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EPA STAR Fellowships Fully Funded in Omnibus Appropriations Bill
December 2, 2003—EPA's Science to Achieve Results (STAR) graduate fellowship program would receive full funding under the House-Senate conference agreement reached in late November. The conference agreement would provide $9.75 million to fund the program in FY 2004, reversing a 50 percent cut proposed in the President's FY 2004 budget request. The National Council for Science and the Environment led the successful campaign to restore the STAR graduate fellowship program.
STAR is the only federal fellowship program designed exclusively for students pursuing advanced degrees in environmental sciences. The competition is highly competitive, with only 7 percent of applicants winning fellowships. STAR fellowships funded over 800 graduate students at 168 colleges and universities between 1995 and 2001.
EPA's Office of Environmental Education would also receive full funding ($9.16 million) according to the conference agreement. The goal of the Office of Environmental Education is "to ensure that environmental education is a recognized and appropriately utilized tool for protecting human health and the environment." The President's FY 2004 budget request proposed zero funding for these programs.
Congress has included EPA funding in an omnibus appropriations bill, which also provides funding for numerous other federal agencies. The EPA budget for FY 2004 will not be finalized until the omnibus bill is approved by both the House and Senate and then signed into law by the President. The House is scheduled to consider the bill next week but the Senate may not consider the measure until January.
The complete text of the omnibus appropriations bill (HR 2673) and conference report (H. Rept. 108-401) is available online at http://thomas.loc.gov/.
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