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On June 17, the U.S. House of Representatives passed an appropriations bill that would reverse funding cuts proposed for the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The bill, which passed the House by a vote of 334 to 86, would restore $18 million of funding cuts proposed in the President's budget request for the USGS and add an additional $7 million of new funding for the agency in FY 2005 (Table 1). The USGS budget would increase by 0.75 percent to $944 million under the House measure. The Administration proposed cutting the USGS budget by 1.9 percent to $920 million in FY 2005.
"For the fifth year in a row the [House Appropriations] Committee has partially restored a number of high-priority [USGS] research programs that were proposed for reduction or elimination," according to the committee report (H. Rpt. 108-542) that accompanies the Interior appropriations bill (H.R. 4568). "The Survey has been a leader in the development of cooperative programs and outsourcing its activities. The Committee believes that Bureaus that are successful in implementing these policies should be rewarded and not penalized," the report says.
Table 1. FY 2005 USGS Funding Under President's Request and House Appropriations Bill
_________________________________________________________________________________
| Budget Authority
|
| Change from FY05
| USGS Activity/Subactivity
| ($ Millions)
|
| Req. to House
|
| FY 2003
| FY 2004
| FY 2005
| FY 2005
|
| Amount
| Percent
| ____________________________________
| Actual
| Enacted1
| Request2
| House3
|
| ($ mil.)
| (%)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Mapping, Remote Sensing, & Geog. Investigations
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Cooperative Topographic Mapping
| 81.1
| 80.8
| 71.0
| 74.8
|
| 3.7
| 5.2%
| Land Remote Sensing
| 35.7
| 33.7
| 33.1
| 33.2
|
| 0.1
| 0.2%
| Geographic Analysis and Monitoring
| 16.4
| 15.2
| 14.8
| 14.8
|
| 0.1
| 0.5%
| Subtotal
| 133.2
| 129.8
| 118.9
| 122.8
|
| 3.8
| 3.2%
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Geologic Hazards, Resources, and Processes
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Geologic Hazard Assessments
| 75.0
| 75.3
| 73.0
| 75.0
|
| 2.0
| 2.7%
| Geologic Landscape & Coastal Assessments
| 78.7
| 78.4
| 75.2
| 77.3
|
| 2.1
| 2.8%
| Geologic Resource Assessment
| 79.5
| 80.5
| 72.5
| 78.6
|
| 6.1
| 8.4%
| Subtotal
| 233.2
| 234.2
| 220.8
| 230.9
|
| 10.1
| 4.6%
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Water Resources Investigations
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Hydrologic Monitoring, Assessm'ts & Research
| 136.8
| 145.3
| 139.7
| 141.5
|
| 1.8
| 1.3%
| Cooperative Water Program
| 64.4
| 64.0
| 63.0
| 63.3
|
| 0.3
| 0.4%
| Water Resources Research Act Program
| 6.0
| 6.4
| 0.0
| 6.5
|
| 6.5
| 100.0%
| Subtotal
| 207.2
| 215.7
| 202.7
| 211.2
|
| 8.6
| 4.2%
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Biological Research
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Biological Research and Monitoring
| 132.1
| 135.1
| 129.2
| 132.6
|
| 3.3
| 2.6%
| Biological Information Management & Delivery
| 22.8
| 24.7
| 24.3
| 24.3
|
| 0.1
| 0.3%
| Cooperative Research Units
| 14.9
| 14.8
| 14.1
| 15.1
|
| 1.0
| 6.8%
| Subtotal
| 169.8
| 174.5
| 167.6
| 172.0
|
| 4.4
| 2.6%
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Enterprise Information
|
|
| 45.1
| 44.1
|
| -1.0
| -2.2%
| Science Support
| 85.2
| 90.8
| 68.7
| 67.5
|
| -1.2
| -1.8%
| Facilities
| 90.8
| 93.0
| 95.9
| 95.9
|
| 0.0
| 0.0%
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| TOTAL
| 919.3
| 938.0
| 919.8
| 944.5
|
| 24.7
| 2.7%
|
__________________________________________________________________________________
Source: NCSE Analysis of President's FY 2005 Budget Request, H.R. 4568 and H. Rpt. 108-542.
1The FY 2004 budget includes approx. $40 million that were consolidated from various disciplinary accounts and programs to the New Enterprise Information account in FY 2005.
2FY 2005 President's Budget Request.
3Interior Appropriations bill (H.R. 4568; H. Rpt. 108-542) as passed by the House of Representatives June 17, 2004.
The following analysis addresses differences between the President's budget request and the House appropriations bill for FY 2005. Direct comparisons with FY 2004 program budgets are problematic because of the transfer of $44 million from all existing programs into a new Enterprise Information account in FY 2005 (see January-February issue of the Science, Environment and Policy Report).
Biology. The House appropriations bill would provide $172.0 million for the USGS's biological resources discipline, an increase of $4.4 million or 2.6 percent above the President's budget request for FY 2005. Changes to the President's budget request include increases of $2.8 million to restore the interagency cooperative fire science program and $500,000 for a general increase to the Cooperative Research Unit program, as well as decreases of $350,000 for science on the Department of the Interior landscape, and $500,000 for the Klamath Basin initiative.
The National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII) program came under scrutiny from the House Appropriations Committee:
"The Committee is concerned about the growth of the National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII); the number of planned regional and thematic nodes is too high and inadequately justified…The Committee directs the Survey to locate all new ‘thematic' nodes in the same physical location as existing regional nodes and to consolidate operational expenses. The Committee also suggests that the Survey reduce the number of planned NBII regions and realign existing regions to align better with the Survey's existing regional structure" (H. Rpt. 108-542).
The House bill would provide an increase for the Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units, but "the [Appropriations] Committee is concerned about the strategic growth of this system and directs the Survey to develop a long-term plan addressing the number and location of new units that are needed prior to any expansion of the system.
Water. The House appropriations bill would provide $211.2 million for the USGS's water resources discipline, an increase of $8.6 million or 4.2 percent above the President's budget request for FY 2005. Repeating a ritual that has been established over many years, the President's budget request would have eliminated the entire $6.4 million budget for the Water Resources Research Institutes, and the House bill would restore full funding for the program.
Other changes from the President's budget request include an increase of $800,000 for the USGS's water availability project. The agency's implementation plan calls for the establishment of two pilot projects at an estimated cost of $5.2 million. The House bill would provide funding to initiate the USGS's top priority pilot project in the Great Lakes region. "The Committee expects the Administration to continue to request funding in future budgets to expand this program for other areas of the country," according to the House Appropriations Committee report.
Geology. The House appropriations bill would provide $230.9 million for the USGS's geologic discipline, an increase of $10.1 million or 4.6 percent above the President's budget request for FY 2005. Changes from the President's budget request include increases of $6.5 million to restore the cut to mineral resources assessments and increases of $1.6 million to restore the Tampa Bay Pilot coastal project, $1.35 million for the Advanced National Seismic System, and $750,000 for the landslide hazards program,
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