House Republicans advanced a bill Thursday evening cutting the National Park Service by 13%.

The nearly half-billion-dollar cuts to the NPS passed through the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Subcommittee of the Appropriations Committee, along with other cuts totaling over $21 billion below President Joe Biden's budget request.

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"I'll be real honest with you. If you're looking for a pretty bill, this is not it," subcommittee Chairman Rep. Mike Simpson (R-ID) said at the markup Thursday night. "This is a hard bill, but frankly, it's a necessary bill. Cutting funding is never easy and can often be an ugly process, but with the nation's debt in excess of $32 trillion and inflation at an unacceptable level, we have to do our jobs to rein in unnecessary federal spending."

Nearly every agency inside the Department of the Interior received major funding reductions.

Subcommittee Democrats slammed the proposed cuts.

"The cuts in this bill are so severe that even agencies that usually enjoy bipartisan support are targeted for damaging reductions," Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-ME), subcommittee ranking member, said at the markup for the bill. "This cut means park rangers will lose their jobs. Further, it severely hampers the service’s ability to protect and preserve the natural and cultural resources in our national parks and jeopardizes the visitor experience."

In total, NPS funding will drop by $436 million to a $2.6 billion total budget, which national parks advocates say will result in the loss of more than 1,000 park employees and have a negative effect on operations.

“The House Interior Appropriations budget is reckless and should be a nonstarter for anyone who cares about our national parks and public lands," National Parks Conservation Association President and CEO Theresa Pierno said in a press release. “Despite their overwhelming popularity, our national parks have been underfunded and understaffed for decades."

“As millions of families set out on their summer trips to our beloved national parks, this damaging bill sends a clear message that taking care of our parks and making sure they are well-staffed for visitors is not a priority."

The bill would also require Interior to reissue the 2020 delisting of the gray wolf as an endangered species, as well as block the introduction of the grizzly bear into the North Cascades in an effort to recover the species.

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Biden administration diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives are prohibited in the proposed bill, which also blocks funding to "promote or advance" critical race theory.

The NPS did not return a request for comment from the Washington Examiner.