USGS Funding Restored by House of Representatives

The U.S. House of Representatives passed an appropriations bill that would reverse proposed cuts in the budget for the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and increase the agency’s funding to nearly $1 billion for the first time. 

The House appropriations bill that funds the Department of the Interior and related agencies would provide $991.4 million for the USGS in FY 2007, an increase of 2.1 percent or $20.8 million compared to the current fiscal year.  It would reverse the President’s proposal to cut the USGS budget by 2.7 percent or $25.9 million to $944.8 million in FY 2007. 

The House Appropriations Committee harshly rejected the President’s proposal to cut the budget of the USGS mineral resources program by 41.7 percent or $22.0 million to $30.8 million: “The Committee strongly disagrees with the proposed reduction in the Survey’s mineral resources program.”  Having reversed similar proposed cuts in recent years, the House Appropriations Committee stated, “Mineral resources research and assessments are a core responsibility of the Survey.  The Committee does not agree that objective data on mineral commodities can be generated in the private sector and the Committee importunes the Administration to not propose this program elimination again.” 

The House appropriations bill would also restore full funding of $6.4 million for the USGS Water Resources Research Institutes, which are located in all 50 states.  As in recent years, the President’s budget request had eliminated all funding for the Water Resources Research Institutes. 

The House appropriations bill would provide funding for several USGS initiatives in FY 2007, including requested increases of $16.0 million for the Landsat Data Continuity Mission, $2.3 million for the National Streamflow Information System, $2.0 million for energy resources research, $1.0 for the NatureServe bioinformatics project, and full funding for the multi-hazards demonstration initiative. 

Funding for the four scientific disciplines of the USGS would increase under the FY 2007 House appropriations bill:

• Biological resources funding would increase 0.4 percent or $0.7 million to $175.6 million. 
• Geography funding would increase by 7.0 percent or $13.2 million to $72.6 million, after accounting for the internal transfer of the Cooperative Topographic Mapping subactivity ($68.9 million) to the Enterprise Information account. 
• Geology funding would increase by 2.8 percent or $6.6 million to $241.9 million. 
• Water resources funding would increase by 1.0 percent or $2.0 million to $213.8 million.

The House appropriations bill is pending before the Senate, but final action may not take place until after the elections in November.  NCSE is working with the USGS Coalition to increase funding for the U.S. Geological Survey.  NCSE’s testimony in support of appropriations for the USGS is available online at www.NCSEonline.org/SciencePolicy/. 

Craig M. Schiffries, Ph.D
Director of Science Policy
National Council for Science and the Environment
1707 H Street, NW, Suite 200
Washington, DC 20006
Tel: 202-530-5810
Email: policy@NCSEonline.org