Bush Administration Requests Dramatic Cuts in DOD S&T Program Funding

The Bush Administration has requested a 21.1% cut in overall funding for Department of Defense Science and Technology Programs in FY 2006 as compared to current spending. With proposed cuts ranging almost as high as 50% in some categories, the Administration’s request would make double-digit cuts in all but two accounts.

There was no written or oral explanation for the proposed cuts in materials released by the Department of Defense or the Office of Science and Technology Policy. Under the president’s request, DOD’s total funding would increase 4.8%.

Many of the below figures were provided by the Coalition for National Security Research, to which AIP and several of its Member Societies belong. Readers wishing detailed figures should consult the RDT&E PROGRAMS (R-1) document at http://www.defenselink.mil/comptroller/defbudget/fy2006/fy2006_r1.pdf

The Defense Science Board and the Quadrennial Defense Review recommended that total funding for the 6.1, 6.2 and 6.3 programs be 3.0% of the total Defense Department budget. This year, the level was 2.6%; under the proposed budget that figure would drop to 2.5%.

The direction the Administration has taken in the FY 2006 request is contrary to that which Congress took in approving the current appropriation. In the bill passed last July, all but two of the below budgets increased (see http://www.aip.org/fyi/2004/097.html ).

The below figures are unadjusted for inflation, and are the difference between this year’s budget (FY 2005) and that requested by the Administration.

AGGREGATE 6.1 (basic research) funding would decline 12.9% to $1,319 million
AGGREGATE 6.2 (applied research) funding would decline 16.4% to 4,139 million
AGGREGATE 6.3 (advanced technology development) funding would decline 26.3% to $5,064 million
TOTAL AGGREGATE 6.1, 6.2, and 6.3 funding would decline 21.1% from $13,329 million to $10,522 million.

ARMY 6.1 funding would decline 24.6% to $308 million
ARMY 6.2 funding would decline 42.0% to $671 million
ARMY 6.3 funding would decline 47.6% to $756 million
TOTAL AGGREGATE ARMY 6.1, 6.2, and 6.3 funding would decline 42.4%, from
$3,010 million to $1,735 million.

NAVY 6.1 funding would decline 9.6% to $448 million
NAVY 6.2 funding would decline 27.6% to $598 million
NAVY 6.3 funding would decline 26.0% to $730 million
TOTAL AGGREGATE NAVY 6.1, 6.2, and 6.3 funding would decline 23.1%, from
$2,308 million to $1,776 million.

AIR FORCE 6.1 funding would decline 5.9% to $341 million
AIR FORCE 6.2 funding would decline 11.1% to $852 million
AIR FORCE 6.3 funding would decline 23.8% to $788 million
TOTAL AGGREGATE AIR FORCE 6.1, 6.2, and 6.3 funding would decline 15.9% from $2,354 million to $1,980 million.

DEFENSE-WIDE (DARPA, etc.) 6.1 funding would decline 10.1% to $222 million
DEFENSE-WIDE 6.2 funding would INCREASE 0.6% to $2,018 million
DEFENSE WIDE 6.3 funding would decline 18.0% to $2,790 million
TOTAL AGGREGATE DEFENSE-WIDE funding would decline 11.1% to $5,031 million.