Comparison of Results: FY99 Appropriations to FY99 Request
As stated in FYI #157 , it can be useful to look back at the appropriations process to review how well selected programs fared. While FYI #157 looked at the change in program budgets between fiscal years 1998 and 1999, the table below compares the final fiscal 1999 appropriations numbers with President Clinton’s FY 1999 request, for the programs and agencies regularly tracked by FYI. The programs are ranked by the percent increase of the final appropriation over their budget request.
As the table shows, Congress increased funding for DOD Applied Research by the greatest percentage over what President Clinton asked for. Also faring significantly better than the President’s request are NASA’s Science, Aeronautics and Technology (SAT) account, and the total NASA budget. While the Administration has kept NASA on a diet of tight budgets in recent years, many Members of Congress complain that NASA funding is insufficient to build the space station. Some also worry that SAT is being shortchanged because of the space station, which is funded within the Human Space Flight account.
At the bottom of the list are total NIST funding and NIST’s Advanced Technology Program (ATP). Although a favorite of the Clinton Administration and some congressional Democrats, the ATP has been criticized by many Republicans as “corporate welfare.” It has been threatened with cancellation by appropriators in the past, but has always survived, albeit with budgets lower than requested. This reduction to ATP is a big factor in placing the total NIST budget near the bottom of the table as well.
Rank |
Agency/ |
% Change: FY99 |
Order |
Program |
Request-Appropriation |
1 |
DOD Applied Research (6.2) |
5.6 |
2 |
NASA Science, Aeronautics & |
|
Technology |
3.6 |
|
3 |
NASA Total |
1.5 |
4 |
DOE High Energy Physics |
0.8 |
4 |
DOE Nuclear Physics |
0.8 |
5 |
DOE Fusion Energy Sciences |
0.7 |
6 |
DOD Basic Research (6.1) |
0.1 |
7 |
NIST Construction |
0 |
7 |
NIST Manufacturing Extension |
|
Partnership |
0 |
|
8 |
NASA Human Space Flight |
-0.6 |
9 |
NSF Total |
-2.7 |
9 |
NSF Research & Related Activities -2.7 |
-2.7 |
10 |
NSF Education & Human Resources |
-3.1 |
11 |
DOE Basic Energy Sciences |
-3.2 |
12 |
NIST Scientific & Technical Research |
|
& Services |
-3.9 |
|
13 |
NSF Major Research Equipment |
-4.3 |
14 |
NIST Total |
-9.5 |
15 |
NIST Advanced Technology Program |
-21.7 |
Note: In most cases, the comparisons were based on appropriations figures without factoring in any general reductions to an agency or department.
For the selected programs shown here, Congress increased the total funding level by 0.7 percent over what President Clinton requested. As reported in the previous FYI, total funding for these programs is also up by 2.7 percent above what they received, cumulatively, in fiscal year 1998.
