The Senate Appropriations Committee has sent the FY 2007 Interior Appropriations
Bill to the floor, which provides funding for the U.S. Geological Survey.
The Interior Appropriations Subcommittee is chaired by Conrad Burns
(R-MT); the Ranking Minority Member is Byron Dorgan (D-ND). The following
numbers are, for the sake of uniformity within this FYI, taken from
the report the committee prepared.
The Bush Administration sought a 3.7% or $36.1 million decrease in
FY 2007 USGS funding, from $980.9 million (including the emergency appropriation)
to $944.8 million.
The House rejected this reduction, voting to increase funding by 0.6%
or $5.6 million to $986.5 million.
The Senate Appropriations Committee's bill would reduce funding by
0.1% or $0.9 million to $980.0 million (level funding.)
The following are selections from Senate Committee Report 109-275 accompanying
H.R. 5386. The full report is available at http://thomas.loc.gov/home/approp/app07.html
GEOGRAPHIC RESEARCH, INVESTIGATIONS AND REMOTE SENSING:
Current funding is $129.3 million. The Administration requested $76.6
million. The House bill would reduce funding by 39.2% or $50.7 million
to $78.6 million. The Senate bill recommends $78.6 million, nearly the
same reduction of 39.2% or $50.7 million. The Senate report language
states:
"Changes to the budget request include an increase of
$2,300,000 to restore funds for ongoing geographic research and a
reduction of $300,000 for a proposed multihazards initiative. In agreement
with the request, the Committee has transferred $64,301,000 to the
Enterprise Information activity where cooperative topographic mapping
functions will now be carried out. Also in agreement with the budget
request, the Committee has accepted the proposal to rename the geography
program to better reflect the reorganization of mapping activities
within the Survey. The Committee understands that in part the reorganization
is intended to provide a greater emphasis on geographic research as
recommended by the National Research Council. With this key goal underscored
by the USGS in its budget request, it makes no sense to the Committee
that the Survey then proposes a $2,300,000 reduction to ongoing research
projects and a 21 FTE reduction-in-force [RIF]. The Committee further
notes that no plan is included in the request outlining what, if any,
resources would be required to conduct such a RIF. For these reasons,
the Committee has restored the proposed decrease and expects ongoing
research activities and staff levels to be maintained at the current
level."
GEOLOGIC HAZARDS, RESOURCES, AND PROCESSES:
Current funding is $235.3 million. The Administration requested $217.4
million. The House bill would increase funding by 2.8% or $6.6 million
to $241.9 million. The Senate bill recommends $239.3 million, an increase
of 1.7% or $4.0 million. The Senate report language states:
"Changes to the request include decreases of $700,000
for a proposed multihazards initiative and $1,000,000 for a data collection
and preservation proposal and increases of $600,000 for the Alaska
Volcano Observatory and $22,943,000 to restore base funds to the minerals
resources program. The Committee has provided the requested increase
of $500,000 to expand the study of gas hydrates on the north slope
of Alaska that was initiated in fiscal year 2006. The budget request
includes base funding of $450,000 for the Hawaii Volcano Observatory-University
of Hawaii, Hilo collaborative partnership. The Committee expects that
$200,000 of that amount will be used to acquire and install upgraded
monitoring equipment on Mauna Loa, as well as provide additional technical
support.
"As noted above, the Committee has restored funding
for the minerals resources program to its current level. Proposals
to eliminate or reduce these activities have been rejected in the
past and continue to have no merit in the Committee's view. Within
the funds restored for the minerals resources program, the Committee
expects the Survey to dedicate an additional $1,000,000 to the external
grants program to provide a total of $2,000,000 for this activity.
"Within the coastal and marine geology program, the
Committee encourages the Survey to continue its significant research
investment in the southern Louisiana area in support of both State
and Federal agency coastal restoration planning efforts. The Survey's
activities in the gulf coast are all the more critical in the aftermath
of Hurricane Katrina and both its research activities and collaborative
efforts with partners such as the University of New Orleans should
be continued and enhanced to the extent possible within current budget
levels.
"The Committee notes the important role that the Survey's
energy resource assessments serve to foster the exploration and development
of our Nation's energy supplies. The Committee is aware that unpublished
Survey research may indicate the potential for sizeable unrecovered
energy resources in the Bakken Shale formation of the Williston Basin.
The Committee also understands that the Survey is planning to initiate
work on its formal Williston Basin energy resource assessment in fiscal
year 2007 for completion in late 2007 or early 2008. An up-to-date
resource assessment of the Williston Basin is critical to better address
our Nation's future energy needs. The Committee expects the Survey
to expedite its efforts to complete and publish its resource assessment
of the Williston Basin as soon as practicable."
WATER RESOURCES INVESTIGATIONS:
Current funding is $211.8 million. The Administration requested $204.1
million. The House bill would increase funding by 0.9% or $2.0 million
to $213.8 million. The Senate bill recommends $216.8 million, an increase
of 2.4% or $5.0 million. The Senate report language states:
"Changes to the request include increases of $500,000
to restore funding for the Memphis aquifer study, $280,000 to restore
funding for the Ozark aquifer study, $940,000 to restore the proposed
base reduction to the NAWQA program; $600,000 to restore funding for
the Long-Term Estuary Assessment Group [LEAG]; $900,000 to continue
the coalbed methane study of the Tongue River watershed, $1,000,000
to expand the Hawaii well drilling and monitoring program; $300,000
for ongoing monitoring activities on Lake Champlain; $2,000,000 to
restore base funds to the cooperative water program; and $6,404,000
to restore the water resources research institutes program, which
was proposed for elimination. A decrease of $200,000 has been taken
for a proposed multihazards initiative. The increase provided for
Lake Champlain is intended to be in addition to the $157,000 in base
funding included in the budget request to fund these activities at
a total amount of $457,000.
"The Committee notes the importance of ongoing water
availability research in the Great Valley of West Virginia as the
region's rapid population growth and proximity to major metropolitan
areas continues to increase demand for groundwater resources. The
Committee urges the Survey to continue efforts to develop comprehensive
data on the region's water availability and provide current data and
technical assistance to State and local stakeholders so they are better
able to manage their water resources."
BIOLOGICAL RESEARCH:
Current funding is $174.9 million. The Administration requested $172.6
million. The House bill would increase funding by 0.4% or $0.7 million
to $175.6 million. The Senate bill recommends $176.6 million, an increase
of 1.0% or $1.7 million. The Senate report language states:
"Changes to the request include increases of $800,000
to continue molecular biology work at the Leetown Science Center;
$200,000 to complete a multidisciplinary water study at the Leetown
Science Center; $350,000 to complete research on the Mark Twain National
Forest; $500,000 to restore base funds for wildlife, terrestrial and
endangered resources activities; $300,000 to complete the Northern
Continental Divide Ecosystem study; $200,000 to restore the Fish and
Wildlife Service Science Excellence program; $900,000 to initiate
monitoring and research in the San Francisco Salt Ponds; and $2,000,000
to restore base funds to the National Biological Information Infrastructure.
Decreases include $1,000,000 for NatureServe and $300,000 for a proposed
multihazards initiative. Within base funds, $1,000,000 is continued
for invasive species research in collaboration with Mississippi State
University."
ENTERPRISE INFORMATION:
Current funding is $46.4 million. The Administration requested $111.2
million. The House bill would increase funding by 145.0% or $67.3 million
to $113.7 million. The Senate bill recommends $106.0 million, an increase
of 128.5% or $59.6 million. The Senate report language states:
"Decreases to the request include $680,000 for a proposed
multihazards initiative and $4,600,000 for the Federal Geographic
Data Committee [FGDC] to maintain that entity at its current level
of $4,600,000. No rationale for this increase was provided in the
budget request.
"Language has been included in the bill precluding the
use of funds to competitively source functions of the National Geospatial
Technical Operations Center unless the staff at the Mid-Continent
Mapping Center in Rolla, Missouri is allowed the opportunity to compete
in the process as a Federal Most Efficient Organization. The Committee
expects that a fair and open competition will be held and that both
the Rolla, Missouri and Denver, Colorado sites will receive funds
and support to fully, effectively, and fairly compete in the A-76
process."
SCIENCE SUPPORT:
Current funding is $69.3 million. The Administration requested $67.4
million. The House bill would increase funding by 4.5% or $3.1 million
to $72.4 million. The Senate bill recommends $67.4 million, a decrease
of 2.7% or $1.9 million. There was no Senate committee report language
providing greater detail. .
FACILITIES:
Current funding is $94.8 million. The Administration requested $95.5
million. The House bill would increase funding by 0.7% or $0.7 million
to $95.5 million. The Senate bill also recommends $95.5 million. There
was no Senate committee report language providing greater detail.
The Senate report language had an additional section entitled "Other:"
"The Committee has not provided funds to support the
multihazards initiative proposed in the budget request. The Survey
requested an increase of $2,180,000 to implement this initiative and
proposed to redirect $3,700,000 from within base program budgets to
support this work. In most instances, the projects to be discontinued
are not specifically identified in the budget request. The Committee
will consider funding the initiative within the fiscal year 2007 base,
provided the Survey comes back to the Committee with a reprogramming
that identifies specific projects and programs that are proposed to
be stopped or continued in a diminished capacity that is defensible.
"The Committee reminds the Survey that any planned reinvestment
of savings achieved in a given fiscal year by downsizing of staff
through buyouts and reductions in force should be submitted to the
Committee in the form of a reprogramming. Similarly, the Committee
expects the Survey to adhere to the reprogramming guidelines regarding
advance notification of proposed reorganizations. In the recent past,
the Committee has been informed of the Survey's plans only after an
announcement has been made or a press release issued. The Survey is
expected to consult with the Committee before any planning process
concludes rather than providing it with press release after the fact."
Richard M. Jones
Media and Government Relations Division
American Institute of Physics
fyi@aip.org
301-209-3095
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