AIP FYI#100: FY 2003 Appropriations Bills: Status, Outlook

When Congress returns to work next week it will be less than a
month to the start of the new fiscal year. While the Senate
Appropriations Committee has passed all thirteen
appropriations bills, many of these bills have not yet been
drafted in the House. The action Congress takes in the next
few weeks will determine how much federal funding will be
available for research for the year starting October 1.

Every year is difficult for House and Senate appropriators.
This budget cycle will probably be more arduous than many:
spending for the war on terrorism is high, the scope and
duration of the conflict are unknown, the economy has slowed,
government spending is in the red, and an important election
is in about ten weeks.

Relations between key Republican and Democratic appropriators,
and the Office of Management and Budget, are strained. A
dress rehearsal for the FY 2003 budget cycle was the recent
passage of a bill providing additional funding for the current
year. The negotiations over this bill were painful, marked by
ill-will on both sides.

An overarching goal for the Bush Administration and fiscally-
conservative Republicans in the House is keeping the total
cost of the thirteen appropriations bills at or below the
level requested by the President. The Senate was not able to
do so. Conservative House Republicans are insisting on the
President’s number, which many observers predict will be
inadequate. The impasse over spending levels is evident by
the failure of the House and Senate to agree on an overall
spending limit, which has only happened only twice since 1974.

Here is the status and outlook on the appropriations bills
followed by FYI:

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY: The Senate Appropriations Committee
completed work on the Energy and Water Development bill. The
House appropriations subcommittee finished its version.
Funding for the High Energy and Nuclear Physics programs
would increase in both bills, although by small amounts in
some cases. The budgets for the Biological and Environmental
Research, Basic Energy Sciences and Fusion Energy Sciences
programs are at greater variance in the two bills. See FYI
#90 for additional information.

NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION: The Senate Appropriations
Committee bill provides an 11.8% increase for NSF. The House
appropriations subcommittee is expected to draft its bill in
about two weeks. House appropriators will have their hands
full due to this bill’s size and complexity, with subcommittee
chairman James Walsh (R-NY) publically expressing worries
about the amount of money he has to work with. See FYI #89.

NASA: Chairman Walsh also funds NASA in his bill. He
reportedly wants to hold funding steady for this agency, a
strategy that will be resisted by House Majority Whip Tom
DeLay (R-TX). The Senate Appropriations Committee bill
includes an increase of 2.0% for the agency, with the Science,
Aeronautics and Technology budget slated for a 12.4% increase.
See FYI #91 for details on the Senate bill.

DEFENSE DEPARTMENT: Both the House and Senate have voted on
their versions of this bill. Total spending for defense S&T
programs would increase 9.2% in the Senate bill, and 14.8% in
the House bill. See FYI #85 for the numbers.

NIST: The Senate Appropriations Committee has acted; the House
has not. The Senate bill provides a 0.8% overall increase,
with a larger increase of 4.8% for Scientific and Technical
Research and Services. There is likely to be a conflict
between funding for the Advanced Technology Program in the two
versions of the bill, with the Senate figure prevailing. See
FYI #92.

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY: The House has voted on its bill.
Senate appropriators will be sending their bill to the floor
shortly. Both bills rejected attempts by the Bush
Administration to reduce USGS spending, increasing its budget
by around 1.4%. See FYIs #80 and #83.

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION: Senate appropriators provided a 100%
increase for the Mathematics and Science Partnership program
in the Department of Education budget for total funding of $25
million, still far below the authorized level. Expect a major
battle over the Labor, HHS, and Education bill in the House
when it returns. See FYI #94.

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF BIOLOGICAL IMAGING AND BIOENGINEERING:
Also in the Labor, HHS, and Education bill is funding for the
NIBIB. Only the Senate Appropriations Committee has acted,
including an increase of 18.8% in its bill for this new
institute. See FYI #88.

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Richard M. Jones

Media and Government Relations Division

The American Institute of Physics

fyi@aip.org

(301) 209-3094

http://www.aip.org/gov
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