The five-bill package would provide funding increases to most federal science agencies and programs, rejecting the President’s proposed budget cuts. The House measure would fund:
- The National Science Foundation (NSF) at $8.6 billion, an increase of 7 percent above FY 2019. NSF was slated for a 12 percent cut under the President’s request.
- Research and Related Activities within NSF, which includes the Biological Sciences Directorate, would receive $7.1 billion (+9 percent).
- The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration would be funded at $5.48 billion (+1 percent).
- The National Institutes of Standards and Technology would receive $1.04 billion (+6 percent).
- The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) would increase by 4 percent to $22.3 billion, with $7.2 billion (+4 percent) for NASA Science programs.
- The U.S. Geological Survey would increase to $1.24 billion (+7 percent), with $168 million (+7 percent) for the Ecosystems Mission Area. The President had proposed shrinking the overall budget for the agency by 15 percent.
- The National Parks Service would grow by 4 percent, to $3.4 billion.
- The Bureau of Land Management would receive $1.4 billion (+5 percent).
- The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is slated for $1.66 billion (+5 percent).
- The Environmental Protection Agency would receive an 8 percent boost, bringing it to $9.5 billion. Within this budget, $728 million (+1 percent) would support Science and Technology. The President had proposed slashing EPA’s budget by 31 percent.
- The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Research Service (ARS) is set to receive $1.4 billion (-17 percent) under the House’s plan. ARS was slated for a 26 percent budget cut under the President’s proposal.
- The National Institute of Food and Agriculture, a USDA research agency, would grow to $1.6 billion (+8 percent), with $445 million (+7 percent) for the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative.
- The Smithsonian Institution would receive $1.07 billion (+3 percent).
President Trump has previously announced that he will veto this spending package. There are two FY 2020 spending bills now remaining before the House — the Homeland Security and Legislative Branch appropriations bills, while the Senate has yet to act on any FY 2020 appropriations bills.
AIBS