About the Office of Budget

What We Do

The Office of Budget directs and manages formulation, presentation, justification, and execution funds control for the Department of the Interior budget.  The Office of Budget also serves as the Budget Officer for the Office of the Secretary.  The Office serves as the Department’s liaison to the Congressional Appropriations staff, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), other Federal Agencies, and the Department's budget community on budget and appropriations issues.  POB manages the process of assessing resource needs - taking into consideration Administration and Secretarial priorities, program performance goals and accomplishments, policy guidance, legislative direction and requirements, and overall spending targets and limitations for mandatory and discretionary portions of the Federal budget.  POB works closely with the Department's senior leadership to incorporate Departmental priorities into the annual budget and provides support to the Secretary in preparation for the annual Appropriations hearings on the budget.  Each year, POB publishes the Interior Budget in Brief and bureau and office congressional budget justification books to assist the Congressional Appropriations Committees and the public in understanding the details of the President's budget request for the Department's programs.

Organization

The Office of Budget advises the Assistant Secretary for Policy, Management and Budget and senior Departmental leadership, through the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Budget, Finance, Grants, and Acquisition, on Department-wide and Office of the Secretary specific budget matters.  The Office is led by a Director who is assisted by the following divisions:

A. Division of Budget and Program Review

The Division of Budget and Program Review provides budget examination, analysis, and comprehensive reviews for budget formulation, presentation, and defense before senior Departmental leadership, OMB and Congress.  The Division ensures the review and clearance of all Congressional budget hearing materials provided for the record, and works with Interior Bureaus and Offices to develop briefing materials to prepare the Secretary of the Interior for annual budget hearings.

B. Division of Budget Administration and Departmental Management

The Division of Budget Administration and Departmental Management is organized into two branches:

• Office of the Secretary Budget Office
• Budget Reporting and Operations 

The Division provides the full suite of operational budget services for the Office of the Secretary.  The Division manages the principal Departmental funds control activities including apportionment of funding from OMB, oversees compliance with statutory funding requirements, and issues budget execution guidance to Bureaus and Offices.  The Division also manages the Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) program, which provides payments to more than 1,900 state and local governments for lands administered by Interior and other Federal agencies including the U.S. Forest Service.