On August 16th, President Biden signed into law the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (formally known as Build Back Better). It includes $2.6 billion for NOAA to invest in coastal communities and climate resilience through 2026.
FY 2023 budgets are working their way through Congress. The House Appropriations Subcommittee marked the NERRS Operations Research, and Facilities (ORF) budget at a $1.5M increase over FY 2022 and the NERRS Procurement, Acquisition, and Construction at a $1M increase over FY 2022.
Congress is hard at work on updates to our 50-year-old Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA). With an eye to educating members of Congress about what your Reserve and the System do for your community, please consider how you can promote your work.
Education, education, education! Given that the Administration is proposing to cut the NERRS budget, we all must promote the work being done at our Reserves and in NOAA OCM.
The President’s FY 2023 budget is now in the hands of Congress, and it is up to us to get the funding increases needed for the NERRS. The NERRS budgets for OPS and PAC cannot be left to chance.
We encourage all Reserve Friends, volunteers, and partners across our estuaries to join with NERRA in making a case for a FY 2023 budget that supports the science, data, education, training, and conservation needed by our communities and our nation.