NCSE Urges Congress to Increase Funding for Environmental Science and Education
The National Council for Science and the Environment (NCSE) urged Congress to increase federal funding for environmental science and education in fiscal year 2007. Federal investments in environmental R&D must keep pace with the growing need to improve the scientific basis for environmental decisionmaking.
In testimony to the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, NCSE recommended substantial increases in funding for the National Science Foundation (NSF), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), and other federal agencies that support environmental science and education. NCSE’s testimony is summarized below and the complete text is available online at www.ncseonline.org/SciencePolicy/.
National Science Foundation. NCSE called upon Congress to appropriate at least $6.02 billion for the National Science Foundation (NSF) in FY 2007, an increase of $439 million or 7.9 percent compared to the current funding level. This growth rate would put NSF on track to double its budget in ten years, a proposal that has been endorsed in the President’s American Competitiveness Initiative, the President’s budget request to Congress, legislation pending before the House and Senate, and a series of recent reports by business and academic organizations. As the NSF budget is doubled, NCSE recommended substantial increases in funding for all fields of science supported by the National Science Foundation.
The National Council for Science and the Environment encouraged Congress to support full and effective implementation of the 2000 National Science Board (NSB) report, Environmental Science and Engineering for the 21st Century: The Role of the National Science Foundation, within the context of doubling the NSF budget. Full implementation of the NSB report will require strong support from Congress and major increases in funding for NSF’s portfolio of environmental research and education.
NSF is phasing out its highly successful priority area in Biocomplexity in the Environment. NSF plans to continue supporting interdisciplinary studies of this type within the structure of its regular programs, and NCSE encouraged Congress to support this plan. In FY 2007, funding for Biocomplexity in the Environment will decline to $42.6 million, a cut of $40.8 million or 48.9 percent compared to FY 2006. After FY 2007, this research portfolio will be referred to as Complexity in Environmental Systems.
NSF’s Major Research Equipment and Facilities Construction (MFEFC) account contains several projects that will advance the environmental sciences. The FY 2007 budget request contains $12.0 million in the MREFC account for initial implementation of the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) and an additional $11.9 million in other accounts for NEON concept and development activities. The budget request for NSF's Major Research Equipment and Facilities Construction account also contains $27.4 million for EarthScope, $42.9 million for the Scientific Ocean Drilling Vessel, and $9.1 million for the South Pole Station Modernization project. Two new starts in the MREFC account are the Alaska Region Research Vessel ($56.0 million) and the Ocean Observatories Initiative ($13.5 million), both of which help fulfill the Administration’s 2004 U.S. Ocean Action Plan, developed in response to the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy. These projects have the potential to generate scientific breakthroughs and transform the environmental sciences. NCSE urged Congress to provide full funding for all of these initiatives.
Even if Congress approves the President’s request to increase the NSF budget by 7.9 percent in FY 2007, real funding for the NSF would still be slightly below the FY 2004 level due to inflation and a budget cut in FY 2005.
U.S. Geological Survey. As a founding member and co-chair of the USGS Coalition, NCSE joined with dozens of other organizations in recommending an appropriation of $1.2 billion for the USGS in FY 2007. This increase would enable the USGS to restore the science cuts proposed in the President’s FY 2007 budget request, accelerate the timetable for deployment of critical projects (e.g., Advanced National Seismic System, National Map, and National Streamflow Information Program), launch critical science initiatives (e.g., multi-hazards pilot initiative, LandSat continuity mission, regular testing for avian influenza in wild birds as part of an expanding detection effort, and increased energy research), and begin to reverse the cumulative effects of the long-term funding shortfall that has left the real funding for the USGS stagnant for the past decade.
The President’s budget request would cut funding for the USGS by $20.6 million or 2.1 percent to $944.8 million. Under the President’s budget request, real funding for the USGS budget would fall to its lowest level since 1996, when the National Biological Service was integrated into the USGS. The USGS budget request proposes two large program cuts that are of special concern to NCSE. First, $22.0 million would be cut from the Mineral Resources program, a devastating 42 percent decrease in funding. Second, the entire $6.4 million budget for the Water Resources Research Institutes, which are located in all 50 states, would be eliminated. These and other proposed budget cuts would adversely affect the ability of the USGS to achieve its mission.
NCSE called on Congress to restore funding for the proposed budget cuts and to provide new funding to help the USGS meet the tremendous need for science in support of decisionmaking. After years of stagnant funding and absorption of uncontrollable cost increases, the USGS has a large and growing backlog of monitoring and science needs. An appropriation of $1.2 billion would enable the USGS to improve monitoring networks, strengthen partnerships, produce high-quality data, and deliver impartial science that serves the needs of the nation.
Environmental Protection Agency. In order to fulfill its mission, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) needs increased investments in both its intramural and extramural science programs. NCSE urged Congress to appropriate a minimum of $700 million for EPA’s Office of Research and Development (bringing it back to FY 2004 levels), including at least $150 million for EPA’s Science to Achieve Results (STAR) research grants program and $20 million for EPA’s STAR graduate fellowship program. NCSE recommended a total of $900 million for EPA’s Science and Technology account. NCSE also encouraged Congress to restore full funding for the Office of Environmental Education at a level of at least $10 million.
EPA’s research and development portfolio has stagnated while the complexity of environmental challenges continues to grow. In real dollar terms, EPA’s funding of science has been nearly unchanged for more than two decades. Under the President’s budget request for FY 2007, funding for EPA’s R&D portfolio would fall to its lowest level since 1987. EPA’s R&D portfolio would be cut by $43 million or 7.1 percent to $557 million, after a similar cut in FY 2006. Funding for most EPA research areas would decline. If EPA’s FY 2007 budget proposal is enacted, funding for the Office of Research and Development would $90 million or 14 percent below its peak funding level of $646.5 million in FY 2004.
EPA created the extramural Science to Achieve Results (STAR) program as part of a set of reforms in the 1990s. The STAR research grants program expands the scientific expertise available to EPA by awarding competitive grants to universities and independent institutions in order to investigate scientific questions of particular relevance to the agency’s mission. The National Academies issued a laudatory report, The Measure of STAR, which concludes that the program supports excellent science that is directly relevant to the agency’s mission. It says, “The STAR program should continue to be an important part of EPA’s research program.”
Funding for the STAR program has been cut repeatedly over the past several years. The FY 2007 request for the STAR research grants program is $65.3 million, which is 38 percent below the FY 2004 request of $104.7 million and 24 percent below the FY 2004 enacted level. NCSE proposed that the STAR research budget be increased to $150 million, which would allow expansion of areas and scientists supported and would send a signal that Congress is serious about science for environmental decisionmaking.
EPA created the STAR graduate fellowship program to ensure a strong supply of future environmental scientists and engineers. It is the only federal program aimed specifically at students pursuing advanced degrees in environmental sciences. According to the National Academies, “The STAR fellowship program is a valuable mechanism for enabling a continuing supply of graduate students in environmental sciences and engineering to help build a stronger scientific foundation for the nation’s environmental research and management efforts.”
For the fifth consecutive year, the President’s budget request has proposed deep cuts in the STAR graduate fellowship program. Congress restored full funding in each previous year. In FY 2007, the President’s budget request would cut funding by 26 percent. The current level of funding is insufficient to allow all students whose applications are rated as excellent to receive fellowships and it is insufficient to meet national needs for a scientifically trained workforce. NCSE recommended doubling the funding for STAR fellowships to $20 million, which can be accomplished without any decrease in the quality of the awardees.
The President’s FY 2007 budget request proposes no funding for the EPA Office of Environmental Education. NCSE strongly encouraged Congress to restore full funding of at least $10 million to support the congressionally mandated programs administered by this office. These programs provide national leadership for environmental education at the local, state, national and international levels, encourage careers related to the environment, and leverage non-federal investment in environmental education and training programs.
Craig M. Schiffries, Ph.D.
Director of Science Policy
National Council for Science and the Environment
1707 H Street, NW, Suite 200
Washington, DC 20006
Tel: 202-530-5810
Email: policy@NCSEonline.org
