Donald Trump's proposed budget cuts 90 per cent funding. Shocking details here
The Trump administration's proposed budget for 2026 slashes about 90 per cent of the funding for one of the country's cornerstone biological and ecological research programs. Known as the Ecosystems Mission Area, the program is part of the U.S. Geological Survey and studies nearly every aspect of the ecology and biology of natural and human-altered landscapes and waters around the country, as per a report.
The 2026 proposed budget allocates $29 million for the project, a cut from its current funding level of $293 million. The budget proposal also reduces funds for other programs in the USGS, as well as other federal science agencies, NYT News Service reported.
The budget still needs to be approved by Congress and scientists are seizing the opportunity to save the EMA. In early May, more than 70 scientific societies and universities signed a letter to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, urging him not to eliminate the program.
Abolishing the EMA was an explicit goal of Project 2025, the blueprint for shrinking the federal government produced by the conservative Heritage Foundation. That work cited decades-long struggles over the Interior Department's land management in the West, where protections for endangered species have at times prevented development, drilling and mining.
The EMA is also a core part of federal climate research. The Trump administration has sharply reduced or eliminated funds for climate science across federal agencies, calling the study of climate change part of "social agenda" research in an earlier version of the budget proposal.
Live Events
"It's appalling," said Peter Groffman, an ecosystems ecologist at the City University of New York and a leader of the Ecological Society of America. "This is a division that does very important work, and does it very well," Groffman said.
Universities and other institutions are unlikely to be able to carry on the work, he said. There are no immediately apparent plans from the administration to transfer EMA research to other federal agencies.
The EMA runs dozens of biology and climate science centers, cooperates with universities in 41 states to identify and carry out pressing ecology and environmental health research, and more. Here is a snapshot of its work.
FAQs
Q1. What does proposed US Budget 2026 state?
A1. The 2026 proposed budget allocates $29 million for the project, a cut from its current funding level of $293 million.
Q2. What is full form of USGS?
A2. The full form of USGS is United States Geological Survey.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News18
29 minutes ago
- News18
Will Trump Resume Talks With Iran After Bombing Its Nuke Sites? Top US Officials Weigh In
Last Updated: While President Donald Trump remained silent publicly after addressing the nation the previous evening, his top officials spoke at length about the US' motive behind Iran war. After airstrikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities, the Trump administration on Sunday signalled openness to renewed diplomacy while maintaining that the US does not seek a wider war. While President Donald Trump remained silent publicly on Sunday after addressing the nation the previous evening, his top officials spoke at length about the US' motive behind Iran war. Trump's top officials, including Vice President JD Vance, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and General Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, shared their views on the Iran conflict. Their unified message highlighted that the US aims to deter Iran's nuclear ambitions, not pursue regime change. At a Pentagon briefing, Hegseth stated, 'America does not seek war," while Vice President Vance told reporters the strikes offered Iran an opportunity to return to negotiations. 'Operation Midnight Hammer," he said, used 'decoys and deception," and encountered no Iranian military resistance, according to Hegseth and Gen. Caine. 'This mission was not and has not been about regime change," Hegseth emphasised. Caine confirmed that the US had struck Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan, and that all three sites sustained significant damage. 'Final battle damage will take some time, but initial assessments indicate that all three sites sustained extremely severe damage and destruction," he said. In a TV interview, Vance refrained from discussing classified intelligence but said he was confident the operation had 'substantially delayed" Iran's nuclear weapons program. 'I think it's going to be many, many years before the Iranians are able to develop a nuclear weapon," he added. Vance also noted that the US had negotiated seriously with Iran before resorting to military action. 'I actually think it provides an opportunity to reset this relationship… and if they're willing to do that, the United States is all ears." Secretary of State Rubio told Face the Nation that while there are 'no planned military operations right now against Iran," the US would respond if attacked. 'Unless they mess around and they attack US interests," he warned. Despite President Trump's past promises to avoid extended conflicts, it's uncertain whether Iran views avoiding escalation as in its own best interest. Meanwhile, global reaction has been mixed, with some nations fearing the strikes could further destabilise the Middle East, particularly amid an ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran. Earlier this month, Israeli airstrikes targeted Iranian nuclear infrastructure and military leadership, prompting Iranian retaliation and ultimately leading to the US intervention. Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, condemned the US strikes, calling them a violation of sovereignty and international law. 'They crossed a very big red line by attacking nuclear facilities," he said. 'I don't know how much room is left for diplomacy." China and Russia both condemned the attacks, urging a return to political dialogue. Russia called the strikes 'a gross violation of international law," while Turkey warned of the risk of escalation to a 'global level." British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the UK was relocating military assets to safeguard its interests, while leaders of Canada, Germany, Italy, and France all supported a swift return to diplomacy. The attacks have also raised concerns about potential disruptions to the global oil supply, with Iran hinting at closing the Strait of Hormuz, a key channel for global energy trade. Oil prices have surged over 20 per cent in the past month as tensions in the region escalated. The Pentagon did not provide new details on Iran's current nuclear capabilities. Hegseth said the operation followed a 60-day window Trump gave Iran to engage in talks. 'Iran found out that when Trump says 60 days… he means it," Hegseth said. 'Otherwise, that nuclear program… will not exist." Caine and Hegseth added that B-2 bombers launched from Missouri, supported by a deception plan involving decoy aircraft, executed the strikes using 14 bunker-buster bombs. The mission ran from 6:40 p.m. to 7:05 p.m. ET on Saturday — approximately 2:10 a.m. in Iran on Sunday. tags : donald trump iran us Location : United States of America (USA) First Published: June 22, 2025, 23:30 IST News world Will Trump Resume Talks With Iran After Bombing Its Nuke Sites? Top US Officials Weigh In
India Today
35 minutes ago
- India Today
US not at war with Iran, but its nuclear programme: JD Vance on N-site strikes
US Vice President JD Vance said on Sunday that the United States is not at war with Iran, but with its nuclear programme. He said American strikes ordered by President Donald Trump had pushed Iran's nuclear ambitions back 'by a very long time.''We're not at war with Iran. We're at war with Iran's nuclear programme,' Vance said during an interview on NBC statement came after Trump on Sunday confirmed that the US had hit Iran's main nuclear sites overnight using massive bunker-busting bombs. He claimed to have 'obliterated' the facilities, joining Israel's ongoing military operations against Iran in a major escalation of conflict in the region. Vance clarified that the US does not want a regime change in Iran. 'We do not want to protract this. We want to end the nuclear programme, and then we want to talk to the Iranians about a long-term settlement here,' he said.'I think that we have really pushed their programme back by a very long time. I think that it's going to be many, many years before the Iranians are going to be able to develop a nuclear weapon,' Vance accused Iran of failing to negotiate in good faith over its nuclear programme. He said this refusal was one of the reasons behind the US decision to launch the strikes. Washington had previously been in diplomatic talks with Tehran over the also said Trump made the final decision to launch the strikes shortly before they were carried out. Since then, the US has received some 'indirect' messages from Iran, Vance added. He further stressed that the US has 'no interest in boots on the ground.'Trump said on Friday that he would decide in the next two weeks whether the US would become directly involved in the Israel-Iran conflict, which began with Israeli attacks on Iran on June Reuters Watch IN THIS STORY#Donald Trump#JD Vance#United States of America#Iran#Israel
Mint
43 minutes ago
- Mint
How Israel-Iran conflict is likely to inflate global oil prices? EXPLAINED
The conflict raging between Israel and Iran on Sunday, 22 June 2025, took an escalating turn as the US entered the war after conducting an airstrike on three nuclear sites of Iran. These heightened tensions are likely to inflate the global oil prices in case Tehran decides to retaliate against America's move. US President Donald Trump announced that America had destroyed three nuclear facilities in Iran, namely Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan, through a coordinated airstrike amid the Israel-Iran conflict. Trump called out Iran and said that there will either be peace or tragedy for the Middle Eastern country, as the Western nation disclosed its preparedness to take out more targets in Iran. 'There will be either peace or there will be tragedy for Iran, far greater than we have witnessed over the last eight days,' Trump told reporters at a late-night media address on Saturday, 21 June 2025. Trump's move to carry out airstrikes in Iran has automatically involved the Western nation in the raging conflict in the Middle East. 'All planes are now outside of Iran's space. A full payload of bombs was dropped on the primary site, Fordow. All planes are safely on their way home,' he said in a social media post. As the tensions and uncertainties escalate in the global economy, investors around the world are afraid of Iran's retaliatory move against Israel and the US. The Strait of Hormuz is a strategically important global trade passage for crude oil imports and exports out of the Middle East. It connects the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea with the Persian Gulf. According to earlier reports, this area witnesses nearly a quarter of the world's oil trade, making it a very sensitive region near a volatile conflict area of Iran. Concerns of investors and commodity traders around the world are rising as people expect Iran to block the region and potentially create disruptions in the shipping passage. Even though there has been no advancement from Iran's side on its threats to block the international maritime passageway, this sentiment of uncertainty is driving up the oil prices. JP Morgan, in an industry report, mentioned how the oil prices gained 3.6 per cent, crossing $78 per barrel for the first time since January amid the fears of the escalating situation in the Middle East. 'While markets are on edge, it seems like crude prices have some more room to rise before they start to cause real friction for the U.S. economy,' said the investment giant in its report released on 20 June 2025, before US carried out the hit against Iran's nuclear sites. According to an Economic Times report citing the investment bank, oil prices are expected to rise to as high as $120 per barrel if geopolitical tensions further escalate amid the ongoing conflict. The current oil prices show a 7 per cent chance of a worst-case economic scenario in which the impact will go beyond the reduced Iran exports, according to the news portal's report. Crude oil futures for both Brent and the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) closed lower after Friday's commodity market session. Investors' focus on Monday, 23 June 2025, will remain on how much the commodity takes a hit due to the increasing uncertainty in the market. The Brent futures of the September 2025 contract closed 2.33 per cent lower at $75.48 after the commodity market session on 21 June 2025. The WTI futures for the August 2025 contract also closed 0.28 per cent lower at $74.93 after the commodity market session into Saturday. Bloomberg Intelligence, in a research note, said that it is raising the near-term forecast for Brent crude to the $80-$90 range. 'We are raising our near-term Brent forecast to the $80–$90 range, with $100-plus oil increasingly likely given the elevated risk of Iran closing the Strait of Hormuz,' according to the research report cited by the news portal Moneycontrol. In June, crude oil prices jumped 24 per cent to reach near their $75 per barrel range as investors fear this rise may continue, fueled by Middle East tensions. (This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.)
