FY 2009 Defense Appropriations: Science and Technology Programs
As the new fiscal year starts today, the Department of Defense is one of the few departments that has its new budget for all of FY 2009.
Yesterday evening President Bush signed into law H.R. 2638. This law contains flat funding for most federal departments and agencies until early March, but also provides $600 billion in full year funding for the departments of Defense, Homeland Security, and Veterans Affairs, and for military construction.
One measure of overall defense science and technology program spending is its relationship to the total defense discretionary budget. The total discretionary DOD budget is $487.7 billion. The $13,487 million budget for the 6.1, 6.2 and 6.3 programs is 2.765 percent of the FY 2009 defense budget. A September 2007 memo from John Young, then the Director of Defense Research and Engineering, to Defense Secretary Robert Gates stated: “Historically, the Defense Department has pursued a goal of investing 3% of the Department’s budget in S&T. The Administration endorsed the 3% goal in 2001. While it is not clear that the ‘3% goal’ is the most appropriate metric, it provides an easily calculated and useful benchmark as we work to identify better metrics.” Young proposed a dramatic increase in 6.1 basic research spending, warning “The Department is coasting on the basic science investments of the last century, and is losing the force multiplier advantage conferred by harvesting those investments.” More of this memo can be read here .
The below Administration “request” figures and the “final bill” figures are taken from the legislative language for H.R. 2638. The final bill budget numbers include earmarks, which the Office of Science and Technology Policy has estimated accounts for 20 percent of 6.1 and 6.2 funding in previous defense appropriations (see this FYI .)
AGGREGATE 6.1 BASIC RESEARCH
The current budget is $1,634 million.
The Administration requested $1,699 million, an increase of $65 million or 4.0 percent.
The final bill provided $1,842 million, an increase of $208 million or 12.7 percent.
AGGREGATE 6.2 APPLIED RESEARCH
The current budget is $5,058 million.
The Administration requested $4,261 million, a decrease of $797 million or 15.8 percent.
The final bill provided $5,113 million, an increase of $55 million or 1.1 percent.
AGGREGATE 6.3 ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT
The current budget is $5,987 million.
The Administration requested $5,516 million, a decrease of $471 million or 7.9 percent.
The final bill provided $6,532 million, an increase of $545 million or 9.1 percent.
TOTAL 6.1, 6.2, AND 6.3
The current budget is $12,679 million.
The Administration requested $11,476 million, a decrease of $1,203 million or 9.5 percent.
The final bill provided $13,487 million, an increase of $808 million or 6.4 percent.
TOTAL ARMY 6.1, 6.2, and 6.3
The current budget is $2,891 million
The Administration requested $1,842 million, a decrease of $1,049 million or 36.3 percent.
The final bill provided $3,078, an increase of $187 million or 6.5 percent.
TOTAL NAVY 6.1, 6.2, AND 6.3
The current budget is $2,021 million
The Administration requested $1,840 million, a decrease of $181 million or 8.9 percent.
The final bill provided $2,160 million, an increase of $139 million or 6.9 percent.
TOTAL AIR FORCE 6.1, 6.2, AND 6.3
The current budget is $2,255 million
The Administration requested $2,072 million, a decrease of $183 million or 8.1 percent.
The final bill provided $2,403 million, an increase of $148 million or 6.6 percent.
TOTAL DEFENSE-WIDE (DARPA, ETC.) 6.1, 6.2, AND 6.3
The current budget is $5,512 million
The Administration requested $5,718 million, an increase of $206 million or 3.7 percent.
The final bill provided $5,846 million, an increase of $334 million or 6.1 percent.
This law also continues the indirect cost rate cap on basic research for FY 2009. Section 8109 of H.R. 2638 states:
“Notwithstanding any other provision of law, none of the funds made available in this Act may be used to pay negotiated indirect cost rates on a contract, grant, or cooperative agreement (or similar arrangement) entered into by the Department of Defense and an entity in excess of 35 percent of the total cost of the contract, grant, or agreement (or similar arrangement): Provided, That this limitation shall apply only to contracts, grants, or cooperative agreements entered into after the date of the enactment of this Act using funds made available in this Act for basic research.”
