SSTI Digest

The Administration's FY07 budget request for the Department of Defense (DoD) totals $439.3 billion, an increase of 7 percent from FY 2006. However, funding for DoD science and technology decreased 15.9 percent, to a total of $11.1 billion for FY07. All stages of DoD R&D are anticipating cuts: budget category 6.1 basic research (3.3 percent decrease), budget category 6.2 applied research (13.4 percent decrease), and budget category 6.3 advanced technology development (21.5 percent decrease).

Discussion on competitiveness and innovation take very different tacts between the statehouses and Washington, D.C. Education is the fundamental building block for a skilled workforce and for creating future scientists and engineers. While most states are investing more in education, the Administration's FY07 budget request for the U.S. Department of Education totals $54.41 billion, a 5.5 percent decrease from FY06 total spending of $57.55 billion.



The 2007 request, proposes to eliminate 42 programs that totalled $3.5 billion in FY06. Many also were proposed for elimination in 2006, but Congress disagreed with the Administration's plans.



Some of the proposed program cuts include:

The Administration's FY 2007 budget request for the Department of Energy (DOE) is $23.6 billion, a $5 million decrease from the FY 2006 appropriation. While overall funding for the DOE is virtually flat, the FY07 request includes significant shifts for many offices to reflect the Administration's realignment of energy priorities. Real decreases will be absorbed largely by DOE's $6.6 billion Environment and $2.6 billion Energy budgets, with decreases of $589.6 million (8.2 percent) and $130 million (4.8 percent), respectively. The National Nuclear Security Administration budget request is $9.3 billion, a 2.3 percent increase over the FY06 appropriation.

The $698 billion FY 2007 budget request for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) reflects an increase of $58 billion over FY 2006, most of which occurs in mandatory spending programs such as Medicare. Total discretionary spending drops by $1.5  billion. Funding levels for discretionary programs such as the Food and Drug Administration, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) are diverse. For example, FDA would receive a $71 million increase over its FY 2006 level, while CDC would experience a $367 million decrease.

With the FEMA fiasco related to last summer's hurricanes, it should not be too surprising that much of the agency's discussion of its FY 2007 budget involves ways to improve the nation's preparedness and responsiveness to catastrophic events and natural disasters. Overall, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) budget request for FY07 is $42.7 billion, reflecting a 5.8 percent increase above FY 2006 appropriations.



The FY07 budget request for the Science and Technology Directorate, which oversees the agency's research, development, testing and evaluation (RDT&E) activities, is $1.002 billion. The figure reflects a 33 percent decrease from the FY06 appropriation level. However, nearly all of that cut stems from a departmental reorganization which spun out the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office with its own appropriation request of $536.8 million for FY07.

The Administration's FY 2007 budget request for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is $33.528 billion, a 29.9 percent decrease from the FY 2006 appropriation of $47.826 billion.



The Office of Community Planning and Development would receive $6.5 billion under the Administration's FY07 budget request, down from $19.129 billion in FY06. Policy Development and Research would receive $68 million, a $13 million increase over the FY06 appropriation. Research and Technology would receive $40 million ($10 million increase), and University Programs would receive $28 million ($8 million increase).

The Administration's $16.1 billion FY 2007 budget request for the Department of Interior represents a 1.8 percent decrease from FY 2006. The budget includes $467.5 million for the department's energy programs, a net increase of $43.5 million over FY06. It also includes a $43.2 million initiative to implement the department's top energy priorities -- the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and the president's National Energy Policy.



Some DOI research-related items of potential interest:

• US Geological Survey - $952 million (1.4 percent decrease), which includes a $1.9 million package of increases for gas hydrate research and development, and $172.6 million for biological research (3.3 percent decrease).

The Department of Labor’s (DOL) discretionary budget request of $10.9 billion is $600 million less (5.5 percent decrease) than the FY 2006 appropriation. The agency’s payroll, however would increase by 103 full-time equivalent positions, according to the budget overview.



The Employment and Training Administration (ETA) FY 07 budget request of $5.6 billion reflects a 14.7 percent increase from the FY06 appropriation. Included in ETA funding is $150 million ($26 million increase) for Community-Based Job Training Grants, in the effort to strengthen the role of community colleges in workforce investment. The grants build on the High Growth Job Training Initiative, which sought to prepare workers to take advantage of new and increasing job opportunities in high growth industries and sectors of the economy.

The Administration's FY 2007 budget request of $65.6 billion for the Department of Transportation (DOT) is $135 million higher than the FY 2006 appropriation. DOT's request would be distributed across the department's five key strategic objectives:

• Improve safety (24.3 percent);
• Increase mobility (67.1 percent);
• Increase global transportation connectivity (0.3 percent);
• Protect the environment (6.4 percent); and,
• Support national security (0.7 percent).

The balance of 1.1 percent would go toward organizational excellence, according to the DOT Budget in Brief.

There are only four programs in the Treasury Department that SSTI monitors for the tech-based economic development community. Similar to the Administration's FY 2006 budget request, all are slated for termination or phase out in FY 2007. Congress restored 98.9 percent of the funding in its final FY06 appropriations.



The programs slated for termination include the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Programs (appropriated $30.9 million in FY06), the Bank Enterprise Award ($13.4 million), and the CDFI Native Initiatives ($5.8 million).

The Administration's FY 2007 Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) budget request is $7.3 billion, a 4.07 percent decrease from the FY 2006 appropriation*. The agency's science and technology programs would receive $788.3 million, a 7.86 percent increase over the FY06 appropriation. However, funding for research would decrease by $19.9 million.



More than $100 million is requested in the FY07 budget to support EPA's new priorities in the Energy Policy Act of 2005. Selected highlights include:

• $50 million for the Diesel Emissions Reduction program to support cleaner fuels and diesel retrofits, rebuilds and replacements; and,
• $11 million for development and implementation of the renewable fuel standard leading to increased market share of ethanol and renewable fuels.

The FY 2007 budget request for NASA totals $16.8 billion, a 1 percent increase from FY 2006. Included in the FY07 request is $5.3 billion for the Science Mission Directorate, an increase of 1.5 percent from FY06. However, funding for Aeronautics Research decreased 18.1 percent, totaling $724.4 million for FY07.