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February 14, 2006

Administration Budget Not All 'Roses' for Science

After careful review of the Administration’s recently released Fiscal Year 2007 budget, Science Committee Democrats today released their agency-by-agency analysis.  The verdict: cutting science to fund science will not get the job done. 

"When are we going to connect the dots?  Science research breeds innovation.  Innovation creates quality jobs for U.S. workers," said House Science Committee Ranking Member Rep. Bart Gordon (D-TN). "This plan doesn't do enough to help U.S. workers in the global market now or in the future."

Read the budget analysis in PDF format Read the detailed budget analysis »

Key points to note:

  • The Federal Science and Technology budget - the foremost indicator of Federal research investment - is targeted for a funding decrease again this year.  Despite increases in some areas of science, overall S&T research would be cut below FY06 levels.
  • The Administration’s plan to double NSF funding is welcome, but they are four years behind and $3.8 billion short of their commitment made in 2002.
  • The single best government job creation programs are on the chopping block.  The Manufacturing Extension Program (MEP) is slashed and the Advanced Technology Program (ATP) is targeted for elimination.

"Innovation and steps to assure U.S. competitiveness are key to our economic future - it’s senseless to cut some of the very programs that will get us there," added Rep. Gordon.

The Science Committee will hear from the Administrators of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), DOE, Department of Commerce, NSF, the Undersecretary for Science and Technology at the Department of Homeland Security and NASA at hearings this week.

"It is clear that there are budget winners and losers and we’ll explore that further with the heads of science agencies this week," concluded Rep. Gordon.

Gordon has introduced the only House legislative package aimed at implementing a U.S. competitiveness plan.  The Gordon package - based on the widely acknowledged National Academy Report - includes H.R. 4434, 10,000 Teachers, 10 Million Minds Science and Math Scholarship Act; H.R. 4435, Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E) Act; and H.R. 4596, Sowing the Seeds Through Science and Engineering Research Act.

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