What's New: To receive these updates and announcements by email, manage your subscription, or review the mailing list archive, go to the NCSE List User Form. National Science Foundation FY 2004 Budget Request Falls Short of Doubling Track The President's FY 2004 budget request for the National Science Foundation (NSF) falls far short of the doubling path specified in the NSF Authorization Act of 2002, which was passed by Congress and signed into law by the President less than five months ago.  Under the FY 2004 budget request, NSF would receive $5.48 billion, an increase of 3.2 percent or $171 million above the FY 2003 enacted level[1] (Table 1).  The NSF Authorization Act, which is designed to double the budget of the NSF in five years, authorizes a 15 percent increase and a budget of $6.39 billion for NSF in FY 2004 (see the December 2002 issue of the Science, Environment and Policy Report). At a recent congressional hearing, Senator Kit Bond (R-MO) expressed his dismay at the NSF budget request: "To say I am very disappointed that the President's FY 2004 budget request only provides a 3 percent increase over FY 2003 would be a drastic understatement."  As chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on VA, HUD, and Independent Agencies, which has jurisdiction over NSF, Sen. Bond plays an influential role in congressional action on the NSF budget.    In recent years, Congress has appropriated significantly more funding for NSF than recommended in the President's budget request.  This congressional action has been facilitated by an outpouring of support for NSF from academic institutions, scientific societies, and non-governmental organizations, including the National Council for Science and the Environment.  It will be difficult for Congress to close the $909 million gap between the President's FY 2004 budget request and the funding level specified in the NSF Authorization Act. Table 1. National Science Foundation Budget                                 Budget Authority (millions of dollars)   Percent Change Program FY 2002 FY 2003 FY 2003 FY 2004 FY 2004   FY02 Actual to FY03 Enacted to    Actual Request1 Enacted2 Request3 Authorized4   FY03 Enacted FY04 Request                   Research and Related Activities (R&RA) 3,612 3,783 4,056 4,106 4,800   12.3% 1.2%    Biological Sciences 510 526 571 562 --   12.1% -1.6%    Computer & Info. Science & Engineering 515 527 579 584 --   12.3% 1.0%    Engineering 471 488 531 537 --   12.7% 1.1%    Geosciences 610 691 684 688 --   12.3% 0.5%    Mathematical & Physical Sciences 920 942 1,035 1,061 --   12.4% 2.6%    Social, Behavioral & Economic Sciences 184 196 191 212 --   3.8% 10.9%    Polar Programs 301 304 319 330 --   6.1% 3.4%    Integrative Activities 106 111 147 132 --   39.0% -9.9%    Budget Adjustment5 -4 -- -- -- --                         Education and Human Resources (EHR) 894 137 903 938 1,157   1.0% 3.9%                   Major Research Equipment 139 126 149 202 211   7.0% 36.2%                   Salaries and Expenses6 170 203 193 226 214   13.0% 17.2%                   Office of Inspector General 7 8 9 9 8   35.9% -4.6%                   Total NSF Budget 4,823 5,028 5,310 5,481 6,391   10.1% 3.2%                   Source: NSF budget justification and data tables & AAAS (revised March 2003) 1 FY 2003 President's budget request includes $74 million in proposed transfers of existing programs from NOAA, USGS, and EPA to NSF's Geosciences Directorate, and $2 million for administration and management of these programs. Congress rejected the transfers & added new funds to the Geosciences Directorate. 2 FY 2003 Enacted figures reflect the final FY 2003 omnibus appropriations bill passed by Congress on Feb. 13, 2003 and signed by the president on Feb. 20, 2003. 3 FY 2004 President's budget request was released Feb. 3, 2003 before Congress passed the FY 2003 omnibus appropriations bill. 4 FY 2004 Authorized figures are from the NSF Authorization Act of 2002, which passed Congress Nov 15, 2002 and was signed by the President Dec 19. 5 Adjustment from budget obligation to budget authority 6 Includes NSB Staff Salaries     Although the FY 2004 budget request would increase NSF's total budget by 3.2 percent, several key programs that provide funding for environmental research would decline under the proposed budget. Biological Sciences Directorate.  Under the FY 2004 budget request, funding for NSF's Biological Sciences Directorate would decline by 1.6 percent relative to the FY 2003 enacted appropriations bill (Table 2).  Within the Biological Sciences Directorate, Environmental Biology would decline by 2.8 percent, Integrative Biology and Neuroscience would decline by 3.1 percent, and Emerging Frontiers would increase by 11.6 percent. Table 2.  NSF Biological Sciences Directorate Funding         (budget authority in millions of dollars)                             Total Budget   Change from FY 2003 NSF Biological Sciences Program ($ Millions)   to FY 20041   FY 2002 FY 2003 FY 2004   Amount Percent   Actual Enacted Request   ($ millions) (%)               Molecular and Cellular Biosciences 112 121 117   -4 -3.0% Integrative Biology and Neuroscience 101 107 103   -3 -3.1% Environmental Biology 101 108 105   -3 -2.8% Biological Infrastructure 73 78 80   2 2.4% Emerging Frontiers 47 74 82   9 11.6% Plant Genome Research  75 84 75   -9 -11.2%               Total BIO return to updates return | home