AIP FYI#17: Administration Seeks 2.4% Increase in NSF Budget

FYI
The American Institute of Physics Bulletin of Science Policy News
Number 17: February 8, 2005

Administration Seeks 2.4% Increase in NSF Budget

National Science Foundation Director Arden Bement described the FY
2006 budget request as follows: “For FY 2006, the National Science
Foundation is requesting $5.605 billion. That’s $132 million, or
2.4 percent, more than in FY 2005. This modest increase allows us
to assume new responsibilities, meet our ongoing commitments, and
employ more staff – with little room for growth in research and
education programs. This means we’ll all have to keep working to
leverage resources and work more productively.”

NSF was one of the few S&T agencies that would see a budget increase
in FY 2006 under the request that the Bush Administration submitted
this week. Following in the wake of Congress’ decision to cut NSF’s
budget this year, the Administration’s request would restore some,
but not all of the agency’s budget to its former level. The numbers
spell this out: in FY 2004 the NSF budget was $5,652.0 million. The
current budget is $5,472.8 million. The request for next year is
$5,605.00 million. These numbers are not adjusted for inflation.

The $132 million increase includes the transfer of $48 million from
the Coast Guard to the foundation for operation and maintenance
costs associated with three polar icebreakers used in Antarctic and
Arctic research. Allowing for this transfer results in a requested
increase of $84.0 million for NSF.

Under the request, the NSF Research and Related Activities budget
would increase by 2.7% or $113 million, from $4,220.6 million to
$4,333.5 million. The Administration requested a cut of 12.4% or
$104.4 million in the budget for Education and Human Resources, from
$841.4 million to $737.0 million. The request for Major Research
Equipment and Facilities Construction rose significantly: by 44.0%
or $73.4 million, from $173.7 million to $250.0 million.

Requests for budgets tracked by FYI follow, with selections from the
NSF budget document. Readers interested in the specifics of the
Administration’s request should consult
http://www.nsf.gov/about/budget/fy2006/toc.htm . The NSF request
for Education and Human Resources will be reviewed in a forthcoming
FYI that will include the Department of Education’s math and science
education programs.

MATHEMATICAL AND PHYSICAL SCIENCES DIRECTORATE: The Administration
recommended an overall increase of 1.5% or $16.4 million from
$1,069.9 million to $1,086.2 million. Within this directorate:

The PHYSICS Division’s budget would increase 2.3% or $5.2 million
from $224.9 million to $230.1 million. The budget document states:
“Increased support for core research and education programs with
emphasis on physics of the universe and theoretical physics,
including additional support for new applicants to the program.
Increased funding for operations of the Large Hadron Collider
balanced by a decrease for the Cornell Electron Storage Ring and a
decrease reflecting completion of concept and design funding for the
Rare Symmetry Violating Processes (RSVP) project.”

The ASTRONOMICAL SCIENCES Division’s budget would increase 1.8% or
$3.5 million from $195.1 million to $198.6 million. The budget
document states: “Increased support for research and instrumentation
development related to the physics of the universe and
cyberinfrastructure, as well as Gemini operations and
instrumentation development. Decreases for other areas of research
and instrumentation program.”

The MATERIALS RESEARCH Division’s budget would increase 2.2% or $5.2
million from $240.5 million to $245.7 million. The budget document
states: “Increased support for research and education and center
activities related to nanoscale science and engineering balanced by
decreasing support for older facilities and small-scale
instrumentation.”

GEOSCIENCES DIRECTORATE: The Administration recommended an overall
increase of 2.2% or $14.9 million from $694.2 million to $709.1
million. Within this directorate:

The ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCES Division’s budget would increase 2.7% or
$6.4 million from $233.4 million to $239.8 million. The budget
document states: “Increased support will target the following areas:
the operation of the High-performance Instrumented Platform for
Environmental Research (HIAPER), which begins full operation in FY
2006; the operation of the Advanced Modular Incoherent Scatter Radar
(AMISR); and improved cyberinfrastructure and numerical models which
will allow new discoveries, greater access to atmospheric data, and
improved understanding of the atmospheric environment.”

The EARTH SCIENCES Division’s budget would increase 3.4% or $5.1
million from $149.0 million to $154.1 million. The budget document
states: “Increased support focuses on operational and scientific
support of the EarthScope facility, which is being constructed
through the MREFC Account, and improving the cyberinfrastructure
available to earth scientists.”

The OCEAN SCIENCES Division’s budget would increase 1.1% or $3.5
million from $311.8 million to $315.2 million. The budget document
states: “Areas receiving increased funding support include
developmental activities related to the Ocean Observatories
Initiative (OOI), operation of the academic research fleet, and
development of advanced ocean research cyberinfrastructure.”

ENGINEERING DIRECTORATE: The Administration recommended an overall
increase of 3.5% or $19.4 million from $561.3 million to $580.7
million.

The BIOENGINEERING AND ENVIRONMENTAL SYSTEMS Division’s budget would
increase 5.1% or $2.5 million from $48.2 million to $50.7 million.

The CHEMICAL AND TRANSPORT SYSTEMS Division’s budget would increase
4.9% or $3.2 million from $65.8 million to $69.0 million.

The CIVIL AND MECHANICAL SYSTEMS Division’s budget would increase
2.7% or $2.2 million from $82.0 million to $84.2 million.

The DESIGN AND MANUFACTURING INNOVATION SYSTEMS Division’s budget
would increase 5.6% or $3.6 million from $63.9 million to $67.4
million.

The ELECTRICAL AND COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM Division’s budget would
increase 3.8% or $2.7 million from $71.6 million to $74.4 million.

The ENGINEERING EDUCATION AND CENTERS’s budget would increase 2.1%
or $2.7 million from $127.1 million to $129.7 million.

The OFFICE OF INDUSTRIAL INNOVATION’s budget would increase 2.5% or
$2.6 million from $102.8 million to $105.3 million.

OFFICE OF POLAR PROGRAMS: The Administration recommended an increase
of 12.4% or $42.6 million, from $344.4 million to $386.9 million.
Within this account, the U.S. POLAR RESEARCH PROGRAMS’ budget would
increase 15.4% or $42.6 million, from $276.8 million to $319.4
million. The U.S. ANTARCTIC LOGISTICAL SUPPORT’s budget would be
unchanged at $67.5 million. It is important to note that $48
million is being provided so that “NSF will assume the
responsibility, from the U.S. Coast Guard, for funding the costs of
icebreakers that support scientific research in polar regions.”

MAJOR RESEARCH EQUIPMENT AND FACILITIES CONSTRUCTION: The
Administration requested an increase of 44.0% or $76.4 million, from
$173.7 million to $250.0 million. The budget document states:

“NSF believes that the highest priority within the MREFC Account
must be the current projects. To that end, highest priority in FY
2006 is to continue to request funding for the Atacama Large
Millimeter Array ($49.24 million); EarthScope ($50.62 million); the
IceCube Neutrino Observatory ($50.45 million); the Scientific Ocean
Drilling Vessel ($57.92 million); and Rare Symmetry Violating
Processes ($41.78 million).

“NSF is requesting no new starts in FY 2006.

“Two new starts are requested in FY 2007, and one new start is
requested in FY 2008. In priority order, these are: Ocean
Observatories in FY 2007; the Alaska Region Research Vessel in FY
2007; and Advanced LIGO in FY 2008.”

Richard M. Jones
Media and Government Relations Division
The American Institute of Physics
fyi@aip.org http://www.aip.org/gov
(301) 209-3094