Order Code RS22109
Updated May 20, 2005
CRS Report for Congress
Received through the CRS Web
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA) Budget for FY2006:
President’s Request, Congressional
Appropriations, and Related Issues
Wayne A. Morrissey
Information Research Specialist (Science and Technology)
Knowledge Services Group
Summary
This report tracks congressional appropriations action on the President’s FY2006
funding request for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
In addition, it discusses issues of possible congressional concern bearing on NOAA
appropriations for FY2006, such as the National Ocean Policy Commission and the
President’s Action Plan recommendations for the agency; internal reorganization;
FY2005 emergency supplemental funding for U.S. tsunami warning system upgrades
for the National Weather Service; and the Administration’s and Congress’s proposals
for a NOAA Organic Act (H.R. 50). This report will be updated as warranted.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s mission statement is, to
understand and predict changes in Earth’s environment and conserve and manage coastal
and marine resources to meet our nation’s economic, social, and environmental needs.
In terms of funding, NOAA is the largest agency of the Department of Commerce (DOC).
For FY2006, President Bush requested nearly $3.6 billion for NOAA, or about 63%
of DOC’s budget request of $5.7 billion. (The DOC total excludes $3.7 billion in new
funding requested for the President’s “Economic Development Challenge.”) The request
is $320 million, or 9%, less than FY2005 appropriations of $3.9 billion, and $100 million,
or almost 3%, more than the $3.4 billion requested by the President for FY2005.
NOAA’s Operations, Research, and Facilities (ORF) account would receive $2.5 billion;
its Procurement, Acquisition, and Construction (PAC) account, $967 million; and Other
Accounts, a net sum of $90.6 million. Table 1, below, shows the President’s FY2006
request; FY2005 appropriations (P.L. 108-447); and the President’s request for FY2005
organized by NOAA’s (1) ORF account, which funds the agency’s five line offices, Office
of Policy and Planning Integration (OPPI), and Program Support; (2) PAC account, for
multi-year, capital-intensive outlays; and (3) Other Accounts, earmarked for NOAA
Congressional Research Service ˜ The Library of Congress

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Fisheries operations, such as the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund (PCSRF), and
collected fees transferred to ORF from the Coastal Zone Management Fund (CZMF).
Table 1. NOAA: The President’s Budget Requests for
FY2005 and FY2006, and FY2005 Appropriations
($ millions)
NOAA Budget Line Accounts
FY2005
P.L.
FY2006
Req.a
108-447b
Req.c
NOAA Ocean Service (NOS)
394.3
672.3
414.7
ORF
378.8
544.4
394.2
PAC
14.5
127.9
14.5
OMAO transferd
—
2.8
—
NOAA Fisheries (NMFS)
735.2
700.1
627.5
ORF
623.2
668.8
625.5
PAC
2.0
31.3
2.0
OMAO transfer
—
20.7
—
NOAA Research (OAR)
360.7
415.4
372.2
ORF
350.2
406.0
361.7
PAC
10.5
9.4
10.5
OMAO transfer
—
0.1
—
National Weather Service (NWS)
836.8
784.7
839.3
ORF
749.2
699.1
744.8
PACe
87.6
79.6
94.4
OMAO transfer
—
0.5
—
NOAA Satellites & Information (NESDIS)
898.0
912.9
963.9
ORF
149.0
176.9
154.0
PAC
749.0
736.0
809.9
OMAO Transfer
—
0.3
—
Planning & Program Integration
2.0
2.5
2.0
Program Support (Total)
257.4
407.2
377.7
ORFf,g
220.4
345.4
342.0
PAC
37.0
61.8
35.7
Corporate Services (CS)h
82.0
171.0
199.4
ORF
82.0
170.0
199.4
PAC
0.0
1.0
0.0
NOAA Education Programs (ED)I
—
14.4
0.0
Marine & Aviation Ops. (OMAO)
155.5
188.2
120.5
ORF Marine O&M
99.9
108.9
99.8
ORF Aviation Operations
18.6
18.5
18.6
PAC Fleet Replacement & Acq.
37.0
60.8
35.7
Facilities (FAC)j
19.8
33.0
22.1
Mgmt, Maint., Const., Enviro. Cleanup
19.8
33.0
22.1
BA derived from deobligations/transfersk
(92.0)
(58.5)
(96.0)
ORF Appropriation
2,380.9
2,784.6
2,528.2
PAC Appropriation
898.5
1,045.0
967.0
Other Discretionary Accounts
94.1
78.9
90.6
Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund
100.0
89.3
90.0
Fisheries Funds & Financing
(5.9)
(10.4)
0.6
Grand Total Appropriations
$3,373.5
$3,908.5
$3,585.8
Source: Compiled by CRS from sources noted below. Figures for CS, ED, OMAO, & FAC are a breakout
of total Program Support funding and are not added in ORF appropriations totals.

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Table notes:
a. FY2005 request figures reported by the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, State,
Justice, Judiciary and Related Agencies, “President’s Request,” March 31, 2004.
b. Funding tables for P.L. 108-447, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2005 (H.Rept. 108-792),
Congressional Record, Nov. 19, 2004: H10448-10465. P.L. 108-447 figures in Table 1, above,
reflect an 0.80% across-the-board rescission.
c. NOAA line office funding requested for FY2006 was reported in U.S. Dept. of Commerce, National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, FY2006 Budget Summary, Feb. 2, 2004, available at
[http://www.noaa.gov], visited Feb. 18, 2005. These figures are subject to change.
d. Funding is passed through to Program Support by NOAA’s five line offices for use of OMAO Marine
Services. The accounting first appeared in the CJS conference report for FY2004 (H.Rept. 108-401).
A dedicated funding stream was terminated in the President’s requests for FY2005 and FY2006.
e. All NOAA facilities maintenance funding was consolidated in the ORF Facilities account after FY2004,
including maintenance funding previously allocated directly to the NWS line office.
f. Program Support amount does not include pass-throughs for line offices uses of OMAO Marine Services.
g. ORF mandatory funding for NOAA Corps retirement pay ($18.6 million) is not included in totals.
h. Corporate Services funding includes the Under Secretary for Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and
Associated Offices (USAO), and the division of Policy Formulation and Development (PFD), which
comprises most of NOAA administrative support operations.
I. New budget subactivity line added in FY2005.
j. See note e.
k. ORF appropriations totals exclude other budget authority such as deobligations (previous fiscal year
budget savings), mandatory transfers within NOAA, fees collected for services, or funding provided
by other federal agencies (Promote and Develop American Fisheries Fund). These amounts are
subtracted here.
Agency Funding
The President’s FY2006 request for NOAA will be acted upon by the recently
established House Appropriations Subcommittee on Science, State, Justice, and
Commerce (SSJC) and the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice,
and Science. These new subcommittee structures were created when the HUD, VA, and
Independent Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee was disbanded in the 109th
Congress. Both subcommittees are expected to hold hearings on the President’s FY2006
request for NOAA in coming weeks.
At a March 2, 2005, NOAA Stakeholder Forum in Washington, D.C., various
constituencies of the agency expressed concern that the Administration’s proposed
funding cuts for FY2006 could pose difficult challenges for research programs and
operational activities agency-wide. On February 7, 2005, NOAA released its FY2006
Budget Summary, which includes 122 programs or projects identified as “unauthorized
congressional earmarks,” totaling $427 million that would be terminated by the President.
Some of these are programs that have ended and some are construction projects
completed in FY2005. That same day, at a NOAA budget briefing, Admiral Conrad C.
Lautenbacher, Jr., NOAA’s Administrator, stated that although few discretionary funding
increases were proposed for non-defense-related agencies for FY2006, some $200 million
in new funding is proposed for the agency (compared with the FY2005 request of $3.4
billion). Even so, the request is 9% less than FY2005 appropriations of $3.91 billion.
FY2006 Budget Request. As noted above, President Bush proposed a total of
$427 million in program terminations for FY2006; however, he also proposed increases
above FY2005 appropriations levels (adjusted by -0.8%) for some programs that would
be offset by these terminations. One increase is $21 million for weather service forecasts
and warning of severe weather. A second increase is $15 million for NWS systems

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acquisition and weather forecast office construction. A third increase is $67 million for
NOAA Satellite programs (NESDIS) to procure next generation satellite hardware,
upgrade satellite data and information systems, and improve data products (satellite
imagery). Terminations of $13.5 million are proposed for NWS, and of $33.3 million for
polar satellite- and $30.2 million for geostationary satellite-programs. Other funding
changes vis-a-vis FY2005 appropriations, include the following:

! NOS National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science would be combined
under a single NCCOS funding line and overall funding reduced by $10
million; marine mapping/charting activities would be increased by $15
million (for hydrographic surveys); and terminations total $180 million.
! NMFS funding for a “streamline fishery regulations initiative” would be
increased by $5 million; fish stock inventory data and related social
sciences programs increased by $10 million; enforcement and observer
training increased by $8 million; and terminations total $125 million.
! NOAA Research climate change funding would increase by $11 million;
climate services research, observations, data, and information products
funding combined increases by $6 million; ecosystem research funding
increases by $4 million; and $70 million is terminated.
! NWS Operations funding would increase by $6 million to strengthen the
U.S. tsunami network;1 and an increase of $3 million is requested for
NEXRAD weather radar operations and maintenance.
! For Program Support, an increase of $10 million is requested for
NOAA’s Business Management Fund; a $5 million increase is requested
for cost share of the DOC’s Commerce Business System; an increase of
$6 million is requested for Chief Information Officer information security
upgrades; NOAA Facilities decreases $10 million, $7 million of which
is transferred back to NWS; and terminations would total $54 million.
! Under PAC, an increase of $2 million is requested for Marine
Sanctuaries construction; a $12 million increase is requested for NOAA
Research climate supercomputing systems acquisition. A one-time
request of $34 million is to procure/refurbish fishery research vessels.
! Under Other Accounts, $60,000 is requested for the NMFS Fisheries
Finance Program, a decrease of $1 million; a $12 million decrease is
requested for the Promote and Develop American Fisheries program;
and a $1.2 million increase is requested for the PCSRF.
Other Budget-Related Issues
Strategic Goals. In addition to traditional line office accounting (see Table 1,
above), since FY2003, NOAA has aligned all programs and activities along five agency-
wide strategic goals: (1) Ecosystems, (2) Climate, (3) Weather & Water, (4) Commerce
and Transportation, and (5) Mission Support. Figure 1, below, shows the apportionment
of funding requested for each of those for FY2006.
1 This amount is requested through regular FY2006 NOAA appropriations. Additional funding
was requested from Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for FY2005.

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Figure 1. NOAA FY2006 Request by Strategic Goal:
Amount and Percentage
($millions)
$1332.0
36.38%
$240.0
6.73%
$1080.7
29.15%
$859.0
23.12%
$170.0
4.62%
Mission Support
Climate
Ecosysytems
Commerce & Transportation
Weather & Water
Source: Compiled by CRS from funding request information in U.S. Department of Commerce,
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, FY2006 Budget Summary, Feb. 7, 2005.
NOAA employs a matrix management business model that coordinates cross-cutting
program activities and allocates funding for administrative support services for the five
line offices. This model is also used by the agency’s Office of Financial Administration
to prioritize the agency’s annual budget request based on NOAA and Bush Administration
goals. Also, in FY2003, NOAA established an Office of Program Planning and
Integration (OPPI), whose primary concern is long-term strategic planning for the agency
and evaluating program outcomes. (For more information on the functions of OPPI, see
“Matrix Management” at [http://www.ppi.noaa.gov/matrix.htm], visited April 22, 2005.)
P.L. 109-13, FY2005 Emergency Appropriations. On February 15, 2005,
President Bush requested funding for international disaster relief and reconstruction, in
response to the December 26, 2004, tsunami disaster in the Indian Ocean, in FY2005
emergency supplemental appropriations.2 P.L. 109-13, enacted May 11, 2005, provided
$25.4 million for U.S. tsunami warning capabilities. This included $7.1 million for NWS
warning centers; expanded tide-gauge networks; disaster planning and public education;
and tsunami inundation map production. Another $10.2 million was for NWS to procure
32 dedicated tsunami monitoring and detection buoys for the Pacific, Atlantic, Gulf of
Mexico, and Caribbean Sea. In addition, Congress appropriated $8.1 million for the U.S.
Geological Survey’s National Earthquake Information Center to upgrade and expand real-
2 109th Cong., 1st sess., “Request for FY2005 Budget Amendments, Communication from the
President of the United States,” H.Doc. 109-9, Feb. 15, 2005 (Washington, DC: GPO, 2005).

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time earthquake alerts over the Global Seismic Network (GSN) that may portend tsunami
generation.3
A NOAA Organic Act. In the 108th Congress, legislation was introduced to create
an organic act for NOAA. An organic act provides for funding authorization of all of an
agency’s programs and operations annually under a single law. Currently, NOAA is
funded by several legal authorities which are reported in the agency’s annual budget
justification. Various constituencies of NOAA have called for establishing an organic act
since 1970, when President Nixon’s Reorganization Plan No. 4 created NOAA in the
Department of Commerce, merging programs and budget authorities from many different
federal agencies. NOAA was last authorized as “an entire agency” on October 29, 1992,
when President Clinton signed P.L. 102-567, the NOAA Authorization Act of 1992. That
act funded about four-fifths of NOAA programs under jurisdiction of congressional
science committees. In the 109th Congress, NOAA organization, administration, and
budget authority is being revisited. The September 2004 National Ocean Policy
Commission (OPC) report recommended that NOAA lead a coordinated national effort
on oceanic research and exploration. The President’s Ocean Action Report responds to
the OPC by calling on Congress to legislate what NOAA needs to meet that challenge.4
H.R. 50 (Ehlers). In the 109th Congress, Representatives Ehlers, House Committee
on Science, and Gilchrest, House Committee on Resources, jointly introduced H.R. 50,
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Act. H.R. 50 is a reintroduction of Title I of H.R.
4546 in the 108th Congress,5 and provides administrative, organizational, and budgetary
direction to NOAA to implement OPC recommendations. Retaining NOAA within the
DOC, it would create a deputy director position to implement the act and codify the
NOAA Science Advisory Board (SAB). H.R. 50 was marked up on March 15, 2005, and
reported favorably to the House Science Committee. President Bush sent his organic act
bill to Congress on April 6, 2005. On May 17, 2005, H.R. 50 was ordered reported as a
manager’s amendment in the nature of a substitute bill. Section 14 of H.R. 50 (amended)
would require the Administrator of NOAA to follow congressional guidelines prior to any
facility closure.6 Section 16, which was added, would require NOAA to notify Congress
about any changes in the status of its satellite programs.
3 See CRS Report RL32739, Tsunamis: Monitoring, Detection and Early Warning Systems.
4 For information on other OPC recommendations and the Ocean Action Report, see CRS Issue
Brief IB10132, Ocean Commissions: Ocean Policy Review and Outlook, by Eugene H. Buck.
5 U.S. Cong., House Committee on Science, “Compilation of Markups in the 108th Congress, First
and Second Sessions,” serial no. 108-69 (Washington, DC: GPO, Dec. 31, 2004), pp. 465-563.
6 Section 13(d) defines a facility as a “laboratory, operations office, administrative service center,
or other establishment of the Administration with an annual budget of $1 million or greater.”

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