NOAA ADMINISTRATOR ANNOUNCES 2007 BUDGET REQUEST

Feb. 7, 2006 — Retired Navy Vice Adm. Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Ph.D., undersecretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator, outlined highlights of President Bush's proposed 2007 budget for NOAA. Lautenbacher said NOAA's request totals $3.68 billion, including program increases of $345 million. (Click NOAA image for larger view of cover of NOAA FY2007 budget book. Click here for high resolution version. Please credit “NOAA.”)

"This proposed budget is a clear indication of the Bush Administration's commitment to protect lives and livelihoods through the missions of NOAA," said Lautenbacher. "This budget request will provide improvements to fisheries management, increases for tsunami and hurricane warnings, marine transportation safety, and to ensure environmental satellite continuity."

Budget priorities for this year and key program increases include:

Ecosystem management + $107.6 million

• Fisheries stock assessments + $7.6 million
• Enhancement for protected species + $22.5 million
• Fisheries habitat restoration + $7.5 million
• Alaska composite research and development + $6.7 million
• Southeast fisheries region monitoring and assessment program + $3.8 million

Climate services + $24.1 million

• Critical drought research and operational improvements + $ 4.0 million
• Climate reference network + $1.2 million
• Global climate observing system + $2.7 million
• Global ocean observing system + $6.1 million
• Climate reanalysis data sets to improve predictions + $2.0 million

Weather and water information + $46.1 million

• Strengthen tsunami warning capabilities + $12.4 million
• Tornado-severe storms research + $2.0 million
• Enhancements to National Weather Service telecommunications network + $2.5 million
• NOAA wind profiler network + $3.5 million
• Hurricane data buoy operations and maintenance + $1.4 million

Commerce and transportation + $19.5 million

• Critical mapping, charting and data improvements + $5.1 million
• Address survey backlog + $ 10.5 million
• Add 70 additional electronic navigation charts for a total of 620 built and maintained + $1.9 million
• Procurement and fielding of 75 additional water vapor sensors for aviation weather + $1.2 million
• Maintain and expand the Physical Oceanographic Real-time System (PORTS) + $0.7 million

Mission Support/People and Infrastructure + $148.1 million

• Vessel operations and maintenance + $7.5 million
• National Polar Orbiting Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) development + $20.3 million
• Geostationary Orbiting Environmental Satellite (GOES) development + $104.0 million
• Corporate services to support NOAA mission + $13.7 million

NOAA, an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce, is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and providing environmental stewardship of the nation's coastal and marine resources.

Through the emerging Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS), NOAA is working with its federal partners and nearly 60 countries to develop a global monitoring network that is as integrated as the planet it observes.

Relevant Web Sites
NOAA FY 2007 Blue Book (Budget Summary)

FY2007 Congressional Budget Justification

NOAA

Media Contact:
Jordan St. John, NOAA Public Affairs, (202) 482-6090