[Budget of the United States Government]
[IV. Preparing For the 21st Century]
[5. Promoting Research]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]
[[Page 95]]
5. PROMOTING RESEARCH
----------------------------------------------------------------------
We have to have a balanced research portfolio, because the research enterprise is increasingly interdependent.
Advances in health care, for example, are often dependent on breakthroughs in other disciplines--such as the
physics needed for medical imaging technology, or the computer science needed to develop more drugs more
rapidly, or to continue the mapping of the human genome.
President Clinton
December 1999
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Investments in scientific discovery and technological development--
both public and private--have driven economic growth and improvements in
the quality of life in America for as long as our Nation has existed. In
the last 50 years, developments in science and technology have generated
at least half of the Nation's productivity growth, creating millions of
high-skill, high-wage jobs and leading to advances in the economy,
national security, the environment, transportation, and medical care.
Federal Government support for science and technology has helped put
Americans on the moon, boosted agricultural productivity, harnessed the
atom, devised more effective treatments for cancers, tracked weather
patterns and earthquake faults, and deciphered the chemistry of life.
Because technological advances are key to progress and economic
growth, in 1993 President Clinton took office committed to expanding
investment in civilian research and development. The President's
economic strategy relied upon the critical element of investing in
people and proposed targeted investments to help the Nation compete in
the global economy and improve our quality of life. In his first year,
the President proposed and secured passage of a research tax credit to
spur additional basic and applied research as well as significant
investments to fund research and development (R&D) in a range of fields.
In 1999, the President established the 21st Century Research Fund for
America, relying upon a coordinated and balanced investment strategy to
provide resources for basic research at the National Institutes of
Health (NIH), the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the Department
of Energy (DOE) and a wide range of applied research activities in areas
such as the environment, agriculture, energy, computers, communications,
and transportation.
The Administration's support for R&D has been essential to the flow of
innovative ideas, which have resulted in everything from the discovery
of the first multi-planet system beyond our own, to unraveling human,
plant, and microbial genomes, a critical step in understanding the
function of genes and in turn, potentially treating and curing diseases
now beyond the reach of medical science. Investments in science and
technology can bring us breakthroughs in the areas of the environment,
health, national security, and more, including, for example: fuel
economies that are double those of today; radical new surgical
techniques that will make procedures far less invasive; a strong defense
that continually hones its technological edge; and, fundamental research
that may provide answers to key basic questions--why cells age and die,
how human beings learn and remember information, and whether there is
life on other planets.
The interdependence of disciplines upon which today's and tomorrow's
scientific breakthroughs rely means that the balanced allocation of
resources is all the more important to research in the 21st Century.
With this budget, the Administration builds significantly upon its
ongoing strategy of balanced investments in science and technology as
established in the 21st Century Research Fund. Today,
[[Page 96]]
balance is often key to scientific discovery, it is increasingly true
that scientific advances in a broad range of areas build upon each
other, with developments in one field providing the building blocks for
others, which in turn serve as the foundation for discoveries in still
other areas. For example, breakthroughs in the field of health often
stem from advances, or a combination of advances, in the fields of
engineering, mathematics, and the physical sciences.
The Science and Technology Initiative: A Bold Course of Strategic Growth
The President's new Science and Technology Initiative builds upon the
Administration's 21st Century Research Fund, a balanced set of
investments in basic and applied research in areas throughout the
Federal Government (see Chart 5-1). In addition to allocating resources
in a balanced manner, the Research Fund serves as an effective tool to
ensure that complementary disciplines are funded consistent with a
balanced portfolio of research activity.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Table 5-1. 21st Century Research Fund
(Budget authority, dollar amounts in millions)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Percent Percent
1993 1999 2000 2001 Change: Change:
Actual Actual Estimate Proposed 1993 to 2000 to
2001 2001
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Health and Human Services:
National Institutes of Health..................... 10,335 15,612 17,813 18,813 +82% +6%
National Science Foundation......................... 2,750 3,672 3,897 4,572 +66% +17%
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
(NASA):
Space Science..................................... 1,770 2,119 2,193 2,399 ........ ........
Earth Science..................................... 996 1,414 1,443 1,406 ........ ........
Aerospace Technology.............................. 884 1,199 984 1,058 ........ ........
Life and Microgravity Sciences.................... 408 264 275 302 ........ ........
-----------------------------------------
NASA Total...................................... 4,058 4,996 4,895 5,165 +27% +6%
Department of Energy (DOE):
Science Programs.................................. 3,066 2,721 2,788 3,151 ........ ........
Solar and Renewable R&D........................... 249 336 315 410 ........ ........
Energy Conservation R&D........................... 346 526 577 660 ........ ........
-----------------------------------------
DOE Total....................................... 3,661 3,583 3,680 4,221 +15% +15%
Department of Defense (DOD):
Basic Research.................................... 1,314 1,068 1,167 1,217 ........ ........
Applied Research.................................. 3,549 3,052 3,415 3,144 ........ ........
-----------------------------------------
DOD Total....................................... 4,863 4,120 4,582 4,361 -10% -5%
Department of Agriculture (USDA):
CSREES Research and Education..................... 433 486 487 469 ........ ........
Economic Research Service......................... 59 54 53 55 ........ ........
Agricultural Research Service..................... 661 794 830 894 ........ ........
Forest Service Research........................... 183 197 203 231 ........ ........
-----------------------------------------
USDA Total...................................... 1,336 1,531 1,573 1,649 +23% +5%
Department of Commerce (DOC):
Oceanic and Atmospheric Research.................. 202 287 301 303 ........ ........
National Institutes of Standards and Technology 364 540 534 559 ........ ........
\1\..............................................
-----------------------------------------
DOC Total....................................... 566 827 835 862 +52% +3%
Department of Transportation (DOT):
Highway Research.................................. 221 468 490 715 ........ ........
Aviation Research................................. 230 150 156 184 ........ ........
-----------------------------------------
DOT Total....................................... 451 618 646 899 +99% +39%
Department of the Interior: U.S. Geological Survey.. 750 797 813 895 +19% +10%
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA):
Office of Research and Development................ 517 562 561 531 ........ ........
Climate Change Technology programs................ ........ 109 103 227 ........ ........
-----------------------------------------
EPA Total....................................... 517 671 664 758 +47% +14%
Department of Education: Research programs.......... 162 289 319 379 +134% +19%
Department of Veterans Affairs: Medical Research.... 232 316 321 321 +38% ........
-----------------------------------------------------------
21st Century Research Fund.......................... 29,681 37,032 40,038 42,895 +45% +7%
Science and Technology Initiative................. ........ ........ ........ 2,857 ........ ........
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Does not include the Manufacturing Extension Partnership.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The Science and Technology Initiative provides a $2.9 billion, or
seven-percent, increase over the 2000 Research Fund total. The goal of
the initiative is to accelerate our scientific progress toward meeting
long-term economic, medical, and national security needs. It supports
major new investments in existing and new research areas. The initiative
will sustain U.S. economic and scientific leadership through key
investments across many fields of science and technology; increase
investments in fundamental, long-term research; help maintain the
balance between health care research and other scientific disciplines;
emphasize university-based research; and increase support for strategic
research priorities.
The Science and Technology Initiative puts special emphasis on high-
priority, long-term basic research, including funding to support
[[Page 98]]
the development of nanotechnology, which is based upon the manipulation
of matter at the atomic level that could result in new technologies as
significant to our economy as was the development of the transistor and
the Internet. For example, nanotechnology offers the promise that
medical science may one day be able to perform surgery with minimally
invasive techniques or detect cancerous tumors when they are only a few
cells in size.
The initiative also funds the development of biobased products and
bioenergy to develop new technologies for products to compete with
transportation fuels and other products made from fossil energy
resources. In addition, it provides significant funding increases for
the ongoing Information Technology R&D program to supplement fundamental
research and advanced supercomputing applications. The initiative also
boosts many new initiatives and on-going programs, including
biocomplexity and work force education at NSF, basic energy sciences at
DOE, solar system exploration and space launch technology at the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), critical
infrastructure protection at the Department of Defense (DOD), and the
advanced technology program at the Department of Commerce (DOC).
In keeping with the Administration's emphasis on civilian R&D
activities, the budget provides an increased share for civilian R&D
investments, now 51 percent of the total and a substantial increase from
42 percent in 1993. (For total Federal R&D funding, see Table 5-2; for
Science and Technology Initiatives highlights, see Table 5-3.) Many of
the key features of the Science and Technology Initiative are described
below.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Table 5-2. Research and Development Investments
(Budget authority, dollar amounts in millions)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Percent Percent
1993 1999 2000 2001 Change: Change:
Actual Actual Estimate Proposed 1993 to 2000 to
2001 2001
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Funding by Agency:
Defense........................................... 38,898 38,850 38,719 38,640 -1% ........
Health and Human Services......................... 10,472 15,797 18,063 18,998 +81% +5%
National Aeronautics and Space Admin.............. 8,873 9,715 9,753 10,035 +13% +3%
Energy............................................ 6,896 6,992 7,091 7,655 +11% +8%
National Science Foundation....................... 2,012 2,702 2,903 3,464 +72% +19%
Agriculture....................................... 1,467 1,645 1,773 1,825 +25% +3%
Commerce.......................................... 793 1,084 1,073 1,152 +45% +7%
Transportation.................................... 613 786 585 731 +19% +25%
Environmental Protection Agency................... 511 670 648 679 +33% +5%
Veterans Affairs.................................. 253 644 655 655 +159% ........
Interior.......................................... 649 500 584 590 -9% +1%
Education......................................... 200 205 233 271 +36% +16%
Other............................................. 1,055 752 664 638 -40% -4%
-----------------------------------------------------------
Total........................................... 72,692 80,342 82,744 85,333 +17% +3%
Funding by R&D Type:
Basic Research.................................... 13,362 17,468 19,027 20,328 +52% +7%
Applied Research.................................. 13,608 15,915 17,193 18,026 +32% +5%
Development....................................... 42,795 44,302 44,071 44,321 +4% +1%
Equipment......................................... \1\ 1,045 1,026 1,137 NA +11%
Facilities........................................ 2,727 1,612 1,427 1,521 -3% +7%
-----------------------------------------------------------
Total........................................... 72,492 80,342 82,744 85,333 +18% +3%
Funding by Civilian Theme:
Basic Research.................................... 11,951 16,340 17,808 19,054 +59% +7%
Applied Research.................................. 9,130 11,551 12,405 13,274 +45% +7%
Development....................................... 7,269 8,522 8,818 8,981 +24% +2%
Equipment......................................... \1\ 745 743 852 NA +15%
Facilities........................................ 1,979 1,135 976 1,112 -1% +14%
-----------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal.......................................... 30,329 38,293 40,750 43,273 +43% +6%
Funding by Defense Theme:
Basic Research.................................... 1,411 1,128 1,219 1,274 -10% +5%
Applied Research.................................. 4,478 4,364 4,788 4,752 +6% -1%
Development....................................... 35,526 35,780 35,253 35,340 -1% ........
Equipment......................................... \1\ 300 283 285 NA +1%
Facilities........................................ 748 477 451 409 -7% -9%
-----------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal.......................................... 42,163 42,049 41,994 42,060 ........ ........
Funding by R&D Share:
Civilian.......................................... 30,329 38,293 40,750 43,273 +43% +6%
Defense........................................... 42,163 42,049 41,994 42,060 ........ ........
-----------------------------------------------------------
Total........................................... 72,492 80,342 82,744 85,333 +18% +3%
-----------------------------------------------------------
Civilian (percent)................................ 42% 48% 49% 51% ........ ........
R&D Support to Universities......................... 11,674 15,118 16,547 17,831 +53% +8%
Merit (Peer) Reviewed R&D Programs.................. NA 23,812 26,021 28,157 NA +8%
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NA = Not Applicable
\1\ Equipment and facilities data were not collected separately in 1993.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Table 5-3. Science and Technology Initiative Highlights
(Budget authority, dollar amounts in millions)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dollar Percent
1999 2000 2001 Change: Change:
Actual Estimate Proposed 2000 to 2000 to
2001 2001
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
National Science and Technology Council Initiatives:
National Nanotechnology Initiative.......................... 247 270 495 +225 +83%
Information Technology R&D.................................. 1,301 1,721 2,315 +594 +35%
Information Technology Initiative (IT\2\)................ ........ 309 823 +514 +166%
Next Generation Internet................................. 105 86 89 +3 +3%
Clean Energy: Biobased Products and Bioenergy............... 195 196 289 +93 +47%
Climate Change Technology Initiative........................ 1,021 1,099 1,432 +333 +30%
Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles................ 235 226 255 +29 +13%
Integrated Science for Ecosystem Challenges................. 630 657 747 +90 +14%
U.S. Global Change Research Program......................... 1,657 1,701 1,740 +39 +2%
Interagency Education Research Initiative................... 30 38 50 +12 +32%
Critical Infrastructure Protection R&D...................... 450 461 606 +145 +31%
Weapons of Mass Destruction Preparedness R&D................ 320 473 501 +28 +6%
National Science Foundation:
Biocomplexity in the Environment............................ 12 50 136 +86 +173%
Work Force in the 21st Century.............................. ........ 72 155 +83 +115%
National Aeronautics and Space Administration:................
Space Launch Initiative..................................... 392 231 290 +59 +26%
Solar System Exploration.................................... 683 801 940 +139 +17%
Department of Energy:
Spallation Neutron Source (SNS)............................. 130 118 281 +163 +138%
National Scientific User Facilities (excluding SNS)......... 1,124 1,124 1,191 +67 +6%
Department of Commerce:
Advanced Technology Program (New Awards).................... 40 51 65 +14 +27%
E-Commerce Research......................................... 7 7 11 +4 +57%
Department of Agriculture:
Climate Change Programs..................................... 52 53 109 +56 +107%
National Research Initiative................................ 119 119 150 +31 +26%
Department of Transportation:
Intelligent Transportation System Initiative................ 177 184 338 +154 +84%
Highway Vehicle Crashworthiness............................. 27 22 43 +21 +95%
R&D Support to Universities................................... 15,118 16,547 17,831 +1,284 +8%
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Strengthening Basic Research and Balancing the Federal Research
Portfolio: Over the last several years, private industry has expanded
its support for research and development, but most of these efforts
focus on bringing new products to market rather than funding the basic
research that can lead to breakthrough applications in a wide range of
fields. By supporting basic research that can provide the foundation for
tomorrow's technologies, the Federal Government can act as a catalyst
for these breakthroughs. Federal investment in basic research increased
by nearly 45 percent from 1993 to 2000, with emphasis on health
research. The budget proposes $20.3 billion to advance a balanced
portfolio in basic research, an increase of $1.3 million, or seven
percent, over 2000.
This initiative builds upon recent gains for the NIH and furthers the
President's commitment to sustained increases in NIH funding. It
provides double the largest annual dollar increase ever for NSF, to
increase support for Administration research priorities and university-
based research. With this initiative, NIH will have grown 82 percent
since 1993 and NSF by 66 percent. This initiative also provides an
increase of $363 million for DOE's science portfolio, providing a much
needed increase for the physical sciences and the user facilities that
serve the entire science community. NASA's space science program would
increase $206 million--nine percent for important basic research
programs that probe the universe and explore nearby planets.
Strengthening University-Based Research: University-based basic
research plays a special role in the development of scientific advances.
The competitive grants process upon which university research relies
fosters innovation and expands scientific frontiers. At the same time,
these research grants provide a training ground for the next generation
of scientists and engineers.
Funding support for universities, provided primarily through NSF, NIH,
and DOD, has grown to roughly $16.5 billion, a 42-percent increase,
since 1993 (see Chart 5-2). The budget proposes $17.8 billion for
university-based research, an increase of $1.3 billion over 2000. NSF
represents nearly four percent of Federal R&D funding, but supports over
50 percent of the Federal non-health basic research conducted at
colleges and universities. By significantly increasing the number and
size of new awards available for non-health university researchers in
2001, the NSF budget also creates incentives to encourage promising
students to pursue careers in science and technology.
[[Page 100]]
Promoting Major Multiagency Research Initiatives: The Science and
Technology Initiative also supports multiagency investments, including
two critical new activities: the National Nanotechnology Initiative and
Biobased Products and Bioenergy, while significantly increasing funding
for Information Technology and continuing support for other key areas.
Nanotechnology Research: The budget proposes a new multiagency
National Nanotechnology Initiative at $495 million--nearly doubling the
level of effort in 2000. The initiative focuses on the manipulation of
matter at the atomic and molecular level, allowing us an unprecedented
chance to study new properties, processes, and phenomena that matter
exhibits at a scale between atoms and molecules and giving us an
unprecedented ability to create new classes of devices as small as or
smaller than a human cell. This research could lead to continued
improvement in electronics/electro-optics for information technology;
higher-performance, lower-maintenance materials for manufacturing,
defense, space, and environmental applications; and, accelerated
biotechnical applications in medicine, health care, and agriculture. Its
application in medical science could lead to radical new surgical
techniques that are far less invasive, and the detection of cancerous
tumors when they are only a few cells in size.
[[Page 101]]
Clean Energy--Biobased products and bioenergy: The budget proposes
$289 million--a $93 million increase--for a new initiative established
to meet the goal of tripling U.S. use of biobased products and bioenergy
as stated by the President in Executive Order 13134 and Memorandum on
Promoting Biobased Products and Bioenergy. The program provides funds
for the research and development of technology that can produce
feedstocks for chemical manufacturing, transportation fuels, and
electricity that would compete with equivalent products made from fossil
energy resources. It also funds advanced technology development for
improving crop productivity and harvesting technologies to produce these
raw plant materials from farm and forestry operations at an acceptably
low cost. These new cash crops can boost farm incomes and add good jobs
to rural economies while offsetting oil imports and reducing pollution
and greenhouse gas emissions.
Information Technology (IT) R&D: The IT R&D program funds long-term
research in computing, information, and communication that will result
in the development of increasingly powerful high performance computing
systems, global-scale networking technologies with advanced
capabilities, advances in software development technologies and
applications software, advances in managing and accessing vast
distributed knowledge repositories, and advances in human interface
technologies. Federal investments for these programs are critical to
ensuring America's leadership in an industry that accounts for one third
of our economic growth, creates high-tech, high-wage jobs, and improves
our quality of life. The budget proposes $2.3 billion for this program,
which now formally merges the former High Performance Computing and
Communications (HPCC) program (including the Next Generation Internet)
with the Information Technology initiative (IT\2\). HPCC is a 10-year
old program to research better
[[Page 102]]
supercomputers and networks. IT\2\, introduced in 2000, builds on the
recommendations of the President's Information Technology Advisory
Committee to significantly increase investments in long-term,
fundamental research and advanced computing applications. The merged IT
R&D program provides a $594 million increase above 2000, to build on the
fundamental research proposed in IT\2\.
Climate Change Technology Initiative (CCTI): The budget proposes $1.6
billion for the third year of this effort to promote energy efficiency,
develop low-carbon energy sources, and demonstrate technologies to
reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Of the amount proposed, $1.4 billion is
for R&D on energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies, carbon
sequestration, extension of the useful life of existing nuclear plants,
and development of highly efficient fossil fuel technologies. The
remainder, $0.2 billion, funds tax credits to stimulate the adoption of
energy-efficient technologies in buildings, homes, industrial processes,
vehicles, and power generation.
Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles (PNGV): The budget
proposes $255 million--$29 million more than in 2000. This cost-sharing
partnership with industry aims to produce attractive, affordable
vehicles capable of meeting all applicable emission and safety
requirements while achieving a fuel economy up to three times higher
than today's cars. Current priorities include development of highly
efficient fuel cells and direct injection engines that meet stringent
new air quality standards, efficient energy storage systems, power
electronics, batteries, and lightweight materials.
Integrated Science for Ecosystem Challenges (ISEC): The budget
proposes $747 million--$90 million more than in 2000--to support
environmental research to improve our understanding of factors that
result in ecosystem decline and biodiversity loss and to design more
effective options to prevent further decline. In 2001, ISEC will address
four priority areas: invasive species, biodiversity and species decline;
harmful algal blooms, hypoxia and eutrophication; habitat conservation
and ecosystem productivity; and information management, monitoring, and
integrated assessments.
Fundamental Health Research: The budget reflects the Administration's
continued focus on R&D to protect human health. (See Chapter 3
``Strengthening Health Care'' for more detail.) It funds research
programs at NIH that have made the United States the world's leader in
medical research. It also supports the development of vaccines for
diseases like AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis, which kill more than
seven million people each year, research on cancer and diabetes, efforts
to reduce the demand for illicit drugs, a food safety initiative, and
the fight against emerging infectious diseases. To implement the
President's Directive on emerging infectious diseases, we have stepped
up research, surveillance, and response by calling for a nearly 15-
percent increase for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's
emerging infections programs.
Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) Preparedness and Critical
Infrastructure Protection R&D: The budget provides $501 million, a $28
million increase, for WMD preparedness R&D to enhance our efforts in
preventing, detecting, and responding to the release of weapons of mass
destruction, and to more effectively manage the health, environmental,
and law enforcement consequences should such an incident ever occur. The
budget also includes $606 million, a $145 million increase, for Critical
Infrastructure Protection R&D to improve the safety and security of the
Nation's Critical Infrastructure--the power, communications,
information, transportation, and other systems on which our economy and
quality of life depend. These funds will both increase Federal research
and also establish the Institute for Information Infrastructure
Protection to work collaboratively with industry, non-profit research
institutions and academia on key information infrastructure protection
technologies that private corporations would not otherwise address.
Education Technology and the Interagency Education Research
Initiative: As part of the Administration's commitment to bridge the
digital divide, the budget proposes $903 million--$137 million more than
in 2000--for education technology, to ensure that America's classrooms
are equipped with modern computers and connected to the Internet, that
educational software is effectively inte
[[Page 103]]
grated in the curriculum, and that teachers are ready to use and teach
with technology (see Chapter 9, ``Strengthening the American
Community''). This includes Next Generation Technology grants to develop
education technology for the next century such as computer use of speech
understanding to help every student learn to read, or interactive
simulations that allow students to ``learn by doing.'' Federal R&D
investments such as the Interagency Education Research Initiative
(IERI)--a Department of Education, NSF, and NIH's National Institute of
Child Health and Human Development effort to support research to improve
student learning and the development and promotion of the use of best
practices in our schools. IERI is funded at $50 million, a $12 million
increase above 2000.
U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP): The budget proposes $1.7
billion for the USGCRP in 2001. This program will expand our
understanding of changes in the Earth's environment, humanity's
influence upon global change, and the impact of change upon society and
the environment. USGCRP provides useful information for making decisions
on environmental issues such as climate and ecosystem change, ozone
depletion, and land use planning. In 1999, the program increased
attention on the role of vegetation in the processes by which carbon
moves between the atmosphere, the oceans, and the land.
Investments at Federal Agencies
National Institutes of Health (NIH): The budget continues its
commitment to biomedical research by providing an increase of $1 billion
over the 2000 level for NIH. This funding level will support research on
diabetes, brain disorders, cancer, genetic medicine, disease prevention
strategies, biomedical information and technology--including
nanotechnology--and development of an AIDS vaccine. NIH's highest
priority continues to be investigator-initiated, peer-reviewed research
project grants. In the last year, NIH-supported researchers, who are
leading the international effort to sequence the human genome, achieved
a scientific milestone by unraveling for the first time the genetic code
of an entire human chromosome. This achievement is the first step in the
genetic revolution which could profoundly alter our approaches to
preventing, treating, and curing disease.
National Science Foundation (NSF): The budget provides $4.57
billion--17 percent more than in 2000--for NSF, whose broad mission is
to promote science and engineering research and education across all
fields and disciplines. In 1999, NSF-funded scientists reported the
first complete DNA sequence of a plant chromosome, which will provide
new information about chromosome structure, evolution, intracellular
signaling and disease resistance in plants. The budget provides $740
million for NSF's lead role in IT R&D, focusing on long-term computer
science research and providing scientists access to world-class
supercomputers. The budget also provides $217 million for the National
Nanotechnology Initiative. The budget increases funding for
biocomplexity research by $86 million, or 173 percent, over 2000 to
promote understanding of the complex biological, physical, chemical, and
social interactions within and among the Earth's ecosystems. The budget
also increases funding for the agency's 21st Century Work Force
initiative by $83 million or 115 percent over 2000, focusing on the
science of learning and enhancing educational performance and broadening
participation in the science, mathematics, engineering, and technology
enterprise.
Department of Energy (DOE): The budget provides $3.15 billion, a 13-
percent increase over 2000, for DOE's research programs in physics,
chemistry, biology, materials, environmental, and computer sciences. The
budget provides for the construction of new scientific facilities,
including the Spallation Neutron Source and the Large Hadron Collider
(in partnership with other countries), and an additional $30 million to
increase support for DOE's National User Facilities. During this
Administration, DOE-funded research has produced more than 5,000 new
Ph.D. scientists. In 1995, researchers at Fermilab announced their
discovery of the top quark, the last fundamental particle to be
discovered. In the last seven years, 10 scientists have won Nobel Prizes
in Chemistry or Physics for their DOE-supported research. In 2001, the
budget will further strengthen the DOE research community by increasing
support for research in materials science, the life sciences, and
computational sciences, along with increased support
[[Page 104]]
for the scientific user facilities that serve the entire community
supported by the 21st Century Research Fund.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA): The budget
provides $14.0 billion for new and ongoing NASA activities, a three-
percent increase over 2000. NASA's budget includes a 48-percent increase
for space transportation, including $290 million for a five-year, $4.5
billion Space Launch Initiative to support a competition in 2005 that
will enable NASA to more safely meet its human space flight needs at
lower cost on commercial launch vehicles. This initiative fulfills a
1994 National Space Transportation Policy guideline calling for
government and private sector decisions by the end of this decade on
development of an operational, next-generation reusable launch system.
The budget provides $2.4 billion, a nine-percent increase over 2000, for
Space Science. This includes $940 million, a 17-percent increase, for
enhanced solar system exploration, which supports revolutionary
technologies and systems for a sustained presence at key research sites
in our solar system that will greatly enhance the science return and
resiliency of future missions. The budget also includes $256 million for
investments to help ensure continued safe Space Shuttle operations, a
37-percent increase over 2000. Finally, the budget supports a wide range
of other investments, including: continued deployment of the
International Space Station within cost guidelines, ongoing development
of the first series of Earth Observing System satellites for Earth
Science, and key Aero-Space Technology goals to improve aviation safety,
air traffic congestion, and aircraft noise and emissions.
Department of Defense (DOD): The budget funds $1.2 billion in basic
research, $3.1 billion in applied research, and $3.2 billion in advanced
technology development, providing options for new defense strategies and
laying the groundwork for procuring next-generation defense systems.
With its emphasis on the physical sciences, DOD's research and
development investments are vital to the Nation's engineering,
mathematics, and computer science efforts. The budget proposes $116
million to conduct Advanced Concept Technology Demonstrations, which
bring technology experts and military operators together early in
technology system development to eliminate communication barriers,
improve management of development programs, and address key warfighter
challenges. The budget also supports a major role in Information
Technology R&D, the Nanotechnology Initiative, counterproliferation R&D
and protecting against 21st Century threats. Recent DOD technological
accomplishments include two developments with life-saving potential: a
hemostatic dressing developed for containing previously uncontrollable
hemorrhages and a method to extend the shelf life of stored blood to 10
weeks.
Department of Agriculture (USDA): The budget provides $894 million
for the operating programs of the Agricultural Research Service, $64
million more than in 2000, and $55 million for the Economic Research
Service, which together conduct a broad range of food, farm, and
environmental research programs. The budget also provides $469 million
for grants for the research and education programs of the Cooperative
State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES), including
$150 million for the National Research Initiative (NRI), a 26-percent
increase over the 2000 level. CSREES provides grants for agricultural,
food, and environmental research, and for higher education. NRI
competitive research grants improve the quality and increase the
quantity of USDA's farm, food, and environmental research. The USDA
budget includes increases for high-priority research in areas such as
bioenergy and bioproduct human nutrition, food safety, climate change,
air and water quality, food quality protection, agricultural genomes and
genetics, sustainable ecosystems, carbon sequestration, and ISEC
activities, including invasive species, emerging and exotic diseases,
and the Forest Service's Forest and Rangeland Research program. Under
the Agricultural Research Extension and Education Reform Act of 1998,
$120 million in mandatory funding also will be available in 2001.
Department of Commerce: In the National Institute of Standards and
Technology (NIST), the budget provides $176 million--a 23-percent
increase over 2000--for NIST's Advanced Technology Program to promote
rigorously competitive, cost-shared R&D partnerships that develop high-
risk technologies promising
[[Page 105]]
widespread economic benefits. The budget provides $331--a 17-percent
increase over 2000--for research at NIST's Measurement and Standards
Laboratories. The NIST labs work with industry to develop and apply
technology, measurements and standards. In 1999, NIST built upon its
previous breakthroughs in quantum physics and discovered a new type of
matter by chilling atoms and manipulating them into a novel formation.
This eventually may lead to a better understanding of superconductivity,
resulting in new electronic devices and enormous reductions in the cost
of producing and transmitting electricity. In 2001, NIST will conduct
additional research on nanotechnology and information technology, and
will support a new institute to develop technologies to protect our
national information infrastructure protection. For the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration, the budget provides $303 million for
research to improve understanding of climate change, air quality, and
stratospheric ozone depletion, as well as research to promote economic
growth through efforts in marine biotechnology and environmental
technologies.
Department of the Interior's U.S. Geological Survey (USGS): The
budget provides $895 million--a 10-percent increase over 2000--for
science that supports natural resource management and environmental
decision-making. In 1999, USGS scientists developed effective techniques
to control certain invasive species while reducing impacts to native
species. The 2001 budget supports research and technical assistance on
the needs of land managers and local land-use planners. USGS will use
its mapping, remote sensing, and natural resources monitoring
capabilities to develop new ways to analyze and improve the availability
of natural hazard, earth science, and biological information. This
information will promote local planning and conservation efforts to
protect the most valuable open spaces and critical habitats. The USGS
will also begin to operate the seventh Landsat Earth observing satellite
launched in April 1999. The budget also continues to support research to
enhance understanding of ecosystems, invasive species, and coral reefs.
Work in 2001 contributes to the multi-agency ISEC initiative.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): The budget provides $531
million, a five-percent decrease from 2000, which contained numerous
one-time congressional earmarks, for EPA's Office of Research and
Development (ORD). ORD performs the majority of EPA's research and
provides a sound scientific and technical foundation for environmental
policy and regulatory decision-making. The budget funds research in all
environmental media, and includes funding for EPA's participation
(either by ORD or the Office of Air and Radiation) in crosscutting
initiatives such as USGCRP, CCTI, PNGV, and ISEC, as well as funding for
valuable research projects such as Environmental Technology Verification
(ETV) and the Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (EMAP).
Established by the Administration in 1995, the ETV program has verified
55 environmental technologies and 105 are currently in testing. In the
last year, EMAP has verified annual declines in sulfate levels in the
1990s of up to six percent in the Nation's streams and lakes as a result
of environmental regulations to curb emissions that cause acid rain.
Department of Transportation: The budget proposes a total of $715
million for the Highway Research and Deployment Initiative--a $225
million increase over the 2000 level. These increases will address
activities such as improving the technology for traffic operations and
design, the durability of pavement and bridges, and reducing
transportation crashes and incidents. The budget includes $338 million
for the Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) initiative--a package of
technologies to enhance the safety and efficiency of surface
transportation infrastructure. This ITS total includes an additional
$120 million for continued deployment of integrated ``intelligent
infrastructure,'' such as interactive traffic signals, traveler
information systems, and advanced electronic motor carrier toll
clearance systems in urban and rural areas and the commercial vehicle
industry. The budget also provides $184 million for aviation research
and development, a $28 million increase over the 2000 level. These
increases will address key aviation safety, air traffic congestion,
aircraft noise, and emissions goals in the National R&D Plan for
Aviation.
[[Page 106]]
Department of Veterans Affairs' Medical Research: The budget provides
$321 million--about a third of the Department's overall $1 billion
research program--for clinical, epidemiological, and behavioral studies
across a broad spectrum of medical research disciplines. Among the
agency's top research priorities are improving the translation of
research results into patient care, geriatrics (including end-of-life
care and Alzheimer's disease), and treatment of Parkinson's disease and
Persian Gulf Veterans' illnesses.
Department of Education: The budget proposes a $60 million increase
above 2000 for Department of Education reserach programs, including a
$30 million increase for research, development, and dissemination
activities under the proposed National Institute for Education Research.
This includes a $10 million increase, for a total of $20 million, for
the agency's contribution to the third year of the IERI, a collaborative
effort with NSF and the NIH's National Institute of Child Health and
Human Development. This innovative initiative will continue to support
large-scale research focused on identifying the best approaches to
raising pre-K-12 student achievement and effectively applying the latest
educational technologies. The proposed increase for education research
will also support national research and development centers, field-
initiated studies, ongoing research on comprehensive school reform
models, and new research on the education of language-minority children.