CONTACT:  Lori Arguelles            For Immediate Release 
          Tim Tomastik              March 18, 1996

NOAA UNVEILS FY 1997 BUDGET PROPOSAL: MAINTAINING VITAL SERVICES FOR THE 21ST CENTURY

The Commerce Department's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration today released its proposed FY 1997 budget of $2.1 billion dollars. This budget ensures that weather service modernization remains on track, strongly supports efforts to restore and maintain America's fisheries, and continues NOAA's investment in high performance computing for advancing weather forecasts, and for climate and global change research.

"In these challenging budgetary times, this request is a clear demonstration of the Clinton Administration's commitment to environmental stewardship and sustainable development," said Commerce Secretary Ronald H. Brown. "NOAA programs and services touch virtually every American everyday, and provide an excellent investment of tax dollars for the environmental information and technologies we'll need in the future to ensure the continued economic security and safety of our citizens."

This proposed budget provides critical support for the agency's primary missions of environmental assessment and prediction, and environmental stewardship. NOAA's request includes $1.26 billion to advance short-term warning and forecast services, with the primary objectives being the completion of the modernization of the National Weather Service and maintaining operational satellite coverage. This is an increase of $135 million over the FY 1996 continuing resolution.

The Administration's commitment to restore the health of America's fisheries and protect species in danger of extinction is strengthened with an additional $26 million over the FY 1996 continuing resolution for research, analysis, and the implementation of fishery management programs and endangered species and recovery plans. For NOAA's ocean and coastal programs, an increase of $15 million above the FY 1996 continuing resolution is proposed to maintain and improve efforts in geodesy, charting, natural resource damage assessments, coastal ocean science, non-point pollution control, and acquisition of estuarine reserves.

"This budget represents a commitment to the challenge of investing strategically in the nation's future. This must be accompanied by the requirement to be more effective, to identify and realize opportunities for savings and to focus the efforts of government on what matters to people," said NOAA Administrator D. James Baker.

This budget request maintains a strong history of investment in the science and technology that gives key government decision makers the ability to make objective and sound policy decisions in key environmental areas such as global climate change, air quality, and stratospheric ozone depletion. This effort comes primarily through the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, which is requesting $232.5 million.

NOAA's mission is to monitor, describe and predict changes in the earth's environment, protect lives and property through weather forecasts and warnings, and conserve and manage the nation's coastal and marine resources to ensure sustainable economic opportunities.

NOAA accomplishes its work through five primary line organizations: the National Weather Service (NWS), the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), the National Environmental Satellite, Data and Information Service (NESDIS), the National Ocean Service (NOS), and the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR).

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