HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.
![handle is hein.crs/goveoty0001 and id is 1 raw text is:
Congressional Research Service
Informing the legislative debate since 1914
0
Updated March 27, 2024
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS): Background and FY2024
Appropriations
Background
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in the Department of
the Interior (DOI), provides scientific information to
support the management of water, energy, mineral,
ecosystem, and land resources and to mitigate risks from
natural hazards. The USGS also collects long-term data to
understand and report on the Earth's geologic and
ecosystem processes, using satellite imagery, mapping, and
ground-based instruments. The USGS has no regulatory
authority and does not manage federal lands.
Congress created the USGS in 1879 in the USGS Organic
Act (43 U.S.C. §31). The USGS Organic Act defined the
initial scope of the USGS:
[The Director of the USGS] shall have the direction
of the United States Geological Survey, and the
classification of the public lands and examination of
the geological structure, mineral resources, and
products of the national domain.
Since 1879, Congress has expanded the USGS's statutory
authority to such examinations outside the national domain
where determined by the Secretary [of the Interior] to be in
the national interest. This expansion has included activities
related to water resources, ecosystems, and natural hazards
that span the globe. The USGS conducts scientific activities
under interdisciplinary mission areas, and each mission area
has its own budget line (see Table 1 for mission areas). The
USGS also has budget lines for Science Support
(administrative activities and information) and Facilities.
Congress typically appropriates funds for the USGS
through annual Interior, Environment, and Related
Agencies appropriations acts. For FY2024, issues for
Congress included determining the amount, terms, and
conditions of funding for USGS activities and whether to
enact related Biden Administration proposals.
USGS FY2024 Annual Appropriations
P.L. 118-42 appropriated $1.455 billion to the USGS for
FY2024 under Division E, the Department of the Interior,
Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act,
2024. FY2024 annual appropriations were $330.1 million
below the FY2024 President's budget request of $1.786
billion and $41.7 million below the FY2023 enacted level
of $1.497 billion (a 3% decrease; Figure 1). For FY2024,
P.L. 118-42 appropriated less funding for all mission areas
and budget lines compared with FY2023 enacted levels and
the FY2024 President's budget request (Table 1). However,
not all activities within mission areas or budget lines were
decreased, as per the examples provided in sections below.
As part of the FY2024 appropriations, Congress included
four congressionally directed spending items, also known as
earmarks, for the USGS, totaling $5.2 million, under
Special Initiatives.
Figure 1. USGS Annual Appropriations,
FY20 1 9-FY2024
(in millions)
Annua Appropration in Nomna Dolars
-Infldtiofl Ad ustcd Annual Appropriatnor
$1600
$600
$400
$200
2019 2020 2021 20A2 2023 2024
Fiscal Year
Source: Congressional Research Service (CRS), based on enacted
appropriations laws.
Notes: The yellow line shows FY20 19-FY2023 amounts as adjusted
for inflation to FY2023 dollars, using FY2025 Budget of the U.S.
Government, Historical Tables, Table 10.1.
Table 1. USGS Funding: FY2023 and FY2024 Annual
Appropriations and FY2024 Budget Request
(nominal $, in millions)
Mission Area or FY2023 FY2024 FY2024
Budget Line Enacted Requested Enacted
Ecosystems 307.2 395.0 299.4
Energy and 104.2 150.8 101.1
Mineral Resources
Natural Hazards 200.3 226.2 198.6
Water Resources 304.4 313.4 288.8
Core Science 284.6 368.6 273.2
Systems
Science Support 106.3 134.2 105.0
Facilities 188.1 197.5 184.1
Total 1,497.2 1,785.5 1,455.4
Sources: FY2024 U.S. Geological Survey budget justification and
explanatory statements accompanying P.L. 117-328 and P.L. 118-42.
Note: Table figures do not add to totals shown due to rounding and
congressionally directed spending items in FY2023 ($2.1 million) and
FY2024 ($5.2 million).](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.crs/goveoty0001&div=1&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)