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Final Outcome of Federal Funding for Environmental R&D in FY 2007
The tortuous appropriations process for fiscal year 2007 came to an =
unceremonious end on February 15, when President Bush signed a massive =
$463.5 billion joint funding resolution into law. This full-year =
continuing resolution provides flat funding for most federal agencies =
for the remainder of the current fiscal year, which began on October 1, =
2006. =20
The outgoing 109th Congress failed to complete action on 9 of the 11 =
annual appropriations bills that provide funding for all federal =
agencies, with the exceptions of defense and homeland security. In =
order to keep the government from shutting down, the outgoing Congress =
passed a series of short-term continuing resolutions that funded most =
federal agencies at flat or declining levels for the first several =
months of the fiscal year. The 109th Congress prolonged its agony by =
convening a lame duck session after the November elections. After a =
year of effort, the outgoing Congress adjourned without passing any of =
the remaining appropriations bills. =20
The incoming Democratic leadership of the 110th Congress decided to =
dispense with the nine remaining appropriations bills and pass a =
full-year continuing resolution instead. The full-year continuing =
resolution for FY 2007 has two major policies:
1. The budgets of most federal agencies are frozen at the last =
year's funding level. This policy is highly advantageous for agencies =
that were slated for substantial budget cuts, such as NOAA. =
Conversely, it is disadvantageous for agencies that were slated for =
substantial budget increases, such as NSF. However, the full-year =
continuing resolution contains limited budget adjustments to address the =
nation's most important policy concerns.=20
2. The full year continuing resolution eliminates the vast =
majority of congressionally designated earmarks that have proliferated =
in recent appropriations bills. In some cases, the elimination of =
congressional earmarks may result in increased funding for core research =
programs even if an agency's overall budget is flat or declining. =20
Total Federal Funding for R&D. Under the full-year continuing =
resolution, federal funding for research and development will rise to a =
record level of $139.9 billion, an increase of $4.6 billion or 3.4 =
percent, in fiscal year 2007. However, funding for research will be =
almost constant and nearly the entire increase will be devoted to =
development, particularly weapons development programs at the Department =
of Defense and human spacecraft development programs at NASA.=20
Federal funding for research in FY 2007 will remain nearly unchanged at =
$56.8 billion, a net increase of 0.2 percent or $93 million. After =
adjusting for inflation, federal funding for research will decline for =
the third consecutive year. Increases in research funding for the =
National Science Foundation (NSF), National Institute of Technology and =
Standards (NIST), and Department of Energy (DOE), and National =
Institutes of Health (NIH) are offset by sharp decreases in research =
funding for NASA and the Department of Homeland Security and by smaller =
cuts at other agencies. =20
The following discussion illustrates how the full-year continuing =
resolution has differing effects on two major science agencies. NSF was =
slated for a large budget increase and ended up with a smaller increase. =
NOAA was slated for a significant budget cut and ended up with a flat =
budget. In the end, NSF has a lower budget than initially proposed and =
NOAA has a higher budget than initially proposed. =20
National Science Foundation (NSF). The budget of the National Science =
Foundation will rise by $335 or 6.0 percent to $5.92 billion in FY 2007. =
The entire increase in NSF's budget is allocated to its Research and =
Related Activities account, which will increase by 7.7 percent to $4.7 =
billion. All other NSF accounts, including Education and Human =
Resources and Major Research Equipment and Facilities Construction, will =
have flat budgets in FY 2007. =20
Although the National Science Foundation fared well in the context of =
flat funding for most federal agencies, the final NSF budget for FY 2007 =
is substantially below the amount requested by the President and =
initially approved by the House of Representatives. They planned to =
increase the NSF budget by $439 million or 7.9 percent to $6.02 billion. =
The 7.9 percent increase proposed for NSF was intended as the first =
installment of a plan to double the agency's budget over the next ten =
years. Doubling the budget of the National Science Foundation remains a =
goal of the President's American Competitive Initiative, legislation =
pending before Congress, and reports by the National Academy of Sciences =
and other organizations. =20
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The budget for =
NOAA will remain nearly flat at approximately $3.9 billion in FY 2007. =
This is a tremendous boost for NOAA because it had been operating for =
several months under a series of short-term continuing resolutions that =
cut its budget by over $500 million. =20
The final outcome for NOAA belies enormous swings in its budget during =
the FY 2007 appropriations cycle. The President proposed cutting NOAA's =
budget by approximately $250 million. In June, the House of =
Representatives passed an appropriations bill that would cut NOAA's =
budget by over $500 million to $3.4 billion in FY 2007. In a remarkable =
turn of events, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved a bill in =
July that would increase NOAA's budget by nearly $500 million to $4.4 =
billion. However, the full Senate failed to complete action on the bill =
before it adjourned and there was no opportunity to reconcile the $1 =
billion gap between the House and Senate bills. =20
The full-year continuing resolution sets NOAA's FY 2007 budget at last =
year's level. It also removes numerous earmarks in NOAA's budget. The =
elimination of congressional earmarks in NOAA's budget may result in =
increases for core research programs even though the overall budget is =
flat. =20
Other Agencies. =20
. Funding for the U.S. Geological Survey is nearly unchanged at =
$978 million in FY 2007. It appears that the USGS will restore funding =
for two major program cuts that were proposed in the President's budget =
request. =20
. The budget for the Environmental Protection Agency is nearly =
flat at $7.6 billion in FY 2007 and its R&D budget is expected to be =
unchanged at $600 million. =20
. Funding for the Cooperative State Research, Education and =
Extension Service (CSREES) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture is =
nearly constant at $1.2 billion in FY 2007, but significant budget =
shifts among CSREES programs are expected. =20
. NASA's total budget is expected to decline by 2.5 percent to =
$16.2 billion but R&D funding will increase by 3.6 percent to $11.7 =
billion. NASA plans large increases in human spacecraft development =
programs and decreases in some research programs. =20
. The Department of Energy's R&D budget for FY 2007 is $9.1 =
billion, an increase of $365 million or 4.2 percent. The DOE budget =
includes an increase of $200 million or 6.0 percent for the Office of =
Science and an increase of $184 million or 23.6 percent for efficiency =
and renewables. In addition, the elimination of more than $250 million =
in earmarks in the DOE budget will give the agency tremendous =
flexibility in redirecting these funds to its core research programs. =20
Increases in funding for science and technology in the full-year =
continuing resolution reflect strong bipartisan support for these =
programs in the House and Senate. Data sources for this article include =
the American Association for the Advancement of Science, federal agency =
budget documents, and the White House Office of Management and Budget =
and the Office of Science and Technology Policy. =20
Craig Schiffries, Ph.D.
Director of Science Policy and Senior Scientist
National Council for Science and the Environment
1707 H Street, NW, Suite 200
Washington, D.C. 20006
Tel: 202-530-5810
E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
www.NCSEonline.org
---------------------------------------------------
The National Council for Science and the Environment (NCSE) is a =
non-profit organization working to improve the scientific basis for =
environmental decisionmaking. NCSE is supported by nearly 500 academic, =
scientific, environmental, government and business organizations.
=20
To unsubscribe from this list, please visit the following web site: =
http://list.ncseonline.org/mailman/listinfo/ncse
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