Multi-agency Initiatives

Strengthening America's Communities Grants Program The Strengthening America's Communities Grants Program is a new $3.7 billion initiative proposed within the Department of Commerce to provide performance-based grants for both community and economic development. The limited printed information available on the proposal indicates awards will be targeted to distressed areas and low-income audiences with criteria based on job loss, unemployment levels and poverty.

The Administration proposes making the grants flexible in their use in exchange for "strong accountability measures" toward specific economic development or community development goals. The economic development measures identified include increased job creation and new business formation rates. Community development measures include increasing home ownership, commercial development and private sector investment.

A portion of the $3.7 billion would be used to provide Economic Development Challenge Fund grants as bonuses to communities and regions that "have already taken steps to improve economic conditions and demonstrate readiness for development." Three criteria are identified for the bonus grants: meeting the No Child Left Behind goals in the Department of Education, reducing "regulatory barriers" to business creation and housing development, and reducing violent crime rates.

More details on the proposal will become evident in the coming months as the budget works its way through the various Appropriation subcommittees in the House and Senate.

Briefing materials for the Strengthening America's Communities initiative indicate it is intended to streamline the "maze of Federal departments, agencies, and programs" that offer funding or technical assistance to states, regions or communities for either economic or community development by consolidating 18 existing programs.

The number of community development, economic development and tech-based research programs targeted for elimination is much higher than 18 and the reduction to federal support for these priorities is significantly greater than some figures being circulated, based on SSTI's initial review of the budget documents. We find at least 28 programs in eight agencies slated for elimination or phaseout over the next two years. The FY 2005 appropriations for those 28 programs total $6.76 billion.

Our list of programs and agencies slated for termination, including their FY05 appropriation levels, is available at: http://www.ssti.org/Digest/Tables/021405t2.htm

Climate Change Science Program

The Climate Change Science Program (CCSP) FY 2006 request is down 1 percent, overall, from FY05 appropriations. CCSP integrates federal research on climate and global change, as sponsored by 13 federal agencies and overseen by the Office of Science and Technology Policy, the Council on Environmental Quality, the National Economic Council and the Office of Management and Budget. Within CCSP, the Climate Change Research Initiative budget would decrease by 17 percent, dropping to $183 million.

Changes to FY05 budget levels are requested for only six of the 13 participating agencies: Department of Agriculture - $88 million (21 percent decrease); Department of Commerce - $181 million (46 percent); Department of Energy - $132 million (2 percent); Environmental Protection Agency - $21 million (5 percent increase); NASA - $1.162 billion (8 percent decrease); and the National Science Foundation - $197 million (1 percent decrease).

Hydrogen Fuel Initiative

Fiscal year 2006 spending for the Hydrogen Fuel Initiative (HFI) totals $260 million in two agencies, the Department of Energy and the Department of Transportation. The figure reflects a 16 percent increase over 2005 appropriations of $225 million. HFI seeks to scientifically support industry efforts to develop practical and cost-effective technologies for producing, distributing and using hydrogen to power automobiles. Research focus areas include development of technologies for the production, storage and delivery of hydrogen, and fuel cell technologies.

Despite a proposed 100 percent increase, the Department of Transportation portion of HFI would still capture only $2 million of the $260 million total. The Energy Department's $258 million FY06 request is distributed across five areas: hydrogen production program - $99 million (5 percent increase); fuel cells - $84 million (12 percent increase); hydrogen from coal - $22 million (29 percent increase); nuclear hydrogen initiative - $20 million (122 percent increase); and basic scientific research - $33 million (14 percent increase).

National Nanotechnology Initiative

The request for the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) FY06 budget is $1.05 billion, a 2 percent decrease from estimated FY 2005 spending. The 10 NNI participating agencies are focusing on R&D that creates materials, devices and systems that exploit the fundamentally distinct properties of matter as it is manipulated at the atomic and molecular levels.

Individual agency FY06 requests are: Department of Agriculture - $8 million (167 percent increase); Department of Commerce - $75 million (no change); Department of Defense - $230 million (11 percent decrease); Department of Energy - $207 million (1 percent decrease); Department of Health & Human Services - $147 million (1 percent increase); Department of Homeland Security - $1 million (no change); Department of Justice - $2 million (no change); Environmental Protection Agency - $5 million (no change); NASA - $35 million (22 percent decrease); and the National Science Foundation - $344 million (2 percent increase).

Networking and Information Technology Research and Development

The FY06 budget provides $2 billion (7 percent decrease) for the Networking and Information Technology Research and Development program (NITRD), which focuses and coordinates the research efforts of seven agencies in the area of advanced computing systems, networks, software and information management technologies.

Changes to individual agency budgets vary significantly: Department of Commerce - $61 million (5 percent increase); Department of Defense - $294 million (6 percent increase); Department of Energy - $355 million (7 percent decrease); Department of Health & Human Services - $551 million (4 percent decrease); Environmental Protection Agency - $6 million (50 percent increase); NASA - $57 million (70 percent decrease); and the National Science Foundation - $803 million (1 percent increase).