Democrats '07 Budget Increases Research Funding

Less than one week before President Bush releases the Administration's budget request for fiscal year 2008, congressional Democratic leadership released its solution to the FY 2007 fiasco. The need to remain within spending caps approved last year and the need to focus on FY08 spending meant the FY07 fix would be simple, but slightly painful for agencies used to above-inflation-rate increases each year. Sixty programs reportedly will see cuts from their FY06 funding levels.

               

As expected, earmarks have been stripped from the Joint Resolution covering $463 billion in spending, which covers most of the federal government as 11 FY07 funding bills remained unfinished when Republicans handed over control of both chambers of Congress. Earmarks had become a common funding mechanism for many university research programs and economic development related activities, so the full impact of the move to restore some competitiveness to funding decisions remains to be seen on the TBED community.

 

On the positive side, the House Appropriations Committee says the joint resolution holds increases for:

• Pell Grants: $13.6 billion, an increase of $615.4 million to increase the maximum Pell grant by $260 to $4,310. This increase – the first in 4 years – will help over 5.3 million students pay rising college expenses.
• National Institutes of Health: $28.9 billion, an increase of $619.5 million to reverse a projected decline in new NIH research project awards and support an additional 500 research project grants, 1,500 first time investigators, and expand funding for high risk and high impact research.
• National Institute of Standards and Technology Innovation Programs: $50 million in new funding for physical science research and lab support for nanotechnology and neutron research.
• National Science Foundation: $4.7 billion, an increase of $335 million in the National Science Foundation’s research account to fund Innovation Programs.
• Department of Energy, Office of Science: $3.8 billion, an increase of $200 million to support research, including new energy technologies such as improved conversion of cellulosic biomass to biofuels.
• Department of Energy, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Resources: $1.5 billion, an increase of $300 million to accelerate research and development activities for renewable energy and energy efficiency programs.
• Department of Defense: a $1 billion increase to stay on schedule for the highest priority items in the latest round of base realignments and closures.

The Association of American Universities reports, “Although the House is expected to consider the FY07 CR tomorrow under a closed rule that would allow no amendments, such restrictions do not apply in the Senate. It should be expected that Senators may offer amendments to redirect some of the research and education increases to other priorities."

 

Congressional leadership wants to resolve the FY07 budget before the current Continuing Resolution expires on Feb. 15.

 

More information is available at: http://appropriations.house.gov/pdf/CRSummary.pdf