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3/10 FYI No 32- Committee Files Response to S&T Request
Part 1 of 2

FYI
The American Institute of Physics Bulletin of Science Policy News
Number 32: March 10, 2003

House Science Committee Responds to Administration's FY 2004 Request

One gauge of congressional opinion regarding an administration's
budget request for science and technology is provided by an inside-
the-Beltway document known as the House Science Committee's "Views and 
Estimates."  Issued every year, this analysis gives an early
indication of how Congress may respond to the S&T request.  What
follows are selections from this recently-issued FY 2004 document
pertaining to physics-related budgets.  See the committee's web site
at http://www.house.gov/science/ for the full text.  Twenty of 25
Republican and five of 22 Democratic members of the House Science
Committee signed this report.  A future FYI will include selections
from the Democrats' Views and Estimates.  Note that for space
considerations, paragraphs have been combined.  Selections are in the
order that they appeared.

ROLE OF FEDERAL FUNDING FOR S&T: "While the percentage of national R&D 
sponsored by the federal government has declined in recent years, the 
federal role remains essential.  Indeed, as competitive pressures have 
led many industrial enterprises to focus research on projects with 
shorter-term benefits, longer-term research depends more than ever on 
federal support."

NANOTECHNOLOGY:   "The Administration proposes increasing spending on
nanotechnology by 10 percent.  This promising, broadly applicable
technology field merits the additional spending.  The Committee plans
to report out authorizing legislation for the nanotechnology
initiative (H.R. 766) later this spring."

CLIMATE CHANGE: "The Administration proposes spending about $1.75
billion on climate change science, an amount equivalent to FY 03
enacted levels.  The Committee believes this is an adequate investment 
in this important research.  The Committee supports the proposal to 
dedicate $182 million to the Climate Change Research Initiative 
(CCRI), compared to last year's $40 million request.  However, the 
Committee notes that much of  the increase appears to be the result of 
the reclassification of several ongoing research programs" "The 
Committee commends the Administration for working to develop a 
strategic plan to guide all federal research activities regarding 
climate, including the CCRI.  The Committee plans to work with the 
Administration to complete the plan this year and ensure that areas of 
climate research the plan identifies as priorities receive adequate 
funding."

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (DHS): "While the Committee is
generally supportive of the scale of the proposed budget for DHS, the
Administration has not yet provided enough information to fully
evaluate the proposed budget, despite repeated requests dating back
several months.  Important questions remain regarding the new
Department's R&D agenda and how it will be carried out."  "The
Committee is concerned that the primary early focus of DHS R&D will be 
on development, with basic research comprising only 5 percent, or $47 
million, of the DHS R&D request.  More information is needed on the 
R&D agenda both within and outside the Department to determine if this 
is adequate, especially given the proposed cuts in basic research at 
the Department of Defense."

PHYSICAL SCIENCES AND THE R&D FUNDING BALANCE:  "While the Committee
believes that the Administration has chosen the appropriate priorities 
for the federal R&D budget, it is nonetheless concerned that the 
biomedical sciences, in general, and the National Institutes of Health 
(NIH), in particular, continue to dwarf the remainder of the R&D 
budget.  While the budget documents acknowledge the need to increase 
support for the physical sciences, the proposed spending levels would 
not allow that to occur, especially when compared to the enacted 
levels for FY 03."  "Similarly, while Defense Department development 
programs are critical to our national security, those programs alone 
cannot create a stable and secure American society or even ensure our 
protection from enemy attacks over the long-term.  Yet while the 
Pentagon is slated to receive a 12 percent increase, basic and applied 
research in the Defense Department would decrease substantially from 
FY 03 requested levels."

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY:   "The Committee strongly believes that the
Administration's FY 04 budget request for DOE's Office of Science,
which funds 40 percent of the Nation's physical science research, is
inadequate.  The budget proposes funding the Office at $3.3 billion,
essentially the same level provided by the Omnibus Appropriations for
FY 03.  This is significantly less than the $3.8 billion the House
conferees proposed providing to the Office for FY 04 in last year's
comprehensive Energy Bill (H.R. 4).  The proposal also falls short of
the goal of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and
Technology (PCAST), which recommended in its 2002 report that the FY
04 budget request begin bringing funding for the physical sciences
into parity with that of the life sciences."  "The Committee is
particularly concerned about the future of the Office of Science's
user facilities and academic research.  In recent years, funding
limitations have forced many user facilities to restrict the number of 
hours they are available to researchers, causing investments that have 
cost taxpayers billions to sit idle.  In addition, many DOE facilities 
are deteriorating and staff are nearing retirement, producing a 
looming problem that the Committee believes must be addressed with 
increased resources."  "The Committee supports the inclusion of $12 
million in the Office of Science request for the United States to 
rejoin international negotiations aimed at building ITER, a burning 
plasma physics experiment intended to lead eventually to the 
development of fusion as a commercially viable energy source.  The 
Committee also supports the request for $64 million, also within the 
Office of Science, for nanoscale science including funding for
instrumentation and construction of several nanoscale research
centers.  The Committee is concerned, however, that without an
increase in the Office of Science's total budget, existing programs
will be cut to provide the necessary increases for these new
initiatives."

NIST: "The Administration proposes to spend $387.6 million for the
core NIST laboratory functions (the Scientific and Technical Research
and Services account) in FY04   an increase of $28.2 million, or 8
percent, over FY 03.  The Committee is pleased with this request, and
in particular supports the new initiatives in nanotechnology and
homeland security for which the Administration has requested funding.
However, the Committee believes that more funding should be provided
to NIST to implement the significant new responsibilities Congress has 
recently given it." "The Committee is also pleased with the
Administration's proposed construction and maintenance budget for NIST 
of $69 million.  The budget request provides funding to undertake much 
needed improvements at NIST's laboratory in Boulder, Colorado.  Above 
all, however, the Committee wants to ensure that the new Advanced 
Measurement Laboratory in Gaithersburg, Maryland is completed as soon 
as possible.  NIST's FY03 appropriation did not provide enough funding 
to keep this facility on schedule for completion by the end of 2003.  
If no additional funding can possibly be provided for its completion 
this year, the Committee recommends additional funding for FY 04."  
"The Committee takes issue with the proposal to virtually eliminate 
funding for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP), which helps 
smaller manufacturers modernize to remain competitive.  In FY 00 alone 
(the most recent year for which data is available), the program 
contributed $2.28 billion in new or retained sales, $480 million in 
cost savings, and $873 million in new capital investments.  The 
proposed budget would end federal support for almost all state MEP 
centers.  This change would force most centers to shut their doors 
just as they could be contributing to economic recovery."  "The 
Committee continues to support the Advanced Technology Program (ATP) 
and is disappointed that it is phased out in the Administration's 
budget. The Committee remains willing to work with the Administration 
on the ATP reform package it sent to Congress late last year."

(continued)

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