of polluters and other special interests in politics, and just two years after an insurrection that some House members supported, this package also hobbled the bipartisan Office of Congressional Ethics by imposing arbitrary term limits to eject Democratic ethics board members and effectively prohibiting it from hiring new staff, making it much harder to hold unethical officials accountable. On January 9, the House approved H.Res. 5 by a vote of 220-213 (House roll call vote 23). The House approves its own rules package and it takes effect immediately upon passage, though the rules may be, and often are, waived by a majority vote.