R&D Advocates Laud Obama Budget Outline
Congressional advocates for increased federal research and development funding last week hailed President Barack Obama's budget outline for FY10, which would give the National Science Foundation $7 billion -- up from the Bush administration's FY09 request of $6.8 billion. NSF pays for about 20 percent of all federally supported basic research conducted by U.S. colleges and universities and is targeted for a doubling of its budget over 10 years as part of competitiveness legislation signed into law in August 2007.
Key investments in science, technology, and education can help reenergize the economy and prepare workers for the jobs of the future, House Science Committee Chairman Bart Gordon said. Since taking office, Obama has repeatedly stressed the importance of supporting science and his overview highlights the importance of science and technology to several big national goals like education, healthcare, and clean and renewable energy. "What I see in this budget request with regard to energy is that the administration understands we need to be pursuing many different avenues," Gordon said in a statement. "There is not a silver bullet. It's silver buckshot."
Obama's budget allocates $125 million for the Commerce Department's Manufacturing Extension Partnership and $70 million for the Technology Innovation Program, which is a modest increase from the FY09 omnibus. The House-passed version allots $110 million for MEP and $65 million for TIP. The request is a big change from Bush budgets that would have eliminated them. Appropriators annually saved the programs, which offer financing and technical assistance to small businesses and start-ups. Also under the president's plan, NASA would get $18.7 billion, up from the $17.6 billion FY09 request.
Funding for other R&D projects at the National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Standards and Technology and the Defense Department have not been released but Rep. Rush Holt, D-N.J., said Obama's proposal already appears to "reverse years of neglect for science." "[He] recognizes the centrality of science and innovation for our future economic and social prosperity," said Holt, who co-chairs the Congressional Research Caucus with Rep. Judy Biggert, R-Ill.
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