An example of this kind of thinking was evident in NASA Administrator Daniel Goldin's testimony to Congress in March, in which he said that the right thing to do was to transfer uncosted funds to the International Space Station program, rather than request additional space station funding from Congress. New Challenges Limiting uncosted carryover to two months of funding would bring balances in NASA's grant programs in line with congressional expectations for contract spending. However, managing to this standard presents new challenges for the MRP, since grant research is conducted in an entirely different spending environment than other types of work done by contractors, according to Brad Carpenter, lead enterprise scientist for the Microgravity Research Division at NASA headquarters. A PI with a typical budget, which includes money for the salaries of one postdoctoral student and one graduate student, equipment, supplies, travel, and university overhead expenses, can run into problems with uncosted carryover that arise from working in an academic setting. By comparison, an aerospace contractor with a work force of hundreds of employees experiences very little fluctuation in spending cycles.
Carpenter also notes that PIs tend to be frugal.
It's impossible for them to predict when their students are going to finish or just what the students will find. It goes against their grain to spend money just to stay on plan. Management of grants also differs from that of contractors with respect to cost reporting. Contractors with NASA generally report fairly even spending from quarter to quarter, since their costs are primarily related to labor hours that are relatively stable. In addition, cost reporting occurs virtually coincidentally with work being done, as most contractors have the resources to hire account managers to oversee billing.