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| Education and Human Resources in the FY 2000 Budget
Virginia Van Horne, AAAS |
HIGHLIGHTS
INTRODUCTION This chapter provides an analysis of R&D in the federal budget in terms of support for education and human resources (EHR) programs that have science, mathematics, engineering, and/or technology (SMET) as their focus or theme. NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION (NSF) NSF's overall budget request for FY 2000 is $3.9 billion, a 5.7 percent increase over FY 1999 (see Table II-7). Emphasizing a broad base of research and education activities, this budget request features investments in information technology research, biocomplexity, and new approaches to education and workforce development. For example, NSF will lead the IT2 initiative with a FY 2000 budget request of $146 million (seeChapter 23 for details); and the Educating for the Future budget request is close to $475 million, a 6 percent budget increase over the FY 1999 level. Funding for programs to encourage participation in SMET research and education by underrepresented groups (women, minorities and persons with disabilities) would total more than $110 million throughout NSF in FY 2000. Looking across the entire agency, the FY 2000 request for Education and Training Support, by education level, would be as follows: PreK-12 programs, $365 million, an increase of close to $23 million above the FY 1999 level; undergraduate activities, $155 million, a decrease of $5 million; and, graduate/postdoctoral programs, $134 million, a decrease of $1 million. The EHR FY 2000 budget request is $711 million, an increase of 3.2 percent over the current FY 1999 plan. Within this request, $678 million would be from the Education and Human Resources appropriation, and $33 million would be from H-1B Nonimmigrant Petitioner Fees. These fees would be used for the following activities: computer science, engineering, and mathematics scholarships; grants for mathematics, engineering, or science enrichment courses; and systemic reform activities. In FY 2000, NSF's EHR programs would address education research, building the K-12 workforce, systemic reform, diversity continuum, and educational technologies. Highlights from the Educating for the Future theme include the following: $25 million for a continuing Education Research Initiative; nearly $29 million, an increase of $1.7 million, for the Integrative Graduate Education and Research Training (IGERT) program; approximately $98 million for the Faculty Early Career Development program; and close to $37 million for the Research Experiences for Undergraduates program. NSF proposes to continue its participation in the Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) program, with a request of $2 million for FY 2000. This program provides environmental education to K-12 students in more than 3,500 schools in 45 countries. (Please see Chapter 8 for more information on NSF.) DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION (ED) The President is requesting $34.7 billion in discretionary appropriations for FY 2000, an increase of $1.2 billion or 3.7 percent over the FY 1999 level. (Please see Table II-18 for details of the ED budget; the table includes mandatory appropriations.) As noted by Secretary of Education Richard Riley, education continues to be a top domestic policy priority for the President, with the focus shifting to young people. The funds requested by ED would be used to reduce class sizes, modernize schools, raise the quality of teaching, expand after-school programs, help immigrants learn English, improve literacy, and provide new pathways to college for disadvantaged students. As an example, $10 million would go to the new American Indian Teacher Corps, a program to recruit and train 1,000 new Indian teachers to work in Native American communities. GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs) would receive $240 million, an increase of 100 percent over the FY 1999 level, and Title III Aid for Institutional Development programs would receive an increase of $22 million to $260 million; this includes an increase of $1 million for the Minority Science and Engineering Improvement Program. With respect to access to higher education, the maximum Pell Grant would grow by $125 to $3,250; the Work-Study Program would increase by $64 million, or 7.4 percent, to $934 million; Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants would rise by $12 million from $619 million to $631 million in FY 2000; the Perkins Loan program would remain at the FY 1999 level of $130 million ($100 million capital contributions and $30 million loan cancellations); and the Leveraging Educational Assistance Partnership Program (formerly the State Student Incentive Grant Program) would remain at the FY 1999 level of $25 million. FY 2000 will be the first time individuals will be able to use the HOPE Scholarship and Lifetime Learning tuition tax credits. The D.C. Resident Tuition Support program, a new program to pay the difference between in-state and out-of-state tuition at all public institutions in Maryland and Virginia on behalf of Washington, DC, residents who have recently graduated from high school or received a GED, would receive $17 million. Lastly, funding for the TRIO programs-those programs that work with disadvantaged high school and college students to encourage them to complete high school and attend and graduate from college-would increase by 5 percent, or $30 million, to $630 million. The Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI) is requesting $1.4 billion, an increase of $498 million over the FY 1999 appropriation. This request would include $400 million for the 21st Century Community Learning Centers; $77.5 million for statistics; $30 million, an increase of $6.7 million, for Eisenhower Professional Development Federal Activities; and $17.5 million, an increase of $2.5 million, for the Eisenhower Regional Mathematics and Science Education Consortia. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE (USDA) USDA provides funding for agricultural research, education, and extension conducted in partnership with the state agricultural experiment stations, state cooperative extension systems, and other institutions. One of USDA's missions is to promote excellence in food and agricultural sciences higher education. This is accomplished through a variety of competitive and formula grant programs that support faculty, curricula development, and student recruitment and education support, including scholarships, internships, and fellowships. The FY 2000 budget request for the Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service (CSREES) is $1.1 billion, including $200 million for competitively awarded research grants in the National Research Initiative, an increase of 68 percent over the FY 1999 level (see Table II-13). Beginning in FY 2000, CSREES will be responsible for administering competitive grants for research, education and extension for the Initiative for Future Agriculture and Food Systems; this Initiative would provide $120 million per year for research, education or extension competitive grants targeted to address critical agricultural productivity and competitiveness issues (see Chapter 12 for more information on USDA R&D). USDA works with colleges and universities that offer programs in the food and agricultural sciences. In addition, USDA has a special relationship to the land-grant system, which includes the 1862 land-grant, the 1890 Historically Black land-grant, and the 1994 Native American land-grant schools. Within the CSREES higher education program component are the 1890 capacity building grants that are directed to those Historically Black Colleges and Universities designated as land-grant institutions. The total for 1890 capacity building grants is $9.2 million, the same as the FY 1999 level. Funding for other higher education activities would remain close to FY 1999 levels. By authority of the Smith-Lever 3(b&c) Formula Act, funding is provided for state agricultural experiment stations for education and technology transfer programs, known as the CSREES Extension programs. (An example is the 4-H youth development education program.) This is a national educational network for publicly funded, out-of-the-classroom education. The total for Smith-Lever 3 (b&c) is $258 million, a reduction from the FY 1999 level of $277 million. A new competitive research program, as authorized by the Equity in Educational Land-Grant Status Act of 1994, is requesting close to $700,000 for FY 2000. Known as the 1994 Institutions Research Program, this program is specifically for research programs at the 1994 Native American institutions to address tribal problems that have been neglected, as well as other national priorities. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY (DOE) DOE has a variety of SMET education programs, from those oriented toward K-12 students to research dollars appropriated for fellowships and postdoctorates. In FY 1999, DOE requested $15 million in funding for the University and Science Education initiative, a program for which Congress did not appropriate funds in FY 1997 and for which funds were not requested in FY 1998. In FY 1999, Congress zeroed out the budget line for this initiative but added $4.5 million for various science education initiatives. In FY 2000, DOE is requesting $14.5 million for these science education initiatives. A breakdown of these science education initiatives is not yet possible. NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION (NASA) NASA's academic program component is divided into two sections-education programs and minority university research and education programs (MURED). The total NASA FY 2000 budget request for academic programs is $100 million: $54.1 million for education programs and $45.9 million for MURED (see Table II-12). This would represent a decrease of $17.5 million for education programs and a decrease of $21 million for MURED, discontinuing a number of congressionally designated FY 1999 projects. NASA's education programs include the following: teacher/faculty preparation and enhancement programs and student support programs, both at the K-12 and higher education levels; educational technology programs; support for systemic change programs; curriculum support and dissemination; and research and development. With respect to MURED, its mission is to increase NASA's responsiveness to federal mandates related to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Other Minority Universities, such as Hispanic Serving Institutions and Tribal Colleges and Universities. Its goal is to strengthen the capacity of mathematics, science, engineering, and technology research and education programs at these institutions to produce and prepare highly skilled and scientifically literate faculty and students for the 21st century. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE (DOC) DOC's FY 2000 budget request is close to $7.3 billion, an increase of 41 percent over the FY 1999 level of $5.1 billion. The Decennial Census, with its request of $2.8 billion, accounts for the majority of this increase. In FY 1999, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) requested close to $50.2 million for the Sea Grant College Program; Congress appropriated $57.5 million. This program promotes NOAA's efforts in marine sciences research, education and outreach. These efforts are conducted through a network of 29 individual programs based at universities and marine science institutions nationwide. The individual Sea Grant College programs support competitively reviewed research projects and provide education and training for undergraduate and graduate students as well as K-12 teachers. For FY 2000, NOAA is requesting $51.5 million, an increase of approximately $1.3 million over its previous request, yet a decrease of $6 million from the actual appropriated amount. In FY 2000, the NOAA Climate and Global Change program is requesting close to $70 million, an increase of nearly $7 million over the FY 1999 appropriated level of $63 million. Of the request, it is anticipated that $1 million will be awarded to the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) to administer a postdoctoral program, on behalf of NOAA, to support 16 postdoctoral positions for two years. The goal of this program is to find and promote the best talent in climate research across the broad range of SMET disciplines and provide them an opportunity to work alongside a leader in their field on a project that they themselves put forward in a proposal. Also, NOAA is requesting $2.5 million for the GLOBE program. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is requesting $7.9 million for the NIST postdoctoral fellowship program, a program run jointly with the National Research Council. Additionally, NIST is requesting an additional $500,000 (for a total of $8.4 million) for the Teacher Science and Technology Enhancement Institute Program. Public Law 105-309 charges NIST with the establishment and implementation of a professional development program for K-12 mathematics and science teachers. OTHER AGENCY HIGHLIGHTS Department of Health and Human Services (HHS): The total HHS FY 2000 budget request is $403.7 billion, 6.4 percent above the FY 1999 level of $379.3 billion (see Table II-8). Of this amount, $15.9 billion is for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), an increase of $320 million over the FY 1999 level. The total NIH request for research training for graduate and postgraduate students-both individual and institutional awards-is $511.8 million. NIH proposes to fund 15,693 trainees in FY 2000 compared to 15,681 in 1999. Of note, the stipend for predoctoral fellows was $11,748 in 1998 and increased by 25 percent to $14,688 in 1999. With respect to entry-level postdoctoral fellows, the stipend was $21,000 in FY 1998, and increased by 25 percent to $26,256 in FY 1999. For FY 2000, it is proposed that these stipend rates would remain at the FY 1999 level. The Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA) program spent slightly more than $3.5 million in FY 1998 and is expected to spend close to $3.9 million in FY 1999 and FY 2000. Department of the Interior (DOI): No figures for specific education programs are available for FY 2000. Due to the informal nature of DOI's education programs (e.g., interpretive activities associated with parks) and the fact that there are no budget line items for the majority of these programs, a figure for education programs cannot be determined. According to the FY 2000 budget documents, the President's budget would provide $838 million-a 5 percent increase over FY 1999-to the U.S. Geological Survey for science that supports natural resource and environmental decision making as well as research and technical assistance on the scientific needs of land managers and local land use planners. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): For FY 2000, EPA is requesting $7 million for environmental education, $726,000 of which is for the National Environmental Education and Training Foundation program. Additionally, $1 million is requested for the GLOBE program. Smithsonian Institution (SI): For FY 2000, the Smithsonian is requesting $11.8 million for education programs with a SMET focus. This is an increase over the FY 1999 level of $10.2 million. CONCLUSION The President's budget stresses research, education and training activities that promote progress and innovation across our country. As the President's budget states, these budget investments "will enable the science and technology agencies to achieve the President's goals for science and technology: promote long-term economic growth that create high-wage jobs; sustain a healthy, educated citizenry; harness information technology; improve environmental quality; enhance national security and global stability; and maintain world leadership in science, engineering, and mathematics." | |
