Advocacy Archive
Midyear Standings
Tax Rebate 3; NSF 1, NIH Coming to Bat
August 14, 2001
The federal budget could be on your mind these days because we're all getting a little piece of it to call our own. That $300 probably is burning a hole in your pocket. Go ahead, get that grill you want, spend the day at the spa, or go to the game and buy a couple a dogs. Spend it now so they can't ask for it back. You see, the tax rebate is a symbol of why federal spending for 2002 soon may be in a squeeze play, though now the game has been suspended on accounta August.
But hey, it's summer, we've got some walking-around money, and at least one major federal supporter of psychology research is in a league of its own. Congress adjourned for August, leaving behind indications that the National Science Foundation (NSF) will be getting a hefty increase for its basic research mission.
On the House side, $4.84 billion was appropriated for NSF. That means $179 million for behavioral and social science, $16 million more than the President's request. It's also 8% over last year's budget. The House showed even more team colors during its debate by rejecting an amendment by Rep. Mark Foley (R-FL) which would have reduced NSF research by $92 million.
The panel that oversees NSF in the Senate wanted to give NSF as much or more than the House, but the intricate way the Senate works to figure its pot of money resulted in only $4.7 billion for 2002. This is an increase of 6% or $256 million (still, the equivalent of one Alex Rodriguez contract), with $164.4 million carved out for behavioral sciences.
I'm pleased to report that the Senate also adopted behavioral science report language encouraged by APS with the support of Sen. Daniel K. Inouye (D-HI):
"The Committee is aware of several exciting ongoing NSF initiatives in the behavioral sciences. The Committee continues to believe that NSF must take specific steps to support young behavioral science investigators to ensure an adequate supply of high quality researchers in this discipline in the future. The Committee, therefore, reiterates its past support and encouragement for this area and expects NSF support for this area of science will gain strength in fiscal year 2002. The Committee also believes that research on how people think, learn, remember, work in groups, apply learned information in new ways and other related research holds a great deal of potential for enhancing educational practices and increasing student achievement. The Committee applauds the Foundation for its priority support for the science of learning and expects that it will continue." (S. Rpt. 107-43, p.117)
Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), chair of the Senate NSF Committee and Sen. Kit Bond (R-MO), ranking minority member, deserve enormous credit for their leadership in raising the visibility of NSF on the Hill. They are leading a Senate effort to double NSF over five years, similar to what's been occurring for the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
There also is a move to double NSF in the House. Rep. E.B. Johnson (D-TX) introduced a bill to double NSF over five years, ala NIH. APS supports Rep. Johnson, although the bill won't have an impact on the current budget cycle unless it moves quickly after August recess (unlikely).
When House and Senate return after Labor Day, they will hammer out a final NSF budget. Typically, they split the difference, but this year is unusual. On one hand, with a push from Senators Mikulski, Bond, and others to double NSF, the Senate may encourage a budget higher than a split B maybe higher than even the House number. On the other hand, the economy and rebate-induced restrictions on spending have been tightening since the House and Senate passed their NSF budgets. NSF, along with all federal programs, remains vulnerable.
NIH also is slated for a major league increase in 2002, the fourth year in the plan to double NIH in five. The White House proposed a $2.8 billion (or 13.5%) increase for NIH, bringing it to $23.04 billion. This is short of the $23.7 billion needed to keep NIH on the base path to doubling, so many of us fans are looking to Congress to make up the difference. As of this writing, the bill containing the NIH budget has not advanced in the House or the Senate, adding to the impression that when Congress returns in September, the appropriations process will be longer and more cantankerous than usual, as the Democrat-controlled Senate and Republican-controlled House try to forge agreements on a variety of non-science issues that play out against the budget backdrop. It could be way past the Series before a budget arrives on the President's desk. But right now, the summer still is in full swing and the game is just getting interesting.
More as it happens, Alan