Appropriations’ Benchmarks for DOE Office of Science, National Science Foundation, and Department of Defense Science and Technology Programs
Appropriators will start drafting FY 2011 funding bills in coming weeks. The Senate Budget Committee approved a spending and revenue blueprint last week, and the House leadership is deciding about what its next action should be. Hearings have been held in House and Senate committees on various physics-related budget requests.
The American Institute of Physics and several of its Member Societies belong to coalitions that support the DOE Office of Science, the National Science Foundation, and the science and technology programs of the Department of Defense. Each of these coalitions has sent a funding statement to Congress regarding the Administration’s FY 2011 request. Selections from these statements, that can serve as benchmarks as appropriators draft their funding bills, are below.
Coalition for National Science Funding:
“Each year NSF has to decline over $2 billion of highly-rated proposals because of a lack of funds. These declined proposals represent opportunities that could produce substantial benefits to the U.S. It is imperative that NSF receive a FY 2011 budget level that will increase the agency’s ability to contribute to the nation’s well-being. We urge you to support a NSF FY 2011 budget of at least $7.424 billion.”
A summary of the FY 2011 request can be viewed here . The full statement is available here .
Coalition for National Security Research:
“The Coalition for National Security Research (CNSR) applauds the continued effort by the Department of Defense to increase investments in the 6.1 basic research accounts by $1 billion between Fiscal Year 2009 (FY 09) and FY 13, and urges Congress to provide at least a $200 million increase above the FY 10 appropriations level for these programs in FY 11 to meet this target. More broadly, CNSR urges Congress to provide sufficient funding to work towards the Pentagon’s historical goal to invest three percent of the Department’s total budget in the Defense S&T program – 6.1 basic research, 6.2 applied research, and 6.3 advanced technology development.”
A summary of the FY 2011 request can be viewed here . The full statement is available here .
Energy Sciences Coalition FY 2011 Funding Statement:
“The Energy Sciences Coalition (ESC) strongly supports the Administration’s goal to double funding for the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Science between FY 2007 to FY 2017, a goal that is consistent with the bipartisan American COMPETES Act and the recommendations in the National Academies’ 2005 report “Rising Above the Gathering Storm.” To that end, the ESC supports funding of at least $5.121 billion for the Office of Science in FY 2011 – an amount equal to the level requested by the Administration for FY 2011 and a 4.4 percent increase over FY 2010.”
A summary of the FY 2011 request can be viewed here . The full statement is available here .
