Earlier this month, the Trump administration released its for next year. It included significant cuts to the U.S. Geological Survey, but that agency鈥檚 director told the Mountain West News Bureau that鈥檚 not going to happen.
The USGS is the largest federal source of climate science. The president鈥檚 proposal would cut nearly $300 million and more than 800 jobs at the agency 鈥� almost 20% of the .
鈥淭here鈥檚 no cuts anticipated in terms of jobs,鈥� said Jim Reilly, the agency鈥檚 director.
The Trump administration is proposing changes to the way appropriations are organized within USGS, saying it will increase efficiencies among departments and programs. But, as the Mountain West News Bureau , environmentalists are concerned that shifting money around would result in less climate scientists on the payroll.
鈥淭here are some realignments and some efficiencies, which is something we wanted to do anyway. And that鈥檚 really to focus better on how we collaborate, not only internally, but also with our partners,鈥� Reilly said.
Like most presidential budgets, this is unlikely to be passed as is. House Democrats have already expressed concerns, as have some Republican lawmakers.
This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between Wyoming Public Media, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUER in Salt Lake City, KUNR in Nevada, the O鈥機onnor Center For the Rocky Mountain West in Montana, and KRCC and 糖心vlog传媒 in Colorado.
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