FY 2017 Federal Budget Snapshot: Department of the Interior
Published: February 24, 2016
BudgetForecasts and SpendingDOI
The president’s budget request for fiscal 2017 provides $13.2 billion in net discretionary budget authority (with cap adjustment) for the Department of the Interior, a 0.3 percent increase above FY 2016 enacted levels. These funds are continue efforts to protect national landscapes, manage energy development on public lands and waters, and support federal trust responsibilities to Native Americans.
Budget Request Highlights
Interior’s discretionary budget request for FY 2017 addresses a range of initiatives and mission priorities:
- Proposes a $290 million budget cap adjustment to ensure resources are available in the event of catastrophic fires without impacting other Interior programs.
- Requests $3.1 billion for the National Park Service.
- Includes $191 million in resources for revitalization efforts to make targeted measurable upgrades to high-priority assets over the next decade.
- Provides funding for a Centennial Challenge matching program to leverage private donations to parks as well as resources for a Public Lands Centennial Fund to competitively award funds to federal land management agencies.
- Includes $20 million to continue the Every Kid in a Park initiative.
- Includes $191 million in resources for revitalization efforts to make targeted measurable upgrades to high-priority assets over the next decade.
- Provides $2.9 billion Bureau of Indian Affairs.
- Proposes a $1.1 billion investment in Indian education.
- Requests $278 million for Contract Support Costs.
- Proposes a $1.1 billion investment in Indian education.
- Includes $1.6 billion for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS).
- Proposes $1.5 billion in current funding for FWS as part of the Administration’s initiative to reconnect Americans to the outdoors. Investments that support this effort include $1.3 billion for FWS operations.
- Includes $106 million for grant programs administered by FWS.
- Proposes $1.5 billion in current funding for FWS as part of the Administration’s initiative to reconnect Americans to the outdoors. Investments that support this effort include $1.3 billion for FWS operations.
- Requests $1.2 billion for Bureau of Land Management (BLM).
- Includes $1.1 billion for the Management of Lands and Resources appropriation as well as $107 million for the Oregon and California Grant Lands.
- Increases funding by 17 percent over the FY 2016 enacted level for support of onshore energy permitting and oversight on federal lands through discretionary and permanent oil and gas program.
- Includes $1.1 billion for the Management of Lands and Resources appropriation as well as $107 million for the Oregon and California Grant Lands.
- Provides $1.2 billion for the United States Geological Survey.
- Maximizes value delivered through research, development, and monitoring to support decision making. For example, $12 million in program increases are included for science to understand landscapes and inform decisions.
- Includes $174 million for the Ecosystems mission area.
- Provides a total of $171 million for Climate and Land Use Change, an increase of $32 million above 2016.
- Funds satellite operations in the Land Remote Sensing program at $75 million, an increase of $18 million above 2016.
- Provides $37 million for the Water SMART initiative, an $18 million increase over 2016 enacted level.
- Maximizes value delivered through research, development, and monitoring to support decision making. For example, $12 million in program increases are included for science to understand landscapes and inform decisions.
- Includes $1.1 billion for Bureau of Reclamation.
- Provides a total of $430 million at the project level for water and power facility operations, maintenance, and rehabilitation activities.
- Includes a total of $384 million at the project and program levels for water, energy, land, and fish and wildlife resource management and development activities.
- Estimates $56 million in expenditures will be offset by current receipts in the Central Valley Project Restoration Fund.
- Proposes establishment of a new Indian Water Rights Settlements account at $106 million, and continues the San Joaquin River Restoration Fund at $36 million.
- Provides a total of $430 million at the project level for water and power facility operations, maintenance, and rehabilitation activities.
Information Technology Portfolio
With an overall increase of one percent, the budget request for Interior’s information technology roughly maintains investment levels. Total top line numbers for IT spending are set to increase by $15 million from FY 2016 to FY 2017. The share of that funding marked for development, modernization, and enhancement in FY 2017 is slightly up from the previous year at 13.3 percent of the total $1.2 billion request. Contractor addressability rose slightly across the IT investments, increasing from 75.8 percent in FY 2016 to 77.2 percent in FY 2017. The top ten investments by total request account for $919 million, 76.0 percent of the total IT request. These top investments are set to grow by a combined total of $85 million from FY 2016 to FY 2017.
Departmental infrastructure continues to top investments for total funds requested for FY 2017. Based on the total investment dollars provided for FY 2017, spending on infrastructure, security, automation and telecommunications comprises 63.5 percent of the Interior’s IT portfolio. Strong support continue to optimize the agency-wide Financial and Business Management System with targeted investments to improve reporting and increase data quality and transparency. Interior also is also making oversight improvements aligned with implementation of the Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act (FITARA), which aims to deliver strengthen information management and technology efforts through standardization along with strengthened governance and strategic planning.