Final FY 1998 Budget Figures for NSF
Yesterday, following less than three minutes of debate, the Senate completed action on the final version of H.R. 2158, the VA, HUD, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Bill. The bill now goes to the President. There is almost uniformly good news to report for the National Science Foundation.
TOTAL BUDGET:
Congress provided $62 million more than requested.
The total budget increases 5%, or $159 million, to $3.429 billion. The administration sought a 3% increase. There was no conference report language on the agency as a whole.
RESEARCH AND RELATED ACTIVITIES:
Congress provided $31 million more than requested.
The Research and Related Activities budget increases approximately 5%, or $114 million, to $2.546 billion. Conference report language touched on several programs to be funded within this budget:
Knowledge and Distributed Intelligence, Life and Earth’s Environment: Conferees require “appropriate milestones and guideposts, to be accomplished in fiscal year 1998, and against which the agency can be measured in determining funding for fiscal year 1999,” before NSF obligates any additional money.
Next Generation Internet activities are be funded through the Research and Related Activities budget, and are to receive up to $23 million from the collection of domain name fees. Also endorsed was previous Senate language “on participation in current computing and communications programs” by EPSCoR States, which will also describe “how the agency plans to address equal access, particularly to rural areas; and include the plans for the role of EPSCoR States.”
Rather extensive language was included on the phase-out of two supercomputing centers. Conferees want a report on how NSF will achieve an “orderly phase-out and seamless transition,” with attention given to high-end users.
The conference report also provides $40 million above the request for a “competitive, peer-reviewed plant genome research program.”
Conferees also provided $1 million for the United States/Mexico Foundation for Science, and also encouraged “NSF to study how it would establish and operation a National Institute for the Environment.”
MAJOR RESEARCH EQUIPMENT:
Congress provided $24 million above the request.
The Major Research Equipment budget increases $29 million to $109 million. The conference report states:
“The conferees agree to provide $4,000,000 for technical enhancements to the Gemini telescope project and $70,000,000 for upgrades to Antarctic facilities. The amount provided for Antarctic facilities includes $35,000,000 to be made available immediately and the remaining $35,000,000 to be available on September 30, 1998. [The administration requested $25 million.] The conferees have not provided the budget request of $25,000,000 for the Polar Cap Observatory. The conferees direct the National Science Foundation to provide the Committees on Appropriations of the House and Senate an analysis of alternative sites for location of the observatory and a report on the scientific justification for the project.”
EDUCATION AND HUMAN RESOURCES:
Congress provided $7 million more than requested.
The total budget increases 2.3%, or $14.5 million, to $632.5 million. The conference report language states: “The conferees agree to provide $2,000,000 for Advanced Technology Education and $5,000,000 for an initiative to improve the production of science and engineering doctorates drawn from under-represented groups as proposed in the House report. In addition, the conferees agree that the Foundation should provide $6,000,000 for an undergraduate reform initiative to increase the numbers of under-represented populations in mathematics, engineering and the sciences as proposed in the Senate report.”
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In addition to the above VA, HUD, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Bill, Congress has completed work on the following appropriations bills followed by FYI: Energy and Water Development (DOE) and National Security/Defense (DOD). The Commerce, Justice, State Appropriations Bill has passed both the House and Senate, and is awaiting final conference committee action. A resolution of the census sampling problem in the Commerce bill is still, according to one appropriations staffer, a “heartburn item.” Reports indicate the block grant proposal for federal education programs is going to be dropped by the Labor, HHS, and Education conference committee.
