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House-Senate Conference Agreement Increases NSF Budget by 5 Percent; Omits Funding for NEON December 1, 2003—A House-Senate conference committee has reached agreement on an omnibus appropriations bill that would provide the National Science Foundation (NSF) with a $5.6 billion budget in FY 2004 (Table 1).  This would increase the NSF's budget by $268 million, or 5 percent, over FY 2003.  The NSF figures in the conference report are subject to a 0.59 percent rescission, which is reflected in the numbers in this article.   Under the conference agreement, the Biological Sciences Directorate would receive 3.1 percent more funding than last year, a greater increase than either the House or Senate versions of the bill.  However, all of the other disciplinary directorates would experience greater budget growth, ranging from 4.5 to 7.5 percent over FY 2003.  Integrative Activities would be the only category to lose funding relative to last year. Major Research Equipment    The conference agreement would allocate $155 million for major research equipment and facilities construction—slightly more than the Senate bill, but far less than the $192 million provided by the House.  The House bill included $12 million in initial funding for the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) but the Senate bill omitted all funding for this initiative.  The conference agreement would follow the Senate bill and omit all funding for NEON.  The conference agreement omits funding for NEON "without prejudice," which implies that the project was not rejected on merit and may be funded in future years.  According to the conference report, "The conferees direct NSF to consider the recommendations in the National Academy of Sciences report and continue to refine the NEON plan from funds provided under research and related activities."  EarthScope, a geophysical instrument array designed to investigate the structure and dynamics of the North American continent, would receive $43.2 million for FY 2004.   Education and Human Resources The conference report would provide $139 million for the Presidents Math and Science Partnership program, which aims to strengthen K-12 math and science education by linking local schools with colleges and universities.  Undergraduate education would receive $162 million and graduate education would receive $156 million, which is sufficient to set NSF graduate stipends at $30,000 per year.   Looking Ahead Congress failed to pass several of the annual appropriations bills before the start of FY 2004, which began on October 1, 2003.  Many federal agencies—including NSF—have been operating since October 1 under a series of continuing resolutions that provide funding at last year's levels.   Congress has combined several remaining appropriations bills into an omnibus bill that includes funding for NSF and numerous other federal departments and agencies.  The NSF budget for FY 2004 will not be finalized until the conference report is approved by both the House and Senate and then signed into law by the President.         Table 1. National Science Foundation Appropriations (budget authority in millions of dollars) _______________________________________________________________________________________________________   Budget Authority   Change from FY 2003 NSF Program                      (millions of dollars)                         to FY 2004 Conf.5   FY 2003 FY 2004 FY 2004 Conf. w/   Amount Percent w/ _________________________________   Estimate1    Request2        Conf.3 rescission4      ($ Millions)     rescission                 Research and Related Activities (R&RA) 4,056 4,106 4,277 4,251   195 4.8    Biological Sciences 571 562 592 589   18 3.1    Computer & Info. Science & Engineering 579 584 610 606   27 4.7    Engineering 531 537 561 558   27 5.0    Geosciences 684 688 719 715   31 4.5    Mathematical & Physical Sciences 1,035 1,061 1,100 1,094   59 5.7    Social, Behavioral & Economic Sciences 191 212 205 204   13 6.7    Polar Programs 319 330 345 343   24 7.5    Integrative Activities 147 132 145 144   -3 -1.9 Education and Human Resources (EHR) 903 938 945 939   36 4.0 Major Research Equipment (MREFC) 149 202 156 155   6 4.0 Salaries and Expenses6 197 226 224 223   26 13.3 Office of Inspector General 9 9 10 10   1 10.5                 TOTAL 5,310 5,481 5,611 5,578   268 5.0 __________________________________________________________________________________________ Source: NCSE analysis of conference report H. Rept 108-401 and NSF data 1 FY 2003 Estimate as provided by NSF 2 FY 2004 President's budget request as released on Feb. 3, 2003 3 House-Senate Consolidated Appropriations Act conference report, as published on November 25, 2004 4 Reflects .59% across-the-board reduction imposed on programs in VA HUD appropriations bill 5Change from FY 2003 Estimate to FY 2004 House-Senate Conference report mark, adjusted for recision 6Includes NSB Staff Salaries -------------------------------------------------- Amanda Brewster and Craig Schiffries National Council for Science and the Environment 1707 H Street, NW, Suite 200 Washington, DC 20006 Tel: 202-530-5810 E-mail: policy@NCSEonline.org

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