FY 2013 Senate Appropriations Bill for USGS

SEP 27, 2012

Somewhat unexpectedly, Senate Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Jack Reed (D-RI) and Subcommittee Ranking Member Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) jointly released the starting point for their FY 2013 funding bill. Known as a “Chairman’s mark,” this draft is the basis of the subcommittee’s bill for the new fiscal year starting on Monday, October 1.

In releasing this bill on September 25, the senators explained:

“Today we release the Chairman’s mark of the Fiscal Year 2013 Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill. While Congress has passed a short-term continuing resolution, we hope this final draft document will serve as a roadmap as discussions continue to finalize a responsible, balanced fiscal year 2013 appropriations bill. We will continue working together, with our colleagues and our House counterparts, to turn this draft into law.”

The bill text was released, as well as a quite detailed 37-page table of recommended funding amounts. The all-important committee report with the appropriators’ instructions and recommendations for how this funding is to be used was not issued. This is the only one of the twelve FY 2013 appropriations bills that has not been approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee.

The House Appropriations Committee approved its version of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill and the accompanying report in mid-July. A summary of its extensive provisions can be found here . This controversial bill was never considered on the House floor.

The below figures provide the Senate Chairman’s mark for USGS and its programs. Readers wishing to review specific line items for the Survey should see pages 10-13 of this committee table .

Total USGS:

The FY 2012 appropriation was $1,068.0 million The Administration requested $1,102.5 million The House Appropriations Committee recommended $967.0 million, a decrease of $101.0 million or 9.5 percent The Senate Chairman’s Mark recommends $1,083.8 million, an increase of $15.8 million or 1.5 percent over FY 2012

Within the USGS budget are the following programs:

Ecosystems:

The FY 2012 appropriation was $161.3 million The Administration requested $177.9 million The House Appropriations Committee recommended $132.5 million, a decrease of $28.8 million or 17.9 percent The Senate Chairman’s Mark recommends $170.7 million, an increase of $9.4 million or 5.8 percent

Climate and Land Use Change:

The FY 2012 appropriation was $144.1 million The Administration requested $153.8 million The House Appropriations Committee recommended $128.3 million, a decrease of $15.8 million or 11.0 percent The Senate Chairman’s Mark recommends $145.6 million, an increase of $1.5 million or 1.0 percent

Energy, Minerals, and Environmental Health:

The FY 2012 appropriation was $96.2 million The Administration requested $97.1 million The House Appropriations Committee recommended $88.3 million, a decrease of $8.0 million or 8.3 percent The Senate Chairman’s Mark recommends $95.0 million, a decrease of $1.2 million or 1.3 percent

Natural Hazards:

The FY 2012 appropriation was $134.5 million The Administration requested $144.8 million The House Appropriations Committee recommended $107.4 million, a decrease of $27.1 million or 20.2 percent The Senate Chairman’s Mark recommends $140.0 million, an increase of $5.5 million or 4.1 percent

Water Resources:

The FY 2012 appropriation was $214.7 million The Administration requested $209.8 million The House Appropriations Committee recommended $219.8 million, an increase of $5.2 million or 2.4 percent The Senate Chairman’s Mark recommends $215.8 million, an increase of $1.1 million or 0.5 percent

Core Science Systems:

The FY 2012 appropriation was $106.7 million The Administration requested $120.4 million The House Appropriations Committee recommended $112.3 million, an increase of $5.6 million or 5.3 percent The Senate Chairman’s Mark recommends $117.9 million, an increase of $11.2 million or 10.5 percent

Administration and Enterprise Information:

The FY 2012 appropriation was $110.2 million The Administration requested $99.1 million The House Appropriations Committee recommended $82.4 million, a decrease of $27.8 million or 25.2 percent The Senate Chairman’s Mark recommends $99.1 million, a decrease of $11.1 million or 10.1 percent

Facilities:

The FY 2012 appropriation was $100.4 million The Administration requested $99.7 million The House Appropriations Committee recommended $96.0 million, a decrease of $4.4 million or 4.4 percent The Senate Chairman’s Mark recommends $99.7 million, a decrease of $0.7 million or 0.7 percent