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NSF Budget Would Increase by 3 Percent in the President's FY 2005 Request The National Science Foundation (NSF) budget would grow 3.0 percent to $5.7 billion in FY 2005, according to the budget request submitted to Congress by the President on February 2.  The proposed increase falls well 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 18 months ago.  Of the $167 million in new funding, 45 percent would be devoted to a management initiative that would provide more staff for NSF and improve the security of its computer systems.  NSF would increase the average grant size to $142,000 per year in FY 2005, from $139,000 in FY 2004.  The average grant duration would remain 3 years.   Funding for the Research and Related Activities (R&RA) account would increase by $201 million (4.7 percent) to $4.5 billion, but funding for NSF's six disciplinary directorates would increase by only 2.5 percent (Table 1).  A transfer of funds from Education and Human Resources would comprise $80 million of the R&RA increase.  This money would be used to close out the President's Math and Science Partnership program, which would be moved from NSF to the Department of Education.  Rep. Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY), Chairman of the House Science Committee, called this a "glaringly bad" decision, and continued, "We will fight that decision tooth-and-nail."   The Major Research Equipment and Facilities Construction account would increase by 37.6 percent to $213.3 million.  This would include $12.0 million in initial funding for the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) and $47.4 million in continuing funding for EarthScope.  In recent years, Congress has declined to fund NEON "without prejudice," meaning it was not rejected on merit and could be funded in future years.  The National Academies of Science endorsed the concept of NEON in a report released last fall, but suggested major structural changes.   Funding for the Biocomplexity in the Environment Priority Area would remain flat at $99.8 million in FY 2005.  This cross-disciplinary Priority Area, which "explores the complex interactions among organisms at all scales and through space and time," received a 42 percent increase last year.  Most of the funding under this initiative comes from the Biological Sciences and Geosciences directorates.   The Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) program would grow by $2.3 million to $22.8 million in FY 2005, an 11.2 percent increase over FY 2004.  The program would be expanded to include three new near-coastal marine sites in FY 2005, bringing to total number of sites to 27. The number of NSF graduate fellowships would increase from 5,000 to 5,500 in FY 2005.  The stipends would remain constant at $30,000 per year.  Overall funding for Education and Human Resources would decrease by 17.9 percent to $771.4 million.  This loss would come in the form of cuts to Elementary, Secondary and Informal Education and a program to stimulate competitive research at the state-level, as well as the transfer of the President's Math and Science Partnership program.       NSF Director Rita Colwell called the agency's three percent budget increase a "vote of confidence" in a time when other federal agencies are experiences severe cuts, although she called the $19 billion recommended by the National Science Board to fulfill all unmet needs "fully justified, and frankly, necessary." Table 1. National Science Foundation Appropriations (budget authority in millions of dollars) ______________________________________________________________________________________________   Budget Authority   Change from FY 2004 NSF Program            (millions of dollars)                    to FY 2005 Request       FY 2003 FY 2004 FY 2005   Amount Percent ___________________________________    Actual1    Estimate2     Request3          ($ Millions)             (%)                Research and Related Activities (R&RA) 4,054 4,251 4,452   201 4.7    Biological Sciences 570 587 600   13 2.2    Computer & Info. Science & Eng. 589 605 618   13 2.2    Engineering 542 565 576   11 1.9    Geosciences 692 713 729   15 2.2    Mathematical & Physical Sciences 1,041 1,092 1,116   24 2.2    Social, Behavioral & Economic Sciences 159 176 191   15 8.5    Office of International Science and Eng. 40 28 34   6 21.1    Polar Programs 324 342 350   8 2.2    Integrative Activities 98 144 240   96 66.5 Education and Human Resources (EHR) 935 939 771   -168 -17.9 Major Research Equipment (MREFC) 179 155 213   58 37.6 Salaries and Expenses 189 219 294   75 34.4 National Science Board 3 4 4   0.1 1.8 Office of Inspector General              9              10              10   0.2 1.7               TOTAL 5,369 5,578 5,745   167 3.0 ___________________________________________________________________________________ Source: NSF 1 FY 2003 Actual as provided by NSF 2 FY 2004 Estimate as provided by NSF 3 President's budget request for FY 2005

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