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Wrap-Up of Federal Funding for Environmental R&D in FY 2006
Basic Research Declines in Final Appropriations Bills
January 30, 2006 -- Federal funding for research and development (R&D) =
will rise to a record $134.8 billion in FY 2006, an increase of $2.2 =
billion or 1.7 percent. Despite this nominal increase, federal funding =
for R&D will decline in real dollars (adjusting for inflation) for the =
first time in nine years. Moreover, 97 percent of the nominal increase =
is devoted to defense weapons development and human space exploration =
technologies. Federal funding for all other areas of R&D combined will =
be nearly flat, falling by about 2 percent after adjusting for =
inflation. =20
Funding for basic research (excluding development and applied research) =
across the entire federal government will decline by $130 million or 0.5 =
percent to $26.7 billion in FY 2006. In real dollars, federal funding =
for basic research will fall by approximately 2.5 percent in FY 2006. =
Several agencies that support environmental R&D are discussed below. =20
National Science Foundation (NSF). After declining last year, the NSF =
budget will increase by 2.0 percent or $108 million to $5.6 billion in =
FY 2006. Nearly half of the budget increase reflects the transfer of =
$48 million of existing funds from the Coast Guard to cover the costs of =
polar icebreakers. In real dollars, the NSF R&D portfolio in FY 2006 is =
smaller than each of the last three years. The budget for NSF's =
Research and Related Activities account is $4.3 billion, an increase of =
$111 million or 2.6 percent. However, much of this increase is for =
expenses that are not classified as R&D (e.g., polar icebreaking costs =
previously funded by the Coast Guard). Most of the disciplinary =
directorates (e.g., biological sciences and geosciences) are expected to =
receive small budget increases, but in real dollars these budgets will =
remain below or nearly even with their funding levels in FY 2003 and FY =
2004. NSF's Education and Human Resources budget will be cut by 5.3 =
percent or $45 million to $797 million. The budget for Major Research =
Equipment and Facilities Construction will increase by 9.9 percent or =
$17 million to $191 million. This program will have no new starts in FY =
2006 but it provides funding for four ongoing projects, including =
EarthScope and the Scientific Ocean Drilling Vessel. In FY 2006, the =
NSF budget is nearly $3 billion below the level authorized in the =
National Science Foundation Authorization Act of 2002, which called for =
doubling the NSF budget in five years. =20
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The USGS budget will increase by 3.6 =
percent or $34 million to $971 million in FY 2006. Congress reversed a =
small cut that was proposed in the President's budget request and added =
additional funding for the USGS. The budget request would have cut =
funding for the USGS minerals research program by more than 50 percent =
from $54 million to $25 million. As in past years, Congress restored =
funding for the minerals program, adding back $30 million in FY 2006, =
and used strong language in opposing the proposed cuts. Likewise, =
Congress appropriated $6.5 million for the Water Resource Research =
Institutes, which have been eliminated in the President's budget request =
for many years. Mapping and Geography R&D will increase by 11 percent =
or $4 million to $40 million, restoring funding for land remote sensing =
programs. The USGS biological resources discipline received $4 million =
in emergency supplemental funds for research on avian flu, which has the =
potential to become a global pandemic. Although the USGS fared =
relatively well in the FY 2006 appropriations process, its budget has =
been nearly flat in real dollars for more than a decade. =20
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The EPA budget will decline by =
$400 million or 5.0 percent to $7.6 billion in FY 2006. The biggest =
change in the EPA budget is a $440 million cut in state and tribal =
assistance grants to $3.1 billion, reflecting a reduction in =
congressional earmarks for environmental projects. EPA's Science and =
Technology account will decline by $13 million or 1.8 percent to $731 =
million. However, the R&D component of the Science and Technology =
account will increase by $7 million or 1.3 percent to $541 million. =
Funding levels for EPA's Science to Achieve Results (STAR) research =
grants and graduate fellowships are not available at this time. =20
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The R&D budget =
for NOAA will increase by 1.7 percent or $11 million to $661 million in =
FY 2006. However, the increase is due to a $51 million earmark for =
Alaskan fisheries and marine mammals R&D, resulting in a net decrease =
for all other NOAA R&D programs. After a tumultuous process, the final =
budget for NOAA R&D budget is 23.8 percent higher than the President's =
budget request, which called for a cut of $116 million to $534 million. =
The R&D budget for NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) will =
increase by 114 percent or $40 million to $103 million. Excluding the =
$51 million increase for the new Alaskan program, there will be a net =
decrease in funding for other NMFS programs. The R&D budget for Oceanic =
and Atmospheric Research (OAR) will decrease by 4.8 percent or $16 =
million to $322 million. Within OAR, Climate Research will decline by =
approximately $21 million to $157 million but research on weather and =
air quality will increase by $14 million to $66 million. Funding for =
the National Sea Grant College Program, which provides research grants =
to more than 200 universities, will decline by $7 million to $55 =
million. =20
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The budget for =
NASA is $16.6 billion in FY 2006, an increase of $400 million or 2.5 =
percent. However, $350 million of the increase is for emergency funding =
to repair NASA facilities damaged by Hurricane Katrina. NASA's R&D =
budget will increase by 6.2 percent or $661 million to $11.4 billion. =
The R&D budget contains enormous increases for developing technologies =
needed to replace the Space Shuttle and return humans to the moon and =
then onto Mars; the R&D budget for the Constellation Systems program =
will increase by 169 percent or $712 million to $1.1 billion in FY 2006. =
The budgets for all other NASA R&D programs will have a net decline. =
Funding for the Earth-Sun System program, restructured from the former =
Earth Science program, will decline by 8.3 percent to $2.1 billion in FY =
2006. Congress has endorsed NASA's proposal to restructure and downsize =
its biological and physical sciences research portfolio into a Human =
Systems Research and Technology program; the budget for the former =
biological and physical sciences research portfolio will decline by 14.4 =
percent to $791 million. Significant changes in NASA's budget may occur =
during the year due to such factors as the changing Space Shuttle launch =
schedule and shifting timelines for completing the International Space =
Station. =20
The FY 2006 appropriations process was clouded by a flurry of late bills =
that modified the earlier bills. When the dust settled, all of the =
budgets had to be recalculated. The final appropriations bill contains =
a retroactive 1 percent across-the-board cut for almost all agencies. =
Conversely, the final bill provides emergency supplemental =
appropriations that increased the budgets of some agencies. This =
article, which is based on an analysis of the federal budget conducted =
by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, is adjusted =
to account for multiple recissions and emergency supplemental =
appropriations. =20
Craig M. Schiffries, Ph.D.
Director of Science Policy
National Council for Science and the Environment
-------------------------------=20
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:=20
http://list.ncseonline.org/mailman/listinfo/ncse
=20
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