AAAS R&D Funding Update June 29, 2001-

House Adds Funds for Intramural and Earmarked Research,
Blocks Funds for Competitive Grants

Go to: Table. FY 2002 USDA R&D in House Appropriations PDF version of this document Related documents: AAAS Report XXVI: Research and Development FY 2002 (President's Request for FY 2002) Chapter 11: R&D in the Department of Agriculture - Elizabeth Allred and Mortimer Neufville, NASULGC

(This analysis is part of a series of AAAS R&D Funding Updates on the FY 2002 congressional appropriations process. This analysis includes information on House appropriations for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The complete series of AAAS R&D Funding Updates, including continually updated analyses of R&D by agency in FY 2002 appropriations, is available on the AAAS R&D Web Site (http://www.aaas.org/spp/R&D) in the "FY 2002 R&D" or the "What's New" sections.) Before adjourning for a week-long Fourth of July recess, the House Appropriations Committee released its version of the FY 2002 Agriculture appropriations bill (HR 2330), which provides funding for most of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The full House began consideration of the bill on June 28, but postponed final action until the week of July 9. The House bill would provide $1.9 billion for USDA R&D in FY 2002, a cut of 0.8 percent or $16 million, mostly because the House would block funds for two mandatory competitive research grants programs (see Table). The House appropriation, however, would be $140 million more than the nearly 8 percent cut to USDA R&D proposed by the Bush Administration. While USDA's intramural research programs would receive substantial increases, USDA's extramural research grants would fall steeply, especially competitively awarded grants. The overall House Agriculture bill would provide $15.7 billion in discretionary funds for FY 2002, $250 million more than the President's request. The total would be well below the $18.7 billion funding level for FY 2001 because billions in dollars of FY 2001 natural disaster and other emergency appropriations would not be renewed in FY 2002. The FY 2001 total also includes $51 million in one-time appropriations for agricultural R&D programs included in last year's crop insurance bill. (For full details of the President's request for USDA R&D and full information on USDA R&D programs, see Chapter 11 of AAAS Report XXVI: R&D FY 2002.) In a reprise of a perennial fight, the House bill would block two mandatory (non-appropriated) grants programs from spending their funds. The Initiative for Future Agriculture and Food Systems (IFAFS) was created in June 1998 as a mandatory program to spend $120 million a year for five years on competitively awarded grants for agricultural research and extension, to be administered by USDA's Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service (CSREES). The Appropriations Committees were upset that this program, created by the House and Senate Agriculture Committees, would take spending decisions on agricultural research out of their jurisdictions, so they have periodically tried to block USDA from spending these funds. In addition, blocking these funds would be a cost-saving measure to help keep the federal budget in surplus. Although funding for IFAFS was eventually released in FY 2000 and FY 2001, the House bill would block FY 2002 funds, of which $64 million would go toward R&D. Similarly, the Fund for Rural America in the Office of the Secretary was reauthorized two years ago for five years, but Congress has also tried periodically to block these funds for competitively awarded research and extension grants on rural topics. The House bill would block funds for this program, resulting in a cut of $8 million from planned R&D spending in FY 2002. Other competitively awarded research grants would fare somewhat better in the House bill. CSREES also administers appropriated research grants programs. The National Research Initiative (NRI), the existing competitive research grants program which IFAFS was designed to supplement, would receive $106 million, the same as the request and FY 2001 but far short of the amount needed to make up for the loss of IFAFS funds. Instead of competitively awarded grants, the House would direct funds toward Special Research Grants, which would receive $82 million, slightly less than FY 2001 but nearly $80 million more than the request. These funds would go to 139 itemized projects, all but five of which are for geographically specific congressionally designated projects. The House bill also contains two dozen other congressionally designated projects in other parts of the CSREES budget. Most formula funding programs for academic R&D such as the Hatch Act ($181 million, same as FY 2001) would receive level funding. Total CSREES R&D, which includes IFAFS spending, would be $500 million, down $94 million or 15.8 percent from FY 2001. This amount would still be above the request, mostly because of the addition of Special Research Grants funds offsetting the loss of IFAFS funds. Agricultural Research Service (ARS) R&D would total $1.1 billion in FY 2002 in the House bill, a substantial increase of 6.1 percent or $62 million, $104 million more than the request. ARS funds intramural research through a nationwide network of intramural laboratories and agricultural experiment stations. The House bill would provide a 6.1 percent increase for ARS research programs, mostly for congressionally designated topics, to $994 million, and a 6.3 percent increase to $79 million for Buildings and Facilities. Although USDA requested only $30 million for this account, the House would boost funding significantly, primarily through a $40 million appropriation for construction and modernization of ARS facilities in Ames, Iowa, devoted to animal research. The Forest Service (FS) is funded through the Interior bill, which has already cleared the full House. The Forest Service funds an extensive program of forest and rangeland research, mostly in FS laboratories, as well as programs in fire science. FY 2002 Forest Service R&D would total $261 million in the House Interior bill, an increase of $16 million or 6.5 percent over FY 2001. The core forest and rangeland research program would receive an increase of $7 million to $237 million, but the House would boost funding dramatically for research aimed at assisting FS efforts in wildland fire management. Fire science funding would jump from an estimated $15 million to $24 million. The House will finish debate on the Agriculture bill the week of July 9. Although there may be controversies over non-R&D amendments, the bill is expected to win House approval. It remains unclear when the Senate will draft its version of the bill, and it is also unclear whether the Senate will follow the House's lead in blocking funds for the IFAFS or Fund for Rural America grants. If the Senate does not block the funds, total USDA R&D could see a significant increase over FY 2001 in the Senate bill. - June 29, 2001 AAAS R&D Budget and Policy Program American Association for the Advancement of Science 1200 New York Ave, NW Washington, DC 20005 (202) 326-6607 science_policy@aaas.org http://www.aaas.org/spp/R&D

Table. U.S. Department of Agriculture
House Action on R&D in the FY 2002 Budget
(budget authority in millions of dollars)

AAAS estimates based on FY 2002 appropriations bills. Includes conduct of R&D and R&D facilities.
FY 2001 and FY 2002 request figures based on OMB R&D data and supplemental agency budget data.
Figures are rounded to the nearest million. Changes calculated from unrounded figures.
1 Includes spending from trust funds.
2 Includes repair and maintenance funded through the Programs account.
3 Mandatory (non-appropriated) program of competitive grants for agricultural research. Public Law 105-185 created a $120 million mandatory program of competitive grants for agricultural research from FY 1999 to FY 2003. Table shows R&D portions of the IFAFS program. The FY 2002 House Agriculture bill would block FY 2002 spending.
4 Mandatory spending from the Fund for Rural America. R&D portion only. The FY 2002 House Agriculture bill would block FY 2002 spending.
FY 2001 ARS and CSREES figures include mandatory R&D funds appropriated in Public Law 106-224.
June 29, 2001 - House Appropriations Committee-approved figures.
These appropriations may be amended or rejected on the House floor.