SSTI Digest

With the FEMA fiasco related to last summer's hurricanes, it should not be too surprising that much of the agency's discussion of its FY 2007 budget involves ways to improve the nation's preparedness and responsiveness to catastrophic events and natural disasters. Overall, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) budget request for FY07 is $42.7 billion, reflecting a 5.8 percent increase above FY 2006 appropriations. The FY07 budget request for the Science and Technology Directorate, which oversees the agency's research, development, testing and evaluation (RDT&E) activities, is $1.002 billion. The figure reflects a 33 percent decrease from the FY06 appropriation level. However, nearly all of that cut stems from a departmental reorganization which spun out the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office with its own appropriation request of $536.8 million for FY07. Of the four offices within the Science and Technology Directorate, the two most frequently encountered by the state and local technology-based economic development community are: Office of Research and Development (ORD) builds RDT&E capability…

The Administration's FY 2007 budget request for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is $33.528 billion, a 29.9 percent decrease from the FY 2006 appropriation of $47.826 billion. The Office of Community Planning and Development would receive $6.5 billion under the Administration's FY07 budget request, down from $19.129 billion in FY06. Policy Development and Research would receive $68 million, a $13 million increase over the FY06 appropriation. Research and Technology would receive $40 million ($10 million increase), and University Programs would receive $28 million ($8 million increase). The FY07 budget proposes to reduce funding for the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program to $3.032 billion, a 27.4 percent cut from the FY06 appropriation of $4.178 billion. In addition, formula changes will be proposed to direct more of the program's base funding to communities that cannot meet their own needs, and bonus funds will be available to communities that demonstrate the greatest progress in expanding home ownership and opportunity for their residents. The CDBG budget request is in…

The Administration's $16.1 billion FY 2007 budget request for the Department of Interior represents a 1.8 percent decrease from FY 2006. The budget includes $467.5 million for the department's energy programs, a net increase of $43.5 million over FY06. It also includes a $43.2 million initiative to implement the department's top energy priorities -- the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and the president's National Energy Policy. Some DOI research-related items of potential interest: US Geological Survey - $952 million (1.4 percent decrease), which includes a $1.9 million package of increases for gas hydrate research and development, and $172.6 million for biological research (3.3 percent decrease). Water 2025 - $14.5 million ($9.6 million increase) to fund challenge grants, water system optimization analysis, and research to improve water purification technology. Oil Spill Research Program - $6.9 million ($103,000 decrease) to support oil pollution research and other duties related to oil spill prevention. The program is run within the Minerals Management Service. return to the top of the page …

The Department of Labor’s (DOL) discretionary budget request of $10.9 billion is $600 million less (5.5 percent decrease) than the FY 2006 appropriation. The agency’s payroll, however would increase by 103 full-time equivalent positions, according to the budget overview. The Employment and Training Administration (ETA) FY 07 budget request of $5.6 billion reflects a 14.7 percent increase from the FY06 appropriation. Included in ETA funding is $150 million ($26 million increase) for Community-Based Job Training Grants, in the effort to strengthen the role of community colleges in workforce investment. The grants build on the High Growth Job Training Initiative, which sought to prepare workers to take advantage of new and increasing job opportunities in high growth industries and sectors of the economy. For a second straight year, the budget proposes to consolidate four DOL programs and state grants for basic employment services into a $3.41 billion Career Advancement Accounts. The budget overview states that the new program includes formula grants and a National Reserve and will give states and the Secretary of Labor greater ability…

The Administration's FY 2007 budget request of $65.6 billion for the Department of Transportation (DOT) is $135 million higher than the FY 2006 appropriation. DOT's request would be distributed across the department's five key strategic objectives: Improve safety (24.3 percent); Increase mobility (67.1 percent); Increase global transportation connectivity (0.3 percent); Protect the environment (6.4 percent); and, Support national security (0.7 percent). The balance of 1.1 percent would go toward organizational excellence, according to the DOT Budget in Brief. Among budget highlights, $122 million is requested for the Next Generation Air Transportation System initiative, a multi-agency effort to explore new ways to manage air transportation through the use of modern technology. Of the total, $80 million would go to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for the Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) technology, and another $24 million would fund System Wide Information Management. This ADS-B will replace current radar systems and provide more accurate surveillance coverage. …

There are only four programs in the Treasury Department that SSTI monitors for the tech-based economic development community. Similar to the Administration's FY 2006 budget request, all are slated for termination or phase out in FY 2007. Congress restored 98.9 percent of the funding in its final FY06 appropriations. The programs slated for termination include the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Programs (appropriated $30.9 million in FY06), the Bank Enterprise Award ($13.4 million), and the CDFI Native Initiatives ($5.8 million). The Administration's FY07 request includes $4.3 million for CDFI to administer the New Market Tax Credits, a 1.4 percent increase over the FY06 appropriation of $4.25 million. The New Market Tax Credits provide credit against federal income taxes to taxpayers making qualified equity investments in designated Community Development Entities in order to attract private capital investments in low-income communities. The budget request also provides $3.5 million to phase out the existing CDFI portfolio of outstanding obligations from the programs slated for elimination…

The Administration's FY 2007 Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) budget request is $7.3 billion, a 4.07 percent decrease from the FY 2006 appropriation*. The agency's science and technology programs would receive $788.3 million, a 7.86 percent increase over the FY06 appropriation. However, funding for research would decrease by $19.9 million. More than $100 million is requested in the FY07 budget to support EPA's new priorities in the Energy Policy Act of 2005. Selected highlights include: $50 million for the Diesel Emissions Reduction program to support cleaner fuels and diesel retrofits, rebuilds and replacements; and, $11 million for development and implementation of the renewable fuel standard leading to increased market share of ethanol and renewable fuels. The FY07 budget request includes $184 million for EPA Homeland Security efforts, an increase of $55 million over the FY06 appropriation. Funding requests include: $33 million to protect drinking water from terrorist attacks, including additional Water Sentinel pilots; $10 million to develop environmental preparedness and response capability; and…

The FY 2007 budget request for NASA totals $16.8 billion, a 1 percent increase from FY 2006. Included in the FY07 request is $5.3 billion for the Science Mission Directorate, an increase of 1.5 percent from FY06. However, funding for Aeronautics Research decreased 18.1 percent, totaling $724.4 million for FY07. Of the five directorates, the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate (ESMD) would receive the largest increase at $3.98 billion, a 30.4 percent increase from FY06. Three-fourths of the ESMD FY07 budget, $3.06 billion, is requested for the Constellation Systems Program ­- a net increase of 76.4 percent above the program's FY07 appropriation level, which was 1.73 billion. This includes $894.7 million (6.6 percent increase) to develop and implement the Crew Exploration Vehicle, which will replace the Space Shuttle that is due to retire in 2010. The Human Systems Research and Technology FY07 budget request is $274.6 million, a 56 percent decrease from FY06. Human Systems Research and Technology supports programs to develop and implement technology critical for supporting long-term human survival and…

The Administration’s FY07 NSF budget request of $6.02 billion reflects an increase of $439 million or 7.9 percent from the FY06 appropriation. Funding for fixed assets of the nation's research enterprise, such as instrumentation, research facilities, infrastructure and federally-funded R&D centers, receive $1.685 billion in the FY07 request, a 13.2 percent increase above the FY06 plan. Monies available for grants in fundamental science and engineering, for the centers programs and for capability enhancement are proposed to increase by 6.1 percent to $2.915 billion in FY07. FY07 budget requests for selected initiatives crossing several NSF directorates include: National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) - $373.2 million (8.56 percent increase), including $65 million to support approximately 50 new Nanoscale Interdisciplinary Research Teams. NSF is the lead for this multi-agency initiative. Total FY07 NNI funding across the 10 agencies involved drops 1.8 percent to $1.277 billion. Networking and Information Technology Research and Development (NITRD) - $903.74 million…

There are three federally established regional commissions and authorities that are dedicated to improving the economic opportunities within specific geographic regions. The Appalachian Regional Commission and the Delta Regional Authority are dependent on annual appropriations. The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), the oldest and largest of the three, generates its budget primarily through power generation revenues. TVA still requires the government to approve or set its annual spending level. Appalachian Regional Commission - $64.8 million (no change) to assist the 13-state, 410-county Appalachian Region in achieving socioeconomic parity with the nation through four goals, including increasing job opportunities and per capita income, strengthening the capacity of citizens to compete in the global economy, improving the region's competitiveness through development of key infrastructure, and reducing the region's isolation through the Appalachian Development Highway System (ADHS). ADHS receives an additional appropriation for road construction and maintenance. Delta Regional Authority - $5.9 million ($6 million decrease) to assist an eight-state, 240-county…

The Administration requests $624 million in FY 2007 funding for the Small Business Administration (SBA). Comparison with FY 2006 is challenging due to the disaster loans added to the SBA's authority in FY06. Tech Daily quotes an SBA official as saying the FY07 request "basically would be a straight-line" comparison to the FY 2006 appropriation. Funding levels for selected activities identified as "core programs" in the agency's press release include: Small Business Development Centers (SBDC) - $87 million (0.98 percent decrease) to support the 63 Lead SBDCs with a network of more than 1,100 service locations around the country that provide management assistance to current and prospective small business owners. Women's Business Centers (WBC) - $12 million (2.76 percent decrease) to support a national network of more than 100 resource centers located throughout the U.S. to promote the growth of women-owned businesses. This is accomplished through programs that address business training and technical assistance and provide access to credit and capital, federal contracts, and international trade opportunities. Service Corps of…

With state revenues posting a surplus, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush used his 2006-07 budget proposal to make his largest request yet to support efforts to diversify the state's economy through technology-based economic development (TBED). In total, the budget provides $630 million for several new research-focused initiatives, business recruitment funds, and other economic development programs. The governor's funding recommendations focus on growing science and technology-based jobs and industries, investments in the space industry, and developing funds to support innovative start-up companies, and include: $200 million to create the 21st Century Technology, Research and Scholarship Enhancement Act, which includes: $100 million to create new and expand existing university-based Centers of Excellence around key sectors of the economy, allowing for universities and their research partners to leverage public and private dollars to build the infrastructure to support R&D projects; and, $100 million to create a World Class Scholars Program to give universities the financial resources needed…