AIP FYI #108: Senate Moving Toward Passage of NSF Doubling Bill

If all goes as planned, legislation authorizing a doubling of
the National Science Foundation’s budget will move to the
Senate floor in the near future. Following Senate
consideration, a conference between key House and Senate
authorizers will then resolve differences between the two
versions of the bill, clearing the way for a final vote on
passage. The outlook for the legislation is clouded, however,
as the Bush Administration is opposed to several provisions
in the bill.

In early June, the House approved by a vote of 397-25 a bill
that would put the NSF on track for a doubling of its budget
in five years, although it was limited to an initial three
years. Shortly before the Senate went on its summer recess,
Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA) introduced S. 2817, which
authorized a doubling of the foundation’s budget over five
years. After the recess, Kennedy’s Health, Education, Labor
and Pensions Committee met quickly in a small room of the
Capitol and passed the legislation.

Two committees have jurisdiction over NSF in the Senate. S.
2817 was then referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science
and Transportation, which considered the bill on September 19.
The committee had 13 bills on its plate that day, and took
about ten minutes to review S. 2817. That was enough time to
reveal some important opposition to this bill.

Ranking Minority Member John McCain (R-AZ) spoke against an
authorization for five years, saying that it was a very long
period of time. McCain wanted to know how the additional
money would be used. He also cited a letter on National
Science Foundation letterhead stating opposition to the bill
as written.

Some of this opposition is to be expected. The authorization
for FY 2003 was higher than the Bush Administration
requested. The letter said: “the amounts authorized in S.
2817 do not conform to the Administration’s FY 2003 Budget
request for NSF. NSF supports the Administration’s budget
request and therefore the bill should be amended to reflect
the amounts contained in the authorizing legislation the
Foundation transmitted to the Congress on May 14, 2002.
Moreover, Dr. John Marburger, Director of the White House
Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and the
President’s Science Advisor, has stated that any plans for
increased expenditures must be supported by a specific
rationale for each increase, rather than an arbitrary
formula.” Marburger made a similar point during an August
PCAST conference call when he objected to “arbitrary formulas”
for budget increases (see FYI #101).

The NSF letter also expressed opposition to a provision of S.
2817 moving the Department of Education’s portion of the Math-
Science Partnership Program to NSF (see FYI #105). Senate
Commerce Committee Chairman Ernest Hollings (D-SC) expressed
his disappointment with that proposal during the mark up,
saying “I think we can work that out.” Finally, the NSF
letter outlined the foundation’s concern about the Kennedy
bill’s provisions on liberalizing EPSCoR eligibility, its
relation to the National Science Board, and a program to
increase participation of women, minority, and disabled
students working toward an S&T degree. The Association of
American Universities has posted the letter on its web site at
http://www.aau.edu/research/NSFLtr9.17.02.html

Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) responded to McCain’s concerns by
describing the lengthy time that basic research requires.
Engineering and physical science funding had lagged, he said.
A five year authorization, Wyden stated, would not preclude
the committee from exercising its oversight function. With
that, McCain withdrew his amendment. By voice vote Holling’s
committee approved the bill.

The new fiscal year starts today without any of the thirteen
appropriations bills signed into law. No one knows what will
happen next. For now, funding for NSF and all of the other
federal departments and agencies will continue at the current
level.

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Richard M. Jones

Media and Government Relations Division

The American Institute of Physics

fyi@aip.org

(301) 209-3095

http://www.aip.org/gov

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