(This legislative update is produced by the UH System Office of Governmental Relations and the UH Division of University Advancement as a service to the UH System community, our alumni, and our friends.)
ANALYSES OF FY 2004 BUDGET REQUESTS FOR MAJOR RESEARCH AND HIGHER EDUCATION AGENCIES AND PROGRAMS--As noted in the February 5 update, while the federal investment in academic research and higher education programs does not seem to be an overwhelming priority in the budget request, neither is it a target of sizeable budget cuts.
Following are analyses of the FY 2004 budget requests for major research and higher education agencies and programs. Each agency's formal budget request documents can be found on their respective Web sites. General budget information can be found at http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/fy2004/
When reading the following analyses, it is important to note that the final FY 2003 budgets for non-defense agencies are still unknown. For these non-defense agencies, the Administration's budget documents use the FY 2003 budget request, submitted to Congress a year ago, as the baseline for comparison with the FY 2004 request. The analyses below, except for the Department of Defense, also use the FY 2003 request as a baseline. For many agencies, however, such as the National Science Foundation, final FY 2003 appropriations levels are almost certain to be significantly higher than the level originally requested by the Administration a year ago; any increases for these agencies included in the FY 2004 budget request should be viewed with that fact in mind.
Though the funding levels for some agencies included in the FY 2004 request include FY 2003 baselines that may be woefully out of date within just the next two or three weeks, it is important to note that the Administration does provide increases above its overall discretionary spending level of 4 % for some research and education programs, such as NSF and the Education Department's Pell Grant program, while at the same time limiting its investment in other areas in favor of defense, homeland security, and other priorities.
Under the President's FY 2004 budget proposals, the National Science Foundation's (NSF's) budget request is $5.481 billion, an increase of $453 million or 9 % over the level requested for FY 2003.
Within the $5.481 billion requested for NSF, the appropriation for research and related activities would be $4.1 billion, an increase of 8.5 % over the FY 2003 request level. Education and human resources, the account that provides funding for K-12 math and science education, undergraduate education, graduate fellowships and traineeships, and support for under-represented groups, would receive $938 million, an increase of $30 million or 3.3 % over the FY 2003 request level. For the account that NSF uses to pay for the construction and acquisition of large-scale unique major research projects (Major Research Equipment and Facilities Construction) NSF would receive $202 million, a $76 million or 60 % increase over the FY 2003 request level.
| NSF Funding by Appropriation ($ in millions) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NSF Account | FY 2002 | FY 2003 | FY 2004 | Change | |
| Actuals | Request | Request | Amount | % | |
| Research and Related Activities | 3,615.97 | 3,783.21 | 4,106.36 | 323.15 | 8.5% |
| Education and Human Resources | 866.11 | 908.08 | 938.04 | 29.96 | 3.3% |
| Major Research Equipment/Construction | 115.35 | 126.28 | 202.33 | 76.05 | 60.2% |
| Salaries and Expenses | 169.93 | 202.95 | 225.70 | 22.75 | 11.2% |
| Office of Inspector General | 6.70 | 7.70 | 8.77 | 1.07 | 13.9% |
| Total, NSF | $4,774.06 | $5,028.22 | $5,481.20 | $452.98 | 9.0% |
As in previous years, NSF has identified a number of interdisciplinary priority areas for emphasis. These include previous initiatives in biocomplexity, information technology research, nanoscience and engineering, mathematical sciences, and workforce for the 21st century. New for FY 2004 is an initiative called Human and Social Dynamics.
Biocomplexity would be provided with nearly $100 million, a 26 % increase over the FY 2003 request level. The FY 2004 program will support a wide range of education and research activities, including sequencing the genomes of microorganisms or importance to agriculture, food, forestry, and water quality, or as potential bioterrorism threats.
Information Technology Research would be provided with $302.6 million, an increase of 6 % over the FY 2003 request level. The ITR initiative would increase support for fundamental research on large-scale networks, and the creation of new integrative software and advanced architectures for high-end computing. NSF will also emphasize research to address needs for safe, secure, and dependable information infrastructures for national security and consumer protection, and the education of a new class of information security and assurance professionals.
Nanoscale Science and Engineering would be provided with $249 million, an increase of 12.5 % over the FY 2003 request level. In FY 2004 support will be expanded to develop promising fields (including nanobiotechnology, manufacturing at the nanoscale, and education) and establish the infrastructure and workforce needed to exploit opportunities and needs in this area.
Mathematical Sciences would receive $89 million, an increase equal to 48 % over the FY 2003 request level. In FY 2004, NSF would emphasize fundamental research in the mathematical sciences and statistics, and the integration of mathematical and statistical research and education across the full range of science and engineering disciplines. Additional work will focus on handling large data sets and on improving methods for assessing uncertainty and forecasting singular events--research that may improve the reliability of power grids, air traffic control and the Internet.
Human and Social Dynamics would receive $24 million. This is a new priority initiative for FY 2004 with funding to be targeted towards creating large-scale data resources, advancing methodological frontiers to enable research, and decision-making, risk and uncertainty, and explore how to translate this knowledge into improved decision-making.
Other Priority Areas in the NSF Budget Request. Homeland Security at NSF includes a joint NSF and NIH ecology of infectious diseases program; a microbial genome sequencing program to better understand bioterrorism threats; a scholarship for service program to train students in information security and assuarance; and investments in critical infrastructure protection. NSF's investment in the Administration's Climate Change Research Initiative would increase by $10 million to a total of $25 million which will go towards the establishment of three to five new interdisciplinary centers to improve understanding of risk management, risk communication, and decision making in relation to climate change. NSF would receive $20 million in this budget proposal to fund three to five new Science of Learning Centers, a program begun in FY 2003. Cyberinfrastructure, at a level of $20 million, will bring next-generation computer and networking capabilities to researchers and educators nationwide. Finally, NSF's investment in major research instrumentation would increase by 67 % to a level of $90 million. This program is designed to support a wide variety of mid-sized state-of-the-art research equipment, and reach a broad range of institutions, including non-Ph.D-granting colleges and universities, and community colleges.
National Research Facilities. A number of major national research centers and facilities receive most, if not all of their operational funding from NSF. The National Radio Astronomy Observatories would receive a total of $42.73 million to support operations at Green Bank, West Virginia and Socorro, New Mexico. This represents an increase of $3.1 million over the FY 2003 request level. The National Center for Atmospheric Research would receive $80.1 million, an increase of $5.2 million over the FY 2003 request level. The Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO) would receive $29.0 million, a reduction of $500,000 from the FY 2003 request level. The Academic Research Fleet, which consists of 27 vessels in the University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System, would receive $65 million for operational support of the vessels, an increase of $3.0 million over the FY 2003 request level. The National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, which develops and operates high magnetic field facilities that scientists use for research in many fields, would receive $24.5 million, a $500,000 increase over the FY 2003 request. Support for the acquisition or construction of major research facilities (i.e. HIAPER or ALMA) at some of these national centers is described in section of this summary entitled, “Major Research Equipment and Facilities Construction”. The following chart is the FY 2004 budget request for the major disciplines or directorates within the NSF research portfolio.
| Research and Related Activities | FY 2002 | FY 2003 | FY 2004 | Change/FY2003 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Actual | Request | Request | Amount | % | |
| Biological Sciences | 509.64 | 525.621 | 562.22 | 36.60 | 7.0% |
| Computer Science | 515.01 | 526.94 | 584.26 | 57.32 | 10.9% |
| Engineering | 470.83 | 487.98 | 536.57 | 48.59 | 10.0% |
| Geosciences | 609.55 | 691.07 | 687.92 | -3.15 | -0.5% |
| Math & Physical Sciences | 920.42 | 941.57 | 1,061.27 | 119.70 | 12.7% |
| Social, Behavioral & Economic Sciences | 183.97 | 195.61 | 211.74 | 16.13 | 8.2% |
| U.S. Polar Research Programs | 230.52 | 235.74 | 261.86 | 26.12 | 11.1% |
| U.S. Antarctic Logistical Support Activities | 70.27 | 68.07 | 68.07 | 0.00 | 0.0% |
| Integrative Activities | 105.76 | 110.61 | 132.45 | 21.84 | 19.7% |
| Total, Research and Related Activities | $3,615.97 | $3,783.21 | $4,106.36 | $323.15 | 8.5% |
The MREFC account provides funding for the acquisition and construction of major new pieces of research equipment and facilities that will provide researchers with unique capabilities at the frontiers of science and engineering. The NSF would receive $202 million in FY 2004 to support the following projects:
| MREFC Projects for FY 2004 ($ in millions) |
FY 2002 Actual |
FY 2003 Request |
FY 2004 Request |
|---|---|---|---|
| Atacama Large Millimeter Array Construction | 12.50 | 30.00 | 50.84 |
| EarthScope: USArray, SAFOD, PBO | -- | 35.00 | 45.00 |
| High-Performance Instrumented Airborne Platform for Environmental Research | 35.00 | 25.53 | |
| IceCube Neutrino Observatory | 10.12 | -- | 60.00 |
| Large Hadron Collider | 16.90 | 9.72 | -- |
| National Ecological Observatory Network, Phase I | -- | 12.00 | 12.00 |
| Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation (NEES) | 24.40 | 13.56 | 8.00 |
| Polar Aircraft Upgrades | 0.89 | ||
| South Pole Station | 15.55 | 6.00 | 0.96 |
| Terascale Computing Systems | 20.00 | -- | |
| Total, Major Research Equipment and Facilities (MREFC) Construction Account | $115.35 | $126.28 | $202.33 |
ALMA-- The Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) is a radio telescope that, when completed, will be the world’s most sensitive, highest resolution, millimeter-wavelength telescope.
EarthScope -- EarthScope is a geophysical instrument array made up of three elements that will study earthquake physics. The first element is USArray, an array of seismometers that will be deployed throughout the U.S. to improve subsurface structure resolution. The second element is the San Andreas Fault Observatory at Depth (SAFOD), which will provide access for the study and monitoring of fault conditions and the processes of earthquakes. The third element is the Plate Boundary Observatory (PBO), which through GPS and other technologies monitor crustal deformation.
HIAPER: -- The High-performance Instrumented Airborne Platform for Environmental Research (HIAPER) is an atmospheric research aircraft equipped with next-generation scientific instrumentation.
IceCube -- The IceCube Neutrino Detector Observatory will be located at the South Pole. A recent NAS study validated the importance and merit of this neutrino detection project.
NEON -- The National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) will be a national facility composed of 10 geographical distributed and networked observatories focused on field biology research. This project has been proposed in previous years by NSF but has not yet won Congressional support.
NEES -- The George E. Brown Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation (NEES) is a national, networked collaboration whose purpose is to study the engineering aspects of earthquakes.
South Pole Station -- The FY 2004 funding request for $1 million will complete the expansion of South Pole Station to support 150 people instead of the original capacity of 110.
Future New Starts --In addition, the NSF budget proposes three new starts in FY 2005 and FY 2006. In NSF priority order, these are Scientific Ocean Drilling in FY 2005 with $76.85 million; Rare Symmetry Violating Processes (RSVP) in FY 2006 at $30 million; and Ocean Observatories in FY 2006 with $25 million.
For FY 2004 the Education and Human Resources (EHR) request is $938 million, an increase of 3.3 % over the FY 2003 request level. This account provides the bulk of the Foundation's support for science and engineering education at the K-12 level, the undergraduate level, the graduate level and for institutions and groups not participating fully in the Nation's research enterprise.
Highlights of the budget request for Education and Human Resources include: $200 million to continue the President's Math and Science Partnership program with an emphasis on establishing a number of teacher institutes for the 21st century; support for the STEM Talent Expansion Program, the so-called “tech talent” undergraduate program, would increase from $2 million in the FY2003 request to $7 million in this budget request; and an increase of $28.5 million for graduate education programs to increase both the number of graduate students supported and increase the annual stipend level to $30,000.
The chart on the next page is the FY 2004 budget request for the major program areas within the Education and Human Resources account.
| Education and Human Resources | FY 2002 | FY 2003 | FY 2004 | Change/FY2003 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Actual | Request | Request | Amount | % | |
| Math and Science Partnership | 150.08 | 200.00 | 200.00 | 0.00 | 0.0% |
| Exp Program to Stim Comp Research | 90.65 | 75.00 | 75.00 | 0.00 | 0.0% |
| Elementary, Secondary & Informal Education | 210.76 | 211.69 | 194.45 | -17.24 | -8.1% |
| Undergraduate Education | 142.70 | 135.60 | 142.10 | 6.50 | 4.8% |
| Graduate Education | 105.97 | 128.38 | 156.88 | 28.50 | 22.2% |
| Human Resource Development | 97.01 | 90.21 | 103.41 | 13.20 | 14.6% |
| Research, Evaluation & Communication | 68.95 | 67.20 | 66.20 | -1.00 | -1.5% |
| Total, EHR | $866.11 | $908.08 | $938.04 | $29.96 | 3.3% |
The FY 2004 budget request for the Department of Health and Human Services includes an increase of $549 million (2%) over the FY 2003 request for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This would provide a total of $27.9 billion for NIH in FY 2004.
Under the President's proposal, biodefense would remain the highest priority, with a total of $1.6 billion devoted to the effort. Planned research initiatives for biodefense in FY 2004 include the development of therapeutic strategies for blocking the effects of botulism toxin, establishing animal models and other agents for the study of priority pathogens and the testing of new vaccines and diagnostic tools, and studies to determine how the main cell types in the immune system regulate immune responses to dangerous microbes.
In addition, the FY 2004 budget request calls for significant increases in funding in multiple disease areas including cancer, diabetes, and obesity. These mimic the disease priorities included in last year's budget request. Also, money would be provided to the NIH Director to transfer any funds deemed necessary to NIH Institutes and Centers in order to pursue initiatives under the new "NIH Roadmap," which is aimed at addressing critical roadblocks and knowledge gaps believed by NIH to "constrain rapid advances in biomedical research progress." Although the Roadmap is still a work in progress, the following three initiatives have been specifically identified by NIH: 1) Identifying new pathways to discovery in research, 2) Establishing multidisciplinary research teams, and 3) Re-engineering the clinical research enterprise.
The President did not include funding for the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR) extramural facilities grant program in his FY 2004 budget request for NIH. As you may recall, increasing funding for this grant program has been considered a priority by the biomedical research community for the last several years.
Another recurring issue of concern to biomedical researchers is the NIH investigator salary cap. Once again, the President has requested that the salary cap be reduced from its current Executive Level I to Executive Level II. Such a reduction would re-create the disparity in the salary cap between researchers at NIH and extramural researchers on NIH grants.
It is important to remember that while the President's requested increase of 2% for FY 2004 may be small, it does not mean that he would be unwilling to sign a bill in which more money has been provided for the agency by Congress. Competition for FY 2004 dollars will be stiff as Congress works to fund an array of federal priorities, including homeland security related activities. At the same time, however, continued widespread support for NIH in Congress makes FY 2004 funding for NIH a significant possibility. In fact, some Congressional leaders, including the Senate Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman, Arlen Specter (R-PA), have pledged to work towards tripling the NIH budget by FY 2008.
Below is an institute-by-institute comparison of the FY 2002 funding levels and the FY 2003 and 2004 budget requests.
INSTITUTE-BY-INSTITUTE BREAKDOWN OF NIH FUNDING:
| National Cancer Institute | |
|---|---|
| FY 2002 Level | $4.19 b |
| FY 2003 Request | $4.61 b |
| FY 2004 Request | $4.77 b |
| National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute | |
|---|---|
| FY 2002 Level | $2.58 b |
| FY 2003 Request | $2.76 b |
| FY 2004 Request | $2.87 b |
| National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research | |
|---|---|
| FY 2002 Level | $343 m |
| FY 2003 Request | $369 m |
| FY 2004 Request | $382 m |
| National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive Kidney Diseases | |
|---|---|
| FY 2002 Level | $1.47 b |
| FY 2003 Request | $1.70 b |
| FY 2004 Request | $1.82 b |
| National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke | |
|---|---|
| FY 2002 Level | $1.33 b |
| FY 2003 Request | $1.42 b |
| FY 2004 Request | $1.45 b |
| National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases | |
|---|---|
| FY 2002 Level | $2.37 b |
| FY 2003 Request | $3.98 b |
| FY 2004 Request | $4.34 b |
| National Institute of General Medical Sciences | |
|---|---|
| FY 2002 Level | $1.73 b |
| FY 2003 Request | $1.85 b |
| FY 2004 Request | $1.92 b |
| National Institute of Child Health and Human Development | |
|---|---|
| FY 2002 Level | $1.11 b |
| FY 2003 Request | $1.20 b |
| FY 2004 Request | $1.23 b |
| National Eye Institute | |
|---|---|
| FY 2002 Level | $581 m |
| FY 2003 Request | $625 m b |
| FY 2004 Request | $648 m b |
| National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences | |
|---|---|
| FY 2002 Level | $563 m |
| FY 2003 Request | $609 m |
| FY 2004 Request | $631 m |
| National Institute on Aging | |
|---|---|
| FY 2002 Level | $891 m |
| FY 2003 Request | $958 m |
| FY 2004 Request | $994 m |
| National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases | |
|---|---|
| FY 2002 Level | $447 m |
| FY 2003 Request | $485 m |
| FY 2004 Request | $503 m |
| National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorderse | |
|---|---|
| FY 2002 Level | $341 m |
| FY 2003 Request | $366 m |
| FY 2004 Request | $380 m |
| National Institute of Nursing Research | |
|---|---|
| FY 2002 Level | $120 m |
| FY 2003 Request | $130 m |
| FY 2004 Request | $135 m |
| National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism | |
|---|---|
| FY 2002 Level | $383 m |
| FY 2003 Request | $415 m |
| FY 2004 Request | $430 m |
| National Institute on Drug Abuse | |
|---|---|
| FY 2002 Level | $885 m |
| FY 2003 Request | $960 m |
| FY 2004 Request | $996 m |
| National Institute of Mental Health | |
|---|---|
| FY 2002 Level | $1.23 b |
| FY 2003 Request | $1.33 b |
| FY 2004 Request | $1.38 b |
| National Human Genome Research Institute | |
|---|---|
| FY 2002 Level | $428 m |
| FY 2003 Request | $458 m |
| FY 2004 Request | $478 m |
| National Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering | |
|---|---|
| FY 2002 Level | $262 m |
| FY 2003 Request | $270 m |
| FY 2004 Request | $280 m |
| National Center for Research Resources | |
|---|---|
| FY 2002 Level | $985 m |
| FY 2003 Request | $1.07 b |
| FY 2004 Request | $1.05 b |
| National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine | |
|---|---|
| FY 2002 Level | $104 m |
| FY 2003 Request | $112 m |
| FY 2004 Request | $116 m |
| National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities | |
|---|---|
| FY 2002 Level | $157 m |
| FY 2003 Request | $186 m |
| FY 2004 Request | $193 m |
| John E. Fogarty International Center | |
|---|---|
| FY 2002 Level | $56 m |
| FY 2003 Request | $62 m |
| FY 2004 Request | $64 m |
| National Library of Medicine | |
|---|---|
| FY 2002 Level | $274 m |
| FY 2003 Request | $306 m |
| FY 2004 Request | $316 m |
| Office of the Director | |
|---|---|
| FY 2002 Level | $253 m |
| FY 2003 Request | $274 m |
| FY 2004 Request | $318 m |
| Buildings and Facilities (On NIH Campus) | |
|---|---|
| FY 2002 Level | $296 m |
| FY 2003 Request | $769 m |
| FY 2004 Request | $80 m |
Despite the loss of the Columbia Orbiter, the Administration released the NASA FY 2004 budget request along with the rest of the federal budget. It is unclear what impact the loss of the Columbia will have on NASA's budget for FY 2004. It is clear that the Shuttle fleet will be grounded for some period of time, and that when they do resume flying there will be fewer opportunities for dedicated science missions to be conducted, as nearly all flights will be focused on the completion of the International Space Station. The budget request does not reflect any adjustments that may be required to deal with the loss of the Columbia.
The FY 2004 NASA budget request would provide NASA an overall funding level of $15.469 billion, a $469 million or a 3.1 % increase over the FY 2003 budget request of $15 billion. For the second year in a row, the Administration proposes reorganizing the NASA budget, this time consolidating the funding accounts down to three -- the Space Flight Capabilities account which includes all of Human Space Flight as well as some cross-cutting technology programs; the Science, Aeronautics and Exploration account, which includes almost all the science and academic programs; and the Inspector General account. The reorganization transfers some enabling technology programs from the science accounts to the Space Flight Capabilities account, including the Space Launch Initiative.
Within the Science, Aeronautics and Exploration account, the Office of Space Science would receive $4.007 billion, an increase of $539 million over the FY 2003 request of $3.468 billion. This funding level includes $570 million to continue the Mars Exploration program, $770 million to continue the Sun-Earth Connections program and $1.359 billion for the Solar System Exploration program.
The Solar System Exploration program includes $130 million for the New Frontiers program to fund the New Horizons mission to Pluto and the Kuiper Belt, as well as $177 million to fully fund the MESSENGER mission to Mercury, the DAWN mission to two asteroids and the Deep Impact mission to probe below the surface of a comet.
Most of NASA's new initiatives are included in the Office of Space Science. The first major new initiative for FY 2004 is Project Prometheus. Project Prometheus is an expansion of the nuclear propulsion and nuclear power program initiated last year. It includes $279 million for the continued development of nuclear power and nuclear propulsion systems, including an additional $93 million for the initial development of the Jupiter Icy Moon Orbiter, which will be the first spacecraft to utilize the new nuclear systems to visit the three icy moons around Jupiter, including Europa, in 2011.
Another major new initiative is the Optical Communications program. The request would provide $31 million in FY 2004 for the initial development of an optical communications system. This program also includes a new Mars mission to demonstrate the new optical communications and other technologies. Known as the Mars Telesat mission, this mission would be managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory while the new optical communications instruments would be managed by the Goddard Space Flight Center.
The third major initiative is called the Beyond Einstein Initiative. This program is designed to answer three questions about the nature of matter and physics, including what happens at the edge of a black hole. To answer these questions, the program receives $59 million to fund two major missions, the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) and Constellation-X, and a series of Einstein Probes to be fully competed.
The Office of Earth Science is also funded within the Science, Aeronautics and Explorations account. The budget request would provide the Office of Earth Science $1.552 billion, a decrease of $58 million from the FY 2003 budget request. NASA states that this reduction is a function of several Earth science satellite missions moving from development into operations.
Within the Office of Earth Science is a new initiative known as the Climate Change Research Initiative Acceleration. The request for FY 2004 calls for an additional $26 million to accelerate the evaluation of non-carbon dioxide impact on climate.
The budget request reorganizes NASA's Earth Science Applications program and provides the revised program $75 million for FY 2004, a reduction of $6 million from the FY 2003 request. The details of this reorganization are not yet available.
Another key initiative for FY 2004 is the Human Research Initiative within the Office of Biological and Physical Research (OBPR). The budget request would provide $973 million for OBPR, an increase of $60 million over the FY 2003 request. $39 million of that increase is slated for the Human Research Initiative, $25 million for Biological Science Research and $14 million for Physical Sciences Research related to mitigating the crew safety risks for missions beyond low-Earth orbit of over 100 days.
Within the Space Flight Capabilities account, the budget request would provide the Space Shuttle program $3.968 billion, an increase of $182 million over the FY 2003 request of $3.78 billion. NASA had recently announced its intention to delay the development of a new launch vehicle to replace shuttle, and to extend the shuttle fleet's service life through 2020. It is unclear whether Congress or NASA will choose to retain that strategy. It is also unclear whether there will be any attempt to construct a replacement shuttle as was done following the loss of Challenger.
The funding for the International Space Station (ISS) may also be affected by the loss of Columbia. The request calls for the ISS to receive $1.7 billion, $144 million less than the FY 2003 request. With the shuttle fleet at least temporarily grounded, the construction of the ISS will be delayed. The impact of this delay on the cost profile of the ISS is unclear. It may also further delay the installation of 12 additional science racks slated to be installed on the ISS in 2004.
Overall, the President's request would provide DOE with a total of $23.4 billion in FY 2004, an increase of $1.3 billion, or 5.9 percent, over the amended FY 2003 budget request. By far the vast majority of the requested increase ($925 million of the total $1.3 billion increase for DOE) is targeted for the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), which manages the nation's nuclear Stockpile Stewardship Program. NNSA would receive a total of $8.83 billion under the request, an increase of 11.7 %. Environmental Management programs would also receive a significant increase of $361.1 million, for a total of $7.2 billion, to be used primarily for accelerated cleanup programs.
DOE's Office of Science (OS) would receive a total of $3.31 billion in FY 2004, an increase of $47.1 million, or 1.4 %, over the FY 2003 request. Below are specific funding levels and highlights for the various DOE OS programs:
High Energy Physics: HEP would receive $738 million under the FY 2004 request, an increase of 13.0 million or 1.8 % over the FY 2003 request.
Nuclear Physics: NP would receive $389.4 million, an increase of $7.0 million or 1.8 % over the FY 2003 request.
Biological and Environmental Research: BER would receive $499.5 million under the request, an increase of $15.3 million or 3.2 % over the FY 2003 request. Within BER, the Genomes to Life program would receive an increase of $24.5 million from the FY 2003 request of $34.5 million to the FY 2004 request of $59.0 million. Funding for the Climate Change Research program would increase by $5 million for a total of $143.0 million in FY 2004.
Basic Energy Sciences: BES would receive $1.01 billion in FY 2004, a decrease of $10.6 million from the FY 2003 budget request. Funding for the Spallation Neutron Source follows its ramping down schedule and would decrease from $210.6 million in FY 2003 to $124.6 million in FY 2004. Funding for Nanoscale Science is increased by $64 million, with much of the funding targeted for beginning construction activities for four new Nanoscale Science Research Centers (NSRCs) at Brookhaven, Oak Ridge, Lawrence Berkeley, and Sandia/Los Alamos National Laboratories.
Advanced Scientific Computing Research: ASCR would receive $173.5 million under the FY 2004 request, an increase of $6.9 million, or 4.2 %, over the FY 2003 request. The increase is targeted for the Next Generation Computer Architecture Initiative, which aims to optimize computer architectures to meet the requirements of various scientific programs.
Fusion Energy Sciences: FES would receive $257.3 million in FY 2004, the same amount as requested in FY 2003.
Note: Unlike federal non-defense programs, Congress passed the FY 2003 Defense Appropriations bill last year. Therefore, the analysis below compares the FY 2004 budget request figures with the final FY 2003 appropriations levels, as opposed to the FY 2003 Administration budget request.
The President's budget provides $10.2 billion for Defense S&T (6.1 (basic), 6.2 (applied), and 6.3 (advanced technology development). This represents a cut of $1.27 billion, or 11.1 %, from the final FY 2003 appropriations level of $11.47 billion. The FY 2004 request would shift several programs, including the University Research Initiative, from the Defense-wide account to the services; unfortunately, details of these proposed transfers are not yet available. As a result, however, many of the increases in the services' budgets, especially in basic research, do not actually include new funding but rather are the result of the transfers.
Because of these transfers, the most significant changes in the request budget for DOD basic and applied research programs occurs in the Defense-wide account, which includes DARPA and other department-wide programs. Within this account, the request would provide $187 million for basic research and $1.735 billion for applied research. These are significant cuts from the FY 2003 appropriated levels of $587 million for basic research and $1.982 million for applied research. Most of the cuts to basic research seem to be comprised of a transfer of $232 million in programs from Defense-wide to the Defense services, and also an additional $25 million is transferred to the newly created Department of Homeland Security. The Defense-wide applied research account also appears to include transfers to the services and to the Department of Homeland Security, though again, details are not yet available.
The request would provide the following funding levels for basic and applied research:
Overall Basic Research: For overall DOD basic research (6.1) accounts, the President's budget would provide $1.309 billion FY 2004, which is 12.4 % below the $1.495 billion level approved by Congress in the final FY 2003 Defense Appropriations bill.
Overall Applied Research: For overall DOD applied research (6.2) accounts, the President proposes $3.670 billion, which is 20.2 % below the final FY 2003 appropriated funding level.
Army Basic Research: The request would provide $343 million for 6.1 basic research in FY 2004. The FY 2003 Defense Appropriations bill contained $262 million for 6.1 programs.
Army Applied Research: The request would provide $641 million for 6.2 applied research in FY 2004. The FY 2003 Defense Appropriations bill contained $930 million for 6.2 programs
Navy Basic Research: The request would provide $457 million for 6.1 basic research in FY 2004, as compared to the $422 million appropriated in the FY 2003 appropriations bill.
Navy Applied Research: The request would provide $536 million for 6.2 applied research in FY 2004, as compared with the $822 million in the FY 2003 appropriations bill.
Air Force Basic Research: The budget would provide $322 million for 6.1 basic research, as compared with the $224 million appropriated in the FY 2003 appropriations bill.
Air Force Applied Research: The request would provide $758 million for 6.2 applied research, as compared to the $865 million appropriated in the FY 2003 appropriations bill.
In the FY 2004 federal budget request, the Department of Education receives $53.1 billion in discretionary funding, an increase of $2.8 billion or 5.6 % over the President's FY 2003 request. The request, which supports new block grants and flexibility for States and Local education agencies, focuses primarily on large funding initiatives within elementary and secondary education, including new Title I grants, new special education grants, new Reading First State grants, and some more controversial parental choice funding. With marked similarity to last year's budget request, most postsecondary education program funding levels, at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, would remain flat (not accounting for inflation), with often no proposed increase over FY 2003. In addition, many of the policy issues which will be considered in the coming year during the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act are not addressed in the Administration's proposal.
The FY 2004 request would provide $14.519 billion in total postsecondary student aid funding, which is a 13.7 % increase over the FY 2003 request.
The largest increase among student aid programs in the Department's budget is a proposed $1.9 billion increase for the Pell Grant program, which would raise the total funding level to $12.715 billion. While this increase is more than triple the increase amount requested in last year's budget ($584 million, excluding a $1 billion supplemental in FY 2002), the Administration would continue the per-student maximum award at $4,000, the level set by Congress in the FY 2002 Labor/HHS appropriations bill. According to the Department's budget, the increase will retire a shortfall, estimated around $2.5 billion, in the program which was created as a result of the unexpected surge in applications over the past couple years.
The Administration intends to cover the remaining portion of the shortfall, approximately $600 million, which is not covered by the $1.9 billion increase through a new Internal Revenue Service matching of student aid application income data with applicant tax data. The Department estimates that roughly $638 million will be saved by ensuring that individuals are receiving the correct level of funding relative to their tax situation.
The FY 2004 request, like the FY 03 request, also suggests that the future levels of the per-student maximum award should be set by the Secretary of Education rather than by Congress if there are insufficient funds in the program, i.e. rateable reduction authority. This authority had actually been a part of the law prior to 1992; however, it was not needed during the last decade, because the program had been running a surplus.
Supplemental Education Opportunity Grants (SEOG)
The Administration is requesting flat funding of $725 million for the SEOG program. The Administration also requested flat funding in FY 2002 and FY 2003.
Work-Study
The FY 2004 budget request would provide flat funding of $1.011 billion for the Work-Study program. The Administration also requested flat funding in FY 2002 and FY 2003. Similar to last year, the budget includes language encouraging institutions to use Work-Study funds to promote community service activities. Currently, institutions must use at least 7 % of their Work-Study funds to support community service jobs.
Perkins Loans
Similar to the other Campus-Based programs, Perkins Loan cancellation payments would be flat-funded at a level of $67.5 million. The budget, however, would eliminate funding for capital contributions (previously funded at $100 million). The Administration states that additional contributions are not necessary, because “repayments of existing Perkins Loans into Federal revolving funds will continue to support more than $1 billion in new Perkins Loans each year.”
Federal TRIO Programs
The FY 2004 budget request would provide flat funding of $802.5 million for the Federal TRIO Programs. The Administration also requested flat funding in FY 2002 and FY 2003. The request would maintain current service levels in all programs except Staff Training, in which it would support a new competition.
Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP)
In the FY 2004 request, GEAR UP would be level-funded at $285 million. The Administration also requested flat funding in FY 2002 and FY 2003. The request would maintain support for all continuing projects. FY 2004 will be the final year for initial GEAR UP projects funded in 1999.
Leveraging Education Assistance Partnerships (LEAP)
The Administration's request, as it did in FY 2003, would eliminate the LEAP program in FY 2004. The request states that “the program has accomplished its objective of stimulating all States to establish need-based postsecondary student grant programs, and Federal incentives for such aid are no longer required.”
Teacher Quality Enhancement
The FY 2004 request would also level fund the Teacher Quality Enhancement program, as it did in FY 2002 and 2003. The budget request would maintian support for 53 existing State, Partnership, and Recruitment projects and would fund 24 new Partnership Grants.
Graduate and International Education
In the FY 2004 request, Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need (GAANN), the Javits fellowship program, and International Education programs would all receive flat funding.
National Security Education Program (NSEP)
The Department's FY 2004 request also proposes the transfer of NSEP from the Department of Defense to the Department of Education. The program, which was designed in 1991 for undergraduate and graduate scholarships and fellowships as well as higher education institution grants in critical area studies, is funded through a trust fund of $8 million.
Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU)
The FY 2004 budget request would provide a $10.7 million, or 4.8 %, increase for HBCU's, raising the total level of Federal funding to $224.1 million.
Developing Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI)
The budget request, which also recommended an increase last year, would increase the HSI program $4.5 million, or 4.8 %, providing a total of $93.6 million for the program.
Federal Loans Forgiveness
As in the FY 2003 request, President Bush proposes to more than triple the amount of loan forgiveness for math, science, or special education teachers, increasing the amount from $5,000 to $17,500. This initiative is part of a large effort by the Administration to encourage graduates in the fields of science and mathematics to help teach the next generation of scholars.
The President's FY 2004 budget request for the Environmental Protection Agency calls for $7.63 billion. This represents an increase of roughly $10 million, or 1.3 %, over the FY 2003 budget request.
The Science and Technology account fairs very well in comparison to EPA as a whole. The budget requests $731 million, an increase of $61 million or 9.1 % over the FY 2003 request. This represents a comparatively strong commitment from the Administration, which cites science as a key goal. It remains to be seen whether these increases will be reflected in the main extramural program in EPA's Office of Research and Development, the Science to Achieve Results (STAR) program, which has hovered around the $100 million mark for the last several years. Historically, EPA prefers to devote most of its science funding to intramural research.
The budget requests funds for a newly established Science Advisor. According to the budget document, the Science Advisor "will be responsible for ensuring the availability and use of the best science to support Agency policy and decisions, as well as advising the EPA administrator on science and technology issues and their relationship to Agency policies, procedures and decisions."
Also of interest to universities, the budget requests $4.9 million for the STAR Fellowships Program, which was zeroed out in the FY 2003 budget with no new awards being made.
The FY 2004 Budget Request for the U.S. Geological Survey is $895.5 million, an increase of $28.2 million over the FY 2003 budget request level. The FY 2004 priorities for the USGS include invasive species, wildlife health, energy resource assessments water availability and coastal landscape changes.
Although the requested funding for USGS is higher overall, there are significant cuts to several of the science programs, including the Earthquake Hazards program which would receive $46 million for FY 2004, $1.5 million below the FY 2003 request of $47.57 million. The Global Seismographic Network would receive only a minimal $4,000 increase to $3.512 million for FY 2004.