Members Discuss Strengthening the NSF Budget
Related Subcommittees
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March 10, 2010
(Washington, DC) – Today, the House Committee on Science and Technology’s Subcommittee on Research and Science Education held a hearing to examine the priorities in the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Fiscal Year (FY) 2011 budget request. In preparation for reauthorization of the America COMPETES Act, the Subcommittee also examined core activities, initiatives, and policy directions for research, infrastructure, education and workforce training at NSF.
The NSF budget request for FY 2011 totals $7.4 billion, $552 million or 8 percent more than FY 2010 funding not including any FY 2010 carryover in the $3 billion included for NSF in the Recovery Act. Members heard testimony from Dr. Arden Bement, Director of NSF, and Dr. Steven Beering, chair of the National Science Board (NSB). NSB oversees the activities of, and establishes the policies for, the NSF.
“I was very pleased to see the strong increases for NSF being proposed in the president’s budget, especially in these tough economic times. I believe that overall, the NSF budget reflects a much-needed commitment to our future economic growth and an understanding that such growth is tied very strongly to the investments we make in science and innovation today,” stated Subcommittee Chairman Daniel Lipinski (D-IL).
The Administration’s budget would provide $6 billion for Research and Related Activities (R&RA) in FY 2011, an increase of $401 million or 7.1 percent over FY 2010 funding. The largest relative increases went to the Engineering Directorate and the Computer and Information Science and Engineering Directorate.
Members and witnesses discussed specifically aspects of the budget request that have direct bearing on the upcoming reauthorization of the America COMPETES Act. For example, in the FY 2011 budget, the Noyce Teacher Scholarship program and Math and Science Partnerships would continue to be funded at FY 2010 levels. At the graduate level, the Administration has pledged to triple the number of NSF graduate research fellows to 3000 by 2013.
The Education and Human Resources budget also includes a proposed restructuring of programs to expand participation in STEM at the undergraduate level. Dr. Bement laid out his vision for how a new comprehensive program would be a more holistic approach to addressing grand challenges in broadening participation in STEM. However, some Members expressed concern at the levels of funding requested for this and other programs in the Education and Human Resources Directorate.
“The Administration is proposing a budget for NSF’s Education and Human Resources Directorate that barely keeps pace with inflation. I support an increased role for the Department of Education in STEM education and am happy to hear that collaboration between the agencies has increased markedly in the last year. But I worry about both the statement being made by the request and the consequences flat funding would have for NSF’s excellent programs,” stated Lipinski.
Another budget priority is infrastructure; approximately 24 percent ($1.8 billion) of NSF’s FY 2011 budget is devoted to research infrastructure, but a 2003 NSB report recommended that nearly 27 percent of the NSF budget should be spent on research infrastructure and equipment. This issue has become an increasing concern as state universities have seen significant budget cuts and all universities have experienced shrunken endowments. Members and witnesses discussed NSF’s role in supporting both shared use facilities and Academic Research Infrastructure. On February 23, the Subcommittee held a hearing on the state of research infrastructure at U.S. universities.
Members and witnesses also discussed the role of NSF in promoting international research collaborations and in partnering with other government agencies and private sector funders to increase the role of science collaboration in diplomacy and development. Another topic discussed was NSF’s exploration of approaches to funding high-risk, potentially transformative research, including through the use of innovation inducement prizes.
For more information, please visit the Committee’s website.
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