February 9, 2016

On February 9, President Obama announced his final federal budget request for fiscal year (FY) 2017. Touted as mostly aspirational, the budget has already come up against opposition from congressional Republicans seeking to limit spending and reduce the national debt.

The President’s request includes notable increases across the geosciences, including an almost 6 percent increase to NASA Earth Science, 10 percent increase to the U.S. Geological Survey, and a 40 percent increase to the Department of Energy’s Geothermal Energy program. Also of note are an ambitious 6.7 percent increase to the National Science Foundation (NSF) and corresponding 6.1 percent increase to NSF’s Geosciences Directorate. The increases to NSF, however, include requests for mandatory spending, which would require additional congressional approval outside the typical discretionary appropriations process. Without this additional funding, the increases to NSF and the Geosciences Directorate are much more modest: a 1.3 and less than 1 percent increase, respectively.

For more information on the President’s FY 2017 budget request, please visit the AGI website.

Sources: The White House Office of Management and Budget