Congress in Recess; Important Funding Decisions Await September Action

Major science funding bills await final action when Congress returns from its recess on September 3. Appropriations bills for the National Science Foundation, NASA, Department of Energy, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology are in various stages of completion; all of them face a September 30 deadline. With Congress anxious to wrap-up the session to allow Members to campaign, recent passage of several high-profile bills, and aversion to any shutdown of the government, Congress stands ready to pass a catch-all funding bill. This continuing resolution would provide either six or twelve months of funding (yet to be decided) for any department or agency for which a regular appropriations bill is not signed. Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-MS) intends to move this bill the week of September 9 -- just days after Congress returns. While assuring funding for these departments and agencies, this stopgap mechanism would have negative impacts as described below. Here is where things stand:

NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION: The House passed its version of H.R. 3666, the VA, HUD, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Bill, in June (see FYIs #102, 103.) The full Senate did not have time to consider its own Appropriations Committee bill (see FYI #108) before going on its recess. Where there is a difference in various NSF budget levels, the Senate version is higher. A notable difference between the two bills is the amount provided for NSF’s salaries and expenses. The House bill sliced this budget by $9.1 million over the amount needed to maintain the current level of effort. Concern has been expressed about NSF’s ability to manage its operations under this reduced budget. A continuing resolution would result in less money in all budget categories as compared to either the House or Senate bill, and raises the possibility of a mid-year disruption of funding in 1997. NSF proponents are urging that senators be contacted to request quick Senate action on H.R. 3666. Following Senate action, a conference committee must be appointed to resolve differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill, with a final vote then held in each chamber. Time is running out for NSF and NASA (see below.)

NASA: NASA funding is also contained in H.R. 3666, and so it is facing the same problems that were described above for NSF. The current Senate committee bill provides $100 million more for Science, Aeronautics, and Technology (SA&T) than the House-passed bill, with Human Space Flight and Mission Support funding being equal to the House bill. Both versions provide less over-all money for NASA in FY 1997 than the current year (see FYI #107.) If a continuing resolution is passed in lieu of H.R. 3666, the potential $100 million in additional SA&T funding will be lost.

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY: Both the House and Senate have passed H.R. 3816, the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Bill (see FYI #120), bringing this bill one step closer to completion. However, the two versions of this bill are $887 million apart (largely due to more funding for nuclear weapons research and cleanup programs), and no one is predicting how this difference will be resolved. As detailed in FYIs #109 - 112, funding for Fusion, Basic Energy Sciences, and General Science & Research Activities is higher in the Senate bill than the House bill. The Clinton Administration has problems with this legislation, and a veto threat has been made.

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY: The House has passed H.R. 3814, the Commerce, Justice, State Appropriations Bill. The full Senate has not yet considered this bill. As it now stands, the Senate Appropriations Committee’s bill slashes the President’s request for the Advanced Technology Program to $60 million. This is one-sixth the requested level, and about one-half the amount that the House provided for ATP. Current year funding is $221 million. Subcommittee chairman Judd Gregg (R-NH), who showed no enthusiasm for ATP at a hearing last May (see FYI #78) apparently has not had any change of heart, saying that ATP is “nothing more than corporate welfare.” Adding that the Fortune 500 companies receiving ATP funding “can do their own research,” Gregg indicated that he will not be swayed to support a higher level of funding. The Office of Management and Budget has indicated the entire $28.8 billion bill could be vetoed because of the ATP funding level. If Commerce Department funding is included in a continuing resolution because a regular appropriations bill is not signed into law, ATP funding could be as low as $60 million for FY 1997.