Senate Appropriations Committee moves forward with funding measures for NSF, NASA, DOD and DOE

As Congress heads towards its August recess and into the election season, its members are working to finalize details on budget appropriations for programs at the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the Department of Defense (DOD), and the Department of Energy (DOE) for Fiscal Year 2007. The Senate Appropriations Committee completed its appropriations legislation for these agencies in July, and the full Senate is slated to consider this legislation following the August Congressional district work period.

NSF: The Senate Appropriations Committee has approved roughly $6 billion for NSF, an increase of 7.4 percent above last year, but less than the House's appropriation of $6.02 billion.

• Research and Related Activities: The administration requested, and the House approved an increase of 7.7 percent ($334.5 million) for a total of $4.67 billion. The Senate Appropriations Committee has approved an increase of 7.3 percent ($314.9 million) for a total of $4.65 billion, or $19.5 million below the requested amount.

• Education and Human Resources: The administration requested an increase of 2.5 percent ($19.6 million) for a total of $816.2 million. The House approved an increase of 4.5 percent ($35.8 million) for a total of $835.8 million, while the Senate Appropriations Committee approved an increase of 4.9 percent ($39.1 million) for a total of $832.4 million, or $19.53 million above the request.

• Major Research Equipment and Facilities Construction: Both the House and Senate bills comply with the administration's request for $237.3 million, with the exception of the $3.0 million requested for the Judgment Fund of the U.S. Treasury for Antarctic Program aircraft.

NASA: The Senate Appropriations Committee has approved $16.7 billion for NASA in FY 2007 (a 3.1 percent increase), which is $35 million below the administration's request and slightly more than the $16.65 billion approved by the House. In addition to that increase, the Committee approved an amendment by Sens. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., and Kay Bailey Hutchinson, R-Texas, for $1 billion in emergency spending for costs NASA incurred as a result of the Columbia accident and Hurricane Katrina. These funds will reimburse critical aeronautics, science, and exploration programs that were cut to pay for repairs after the two tragedies.

DOD: The Senate Appropriations Committee has approved $11.98 billion for the Research, Development, Test and Evaluation (RDT&E) Directorate within DOD, which is 9.5 percent above the administration's request. However, the funding represents a $1.25 billion or a 9.5 percent decline in funding from the FY 2006 allocated amount. The House Appropriations Committee approved $13.3 billion, which is $1.3 billion more than their Senate counterparts. RDT&E consists primarily of the following three funding accounts:

• Basic Research (6.1) - The administration requested $1.42 billion, and the Senate Appropriations Committee approved an increase of 4 percent for a total of $1.47 billion. The House Appropriations Committee approved $1.5 billion for basic research.

• Applied Research (6.2) - The administration requested $4.47 billion, and the Senate Appropriations Committee approved an increase of 7.3 percent for a total of $4.8 billion. The House Appropriations Committee approved $5.2 billion for applied research.

• Advanced Technology Development (6.3) - The administration requested $5.18 billion, and the Senate Appropriations Committee approved an increase of 9.9 percent for a total of $5.69 billion.

The House Appropriations Committee approved $6.4 billion for advanced technology development.

DOE: The Senate Appropriations Committee has approved $24.7 billion for DOE in FY 2007. This amount is $658 million above the president's request. DOE received a significant boost in its funding after the president and key members of Congress highlighted the need to increase basic research funding and deal with America's energy security problems.

The Senate bill would increase the DOE Office of Science budget to $4.24 billion, an increase of 16.6 percent over last year's budget and above the level the president requested as part of the American Competitiveness Initiative.

Appropriators also increased funding for a number of major energy programs, including:

• $711 million for nuclear energy programs, including full funding for the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership and restored funding for the University Reactor Infrastructure and Education Initiative;

• $2.3 billion towards research into cellulosic ethanol sources, solar energy demonstration projects, biomass hydropower and geothermal projects, and energy efficient building technologies; and

• $644 million for fossil fuel technology research programs, focused on cleaner coal and alternative oil technologies.

For more information on these or any other Congressional Appropriations bills, please visit the Library of Congress Web site at: http://thomas.loc.gov/home/approp/app07.html.

Japan's science and technology policy focus of R&D caucus briefing

The United Engineering Foundation, in collaboration with ASME and other engineering societies, hosted a July 12 briefing for the Congressional R&D Caucus on the current state of science and technology policy in Japan. Yukio Sato, advisor to and former executive director of the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), addressed the more than 150 attendees.

Sato discussed what he termed the three leading "megatrends" in contemporary Japan:

• A rapidly aging society in which the declining birth rate will aggravate the financial situation of the country's pension system and require increased productivity from a declining workforce;

• A shift way from a uniform and homogeneous society to a more competitive society as deregulation and privatization advance, bringing with it discussions of expanding differences, such as income gaps; and

• Growing concern about emerging threats to safety and security such as terrorist attacks and unknown infectious diseases.

Sato discussed the government structure for S&T policy formulation and implementation, and he reviewed the core strategy of Japan's Third Science and Technology Basic Plan that includes the following key elements:

• Development of human resources to produce excellent research findings;

• Creation of a competitive environment;

• Promotion of science;

• Creation of persistent innovations through strategic investment; and

• Removal of systematic or operational obstacles to return R&D benefits to society.

The JST will address these and other important policy issues over the next five years. Sato's presentation will soon be available at www.researchcaucus.org.

The briefing was hosted by the United Engineering Foundation in collaboration with ASME, the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical and Petroleum Engineers, the American Society of Civil Engineers, and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers-USA.

STEM Caucus exhibit highlights "Technology Education for Future Engineers"

ASME recently participated in an exhibit convened for members of Congress and their staff on "How American Educators Integrate Technology & Engineering into K-16 Classrooms." The exhibit highlighted promising practices to teach problem-solving skills to today's youth.

The event was sponsored by the House and Senate Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Education Caucus and hosted by software company PTC, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Guests included Congressman Rush Holt, D-N.J., and Arden L. Bement Jr., director of the National Science Foundation, among others.

Jeffery Leaf, a member of ASME and a teacher at J.W. Robinson Secondary School in Fairfax County, Va., was one of the many educators presenting at the event. During his exhibit, Leaf emphasized, "Learning the process of engineering is essential to becoming a problem-solver."

Leaf teaches several courses, including, "Introduction to Engineering," "Engineering Drawing," and "Design and Technology." He plans on using a robot that was donated to him as a template for the students to design their own robots.

— Joshua Craft
ASME Government Relations

 

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