House Science Committee Republicans and Democrats have parted ways
in their reaction to President Bush's FY 2007 request for science and
technology. Committee Chairman Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY) and all but
two of his Republican colleagues endorsed a generally favorable 15-page
critique of the Administration's budget entitled, "Views and
Estimates, Committee on Science, FY 2007." The tone of this
document contrasts considerably with the 3-page "Democratic
Views and Estimates on the Budget for Civilian Science and Technology
Programs, Fiscal Year 2007." Approved by Ranking Member Bart
Gordon (D-TN) and his colleagues, this document states, "We find
the priorities in the budget request amount to little more than sleight
of hand - taking from one pocket and putting into another and calling
that shift an increase." It is of note that last year the Science
Committee's Republicans and Democrats approved a single "Views
and Estimates" written by the Majority staff that criticized the
S&T budget request.
Non binding "Views and Estimates" inform subsequent policy
and budget deliberations. Both documents show evidence of careful analysis
by committee staff and are usually the first written congressional document(s)
responding to an Administration budget request. They are worthy of a
complete reading and can be accessed at www.house.gov/science/hot/FinalViewsandEstimatesFY2007.pdf
(Republican) and http://sciencedems.house.gov/randd/views_fy07.htm
(Democratic). The longer Republican report is organized by agencies
beginning on page 3. The Democratic version is much shorter and does
not cover every agency, but makes some hard-hitting points. Selections
from both documents follow. Note that extensive text (6 pages) follows;
readers should use capitalized headers to locate topics of particular
interest.
SCIENCE COMMITTEE'S TOP PRIORITY:
Republican Views and Estimates:
"In the second session of the 109th Congress, the Science Committee's
top priority will be to see that the appropriations required to carry
out the President's American Competitiveness Initiative are enacted.
To the extent that authorizing legislation is required to support and
guide appropriations related to the initiative, the Committee will move
such legislation."
AMERICAN COMPETITIVENESS AND ADVANCED ENERGY INITIATIVES:
Republican Views and Estimates:
"The Committee strongly supports the American Competitiveness
Initiative and the related Advanced Energy Initiative."
Democratic Views and Estimates:
"We find the budget request to be a complete contradiction to
the recommendations of the nonpartisan expert recommendations of the
Augustine Committee. We can support some of the President's initiatives,
but not at the expense of deeper cuts in other important areas for innovation."
OVERALL FUNDING:
Republican Views and Estimates:
"The President proposes to spend $137.2 billion on R&D in
FY07, about a 2.6 percent increase over FY06. The proposed R&D budget
increases are heavily weighted toward development, which would receive
a 7 percent increase, while basic research would receive a 1 percent
increase, and applied research would decline by 7 percent."
Democratic Views and Estimates:
"Unfortunately, these initiatives are funded through cuts in other
areas. For the American Competitiveness Initiative, the proposed $900
million increase at NSF, DOE, and NIST comes at the expense of other
programs at those agencies and at the other Federal science agencies.
In fact, despite the hoopla surrounding the President's FY2007 budget
initiatives, the Federal Science and Technology request for FY2007 is
$1 billion less than the Administration requested for FY2006. Comparing
this year's request to last year's enacted levels, the overall Federal
science and technology budget across the government would drop by one
percent.
"So while the Administration says the right words about helping
America invest in those areas that will help America grow, the reality
is that the request contradicts the recommendation of the National Academies
panel - both because it boosts some science at the expense of other
science, and because the net consequence of this budget is that we would
be disinvesting rather than investing in science and technology.
"We find it impossible to see how less science and technology
research investment would help to increase - or even sustain - America's
rapidly dwindling competitive edge. This budget request would invest
less than the rate of inflation at a time when many of our international
competitors are increasing their investment in science and technology
at faster rates than ever before."
"[T]he Majority's uncritical support for the President's Competitiveness
proposal, with all the loss that lies behind the selected program increases,
makes it impossible to support the Republican Views and Estimates. Thus
we file these dissenting views."
OTHER PRESIDENTIAL INITIATIVES:
Republican Views and Estimates:
"The Administration's budget highlights five ‘multi-agency
R&D priorities' and provides a precise budget breakdown for three
of them-nanotechnology, climate change science, and networking and information
technology. The Committee strongly endorses these initiatives, and agrees
that they deserve priority in funding."
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY BASIC RESEARCH:
Republican Views and Estimates:
"The Committee remains concerned about the balance between short-
and long-term research programs at DHS. There is increasing emphasis
on development to meet near-term requirements and diminishing funding
directed at more basic research. Such research is needed to ensure that
the nation is adequately prepared for future threats and that the nation
has a cadre of S&T professionals with appropriate training."
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY - OFFICE OF SCIENCE:
Republican Views and Estimates:
"The Committee strongly endorses the Administration for its support
of the Office of Science as part of the American Competitiveness Initiative.
The Administration meets the levels authorized for the Office of Science
in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (P.L. 109-58) with its request of $4.1
billion for FY07, a 14 percent increase over FY06. This $505 million
increase is 50 percent larger than the largest increase requested for
the Office of Science in the preceding decade. The Committee believes
the FY07 request will restore to health the Office of Science, an office
which provides more than 40 percent of Federal support for basic research
in the physical sciences. The Administration's out year commitment to
provide annual increases averaging roughly 7 percent over the next 10
years will enable dramatic advances in the cutting-edge research underpinning
our economic competitiveness and national security.
"Using the funding requested for FY07, the Office of Science will
be able to operate its suite of scientific user facilities on average
96 percent of their optimal number of operating hours, up from 88 percent
in FY06. For Nuclear Physics, the improvement is dramatic - facilities
will be able to operate at 84 percent of optimum compared to 50 percent
in FY06. DOE's neutron sources and x-ray light sources will have the
resources necessary to modernize beam lines and other high-tech instrumentation,
considerably improving the scientific productivity of these sources.
Just as significantly, the FY07 request allows the Office of Science
to bring on line the new Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) and four of
five Nanoscale Science Research Centers. The Committee enthusiastically
supports the FY07 funding levels that allow the Office of Science to
re-instrument and maximize operations of its growing suite of scientific
user facilities. The Committee believes these facility operations are
one of the primary benefits the Office of Science provides to the researchers
at universities, in industry, and in government labs across the nation.
"The request also allows the Office of Science to seize scientific
opportunities by implementing key components of its 20-year facilities
plan. The request includes $60 million for FY07 in the Fusion Energy
Sciences program for ITER, the plan's top priority. Investments are
made in leadership computing facilities at Oak Ridge and Argonne National
Laboratories that significantly advance the plan's second-ranked priority
to develop ultrascale scale scientific computing capabilities. An additional
$20 million keeps project engineering and design (PED) funding on track
for the Linac Coherent Light Source at Stanford, one of the third-ranked
priorities in Science's facilities plan. The Committee believes that
PED funding for National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS II), an upgrade
to the existing light source at Brookhaven National Laboratory, is a
nationally important investment.
"The Committee is disappointed, however, that the budget requests
neither construction funding, nor PED funding, nor even R&D funding
for the Rare Isotope Accelerator (RIA), a nuclear physics facility accorded
high priority in the early period of the 20-year facilities plan. The
budget does continue to request $4 million for exotic beam R&D,
which are the capabilities RIA or a RIA-like machine would deliver.
In light of the lack of PED funding for RIA, it is difficult to see
how the Administration will be able to meet its obligation under section
981 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to commence construction of the
facility no later than September 30, 2008.
"Finally, the Committee notes with pleasure the balance struck
between support for researchers (45 percent) and the operation of national
scientific user facilities (38 percent). For example, major increases
in research support are seen in university-based nuclear physics, which
is up by 17 percent; the development of advanced computing software,
which is up by 51 percent; and nanotechnology research, which is up
by 62 percent. Funding within the Office of Science for the President's
Hydrogen Fuel Initiative increases 54 percent to $50 million. The Committee
is concerned that climate change research is reduced $6.6 million, including
reductions to ocean carbon sequestration research (cut by $4.9 million)
and climate modeling (cut by $1.5 million)."
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY - ADVANCED FUEL CYCLE INITIATIVE:
Republican Views and Estimates:
"In Nuclear Energy, the Committee applauds the increase in funding,
much of which will go toward the Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiative. The
Committee is concerned, however, that the underlying simultaneous commitments
to several new project starts - the sodium-cooled fast reactor, the
high-temperature gas reactor, and the demonstration-scale nuclear fuel
reprocessing plant - all require large out year commitments of funds.
Therefore, the Committee especially applauds the Administration's commitment
to conduct a comprehensive and rigorous systems analysis of the advanced
fuel cycle and its associated research facility needs. The Committee
is also concerned with the proposal to eliminate University Reactor
Infrastructure and Education Assistance, especially in light of the
recent announcement of the President's American Competitiveness Initiative.
The university funding has provided crucial support to a new generation
of nuclear science and engineering students who will help continue U.S.
advancements in nuclear energy and security."
NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY:
Republican Views and Estimates:
"The budget request includes $467 million for the core NIST laboratory
programs and facilities as part of the President's American Competitiveness
Initiative. This increase includes $72 million for new research initiatives
and enhancements to NIST's user facilities, an 18 percent increase over
FY06. The Committee enthusiastically supports this request, as it represents
a significant and sensible investment in programs that keep the U.S.
at the forefront of economically important emerging technologies.
"The Committee also strongly supports the budget request of $68
million for NIST's construction account."
"The Committee continues to support the Advanced Technology Program
(ATP) and is concerned that the Administration has again requested no
funds for the program and is seeking to terminate the program. The Committee
is concerned that terminating ATP would reduce the NIST laboratory budget
since 10 percent of ATP funds, $8 to $13 million a year, was spent inside
NIST.
"The Committee is disappointed that the Administration has requested
only $46 million for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) program.
This would cut the program by 56 percent from the $106 million appropriated
in FY06, leaving the national network of Centers with insufficient funding
to maintain their assistance to small and medium-sized manufacturing
firms. MEP has demonstrated its effectiveness as the only program (private
or public) that offers direct technical assistance to small and medium-sized
manufacturers."
Democratic Views and Estimates:
"From our point of view, competitiveness is about keeping good
jobs and creating even more and better jobs in this country. Yet, the
Administration proposed to cut Manufacturing Extension Partnership funding
by 56%. MEP is the only Federal program designed specifically to assist
small manufacturers. MEP is the only program with a proven track record
in creating and retaining manufacturing jobs right now. We have lost
2.8 million manufacturing jobs since 2001. This last year alone, we
lost another 55,000 manufacturing jobs.
"Knowing these facts, we just don't see how cutting MEP 56%, and
NIST overall by 23%, increases American competitiveness. The bipartisan
National Association of Governors, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the
National Association of Manufacturers - and many others - wholeheartedly
endorse MEP. Yet, this Administration again chooses to ignore this consensus
support."
NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION:
Republican Views and Estimates:
"As part of the American Competitiveness Initiative, the FY07
budget request for NSF is $6.02 billion, an increase of7.9 percent,
or $439 million over the FY06 level. The funding increase in the FY07
budget mainly goes to scientific research programs and research facilities
and is spread fairly evenly among all fields NSF supports, including
engineering, non-biomedical life sciences, physics, and geosciences.
The Committee strongly endorses the proposed overall budget level proposed
for NSF, while acknowledging that even with that healthy increase, funding
will lag behind the levels authorized in the National Science Foundation
Authorization Act of 2002 (P.L. 107 -368).
"While the Committee is pleased to see funding increases across
all NSF research fields, it is deeply troubled by the modest 2.5 percent
increase for NSF's Education and Human Resources (EHR) directorate,
given the President's emphasis on math and science education in the
American Competitiveness Initiative. Since 1950, NSF has been tasked
with strengthening math and science education programs at all levels,
and NSF's education programs are unique in their peer review processes,
their linkage to higher education and their resulting capacity to develop
new and improved materials and assessments, create better teacher training
techniques and move promising ideas from research to practice. The budget
request of $816 million for NSF Education and Human Resources (EHR)
Directorate for FY07 allows for only about inflationary growth over
FY06 and does little to restore the significant funding reductions that
have occurred since FY04. In addition, within EHR, funding for elementary,
secondary and informal education programs and research and evaluation
activities would continue to decline. The Committee recommends that
NSF EHR receive at least $913 million in FY07, with particular emphasis
on increasing funding for the new Division of Research on Learning in
Formal and Informal Settings, the Robert Noyce Scholarship Program,
the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Talent Expansion
Program; the Course, Curriculum and Laboratory Improvement program,
and the Math and Science Partnership program."
Democratic Views and Estimates:
"While we were pleased to see the Administration putting forth
a plan to follow through on their commitment to double NSF funding,
the Administration is four years behind on that commitment and $3.8
billion, or 39%, short of the goal. In 2002, the Congress passed, and
the President signed into law, an authorization bill doubling NSF funding
over five years. However, the President's requests for NSF since the
NSF doubling signing ceremony had been anemic until this, the FY2007
budget request.
"As a result, even with the FY2007 proposed increase, the NSF
budget is still below the 15% annual rate of increase needed to meet
the five-year doubling profile called for in the NSF authorization statute.
In fact, the President's plan for NSF does not guarantee a doubling
even in ten years. All that the American Competitiveness Initiative
promises is that we will see the combination of NSF, DOE basic research
and NIST cumulatively double in ten years, without committing to the
distribution among those agencies. NSF - really all three agencies -
deserve guidance clearer than this as they plan for future investments.
"We were very disappointed to see a continued de-emphasis of K-12
science education at NSF. Even as the NSF budget grows overall, the
Administration proposes a seven percent cut to K-12 programs. NSF has
been a leader in improving science and math education for over 50 years.
We do not understand how ignoring NSF's expertise in the education component
of the President's initiative helps competitiveness.
"Relative to the FY2004 funded level, the NSF FY2007 science education
request would represent a 37% decline. One of this nation's highest
priorities should be to increase America's talent pool by vastly improving
K-12 science and mathematics education. Cutting funding to NSF K-12
programs undercuts this important goal."
NASA:
Republican Views and Estimates:
"The five-year budget projection for the Space Shuttle program
is designed to fully fund the Shuttle through its retirement, making
up for a shortfall in previous projections. Taking into account program
transfers, the FY07 budget increases funding for the Space Shuttle by
$2.2 billion through 2010 and for the Space Station by $1.5 billion.
"Restoring funding for the Shuttle and Station accounts has come
at the cost of slowed growth in NASA's other program areas. The Exploration
Systems Mission Directorate, which oversees the Vision for Space Exploration,
will receive $2 billion less through 2010, and NASA has replaced significant
projected growth in the FY06 request for the Science Directorate with
annual growth of 1.5 percent in FY07 and 1 percent thereafter, less
than the projected rate of inflation.
"The significantly reduced growth of the Science Directorate is
of serious concern to the Committee. These reductions will necessitate
the cancellation or lengthy deferral of several planned earth science
and space science missions.
"In FY07, the request increases the amount available for Exploration
by $928 million compared to last year's appropriated level. This funding
is focused on developing the next-generation hardware to replace the
Shuttle, the Crew Exploration Vehicle and its launcher. NASA expects
to award contracts for the new vehicle at the end of FY06. The request
reduces the amounts available for other, longer-term activities within
the Science Directorate.
"The Committee is again concerned about the limited funding for
NASA's Aeronautics program. The budget cuts the program by 18.1 %, down
to $724.4 million. Reductions of this size may jeopardize NASA's ability
to retain critical skills and perform ground-breaking research in support
of this nationally important industry."
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