FY 2009 Omnibus Funding Bill: U.S. Geological Survey

The U.S. Geological Survey would receive a 3.7% increase in its FY 2009 budget in H.R. 1105, the FY 2009 Omnibus Funding Bill, which was passed yesterday by the House and is now pending in the Senate.

Congress has until March 6 to send this bill to President Obama. Short term funding expires on that day for USGS and the other agencies and departments covered under this bill. Objections raised by Senate fiscal conservatives could delay the final passage of this measure.

A hand-annotated copy of this bill, and its accompanying Joint Explanatory Statement are available here . There is considerable Explanatory Statement language regarding USGS in Division E - Department of Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2009, which is found on pdf pages 21 through 24. A table with program funding amounts can be viewed at pdf page 171. (Important notes: consult the Explanatory Statement and not the bill text language, and use the pdf and not the typed page numbers.)

The following are the recommended levels of funding for various USGS programs in H.R. 1105, taken from the above cited table.

Total USGS:

The FY 2008 enacted budget was $1,006.5 million.
The Bush Administration’s FY 2009 request was $968.5 million.
The omnibus bill recommends $1,043.8 million. This is an increase of $37.3 million or 3.7 percent over FY 2008.

Geologic Research and Remote Sensing:

The FY 2008 budget was $77.7 million.
The Bush Administration’s FY 2009 request was $73.1 million.
The omnibus bill recommends $72.3 million. This is a decline of $5.4 million or 7.0 percent.

Geologic Hazards, Resources and Processes:

The FY 2008 budget was $243.5 million.
The Bush Administration’s FY 2009 request was $208.0 million.
The omnibus bill recommends $242.1 million. This is a decline of $1.3 million or 5.5 percent.

Water Resources Investigations:

The FY 2008 budget was $220.5 million.
The Bush Administration’s FY 2009 request was $203.0 million.
The omnibus bill recommends $221.4 million. This is an increase of $844,000 or 0.4 percent.

Biological Research:

The FY 2008 budget was $179.9 million.
The Bush Administration’s FY 2009 request was $180.3 million.
The omnibus bill recommends $185.3 million. This is an increase of $5.5 million or 3.0 percent.

Enterprise Information:

The FY 2008 budget was $110.4 million.
The Bush Administration’s FY 2009 request was $112.1 million.
The omnibus bill recommends $112.5 million. This is an increase of $2.1 million or 1.9 percent.

Global Climate Change:

The FY 2008 budget was $7.4 million.
The Bush Administration’s FY 2009 request was $26.6 million.
The omnibus bill recommends $40.6 million. This is an increase of $33.3 million or 450.3 percent.

Other budget categories are science support and facilities.