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FY 98 Appropriations: S&T Highlights
With all appropriations bills signed into law as of November 26 and the exercise of the final line item veto on December 2, the FY 1998 appropriations picture is coming into focus.
A preliminary analysis by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) of the FY98 appropriations shows that total federal funding allocated to R&D increased to $76.3 billion, 4.1 percent more than FY97.
With the exception of Transportation and Agriculture, every major R&D funding agency received increases above the rate of inflation (2.5 percent). The Department of Commerce's R&D programs received the largest percent increase (14.8 percent) to bring the agency to $1.1 billion. Much of the increase is due to a $95 million appropriation to fund construction and renovation of NIST R&D facilities in Colorado and Maryland.
Funding for other NIST programs included $114 million for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP), an increase of $19 million over last year. The Technology Administration in Commerce, which oversees NIST, received $1.6 million to initiate the Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Technology (EPSCoT). The goal of EPSCoT, which is modeled after the National Science Foundation's EPSCoR program, is to help stimulate commercial technology development in states traditionally under represented in federal R&D funding. Funding for the Advanced Technology Program (ATP) was decreased to $192.5 million, $10.5 million less than FY97.
The Environmental Protection Agency was also a big winner, with its appropriations increasing to $618 million (a 14.2 percent increase).
Federal Research and Development Spending
(dollar amounts in millions)
Agency FY 1997
(est.)
FY 1998
Final
Defense (military) 37,026 38,066 NIH 12,206 13,077 NASA 9,315 9,808 Energy 6,103 6,292 NSF 2,424 2,573 Agriculture 1,545 1,551 Commerce 983 1,128 Interior 581 616 Transportation 650 636 EPA 541 618 Other 1,877 1,923 TOTAL 73,251 76,288
Source: American Association for the Advancement of Science
Attention will soon turn to the budget for fiscal year 1999. That budget, which will be released in February 1998, is currently under review at senior staff levels.