FY 2016 House Appropriations Bill: USGS

Earlier today the House of Representatives started its consideration of the FY 2016 Interior and Environment Appropriations Bill. Roll call votes on amendments to the bill will not occur until July.

The bill provides $30,170.0 million in base funding, down $246.0 million from this year’s appropriation, and $3,092.4 million less than the Administration’s request.

Accompanying H.R. 2822 is a 199 page committee report with the appropriators’ budget and policy recommendations. There was no discussion of the U.S. Geological Survey in the introduction to this report. The report has a two-page section on USGS on pages 32 and 33. Detailed funding tables are found on pages 157-160. Appropriations in FY 2016 would remain essentially flat as compared to this year with the exception of a $3.0 million shift in funding between “Ecosystems” and “Climate and Land Use Change.”

Total United States Geological Survey
The FY 2015 appropriation was $1,045.0 million
The FY 2016 request is $1,194.8 million, an increase of $149.8 million or 14.3 percent
The House bill provides $1,045.0 million; flat funding

Within this budget are the following programs:

Ecosystems
The FY 2015 appropriation was $157.0 million
The FY 2016 request is $176.3 million, an increase of $19.3 million or 12.3 percent
The House bill provides $154.0 million, a decrease of $3.0 million or 1.9 percent

Climate and Land Use Change
The FY 2015 appropriation was $136.0 million
The FY 2016 request is $191.8 million, an increase of $55.8 million or 41.0 percent
The House bill provides $139.0 million, an increase of $3.0 million or 2.2 percent

Note that the report has important language regarding this program on page 33.

Energy, Minerals and Environmental Health
The FY 2015 appropriation was $92.3 million
The FY 2016 request is $103.3 million, an increase of $11.0 million or 11.9 percent
The House bill provides $92.3 million; flat funding

Natural Hazards
The FY 2015 appropriation was $135.2 million
The FY 2016 request is $146.4 million, an increase of $11.2 million or 8.3 percent
The House bill provides $135.2 million; flat funding

Water Resources
The FY 2015 appropriation was $211.3 million
The FY 2016 request is $222.9 million, an increase of $11.6 million or 5.5 percent
The House bill provides $211.3 million; flat funding

Core Science Systems
The FY 2015 appropriation was $107.2 million
The FY 2016 request is $127.0 million, an increase of $19.7 million or 1.9 percent
The House bill provides $107.2 million; flat funding

Science Support
The FY 2015 appropriation was $105.6 million
The FY 2016 request is $112.8 million, an increase of $7.2 million or 6.8 percent
The House bill provides $105.6 million; flat funding

Facilities
The FY 2015 appropriation was $100.4 million
The FY 2016 request is $114.3 million, an increase of $13.9 million or 13.8 percent
The House bill provides $100.4 million; flat funding

Senate appropriators approved their version of this bill on June 18 but have not yet released their committee report. A summary released by the Senate committee states “The bill provides $1.06 billion for the USGS, $17 million increase over the enacted level. Within this amount, important program increases have been included for energy and mineral resources, mapping, natural hazards, groundwater monitoring network, streamgages, invasive species, and the requested funds for Landsat 9.”