President ' s Budget Slashes NOAA

President Trump’s fiscal year (FY) 2019 budget request would provide $4.6 billion to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), a 20 percent reduction compared to enacted 2017 funding of $5.7 billion. The proposal would slash spending for climate change-related activities across the agency by $40 million, ending competitive grants for climate-change research and studies aimed at understanding the impacts of global warming on the Arctic. The administration seeks to eliminate $273 million in grants, including the National Sea Grant College Program, the National Estuarine Research Reserve System, coastal zone management grants, the Office of Education and the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund. The National Sea Grant College Program supports more than thirty American universities that conduct research, education and training programs on ocean-related topics. Congressional appropriators have previously rejected this proposal. Trump’s plan would shutter NOAA’s Air Resources Laboratory in College Park, Maryland, which studies air chemistry and atmospheric transport of hazardous chemicals. The White House also calls for closing the office that supervises the use of aircraft for weather, polar, and marine observations. The Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, which supports laboratories and programs across the country and enables accurate weather forecasts, would receive $322 million in 2019, compared to $511 million in 2017. The Nation...
Source: Public Policy Reports - Category: Biology Authors: Source Type: news