This web site contains frequently updated information on congressional and federal agency actions that affect the geoscience community. Issues include the federal budget process, the environment, natural resources, energy, natural hazards, and science policy. This site is an important component in AGI's efforts to keep geoscientists informed about policy developments in Washington. An archive of monthly and special updates and alerts sent out by e-mail is also available on this web site. For those seeking additional information, Congressional Reseach Service reports providing in-depth research on these and other science-related topics are available on the website of the National Council for Science and the Environment.

Appropriations and Budget Process

Education Policy Issues

• Earth Science Education in California
• Evolution in the Classroom
• Elementary and Secondary Education Act
• Professional Development Programs for Science Educators
• National Environmental Education Act
• Women and Minorities in Science
• Legislation in the 106th Congress, 1999-2000

• Energy Policy
• Nuclear Energy/Nuclear Waste Disposal
• Oil and Gas Issues
• Arctic National Wildlife Refuge/National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska
• Methane Hydrate R&D
• Outer Continental Shelf
• Royalty Fairness/Royalty In Kind
• Strategic Petroleum Reserve/Energy Policy & Conservation Act
• Legislation in the 106th Congress, 1999-2000

• Asbestos
• Clean Air
• Clean Water
• Climate Change
• Endangered Species
• Environmental Policy
• Nuclear Energy/Nuclear Waste Disposal
• Solid Waste
• Superfund/Brownfields
• Legislation in the 106th Congress, 1999-2000

• Congressional Natural Hazards Caucus
• Earthquake Hazard Reduction
• Geologic Mapping
• Natural Hazard Mitigation
• Legislation in the 106th Congress, 1999-2000

• Mining Law of 1872 Reform
• Ocean Policy
• Outer Continental Shelf/CARA
• Public Lands
• Water Resources
• Legislation in the 106th Congress, 1999-2000

• Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty
• Data Access
• Evolution in the Classroom
• Fossils on Public Lands
• Helium: Selling the Federal Reserve
• Homeland Security Impacts on Science
• Ocean Policy
• Radio Spectrum Regulation (GPR)
• Science R&D Funding
• U.S. Geological Survey
• Women and Minorities in Science
• Legislation in the 106th Congress, 1999-2000

Appropriations and Budget Process

• Congressional Action on Fiscal Year 2003 Appropriations
• Action Alert: Final Action on FY 2003 Appropriations Could Cut Geoscience Programs (1-31-03)
• Overview of Fiscal Year 2003 Geoscience Appropriations (1-24-03)
• Special Update: Lame Duck Punts, Next Congress To Address Spending Bills (11-15-02)
• Agriculture Appropriations Bill (9-9-02)
• Commerce (NOAA) Appropriations (8-5-02)
• Energy & Water Appropriations Bill (10-3-02)
• Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill (9-25-02)
• Geotimes Web Extra: Congress Chastises Bush Budget for USGS (8-9-02)
• House and Senate Appropriators Restore Cuts to USGS, DOE (7-19-02)
• AGI FY 2003 House Appropriations Testimony on USGS and DOE Fossil Energy (4-4-02)
• Labor/HHS/Education Appropriations Bill (7-25-02)
• Remaining Eisenhower Programs Under Threat of Elimination (3-18-02; Updated 4-12-02)
• VA/HUD & Independent Agencies Appropriations Bill (10-16-02)
• Special Update: House Appropriatiors Provide Big Boost to NSF (10-8-02)
• Geotimes Web Extra: Senate Boosts Geoscience Funding (7-26-02)
• Action Alert: House Members Seek to Put NSF Budget on Doubling Path (5-15-02)
• AGI FY 2003 House Appropriations Testimony on NSF (4-16-02)
• AGI FY 2003 Senate Appropriations Testimony on NSF (3-22-02)
• NSF EarthScope Initiative
• Geotimes Feature: "EarthScope: Reassembling a Continent in Motion" by G. van der Vink (4/02)
• Geotimes Political Scene: Turning a Request into Reality (4/02)
• President's Fiscal Year 2003 Budget Request
• Geotimes Political Scene: Taking Aim at a Defense Budget (w/ Margaret Baker; 3/02)
• Special Update: The President's FY 2003 Budget Request: DOE  (2-23-02)
• Special Update: The President's FY 2003 Budget Request: NOAA, NASA & EPA  (2-21-02)
• Special Update: The President's FY 2003 Budget Request: USGS  (2-7-02)
• Special Update: The President's FY 2003 Budget Request: NSF  (2-6-02)
• Special Update: OMB Plans Transfer of Research Programs to NSF (12-21-01)
• Congressional Action on Fiscal Year 2002 Appropriations
• Overview of Fiscal Year 2002 Geoscience Appropriations (12-19-01)
• Special Update: Geoscience Appropriations Nearing the Finish Line (11-20-01)
• Congressional Budget Resolution for FY 2002 (7-9-01)
• Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill (11-8-01) (Enacted 11-5-01: Public Law 107-63)
• Action Alert: Interior Appropriations Bill Sent to President (Posted: 10-17-01)
• Action Alert: House Appropriators Restore USGS, DOE Fossil Energy Funding (Posted: 6-15-01)
• House Appropriations Hearing on Interior Department Budget (4-25-01)
• Commerce, Judiciary & State Appropriations Bill (11-16-01)  (Enacted 11-28-01: Public Law 107-77)
• Energy & Water Appropriations Bill (11-14-01)  (Enacted 11-12-01: Public Law 107-66)
• Labor/HHS/Education Appropriations Bill (4-12-02)   (Enacted 1-10-02: Public Law 107-116)
• VA/HUD & Independent Agencies Appropriations Bill (11-13-01)  (Enacted 11-26-01: Public Law 107-73)
• President's Fiscal Year 2002 Budget Request
• Overview of President's Budget Request for FY 2002 (6-29-01)
• Geotimes Political Scene: Science Fares Poorly in Campaign Budget (6/01)
• Special Update: President Bush's FY 2002 Budget Part 2: NSF, NASA, NOAA, EPA, Energy and Interior (4-13-01)
• Special Update: President Bush's FY 2002 Budget Part 1: Major Cuts to USGS, DOE Fossil Energy (4-10-01)
• Action Alert: Senators Needed to Support Increased NSF Funding (Posted: 4-6-01)
• Geotimes Political Scene: Making the Investment (by Margaret Baker, AGI Government Affairs; 4/01)
• Special Update: President Bush Releases Fiscal Year 2002 Budget Blueprint (2-28-01)
• Action Alert: Bush Administration Threatens Major Cut to USGS Budget (Posted: 2-17-01)
• Fiscal Year 2001 Appropriations
• Fiscal Year 2001 Geoscience Appropriations (11-2-00)
• Geotimes Political Scene: Following the Budget Process (3/96) (includes flow chart of budget process)
• Additional Information from the 106th Congress

• Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR; 11-19-02)
• National Petroleum Reserve Alaska (6-11-02)
• Additional Information from the 106th Congress

• Asbestos Policy (10-30-02)
• Congress Revisits the Asbestos Issue (reprinted from The Professional Geologist 11/00)

• Clean Air Act (9-16-02)
• Summary of Hearings on Clean Air Act (8-7-02)
• Reformulated Gasoline and MTBE (9-26-01)
• Additional Information from the 106th Congress

• Clean Water Issues (6-17-02)
• Summary of Hearings on Clean Water Issues (6-17-02)
• Geotimes Political Scene: Troubled Waters (by AGI 1999-2000 Congressional Science Fellow Eileen McLellan; 5/00)
• Reformulated Gasoline and MTBE (4-3-02)
• Wetlands Legislation (10-11-01)
• Additional Information from the 106th Congress

• Climate Change Policy Overview (1-17-03)
• Summary of Briefings on Climate Change (10-4-02)
• Summary of Hearings on Climate Change (8-6-02)
• Geotimes Political Scene: Climate Policy That Makes a Difference (by AGI 2001-2002 Congressional Fellow David Curtiss; 8/02)
• Geotimes Political Scene: Climate Policy Needs a New Approach (5/01)
• Geotimes Political Scene: AGI Statement on Global Climate Change (2/00)
• Climate Change Reports and Articles (6-18-02)
• NRC Report: Abrupt Climate Change: Inevitable Surprises (2002)
• NRC Report: Climate Change Science: An Analysis of Some Key Questions (2001)
• Congressional Research Service Global Climate Change Briefing Book (6/01)
• Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Third Assessment Report Update (3-13-01)
• NRC Report: The Science of Regional and Global Change: Putting Knowledge to Work (2000)
• NRC Report: Reconciling Observations of Global Temperature Change (2000)
• Geotimes Political Scene (2/98): Scientific Consensus and Political Controversy
• Geotimes Political Scene (1/98): The Great Global El Nino Ozone Warming Debate
• Additional Information from the 106th Congress

• Information from the 106th Congress

• Geotimes Political Scene: Confronting Natural Disasters (3/01)
• Special Update: Natural Hazards Caucus Holds Event, Releases Discussion Paper (1-26-01)
• Natural Hazards Caucus Work Group Website
• AGI Action Alert: Natural Hazards Caucus Holds First Event, More Senators Needed (Posted: 6-23-00)
• AGI Action Alert: Senators Needed for Newly Created Natural Hazards Caucus (Posted: 3-7-00)
• Geotimes Political Scene: The Case for a Natural Hazards Caucus (8/98)
• Report of Public Private Partnership 2000 Forum on Real-Time Monitoring and Warning for Natural Hazards (6/98) (Initial proposal for forming caucus)
• Information from the 106th Congress

• Information from the 106th Congress

• Earthquake Policy (9-12-01)
• House Research Subcommittee Hearing on Nisqually Earthquake (3-21-01)
• Additional Information from the 106th Congress

• Overview of Science Education Policy (11-27-02)
• Action Alert: Remaining Eisenhower Programs Under Threat of Elimination (3-18-02)
• Action Alert: Congress Moves Ahead with Education Reform (12-10-01)
• Science Education Hearing Summaries (7-29-02)
• Earth Science Education in California (2-25-02)
• Geotimes: Geoscientists Defend Earth Science in Texas (3/02; by David Lawrence)
• National Science Education Acts of 2001 (12-4-01)
• Geotimes Political Scene: Congress Rethinks Science Education Policy (9/00)
• National Environmental Education Act (7-27-00)
• Additional Information from the 106th Congress

• Update on Endangered Species Act Legislation (4-5-02)
• Additional Information from the 106th Congress

• Energy Policy Overview (1-17-03)
• Geotimes Political Scene: Energy Policy at the Crossroads (6/02)
• Special Update: Senate Passes Energy Bill, Conference Is Next Stop (5-8-02)
• Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR; 4-20-02)
• Strategic Petroleum Reserve (10-15-01)
• Special Update: Bush Administration Releases National Energy Policy (5-19-01)
• American Association of Petroleum Geologists' Summit on Energy  Policy (5-8-01)
• National Energy Security Act of 2001 Update (2-5-01)
• Summary of 106th Congress Hearings on Rising Oil Prices and Energy Policy (12-18-00)
• Geotimes Political Scene: High Prices at the Pump? It's Time to Talk Energy Policy (11/00)
• Energy Policy Hearing Summaries from the 107th Congress
• Most Recent Energy Hearing Summaries (8-5-02)
• March 2002 Hearings
• October/November 2001 Hearings
• July 2001 Hearings
• June 2001 Hearings
• April/May 2001 Hearings
• March 2001 Hearings
• January/February 2001 Hearings
• Domestic Oil and Gas Incentives Legislation in the 106th Congress (6-13-00)
• Additional Information from the 106th Congress

• Science at the Environmental Protection Agency (1-6-03)
• NRC Report Strengthening Science at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: Research Management and Peer Review Practices (7/00)
• Additional Information from the 106th Congress

• State Challenges to the Teaching of Evolution (1-7-03)
• Geotimes Political Scene: Federal Law Misused in Ohio Education Debate (9/02)
• Federal Challenges to the Teaching of Evolution (6-17-02)
• Geotimes Political Scene: Federal Law Misused in Ohio Education Debate (9/02)
• Geotimes Political Scene: Monkey Business (9/01)
• Special Update: Joint Letter on Evolution Sent to Congress (8-23-01)
• August 2001 Joint Letter from Scientific and Educational Leaders on Evolution in H.R.1 (9-12-01)
• Special Update: Evolution Opponents on the Offensive in Senate, House (6-19-01)
• Geotimes Political Scene: Creationists Open a New Front (7/00)
• Special Update: Evolution Opponents Hold Congressional Briefing (5-11-00)
• Other AGI Articles and Resources
• AGI and Member Society Position Statements on the Teaching of Evolution
• Evolution and the Fossil Record booklet published by AGI and the Paleontological Society (2001)
• Geotimes Special Issue on the Evolution Debate (12/00)
• Geotimes Political Scene: The Political Lessons of Kansas (10/99)
• Geotimes Feature: Kansas Rejects Evolution: A Response from the Geoscience Community (10/99)
• Web Sites of Interest
• AAAS Dialogue on Science, Ethics, and Religion
• AIBS Evolution Listserv Project
• GSA Critical Issues: Evolution and Creationism
• National Academy of Sciences: "Science and Creationism"
• National Center for Science Education
  • Voices for Evolution (statements from educational, scientific, civil liberties, and religious organizations supporting evolution education)

• Museums, Fossils and Public Lands (10-9-02)
• Fossils on Public Lands (10-23-01)
• Interior Releases Fossil Report (reprinted from The Professional Geologist 10/00)
• Department of the Interior Report: Collection, Storage, Preservation and Scientific Study of Fossils from Federal and Indian Lands
• Additional Information from the 106th Congress

• Information from the 106th Congress

• Federal Helium Reserve (6-8-00)
• National Research Council Report: The Impact of Selling the Federal Helium Reserve (2000)

• Homeland Security Impacts on Science (11-25-02)

• Methane Hydrate Research and Development Act (5-8-00)
• Additional Information from the 106th Congress

• Mining Law and Regulatory Reform (10-21-02)
• Additional Information from the 106th Congress

• Natural Hazards Mitigation Policy (8-7-02)
• Earthquake Policy (4-2-01)
• Public Private Partnership (PPP) 2000 Forum Series on Mitigating Natural Hazards
• NRC Report Summary: Review of the U.S. Geological Survey's Volcano Hazards Program (2-16-01)
• Additional Information from the 106th Congress

• High-Level Nuclear Waste Disposal (10-22-02)
• Low-Level Nuclear Waste Disposal (10-4-02)
• DOE Environmental Management Program (9-12-02)
• Nuclear Energy Policy (8-18-00)
• Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (1-3-01)
• Additional Information from the 106th Congress

• Oceans Legislation (7-24-02)
• Additional Information from the 106th Congress

• Outer Continental Shelf Leasing and Royalties (8-5-02)
• The Outer Continental Shelf: Awash in a Sea of Controversy (reprinted from The Professional Geologist 11/00)
• AGI Memo on Land and Water Conservation Fund (3-7-01)
• Federal Ocean and Coastal Zone Policy (8-4-00)
• Additional Information from the 105th Congress

• Public Lands Issues (3-27-02)
• Museums, Fossils and Public Lands (8-2-01)
• National Forests Roadless Initiative (7-11-01)
• The Professional Geologist: Conflict Over The Forest Service Proposed Roadless Plan (5/00)
• Valles Caldera: Federal Acquisition (7-25-00)
• Additional Information from the 106th Congress

• Ultra-Wideband (UWB) Regulations Update (8-9-02)
• Geotimes News Note: Narrowing the radio spectrum for geoscience (7/02)

• Oil Royalty and Valuation (5-11-00)
• Additional Information from the 106th Congress

• National Science Foundation Authorization (12-20-02)
• Action Alert: NSF Doubling Plan on Way to White House (11-18-02)
• Action Alert: House Members Seek to Put NSF Budget on Doubling Path (5-15-02)
• EarthScope Initiative
• Geotimes article: "EarthScope: Reassembling a Continent in Motion" by G. van der Vink (4/02)
• Geotimes Political Scene: Turning a Request into Reality (4/02)
• NRC Report Summary: Basic Research Opportunities in Earth Science (2-18-01)
• List of Expired or Expiring Geoscience Related Authorization Bills (2-7-01)
• Congressional Efforts to Double Science Funding (10-2-00)
• Science Authorization Bills (11-4-00)
• Additional Information from the 106th Congress

• Solid Waste (8-15-00)
• Additional Information from the 105th Congress (1997-1998)

• Strategic Petroleum Reserve (11-14-01)
• Additional Information from the 106th Congress

• Superfund and Brownfields (12-11-02)
• Summary of Hearings on Brownfields (4-12-02)
• Additional Information from the 106th Congress

• Geotimes Political Scene: The Time Has Come for a USGS Coalition (10/02)
• Department of the Interior Strategy and Performance Dialogue on Using Natural Resources (1-14-02)
• AGI Statement for USGS Listening Session (10-11-01)
• NRC Report Summary: Future Roles and Opportunities for the U.S. Geological Survey (2-18-01)
• Intersociety Workshop Report on the Integration of the National Biological Service Into the U.S. Geological Survey (June 1996)
• Additional Information from the 106th Congress

• Water Research and Development (7-20-00)
• USGS Report: Streamflow Information for the Next Century (Link to PDF File)

• Women and Minorities in Science (10-4-02)
• Additional Information from the 106th Congress

(Catalog Maintained by David Applegate, AGI Government Affairs)

Please send any comments or requests for information to AGI Government Affairs Program.

Last revised on January 31, 2003

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