The Bottom Line -- Congress Readies FY 1997 NSF Appropriation

House and Senate conferees have agreed on the final version of H.R. 3666, the VA, HUD, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Bill for FY 1997. The legislation, which will be voted on by both chambers early next week, funds the National Science Foundation and NASA. Conference report language is not available yet; the following is what is now known about the NSF part of the bill (all figures rounded):

OVER-ALL NSF BUDGET:

The Clinton Administration requested a total of $3,325 million. Congress provided 98.3% of this request, or $3,270 million, for FY 1997.

RESEARCH AND RELATED ACTIVITIES:

The Administration requested a total of $2,472 million. Congress provided 98.4% of this request, or $2,432 million.

The Academic Research Infrastructure program, as requested by NSF, was folded into the over-all Research and Related Activities Account. For FY 1997, Congress provided $50 million (within this Account) for large scale academic research instrumentation, which is the amount sought by NSF.

EDUCATIONAL AND HUMAN RESOURCES:

The Administration requested $619 million. Congress fully funded this request.

Adjustments were made to various program requests, details of which will be covered in a future FYI.

MAJOR RESEARCH EQUIPMENT:

The Administration requested $95 million. Congress provided 84.2% of this request, or $80 million.

An NSF official stated that this appropriation “is sufficient to keep...on schedule” the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory and South Pole Station Safety project.

SALARIES AND RELATED EXPENSES:

The Administration requested $134 million. Congress fully funded this request.

A future FYI will put the above figures in historical context.