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Choose an agency on the bar below to view AGI's analysis of the President's request for key geoscience-related agencies as well as detailed program and account information. Each of the appropriations pages provides a summary table, an overview of the budget request, and congressional action on the agency or department.

The House and the Senate Budget Committees completed non-binding funding baselines, called budget resolutions for broad functions of the federal government that will be used as templates for funding levels for the appropriation committees. Both committees provide increases for research and education to fulfill the authorizations within the America COMPETES Act of 2007, which calls for a doubling of the research budget for the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Office of Science in the Department of Energy and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

The Senate passed their budget resolution (S. Con. Res. 70) by a vote of 51 to 44. The Senate provides $30.536 billion in budget authority for Function 250 (Science, Space and Technology), which is $1 billion more than the President’s request, $7.026 billion for Function 270 (Energy), which is $2.5 billion more than the request, $39.835 billion for Function 300 (Natural Resources and Environment) which is $4.4 billion more than the request, $9.350 billion for Function 370 (Commerce and Housing Credit), which is $4 billion less than the request, $94.7 billion for Function 500 (Education and Training) which is $7 billion more than the request and $313.1 billion for Function 550 (Health, including the National Institutes of Health) which is $16 billion more than the request. In addition, Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) and Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN) submitted an amendment that passed by a voice vote. The amendment adds $600 million to Function 250 in order to keep NSF (provides a $6.9 billion overall budget) and the Office of Science (provides a $4.7 billion overall budget) on a doubling path.

The House passed their budget resolution (H. Con. Res. 312) by a vote of 212 to 207. It complies with the House pay-as-you-go rule that requires all mandatory spending and revenue provisions to be deficit-neutral. The House provides $29.934 billion in budget authority for Function 250 (Science, Space and Technology), which is $500 million more than the President’s request, $4.674 billion for Function 270 (Energy), which is $1.2 billion more than the request, $38.651 billion for Function 300 (Natural Resources and the Environment), which is $3 billion more than the request, $10.818 billion for Function 370 (Commerce and Housing Credit), which is $3 billion less than the request, $95.235 billion for Function 500 (Education and Training) which is $7.3 billion more than the request and $306.795 billion for Function 550 (Health, including the National Institutes of Health) which is $9 billion more than the request. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) credited the leadership of Science and Technology Committee Chairman Bart Gordon (D-TN) and the New Democrats for the increases for science, technology and education in the House budget resolution.

The reasons for the increases for science, technology and education in the House budget resolution were also explained in a “Sense of the House on the Innovation Agenda and America COMPETES Act”.

The text of the Sense of the House is given below:
“It is the sense of the House that the House should provide sufficient funding so that our Nation may continue to be the world leader in education, innovation and economic growth; last year, Congress passed and the President signed the America COMPETES Act, bipartisan legislation designed to ensure that American students, teachers, businesses, and workers are prepared to continue leading the world in innovation, research, and technology well into the future; this resolution supports the efforts authorized in the America COMPETES Act, providing substantially increased funding above the President’s requested level for 2009, and increased amounts after 2009 in Function 250 (General Science, Space and Technology) and Function 270 (Energy);  additional increases for scientific research and education are included in Function 500 (Education, Employment, Training and Social Services), Function 550 (Health), Function 300 (Environment and Natural Resources), and Function 370 (Commerce and Housing Credit), all of which receive more funding than the President’s budget provides; because America’s greatest resource for innovation resides within classrooms across the country, the increased funding provided in this resolution will support initiatives within the America COMPETES Act to educate tens of thousands of new scientists, engineers, and mathematicians, and place highly qualified teachers in math and science K-12 classrooms; and because independent scientific research provides the foundation for innovation and future technologies, this resolution will keep us on the path toward doubling funding for the National Science Foundation, basic research in the physical sciences, and collaborative research partnerships, and toward achieving energy independence through the development of clean and sustainable alternative energy technologies.” (03/08)

The Budget Process

Below is a diagram of the congressional budget process that first appeared in Following the Budget Process that was published in the March 1996 issue of Geotimes. It is adapted from a diagram developed by the House Budget Committee. Click on the image to open a PDF version.

Sources: American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Institute of Physics, E&ENews Publications, House Committee on Appropriations, Library of Congress, Senate Committee on Appropriations, Washington Post, and the White House Office of Management and Budget.

Please send any comments or requests for information to the AGI Government Affairs Program at govt@agiweb.org.

Contributed by Linda Rowan and Marcy Gallo, AGI Government Affairs Staff.

Last Update April 11, 2008.

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