Department of Defense

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).



The story on the defense component level is more mixed. Total 6.1 through 6.3 research expenditures for the Army and the Navy would decrease, whereas Defense-wide programs (which includes DARPA, SOCOM, etc) would increase. The Air Force, on the other hand, would increase funding in 6.1 basic research, but would sustain a decrease for 6.2 applied research. Additionally, advanced technology development funding would decrease significantly for the Army, Navy, Air Force and Defense-wide. The breakdown by DoD departments is as follows:



Army

• 6.1 Basic Research - $311.9 million (16.2 percent decrease)
• 6.2 Applied Research - $685.2 million (45.2 percent decrease)
• 6.3 Advanced Technology Development - $721.7 million (48 percent decrease)

Navy

• 6.1 Basic Research - $455.9 million (4 percent decrease)
• 6.2 Applied Research - $638.7 million (20.1 percent decrease)
• 6.3 Advanced Technology Development - $504.6 million (50.6 percent decrease)

Air Force

• 6.1 Basic Research - $370.2 million (2.1 percent increase)
• 6.2 Applied Research - $973.1 million (9.1 percent decrease)
• 6.3 Advanced Technology Development - $804.8 million (20.4 percent decrease)

Defense-wide

• 6.1 Basic Research - $283.9 million (9.1 percent increase)
• 6.2 Applied Research - $2.18 billion (6.5 percent increase)
• 6.3 Advanced Technology Development - $3.15 billion (0.9 percent decrease)

Funding for university-based research and other DoD programs would incur major reductions or elimination:

• Defense Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) - $9.5 million (23.4 percent decrease) to improve the capabilities of U.S. institutions of higher education to conduct research and to educate scientists and engineers in the areas important to national defense.
• Government/Industry Cosponsorship of University Research (GICUR) - no new funding is requested ($10 million decrease). GICUR fosters cooperative research by universities with industry or government laboratories.
• University and Industry Research Centers - $86.4 million (14 percent decrease) to leverage research in the private sector through Federated Laboratories, Centers of Excellence, and the University Affiliated Research Center.
• University Research Initiatives - $249.4 million (8.5 percent decrease) to enhance universities' capabilities to perform basic science and engineering research and related education in areas critical to national defense. Departmental breakdowns include $68.5 million (11 percent decrease) for the Army, $73.3 million (15.5 percent decrease) for the Navy, and $107.6 million (1.1 percent decrease) for the Air Force.
• Dual Use Science & Technology Program – no new funding is requested. The program is scheduled to be eliminated in its last DoD component, the Air Force. The program received a nominal $986,000 in FY06 for close-out purposes.
• Office of Economic Adjustment - $73 million (54.8 percent decrease) to provide assistance to communities, regions and states adversely impacted by significant DoD program changes, such as base expansions, closures, realignments, major contract changes that result in significant worker layoffs, and other personnel reductions or increases.
• Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (PTAC) - The FY07 request was not available at press time. The Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) press office said that final funding levels within its Operations and Management line had not been approved yet. The FY06 appropriation is $26.9 million. The 95 PTACs across the country provide assistance to business firms in marketing products and services to the federal, state, and local governments.
• Technology Link - $6.8 million (58.3 percent decrease) to MDA for facilitating the use of technology developed in the non-defense public and private sectors.