The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), a key component of the Department of Commerce, plays a vital role in the everyday lives of citizens through its contributions to the Nation’s economic and environmental health. In FY 2004, NOAA requested a total discretionary budget authority of $3.326 billion, representing a 6.0% increase over the FY 2003 President’s Budget Request. This request provides essential support and key programmatic increases to ensure that NOAA’s vision for environmental stewardship and resource assessment and prediction becomes a reality. NOAA’s FY 2004 budget request focuses on core responsibilities, including providing more accurate predictions of severe weather, understanding long-term climate and environmental trends, sustaining healthy marine habitats, and addressing safety and environmental compliance issues. The budget emphasizes six major cross-cutting themes: Infrastructure, Maintenance, Safety & Human Capital; Climate Change, Research, Observations & Services; Energy and Commerce; Ecosystem Forecasting and Management; Environmental Monitoring and Prediction; and Homeland Security. These themes reflect the interrelationship of many of NOAA’s programs and the importance of addressing critical environmental issues in a multi-disciplinary manner. The budget submission strengthens NOAA’s ability to respond to increasing demands and positions the agency to address national issues such as Homeland Security and Climate Change. NOAA has been at the forefront of performance budgeting, with funding matched by results. The budget includes specific goals and performance factors for each request, and a summary discussion of NOAA’s performance metrics is included in Chapter 2. NOAA’s FY 2004 Budget request seeks to provide focused improvement in services delivery through an agency-wide realignment of resources in accordance with recommendations from the NOAA Program Review. The review emphasized the importance of integrating programs and resources to address critical environmental issues. The new cross-cutting themes and matrix-managed programs reflect NOAA’s commitment to organizational improvement and effective resource management. NOAA’s mission is to understand and predict changes in the Earth’s environment and conserve and manage coastal and marine resources to meet the Nation’s economic, social, and environmental needs. The agency’s core values include People, Integrity, Excellence, Teamwork, and Ingenuity, as well as Science, Service, and Stewardship. NOAA’s benefits to the Nation include improvements to the environment, public safety, and economy. NOAA’s FY 2004 Budget request includes significant program changes across six major themes, with a focus on infrastructure, climate change, ecosystem management, environmental monitoring, homeland security, and energy and commerce. The budget also includes funding for research, observation, and forecasting capabilities, as well as support for the National Weather Service, National Marine Fisheries Service, and other line offices. The budget reflects NOAA’s commitment to environmental stewardship, scientific research, and the protection of marine and coastal resources.The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), a key component of the Department of Commerce, plays a vital role in the everyday lives of citizens through its contributions to the Nation’s economic and environmental health. In FY 2004, NOAA requested a total discretionary budget authority of $3.326 billion, representing a 6.0% increase over the FY 2003 President’s Budget Request. This request provides essential support and key programmatic increases to ensure that NOAA’s vision for environmental stewardship and resource assessment and prediction becomes a reality. NOAA’s FY 2004 budget request focuses on core responsibilities, including providing more accurate predictions of severe weather, understanding long-term climate and environmental trends, sustaining healthy marine habitats, and addressing safety and environmental compliance issues. The budget emphasizes six major cross-cutting themes: Infrastructure, Maintenance, Safety & Human Capital; Climate Change, Research, Observations & Services; Energy and Commerce; Ecosystem Forecasting and Management; Environmental Monitoring and Prediction; and Homeland Security. These themes reflect the interrelationship of many of NOAA’s programs and the importance of addressing critical environmental issues in a multi-disciplinary manner. The budget submission strengthens NOAA’s ability to respond to increasing demands and positions the agency to address national issues such as Homeland Security and Climate Change. NOAA has been at the forefront of performance budgeting, with funding matched by results. The budget includes specific goals and performance factors for each request, and a summary discussion of NOAA’s performance metrics is included in Chapter 2. NOAA’s FY 2004 Budget request seeks to provide focused improvement in services delivery through an agency-wide realignment of resources in accordance with recommendations from the NOAA Program Review. The review emphasized the importance of integrating programs and resources to address critical environmental issues. The new cross-cutting themes and matrix-managed programs reflect NOAA’s commitment to organizational improvement and effective resource management. NOAA’s mission is to understand and predict changes in the Earth’s environment and conserve and manage coastal and marine resources to meet the Nation’s economic, social, and environmental needs. The agency’s core values include People, Integrity, Excellence, Teamwork, and Ingenuity, as well as Science, Service, and Stewardship. NOAA’s benefits to the Nation include improvements to the environment, public safety, and economy. NOAA’s FY 2004 Budget request includes significant program changes across six major themes, with a focus on infrastructure, climate change, ecosystem management, environmental monitoring, homeland security, and energy and commerce. The budget also includes funding for research, observation, and forecasting capabilities, as well as support for the National Weather Service, National Marine Fisheries Service, and other line offices. The budget reflects NOAA’s commitment to environmental stewardship, scientific research, and the protection of marine and coastal resources.