FY 2015 Appropriations: DOE Office of Science

Congress is nearing completion of the FY 2015 appropriations cycle. The House and Senate are scheduled to consider a $1.1trillion bill providing funding through September 30, 2015 for all departments and agencies with the exception of the Department of Homeland Security that will be funded through early 2015.

The bill has not been printed in final form. The section on the Department of Energy’s Office of Science is found on PDF pages 84-86, with a funding table on PDF pages 104-105. Note that language in the previous House and Senate appropriations reports stands unless modified by language in the conference report.

Total Office of Science:

The FY 2014 appropriation was $5,066.4 million
The FY 2015 request is $5,111.2 million, an increase of $44.8 million or 0.9 percent
The House bill provides $5,071.0 million, an increase of $4.6 million or 0.1 percent above current funding.
The Senate bill provides $5,086.0 million, an increase of $19.6 million or 0.4 percent above current funding.
The final bill provides $5,071.0 million, an increase of $4.6 million or essentially flat funding.

The conference report has language on ITER.

Within the Office of Science are the following selected programs:

Advanced Scientific Computing Research:

The FY 2014 appropriation was $478.1 million
The FY 2015 request is $541.0 million, an increase of $62.9 million or 13.2 percent
The House bill provides $541.0 million, an increase of $62.9 million or 13.2 percent above current funding
The Senate bill provides $557.0 million, an increase of $78.9 million or 16.5 percent above current funding.
The final bill provides $541.0 million, an increase of $62.9 million or 13.2 percent above current funding

The conference report has language on funding for specific facilities and programs.

Basic Energy Sciences:

The FY 2014 appropriation was $1,711.9 million
The FY 2015 request is $1,806.5 million, an increase of $94.6 million or 5.5 percent
The House bill provides $1,702.0 million, a decrease of $9.9 million or 0.6 percent below current funding
The Senate bill provides $1,806.5 million, an increase of $94.6 million or 5.5 percent above current funding.
The final bill provides $1,733.2 million, an increase of $21.3 million or 1.2 percent above current funding

The conference report has language on Energy Frontier Research Centers, materials science and engineering, Innovation Hubs, and facilities’ operations.

Biological and Environmental Research:

The FY 2014 appropriation was $609.7 million
The FY 2015 request is $628.0 million, an increase of $18.3 million or 3.0 percent
The House bill provides $540.0 million, a decrease of $69.7 million or 11.4 percent below current funding
The Senate bill provides $627.5 million, an increase of $17.8 million or 2.9 percent above current funding.
The final bill provides $592.0 million, a decrease of $17.7 million or 2.9 percent below current funding

The conference report has language on facility funding and a climate model development and validation initiative, for which no funding was provided.

Fusion Energy Sciences:

The FY 2014 appropriation was $504.7 million
The FY 2015 request is $416.0 million, a decrease of $88.7 million or 17.6 percent
The House bill provides $540.0 million, an increase of $35.3 million or 7.0 percent above current funding
The Senate bill provides $341.0 million, a decrease of $163.7 million or 32.4 percent below current funding.
The final bill provides $467.5 million, a decrease of $37.2 million or 7.4 percent below current funding

The conference report has language on domestic and international fusion facilities and fusion programs.

High Energy Physics:

The FY 2014 appropriation was $796.5 million
The FY 2015 request is $744.0 million, a decrease of $52.5 million or 6.6 percent
The House bill provides $775.0 million, a decrease of $21.5 million or 2.7 percent below current funding
The Senate bill provides $774.5 million, a decrease of $22.0 million or 2.8 percent below current funding.
The final bill provides $766.0 million, a decrease of $30.5 million or 3.8 percent below current funding

The conference report has language on specific programs and facilities.

Nuclear Physics:

The FY 2014 appropriation was $569.1 million
The FY 2015 request is 593.6 million, an increase of $24.4 million or 4.3 percent
The House bill provides $600.0 million, an increase of $30.9 million or 5.4 percent above current funding
The Senate bill provides $601.6 million, an increase of $32.5 million or 5.7 percent above current funding.
The final bill provides $595.0 million, an increase of $25.9 million or 4.6 percent above current funding

The conference report has language on specific programs and facilities.