WASHINGTON – The Biden-Harris administration today submitted to Congress the President’s budget for fiscal year 2022, including \$1.6 billion in proposed funding for the U.S. Geological Survey, an increase of \$326.9 million or 25 percent above the 2021 enacted level. This proposal would fund investments to unleash science and combat climate change while laying the foundation for economic growth, creating good-paying jobs and ensuring that those benefits accrue to marginalized and overburdened communities.

“The Interior Department plays an important role in the President’s plan to reinvest in the American people. From bolstering climate resiliency and increasing renewable energy, to supporting Tribal nations and advancing environmental justice, President Biden’s budget will make much-needed investments in communities and projects that will advance our vision for a robust and equitable clean energy future,” said Secretary Deb Haaland.

"The President's fiscal year 2022 budget request for the USGS underscores the importance of impartial science to meet the challenges that Americans face today and in the future,” said David Applegate, Associate Director for Natural Hazards Exercising the Delegated Authority of the Director, USGS. “The request acknowledges the USGS's enduring value as a mission-focused Earth and biological science agency, targeting investments in research and monitoring that will deliver actionable information to help make informed and balanced resource management decisions, better mitigate and adapt to climate change, and reduce the threat to life and critical infrastructure from natural hazards. These science investments can support economic growth and help the nation build back better and smarter."

President Biden’s budget reflects a steadfast commitment to acknowledge and apply science as a crucial element of America’s strategic future by funding:

• Climate-Based Initiatives. The budget addresses climate change with \$205 million in new climate science investments, which includes \$42.5 million for Climate Adaptation Science Centers and Tribal climate science, \$25 million to support Interior bureaus with conservation science and research on climate impacts and \$10 million to understand and quantify ecosystem services. The budget also includes \$5 million to study the effects of climate change on biodiversity, \$5 million for research on climate-driven biological threats and invasive species, \$10 million to improve response to coastal hazards and \$10 million to improve water prediction and water availability assessments.

• Ecosystems Mission Area. The Ecosystem Mission Area examines the consequences of climate and environmental change, effects of management actions on biological communities, and risks from and solutions to harmful invasive species, wildlife disease, environmental contaminants and the impacts of wildfires. The 2022 budget dedicates \$358.2 million in funding, including \$25.7 million for contaminant biology and toxic substance hydrology research within the Environmental Health program. The Species Management Research program is funded at \$66.9 million, including increases to support land management conservation and adaptation and decision support research for clean energy development. The Land Management Research program is funded at \$75.3 million, with increases supporting conservation and climate adaptation as well as research to understand and quantify ecosystems services. The Biological Threats and Invasive Species Research program is funded at \$44 million, with an expanded focus on climate-driven invasive species, wildlife disease, and pests. The Climate Adaptation Science Center and Land Change Science programs are funded at \$120.8 million, with increases to invest in Tribal climate science capacity, research biological carbon sequestration, monitor greenhouse gas reductions and provide for other research on climate effects. Cooperative Research Units are funded at \$25.5 million.

• Energy and Mineral Resources Mission Area. The Energy and Mineral Resources Mission Area conducts research and assessments on the location, quantity and quality of the nation’s mineral and energy resources and produces science to support the safe and environmentally responsible development of those resources. The budget, which funds the mission area at \$140 million, includes funding for the Mineral Resources program at \$86.2 million, providing \$26.4 million in increases to support supply chain research for green technologies, mine waste research and assessment in support of reclamation and potential mineral recovery and research and assessments of potential new sources of critical minerals. The budget for Energy Resources is \$53.7 million, which supports multi-resource assessments of wind, solar and geologic energy sources, including geothermal. Increases of \$23.6 million support geologic carbon sequestration, greenhouse gas inventory and analysis, and tools for greenhouse gas reduction on Federal lands. 

• Natural Hazards Mission Area. The budget funds the Natural Hazards Mission Area at \$207.7 million, which would provide information and tools to understand and respond to hazards such as volcanoes, earthquakes, solar flares and landslides. This budget activity also includes efforts to characterize and assess coastal and marine processes, conditions, vulnerability and change. Within the Earthquake Hazards Program funding of \$92.6 million, the budget continues to fund ShakeAlert earthquake early warning development and deployment, and provides a \$6 million increase for addressing induced seismicity from geothermal development and carbon sequestration, subduction zone science to research the largest and most catastrophic of earthquakes, and earthquake analysis and risk reduction. The Volcano Hazards Program is funded at \$33.5 million, which includes an increase of \$2.5 million to support improved hazard assessments and data collection and improvements to advance the National Volcano Early Warning System. The Landslide Hazards program is funded at \$11.2 million, including a \$3 million increase for actionable science to reduce landslide risks. The budget also funds the Global Seismographic Network at \$7.2 million and the Geomagnetism program at \$5.7 million, including a \$1.5 million increase for expansion of magnetometer observatories. Within the \$57.5 million for Coastal/Marine Hazards and Resources, an increase of \$10 million supports increased science efforts focused on climate-driven coastal hazards; \$4 million for research on coastal blue carbon to better understand this valuable source of greenhouse gas mitigation, and \$2 million to support risk reduction and efforts towards improving community resilience. 

• Water Resources Mission Area. With proposed funding at \$288.4 million, the Water Resources Mission Area collects and delivers hydrologic data, models, and analyzes hydrologic systems and conducts research and development leading to new understanding of and methods for gathering water data. National networks of streamgages, groundwater wells and other water-monitoring sites provide a foundation of data for various research and assessment program activities aimed at understanding the quantity, quality and use components of water availability. The \$69.5 million budget for Water Availability and Use Science includes increases for Integrated Water Prediction and Integrated Water Availability Assessments. The Groundwater and Streamflow Information Program is funded at \$112.7 million, including increases to build out the Next Generation Water Observing System and support Federal Priority Streamgages that meet  strategic, long-term federal information needs. The National Water Quality Program and Water Resources Research Act Program are funded at \$95.2 million and \$11 million respectively. Cooperative Matching Funds are supported at \$64.5 million across the Water Resources mission area and will be leveraged with funding from State, tribal and local partners to conduct cooperative water projects.

• Core Science Systems Mission Area. Funded at \$341.9 million, the Core Science Systems Mission Area provides the nation with access to science, information, data, imagery and geospatial frameworks needed to manage natural resources, support new infrastructure planning and plan for and respond to natural hazards. The National Geospatial Program funding is \$85.6 million, including an increase of \$5 million for targeted data collection and research on tribal lands coordinated with the priorities of the Tribes. The budget provides \$40.6 million for the National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program. Science Synthesis, Analysis, and Research is funded at \$98.8 million, with increases of \$60 million to fund collaborative research and development for climate adaptation and resilience and achieving a net zero emission economy by 2050.  This work will be done through the Advanced Research Project Agency-Climate in partnership with the Department of Energy.  The increase also includes \$9.6 million to improve tools supporting conservation planning, coordination and tracking, such as the Protected Areas Database of the United States that helps track conservation efforts; and \$2.5 million for research to address the threats of climate change on biodiversity. The budget provides \$116.9 million for the National Land Imaging Program, which includes \$32 million to support Landsat 9 satellite and continue developing sustainable land imaging with the subsequent Landsat Next project.  In Land Cover Monitoring and Assessments the budget includes increases of \$4 million for biologic carbon sequestration and \$5.4 million for Land Change Monitoring, Assessment and Projection and other tools to support targeting of conservation, land-use planning and development. These mapping and land-change tools will support the America the Beautiful vision for conservation and allow Interior and others to target conservation investments more accurately and cost effectively.

• Science Support. These programs provide the necessary business services and information technology management to operate USGS science programs. The budget includes program increases of \$7 million in administration and management to strengthen scientific integrity efforts across Interior, ensuring that quality science underpins important resource decisions; increase scientific diversity; and ensure compliance with laws and regulations without creating an additional direct financial burden on the science programs. The budget also includes \$7.2 million to begin transitioning the USGS fleet of vehicles to cleaner, more energy-efficient zero-emission vehicles. An increase of \$8 million in information services will ensure the science of the bureau is supported, delivered and protected with improved information security products and services, cloud access, and other information technology to support the data-intensive needs of a modern science organization. 

For more information on the FY22 USGS budget request, please visit the USGS FY22 Budget Site.