The Commerce, Justice and Science $51.1 billion spending bill for fiscal 2013, including $5 billion for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, heads to the full House for consideration tomorrow.

The plan, which was unanimously approved by the House Appropriations Committee last month, includes full funding for NOAA's weather satellite programs.

Many lawmakers have expressed concern about the growing imbalance in the agency's budget, which diverts funds from programs that monitor the ocean and protect fisheries to pay for expensive satellites that collect vital data for weather forecasts and warnings.

"While I support the development and deployment of new satellites, it is important that we find a way to pay for them without making such drastic reductions in other important NOAA programs," said Appropriations Committee ranking member Norm Dicks (D-Wash.) at the April 26 committee markup.

To that end, the committee restored funding for tsunami detection buoys and National Weather Service information technology staff, among other things. However, some members did not think Republicans went far enough to fund fisheries management, habitat restoration and ocean acidification research (E&E Daily, April 27).

The House Rules Committee is expected to set an open rule for the CJS spending plan at a meeting tonight, which will allow amendments to be offered on the floor.

Amendments could be offered to try to block the administration's controversial National Ocean Policy, which aims to establish a multiple-use strategy for the oceans that better balances the needs of fishing, transportation, energy and recreation.

Natural Resources Chairman Doc Hastings (Wash.) and 23 other GOP lawmakers have requested that all appropriations bills block every federal agency's work on the ocean plan. No such rider was included with the CJS bill, though the accompanying report states that the bill does not fund coastal and marine spatial planning.

Hastings' representative told Greenwire that he and the committee are considering "other legislative options" to prevent the plan from moving forward (Greenwire, May 3).

Ocean Conservancy issued a statement in advance of tomorrow's debate defending the National Ocean Policy as "common sense" because it aims to improve coordination and increase efficiency across the numerous agencies that are involved with ocean management.

"Blocking implementation of the National Ocean Policy could have devastating effects on services many American businesses and communities have come to rely on," said Emily Woglom, the conservancy's director of government relations. "Efforts like preventing ocean trash on our beaches and providing information to emerging energy developers could be severely impacted if the policy is prohibited."

The Senate version of the CJS budget plan is slightly larger at $51.9 billion. The Senate and House plans are $10 million to $60 million apart for most of NOAA's primary departments. However, the Senate version diverges significantly with its proposal to transfer $1.6 billion in satellite procurement funds to NASA, leaving NOAA's total budget at $3.4 billion (E&E Daily, April 20).

Schedule: The Rules Committee meeting is today at 5 p.m. in H-313.