(The complete series of AAAS R&D Funding Updates,
including continually updated analyses of R&D by agency in FY 2000
appropriations, is available on the AAAS R&D Web Site (http://www.aaas.org/spp/R&D)
in the "FY 2000 R&D" or the "What's
New" sections.)
The Senate Appropriations Committee has drafted an
FY 2000 VA-HUD appropriations bill (S 1596) that would give increases
to R&D programs in the National Science Foundation (NSF) and provide
the requested amounts for most programs in the National Aeronautics
and Space Administration (NASA) and the Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA). Unlike the companion House bill, which would impose a $1 billion
cut on NASA, the Senate would provide the requested amount of $13.6
billion for NASA's budget, a cut of $87 million or 0.6 percent.
The House would provide only $12.7 billion. Total NASA R&D would
increase slightly by 0.6 percent to $9.8 billion, the same amount as
the request (see Table).
As the October 1 start of FY 2000 approaches, Congress is struggling to draft the 13 appropriations bills within discretionary spending caps that are forcing sharp cuts to domestic discretionary programs. The discretionary spending caps, enacted in 1997, require FY 2000 discretionary spending to be nearly $20 billion below FY 1999 funding levels. The FY 2000 VA-HUD bill, the 12th bill to be drafted by the Senate, totals only $70 billion in discretionary budget authority, nearly $3 billion below the FY 1999 level and $5 billion below the amount needed to keep pace with inflation. The total was originally even lower, but the Appropriations Committee added funds to the VA-HUD bill by raiding the Labor-HHS bill's allocation. As a result, the unlucky Labor-HHS bill, the only bill yet to be drafted in both the House and the Senate, now has an allocation that is nearly $12 billion below the FY 1999 funding level, a level that could require cuts of almost 20 percent for its programs. Even the revised allocation of $70 billion was insufficient for the Senate, and an extra $4.2 billion was found at the last minute by funding some housing programs with FY 2001 rather than FY 2000 funds.
Within the $70 billion total for the House VA-HUD bill,
the House made clear its priority for veterans' programs and increased
funding by nearly $2 billion, putting even more pressure on other programs
in the bill. As a result, the other agencies funded in the bill, including
EPA, NASA, and NSF, face steep cuts (see the August
6 R&D Funding Updates for information on House appropriations
for these three agencies). The Senate, although faced with the same
total, put a higher priority on science programs and, aided by the extra
$4 billion in FY 2001 funds, managed to meet the President's request
for all three agencies. (Please see the NSF
and EPA Funding Updates for information on
proposed Senate appropriations for R&D in these agencies.) The Senate
would fund NASA at the requested level of $13.6 billion, a cut of $87
million or 0.6 percent, in sharp contrast to the House's proposed budget
of $12.7 billion. Two-thirds of the NASA budget, which excludes the
Space Shuttle program and its associated costs, is classified as R&D.
NASA's R&D would total $9.8 billion in the Senate plan, a slight
increase of 0.6 percent over FY 1999. Although funding for development
of the International Space Station would increase, the Science, Aeronautics,
and Technology (SAT) account would decline by 4.1 percent to $5.4
billion. The House would cut NASA's R&D by 7.0 percent.
The SAT account, which funds nearly all of NASA's R&D not related to the Space Station, would receive $5.4 billion from the Senate, a reduction of 4.1 percent from FY 1999 but the same as the request, in contrast to a proposed 12 percent cut in the House bill. Within the total, the Senate would rearrange NASA's priorities. The Senate would cut $120 million from the request for Space Science, resulting in a program budget of $2.1 billion, 2.0 percent less than FY 1999. Within the declining amount, the Senate instructs NASA to set aside $26 million for costs associated with replacing the gyroscopes on the Hubble Space Telescope. The Senate would add $100 million to the request for Aero-Space Technology, leaving the program with $1.1 billion, 17.4 percent less than FY 1999. The increase over the request would go toward the design, development, and testing of future launch technologies, including the X-33 and X-34 programs. The Senate would add $20 million to the request for Academic Programs, resulting in a budget of $120 million, down 13.4 percent from FY 1999. The Life and Microgravity Sciences and Applications (LMSA) account within SAT would receive $256 million appropriation, down 2.8 percent from FY 1999 but the same amount as the request. Earth Science would receive $1.5 billion as requested, an increase of 3.2 percent over FY 1999.
The Senate would provide the requested $2.5 billion for continued development and construction of the International Space Station, $231 million or 10.3 percent more than FY 1999. The Senate expresses strong concerns about the escalating costs and lengthening construction schedule of the project, and the Senate bill appropriates Space Station funds in a separate account to prevent NASA from siphoning funds from other Human Space Flight programs to cover cost overruns in the Station. The non-R&D Space Shuttle program, the other major program within Human Space Flight, would receive $3.0 billion, just slightly less than its current funding. The Senate bill contains language directing NASA to add a research shuttle mission in FY 2000 in addition to the currently planned nine missions, seven for building the Space Shuttle and two for repairing the Hubble Space Telescope. The House bill contains similar language.
The Senate VA-HUD bill is scheduled for floor debate this week. The House approved its version of the bill on September 9. If the Senate approves the bill this week, the two versions will head to a House-Senate conference, but the conference report is unlikely to be completed and approved by both chambers before October 1. Continuing resolutions are likely to provide temporary FY 2000 funding for NASA and the other agencies until the final VA-HUD bill is signed by the President. The Clinton Administration has issued a veto threat over the funding levels in the House bill, so the ultimate fate of the bill may depend on whether its funding levels are closer to the House or the Senate figures. If the conference report is delayed, or if the President vetoes the final bill, the final funding levels for VA-HUD, and therefore for NASA programs, will most likely be determined in an omnibus appropriations bill.
- September 21, 1999
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
