House Science Committee Hears Details of Bush's FY
02 Civilian R&D Budget
April 25, 2001
On Wednesday April 25, 2001, the House Science Committee
convened a hearing on the proposed civilian R&D; budget
for FY 02. The witnesses were NSF Director Rita Colwell,
NASA Administrator Daniel Goldin, Acting Director
of the Department of Energy's Office of Science James
Decker and NOAA Acting Administrator Scott Gudes.
The hearing focused on the agencies' proposed budgets,
interagency collaborations and investment priorities.
Chairman Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY) started the session
by voicing his concern over the agencies' slim budgets--a
sentiment that was echoed by nearly all of the members
of the Committee.
In their opening statements the witnesses outlined
their agencies' priorities as set in the President's
FY 02 budget proposal. After thanking Boehlert and
the Committee for their long-term support, Colwell
noted that the $4.47 billion NSF request is 1.3 percent
over last year's budget. Highlights include initiating
math and science partnerships towards improving K-12
education, raising graduate fellowship stipends and
an increased investment in interdisciplinary mathematics
research. Furthermore, NSF bolsters funding in four
priority areas; Biocomplexity in the Environment,
IT research, Nanotechnology and Learning for the 21st
Century. Colwell concluded by saying that "this budget
lays the foundation for sustained increases over the
long term."
The question and answer session started with all panelists
agreeing on the power and effectiveness of interagency
collaborations. Goldin emphasized the importance of
informal, personal interactions to the success of
any such effort. Throughout the session, nanotechnology
was cited as an area of effective interagency cooperation.
Rep. Nick Smith (R-MI) suggested looking beyond federal
agencies and including universities, industries and
foreign countries in working collaborations.
Turning to NSF's Math and Science Partnerships Initiative
(MSPI), Boehlert and Smith sought details on the redirection
of $110 million to fund the $200 million program.
Colwell explained that MSPI gives NSF the opportunity
to examine our systemic education efforts, focus on
the best practices and use them in this new program.
Colwell also assured Reps. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA) and
Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) that the new education
effort would specifically seek to benefit women and
underrepresented minorities.
Beyond education, NSF research programs also generated
the interest of the Committee. Woolsey voiced her
concern that a 1.3 percent increase might jeopardize
the progress of science in Antarctica. Colwell replied
that the NSF will maintain the momentum of Antarctic
research and that the weather had been the biggest
detriment towards updating the South Pole infrastructure.
Rep. Constance Morella (R-MD) then asked about the
blue ribbon panel exploring the idea of bringing NSF's
astronomy programs to NASA. Goldin said that astronomy
has been a fruitful area of collaboration between
NASA and NSF and that it was the independent panel's
job to decide any changes in jurisdiction. Finally,
Rep. Brian Baird (D-WA) aired his support for NSF
investments in the social sciences and the National
Ecological Observatory Network project, which was
absent from the FY 02 budget.
In closing Boehlert asked witnesses to detail their
priorities for additional congressional appropriations.
Colwell replied that NSF sees need in increasing stipends
for postdoctoral fellows and graduate students, supporting
mathematics research and increasing overall grant
size and duration to maximize returns from the federal
investment. Future NSF plans also include a focus
on social, behavioral and economic sciences research.
While Boehlert and colleagues pledged to rally Congress
for increased funding for research and education,
Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) cautioned that smart
decisions, effective collaborations and accountability
must come hand in hand with any additional money.
See also:
|
