Native Plant Conservation Campaign News: Trump Administration 2020 budget slashes conservation and science
March 21, 2019
Interior Department: US Geological Survey, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management and the National Park Service (Public Lands and Endangered Species Science and Conservation)
The U.S. Geological Survey would
receive $983.5 million, a
16.7 percent cut from FY 2019 levels.
USGS' Ecosystems mission area would receive $141 million, a 10 percent cut. There are significant changes proposed that would consolidate five existing Ecosystem Programs into three programs:
The USGS Coalition, of which ESA is a member, submitted
testimony urging appropriators to provide $1.2 billion to USGS in FY 2020. ESA also submitted testimony requesting that Congress fully examine the proposed Ecosystem mission reorganization for unintended consequences.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service would
receive $1.272 billion in appropriated funds,
a 20 percent cut. Ecological Services, which administers the Endangered Species Act, receives a 4.6 percent cut. Fish and Aquatic Conservation receives a 7 percent cut. The National Wildlife Refuge System receives a 4.35 percent increase.
The Bureau of Land Management would
receive a
20 percent cutThe National Park Service would
receive a 16 percent cut.
The budget also requests $28 million to continue work on Interior's reorganization.
National Science Foundation
Trump's budget provides $7.1 billion for the National Science Foundation, a
12 percent cut. Coalition for National Science Funding, of which ESA is a member, is
requesting that Congress provide $9 billion for NSF in FY 2020.
Environmental Protection Agency
The EPA would receive a 31 percent cut, bringing the agency's total budget to $6.1 billion. Science and Technology programs would receive a 35 percent cut. The budget proposes cutting almost every EPA program and would cut hundreds of jobs from the agency.
The budget proposal prioritizes regulatory rollbacks, including the Affordable Clean Energy rule, the Trump administration's replacement for the Clean Power Plan and the proposed redefinition of the Waters of the U.S.
As in past years, funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative and the Chesapeake Bay Program is cut by 90 percent.
Other geographic clean-up programs, including programs targeting the Puget Sound, the San Francisco Bay and the Gulf of Mexico are eliminated.
Department of Energy
The Office of Science would receive $5.5 billion, a 16 percent cut from FY 2019 ($5.4 billion) levels.
NOTE:
The president's budget is usually released in February, but it was delayed by the government shutdown in December and January. The president's budget proposal reflects the administration's priorities across the federal government for the next fiscal year and serves as a starting point for Congress as it proceeds in appropriations. However, it is largely an aspirational document, and it is Congress that ultimately passes the twelve appropriations bills that fund the government. In a statement, House Appropriations Chairwoman Nita Lowey (D-NY) called Trump's request "untethered from reality" and said that the budget has "no chance of garnering the necessary bipartisan support to become law." Senate Appropriations Chairman Richard Shelby (R-AL) said that his committee will "carefully review the President's proposal."
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