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The Commerce Department's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced today its FY 1996 budget request of $2.2 billion to continue working toward President Clinton's goal to integrate environmental stewardship and economic development.
The FY 1996 budget request reflects an increase of $161 million above NOAA's FY 1995 appropriation in order to secure adequate resources for resource stewardship, and to provide the necessary level of support to continue critical technology modernization in the National Weather Service and other programs that will improve a wide range of services to the public.
"Among the key goals of the Department are to ensure and enhance sustainable economic opportunities for the nation and to ensure that economic prosperity and environmental quality are compatible goals," said Department of Commerce Secretary Ronald H. Brown. "Commerce responsibilities include stewardship of the global environment through conservation and effective management of the nation's marine and coastal resources, as well as monitoring and predicting changes in the Earth's environment."
"This budget proposal represents continued investments that will generate major environmental and economic returns, but it also reflects reductions in personnel and some program areas," said D. James Baker, Commerce's under secretary for oceans and atmosphere. "These difficult decisions demonstrate our commitment to ensure that we fund only the highest priority programs."
The FY 1996 budget request allocates resources among seven priority areas and the infrastructure necessary to support these initiatives. NOAA's priorities are to increase funding to build sustainable fisheries; continue to research Health of the Atmosphere; sustain healthy coastal ecosystems; merge the nation's civilian and military weather satellite system; advance short-term warning and forecast services; and further develop High Performance Computing Capability (HPCC).
"We have mapped a course with NOAA's Strategic Plan that will bring us toward our vision for 2005 -- a world in which environmental stewardship, assessment and prediction serve as keystones to enhancing economic prosperity and quality of life," Baker said.
Modernization of the weather service is one example of an investment that will generate major economic benefits. Modernization is three-quarters of the way to being completed and has a budget for FY 1996 that will allow modernization to continue on schedule. A National Institute of Standards and Technology cost-benefit analysis for the modernized weather service estimates that national economic benefits will be about eight times greater than the costs involved; and once modernization is completed, the nation is expected to realize annual benefits valued at more than $7 billion.
Rebuilding fish stocks and restructuring the U.S. fishing industry through improved management techniques such as Individual Transferable Quotas provide another example of outstanding economic benefits for small investments. Dollars invested to achieve these goals are expected to produce a net increase in revenues of $2.9 billion per year with an annual impact on the economy of $25 billion, including an $8 billion increase in the Gross Domestic Product and 300,000 new jobs.
NOAA is committed to President Clinton's mission to create a government that works better and costs less. The FY 1996 budget request reflects continuing efforts to reinvent the agency to achieve the goals outlined in the National Performance Review.
NOAA's FY 1996 budget request specifically addresses a seamlining plan to decentralize decision-making to those best situated to affect positive change, thereby reducing organizational layers from 7 to 4; the downsizing necessary to meet personnel ceilings pursuant to the Federal Workforce Restructuring Act; and continued implementation of the Government Performance Results Act (GPRA) for which NOAA is one of the top ten pilot agencies.