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The Administration’s FY 2006 budget request for the Department of Education (ED) is $56 billion, a 0.9 percent decrease ($529.6 million) from the FY 2005 appropriation.

The Administration's FY 2006 budget request for the Department of Energy (DOE) is $23.4 billion, or $475.4 million (2 percent) less than the FY 2005 request. The decrease is largely absorbed by DOE's Environment budget which, at $7.34 billion, reflects a 6.4 percent decrease over FY05.

The $642 billion FY 2006 budget for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) reflects an increase of $58 billion over FY 2005, most of which occurs in mandatory spending programs such as Medicare. Discretionary portions of the HHS FY06 budget total $67.2 billion, a decrease of 1 percent from FY05.

The FY 2006 discretionary budget request for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is $34.15 billion, 6.6 percent above the comparable enacted FY 2005 appropriation. In FY06, DHS seeks to consolidate the research, development, test and evaluation (RDT&E) activities within the DHS Science and Technology (S&T) Directorate.

Big H, little u, little d may provide the most apt description of the priorities in the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) FY 2006 request, as cuts to the economic development programs are deep. Housing advocates may not entirely agree with that summation as the agency overall takes an 11 percent cut to total $28.51 billion for FY06; however, nearly every major initiative promoting economic development falls victim to the budget knife.

The total FY 2006 budget request for the Department of Interior, as reported in its Budget in Brief, is $14.958 billion, down 6.7 percent from FY 2005. The discretionary budget appropriation request is $10.76 billion, 1 percent less than FY05. There are two research-related items of potential interest:

The Administration's FY 2006 budget request of $59.5 billion for the Department of Transportation (DOT) is 1 percent higher than the FY 2005 appropriation. DOT's request would be distributed across the department's five key strategic objectives as follows:

The Department of Labor's (DOL) discretionary budget request of $11.5 billion for FY 2006 is 4.4 percent less than the FY 2005 appropriation. The agency's payroll, however, would increase by 169 full-time equivalent positions, according to the budget overview.

There are only a few programs in the Treasury Department that SSTI monitors for the tech-based economic development community. All are slated for termination or phaseout.

The Administration's FY 2006 budget request for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is $7.6 billion, a 5.6 percent decrease from the FY 2005 appropriation. However, the agency's science and technology programs would receive $760.6 million, a 2.2 percent increase over the FY05 appropriation.

A $79 million increase is proposed for EPA homeland security efforts, including:

The Administration's FY 2006 budget request for the National Science Foundation (NSF) is $5.605 billion, a 2.4 percent increase above the FY05 appropriation level, but is still lower than the agency's FY04 appropriation of $5.652 billion.

There are three federally established regional commissions and authorities that are dedicated to improving the economic opportunities within specific geographic regions. Two - the Appalachian Regional Commission and the Delta Regional Authority - are dependent on annual appropriations and are looking at reductions in FY 2006. The Tennessee Valley Authority, the oldest and largest of the three, generates its budget primarily through power generation revenues.

The Administration's $593 million FY 2006 request for the Small Business Administration (SBA) represents a 3 percent decrease from the FY 2005 appropriation. Funding levels for selected activities identified as "core programs" in the agency's press release include:

With the title America Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote Excellence in Technology, Education, and Science Act, it isn’t surprising that S. 761 had 69 cosponsors in the U.S. Senate. The bill’s passage last night by an 88-8 vote by the full chamber sends an even stronger signal that the vast majority of the Senate has heard the message regarding the need for the federal government to be more aggressive in its support for science and technology.

 

Over the last few months, three states have announced new strategies to encourage regional tech-based economic development. Several states have experimented with how best to support or encourage regional TBED in the past, resulting in both successes and failures. In some cases, state sought partnerships at the local level in the creation of new programs while other states took a more hands off approach, such as providing seed funding to create regional technology councils.

 

California accounted for 22.4 percent of the nation’s total industrial R&D in 2004, leading the U.S. with $46.6 billion in total industrial R&D expenditures, according to the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Survey of Industrial Research and Development: 2004. Michigan ($15.2 billion), Massachusetts ($11.8 billion), New Jersey ($11.0 billion), and Texas ($11.0 billion) rounded out the top five.

 

As the 2007 legislative session in Maryland came to a close last week, Gov. Martin O'Malley celebrated an important victory for the future of life sciences with a $10 million increase for stem cell research and the creation of a life sciences advisory board. Gov. O'Malley requested the 66 percent increase during his Jan. 31 State of the State Address (see the Feb. 19, 2007 issue of the Digest).

It’s no secret that research and education are important to a state’s economy, but for many poorer states, they may be even more vital than previously believed. A few recent studies suggest that increasing the number of patents and the education level of residents in a state could be a valuable first step in overcoming persistent poverty.

While the Tucson area is growing rapidly, surpassing one million residents last fall, regional economic development officials are concerned about personal income levels keeping pace with the growth. They argue that a highly-skilled and educated workforce within existing and emerging clusters is imperative to raise per capita personal income and to improve the region’s economic growth along with its burgeoning population.

 

It’s a question that many policymakers and researchers across the world are attempting to answer. A recent paper by Sharon Belenzon and Mark Schankerman, Harnessing Success: Determinants of University Technology Licensing Performance, adds to the growing body of knowledge on the topic, exploring how the differences between universities may impact the income generated by licensing technology.

Please plan on joining us in Baltimore on October 18-19. You can learn firsthand how the Maryland Stem Cell Research Fund successfully secured the increase in funding and how the initiatives are progressing, all while enjoying the view of the gorgeous Inner Harbor (see related story in this Digest).

Gov. John Huntsman, Jr. named Jack Brittain, dean of the University of Utah Business School, vice president in charge of the new Office of Technology Ventures. Brittain, dubbed the "innovation czar," will continue to lead the business school in addition to his new position.

John Maxson, former president of the Illinois Coalition, was named CEO of The Greater North Michigan Avenue Association.