FY 2014 House Department of Defense Funding Bill: S&T Programs

By a voice vote on June 12, the House Appropriations Committee approved its version of the FY 2014 Department of Defense Appropriations Bill. The unnumbered bill provides $512.5 billion for the base budget, an amount that is approximately $5.1 billion less than the FY 2013 enacted budget, and $3.4 billion below the Administration’s request.

A 334-page draft of the committee report accompanying this bill provides detailed line item recommendations and in some cases language for various Army, Navy, Air Force, and defense-wide (DARPA) science and technology programs. A few selections of more general interest to the physics community are included below. There was no overall report language on the 6.1 Basic Research, 6.2 Applied Research, and 6.3 Advanced Technology Development Programs. The section on RDT&E begins on page 205.

The tables in the committee report did not show current post-sequestration funding levels, using only the “Budget Request” for comparison purposes. The FY 2012 budget levels below, which were continued this year and then subjected to an approximate 8 percent sequestration reduction, and the FY 2014 request figures, are taken from FYI #67.

Total 6.1 Basic Research:

FY 2012 funding was $2,010.2 million
The FY 2014 request is $2,164.9 million, an increase of $154.7 million or 7.7 percent
The House Appropriations Committee recommendation is $2,169.9 million, an increase of $159.7 million or 7.9 percent over the FY 2012 level

Total 6.2 Applied Research:

FY 2012 funding was $4,729.7 million
The FY 2014 request is $4,626.9 million, a decrease of $102.8 million or 2.2 percent
The House Appropriations Committee recommendation is $4,679.2 million, a decrease of $50.5 million or 1.1 percent compared to the FY 2012 level

Total 6.3 Advanced Technology Development:

FY 2012 funding was $5,318.0 million
The FY 2014 request is $5,191.8 million, a decrease of $126.2 million or 2.4 percent
The House Appropriations Committee recommendation is $5,467.5 million, an increase of $149.5 million or 2.8 percent over the FY 2012 level

Total 6.1, 6.2, and 6.3:

FY 2012 funding was $12,057.9 million
The FY 2014 request is $11,983.6 million, a decrease of $74.3 million or 0.6 percent
The House Appropriations Committee recommendation is $12,316.6 million, an increase of $258.7 million or 2.2 percent over the FY 2012 level

Total Army 6.1, 6.2, and 6.3:

FY 2012 funding was $2,406.3 million
The FY 2014 request is $2,204.7 million, a decrease of $201.6 million or 8.4 percent
The House Appropriations Committee recommendation is $2,298.8 million, a decrease of $107.5 million or 4.5 percent compared to the FY 2012 level

Total Navy 6.1, 6.2, and 6.3:

FY 2012 funding was $2,077.3 million
The FY 2014 request is $2,032.9 million, a decrease of $44.4 million or 2.1 percent
The House Appropriations Committee recommendation is $2,088.7 million, an increase of $11.4 million or 5.5 percent over the FY 2012 level

Total Air Force 6.1, 6.2, and 6.3:

FY 2012 funding was $2,392.0 million
The FY 2014 request is $2,270.2 million, a decrease of $121.8 million or 5.1 percent
The House Appropriations Committee recommendation is $2,272.2 million, a decrease of $119.8 million or 5.0 percent compared to the FY 2012 level

Total Defense-Wide (i.e., DARPA) 6.1, 6.2, and 6.3:

FY 2012 funding was $5,182.3 million
The FY 2014 request is $5,475.7 million, an increase of $293.4 million or 5.7 percent
The House Appropriations Committee recommendation is $5,656.9 million, an increase of $474.6 million or 9.2 percent over the FY 2012 level

Selections from the draft committee report follow:

STEM EDUCATION (page 60)

“The Committee is concerned about the future of the Nation’s workforce, specifically for science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) disciplines. These skills are vital to the Department of Defense to maintain United States military superiority. While these skills are underrepresented in the available workforce, minorities especially are underrepresented in these skill sets both in the current workforce and at university levels. The Committee encourages the Secretary of Defense to develop a long-term plan to maintain and grow the STEM workforce and to support the development of STEM skill sets, especially in undergraduate and graduate programs, and to focus on increasing the participation and success of minority students through engaged mentoring, enriched research experiences, and opportunities to publish, present, and network. The Committee also encourages the Secretary of Defense and the Director of National Intelligence to communicate to the congressional defense committees the resources, incentives, and legal and regulatory flexibility needed to attract and maintain a proficient STEM workforce. These factors, along with peer-to-peer mentoring, have proven to be a successful model for minority education.”

HIGHLY INTEGRATED PHOTONICS (Navy - page 233)

“The Committee is encouraged by the Navy’s development of photonic technology to transmit and process information in wired and chip-level electronic components. Photonics can dramatically reduce platform size, weight, power requirements, and sustainment costs. This technology can also be used throughout the Department of Defense in various platforms. The Committee encourages the Secretary of the Navy to continue the development of this technology and looks forward to the incorporation of photonics in an operational platform.”

LASER-DRIVEN X-RAY TECHNOLOGY (Air Force – page 248)

“The Committee continues to place a high priority on research that addresses the threats of nuclear proliferation and nuclear terrorism, as well as research that addresses efficient and cost-effective maintenance of heavy equipment and personnel safety. The Committee encourages the Secretary of Defense to conduct research in new, laser-driven x-ray technologies with a proven capability to detect nuclear weapons and investigate heavy equipment to identify potential equipment failures before they happen.”

HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES AND MINORITY SERVING INSTITUTIONS (Defense-Wide – page 259)

“The Committee is encouraged that the Department of Defense is firmly committed to vigorous efforts with respect to Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Minority-Serving Institutions (HBCU/MI). The Committee is aware that the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Research and Engineering) issued guidance on December 2, 2011 calling for the reinvigoration of the relationship between the Department of Defense and the HBCU/MIs.

“Further, the Committee is concerned about the long-term development of the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) workforce pipeline for underrepresented minorities, and notes the National Academy of Sciences’ recommendation that the federal government increase funding for undergraduate and graduate STEM programs focused on increasing the participation and success of minority students through engaged mentoring, enriching research experiences, and opportunities to publish, present, and network. Consistent with the report of the National Academy of Sciences ‘Expanding Underrepresented Minority Participation: America’s Science and Technology Talent at the Crossroads,’ the Committee encourages the Department to emphasize STEM education improvement within the Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Minority Institutions program. Accordingly, the Committee encourages the Secretary of Defense to consider these factors when awarding competitive funding under this program, as well as ensuring that selected programs have a sufficiently large cohort of students to allow for effective peer-to-peer mentoring, which has proven to be an effective model for ensuring the success of underrepresented minority students in the sciences.”