The House Appropriations Committee will convene Thursday to review the proposed fiscal 2012 budget and missions for the U.S. Geological Survey.
Last month the Obama administration released a $1.1 billion budget request for USGS, a $6.1 million increase over the 2010 enacted level.
During a budget hearing held last week, Natural Resources Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources Chairman Doug Lamborn (R-Colo.) said USGS had assigned itself "an incredibly daunting job" with its new budget, citing climate change programs many subcommittee members said were duplicative of other agency projects (E&E Daily, March 10).
During Thursday's hearing the committee is expected to carefully critique what the agency has identified as its spending priorities.
The largest portion of the budget, $48 million, would go toward the agency's Landsat missions, which USGS Director Marcia McNutt said provide essential data for land-use and climate change research.
Lamborn criticized the budget proposal for deviating too much from what he said were the agency's "core responsibilities."
"I'm wondering where the geology is at the United States Geological Survey," said Lamborn during the hearing. "It's been completely swallowed up by all the new missions and reorganization at USGS."
McNutt defended Landsat, saying the program was "vital to the nation's agricultural, water management, disaster response and scientific communities."
Other requests the committee is expected to discuss include funding for ecosystem restoration and the WaterSMART initiative.
The 2012 budget allocates $10.9 million for USGS involvement with WaterSMART. The agency hopes its work with the program will provide baseline data needed to secure sustainable water supplies. Lawmakers have criticized the initiative, saying they are unsure the work is being conducted efficiently (E&E Daily, March 7).
In order to boost funding for some projects, McNutt said the agency had to make cuts in other areas, such as natural hazard monitoring, a key function of USGS. Such budget evaluations have raised the ire of some lawmakers.
To avoid cutting funds from vital agency projects, McNutt has previously stated she plans to fold financial reductions into USGS administrative costs.
Schedule: The hearing is Thursday, March 17, at 9:30 a.m. in B-308 Rayburn.
Witness: USGS Director Marcia McNutt.
