The Department of Energy's Office of Science is in an excellent position
going into this fall's conference committee that will determine the
FY 2007 appropriation. Both the House Appropriations Committee and the
Senate Appropriations Committee have now passed their versions of the
FY 2007 funding bill, H.R. 5427. The Senate bill was written by Subcommittee
Chairman Pete Domenici (R-NM) and Ranking Member Harry Reid (D-NV) and
their colleagues. Here are the overall numbers:
The Administration requested $4,101.7 million for the Office of Science
for FY 2007, an increase of 14.1% over the current budget of $3,596.4
million See http://www.aip.org/fyi/2006/022.html
The House-passed bill would provide $4,131.7 million, an increase of
14.1% over the current budget plus an additional $30 million for earmarked
projects. See http://www.aip.org/fyi/2006/068.html
The Senate's version would provide $4,241.1 million, an increase of
16.6% plus an additional $48.6 million for earmarks.
There is important language in Senate Committee Report 109-274 regarding
the Office of Science. Readers interested in viewing all of this report
language will be able to access it soon at http://thomas.loc.gov/
under "Other Legislative Activities - Committee Reports."
Selections from the report language are below:
COMMITTEE PERSPECTIVE ON PHYSICAL SCIENCES FUNDING:
"The DOE Office of Science is the largest Federal provider
of research in the physical sciences. In July 2005, the Congress passed
and the President signed the Energy Policy Act of 2005. This directed
the Department to increase its investment in funding for basic physical
sciences. In his State of the Union address, the President unveiled
his vision for science, embodied in the American Competitiveness Initiative
[ACI], which proposes doubling the appropriation to the Office of Science
over 10 years. Congressional initiatives such as the PACE-Energy Act
propose a similar objective. The fiscal year 2007 request will put the
Office of Science on course to doubling the funding over the next decade.
This is critical to augmenting fundamental research while also supporting
the President's new investment in energy technologies such as solar,
hydrogen, coal and nuclear power as outlined in the Advanced Energy
Initiative [AEI]."
A CAUTIONARY NOTE - TWENTY-YEAR FACILITIES PLAN:
"The Committee is concerned that the Department is no longer
abiding by the peer-reviewed 20 year Facilities plan the Department
produced less than 3 years ago [see http://www.aip.org/fyi/2003/150.html].
This document established a prioritization of large investments and
facilities the Department intended to support based on input from all
of the scientific advisory boards within the Department. These investments
are sufficiently large that they require long-term funding commitment
that will exceed beyond a specific administration. As such, continual
reprioritization will undermine the long-term goals and is likely to
hinder the ability of the Office of Science to plan and this Committee's
efforts to fund such long term investments. The Committee expects the
Department to clarify its current priorities and update the 20 year
plan to reflect these new priorities."
HIGH ENERGY PHYSICS:
Current budget: $716.7 million
Administration request: $775.1 million (Up 8.1% over the current budget)
House bill: $775.1 million (Up 8.1%)
Senate bill: $766.8 million (Up 7.0%)
"For High Energy Physics, the Committee recommends $766,789,000.
Understanding the way the universe works is the key mission of the High
Energy Physics program, and it succeeds by probing interactions among
matter, energy, space and time. The Committee fully funds the investments
at the user facilities including the Tevatron Collider, the Neutrinos
in the Main Injector at Fermi Laboratory and the B-Factor[y] at Stanford
Linear Accelerator Center. In addition, the Committee provides full
funding for the Large Hadron Collider at the European Organization for
Nuclear Research Laboratory. The High Energy Physics program has many
promising opportunities to advance our understanding of the universe
and its makeup. However, the Department must make important decisions
about the future of this program, including balancing the immediate
opportunities provided through the Joint Dark Energy Mission and large
future investments in the International Linear Collider.
"International Linear Collider.—The Committee provides
$45,000,000, an increase of $15,000,000 above current year levels, to
support pre-conceptual research to support the U.S. ILC effort within
the Accelerator Development, International Linear Collider R&D activities.
The Committee appreciates the scientific challenge of building the ILC
in the United States, establishing our leadership in this discipline
among an international team. The budget calls for doubling the request
above current year to support pre-conceptual R&D, yet the Committee
does not have a clear understanding of the cost of this international
project, which has been reported to exceed $8,000,000,000, twice the
annual budget of the Office of Science. Despite the large financial
commitment by the President in scientific research, the Committee is
concerned that the ILC will crowd out other valuable research as has
been demonstrated with both the National Ignition Facility within the
NNSA, the Rare Isotope Accelerator and ITER, both within the Office
of Science. Therefore, before the Committee agrees to adopt large budget
increases for the ILC, the Department must provide a cost estimate including
an out year funding plan and an explanation of how this initiative will
impact other facilities and scientific research. In addition, the Committee
would like to see the initial results from the Large Hadron Collider,
which is set to begin operations in mid 2007 before the Committee commits
to a long-term investment toward the ILC. The Committee looks forward
to reviewing the data and visiting this matter again in 2008.
"Joint Dark Energy Mission.—The Committee has consistently
demonstrated its support of the Department's initiative to launch a
space probe to answer the fundamental physics question of our time –
what is the ‘dark energy' that constitutes the majority of the
universe? The Committee strongly believes that this initiative should
move forward. Unfortunately, the multi-agency aspect of this initiative
faces insurmountable problems that imperil its future, and the Department
risks losing a world-class scientific team. The Committee is concerned
that the joint mission between the Department of Energy and NASA is
untenable because of NASA's reorganization and change in focus toward
manned space flight. The Committee directs the Department to immediately
begin planning for a single-agency space-based dark energy mission and
to conduct a peer-reviewed competition to select a single winning proposal
based both upon the quality of the science and the overall cost to the
Department. The competition should be initiated by the end of the calendar
year 2006 and completed in 2007 with the goal of a launch in fiscal
year 2013. The Committee encourages the Department to aggressively explore
potential domestic and international partnerships and launch options
to help defray the cost of the missions. The Committee provides $74,271,000
for Non-Accelerator Physics, an increase of $15,000,000 above the request
to support the Joint Dark Energy Mission. The Committee has moved $8,310,000
from Theoretical Physics to the High Energy Density Physics account."
"HIGH ENERGY DENSITY SCIENCE":
The Senate report recommends the establishment of a new Office of High
Energy Density Physics. It would receive funding of $79.9 million from
other science programs. The report language follows:
"The Committee recommends the creation of a new discipline
within the Office of Science to support the growing research in high
energy density sciences currently being pursued within the Office of
Science, the National Nuclear Security Administration and universities
worldwide. With his recent elevation of position, from Director to Under
Secretary, the Under Secretary is increasing his field of view and now
has the responsibility of developing science at all the labs within
the Department, not just the Office of Science. As such, the Committee
recommends that a new office be created to consolidate and support research
in high energy density physics. This office will be charged with supporting
research in inertial fusion energy, fast ignition, petawatt laser development,
plasma accelerators and other laboratory and university sponsored research
related to high energy density science that is presently funded within
the Fusion Energy, Nuclear Physics, High Energy Physics and the NNSA,
ICF accounts. This research has important applications ranging from
materials research to fusion energy and fundamental research into the
make up and reactions of nuclear matter. One of the of the primary responsibilities
for this new program will be to establish a peer-reviewed technology
and research and development roadmap to support a robust experimental
program. This R&D roadmap is due to the Committee by March 31, 2007.
The Committee directs the Department to break out the funding within
the existing budgets and programs and consolidate within this new office.
The Committee provides $79,924,000 to support this new research account,
funded equally between the Office of Science and the NNSA and consistent
with the high energy density research allocation within the Office of
Science. Funding shall be drawn from the following accounts: $11,949,000
from the Fusion Energy Account, $20,000,000 from Nuclear Physics, and
$8,310,000 from High Energy Physics. In addition, the Committee has
provided funding from the ICF budget that includes the following: $8,903,000
to support university grants and $30,000,000 to support research on
z pinches, high average power lasers and other HED research that has
been exclusively funded within the NNSA accounts. The Committee provides
$7,000,000 for the continued operation and experimental program on the
Atlas Pulse Power Machine. This funding is in addition to the funding
provided within the NNSA. Additionally, the Committee recommendation
includes $2,000,000 for the Nevada Terawatt Facility for joint research
on dynamics of materials under extreme conditions; and $2,000,000 for
UNR to continue its advanced research on Z-pinch and wire array physics.
The Committee directs the Department to renew its base Nevada Terawatt
Facility high energy density physics research cooperative agreement
at financial levels consistent with the current year. The Committee
recommendation includes $5,300,000 above the budget request for fast
ignition research. The Committee provides $3,000,000 in the ICF and
High Yield Science Campaign of the NNSA to continue the development
of a short pulse laser at the University of Texas at Austin, and $2,000,000
for continued collaborative research under the z-Petawatt Consortium
for operations at the Z-Beamlet laser facility at Sandia National Laboratories,
and $1,000,000 for collaborative research.
"The Department is directed to convene an advisory board to
develop a technology roadmap for this program and provide the Congress
with a plan to support HED science while contributing to the operations
at the various facilities in the NNSA. The Committee strongly urges
the Department to eliminate barriers to discovery that have developed
by historic jurisdictional boundaries and line management responsibility."
NUCLEAR PHYSICS:
Current budget: $367.0 million
Request: $454.1 million (Up 23.7%)
House bill: $454.1 million (Up 23.7%)
Senate bill: $434.1 million (Up 18.3%)
"The Committee provides $434,060,000 for Nuclear Physics. The
Nuclear Physics program fosters fundamental research that will advance
our understanding of nuclear matter, helping the United States maintain
a leading role in developing nuclear energy, nuclear medicine, and national
security. The Committee has shifted a portion of the funding budgeted
for High Energy Density R&D to the new High Energy Density Science
program."
BIOLOGICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH:
Current budget: $579.8 million (of which $128.7 million is earmarked
funding)
Request: $510.3 million (Up 13.1% after removing earmarks in current
budget)
House bill: $540.3 million (Up 13.1% without current and new earmarks)
Senate bill: $560.0 million (Up 13.1% without current and new earmarks.)
"For Biological and Environmental Research [BER], the Committee
provides $560,000,000, the same as the budget request. BER uses competitive
and peer-reviewed research at national laboratories, universities, and
private institutions to further the Nation's competitiveness in the
scientific arena.
"Genomes to Life. The Committee strongly supports the GTL program
and provides full funding as requested. Even before the Department mapped
the first human genome, the Committee encouraged the Department to expand
its genomic research and recommended that the Department accelerate
the deployment of the four Genomes to Life facilities as was proposed
in the 20 year plan. Now, a National Academies report has also concluded
that the Department could greatly accelerate the research needed to
unlock the genome. The Committee supports the Department's efforts to
adjust its plan to move quickly to award two energy-related GTL collaborative
research facilities. The Committee recommends full funding, as requested.
"Medical Applications and Measurement Science.—Modern
nuclear medicine builds on the exploitation of nuclear energy to promote
human health, a concept that has been successful since the middle of
the 20th century. The Committee is disappointed the Department has eliminated
funding for nuclear medicine for the second year in a row from its budget
request. The Committee understands the Department is working with the
National Institutes of Health on a research strategy between the two
entities, furthering research in the nuclear medicine arena in a manner
that does not duplicate efforts. However, because the Committee lacks
necessary information about this partnership, the Committee is concerned
that either research might be duplicated or that the NIH might not have
the means to fund its share. Section 314 of the bill proposes to provide
funding derived from a research account charged against Department of
Energy research as provided in section 1001(e) of title X of the Energy
Policy Act of 2005. The Committee expects that $25,000,000 will be available
to support nuclear medicine research.
"Asia Pacific Project.—The Committee recommends that up
to one-third of the funding be provided from the climate research activities
from within this account."
At this point the committee report lists 61 earmarked projects totaling
$48.63 million.
BASIC ENERGY SCIENCES:
Current budget: $1,134.6 million
Request: $1,421.0 million (Up 25.2%)
House bill: $1,421.0 million (Up 25.2%)
Senate bill: $1,445.9 million (Up 27.4%)
"The Committee recommends $1,445,930,000 for Basic Energy Sciences,
an increase of $24,950,000 from the budget request. Basic Energy Sciences
supports work on the natural sciences emphasizing fundamental research
in materials sciences, chemistry, geosciences, and aspects of biosciences.
The Committee recommends $1,004,212,000 to support the Materials, Sciences
and Engineering research program. The Committee recommends the following:
$174,409,000 in fully operational funding for Spallation Neutron Source;
full funding for the four Nanoscale Science Research Centers to support
construction and operations; full funding for Linac Coherent Light Source;
the requested level of $25,000,000 for National Synchrotron Light Source-II;
$10,582,000 to support operations for the Manuel Lujan, Jr. Neutron
Scattering Center and $8,000,000, as requested for the Experimental
Program to Stimulate Competitive Research.
"The Committee recommends $293,449,000, an increase of $24,950,000
for Chemical Sciences, Geosciences and Energy Biosciences program. This
program supports basic research in atomic and molecular chemistry, chemical
physics, radiation chemistry, organic and inorganic chemistry, geochemistry
and geophysics.
"Energy and Water Technology Development.—Consistent with
section 979 of the Energy Policy Act, 2005, the Committee recommends
$24,950,000 authorized by this section to support research, development
and demonstration of water technology used in the production of energy.
The Committee believes water planning and water conservation are critical
factors in economic development, human health and environmental well
being. There are many regions in this country and across the world facing
severe water shortages that are forced to look to water reclamation
and desalination activities for adequate supplies. The Committee urges
the Department to draw on the existing expertise within Department of
Energy laboratories and other Federal agencies to develop a program
consistent with the authorities provided in section 979 of Public Law
109-58; the Committee provides $15,950,000 within the available funds
to support this activity. The Committee directs the Department to provide
Sandia National Lab with $10,000,000 for advanced concept desalination
and arsenic treatment research to be used in partnership with other
national laboratories and universities.
"The Committee recommendation includes $5,000,000 for the University
of Vermont Plant Sciences Building and $500,000 for the Environmental
Learning Center, Nevada.
"Construction.—The Committee recommends $148,269,000 to
support construction activities within the Basic Energy Science activities,
as requested. Full funding is provided to the Nanocenters and the Linac
Coherent Light Source at SLAC. Construction funding for the Spallation
Neutron Source is no longer needed as the construction phase is complete."
FUSION ENERGY SCIENCES:
Current budget: $287.6 million
Request: $319.0 million (Up 10.9%)
House bill: $319.0 million (Up 10.9%)
Senate bill: $307.0 million (Up 6.8%)
"For Fusion Energy Sciences, the Committee recommends $307,001,000.
This program advances plasma science, fusion science, and fusion technology
through collaborations among U.S. universities, industry, national research
laboratories, and the international fusion community. Consistent with
budget descriptions, the Committee has shifted $11,949,000 provided
for High Energy Density Science to the new office within the Department
of Energy."
ADVANCED SCIENTIFIC COMPUTING RESEARCH:
Current budget: $234.7 million
Request: $319.7 million (Up 35.8%)
House bill: $318.7 million (Up 35.8%)
Senate bill: $318.7 million (Up 35.8%)
"For Advanced Scientific Computing Research, the Committee
provides $318,654,000, the same as the President's request. In the past
two decades, leadership in scientific computation has become a cornerstone
of the Department's strategy to ensure the security of the Nation and
success in the areas of science and environmental quality. The Committee
is supportive of advanced computing as the Department has taken technological
risks as part of the weapons program. The decisions have paid off as
the Department deploys the Red Storm and Blue G architecture across
the complex to support fusion, nuclear energy, and other disciplines
in need of high speed computational capabilities to support complex
simulations.
"The Committee is concerned with the relationship between the
Office of Science and the NNSA. As an example, the ASCR strategic plan
discusses the need to work with other Federal agencies including several
defense agencies, but only discusses in general terms three areas of
research where NNSA and the Office of Science cooperated. In the area
of basic research, the strategic plan states that it is an area that
is ‘not important enough to justify ASCI investment at this time.'
The Committee is also aware that the Office of Science has budgeted
$13,000,000 for the DARPA to support a petaflop computer deployment
by 2010. The Committee believes this funding would be better spent within
the Department to support a petaflop initiative. The Department is directed
to divide the funds equally between the Office of Science and the NNSA
Advanced Simulation and Computing activities to support development
of component architecture for high-performance software and storage."
SCIENCE EDUCATION/WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT:
The committee report's language on the Office of Science discussed
science education in two different sections, which are below:
SCIENCE EDUCATION: "It is increasingly clear that the economic
future of the United States will be tied to our ability to innovate
and maintain a technological lead to ensure reliable and affordable
energy supplies, advanced technologies that can be sold worldwide, and
innovations that can deliver increases in productivity. These advantages
must be earned and can only be guaranteed through investing in our education
system and teachers. In 1999, only 41 percent of U.S. eighth graders
received instruction from a teacher with specialization in mathematics,
compared to the international average of 71 percent. This is a frightening
statistic, but one that can be changed. A recent National Academy of
Sciences report, Rising Above the Gathering Storm, made several recommendations
that closely track the recommendations of the Secretary of Energy's
Advisory Board, Science and Mathematics Education Task Force. The Task
Force recently concluded that the Department of Energy has a significant
opportunity to enhance science and math education in the Nation, and
it is already well positioned to take a leadership role. The Department
of Energy's national laboratories are home to many of the best scientific
minds, but are also geographically distributed over the country, allowing
access to teachers across the Nation. Moreover, the network of national
laboratories is also tightly linked with industrial and academic resources,
giving DOE the ability to forge educational partnerships that can extend
its reach, and therefore also its capacity to enhance science, engineering
and math education nationwide. The Committee believes more should and
can be done to tap the significant teaching potential within the labs,
and therefore has supported several initiatives within the Office of
Science. As such, the Committee recommends additional funding in the
Workforce Development account to support teacher training and primary
and secondary science and math education."
SCIENCE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT: "These initiatives support
the missions of the Department's Workforce Development for Teachers
and Scientists program. The Committee provides $6,000,000 to establish
the Protecting America's Competitive Edge [PACE] fellows program as
a competitive, merit-based graduate fellowship program for students
pursuing doctoral degrees in a science or engineering field related
to a mission area of the Department. Fellowship recipients must rank
in the upper 10 percent of their class and be citizens or permanent
resident aliens of the United States. Fellowships awarded under this
program shall be portable with the fellow.
"The Committee recognizes that the scientific and professional
staff of the Department of Energy and National Nuclear Security Administration
laboratories are an untapped resource that should be used to support
mathematics, science and engineering education and training in our primary
and secondary schools. The Committee provides $35,000,000 to support
this effort. Half of the funding will be used to establish or expand
summer institutes at National Laboratories to provide additional training
to strengthen the mathematics and science teaching skills of teachers
employed at public schools in kindergarten through grade 12. The Committee
directs the remaining funds to be used to support at each of the National
Laboratories the establishment of a Center of Excellence in Mathematics
and Science at one public secondary school located in the region of
the National Laboratory. The Secretary is directed to provide scientific
and engineering staff of the National Laboratories to assist in teaching
courses at these Centers, and to use National Laboratory scientific
equipment in the teaching of the courses. The Secretary shall consider
the results of performance assessments of the Centers in any performance
review of a National Laboratories management and operations contractor."
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