AAAS R&D Funding Update July 27, 2001-

EPA R&D Stays Level in House Plan

Go to: Table. FY 2002 EPA R&D in House Appropriations PDF version of this document Related documents: "EPA Budget and R&D Decline in Senate Plan," AAAS R&D Funding Update July 25 (Senate appropriations for EPA R&D) AAAS Report XXVI: Research and Development FY 2002 (President's Request for FY 2002) Chapter 12: R&D in Selected Agencies -Kei Koizumi, AAAS

(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 Environmental Protection Agency. 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.) The House Appropriations Committee has drafted an FY 2002 VA-HUD appropriations bill (HR 2620) that would provide declining funding for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The FY 2002 EPA budget would fall by 3.4 percent or $266 million to $7.5 billion under the House plan, but this appropriation would be above EPA's requested cut to $7.3 billion. EPA's R&D would be funded at the FY 2001 level for a total of $609 million, $39 million more than the request (see Table). The Senate version of the bill would provide $600 million. The House FY 2002 VA-HUD bill would provide $85 billion for discretionary programs, more than the Senate version of the bill ($84 billion) and the request ($83 billion). The bill funds science agencies including the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), EPA, and non-R&D programs for veterans and housing. (For information on Senate appropriations for EPA, please see the July 25 AAAS R&D Funding Update; for details of the FY 2002 request for EPA, please see Chapter 12 of AAAS Report XXVI: R&D FY 2002.) EPA requested $7.3 billion for its total budget, a cut of $494 million or 6.3 percent from FY 2001 because of cuts to State and Tribal Assistance Grants, perennially a higher priority for Congress than for EPA, and cuts in funds for congressionally designated projects. The House would add some funds to the requested cuts in Science and Technology, Environmental Programs and Management, and State and Tribal Assistance Grants, mostly in the form of congressionally designated projects. The $7.5 billion House appropriation would be $266 million less than FY 2001 (see Table). EPA's R&D, mostly funded in the Science and Technology account, would total $609 million, exactly the same as the FY 2001 funding level. EPA requested a cut in R&D down to $569 million (down 6.5 percent), mostly because EPA proposed, as it did in the Clinton Administration, to eliminate dozens of congressionally designated research projects while keeping core research funding flat. The House would fund most R&D programs at the requested level, but would add a few congressionally designated research projects and a special $30 million appropriation for a 'targeted environmental research grant program' to bring FY 2002 R&D to this year's level. The House would mostly stick to the EPA's priorities for FY 2002, except for a boost in funding for State and Tribal Assistance Grants. Although EPA requested a cut in this program from $3.6 billion to $3.3 billion, the House would provide $3.4 billion. Most of this money goes to state and local governments. For Environmental Programs and Management, which funds most of EPA's operating expenses, the House bill would provide $2.0 billion, $69 million less than FY 2001 but $42 million more than the request because of congressionally designated projects. The Superfund program would stay even at the $1.2 billion FY 2001 funding level. Superfund would continue to support $37 million (same as FY 2001) in research on hazardous substances. Superfund used to transfer funds to the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), a part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), for its research program on environmental health, but beginning in FY 2001 and continuing with the FY 2002 request and FY 2002 House bill these funds are appropriated directly to NIEHS, and appear as part of the NIH budget. The NIEHS Superfund appropriation, funded in the VA-HUD bill separately from the regular NIEHS appropriation, would be $70 million for FY 2002, the same as the request and up from $63 million in FY 2001. The House and Senate versions of the VA-HUD bill are due for floor debate and approval before the August congressional recess. A House-Senate conference committee to produce the final version of the bill is not expected to meet until September. - July 27, 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. Environmental Protection Agency
House Appropriations Committee 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 Does not include transfers from Superfund.
2 Transfers from Superfund to S&T account recorded under S&T.
July 27, 2001 - House Appropriations Committee-approved figures.
These appropriations may be amended or rejected on the House floor.
Senate figures reflect Senate Appropriations Committee-approved figures.