What's New: To receive these updates and announcements by email, manage your subscription, or review the mailing list archive, go to the NCSE List User Form. House Approves 6.2 Percent Increase for NSF Funding for the National Science Foundation (NSF) would increase by 6.2 percent in FY 2004, according to legislation passed by the House of Representatives on July 25 (H.R. 2861, H. Rpt. 108-235).  The House appropriations bill would provide $5.64 billion for NSF in FY 2004, an increase of $325 million above the FY 2003 plan (Table 2).   The bill approved by the House would add $158 million above the President's FY 2004 budget request for the NSF.  However, NSF funding would fall $750 million below the doubling path specified in the NSF Authorization Act, which was passed by Congress and signed into law by the President less than one year ago.  The NSF Authorization Act, which is designed to double the budget of the NSF in five years, authorizes a budget of $6.39 billion for NSF in FY 2004 (see the December 2002 issue of the Science, Environment and Policy Report).    NSF's major budget accounts would have dramatically different growth rates under the FY 2004 House appropriations bill:  Research and Related Activities would increase by 6.2 percent to $4.31 billion; Education and Human Resources would increase by 0.2 percent to $905 million; and Major Research Equipment and Facilities Construction (MREFC) would increase by 29.1 percent to $192 million.   Within NSF's Research and Related Activities account, funding for Biological Sciences would increase by only 2.8 percent while support for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences would increase by 16.2 percent.  Funding increases for the other disciplinary directorates would range from 5.0 to 7.0 percent in FY 2004.    The House bill would provide substantial funding for two major environmental initiatives in NSF's Major Research Equipment and Facilities (MREFC) account:     National Ecological Observatory Network. The House bill would provide $12 million in initial funding for NEON.  Last year, Congress deferred funding for NEON "without prejudice," implying that the project was not rejected based on merit and may be funded in the future.  NEON would be a continental scale research instrument consisting of 17 geographically distributed observatories, networked via state-of-the-art communications, and used for integrated studies to obtain a predictive understanding of the nation's environments.  According to the House report, initial funding for NEON would be used to establish two prototype stations in order "to determine the scientific requirements and optimum configurations of the network." The House made future funding and deployment of the prototype sites contingent upon its receipt of a report from NSF about observatory networks.    EarthScope. The House bill would provide $43.8 million for EarthScope, which received $30 million in initial funding in FY 2003.  EarthScope is a distributed, multi-purpose geophysical instrument array designed to make major advances in our knowledge and understanding of the structure and dynamics of the North American continent. Three components of the project are the United States Seismic Array (USArray), the San Andreas Fault Observatory at Depth, and the Plate Boundary Observatory. The House also recommended beginning the construction phase of the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program in 2004 rather than 2005. The bill would allocate $25 million for that purpose. The House bill would provide $140 million for the President's Math and Science Partnership program, which aims to strengthen K-12 math and science education by linking local schools with colleges and universities.  Teacher training, especially in underserved schools, is a key component of this initiative.  While the House Bill would increase funding for this program by $12.5 million over the previous year, the allocation is $60 million less than the President's FY 2004 budget request.     Looking Ahead.  NSF appropriations will not be finalized until the FY 2004 appropriations bill is passed by the full Senate, reconciled by a House-Senate conference committee, approved in identical form by both chambers, and signed into law by the President.  The Senate had not begun consideration of the bill before adjourning for its August recess.   Table 2. National Science Foundation Appropriations   Budget Authority    Change from FY 2003 NSF Program (millions of dollars)    to FY 2004 House5   FY 2003 FY 2004 FY 2004 FY 2004   Amount Percent   Estimate1 Request2 House3 Authorized4   ($Millions) (%)                 Research and Related Activities (R&RA) 4,056 4,106 4,306 4,800   250 6.2    Biological Sciences 571 562 587 --   16 2.8    Computer & Info. Science & Eng. 579 584 610 --   31 5.3    Engineering 531 537 560 --   29 5.5    Geosciences 684 688 718 --   34 5.0    Mathematical & Physical Sciences 1,035 1,061 1,108 --   73 7.0    Social, Behavioral, Economic Sciences 191 212 222 --   31 16.2    Polar Programs 319 330 355 --   36 11.3    Integrative Activities 147 132 148 --   1 0.5 Education and Human Resources (EHR) 903 938 905 1,157   2 0.2 Major Research Equipment (MREFC) 149 202 192 211   43 29.1 Salaries and Expenses6 197 226 222 214   25 12.9 Office of Inspector General 9 9 10 8   1 11.1                 TOTAL 5,310 5,481 5,639 6,390   329 6.2                 Source: NCSE analysis of H.R. 2861; H. Rept. 108-235, The Interior in Brief Fiscal Year 2004, and NSF.   1 FY 2003 Estimate as provided by NSF. 2 FY 2004 President's budget request as released on Feb. 3, 2003. 3 Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act of 2004 (H.R. 2861; H. Rept. 108-235), as approved by the House of Representatives on July 25, 2003. 4 FY 2004 Authorized figures are from the NSF Authorization Act of 2002, which passed Congress Nov. 15, 2002 and was signed by   the President on Dec. 19, 2002. 5 Change from FY 2003 Estimate to FY 2004 VA/HUD House Appropriations Act. 6 Includes NSB Staff Salaries.

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