The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA): Budget for FY2009

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA) Budget for FY2009
Wayne A. Morrissey
Information Research Specialist
Knowledge Services Group
Summary
On February 4, 2008, President Bush requested $4.103 billion in discretionary
budget authority for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in
the Department of Commerce (DOC). This amount is $207 million, or 5.3%, more than
FY2008 enacted appropriations of $3.896 billion. Bush Administration priorities for the
NOAA budget included restoring funding for programs that were flat-funded or cut for
FY2008, re-capitalizing aging facilities, equipment, vessels, buildings, and other
infrastructure; and ensuring that NOAA satellite programs meet mission requirements
and keep to schedule. On June 25, 2007, the House Appropriations Committee ordered
reported an amended bill to fund the Departments of Commerce and Justice, Science,
and Related Agencies (CJS) for FY2009. The House committee recommended $4.252
billion for NOAA, which is $356 million, or 9.1%, more than the FY2008 appropriation
and $149 million, or 3.6%, more than the FY2009 request. On June 19, 2008, the
Senate Appropriations Committee reported S. 3182, CJS Appropriations for FY2009,
and recommended $4.446 billion for NOAA. This amount is $549 million, or 14.2%,
more than the FY2008 appropriation, $193 million, or 4.5%, more than the House
committee recommendation, and $342 million, or 8.3%, more than the FY2009 request.
On September 30, 2008, The President Bush signed the Consolidated Security, Disaster
Assistance, and Continuing Appropriations Act, 2009 into law as P.L. 110-329, which
would freeze NOAA spending at FY2008 levels through March FY2009.
Introduction
The mission of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is
to understand and predict changes in the Earth’s environment and conserve and manage
coastal and marine resources to meet the nation’s economic, social, and environmental
needs.¹ The President’s FY2009 request of $4.109 billion for NOAA is the largest for an

¹ U.S. Dept. of Commerce, NOAA, 2009 President’s Budget Rollout, “Protecting Lives and
(continued...)

agency of the Department of Commerce in terms of funding, and accounts for nearly 47%
of DOC’s discretionary budget request of $8.721 billion. An FY2009 budget document
indicates that NOAA’s share of the President’s entire “Federal Science and Technology
Budget” for FY2009 would be $378.0 million, or 0.61%, of the $61.7 billion proposed.²
The FY2009 President’s Budget
Of the $4.103 billion the President requested for NOAA for FY2009 (Table 1),
$2.834 billion would be for the Operations, Research, and Facilities (ORF) discretionary
account; $1.238 billion for the Procurement, Acquisition, and Construction (PAC)
account; and $30.9 million for NOAA’s Other Accounts, which includes $35.0 million
for the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund (PCSRF), the Coastal Zone Management
Fund (CZMF), and an offset of $4.0 million from fishery financing. Additional budget
authority (BA) would offset the amount of discretionary funding the agency would require
otherwise. For FY2009, the President proposed a transfer of $79.0 million in offsetting
BA for ORF from NOAA’s Promote and Develop American Fisheries Products Fund
(PDAF) the proceeds of which are transferred from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Table 1. FY2008 Appropriations, the FY2009 Request, and
Congressional Budget Action
(budget authority in millions of dollars)
^{NOAA Acco}^unts^FY²⁰⁰⁸^Ena^c^t^e^d^a^FY²⁰⁰⁹^Request^b^Hou^s^e^Actioⁿ^c^Sena^t^e^Actioⁿ^d
^O^p^era^tⁱ^oⁿ^{s, Resea}^{rch, a}^{nd Fa}^cilit^ies:^NO^{AA B}^udg^et^{Line O}^f^fⁱ^ces
^Nation^a^{l Ocean}^S^e^rv^{ice (NOS}⁾^467.9^449.3^472.2^516.8
^N^O^A^A^Fⁱ^s^h^eri^e^s^(N^MF^S⁾^708.6^724.2^744.4^777.3
^N^O^A^A^R^e^s^earch^(O^A^R⁾^387.9^372.3^396.3^403.4
^N^a^tⁱ^oⁿ^a^l^Weat^h^e^{r S}^e^rvⁱ^{ce (N}^WS⁾^805.3^818.8^825.8^847.9
^NOA^A^Satellites^(NESDIS)^179.2^165.3^179.2^177.9
^Prog^ram^S^u^pport^(PS⁾^392.4^394.4^410.0^426.5
^{ORF BA T}^o^tal^c^2,941.3²^,924.3³^,027.9³^,149.8
^O^f^f^s^et^s^(PD^A^F^/^C^Z^MF^t^r^an^s^f^er/^d^eoblⁱ^g^atⁱ^oⁿ^s⁾^(82.0)^(93.0)^(45.6)^(97.9)
^{ORF Dis}^cretion^a^ry^2,859.3²^,831.3²^,982.3³^,051.9
^Procu^rem^en^{t, A}^c^q^uⁱ^sⁱ^ti^on^{, &}^C^oⁿ^s^tru^c^ti^on^979.2¹^,238.7¹^,212.3¹^,258.0
^Oth^{er A}^ccouⁿ^t^s^/^PC^S^R^F/^C^Z^M^F^/^Fⁱⁿ^an^ce^58.0^39.8^58.0^86.0
^Fis^h^eries^Dis^a^s^t^{er M}ⁱ^{tigation Fund}^e^N/A^N^/A^N/A⁵⁰^.⁰
^T^o^{tal NOAA Dis}^cretiona^{ry Appropriations}^f^$3,896.5^$4,109.8^$4,252.6^$4,445.9
^Source:^C^o^m^pⁱ^l^e^{d by}^C^R^S^f^r^om^s^o^u^r^ces^asⁿ^o^t^e^{d bel}^o^w^.
^No^tes:^Fig^u^r^es^{are s}^u^bj^{ect to ch}^an^g^e^.

¹ (...continued)
Livelihoods,” February 7, 2008. Presentation by Vice Admiral Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Jr., U.S.
Navy (Ret.), Under Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere, February 7, 2008 (Washington, DC).
² U.S. Office of Management and Budget, Table 5-2, “Federal Science and Technology Budget
(NOAA),” The Budget for Fiscal Year 2009: Analytical Perspectives, February 2008, p. 54.

^{a. A}^s^report^e^{d by}^t^h^{e H}^o^u^s^{e con}^f^erees^on^H^.^R^.^{2764, “}^C^on^s^o^lⁱ^d^at^{ed A}^ppropri^a^tⁱ^oⁿ^s^A^c^t^,^{2008, D}ⁱ^v^.^B^—
^C^o^m^m^e^{rce, Ju}^s^{tice, S}^c^ien^ce,^an^d^R^e^{lated A}^g^en^cies^A^ppropriation^s^A^c^{t, 2008, Decem}^{ber 26, 2007.}
^{b. NOA}^A^lin^{e of}^fⁱ^{ce bu}^dg^{et requ}^es^{t details}^are^f^r^om^NOA^A^,^FY^{2009 Budget}^Sum^m^a^r^y^{, F}^e^bru^a^ry^{4, 2008,}
^a^v^aⁱ^l^a^b^l^e^oⁿ^lⁱⁿ^e^a^t^[^h^t^t^p^:^/^/^www.^c^o^r^p^o^r^a^t^e^s^e^r^vⁱ^c^e^s^.ⁿ^o^a^a^.^g^o^v^/^~ⁿ^b^o^/^09bl^u^e^book^_hⁱ^g^h^lⁱ^g^h^t^s^.^h^t^m^l^].
^{c. A}^{bill as}^{ordered reported by}^th^{e Hou}^s^{e A}^ppropriation^s^C^o^m^m^{ittee, J}^uⁿ^e^{26, 2008.}
^{d. S}^.^R^e^{pt. 110-}^{397 to accom}^p^an^y^S^.^3182,^D^e^par^t^m^ent^s^of^C^o^m^m^e^r^c^e^,^J^u^stⁱ^{ce, Sci}^e^{nce, and Rel}^a^t^e^d
^Agencies^Appr^opr^iations^{Bill, 2009}^{, Ju}ⁿ^e^{23, 2008.}
^{e. A}ⁿ^e^w^NOA^A^bu^dg^{et lin}^{e propos}^{ed by}^th^{e Sen}^a^{te A}^ppropriation^s^C^o^m^m^ittee^(S.R^ept.^110-^{397, J}^uⁿ^e^23,
^{2008, p. 37).}
^f^.^T^h^{e FY2008 en}^{acted OR}^{F total}ⁱⁿ^clu^d^es^a^res^c^is^sⁱ^on^of^{$11.3 m}^illion^m^aⁿ^d^{ated in}^T^{itle VII, P}^.^L^.^110-
^161.^It^al^s^o^ref^l^ect^s^S^.^A^m^dt^{. 3290 t}^o^H^.^R^.^{3093, approv}^{ed O}^c^t^{ober 16, 2007, w}^hⁱ^c^h^t^r^an^s^f^{erred $30.0}
^m^illioⁿ^f^r^o^m^NOA^A^’^{s P}^A^{C acco}^uⁿ^t^to^th^{e U.S. A}^tto^rn^ey^{s Of}^fⁱ^{ce to}^hⁱ^{re ad}^d^itioⁿ^a^{l p}^r^o^s^ecu^to^{rs f}^o^r
^of^f^eⁿ^s^es^rel^a^tⁱⁿ^g^t^o^t^h^{e s}^e^x^u^a^l^ex^pl^oi^t^a^tⁱ^oⁿ^of^chⁱ^l^d^ren^(S^{ec. 704 of}^P.L^.^109-^248).
For FY2009, the President requested that Congress approve other offsetting BA of
$11.0 million for the ORF account from previous fiscal-year unobligated appropriations.
Another $3.0 million in BA would be transferred internally from CZMF collections to
ORF for administering the Coastal Zone Management Program. In addition to NOAA’s
five budget line offices under ORF, Program Support (PS), a cross-cutting budget activity,
supports agency administration, education programs, facilities, marine services, and the
NOAA fleet of marine vessels and aircraft. Details of PS funding are found in Table 2.
Table 2. NOAA Program Support (PS) Funding Detailed
($ in millions)
^a^FY²⁰⁰⁹^Hou^s^e^Sena^t^e
^{PS Accounts}^FY²⁰⁰⁸^Ena^c^t^e^d^Request^Actioⁿ^Actioⁿ
^O^p^era^tⁱ^oⁿ^{s, Resea}^{rch, a}^{nd Fa}^cilit^ies
^{Corporate Services}^(CS)
^Un^{der Secretary}^an^{d A}^s^s^o^{ciate Of}^fⁱ^ces^28.8^28.7^28.7^28.7
^{Facilities Man}^a^g^e^m^eⁿ^t^b^18.5^24.3^29.3^24.3
^C^o^rporat^{e S}^e^rvⁱ^ces^an^{d A}^g^en^cy^Man^a^g^e^m^eⁿ^t^158.2^162.3^162.4^162.3
^O^ffi^c^e^o^f^Chi^e^{f I}ⁿ^fo^r^m^a^tⁱ^o^{n O}^ffi^c^e^r⁽^I^T⁾¹^.⁰²^.¹²^.¹²^.¹
^{Subtotal CS}^206.5^217.4^222.5^217.4
^E^d^u^c^ati^oⁿ^a^l^Program^s^(E^D⁾^34.1^16.5^20.5^48.7
^{Office of M}^a^{rine and Av}ⁱ^a^ti^on^Op^erati^on^s^(OM^A^O)
^Mariⁿ^e^S^e^rvⁱ^ces^c^109.9^113.5^118.5^113.5
^F^l^eet^Pl^anⁿⁱⁿ^g^&^Maiⁿ^t^eⁿ^aⁿ^c^e^16.8^17.0^17.0^17.0
^A^vⁱ^a^tⁱ^oⁿ^S^e^rvⁱ^ces^25.2^30.0^31.5^30.0
^{Subtotal OM}^AO^151.⁹^160.5^167.0^160.5
^T^o^tal^PS^OR^F^392.5^394.4^410.0^426.6
^P^r^o^c^urem^ent^,^Acquisitⁱ^oⁿ^{, a}^{nd Co}^nst^r^uctⁱ^oⁿ
^{Fleet Rep}^l^ace/A^c^q^u^isitioⁿ⁵^.3¹¹^.⁵¹¹^.⁵¹⁵^.⁴
^PS^C^oⁿ^s^t^r^u^c^tⁱ^oⁿ^23.2^87.0^37.9^87.0
^T^o^tal^PS^PA^C^28.5^98.5^49.4^102.4
^G^r^a^{nd T}^o^ta^{l PS (ORF + PAC)}^d^$421.0^$492.9^$459.4^$529.0
^S^o^u^rce:^C^o^m^p^ile^{d by}^C^R^S^f^r^om^H^.^R^e^{pt. 110-}^{240 (}^J^uly^12,²⁰⁰⁷⁾^{; S.R}^e^{pt. 110-}^{124 on S. 1745 (}^J^une^{29, 2007)}^{; a}ⁿ^d
^“Coⁿ^s^o^lⁱ^d^at^ed^A^p^p^r^o^p^rⁱ^a^tⁱ^oⁿ^s^,^”^{a j}^oⁱⁿ^t^e^x^pl^aⁿ^a^t^or^y^s^t^a^t^e^m^en^t^t^o^acco^m^p^an^y^H.^R.^{2764, a}^m^e^nde^{d (}^D^ecem^b^e^{r 1}⁶^,²⁰⁰⁷⁾^.
^a^.^P^.^L^.^{110-161, D}ⁱ^v^.^{B, T}^itle^{I, D}^e^pa^rtm^e^{nt of}^Com^m^e^rc^e^,^N^O^A^A^.
^{b. In som}^e^sourc^e^s^Fa^c^ilitie^{s is inc}^l^ude^{d a}^s^pa^{rt of}^Corpora^t^e^Se^rv^ic^e^s^.
^c^.^Inc^l^ude^{s $4.0 m}^{illion f}^o^{r NOA}^A^{Corps re}^tire^m^eⁿ^{t a}^{nd he}^a^{lth c}^a^r^e^be^ne^f^{its a}^c^r^oss-the^-^boa^rd.
^{d. T}^h^e^O^R^{F f}^unding^por^{tion of}^P^S^is^r^e^por^te^{d in}^Ta^b^l^{e 1}^{. T}^h^e^P^A^{C portion is pa}^{rt of}^the^P^A^{C tota}^l.

NOAA Funding Proposals
Among NOAA’s priorities for FY2009, Vice Admiral Conrad C. Lautenbacher Jr.,
U.S. Navy (Ret.), Administrator of NOAA, stressed the agency’s need to “recapitalize”
(invest capital) to address problems with aging equipment, facilities, infrastructure, and
marine and aviation vessels.³ He indicated that “technology refreshment” was needed for
some NOAA marine vessels and aircraft by replacing older environmental sensing
instrumentation. The Vice Admiral stated that base funding for certain NOAA programs
and activities was reduced in FY2008 in favor of “Congressionally Directed Programs”
that amounted to $150.4 million.⁴ He added that this funding needed to be restored if the
agency were to fund new initiatives. Lautenbacher also noted that the agency would have
to absorb increased costs of personnel and inflation of goods and services to maintain
operation of NOAA’s “Core Mission.” As for the Administration’s Ocean Initiative,
Lautenbacher discussed funding increases for (1) climate and ocean-related research
activities (including drought); (2) marine resources conservation and management
regulations aimed at over-fishing; and (3) critical marine habitat restoration to increase
declining fish stocks. Other funding, he stated, would target coastal research, navigation
safety, and the national Integrated Ocean Observation Network (IOOS). Lautenbacher
also cited specific priorities for NOAA for FY2009, which include the following:⁵
^!Develop and test new technologies to meet future challenges of weather
forecasting, global climate monitoring, and continuity of scientific data.
^!Develop and test the next-generation geostationary satellites (GOES-R).
^!Restore GOES funding cuts and increase the budget by $242.2 million
for FY2009 (to more than double the FY2008 appropriation).
^!Provide $74.0 million to restore critical sensors on the National Polar-
orbiting Observation Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS).
^!Increase funding to test NPOESS ground control systems as part of the
near-term NPOESS preparatory project (NPP).
^!Decrease funding for the Polar-orbiting Observational Environmental
Satellite (POES) program by $92.0 million as operations wind down.
^!Add $49.0 million in new funding for the President’s Ocean Initiative for
a total of $159.0 million for FY2009, including $78.3 million for ocean
science and research; $31.7 million for protecting and restoring marine
coastal areas; $7.0 million for the Coastal and Estuarine Land
Conservation Program (CELCP); and $48.9 million for sustainable use
of ocean resources and enforcing laws against over-fishing in U.S.
waters.
^!Increase funding for the Integrated Ocean Observation System (IOOS) by
$7.0 million to develop an educational component as part of National
Ocean Research Priorities Plan Implementation.

³ Vice Admiral Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Jr., U.S. Navy (Ret.), February 7, 2008, (Washington,
DC).
⁴ This amount was estimated according to U.S. House Appropriations Committee Print,
“Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2008, to accompany H.R. 2764 (amended), Div. B —
Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (P.L. 110-16), December 16, 2007.”
⁵ Funding changes herein reported by NOAA are as compared with the FY2008 request.

^!Expand the National Ocean Service National Water Level Observation
Network (NWLON) to augment near-coastal, real-time tide gauge data.
^!Site the Physical Observation in Real Time System (PORTS) at more
U.S. ports for safe navigation and homeland security needs.
^!Provide $2.9 million for NOAA Weather Radio (NWR) Improvement to
modernize forecast dissemination technology and provide high impact,
geographically targeted forecasts and warnings for those at most risk.
^!Increase by $5.3 million funds for technology enhancement and advanced
instrumentation for Central Forecast Guidance weather modeling.
^!Provide the U.S. Weather Research Program $4.3 million for Hurricane
Forecasting Modeling.
^!Provide $40.3 million for construction of the Pacific Regional Center
facility on Ford Island, near Honolulu, HI to consolidate scattered NOAA
science facilities operating in temporary structures.
^!Provide $11.2 million to refurbish the Fairbanks, AK Command and Data
Acquisition Station (CDAS), relocate staff in temporary facilities, add
equipment upgrades, and extend operations of the CDAS through 2026.
Congressional Action on Appropriations for NOAA
The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2008 (P.L. 110-161) approved $3.896 billion
in discretionary funding for NOAA (Table 1). This amount included $2.859 billion for
the ORF account, $979.2 million for the PAC account, and a net total of $58.0 million for
NOAA’s Other Accounts, including $67.0 million for the PCSRF, a $3.0 million internal
transfer to ORF from the CZMF, and offsetting BA of $9.0 million from fisheries
financing. Additional BA of $77.0 million was transferred to ORF from the PDAF. A
Senate amendment directed a transfer of $30.0 million of PAC funding to the Justice⁶
Department, and NOAA received a rescission of $11.37 million for FY2008.
House Actions. On June 25, 2008, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on
Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies ordered a draft bill reported that
recommended $4.253 billion in discretionary funding for NOAA. Of that amount, $2.982
billion would be for ORF; $1.212 billion would be for PAC; and a net total of $58.0
million for NOAA’s Other accounts. Of the (net) $58.0 million, $65.0 million would be
for the PCSRF, offset by $4.0 million from the fisheries finance account and $3.0 million
transferred internally to ORF from the CZMF. Still other offsetting BA would include
a transfer of $79.0 million to the ORF account from the PDAF from USDA collections.
The House committee also recommended $11.0 million in offsetting BA for NOAA from
previous fiscal-year deobligations. Further action in the House is pending.
Senate Actions. On June 23, 2008, the Senate Appropriations Committee ordered
S. 3182 (amended) reported (S.Rept. 110-397). The committee recommended $4.446
billion for NOAA for FY2009, including $50.0 million for a new “Fisheries Disaster
Protection Fund.” Of this total, $3.052 billion would be for ORF; $1.258 billion would
be for PAC (offset by BA of $2 million); and a net total of $86.0 million was proposed
for NOAA’s Other Accounts. Of this $86.0 million, $90.0 million was recommended for

⁶ S.Amdt. 3290 to H.R. 3093, approved October 16, 2007, transferred funding to the U.S.
Attorneys Office for offenses relating to the sexual exploitation of children (P.L. 109-248).

the PCSRF; $3.0 million would be transferred internally from the CZMF to ORF; and
$4.0 million in offsetting BA would be derived from the fisheries financing account.
Other offsetting BA of $77.0 million would be transferred to ORF from the PDAF, and
$5.3 million offsetting BA would be derived from previous fiscal-year deobligations.
Comparison of FY2009 Funding Provisions. In all funding scenarios, the
NOAA budget would increase compared with FY2008 appropriations. ORF discretionary
funding requested by the President was less than the FY2008 appropriation, however.
Funding cuts proposed by the Administration for ORF primarily would affect NOS, OAR,
and NESDIS (Table 1). The President requested $35.0 million for the PCSRF, more than
a third of the $90 million recommended by the Senate Appropriations Committee,
whereas the House Appropriations Committee recommended $67.0 million for PCSRF.
The House committee recommendation for PAC is less than the FY2009 request owing
to a House amendment that would transfer $32.4 million of PS construction funding to
the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The Senate Appropriations
Committee had no similar proposal. In general, substantial increases were recommended
by the Senate committee for NOAA across-the-board. It stated that much of this
increased funding would strengthen national responses to U.S. Joint Ocean Commission
findings on ocean policy.⁷ For the GOES program, both House and Senate committees
recommended $520.3 million. Further, each proposed $288.0 million for the NOAA/
DOD/NASA (NPOESS); the President proposed a reduction of $43.0 million NPOESS
from FY2008 appropriated levels. Congressional funding recommendations for
NPOESS, when combined with those for NPOESS ground control and data systems, total
$992.6 million, the same amount the Bush Administration requested for these programs
overall for FY2009. Also, the President requested, and House and Senate committees
recommended, $65.4 million to manage remaining operations of the Polar-orbiting Earth
Observations Satellites (POES) program. The President requested $60.3 million to
construct the Pacific Regional Center, HI as PAC-PS funding for FY2009. The Senate
committee recommended $20.3 million for the Center, while the House committee
chairman’s amendment reduced an original proposal of $75.0 million for the Center to
$22.9 million.
FY2009 Continuing Resolution. The FY2009 Consolidated Security, Disaster
Assistance, and Continuing Appropriations Act (P.L. 110-329), Division A, would freeze
most NOAA funding at FY2008 levels through March 2009. Also, Division B of the act
provides $75,000,000 for fisheries disaster assistance and $17,000,000 in supplemental
appropriations for NOAA to improve its hurricane track and intensity forecasts for the
protection of life and property. These amounts are not reflected in Table 1. Funding
levels in the FY2009 Continuing Resolution Act for NOAA are comparative with FY2008
enacted appropriations.

⁷ U.S. Congress, Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on the Departments of Commerce, Justice,
Science, and Related Agencies, Departments of Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related
Agencies Appropriations Bill, 2009, Report to Accompany S. 3182 (S.Rept. 110-397), June 23,

2008, p. 29, “Joint Ocean Commission Initiative.”