House Report on NSF Appropriations: R&RA, Indirect Costs
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 highlight sections of the accompanying appropriations committee report dealing with the National Science Foundation; FYI #96 provided text from the section of the report relating to NASA. As reported in FYI #82, under the House bill NSF would receive $3.1 billion, an increase of $88.3 million above the 1994 level, but $92.9 million less than the President’s request. Below are selected portions of the report referring to NSF:
RESEARCH AND RELATED ACTIVITIES: “For fiscal year 1995, the Committee recommends a total of $2,216,923,000 for the research and related activities [this is $131.4 million below the request].... The funding for major research equipment, specifically the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO) and the Gemini [telescopes] project, have been moved to a new account....”
“The Committee has reduced the Global Climate Change, High Performance Computing and Communications, and Civil Infrastructure Systems Initiatives to 50 percent of the requested increase. Given the extremely tight fiscal constraints facing the Committee as well as the reductions taken in the research and related activities account, it is difficult to justify a larger increase for these programs. These amounts still provide significant increases above the fiscal year 1994 levels for those programs. The Committee is concerned that these new initiatives are being funded at the expense of significant and on-going research efforts. It is expected that the Foundation will more carefully review such large increases for any one particular program in the future.”
“The Committee would like to recognize the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory. It is considered to be the preeminent facility in the world for research in high magnetic fields and magnet technology. This laboratory is especially noteworthy as an example of a successful federal and state partnership.”
INDIRECT COSTS: “The Committee has NOT [emphasis added] included language concerning a one-year pause in the payment of indirect costs to academic institutions. In July 1993, the Administration published in the Federal Register revisions to OMB Circular A-21. These revisions made a number of significant changes to the indirect cost reimbursement process after extensive comment and discussion with a broad range of institutions of higher education. Out of this review came a long list of costs that were disallowed. In addition, reimbursement of administrative costs was capped at 26 percent. As part of the budget request, the Administration has now proposed a `pause’ in increases in indirect cost reimbursement. At the same time, the Administration has begun a comprehensive review of this issue to better understand the incentives that govern overhead payments for a wide range of Federal research and development grantees and contractors. Until such review is completed, the Committee has chosen not to take action on this issue.”
