The parameters for FY 2004 funding for the Department of Energy's Office
of Science are established. Both the House and Senate Appropriations
Committees have released their versions of the Energy and Water Development
appropriations bill and the accompanying committee reports. The full
House has passed its bill.
Both reports show the current appropriation for "Science"
as $3.3
billion. The House recommends an FY 2004 appropriation of $3.48
billion; the Senate committee's figure is $3.36 billion. The current
budget is $3.26 billion. These figures include items such as
safeguards and security, workforce development, and program
direction.
The following are selections from the two committee reports for the
Office of Science programs tracked by FYI. Note that the figures are
taken directly from the reports and do not reflect year-to-year
changes in program content such as varying stages of facility
construction. Also note that there is traditionally some
inconsistency in accounting between years and committees.
HIGH ENERGY PHYSICS: Current budget is $717.9 million; FY 2004
request was $738.0 million.
HOUSE: "The Committee recommends a total of $747,978,000
for high energy physics, an increase of $10,000,000 over the budget
request. The control level is at the High Energy Physics level. The
additional funds are provided to increase operating time and enhance
user support at the user facilities located at the Fermi National Accelerator
Laboratory and the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center. The Committee
recommendation includes the requested amount, $12,500,000, for construction
of the Neutrinos at the Main Injector project at Fermilab. The Committee
recognizes the efforts of the staff from the Office of Science, Fermilab,
and the other laboratories to bring the Tevatron luminosity upgrade
back on schedule. The Committee also encourages the Department to accelerate
progress on the Supernova/Accelerator Probe (SNAP), which will provide
an important tool to advance our understanding of the history of the
universe."
SENATE: "The Committee recommendation includes $737,978,000
for high energy physics, an increase of $15,714,000 over the current
year level." No program direction was provided by the Senate report.
NUCLEAR PHYSICS: Current budget is $379.6 million; request was
$389.4 million.
HOUSE: "The Committee recommendation for nuclear physics
is $399,430,000, an increase of $10,000,000 over the budget request.
An additional $7,500,000 is provided to increase operating time and
enhance user support at the user facilities located at the Brookhaven
National Laboratory and the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility.
The Committee recommendation includes $6,000,000 for research and development
and pre-conceptual design activities in support of the Rare Isotope
Accelerator, an increase of $2,500,000 over the requested amount for
this project. The Committee strongly encourages the Department to make
a prompt CD0 decision for the 12 GeV upgrade to the Continuous Electron
Beam Accelerator Facility at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator
Facility and to include adequate PED funding for this project in the
fiscal year 2005 budget request."
SENATE: "The Committee recommends $389,430,000 for nuclear
physics, an increase of $7,558,000 over the current year level. The
nuclear physics program supports and provides experimental equipment
to qualified scientists and research groups conducting experiments at
nuclear physics accelerator facilities. These facilities provide new
insights and advance our knowledge of the nature of matter and energy
and develop the scientific knowledge, technologies and trained manpower
needed to underpin the Department's nuclear missions. The Committee
supports the Continuous Electron Bean Accelerator Facility at the Thomas
Jefferson National Accelerator Facility and encourages the Jefferson
Lab to increase operational time and thereby reduce the significant
backlog of peer reviewed and approved scientific experiments and begin
work toward the 12 GeV upgrade. Therefore, the Committee urges the Department
to grant approval and include adequate funds in its fiscal year 2005
request to continue this process."
BIOLOGICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH: Current budget is $ 503.6
million; request was $499.5 million.
HOUSE: "The Committee recommendation for biological and
environmental research is $562,035,000, an increase of $62,500,000 over
the budget request. The additional funds are provided to increase operating
time and enhance user support at the user facilities located at various
DOE laboratories that support the biological and environmental sciences
user community, and to provide for additional university research grants
for biological and environmental research."
SENATE: "The Committee recommendation includes $534,035,000
for biological and environmental research, an increase of $34,500,000
over the current year level.
"The biological and environmental research program develops the
knowledge base necessary to identify, understand, and anticipate the
long-term health and environmental consequences of energy use and
development. The program utilizes the Department's unique scientific
and technological capabilities to solve major scientific problems in
the environment, medicine, and biology. The Committee recommendation
includes an additional $3,000,000 for the Environmental Molecular
Sciences Laboratory at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory,
Washington and $7,776,000 for the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory.
The Committee recommendation includes the budget request of
$17,496,000 for low dose radiation research.
"Genomes to Life- The Committee recommendation continues its strong
support of the 'genomes to life' activities aimed at understanding
the composition and function of biochemical networks that carry out
essential processes of living organisms. This activity is funded at
$69,039,000, an increase of $10,000,000 over the request.
"Energy-Water Supply Technologies- The Committee recommendation
includes an additional $15,500,000 to support a research and
demonstration program to study energy-related issues associated with
water resources and issues associated with sustainable water supplies
for energy production. The recommendation includes $6,000,000 to
continue the arsenic removal research in conjunction with the
American Water Works Association Research Foundation as begun in
fiscal year 2003; $4,000,000 in support of desalination research
consistent with the Desalination and Water Purification Technology
Roadmap in partnership with the Bureau of Reclamation; and $1,500,000
to support the public/private ZeroNet Energy-Water Initiative. The
Committee recommendation also includes $4,000,000 to fund a
demonstration of a stand-alone stirling engine that will run on any
fuel. The engine shall be a portable, closed-cycle, reciprocating,
and regenerative heat engine used in conjunction with an electrical
generator to convert heat, external to the engine, into electricity
and usable thermal power. This engine should be combined with an
advanced vapor compression distillation system for making drinking
water from virtually any water source. The water system shall remove
all contaminants, including volatile compounds. The goal of the
combined stirling and water system is to provide safe water and power
in remote rural areas. The value and efficiency of the combined
system will come from using the emission free engine's waste heat to
help power the water purifier. The demonstration of this technology
should take place on Native American reservations.
"Molecular Medicine- The Committee recommendation includes an
additional $6,000,000 for programs that bring together PET imaging,
systems biology and nanotechnology to develop new molecular imaging
probes. These probes should provide a biological diagnosis of disease
that is informative of the molecular basis of disease and specific
for guiding the development of new molecular therapies. The programs
must bring together chemists, physicists, biologists and imaging
scientists to produce new technologies and science in the stated
area. The particular disease orientation is in cancers such as
breast, prostrate, colorectal, melanoma and others and degenerative
neurological disorders such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases.
"The Committee is concerned about consequence mitigation activities
and public health impacts associated with the threat of any
radiological event and strongly encourages the Department to develop
therapeutic radiological countermeasures to protect against exposure
to the effects of ionizing radiation. The Committee is aware of the
potential of inositol signaling molecules as a therapy for exposure
to ionizing radiation and encourages the Department to support
research of this emerging technology. The Committee recommends the
Science and Technology Division of the Department of Energy fund
medical therapy research arid other treatment options to protect the
public health against radiation exposure."
BASIC ENERGY SCIENCES: Current budget is $1,016.7 million; request
is $1,008.6 million.
HOUSE: "The Committee recommendation for basic energy sciences
is $1,016,575,000, an increase of $8,000,000 over the budget request.
For purposes of reprogramming during fiscal year 2004, the Department
may allocate funding among all operating accounts within Basic Energy
Sciences.
"Research.--The Committee recommendation includes $575,711,000
for
materials sciences and engineering, and $220,914,000 for chemical
sciences, geosciences, and energy biosciences. The additional
$8,000,000 in the material sciences and engineering account is
provided to increase operating time and enhance user support at Basic
Energy Sciences user facilities. Also included within this account is
$7,673,000 for the Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive
Research (EPSCoR), the same as the budget request.
"Construction.--The Committee recommendation includes $219,950,000
for construction, the same as the requested amount. The Committee
recommendation provides the requested funding of $124,600 for the
Spallation Neutron Source (SNS), $35,000,000 for the Molecular
Foundry, $29,850,000 for the Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies,
$20,000,000 for the Center for Nanophase Material Sciences,
$7,500,000 for PED for the Linac Coherent Light Source, and
$3,000,000 for PED for the Center for Functional Nanomaterials at
Brookhaven National Laboratory."
SENATE: "The Committee recommendation includes $1,008,575,000,
the same as the budget request."
"Research: The Committee recommendation includes $788,625,000,
the
amount of the request, for materials sciences, engineering research,
chemical sciences, geosciences, and energy biosciences.
"Construction:
"Spallation Neutron Source- The Committee recommendation includes
the
budget request of $124,600,000 to continue construction at Oak Ridge
National Laboratory for the Spallation Neutron Source [SNS] to meet
the Nation's neutron scattering needs.
"Nanoscale Science Research Centers- The Committee recommendation
supports the high priority given to nanoscale research and has
included the budget request totaling $87,850,000 for the nanoscale
science research centers at Brookhaven National Laboratory, Lawrence
Berkeley National Laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and the
joint effort between Sandia National Laboratories and Los Alamos
National Laboratory.
FUSION ENERGY SCIENCES: Current budget is $246.9 million; request
is $257.3 million.
HOUSE: "The Committee recommendation for fusion energy
sciences is $268,110,000, an increase of $10,800,000 over the budget
request. The Committee is cautiously supportive of the Administration's
proposal to re-engage in the International Thermonuclear Experimental
Reactor (ITER) project, but is disappointed that the budget request
provides $12,000,000 in funding for the U.S. ITER effort only at the
expense of displacing ongoing domestic fusion research. The additional
$10,800,000 includes $4,000,000 for burning plasma experiments, including
support for ITER and for the domestic FIRE project, $5,200,000 for fusion
technology, and $1,600,000 for advanced design and analysis work. If
the Department intends to recommend ITER participation in the fiscal
year 2005 budget request, the Committee expects the Department will
do so without harm to domestic fusion research or to other programs
in the DOE Science budget."
SENATE: "The Committee recommendation for fusion energy
sciences is $257,310,000, an amount that is equal to the budget request.
"The fusion energy sciences program supports research emphasizing
the
underlying basic research in plasma and fusion sciences, with the
long-term goal of harnessing fusion as a viable energy source.
"International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor- The Committee
recommendation includes the budget request of $1,990,000 to allow the
Department to enter multilateral international negotiations aimed at
building the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor [ITER],
a burning plasma physics experiment many view as an essential next
step toward eventually developing fusion as a commercially viable
energy source. Reasonably conservative estimates suggest that the
United States' participation in ITER will require approximately
$1,500,000,000 over the next 10 years in direct contributions to the
construction of ITER and in supporting science. The Department's
request of less than $2,000,000 in direct support of the ITER project
for fiscal year 2004 certainly leads the Committee to question the
Department's commitment to supporting ITER without prejudice or
damage to alternative fusion technologies, much less other
Departmental science programs.
"The Department's proposed fiscal year 2004 budget proposes to
cut
severely long-term activities in fusion technology and advanced
design that will have significant impact on the ultimate
attractiveness of fusion power. The Committee recommends that, within
available funds, the Department should make adjustments to redress
the imbalance resulting from these cuts."
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