AIP FYI #54: Chairman Boehlert’s 20% Recommendation for FY 2004 NSF Appropriation

Congress returns to Washington next week. House and Senate appropriators
will then begin drafting the FY 2004 appropriations bills. In many cases
the House version of these thirteen bills will likely have the lower budget
figure in this fall’s House and Senate conference committees. Getting the
highest possible number in the House bills for S&T budgets will be
important. That is why the April 2 letter sent by House Science Committee
Chairman Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY) to House VA, HUD Appropriations
Subcommittee Chairman James Walsh (R-NY) is of great interest.

Walsh and Boehlert, both Republicans from adjoining districts in upstate
New York, are strong supporters of the National Science Foundation. Where
sometimes the relationship between authorizers and appropriators is not as
smooth as civics textbooks describe, these two key chairmen work well
together. In his letter, Chairman Boehlert expresses disappointment in the
calculated 3% requested budget increase for NSF and recommends an increase
of 20.4%, or $1,081 million in the foundation’s budget. Boehlert’s letter
highlights the importance of the Mathematics and Science Education
Partnership Program, Robert Noyce Scholarship Program, the STEP Program,
cyber security, and nanotechnology. The full text of the letter follows:

Dear Chairman Walsh,

Over the course of the last month, I have been reviewing the President’s
fiscal year 2004 budget request for the National Science Foundation (NSF). I
know that you share my disappointment that the Administration requested only
a 3 percent increase for NSF.

I recommend that Congress increase NSF’s total budget to $6,390,832,000,
the amount authorized by the National Science Foundation Authorization Act
of 2002 (P.L. 107-368). This appropriation would increase funding for NSF’s
core science programs, such as information technology and nanotechnology,
and it would enable the Foundation to begin fully funding K-12 and
undergraduate education programs, and the large facility projects that have
already been approved by the National Science Board.

Funding the authorization of appropriations included in P.L. 107-368 would
enable the third year of funding for the Mathematics and Science Education
Partnership Program, helping to assure that math and science education
reforms undertaken in the context of the President’s No Child Left Behind
initiative will be grounded in sound science. I strongly support this
initiative and I request that you fund it at the level requested by the
President, $200 million.

Likewise, I ask that you fund the Robert Noyce Scholarship Program at the
authorized level of $20 million. This university-based program will provide
one- or two-year scholarships to undergraduate mathematics and science
majors who commit to teach elementary or secondary mathematics math or
science for two years for each year that they receive a scholarship.

I also ask that you fund the Science, Mathematics, Engineering, and
Technology Talent Expansion Program (STEP) at the authorized level of $30
million. STEP will fund innovative programs at institutions of higher
education to increase the number of students enrolled in undergraduate
science, mathematics, engineering, and technology degree programs,
particularly in fields that have faced declining enrollment in recent years.
Together with the Math and Science Education Partnership Program and the
Robert Noyce Scholarship Program, STEP will help the reverse the decline in
the number of American students pursuing careers that require a high level
of scientific and technical skill.

There are two areas of research at NSF that I believe deserve special
attention: cyber security and nanotechnology. Cyber security research has
assumed greater importance as the threats posed by cyber terrorism and cyber
crime have grown more rapidly than our capability to counter them. Last
year’s Cyber Security Research and Development Act (P.L. 107-305) authorized
$105 million for cyber security research at NSF in fiscal year 2004,
including a cyber security research grants program, a program to establish
multidisciplinary Centers for Computer and Network Security Research, and a
program of capacity building grants to establish or improve undergraduate
and master’s degree programs in computer and network security. I believe
cyber security research should be among the Foundation’s highest priorities
and I urge you to fund this research at the authorized level.

Nanotechnology is one of the most exciting and promising scientific
research endeavors underway today with widespread potential benefits in
information technology, medical improvements, military systems, and energy
production and distribution. NSF is the lead agency in the President’s
multi-agency National Nanotechnology Initiative and, as such, helps assure
U.S. scientific leadership in an area that is expected to underpin our
future industrial competitiveness. Congress authorized $350 million for
nanoscale science and engineering (nanotechnology) research at NSF. I
request that you fund this activity at the authorized level.

Thank you for your consideration of my recommendations. I look forward to
working closely with you and with the Administration to ensure that our
nation makes the investments in education, research, and development
required to maintain America’s scientific and engineering leadership

Sincerely,

Sherwood L. Boehlert

Chairman

Richard M. Jones

Media and Government Relations Division

The American Institute of Physics

fyi@aip.org

(301) 209-3094