Now is the Time

When the House and Senate return to Washington next week they will complete work on a budget document clearing the way for them to start writing the appropriations bills for the new fiscal year starting on October 1. The actions occurring during the next few weeks will determine the amount of money available for civilian and defense R&D in the coming year.

Before Congress left for the Memorial Day recess there was much talk about the budget deal worked out between the Clinton Administration and Congress. Under this broad brush outline, the federal budget should balance by 2002. Both the House and Senate have put this deal into a legislative package called a budget resolution that will be compromised into a final version when Congress returns next week.

The resolution does not spare future science and technology spending. It does not go into details, lumping NSF, most of NASA, and DOE’s physics programs in a category called “Science, Space and Technology.” This category is projected for significant reductions by 2002. House Science Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) said last week, “I would be less than honest if I didn’t share with you my dismay with the funding levels... If this budget resolution is adopted, we will be spending less in real dollars in 2002 than we did in 1991. If we are for investing in America’s future and keeping American technology number one, we need to do a better job....”

Although the budget resolution - which is a near certainty - is important, since it sets the government on a path toward a balanced budget by 2002, almost no one in Washington puts much stock in the individual years’ spending numbers. The budget resolution is not law, and even within Congress it is not a set plan. Key administration and congressional players stress the importance of considering each new fiscal year’s appropriations bills on their own -- in other words, crossing each bridge as you come to it.

We are at that point for fiscal year 1998. As soon as the budget resolution is settled, the appropriations committees will meet to decide how much money each of the 13 subcommittees get to “spend.” Once these “602(b) allocations” are made, the subcommittees will start writing their bills.

This process begins in the House of Representatives. While the House subcommittee bills are not the last word on an agency’s budget, they are a very important first word.

Over the last few months there has been considerable attention given to federal R&D spending by science and technology organizations. The message has been well-received by the media, and is being reinforced by friendly Members of Congress.

What is now needed is for individual constituents to inform their representatives and senators of their opinions about science and technology budgets. FYI #69 provides guidance on writing letters, and references appropriations subcommittee rosters. It is important for the appropriators, and your individual representatives, to know your opinion.

Now is the time to write.