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Mixed Picture for R&D in the President's Budget Request for FY 2005
February 6, 2004 -- Federal funding for R&D across all agencies would rise to a record level of $131.9 billion in FY 2005, according to the federal budget request that President Bush submitted to Congress on February 2. Total federal R&D would increase by $5.9 billion or 4.7 percent relative to FY 2004. However, the entire increase would be devoted to the development of weapons systems at the Department of Defense (DOD) and R&D in the new Department of Homeland Security (DHS), leaving all other federal R&D programs collectively with less funding, according to the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).
In FY 2005, the research component of the federal R&D portfolio would increase by 0.6 percent, which is less than the expected rate of inflation (1.3 percent). Excluding the National Institutes of Health, federal funding for research would decline by 1.2 percent in FY 2005. A preliminary analysis of the FY 2005 budget request indicates that most environmental R&D programs would receive flat or declining research budgets.
National Science Foundation (NSF). The NSF budget would increase by 3.0 percent to $5.7 billion, according to the FY 2005 budget request. The proposed increase in the NSF budget falls well short of the doubling path specified in the NSF Authorization Act of 2002, which was passed by Congress and signed into law by the President less than 18 months ago. The NSF budget request contains large swings in funding for several NSF activities. Funding for Major Research Equipment and Facilities Construction would increase by 37.6 percent to $213.3 million, including $12.0 million in initial funding for the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) and $47.4 million in continuing funding for EarthScope. Funding for Education and Human Resources would decrease by 17.9 percent to $771.4 million. Funding for Research and Related Activities would increase by 4.7 percent to $4.5 billion, but funding for most of the disciplinary directorates, including Biological Sciences and Geosciences, would increase by only 2.2 percent. Funding for NSF Salaries and Expenses would increase by 34.4 percent to $294.0 million.
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The USGS budget would decline by $18.2 million or 1.9 percent to $920.6 million, based on the FY 2005 budget request. According to agency officials, the budget request would eliminate approximately $17 million in congressional earmarks that were added to the USGS budget in FY 2004. The budget request would cut $6.5 million from the Mineral Resources program, $6.4 million from Water Resources Research Institutes, $2.8 million for USGS fire ecology and biological fire science activities, and $1.9 million in partnership funding for the National Map, as well as cuts in other programs. The budget request would add $16.1 million for new or expanded programs, including $1.2 million for science on Department of the Interior landscape initiative, $2.7 million for Klamath Basin-related science, $1.0 million for Water 2025, and $1.0 million for invasive species research. The budget request also contains $17.2 million in "uncontrollable" cost increases (including salary increases), of which $9.1 million would be funded in the budget and $8.1 million would be "absorbed" by various programs.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The FY 2005 budget request for EPA is $7.8 billion, a decrease of 7 percent below the FY 2004 enacted funding level. Total EPA R&D would increase by 0.3 percent. However, EPA's Science and Technology account would be cut by $92.5 million or 11.8 percent to $689.2 million in FY 2005.
The federal budget for FY 2005 will not be finalized until the annual appropriations bills are passed by the House and Senate in identical form and then signed by the President. The final omnibus appropriations bill for the current fiscal year was passed by the Senate on January 22 and signed by the President on January 23, 2004, nearly four months after the start of fiscal year 2004.
The complete text of the Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2005 is available online at http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/fy2005/budget.html. This article includes preliminary data that will be revised upon further analysis of the budget documents. An extended version of this article, including a table of R&D by federal agency, will be available online at www.NCSEonline.org. For further information, contact Craig Schiffries, Director of Science Policy, National Council for Science and the Environment.
Table 1. R&D in the FY 2005 Budget by Agency
(budget authority in millions of dollars)
_______________________________________________________________________
|
| ($ millions)
|
| Change from FY 04-05
|
| FY 2003
| FY 2004
| FY 2005
| Amount
| Percent
| Federal Agency
| Actual
| Estimate
| Budget
| ($ millions)
| (%)
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Defense (military)
| 58,838
| 65,484
| 69,856
| 4,372
| 6.7%
| ("S&T" 6.1,6.2,6.3 + Medical)
| 11,186
| 12,568
| 10,623
| -1,954
| -15.5%
| (All Other DOD R&D)
| 47,652
| 52,916
| 59,233
| 6,317
| 11.9%
| Health and Human Services
| 27,411
| 28,275
| 29,381
| 1,106
| 3.9%
| (National Institutes of Health)
| 26,309
| 27,236
| 27,939
| 703
| 2.6%
| National Aeronautics & Space Admin.
| 10,681
| 10,893
| 11,308
| 415
| 3.8%
| Energy
| 8,312
| 8,835
| 8,893
| 58
| 0.7%
| (NNSA and other defense)
| 4,049
| 4,244
| 4,333
| 89
| 2.1%
| (Office of Science)
| 3,074
| 3,192
| 3,175
| -17
| -0.5%
| (Energy Programs)
| 1,189
| 1,399
| 1,385
| -14
| -1.0%
| National Science Foundation
| 3,972
| 4,115
| 4,252
| 137
| 3.3%
| Agriculture
| 2,334
| 2,308
| 2,105
| -203
| 8.8%
| Commerce
| 1,200
| 1,126
| 1,075
| -51
| 4.5%
| (NOAA)
| 666
| 632
| 611
| -21
| 3.3%
| (NIST)
| 491
| 469
| 426
| -43
| -9.2%
| Interior
| 643
| 675
| 648
| -27
| -4.0%
| (U.S. Geological Survey)
| 550
| 547
| 525
| -22
| -4.0%
| Transportation
| 701
| 701
| 749
| 48
| 6.8%
| Environmental Protection Agency
| 568
| 575
| 577
| 2
| 0.3%
| Veterans Affairs
| 819
| 824
| 772
| -52
| -6.3%
| Education
| 282
| 290
| 304
| 14
| 4.8%
| Homeland Security
| 737
| 1,053
| 1,216
| 163
| 15.5%
| All Other
| 391
| 255
| 205
| -50
| -19.6%
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Total R&D
| 117,439
| 125,956
| 131,866
| 5,910
| 4.7%
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Defense R&D
| 62,887
| 69,728
| 74,189
| 4,461
| 6.4%
| Nondefense R&D
| 54,552
| 56,228
| 57,677
| 1,449
| 2.6%
| Nondefense R&D minus NIH
| 28,243
| 28,992
| 29,738
| 746
| 2.6%
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Basic Research
| 25,306
| 26,675
| 26,847
| 172
| 0.6%
| Applied Research
| 26,624
| 28,348
| 28,494
| 146
| 0.5%
| Development
| 59,983
| 66,573
| 71,729
| 5,156
| 7.7%
| R&D Facilities and Equipment
| 5,526
| 4,360
| 4,796
| 436
| 10.0%
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Total Research (Basic + Applied)
| 51,930
| 55,023
| 55,341
| 318
| 0.6%
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Total "FS&T"
| 58,715
| 60,658
| 60,413
| -245
| -0.4%
|
________________________________________________________________________
Source: AAAS, based on OMB data for FY 2005, agency budget justifications, and information from agency budget offices
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