The Interior and Environment appropriations bill, passed as part of the FY 2012 Consolidated Appropriations Act, is fairly generous in R&D funding for both the Department of the Interior – especially at the U.S. Geological Survey – and the Environmental Protection Agency. The USGS, which performs of bulk of Interior’s R&D work, will see a $54 million increase in research funding above FY 2011 levels, an 8.5 percent increase. The largest increases come through climate and land use change research, which will see a 19.3 percent increase, and core science systems, which will receive a 57.6 percent increase; water resources research will also see a moderate increase. Elsewhere at Interior, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement has officially been reorganized into two separate offices: the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement. At EPA, research funding will see a moderate 1.9 percent increase, with FY 2012 funding reaching $568 million, even as the agency's total discretionary budget has declined. This increase is due to a small $14 million boost in EPA’s science and technology program, though a recent reorganization in subprogram structure makes more detailed comparisons difficult for now.
Department of Interior Funding Table
Environmental Protection Agency Funding Table
FY 2012 Consolidated Appropriations Act