FY17 federal budget agreement would continue to support Sea Grant

Friends and colleagues,
As you may know, President Trump’s budget proposal included a $30M cut (out of a $73M total for the program) to Sea Grant for FY17, the current fiscal year that ends on September 30, and an elimination of the funding for Sea Grant altogether for FY18, which starts October 1, 2017. Thanks to the sustained efforts of our stakeholders expressing the value of Sea Grant to their organizations, and the support of members of Congress, the budget agreement for the rest of FY17 includes funding for Sea Grant at $72.5M, which represents only a manageable 0.7% cut, rather than the 41% cut proposed by the President. This is a clear reflection on the value of stakeholders mobilization and the democratic process in action, and I thank all of you for your continued support.

I want to also mention what’s coming for the FY18 budget. President’s request is to zero out Sea Grant was made public as part of the “skinny” budget request released in early March, which mobilized stakeholders in support of Sea Grant. As a result, both the House and Senate circulated letters of support for Sea Grant, with signatures from roughly a quarter of the members of Congress. The release of the more detailed version of the President’s budget is expected later this month, and we still expect Sea Grant zeroed out. This should not be considered a failure, it is just part of the process. The real influence of previous stakeholders engagement will likely be manifested through the budget mark ups taking place both in the House and Senate Appropriations Committees. We may ask for your help again later this summer should there be signs that it would help secure reasonable funding to assure that Sea Grant can continue to address your needs.

Thank you all for your continued support!
Yours,
Sylvain De Guise
Director

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