House Report on NSF Appropriations: Equipment, Infrastructure, Education

On June 29, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 4624, the VA/HUD/Independent Agencies Appropriations bill for fiscal year 1995. The bill remains unchanged from the version passed by the House Appropriations Committee on June 22. FYIs #98 and #99 highlighted sections of the accompanying appropriations committee report dealing with the National Science Foundation.

MAJOR RESEARCH EQUIPMENT: “This new account provides funding for the construction of major research facilities that provide unique capabilities at the cutting edge of science and engineering. These construction projects were formerly funded through the Research and Related Activities appropriation. Two projects currently comprise this activity: the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO) and the Gemini Telescopes, twin eight-meter telescopes in the northern and southern hemispheres being built through an international partnership.

“The Committee recommends a total of $105,000,000 for the major research equipment account for fiscal year 1995. This level reflects the total amount requested in the President’s budget, plus $35,000,000 for the 1994 funding of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO) program.... For technical reasons, the 1994 funds for LIGO have been transferred to this account.

“The Committee is pleased that significant progress has been made with both the LIGO and the Gemini Telescopes and is encouraged to see the development of the Gemini project move forward, but is concerned about LIGO. It is the understanding of the Committee that NSF has made efforts to strengthen the LIGO management team and the resolution of the various site access issues are being actively pursued. LIGO is meritorious, but NSF should carefully review this project before moving forward. The Committee is aware that a LIGO reorganization plan is expected to be completed and provided to NSF by October 1, 1994. The Foundation is expected to keep the Committee apprised of all developments related to the LIGO project and should report on the LIGO plan within 30 days of the receipt of this reorganization effort.”

ACADEMIC RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURE: “This program is a consolidation of the previous Academic Research Facility Modernization Activity and support of academic research instrumentation.

“In 1988, an NSF survey revealed that for every dollar spent for repair and renovation at universities and colleges, almost four dollars of required work was being deferred. These funds are designed to assist in modernizing and revitalizing the nation’s research facilities at institutions of higher education, and other entities, through capital investment. Also, the new academic research instrumentation component of this effort is designed to improve the research infrastructure by focusing on major instruments that are needed in all fields, but are normally too costly for existing NSF programs.

“The Committee recommends a total of $100,000,000 for academic research infrastructure for fiscal year 1995. This is $45,000,000 above the President’s budget request and $10,000,000 below the 1994 level....”

“The Committee believes that the modernization of research facilities and the acquisition of state of the art research instrumentation must be linked in some manner to ensure that an appropriate and comprehensive approach is taken in modernizing the nation’s academic research infrastructure. As in the past, the Committee expects that the funds for this account will be equally divided between facilities modernization and the acquisition of large scale research instrumentation.

“The Committee is concerned about the proper level of funding for both the research facilities and the instrumentation and directs the Foundation to submit a report by February 15, 1995, concerning the general need for funding in this area, the funding levels required for both research facilities and instrumentation, and the appropriateness of linking the two activities.”

EDUCATION AND HUMAN RESOURCES: “For fiscal year 1995, the Committee has provided the President’s request of $585,974,000. This level is $16,374,000 above the 1994 level.” [It includes an increase of $5,000,000 for the EPSCoR program above the Administration request. For details on other selected items, see FYI #82.]