FY 1996 Budget Request: Gibbons Reviews Science & Technology

With the release of the $1.6 trillion budget request on February 6, the Clinton Administration made known its plans and priorities for fiscal year 1996. At a briefing in the Old Executive Office Building, Presidential Science Advisor Jack Gibbons discussed science and technology in the request. The Administration has two overarching budget objectives, which Gibbons termed “following a two-fold way:" reducing the deficit and investing for the future. While the budget requires deep cuts in many budget areas, Gibbons said, it also “reflects the President’s commitment to investing in science and technology and education.”

The budget request supports both basic, fundamental science (which Gibbons said had “the highest rate of total return of any federal investment”) and partnerships with industry to foster applied technologies. According to Gibbons, total federal support for research and development “increases very slightly, . . . despite the downward motion” of the rest of the discretionary budget. (The budget comprises discretionary and mandatory spending and interest on the national debt.) He provided the following highlights from the budget request:

Basic research would receive the largest percentage increase in the science and technology budget, rising 3.5 percent. This growth “has not been easy to achieve,” Gibbons noted, because one-third of basic research is performed in the mission agencies, which “are under heavy pressure for downsizing.” Support for academic R&D would increase by 7 percent. Research and related activities at NSF would grow by 8 percent, Gibbons said, “in order to refocus on this investment in fundamental research.”

Government partnerships with industry to support applied technologies would also be increased. NIST’s Advanced Technology Program would grow by 14 percent, DOE’s cooperative R&D agreements by 8 percent, and DOD’s Technology Reinvestment Program by 13 percent. Gibbons predicted “an intensive dialogue” with Congress on these programs, which some Republicans have criticized as “industrial policy.”.

Other science and technology programs to receive emphasis from the Administration include high performance computing and information technologies, education and training, health and food research, environmental protection, national security, and international stability. Gibbons also highlighted an effort to have more federal research programs submit to a merit review process.

In response to the budget request, House Science Committee Ranking Minority Member George Brown (D-CA) stated that “the outlook for science and technology programs remains grim.” Brown reported that the federal R&D budget, totalling $72.9 billion, “represents a real decline of 3 percent in budget authority.” He commended progress toward evening out the funding for civilian and defense R&D (the percentage of civilian would grow by 3.2 percent, while defense would decrease by 2.4 percent.) Expressing concern over Republican intentions for the budget, Brown challenged them “to do as well for the nation’s research and development investments as the President has.”