Screws Tighten on NSF, NASA Funding; Commerce Bill Zeroes (?) ATP

In two weeks the short-term money runs out which has kept the doors open at the National Science Foundation, NASA, and Department of Commerce. The outlook on keeping those doors open beyond that date became dimmer during the last few days following action on two appropriations bills.

Look for the screws to tighten on the FY 1996 NASA and NSF budgets as House and Senate conferees shift money around to increase spending on veterans medical care (see FYI #167.) Last night, the President signed the defense appropriations bill that was $7 billion over the administration’s request. Prior to Clinton’s signature, there was hope that had this bill been vetoed, ultimately releasing some of this money, it could have funded the additional VA medical care from “outside” H.R. 2099. This bill provides money for the VA, NASA, NSF, HUD, EPA, and many smaller agencies.

With this outside source of money no longer available, appropriators are going to have to look inside the bill. Available candidates for reductions in this bill are slim: VA funding will go up, and the administration has already loudly objected to cuts in the HUD and EPA budgets. That leaves NASA, with its $13.82 billion budget, and NSF’s $3.18 billion budget as the remaining large pots of money. The House wants an additional $213 million for VA care. Even if the House and Senate sign-off on this bill next week, the President has already announced he will veto it because of cuts to housing, EPA, and the national service program budgets.

The situation with the Commerce Department’s FY 1996 budget is even more clouded. Wednesday, House and Senate conferees agreed on a final appropriations bill for the Commerce Department. Although the conference report will not be ready until next Monday, two administration sources report that the Advanced Technology Program was zeroed out by the conferees. This figure is not confirmed. The Administration requested $490.9 million for ATP. H.R. 2076 cut overall department funding approximately 25%. Having the extra $7 billion in DOD funding no longer available will make ultimate resolution of this bill even more difficult. Secretary Ronald Brown said the President “will surely veto” this bill.

With such major differences between Congress and the Administration in these two bills, the chances for a quick settlement are not high. Making this even more complicated is the decision by the Republican congressional leadership to link the six unsigned appropriations bills to balanced budget legislation. Key players from both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue have been meeting this week - unsuccessfully - to reach some kind of compromise. “You can’t divorce the appropriations bills from the reconciliation [overall budget] package,” declared House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Georgia). Breaking this logjam over NSF, NASA and Commerce funding will prove exceedingly difficult, since it will ultimately involve issues ranging from VA medical care to ATP funding to the size of the federal deficit in 2002. “It would be a miracle of major proportions to finish by mid-December” warns Senator Jim Exon (D-Nebraska).