A message from Reston
To: "E  - All WRD Employees"<distribution@usgs.gov>
From: "Robert M Hirsch, Chief Hydrologist, Reston, VA" <rhirsch@usgs.gov> (Robert M. Hirsch)
Subject: A message from Reston
Cc: "Gordon P Eaton, , Reston, VA" <geaton@usgs.gov>,
        "Bonnie McGregor, , Reston, VA" <bmcgrego@usgs.gov>,
        "Barbara J Ryan, , Reston, VA" <bjryan@usgs.gov>,
        "Robert M Hirsch, Chief Hydrologist, Reston, VA" <rhirsch@usgs.gov>,
        "P. Patrick Leahy, Chief Geologist, Reston, VA" <pleahy@usgs.gov>,
        "Richard E Witmer, , Reston, VA" <rwitmer@usgs.gov>,
        "William F Gossman Jr., , Reston, VA" <wgossman@usgs.gov>,
        "Linda D Stanley, , Reston, VA" <lstanley@usgs.gov>,
        "Pamela R Malam, , Reston, VA" <pmalam@usgs.gov>, wade@tcrca.usbm.gov,
        "Michael P McDermott, , Reston, VA" <mmcderm1@usgs.gov>,
        "Donovan B Kelly, , Reston, VA" <dkelly@usgs.gov>,
        "Gail Ann Wendt, , Reston, VA" <gwendt@usgs.gov>
Dear WRD employees:  I want to share with you some observations on the
budget situation and changes within the USGS.
First, I want to express to you my great disappointment about the two
Federal Government shutdowns.  The disruption to our work and to our morale
has certainly taken its toll.  We have all heard numerous stories as to the
unfairness of the shutdown to Government employees, to private sector
workers who serve the Government, and to the American public.  Fortunately,
the Congress and the President have heard the stories too.  At least for
the time being, neither side in the budget debate is considering another
shutdown.  I am hopeful that we have seen the last of them for the
foreseeable future.
As you know, the appropriation bill for the Department of the Interior
still has not been enacted.  A version of the bill, unacceptable to the
President, was vetoed in mid-December.  Since then, the congressional
committees responsible for redrafting the bill have been working on
revisions, but with no immediate plans to send it back to the President.
In the meantime, we are operating under our fourth Continuing Resolution
(CR), which enables us to spend our appropriated funds at the same rate as
we did in FY95.  Although not ideal, this arrangement has enabled us to
perform work in Federal and Coop Programs at levels similar to last year.
The program most affected by the unsigned appropriation bill is NAWQA,
which is scheduled for a $5 million increase this year.  Without authority
to spend this increase, five new study units are on hold.  Also, a
multi-divisional effort, aimed at providing earth-science information for
the Chesapeake Bay, is being postponed until an appropriation bill is
signed.  Similarly, planned enhancements of our work on the South Florida
Ecosystem have been placed on hold.  So, although, the difference between
our FY95 funding and FY96 funding from Congress is small, it accounts for
some very important work.
It's very difficult to predict what might happen in the next few months,
but I offer some clear possibilities:  (1) New compromises offered by
Congress on Interior's appropriation bill could be accepted by the
President as early as March.  In this case, we would have our FY96
appropriation to use for the whole year and the limitations on our Federal
programs would be eliminated.  This would be our most favorable
possibility. (2) Congress and the President might not reach agreement on
the appropriations bill and we could continue to operate under CR's
providing the FY95 level of funding.  This possibility is very real and
though less attractive to us than having a signed appropriation bill, is
certainly one with which we can live.  (3) A last possibility, much less
likely than the first two, is that Congress would pass a CR that would fund
Interior at 75 percent of the FY95 level.  This possibility has been
suggested by the Congress as a way of pressuring the President into signing
the appropriation bill, but may not have broad support in Congress.  In any
case, although we must be cognizant of the consequences of this possibility
and be conservative in our decisions about spending, we do not anticipate
it will come to pass.
The current CR confirms earlier congressional actions that are changing the
shape of the USGS.  The Bureau of Mines has been abolished and one small
part of it related to mineral production statistics has been transferred to
the USGS in Reston (161 employees and $16 million).  In addition, the
National Biological Service (NBS) is now on a path towards being merged
into the USGS.  The features of this new consolidated organization have not
taken form as yet.  A joint USGS/NBS Consolidation Steering Team has begun
to deliberate on how this consolidation should take place.  WRD is well
represented on this team by Bill Wilber.  We will keep you posted on this
merger.  It holds promise of strengthening the USGS by complementing our
existing capabilities as an earth-science agency with the addition of about
1700 life-scientists.
Despite the disruptions of the FY96 budget process, the FY97 budget process
is underway.  Not surprisingly the FY97 process is far behind schedule.  We
expect that the Administration's proposed budget for FY97 will be presented
to the Congress in early March.  We will describe that budget to you when
it comes out.  The FY97 process could be just as "exciting" as the FY96
process has been, but hopefully it will be less disruptive to our work.
In summary, the budget situation this year has been highly unusual.  Rarely
have agencies had to proceed this far into a fiscal year without a signed
appropriation bill.  And the length of the furloughs is unprecedented.  But
through it all, the USGS has faired relatively well.  Our good fortune is
due to our solid reputation among our customers for conscientious and
objective contributions to earth science.  This message also has been
received more clearly this year on Capitol Hill.  On an almost weekly
basis, we are in contact with congressional staffs who know and appreciate
what we do.  I want to assure you that WRD's program of water data
collection, interpretation and research is fundamentally sound.
Under the leadership of our Director, Gordon Eaton, the USGS is not sitting
passively waiting for the political events to overtake us.  Just today I
returned from a joint meeting of the USGS Policy Council and Strategic
Planning Team.  The USGS Strategic Plan is nearing completion and I am very
optimistic that we are developing an effective action plan to move us
forward in turbulent times.  With our continued commitment to service, we
will weather this storm as we have many others in our 100-year history.
Hang in there and stay tuned......
Robert M. Hirsch
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* Robert M. Hirsch           Phone: 703/648-5215         *
* Chief Hydrologist          Fax:   703/648-5002         *
* 409 National Center        Internet:  rhirsch@usgs.gov *
* U.S. Geological Survey                                 *
* Reston, VA 22092                                       *
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