USGS under the knife?

Not to be lost in President Bush's federal budget fiasco Is a proposal to cut the geology division of the USGS drastically. The Mineral Resource Program, which includes the Minerals Information Team that produces quarterly aggregates-production reports, is slated to be halved, seeing its funding reduced $25.4 million for a total request of $26.3 million. The budget proposal notes that the "USGS will continue selected minerals surveys and studies that are relevant to ongoing departmental land-management requirements." This blog goes on record as stating that any attempt to eliminate, or even downsize, the critical work performed on behalf of the industry by USGS, is shortsighted and wrong. Your comment?