Congress Acts on Final NSF FY 1995 Funding Bill: Academic Infrastructure

Yesterday, the House passed the final bill, or conference report (House Report 103-715), for H.R. 4624, the FY 1995 VA, HUD, Independent Agencies Appropriations Bill. The Senate will act shortly.

The bill provides NSF with $250.0 million for academic research infrastructure activities. For the current year (FY 1994) this budget is $105.0 million. NSF requested $55.0 million.

There is a “string” attached to this appropriation. Under the conference report, NSF must request at least $250.0 million for academic research infrastructure activities in the FY 1996 budget. Below are the details from the report:

$131.9 million of this appropriation is available for the period of September 1, 1995 (the last month of FY 1995) through August 31, 1996. However, this will be rescinded on July 15, 1995 unless the President requests at least $250.0 million for this activity in the fiscal year 1996 NSF budget request. This request is sent to Congress in February.

The conference report states: “The conferees have provided NSF with $250,000,000 for academic research infrastructure activities. Of this amount, $118,133,000 should be used for the standard NSF facilities and instrumentation modernization program, equally divided between the two activities. The remaining funds...$131,867,000, should be allocated for a new interagency facilities and instrumentation modernization program managed by the NSF. Twenty percent of both pots of funds should be allocated to smaller colleges and universities, including historically black colleges and universities, and those institutions of higher learning with an established record of recruitment, retention and graduation of predominantly underrepresented groups in science and technology.

“The conferees are deeply concerned about the continued staggering need to address the academic infrastructure backlog in facilities and instrumentation. However, to induce the Administration to support this new initiative, language has been included which would automatically rescind these extra funds unless the President’s fiscal year 1996 budget request includes at least $250 million for academic research infrastructure funds for the NSF. The additional funds provided by the conferees in fiscal year 1995 should be part of the cornerstone of a broader federal research infrastructure modernization effort, but they should be clearly managed by the NSF. Funds for this additional program should also be apportioned equally between facilities and instrumentation.

“In addition to the NSF program, the National Science and Technology Council, with the cooperation of the OSTP, should develop a five-year interagency research infrastructure strategy, consistent with the terms specified in Senate Report 103-311 [see FYI #112]. This strategy should also specify how increasing numbers of Federal science and technology agencies would participate in similar activities modelled on merit review selection.”