Senate Moves C-J-S Forward

Posted on April 19, 2016April 20, 2016

Today, the Senate Subcommittee on Commerce-Justice-Science approved its $56.3 billion FY 2017 legislation on a bipartisan voice vote, boosting the spending allocation by 1 percent over current levels. The full bill text is expected to be released when the legislation is marked up by the full committee Thursday.

Overall, the bill would provide a $71 million boost, to $9.3 billion, for the Department of Commerce, and a $156 billion increase, to $29.2 billion, for the Justice Department. NASA would receive a tiny increase of $21 million to $19.3 billion. The National Science Foundation would receive a $46 million increase to $7.5 billion. The Census Bureau, an agency of the Commerce Department, would receive an increase of $150 million as it prepares for the decennial census in 2020.

NIST

$974 million for NIST, $10 million above the FY2016 enacted level, to strengthen the U.S. cybersecurity posture through cutting-edge research and development, expand opportunities in the areas of advanced manufacturing, and continue promotion of the highest-quality standards to maintain fairness in the marketplace.
25 million for the National Network for Manufacturing Innovation (NNMI), which supports private sector efforts in advanced manufacturing by establishing industry-driven institutes through open competition.

NOAA

$5.7 billion for NOAA, a $33.5 million increase above the FY2016 enacted level for core NOAA operations including: ocean monitoring; fisheries management; coastal grants to states; aquaculture research; and severe weather forecasting.
The bill provides full funding for NOAA’s flagship weather satellites, which are critical for accurate weather warnings to save lives and protect property. Funding for NOAA continues to target new areas of investment for fisheries management, including the testing and implementation of new technologies and management schemes to expand opportunities for American commercial and recreational fishermen.
This bill provides $383 million to continue construction of two new polar ‘follow-on’ satellites and $1.5 billion for NOAA’s legacy JPSS and GOES weather satellites. Polar satellites provide 85 percent of the data used to forecast the weather and are a vital component of Americans’ personal, property and economic security.

NASA

$19.3 billion for NASA, $21 million over the FY2016 enacted level and $1 billion above the FY2017 NASA budget request, to support the human and robotic exploration of space, fund science missions that enhance the understanding of the Earth, the solar system, and the universe, and support fundamental aeronautics research.
$2.15 billion for the Space Launch System (SLS), which is $150 million above the FY2016 enacted level and $920 million above the request. The SLS is the nation’s launch vehicle that will enable humans to explore space beyond current capabilities. The funding maintains the current schedule for the first launch of SLS, and provides $300 million in critical funding for upper stage engine work for future crewed missions in 2021 and beyond.
$1.3 billion for the Orion crewed spacecraft, $30 million above the FY2016 enacted level and $247 million above the request, to enable a crewed launch in 2021. Orion is the NASA-crewed vehicle being designed to take astronauts to destinations farther than ever before, including Mars.
$5.4 billion for Science, $194 million below the FY2016 enacted level and $92.5 million above the request. This funding encompasses missions from the Earth to the Moon, throughout the solar system, and the far reaches of the universe.
$1.18 billion, the same as the request, to further develop a domestic crew launch capability. Once developed and fully tested, these vehicles will help end the United States’ reliance on Russia for transporting American astronauts to and from the International Space Station.
$687 million for Space Technology, the same as the FY2016 enacted level and $4.1 million below the request. Funding is included to advance projects that are early in development that will eventually demonstrate capabilities needed for future space exploration.

NSF

$7.5 billion for NSF, maintaining the FY2016 enacted level. Funding is provided for basic research across all scientific disciplines to support the development of effective Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics [STEM] programs and to grow the next generation of scientists.
$159 million is provided for the design and construction of three Regional Class Research Vessels (RCRV) instead of the two RCRVs, as proposed by NSF. By having three regional ships, the Gulf of Mexico and the East and West coasts will be able to have their own dedicated RCRV to maximize research time in each region.

Senate Moves Forward on Budget

Posted on April 18, 2016May 16, 2016

Senate Budget Committee Chairman Michael Enzi (R-WY) filed a budget motion in the Senate today to establish discretionary spending topline numbers, known as 302(b)s for FY2017. The move allows appropriations work to begin in earnest as the Seante prepares to take up its Energy-Water measure (S 2804) this week.

Enzi set the budget limits at $551 billion for defense spending and $518.5 billion for nondefense spending, equal to the caps enacted under last year’s bipartisan budget deal. The agreement provided for Enzi to file the toplines between April 15 and May 15 in the absence of a budget resolution, though Enzi has not ruled out considering a complete budget measure later in the year.

Busy Week for Appropriators

Posted on April 18, 2016

House and Senate Appropriations committees show no signs of slowing down as both committees announced their intended schedules for the week. The Senate Appropriations Committee has announced subcommittee and full committee markup of FY 2017 Commerce, Science and Justice Appropriations bill, which funds federal research agencies including the National Science Foundation and NASA. Also hearings have been announced for the Senate Appropriations Interior Subcommittee will hold a hearing on EPA, and Defense Subcommittee hearing on innovation and research.

The House Appropriations Committee has announced full committee markups of the FY 2017 Agriculture and Energy & Water bills, which went through subcommittee markup last week, as well as discretionary allocations.

Meanwhile, there is no clarity in the House as to when a FY 2017 Budget maybe expected, despite the statutory deadline being last Friday.

Appropriators Move Forward

Posted on April 15, 2016

Appropriators from both chambers of Congress advanced several of the annual spending bills needed to finance government agencies for the fiscal year that begins the first of October, but plenty of roadblocks could derail the process at any time. That includes the fact that Republican House leaders say they’re not giving up on getting a budget resolution adopted, even with the statutory deadline fast approaching on Friday and their party’s conservative bloc showing no signs of yielding to the higher levels of the last budget agreement. The House is expected to give itself an extension on the budget deadline, since no agreement has been reached.

The House Appropriations Committee approved by voice vote their Military Construction-VA bill, while two of its subcommittees advanced the Agriculture and Energy & Water bills. Similarly, the Senate, which normally waits on House-passed bills, is acting quickly on its own versions of FY 2017 measures. Thursday, the Senate Appropriations Committee marked up its own versions of the Military Construction-VA and Energy & Water bills, which were approved by its subcommittees Wednesday. The Senate is expected to consider its FY 2017 Energy-Water bill on the floor next week.

Energy & Water Appropriations Measures Move Forward

Posted on April 13, 2016April 13, 2016

Today, both the House and Senate Appropriations Committees approved their respective FY 2017 Energy and Water Appropriations bills.

This morning, the House Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee passed by voice vote the FY2017 Energy and Water Appropriations bill. The bill will now be referred to the full House Appropriations Committee for consideration. The FY2017 Energy and Water Appropriations bill funds the Department of Energy’s Office of Science at $5.4 billion, which is an increase of $53 million, or 1 percent above FY2016 enacted level of $5.347 billion. The bill funds ARPA-E at $305.8 million, which is an increase of $14.8 million, or 5.1 percent above FY2016 enacted level of $291 million.

This afternoon, the Senate Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee approved by voice vote its FY 2017 spending bill providing $37.5 billion for the Department of Energy and water programs. The measure includes $6 billion for the Army Corps of Engineers, $12.9 billion for nuclear security programs and $1.14 billion for the Bureau of Reclamation, according to a committee summary.

The Senate bill totals $37.5 billion, which is $355 million above FY2016 enacted funding levels and $261 million above the President’s FY 2017 request. During his opening statement, Subcommittee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-TN) stressed the importance of doubling funding for basic energy research. The FY2017 Energy and Water Appropriations bill funds the Department of Energy’s Office of Science at $5.4 billion, which is $53 million, or a 1 percent increase over FY2016 enacted funding levels ($5.347 billion). This is the same amount of funding the Office of Science received in the House Energy and Water Appropriations bill that was marked-up earlier today.

The Senate proposal eliminates funding for the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER). Both Chairman Alexander and Ranking Member Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) were in agreement on the elimination of this program. Chairman Alexander remarked that the elimination of funding for ITER would save $125 million for investment in other areas. Ranking Member Feinstein said that continued funding of ITER would threaten domestic fusion programs and the Army Corp of Engineers.

The bill funds ARPA-E at $292 million, which is consistent with the amount of funding it received in the House Energy and Water Appropriations bill. The bill also funds exascale computing at $285 million.

The measure is scheduled for full committee consideration Thursday and is expected to reach the Senate floor next week.