SSTI Digest

Enacted FY16 funding is used for comparisons, unless otherwise noted.The president’s FY17 proposed budget would allocate $69.4 billion in discretionary funding (1.6 percent increase) for the Department of Education. Priority areas addressed in the budget proposal include increasing equity and excellence in education, providing additional support for teachers and school leaders, and expanding access, affordability, and completion in higher education.   To support high-quality early learning, the president’s proposed budget includes $1.3 billion in mandatory funding to launch the 10-year, $75 billion Preschool for All program, which guarantees universal preschool access to every 4-year-old from low- and moderate-income families and creates incentives for states to serve additional children from middle-class families. The most notable of the president’s proposed funds for higher education are around the America’s College Promise Initiative, which would allocate $1.3 billion in FY17 to support 2 years of community college free for responsible students. Under Elementary and Secondary Education, the proposed budget would reauthorize…

Estimated FY16 funding levels are used for NSF comparisons, unless otherwise noted. The president’s FY17 budget proposal for the National Science Foundation (NSF) would provide $7.6 billion (1.2 percent increase) in discretionary funding in addition to $400 million in new mandatory funding. Of that amount, $6.1 billion (0.8 percent increase) would be designated for research and related activities, $193.1 million (3.6 percent decrease) for R&D facilities and equipment, and $898.9 million (2.1 percent increase) for education and training. The president’s budget proposes 11 priority goals to: Support the Long-Term Development of a Clean Energy Economy; Advance Our Understanding of the Brain; Increase Resilience to Disasters; Address Challenges in Sustaining the Food, Energy, and Water System; Advance Cutting-Edge Manufacturing; Accelerate the Commercialization of University Research; Provide Leading-Edge Capabilities and Infrastructure for Research and Education; Develop a Highly Talented Workforce through All Phases of Education; Advance Innovation and Enables Tomorrow’s Discoveries; Provide Opportunities for Science and…

Enacted FY16 funding is used for comparisons unless otherwise noted.The president’s FY17 budget proposal would provide $12.8 billion in discretionary funding for the Department of Labor (DOL), a 4.9 percent increase from FY16. Priority items supported in the budget are apprenticeships, career navigation tools, and additional reforms recommended in the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). Under the proposed FY17 budget, WIOA Formula Grants to states and localities providing training and employment services would be funded at $2.8 billion (5 percent increase), the first time since the law’s enactment that these grants would be funded at their full authorized level. The Employment Training Administration (ETA), which provides employment assistance, labor market information, job training, and income support through a variety of programs would receive $9.5 billion in discretionary funds, a 3.5 percent increase. Within this amount, the ETA would receive $3.5 billion (5.7 percent increase) in funding for training and employment services through a variety of programs, including: $90 million (no change from FY16 enacted) for…

FY16 enacted funding is used for NASA comparisons, unless otherwise noted.Under the president’s FY17 budget request, NASA would receive $19 billion (1.6 percent decrease). For a number of programs, FY16 comparisons are unavailable because NASA’s FY16 operation plan has not been finalized. Priority items in the NASA budget include the development of technologies that make future space programs more affordable and capable, continued support for the Webb Telescope, and developments to catalyze growth in the American commercial space industry. The proposed budget would allocate $5.6 billion (0.2 percent increase) for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, which supports research science, invests in advanced technologies, supports over 90 space missions, and maintains partnerships with a dozen other federal agencies and 60 other nations. Funding would include: $2.0 billion for Earth Science, including a plan to continue the 43-year Landsat record of global land-imaging measurements; $1.5 billion for Planetary Science, keeping the Mars 2020 rover on track and supporting the next selection for the New Frontiers program, including formulation of a…

Enacted FY16 funding levels are used for comparisons unless otherwise noted.Small Business Administration (SBA) funding in the president’s FY17 budget request totals $719 million (1 percent increase), excluding Stafford Act Disaster Funding. Within that total, $230.6 million (level funding) is provided for counseling and technical assistance for entrepreneurs. Another $152.7 million (level funding) is provided for SBA’s loan programs. In FY16, the agency’s 504 loan guarantee program became zero subsidy, eliminating a larger portion of the appropriation for SBA’s business loan programs, but not impacting programmatic activities in FY17. SBA would administer $46 billion through its now-zero subsidy loan programs. Credit programs include: Section 7(a) Guaranty -  $27 billion in lending authority (1.9 percent increase) Section 504 CDC Guaranty - $7.5 billion in lending authority (no change) Section 504 Loan Refinancing - $7.5 billion in lending authority (no change) SBIC – Debentures - $4 billion (no change) SBA also provides direct business loans through the Microloan Direct Program, which would receive a $4.3 million…

The president’s FY17 budget proposal includes requests for four regional commissions, which work to develop the economies of economically distressed regions.  Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) – $120 million to provide development and technical assistance to 420 counties in 13 states.  ARC’s base area-development activities, which support economic development across Appalachia, would receive $70 million including funding for the  the 73 multi-county Local Development Districts (LDDs) to promotes diverse and sustainable economic growth. In FY17, ARC would receive $50 million in new funding to implement a competitive grant program, as part of the Partnership for Opportunity and Workforce and Economic Revitalization Plus (POWER+) Plan, for communities severely impacted by the declining use of coal to develop economic diversification activities in emerging opportunity sectors. Delta Regional Authority (DRA) – $15.9 million to build and sustain strong economies in 252 counties and parishes in eight states.  The FY17 budget would support multi-state planning, small business development with an emphasis in entrepreneurship, and…

Estimated FY16 funding is used for comparisons unless otherwise noted.The president’s FY17 budget request for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is $48.9 billion, a 4 percent increase. Priority funding items within HUD include rental housing assistance, ending homelessness, supporting tribal communities, and improving mobility for low-income families. The Community Development Fund, which includes the Community Development Block Program, would receive $6.8 billion (5 percent decrease). Of this amount, $2.8 billion (20 percent decrease) would go to community development formula grants that assist state and local governments in addressing community and economic development activities. The president’s proposed budget would invest $200 million (45 percent increase) in the Choice Neighborhoods program to create six new Choice Neighborhoods dedicated to improving the educational and life outcomes of residents of distressed communities. The Jobs-Plus program, which seeks to improve employment outcomes for HUD-assisted households including Native American households, would receive $35 million (133 percent increase) under the proposed…

Enacted FY16 funding is used for comparisons unless otherwise noted.The president’s FY17 budget request of $8.3 billion for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reflects a 1.6 percent increase from the FY16 enacted budget. The main priority goals identified by the agency are to: reduce greenhouse gas emissions from cars and trucks; advance resilience in the nation’s water infrastructure; clean up contaminated sites to enhance the livability and economic vitality of communities; assess and reduce risks posed by chemicals; and, strengthen environmental protection through business process improvements. Science and Technology programs under the EPA would receive $754.2 million, an increase of 2.7 percent. Areas of EPA research that would receive funding under the proposed budget include: $101.2 million (10 percent increase) for air, climate, and energy research; $106.3 million (1.1 percent decrease) for safe and sustainable water resource research; $134 million (4 percent decrease) for research on sustainable communities; and, $134.2 million (5.7 percent increase) for chemical safety and sustainability research; For the Climate Infrastructure…

Enacted FY16 funding is used for the Department of Transportation comparisons, unless otherwise noted.The president’s FY17 budget request for the Department of Transportation (DOT) totals $98.1 billion (35.5 percent increase), including a vision to build a clean transportation system for the 21st century. Notable investments in research and development from the Department of Transportation include: $418 million (0.7 percent increase) for the Federal Highway Administration’s Research, Technology and Education program, including a highway R&D program, a technology and innovation deployment program, an intelligent transportation systems program, and a training and education activities program; $1 billion (2 percent increase) for the Next Generation Air Transportation System, or NextGen, program within the Federal Aviation Administration, including $63 million (11.3 percent decrease) for Research Engineering and Development; $167.5 million (0.9 percent increase) for the Federal Aviation Administration’s Research, Engineering and Development activities to support work in both NextGen and research areas such as environmental and safety concerns,…

Last week, Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo proposed more than $51 million in investments focused on reinvigorating the state’s economy through innovative industries with the release of her fiscal year 2017 budget request. The governor’s Make It in RI jobs plan incorporates many of the recommendations from a strategic plan developed by the Metropolitan Policy Program at Brookings, Battelle Technology Partnership Practice (now TEConomy Partners, LLC) and Monitor Deloitte. One of the key investments is a $20 million brick-and-mortar innovation district where entrepreneurs, businesspeople and academics can interact. In her budget address last week, Gov. Raimondo strongly backed the idea that advanced industries and cutting-edge research were vital to modern economic prosperity. “It’s pretty simple,” she said, “Advanced industry jobs create high wages and economic growth.” In order to stimulate employment in those industries, the governor introduced a number of proposals based on Rhode Island Innovates: A Competitive Strategy for the Ocean State, prepared by Brookings, Battelle and Deloitte. The authors of the report identify a…

Enacted FY16 funding levels are used for comparisons unless otherwise noted.Proposed FY17 funding for the Department of the Treasury totals $13.3 billion (5.3 percent increase) in discretionary funds, with an additional $2.3 billion for international assistance programs. Much of the increase in funding is attributable to a major investment in cybersecurity under a new $109.8 million initiative. The Treasury request also includes $250 million toward the U.S. pledge to the Green Climate Fund, which would be combined with another $500 million through the Department of State. Treasury’s proposal includes a new authorization of $1.5 billion for a second round of the State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI). The initiative strengthens state programs that support lending to small businesses and small manufacturers. The $1.5 billion would be awarded in two allocations: $1 billion on a competitive basis to states best able to target local market needs, promote inclusion, attract private capital for startup and scale-up businesses, strengthen regional entrepreneurial ecosystems and evaluate results. The remaining $500 million would be awarded by formula, based on…

Enacted FY16 funding levels are used for comparisons unless otherwise noted. The president’s FY17 budget request for the Department of the Interior (DOI) would provide $13.4 billion (0.5percent increase) in discretionary funding. DOI’s primary research agency, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) would receive $1.2 billion (10.1 percent increase). With the proposed funding levels, DOI would participate in cross-agency initiatives related to Arctic research, water infrastructure, clean energy, climate change and economic realignment for coal communities. USGS collaborates with federal, state and tribal partners to conduct research and provide scientific data concerning natural hazards and environmental issues, including water, land, geological and biological resources. Almost all of USGS’s funding is devoted to its Surveys, Investigations and Research activities. Research programs include: Water Resources - $228 million (8.2 percent increase) Ecosystems - $173.9 million (8.6 percent increase) Climate and Land Use Change - $171.4 million (22.5 percent increase) Natural Hazards – $149.7 million (7.7 percent increase) Core Science Systems…