NOAA 2008 Budget Request

NOAA ANNOUNCES 2008 BUDGET REQUEST

Feb. 5, 2007 — Retired Navy Vice Adm. Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Ph.D., undersecretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator, today announced highlights of President Bush's proposed 2008 budget for the Commerce Department's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Lautenbacher said NOAA's request totals $3.8 billion or an increase of 3.4 percent over the administration's 2007 request.

"The President's budget makes a substantial investment in our oceans that will pay dividends for years to come," said Lautenbacher. "We will be able to make great progress in the goals laid out in the President's Ocean Action Plan of ensuring sustainable use of ocean resources, protecting and restoring marine and coastal areas and enhancing ocean science and research."

Sustainable use of ocean resources + $25 million:
- Establish the regulatory framework for environmentally sustainable commercial aquaculture opportunities.
- Improvements for better management of aquaculture harvests.
- Support of the new and expanded requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens Management Reauthorization Act of 2006.
- Additional funding for observer programs and market-based approaches to fisheries management.

News Audio (mp3)
NOAA Administrator Conrad Lautenbacher media teleconference briefing in Silver Spring, Md., on NOAA 2008 budget request.

Support for the President's U.S. Ocean Action Plan

- Protection and restoration of marine and coastal areas + $38 million
- Enforcement and management of the newly designated Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine National Monument.
- Funding to restore nearly 1,000 stream miles for endangered Atlantic salmon and other species.
- Klamath River salmon recovery.
- Competitive grant programs focused on the Gulf of Mexico Alliance coastal resource priorities.

Climate Monitoring and Research

- Support for the National Integrated Drought Information System +$4.4 million.
- Support for the U.S. Integrated Earth Observation System +$0.9 million.
- Research to understand the link between ocean currents and rapid climate change +$5 million.
- Enhance computational support for assessing abrupt climate change +$1.0 million.

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