An amendment attached to the House appropriations bill that funds the Interior Department and other federal agencies would impede the Trump administration from designating uranium as a "critical mineral" so as to hasten mining of the ore near Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona.

The measure offered by U.S. Rep. Rául Grijalva, the Democrat who chairs the House Natural Resources Committee, states that no funds may be used to treat uranium as a “critical mineral” for the purposes of expedited permitting, or to offer other unnecessary giveaways to uranium mining companies under the administration’s critical mineral strategy.

Grijalva also attached an amendment to the legislation to defund the implementation of President Trump’s Feb. 15 presidential proclamation of a national emergency the country's southern border, a proclamation that could result in the Interior Department transferring border lands it oversees to the Department of Homeland Security.

The amendments were attached to H.R. 3055, which includes five previously freestanding appropriations bills. Together, the package provides funding for the Department of the Interior and to conservation and science programs at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which President Trump’s budget proposal nearly eliminates. The package also funds the departments of Commerce, Justice, Agriculture, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Veterans Affairs, in addition to other related programs and agencies.

The funding package cleared the House of Representatives on Tuesday and now heads to the Senate for action.

“I’m thankful for the work that the Appropriations Committee, led by Chair Nita Lowey and subcommittee Chair Betty McCollum, did to pass today’s bills in a way that elevates environmental issues and reflects the American people’s priorities,” Grijalva said Tuesday. “A Democratic House majority means conservation and science get the funding they need, not starvation budgets and Republican excuses about keeping 'Big Oil' happy. What a government chooses to support should reflect what the people value, and these bills reflect the public demand for action on climate change and strong conservation of our natural resources. These bills, and my amendments, put families and the environment first, and that’s what a responsible Congress should do.”

The appropriations measure provides $3.39 billion for the National Park Service, an amount nearly $650 million above that proposed by the Trump administration, and $168 million more than current funding levels.

The Park Service funding also would support 500 additional staff at parks across the country, according to Grijalva's staff.

More so, the legislation would:

* Provide $523.9 million for the Land and Water Conservation Fund, including $244 for the federal program and $280 million for the state program. This is $491 million more than President Trump’s request and $85 million above FY 2019.

* Provide increased Oversight Funds for Department of the Interior. Nearly $56 million for the Office of Inspector General, approximately $4 million above the enacted level and $4 million above the president’s budget. Report language directs the department to use the increase of funds to hire auditors, investigators and mission support staff to meet workload requirements.

* Provide a $1 million increase for Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. This increase is directed to be used for the hiring of additional personnel to assist the department with its compliance and backlog of FOIA requests.

The package of legislation also would halt the administration's efforts to reorganize the Interior Department by denying funding for it.

“On numerous occasions the (House Natural Resources Committee) has sought background information to substantiate the costs of the reorganization but has not received even the most rudimentary data explaining how such costs eventually pay for themselves or translate into better service for the American public," Grijalva noted.

The legislation also requires a thorough environmental review for a mining project eyed to go in near the Boundary Waters Canoe Wilderness Area in Minnesota.