American Geological Institute

Government Affairs Program

Department of Defense Fiscal Year 1999 R&D Funding for the Geosciences: Special Report (7-21-98)

Research Funding Environment

Over the last year, several bills to increase different areas of R&D have been introduced in the House of Representatives and the Senate, but few of these bills contain language to include basic research in DoD. (For background information on legislation for non-defense R&D funding or science research funding in other governmental agencies, visit the Governmental Affairs legislation summaries.) In order to address that deficiency, Senators Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), Rick Santorum (R-PA), and Joseph Lieberman (D-CT) introduced S. 2081, the National Defense Science and Technology Investment Act of 1998, a bill that places emphasis on basic research and technology within the Department of Defense. The bill does not set exact spending goals, instead it allows the Secretary of Defense to advocate for "no less than 2.0 percent over inflation greater than the previous fiscal year's budget request" from FY2000 until FY2008. After being introduced in May, the bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Armed Services.

In early June, the bipartisan Senate Science and Technology Caucus held a roundtable discussion on whether or not the United States will be able to remain at the forefront of technology in the upcoming decades if federal funding for research, development, and technology continues to decrease. The introduction of a comprehensive civilian R&D funding bill, S. 2217, The Federal Research Investment Act, along with the defense-focused S. 2081 indicates that members of Congress are aware of the need to increase federal R&D funding for continued success in the global economy.

Department of Defense Funding in Fiscal Year 1999

In early February, H.R. 4103, the Defense Department FY99 Appropriations bill, was introduced in the House and referred to the House Committee on Appropriations that prepared a report on the committee decisions. After a National Security Subcommittee hearing and a full committee mark-up, the bill was debated on the House floor in late June. The House passed the bill by a vote of 358-61. The Senate received the bill as passed by the House in late June and has placed it on the legislative calendar.

In early June, the Senate Committee on Appropriations passed S. 2132, the Department of Defense Appropriations Act of 1999, with several amendments. The committee report on the bill explains the changes between the Administration's proposal and the committee's decisions. On June 4, the bill was placed on the Senate legislative calendar and is pending floor debate.

The American Association for the Advancement of Science's R&D Budget and Policy Project website contains information on AAAS presentations on the budget, the Administration's budget proposal, and historical trends in the federal R&D funding. The site covers all sciences and federal agencies. There are a few figures specifically dealing with DoD, but generally the website covers budget issues for all science research included in the federal budget.

Defense Research in the Geosciences

Overall funding for environmental science research is increasing, especially with the Administration's focus on environmental programs like the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) and Climate Change Technology Initiative (CCTI), both of which are interagency programs that include DoD.

Interagency programs like USGCRP include projects that do fall under some of DoD research applications. The USGCRP FY99 budget notes that the main purpose of DoD is research in national security needs, but there is $6.7 million from the DoD budget in defense-related projects that complement the research goals of the USGCRP. It is not clear to what extent DoD will be active in the CCTI.

DoD funding for college and university research focuses on computer science and engineering, but does support some research in oceanography and material engineering. Combined funding from DoD, NASA, and Department of Energy accounts for about 47% of graduate funding in "physical sciences," which was neither defined nor itemized.

Several services of DoD fund projects and programs of interest to geoscientists that are listed below with a short description of the projects where available.

• Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the basic research agency for DoD, has a requested FY99 budget of $2.0 billion with nearly all of it going to two major projects: the Next Generation Internet and biological warfare defense. There may be a few projects that recruit geoscientists but not a wide number of positions.
• LabLINK is the DoD search engine for R&D projects and services on the Internet.
• National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA), a part of the U.S. Intelligence Community, is responsible for imagery and geospatial information.
• Strategic Environmental Research Defense Program, an interagency program between DoD, Department of Energy, Environmental Protection Agency and other federal agencies, SERDP develops environmental technologies.
• Army Research Office (ARO) released a summary report that includes FY98-00 projects by academic area. The section on environmental sciences describes the projects and major areas of research for the ARO.
• Army Research Lab, executes "fundamental and applied research to provide the Army the key technologies and analytical support necessary to assure supremacy in future land warfare."
• US Army Corps of Engineers, a service of DoD that manages wetlands and public works at all levels of government.
• Office of Naval Research promotes, coordinates, and executes "the science and technology programs of the United States Navy and Marine Corps."
• Naval Research Lab, the research and development laboratory for basic research on "Navy concerns."
• Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Operational Support Services, a worldwide network of field agencies, serves to provide meteorological and oceanographic information.

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

Contributed by Margaret Baker, AGI Government Affairs Intern.

Last updated July 21, 1998

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