Yesterday at the Pentagon, President Bush signed into law the $401.3
billion National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2004. Accompanying
this bill is a lengthy report setting forth the authorizers' recommendations
on a wide-range of defense related activities. Among the topics covered
in the report language (House Report 108-354) is Department of Defense
science and technology funding. This legislation sets policy for FY
2004; see /fyi/2003/125.html
for information on final funding levels. Pertinent selections from the
Joint Explanatory Statement, with inserted headings, follow:
DEFENSE S&T FUNDING AUTHORIZATION LEVEL:
"The budget request included $10,232.0 million for defense science
and technology, including all Defense-wide [DARPA, etc.] and military
service funding for basic research, applied research, and advanced
technology development. To address the conferees' concerns with
respect to critical shortcomings in the budget request, the conferees
recommend an authorization of $11,029.6 million, an increase of
$797.6 million for the Department of Defense (DOD) Science and
Technology (S&T) Program."
The actual appropriated funding level for FY 2004 is $12,215 million.
VALUE OF DEFENSE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY PROGRAMS:
"The past year has provided numerous examples of successful
technology development and deployment. The men and women of the U.S.
Armed Forces are better equipped, trained, and protected because of
revolutionary breakthroughs emerging from the technology base. The
Global War On Terrorism has provided a showcase for precision
munitions, unmanned and robotic systems, instantaneous global
communications, and other technologies that enable our military
superiority. With continued robust and stable science and technology
investments, future forces will leverage revolutionary technologies
such as directed energy, nanotechnology, and intelligent robotics to
accomplish their missions."
INCREASES IN S&T REQUEST IN PAST TWO YEARS, TRANSITION, WORKFORCE:
"The conferees commend the Department for increasing the budget
request for science and technology by nearly 25 percent over the past
two fiscal years and moving towards meeting the Secretary of
Defense's goal of funding the Science and Technology Program at three
percent of the overall defense budget. In addition, the Department
continues to make great strides in meeting the difficult challenges
of technology transition and, throughout the past year, in
successfully delivering revolutionary capabilities to the warfighter,
ranging from thermobaric weapons to enhanced armor and protective
systems to multilingual translation devices. The conferees note that
the Technology Transition Initiative and the Defense Acquisition
Challenge Program, programs originally established in the Bob Stump
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2003 (Public Law
107-314), continue to be successfully implemented by the Department
to address critical transition challenges. Finally, the conferees
note that the Office of the Director of Defense Research and
Engineering has organized an important effort to address the critical
workforce issues facing the Nation's defense research laboratories.
The issues confronting the national treasures of the defense
laboratory system cannot be overstated and will require forceful
advocacy within the Department in the future."
CONCERN ABOUT FUTURE PROGRAMS: DOD, NAVY, BASIC RESEARCH:
"Despite the positive aspects of the Department's Science and
Technology Program, the conferees are concerned about long-term
projections for reductions in DOD science and technology as a
percentage of total obligation authority, which are well below the
three percent level, and in short-term trends in the science and
technology accounts of some of the military departments and defense
agencies. In particular, the conferees share the concerns raised by
the House regarding the Navy Science and Technology Program. As
highlighted in the House report accompanying H.R. 1588 (H. Rept. 108-
106), '. . . the Navy's core science and technology program is
reduced to $1.48 billion, $460.0 million less than last year's
appropriated level, 1.3 percent of the total Department of the Navy
budget, and the lowest in total and percentage funding of the
military departments. The budget request represents the second
straight year of a significant reduction in the Navy's science and
technology program.'
"The conferees remain concerned that the level of investment in
basic, long-term research remains anemic. This account will provide
the next generation of warfighters with the equipment, training, and
protection they will require in future conflicts. As the investment
in science and technology continues to grow towards the Secretary's
three percent goal, the basic research accounts must grow at
comparable rates. In the face of growing near-term requirements and
budget pressures, the Department must work to preserve its long range
view of technology development and embrace the role that fundamental
research plays in the future of our military. The recent successes of
the technology base in the Global War On Terrorism should not lead to
an expectation of science on demand.
"The conferees also note that increasingly, scientific and technical
advances are creating policy, privacy, and regulatory issues that
must be addressed prior to final development and deployment of new
technologies. These issues must be adequately addressed in parallel
with research and technology development so that new capabilities are
delivered to warfighters in a manner that is consistent with well
developed and technically informed policies."
DEVOLVEMENT (TRANSFER) OF CERTAIN DEFENSE-WIDE S&T PROGRAMS
TO SERVICE BRANCHES:
"The conferees note that the Department of Defense (DOD), and
in
particular the Office of the Director of Defense Research and
Engineering (DDR&E), has assured the conferees that, despite the
devolvement of these programs [explosive demilitarization technology
(PE 63104D8Z); high energy laser research initiative (PE 61108D8Z);
high energy laser research (PE 62890D8Z); high energy laser advanced
development (PE 63924D8Z); and university research initiative (PE
61103D8Z)], the nature of the programs will not change. The conferees
have, and will continue to pay particular attention to these programs
in the future. The Secretary of Defense should consider these
programs congressional interest items for purposes of the Base for
Reprogramming (DD 1414). Any reprogramming of funds from these
accounts shall only occur after approval by the congressional defense
committees. The conferees may remove this designation after several
years experience with the devolved programs.
FUNDING AND NATURE OF BASIC RESEARCH PROGRAM, REQUIRED NAS REPORT:
"The conferees further note their concerns about funding levels
and
technical content of the basic research activities of the defense
science and technology program. The Department's investment in basic
research provides the foundation upon which our modern military is
built. It is critical the basic research investment remain strong,
stable, and focused on the fundamental search for new knowledge.
Therefore, the conferees direct the National Academies of Science to
evaluate the DOD basic research portfolio. The evaluation shall
utilize the official DOD definition of basic research to determine
whether the basic research portfolio is consistent with the
definition provided in DOD regulation. The conferees expect to work
closely with the National Academies of Science and the Secretary to
build the terms of reference for this evaluation. The evaluation
should be made available to the congressional defense committees
prior to the fiscal year 2006 budget request."
REQUIRED ANNUAL REPORT ON DEVOLVED S&T PROGRAMS:
"The conferees direct the Secretary to submit a report for each
of
the fifteen programs devolved in the fiscal year 2004 President's
budget request, if the current year's budget request for the program
is less than the fiscal year 2004 budget request in constant dollars.
This reporting requirement is intended to be in effect for the next
four fiscal years. This report shall be included with each fiscal
year budget request, and shall contain budget request and
appropriated levels for the program dating back to calendar year 2000
in both current and constant dollars, and an analysis of the impact
of the reduced funding on the development of military capabilities,
affected contractors, technical workforce, and scientific and
technological advancement."
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