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Category: Energy R&D

The Details Still Aren’t Pretty (Part 2)

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We continue to look through the budget documents released yesterday.

National Science Foundation

As noted yesterday, AI research seems to fare well across the different agencies.  While the Computer Science Directorate seems to be primary beneficiary of that initiative at NSF, other directorates within the Research and Related Activities (R&RA) account at the NSF are slated for cuts in the budget.  In fact, NSF as an agency would receive a cut of 7 percent in FY2021. The total budget for R&RA would be funded at approximately $6.2 billion, a cut of more than $500 below the current appropriated amount.

DOD

With respect to DOD-sponsored research, the Science and Technology accounts, “6.1” through “6.3” accounts, would see an overall decrease of 13.5 percent below the current level.  The Basic Research programs (“6.1” research) would be cut by nearly 11 percent.

DOE

The Office of Science at the Department of Energy would be cut by more than 17 percent while ARPA-E is slated for elimination.

Environmental Science Programs

Not surprisingly, programs in the environmental and climate science arenas would also see cuts.

For example, at the EPA, the Office of Science and Technology would be reduced by 32 percent.  Within the USGS , the Administration has proposed eliminate the Cooperative Research Units and has proposed to fund the Climate Adaptation Science Centers at $9.78 million, which is currently funded at $38.3 million.

 

We will continue to provide further updates.  It is important to keep in mind that the president’s budget being released is the start of a very long process, with Congress having the final say in how the funds are actually appropriated.

 

 

New Energy Secretary Confirmed

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The Senate confirmed yesterday Dan Brouillette as the new Energy Secretary. Brouillette takes over from Rick Perry, whose resignation became effective Sunday evening.  Before being confirmed for his new role, he served under Perry as the Deputy Secretary of Energy.

Read more about the new secretary here and here.

Some Progress Made but Uncertainties Remain

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The Senate Appropriations Committee made some progress yesterday but hurdles still remain in the FY2020 appropriations process.

In a bipartisan manner, the committee reported out the Energy and Water Development bill by a unanimous vote of 31 – 0. Bipartisan support for the bill was expected.  For the most part, research programs supported by the bill saw increases.  These include:

  • Science (total):  $7.215 billion, an increase of $630.0 million above FY2019 level
  • Within Science:
    • Advanced Science Computing Research:  $1.03 billion, an increase of $93.5 million
    • Basic Energy Sciences:  $2.33 billion, an increase of $159.0 million
    • Biological and Environmental Research:  $770.0 million, an increase of $65.0 million
    • Fusion:  $570.0 million in total (increase of $62.4 million) BUT $375.6 million for research, which represents a CUT of $56.4 million below the current level
    • High Energy Physics:  $1.07 billion, an increase of $85.0 million
    • Nuclear Physics:  $736.0 million, a $46.0-million increase
  • ARPA-E:  $428.0 million, an increase of $62.0 million

A copy of the committee report is available here and a copy of the bill text is available here.

At the same time, the committee’s proceedings on the defense bill and the allocations of funding for the 12 individual bills, or the “302(b)s”, were much more controversial and partisan.  Unlike the Energy bill, the defense measure was approved on a party-line vote of 16-15.  Much of conflict between the two sides was over the Trump Administration’s attempt to divert Pentagon funds to build the wall.  The future of this bill remains to be seen.

In terms of the actual contents of the bill, the legislation would fund overall basic research, or “6.1” research, at $2.63 billion, an increase of more than $98 million over current levels.  Applied research, or “6.2” research, would be funded at $5.98 billion, a decrease of $92.7 million.

Broken down further, 6.1 and 6.2 programs would be funded in the following manner:

  • Army 6.1:  $577.0 million, an increase of $70.1 million
  • Army 6.2:  $1.21 billion, an decrease of $377.1 million
  • Navy 6.1:  $682.5 million, a $2.6-million increase
  • Navy 6.2:  $1.12 billion, an increase of $149.9 million
  • Air Force 6.1:  $579.8 million, an increase of $18.4 million
  • Air Force 6.2:  $1.63 billion, an increase of $146.3 million
  • Defense-Wide 6.1:  $788.6 million, a $7.2-million increase
  • Defense-Wide 6.2: $1.977 billion, an $11.8-million decrease

The text of the legislation is available here and the report that accompanies the bill is available here.

Committee Democrats also raised objections to the 302(b) allocations unveiled by the chairman on Tuesday and they offered a counter proposal.  The Democratic alternative was  also defeated 16-15.  The dispute over the allocations could also complicate the appropriations process going forward in the Senate.  At this point, three more subcommittees– Military Construction-Veterans Affairs, Transportation-Housing and Urban Development, and Financial Services– are scheduled to take up their respective bills next week.

With the new fiscal year scheduled to start October 1 and with none of the 12 funding bills signed into law, it is evident that some version of a continuing resolution will be needed to keep the government funded at least on a temporary basis.

 

First “Minibus” Signed Into Law

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As expected, President Trump signed into law earlier today the first “minibus” appropriations package for FY2019, a measure that combines the Energy and Water, Veterans Affairs-Military Construction, and Legislative Brach Appropriations Bills.

Congress and the White House must still agree on nine more bills for FY2019.

First “Minibus” Expected to be Signed Today

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Barring any last minute changes, the first “minibus” spending package for FY2019 is expected to get signed into law today.  The measure combines the Energy and Water, Veterans Affairs-Military Construction, and Legislative Branch appropriations bills.

The Senate cleared earlier this week the Labor-HHS-Education and Defense package, which the House is expected to take up sometime next week.

The sides chambers are also currently negotiating over a four-bill minibus that includes the agriculture, interior, financial services, and transportation-housing bills.