[DIALOGnews] DIALOG AND DISCCRS News 08/02/02

[Susan Weiler]

US Senate Legislation Would Increase NSF Research Funding by 15 Percent


*********************
SENATE LEGISLATION WOULD INCREASE NSF RESEARCH FUNDING BY 15 PERCENT
Taken from NCSE alert
      On July 25, 2002, the Senate Appropriations Committee passed a bill th=
at
would provide $5.3 billion for the National Science Foundation (NSF) in
fiscal year (FY) 2003, an increase of $564 million or 11.8 percent
relative to FY 2002.  NSF=92s Research and Related Activities account
would increase by 14.8 percent to $4.1 billion, but the Major Research
Equipment and Facilities Construction (MRE) account would decrease by
42.9 percent to $79.3 million.  The Education and Human Resources
account would increase by 8.3 percent to $948 million.  The bill would
also reject the Administration=92s proposal to transfer programs to NSF
from NOAA, EPA and the U.S. Geological Survey.  The appropriations bill
must still be considered by both the full Senate and the House.
       Although the Senate bill would increase total spending for Research a=
nd
Related Activities by 14.8 percent, the bill is unusual in that the
increase would be distributed highly unevenly across different
directorates.  Among the disciplinary directorates, the smallest
increases would go to the Biological Sciences Directorate (3.4 percent)
and the Geosciences Directorate (12.3 percent).  The largest increases
would go to the Engineering Directorate (20.3 percent) and the Computer
Information Science and Engineering Directorate (19.8 percent).
       The President=92s budget request for the NSF includes initial funding=
 for
two new MRE projects, the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON)
and EarthScope.  The Senate would eliminate the entire $12 million
request for NEON and the project would be deferred "without prejudice"
pending further analysis.  EarthScope would receive only $20 million of
the $35 million requested in the President=92s budget request.
      Separately, NCSE has obtained a working draft of a Senate bill entitle=
d
the "National Science Foundation Doubling Act," which would authorize a
105 percent increase in the NSF budget over the next five years.  The
draft bill would increase NSF=92s funding by approximately 15.5 percent
per year through FY 2007, increasing its budget by $5 billion from $4.8
billion in FY 2002 to $9.8 billion in FY 2007.  Funding for Research and
Related Activities would increase by 16 percent per year for a total
increase of $3.96 billion (110 percent) between fiscal years 2002 and
2007.  Funding for Education and Human Resources would increase at about
15 percent per year for a total five-year increase of $885 million (101
percent) between fiscal years 2002 and 2007.  Major Research Equipment
and Facilities funding would increase by approximately 10 percent per
year through FY 2007.  MRE funding would increase $85 million from $139
million in the FY 2002 to $224 million in the FY 2007.
      The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions plans t=
o
consider the National Science Foundation Doubling Act within one week.
The Senate bill must be reconciled with the NSF authorization bill that
passed the House on June 5, 2002 by an overwhelming majority of 397 to
25.
      This article includes information from drafts of Senate bills and
reports.  Additional information will be provided when it becomes
available.  An extended version of this article is available online at
http://NCSEonline.org/Updates/. For further information, please contact
Dr. Craig Schiffries (E-mail: craig@NCSEonline.org).
-- 
C. Susan Weiler, Ph.D.
Biology Department
Whitman College
Walla Walla, WA 99362
    Tel:   509-527-5948
    Fax:  509-527-5961
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