# Presentation: 204964

## View from the Hill

- Ellen E. Burns, Ph.D
- Office of Congressman Vern Ehlers

## Components of Congressional Action

- Authorization
- Budget
- Appropriations

## Authorization

- Establishes or continues a agency, activity, or program
- Authorizes appropriations
- Technically, only authorized programs receive appropriations
- Does not guarantee appropriations
- Example:  H.R. 4664 NSF reauthorization
- Process:  Senate, House, Conference, President

## Budget

- President’s Request
- Defines Administration Priorities (large & small)
- Spending Limits, Deficit & Program Increases
- Starting Point for Congressional Budget & Appropriations
- Delivered to Congress February 1 for next FY
- Congressional Budget
- Sets Congressional Priorities (large)
- Spending Limits, Deficit
- Mandatory Spending
- (Entitlements—SS, Medicare, Medicaid, Veterans, Housing, Farm Subsidies)
- Discretionary Spending (Yearly Appropriation Bills)
- Function Levels (*e.g.* basic science = function 250)
- Process:  House, Senate, Conference
- Due April 15 for next FY

## Appropriations Discretionary Spending

- Provides funds to agencies & programs
- Trumps Authorizations, President’s Request & 	Congressional Budget
- Can legislate through appropriations
- President’s Requests are viewed as “suggestions”
- May exceed Congressional Budget spending caps
- Allocations to functions are largely irrelevant (structure)
- Cases in which function aligns with subcommittee and becomes politically relevant (defense, homeland security)

##  Appropriations Structure & Process

- Appropriations Committee divides budget authority among its 13 Subcommittees

- Agriculture
- Commerce, State Justice
- Defense
- District of Columbia
- Energy and Water
- Foreign Operations
- Homeland Security

-   8. Interior
-   9. Labor, HHS, Ed
- 10. Legislative Branch
- 11. Military Construction
- 12. Transportation/Treasury
- 13. VA/HUD

- Process:  House, Senate, Conference, President
- Due September 30 for next FY (rarely met)

## FY 2005 Budget Outlook

- Tight Budget, Large Deficit (~$500 B)
- Significant National Priorities
- Control Spending and Deficits
- War on Terrorism, Homeland Security, Iraq
- Medicare, Healthcare, Social Security, Veterans (lobby/politics drives spending)
- Increases in Mandatory Spending and Deficit Control Measures are Squeezing the Discretionary Budget
- Domestic Discretionary Spending held to 0.5% increase
- Baby Boomer Generation

## FY 2005 R&D Budget OutlookPresident’s Request

- Total federal R&D in FY 2005 is $132.0 B (+$5.5 B)
- Increases go to DOD and DHS (7% and 15%)
- Increases go primarily to development (8%)
- Basic and applied would be flat at $55.7 B (+0.2%)
- Biomedical R&D continues to out-pace
-    non-biomedical R&D

- Congress:  Is still working on the budget conference.
- 		Numbers may change, but trends are similar

## FY 2005 Appropriations

- The Budget Resolution is not completed.  Appropriations Committee is using $821 B for allocation.
- Allocations for the subcommittees have not been set
- Likely that allocations will be flat or less than FY 2004
- Except in DHS/DOD
- Trade-offs between programs will be significant and difficult.
- Subcommittees are currently holding hearings to help them set priorities

## FY 2005 S&T Specifics

- President’s Request:  $5.745 B (+3% over FY 2004)
- Well short of the $7.4 B necessary to double by 2007
- Increases in MRE & Salaries
- Decrease in Education and Human Resources (EHR)
- Other directorates up ~2.2%
- Congress:  No number has been suggested
- Chairman Walsh and Ranking Member Mollohan are supportive of NSF
- “Can’t give what they don’t have”
- Mr. Ehlers & Mr. Holt are sponsoring letter to support NSF
- Setting up self-sustaining NSF lobbying plan

- _NSF_

## FY 2005 S&T Specifics

- President’s Request:  $3.4 B (-2% from FY 2004)
- Well short of the $4.2 B in H.R. 6
- Increases for Security and Workforce
- Significant decrease in Science Lab Infrastructure & Biological and Environmental Research
- Congress:  No number has been suggested
- Chairman Hobson and Ranking Member Visclosky are supportive
- Likely to have significant “funding hole” in allocation (Yucca)
- Mrs. Biggert is starting a letter to support DOE SC

- _DOE Office of Science_

## FY 2005 S&T Specifics

- President’s Request:  $28.8 B (+2.6% from FY 2004)
- Most Institutes up by 2.8-3.3%
- $60 million in new money for the NIH Roadmap for Biomedical Research
- Grant size and new starts increase slightly
- Congress:  No number has been suggested
- Do not expect NIH funding to increase significantly, but never know given the biomedical lobby

- _NIH_

## FY 2005 S&T Specifics

- Lessons from NIH Doubling:
- Need to have a reasonable plan for growth before
- 	and after doubling
- Members & public will expect outcomes after doubling
- Need an effective lobby to push doubling through appropriations—not enough to have authorizing language

- _Doubling_

## FY 2005 S&T Specifics

- NSF Doubling:
- Mr. Ehlers supports NSF doubling & is working to return NSF funding to the doubling track as soon as possible.
- In the meantime:
- Fight for continued positive growth in NSF budget
- Maintain momentum generated by doubling effort
- Educate Members on importance of basic research & NSF
- Build an effective coalition and lobby for NSF growth
- Encourage NSF to develop cohesive plans for pre- and post-doubling

- _Doubling_

- DOE SC Doubling is gaining support but has a long way to go

## Challenges in FY 2005

- Very tight discretionary budget
- Organization of Appropriations pits S&T agencies against other popular programs  (NSF vs. VA/HUD)
- Need to protect the budgets of various agencies
- Educate Members on importance of S&T investment to innovation and economic growth
- Effectively lobby & make S&T something Members support in all years (lean or flush)
- Members are reluctant to sign letters this year

## What Can you do?

- Give up being Apolitical
- Realize that government does not “owe” anything to science
- Participate—connect with Congress, CNSF, ESC
- Educate
- Members
- Yourself, Your Colleagues, Your Students
- Specifically for FY 2005:
- Write or Call your Member of Congress and ask them to sign the NSF and DOE letters.