NSF, NASA, NIST Operating Again - For Two Weeks

Keeping track of efforts to resolve long-term funding for NSF, NASA, and NIST has almost been as difficult as tracking the snow storms that have been hitting Washington. Here is how things now stand, and the outlook for the rest of FY 1996.

After many hours of high-level negotiations the Clinton Administration and Congress agreed last weekend to short-term funding restoring operations of the federal government until January 26. This followed a three week partial government shutdown affecting agencies and departments for which an FY 1996 appropriations bill had not been signed into law. Among those affected are NSF, NASA, and NIST (the Department of Energy bill was signed last fall.)

The shutdown’s effect on science agencies such as NSF was mounting. NSF Director Neal Lane commented, before the funding extension was approved, that “The situation is beyond frustrating. It is now endangering the nation’s science, research and education base, and many of the advances the nation has come to take for granted will be in peril soon if this budget impasse isn’t resolved.” The shutdown forced the cancellation of a major proposal review panel for a new optical science and engineering program, and an ocean sciences review panel. NSF was prevented from making some continuing grant payments, with Lane warning last week, “Researchers funded by NSF will have to find other funds to maintain their science projects, or close them down.” New grants were affected, since the foundation normally makes 80 awards every day. For the next two weeks, NSF has money to make new awards. (Note: a new program solicitation for Partnerships for Advanced Computational Infrastructure is posted at this URL: http://www.cise.nsf.gov/cise/ASC )

With the new short term funding, NSF, NASA, and NIST employees have returned to work. Yet, the outlook for an ultimate resolution of funding for the rest of the fiscal year is troubled. These agencies are caught, directly and indirectly, in policy and funding battles that have defied solution. President Clinton vetoed appropriations bills for these agencies in mid-December that Congress was unable to override. NSF and NASA funding is tied to resolution of deep disagreements over EPA, HUD, and VA funding. New money for NIST’s Advanced Technology Program, a high priority of the Clinton Administration, was zeroed out by Congress.

The shutdown was a product of an even larger battle over big-ticket entitlement programs like Medicare. Efforts to resolve these disagreements have been unsuccessful, with top-level negotiations in recess for a week. NASA warns that unless a solution can be found soon to this impasse it will be forced to reschedule operations this year, a problem that will confront other agencies with only two weeks of assured funding.