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In Greek mythology, Sisyphus is a mortal condemned by the gods to push a giant
boulder up a mountain, only to have it roll back down to the plain from whence
he must push it up again, a process of futile toil to be repeated for all eternity.
This story may seem a bit too familiar to those seeking to rally support for
the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).
For two years running, the administration has requested major budget cuts in
USGS programs. Each time, organizations and individuals from the geoscience
community and other USGS constituencies have mobilized to urge Congress to restore
the funding. In response, Congress has chosen to reject the cuts and boost the
agency’s budget. In the case of certain programs that have strong external
constituencies, such as the National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program and
the Water Resource Research Institutes, this cut and restore process has been
repeated over many budget cycles. External advocacy efforts are expended on
getting back to the starting line rather than on building important programs.
Congress is frustrated. Although the final Interior appropriations bill has
yet to be signed, both the House and Senate have passed their own versions of
the bill accompanied by choice words for the administration and in particular
the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
The House-passed bill would provide the Survey with $928 million for fiscal
year (FY) 2003, an amount $60 million above the president’s request and
$14 million above what the agency received in FY 2002. The explanatory report
prepared by the House Appropriations Committee asserts: “Officials at the
Office of Management and Budget seemingly believe that the Department of the
Interior no longer needs science on which to base natural resource policy decisions.
This is not the position of the Congress as articulated in previous Interior
bills, nor is it the position of the National Academy of Sciences, which has
provided recommendations on a program by program basis detailing the need to
expand, not eliminate, the very programs that the Office of Management and Budget
has targeted as unnecessary. The Committee strongly urges the Department and
OMB to continue to fund these critical science programs in the base budget in
future years.”
Far from a partisan jibe, that language comes from the chamber where the president’s
own party is firmly in control. Language accompanying the Senate bill, which
provides USGS with $927 million, is just as strong: “The Committee is dismayed
that the budget estimate for the USGS once again recommends large reductions
to valuable ongoing programs…. The Committee does not agree to the termination
or weakening of programs for which there is strong support from a broad constituency,
and a demonstrated value through the significant amount of non-federal funds
that are leveraged through most USGS programs. In the Committee’s view,
it will remain difficult to find the resources to support new directions for
the Survey as long as the annual need to restore large amounts to base programs
continues. As budget planning gets underway for fiscal year 2004, the Committee
urges those involved in the process to bear in mind the expressed public support
across the United States for the Survey’s programs.”
If OMB and the Department of the Interior are to “bear in mind” public
support for the USGS, that support is going to have to be constant and compelling.
Where individual efforts have failed, a better-coordinated approach may succeed.
The administration is currently working on its budget request for FY 2004, and
that is where we need to break the cycle.
Word is that Interior gets the message and is poised to allow USGS to request
increased funding in FY 2004 (which remains confidential until the president’s
budget is announced this coming February). But convincing OMB remains a formidable
challenge.
At a member society leadership forum of the American Geological Institute (AGI)
earlier this year, the society representatives agreed on the need for better
coordinated efforts to support the Survey and called for establishing a coalition
with this purpose. Such coalitions have been established for science programs
in a number of federal agencies, including the National Science Foundation,
Department of Energy and Department of Defense. These coalitions of scientific
societies, universities and businesses have proven effective at building support
for these agencies in Congress and the executive branch.
Such a coalition would support USGS through better coordination of existing
advocacy efforts leading to more effective strategies. The coalition would unite
organizations concerned with the geologic, hydrologic, cartographic and biologic
activities of the Survey. AGI’s member societies will play a critical role
in this coalition as their memberships represent some of the most important
constituencies for USGS.
One of the stumbling blocks on the road to more reliable support for USGS is
a misperception of the scope of its national mission. The Survey’s mission
extends beyond the boundaries of the nation’s public lands to encompass
the homes of all citizens through natural hazards investigations, resource assessments,
and other activities. That misperception has, in part, resulted in proposed
cuts targeted at nationally focused programs like the National Water Quality
Assessment Program and the Toxic Substances Hydrology program. Congress seems
to recognize that USGS is providing the science upon which to base its policy
decisions. It’s time to expand that recognition with articulate arguments
supporting the Survey’s mission and advocating for programs that bring
geoscience to bear on national problems. A coalition can launch that effort.
AGI is working to establish a USGS coalition this fall and seeks the broadest
possible participation. If we all push together, we might just save ourselves
another wearying walk down to the plain.
The full text of House Report 107-564 and Senate Report 107-201, which accompany the Interior appropriations bill, is available online. For the latest on all geoscience-related appropriations, visit the AGI Government Affairs Program.
Related Geotimes stories:
Congress chastises Bush budget for USGS
Senate boosts
NSF geoscience funding
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