FY 2013 Request would Maintain but Delay NSF, DOE Science, and NIST Budget Doubling

FEB 14, 2012

Office of Science and Technology Policy Director John Holdren got right to the point in the first minute of his briefing yesterday on the FY 2013 R&D and STEM education requests. Said Holdren:

“We think, and the President thinks, that it is absolutely key to the country’s future to continue to make these investments in research and development and STEM education in order to have the sort of future that I think all Americans want and expect.”

He continued, referring to President Barack Obama, stating:

“He has consistently stuck with the message that whatever else we have to do to live within our financial means we are not going to stint our investments in these crucial domains.”

The FY 2013 request sent to Congress yesterday was formulated under a tight budget cap that required the administration to make difficult choices across the entire spectrum of government services and programs. Funding would remain roughly flat for the National Institutes of Health, and decline somewhat for NASA. Total funding for the National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy’s Office of Science, and the laboratory and research facilities construction programs of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) would increase by 4.4 percent. The Administration’s emphasis on these agencies continues the attention that have been given to them since President George W. Bush called for their funding to be doubled in his 2006 State of the Union address. The more than half-billion dollar increase President Obama requested for these three agencies is distributed as follows:

Department of Energy’s Office of Science: Up $127 million or 2.6 percent
National Science Foundation: Up $340 million or 4.8 percent
NIST Scientific and Technical Research and Services, and Construction of Research Facilities accounts up $86 million or 13.8 percent

The original schedule for budget doubling called for it to be reached within ten years. That would require annual increases of 7 percent, a target that has proven to be quite elusive for most programs. While the time frame has been shifted, the administration’s goal remains intact. As explained in an OSTP briefing document:

“The President is committed to doubling the budgets of NSF, DOE SC, and the NIST labs. . . . The President’s Plan for Science and Innovation (a key pillar of A Strategy for American Innovation announced in September 2009 and revised in February 2011), the America COMPETES Act of 2007 (P.L. 110-69), and the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 (P.L. 111-358) have all identified NSF, DOE SC, and NIST as critical to preserving America’s place as the world leader in innovation.”

The budgetary landscape has changed significantly since 2006. FY 2013 total discretionary spending will remain at the 2011 level for the second consecutive year. The OSTP document acknowledges this new budget reality:

“New funding levels set in the Budget Control Act of 2011 mean delaying the original target completion date for doubling these budgets. Consistent with the Budget Control Act spending caps, these fiscally responsible increases are part of a 2013 Budget that freezes non-security discretionary spending at 2011 levels for a second year and reduces projected deficits while making crucial investments to build American manufacturing, American energy, and American skills.”

Holdren referred to these constraints at yesterday’s briefing describing the “intense pressure” when he spoke of NIH, and “some very difficult choices” resulting in a somewhat smaller NASA budget request. Even though the budgets for NSF, the DOE Office of Science, and the NIST laboratory and construction programs would be up, Holdren said it was “not at the rate of increase we would have preferred.”

“Flat is the new up” is the operable budget perspective in this and in the years to come. It is against this new perspective that the following FY 2013 budget request figures, calculated by OSTP, should be viewed:

Total federal R&D would increase 1.4 percent
Non-defense R&D would increase 5.0 percent
Federal basic and applied research would increase 3.3 percent
Defense-related R&D would decline 1.5 percent
Total R&D facilities and equipment would increase 10.9 percent
U.S. Global Change Research Program would increase 5.6 percent
National Nanotechnology Initiative would increase 4.1 percent

Upcoming issues of FYI will review selected FY 2013 S&T and STEM education agency budget requests.

FY 2013 Request would Maintain but Delay NSF, DOE Science, and NIST Budget Doubling

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