[Budget of the United States Government]
[VI. Investing in the Common Good: Program Performance in Federal Functions]
[15. General Science, Space, and Technology]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]
15. GENERAL SCIENCE, SPACE, AND TECHNOLOGY
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Table 15-1. FEDERAL RESOURCES IN SUPPORT OF GENERAL SCIENCE, SPACE, AND TECHNOLOGY
(In millions of dollars)
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Estimate
Function 250 1998 -----------------------------------------------------------
Actual 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
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Spending:
Discretionary Budget Authority.......... 17,950 18,775 19,202 19,408 19,372 19,339 19,335
Mandatory Outlays:
Existing law.......................... 44 72 78 68 34 34 34
Tax Expenditures:
Existing law............................ 2,385 1,985 1,490 1,035 855 795 765
Proposed legislation.................... ........ 311 933 656 281 133 53
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Science and technology are principal agents of change and progress,
with over half of the Nation's economic productivity growth in the last
50 years attributable to technological innovation and the science that
supported it. Appropriately enough, the private sector makes many
investments in technology development. The Federal Government, however,
also plays a role--particularly when risks are too great or the
potential return for companies is too long-term.
Within this function, the Federal Government supports areas of
cutting-edge science, through the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA), the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the
Department of Energy (DOE). The activities of these agencies contribute
to greater understanding of the world in which we live, ranging from the
edges of the universe to the smallest imaginable particles, and to new
knowledge that may or may not have immediate applications to improving
our lives. Because the results of basic research are unpredictable, the
challenge of developing performance goals for this area is formidable.
Each of these agencies funds high-quality research and contributes to
the Nation's cadre of skilled scientists and engineers. To continue this
tradition, and as a general goal for activities under this function:
At least 80 percent of the research projects will be reviewed
by appropriate peers and selected through a merit-based
competitive process.
Another important Federal role is to construct and operate major
scientific facilities and capital assets for multiple users. These
include telescopes, satellites, oceanographic ships, and particle
accelerators. Many of today's fast-paced advances in medicine and other
fields rely on these facilities. As general goals:
Agencies will keep the development and upgrade of these
facilities on schedule and within budget, not to exceed 110
percent of estimates.
In operating the facilities, agencies will keep the operating
time lost due to unscheduled downtime to less than 10 percent
of the total scheduled possible operating time, on average.
The budget proposes $19.2 billion to conduct these activities. The
Government also stimulates private investment in these activities
through over $1 billion a year in tax credits
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and other preferences for research and development (R&D).
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
The budget proposes $12.5 billion for NASA activities in this
function. NASA serves as the lead Federal agency for research and
development in civil space activities, working to expand frontiers in
air and space to serve America and improve the quality of life on Earth.
NASA pursues this vision through balanced investment in four
enterprises: Space Science; Earth Science; Space Transportation
Technology; and Human Exploration and Development of Space.
Space Science programs, for which the budget proposes $2.2 billion,
are designed to enhance our understanding of how the universe was
created, how stars and planets evolve and die, and the possible
existence of life beyond Earth. In the past year, NASA spacecraft
achieved several important watershed events in Space Science including
the first direct image of a planet outside the solar system, taken by
the Hubble Space Telescope, and a confirmed discovery of ice on the moon
by the Lunar Prospector mission.
NASA Space Science will successfully launch its three planned
spacecraft--the Thermosphere, Ionosphere, and Mesosphere
Energetics and Dynamics mission; the Imager for Magnetopause-
to-Aurora Global Exploration, and the High Energy Solar
Spectroscopic Imager--within 10 percent of their schedules and
budgets.
NASA Space Science will develop innovative new technologies to
reduce the cost of future spacecraft by delivering the first
engineering model of a standard, miniaturized integrated
avionics system, to be used for the Europa Orbiter and future
missions.
The NASA Advisory Council will rate all near-term Space
Science objectives as being met or on schedule. Examples of
objectives include: investigate the composition, evolution and
resources of Mars, the Moon, and small solar system bodies
such as asteroids and comets; identify planets around other
stars; and observe the evolution of galaxies and the
intergalactic medium.
Earth Science programs, for which the budget proposes $1.5 billion,
focus the effects of natural and human-induced changes on the global
environment through long-term, space-based observation of Earth's land,
oceans, and atmospheric processes. This year, NASA's Tropical Rainfall
Measuring Mission provided new insights that will enable weather
forecasters to more accurately predict where and when a hurricane will
hit land.
NASA Earth Science will successfully launch its three planned
spacecraft--the Advanced Cavity Radiometer Irradiance Monitor,
the Vegetation Canopy Lidar (VCL) mission, and a technology
validation mission to reduce the costs of future Landsat
missions--within 10 percent of their schedules and budgets.
NASA Earth Science will double the volume of precipitation,
land surface, and climate data it archives from its missions
compared to 1998, increase the number of products delivered
from its archives by 10 percent, and make the data available
to users within five days.
NASA's Advisory Council will rate all near-term Earth Science
objectives as being met or on schedule. Examples of objectives
include: observe and document land cover and land use change
and impacts on sustained resource productivity; and understand
the causes and impacts of long-term climate variations on
global and regional scales.
Space Transportation Technology programs, for which the budget
proposes $240 million, work with the private sector to develop and test
experimental launch vehicles that reduce the cost of access to space.
The X-33 program will begin flight testing in 2000 to
demonstrate technologies that are traceable to the mass
fraction and operability required for future reusable launch
vehicles (including 48-hour surge turnarounds and seven day
routine turnarounds with a 50-person ground crew).
The X-34 program will continue flight testing in 2000 to
demonstrate tech
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nologies key to the operational requirements of future
reusable launch vehicles including high flight rates
(including a flight rate of 25 flights in one year).
Human Exploration and Development of Space (HEDS) programs, for which
the budget proposes $5.6 billion, focus on the use of human skills and
expertise in space. In 1998, HEDS programs supported the successful
launch of four Space Shuttle flights, including one flight to better
understand the functioning of the nervous system in the environment of
space. In November, 1998, assembly of the International Space Station in
orbit began with the joining of the first Russian and American modules.
On the International Space Station, NASA will deploy the U.S.
Laboratory Module, initiate Station-based extra-vehicular
activity capability, and activate a Station-based external
robotic manipulator within performance, schedule and budget
targets.
NASA will ensure that Space Shuttle safety, reliability,
availability and cost will improve, by achieving seven or
fewer flight anomalies per mission, successful on-time
launches 85 percent of the time, and a 12-month flight
manifest preparation time.
NASA will expand human presence and scientific resources in
space by initiating continuous three-person crew presence on
the International Space Station.
National Science Foundation
The budget proposes $3.9 billion in 2000 for NSF. While NSF represents
just three percent of Federal R&D spending, it supports nearly half of
the non-medical basic research conducted at academic institutions, and
30 percent of Federal support for mathematics and science education. In
1998, NSF investments, in conjunction with NIH, led to the discovery
that biological clocks are not just in the brain, but in genes, thereby
prompting the consideration of new strategies for the treatment of
disorders associated with jet lag, shift work, and seasonal depression.
In addition, NSF-funded scientists determined that the years 1997, 1995,
and 1990 were the warmest since 1400 A.D., providing further evidence of
the importance of human influence on the global climate system.
NSF research and education investments are made in three primary
areas:
Research Project Support: Over half of NSF's resources support
research projects performed by individuals, small groups and centers,
and instrumentation grants.
An independent assessment will judge whether NSF's research
investments have lead to important discoveries and new
knowledge and techniques, both expected and unexpected, within
and across traditional disciplinary boundaries. The assessment
will also determine connections between discoveries and their
service to society.
NSF will maintain the percentage of competitive research
grants going to new investigators at a minimum of 30 percent.
Facilities: Facilities such as observatories, particle accelerators,
research stations, and oceanographic research vessels provide the
platforms for research in fields such as astronomy, physics, and
oceanography. About 20 percent of NSF's budget supports large, multi-
user facilities required for cutting-edge research. NSF facilities will
meet the function-wide goals to remain within cost and schedule, and to
operate efficiently.
Education and Training: Education and training activities, accounting
for 19 percent of NSF's budget, revolve around efforts to improve
teaching and learning in science, mathematics, engineering, and
technology at all education levels. Education and training projects
develop curriculum, enhance teacher training, and provide educational
opportunities for students from pre-K through postdoctoral.
Over 80 percent of schools participating in a systemic
initiative program will: 1) implement a standards-based
curriculum in science and mathematics; 2) further professional
development of the instructional workforce; and 3) improve
student achievement on a selected battery of tests, after
three years of NSF support.
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Department of Energy
DOE provides major scientific user facilities and sponsors basic
scientific research in specific fields supporting over 60 percent of
federally-funded research in the physical sciences.
The budget proposes $2.8 billion for DOE science programs, which
include high-energy and nuclear physics, basic energy sciences,
biological and environmental research, fusion energy sciences, and
computational and technology research. These programs support scientific
facilities for high-energy and nuclear physics and fusion energy
sciences and the research performed by the users of the facilities. They
also provide and operate synchrotron light sources, neutron sources,
supercomputers, high-speed networks, and other instruments that
researchers use in fields ranging from biomedicine to agriculture,
geoscience, and materials. These facilities provide the cutting-edge
experimental and theoretical techniques to enable insights into dozens
of applications, and they are available, on a competitive basis, to
researchers funded by NSF, other Federal agencies, and public and
private entities. DOE's facilities will meet the function-wide goals to
remain within cost and schedule, and to operate efficiently. Regular
peer-review assessments will judge whether DOE science programs have
high scientific quality.
Basic Energy Sciences (BES) supports basic research in the natural
sciences for new and improved energy techniques and technologies, and to
understand and mitigate the environmental impacts of energy
technologies.
BES will continue construction of the Spallation Neutron
Source, at cost and timetables as contained in the Critical
Decision II agreement, to provide beams of neutrons used to
probe and understand the properties of materials at an atomic
level. This research leads to better fibers, plastics,
catalysts, and magnets and improvements in pharmaceuticals,
computing equipment, and electric motors.
Computational and Technology Research (CTR) performs long-term
computational and technology research through an integrated program in
applied mathematical sciences, high-performance computing and
communications, information infrastructure, and laboratory technology
research.
CTR will develop advanced computing capabilities,
computational algorithms, models, methods, and libraries, and
advanced visualization and data management systems to enable
new computing applications in science.
Users will judge that computer facilities and networks have
met 75 percent of their requirements.
Biological and Environmental Research (BER) provides fundamental
science to develop the knowledge to identify, understand, and anticipate
the long-term health and environmental consequences of energy
production, development, and use.
BER will complete sequencing of 50 million subunits of human
DNA and provide these to publicly accessible databases.
BER will commence full operation at three Atmospheric
Radiation Measurement sites to provide unique climatological
data.
High Energy and Nuclear Physics (HENP) strives to deepen the
understanding of the nature of matter and energy at the most fundamental
level, as well as understanding of the structure and interactions of
atomic nuclei.
HENP will deliver on the 2000 U.S./DOE commitments to the
international Large Hadron Collider project. HENP facilities will
provide cutting-edge scientific capabilities to further study the
fundamental constituents of matter.
Fusion Energy Sciences (FES) conducts research on the scientific and
technical basis for an economical and environmentally acceptable fusion
energy source.
FES will operate the National Spherical Torus Experiment and
three small, innovative experiments to provide a basic
scientific understanding of fusion concepts.
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Tax Incentives
Along with direct spending on R&D, the Federal Government has sought
to stimulate private investment in these activities with tax
preferences. The current law provides a 20-percent tax credit for
private research and experimentation expenditures above a certain base
amount. The credit, which was extended in 1998, is due to expire on June
30, 1999. The President proposes to extend it for one year. Under
current law, the credit will cost $1.7 billion in 1999 and $1.0 billion
in 2000. The extension will cost $0.3 billion in 1999 and $0.9 billion
in 2000.
A permanent tax provision also lets companies deduct, up front, the
costs of certain kinds of research and experimentation, rather than
capitalize these costs. This tax expenditure will cost $510 million in
2000. Finally, equipment used for research benefits from relatively
rapid cost recovery. The cost of this tax preference is calculated in
the tax expenditure estimate for accelerated depreciation of machinery
and equipment.