Bush Budget Research Articles

R&D PRIORITIES GO TO NIH, DEFENSE

OVERALL GOVERNMENT RESEARCH and development funding for fiscal 2002 will rise slightly during this year, but the increase in support is very selective and indicates specific priorities of President George W Bush. The total of $953 billion proposed for all R&D support is 6% more than in 2001. Most of the increase is going to the big-ticket agencies of the Defense Department, with a 9% rise to more than $45 billion, and to the National Institutes of Health, which continues its dramatic climb with a 12% jump to more than $23 billion. This first Bush budget arrived late—as most first budgets do, so the President can shape government spending instead of accepting the previous Administration's spendingplan.The 2002 R&D budget proposal blundy shows Bush's priorities. First is his need to hold down discretionary spending, which is most of R&D, because he is trying to get Congress to pass a large tax cut and he has to ...

Science Community Lobbies for Balance in Bush Budget

Science Community Lobbies for Balance in Bush Budget

Bush budget surprise: physical sciences, engineering innovation squeezed [News Analysis

Bush budget surprise: physical sciences, engineering innovation squeezed [News Analysis

The promise of heavy ion fusion

In his paper in this issue, Dr. David Crandall of the Office of Fusion Energy presented DOE budget figures for magnetic fusion energy (MFE) and inertial fusion energy (IFE). Funding for IFE decreased from about $9M in FY91 and FY92 to $7.7M in FY93. The Bush budget for FY94 allocated $6.5M for IFE. Clearly the trend is down. In contrast, the FY93 budget for MFE is $330.7M and the Bush budget allocated $416.6M for FY94. These trends force one to ask if there should be an IFE program. In the authors opinion the answer to this question is emphatically affirmative. The remainder of this paper explaines the reasons for this opinion. The paper will emphasize heavy ion inertial fusion (HIF), but many of the reasons apply to any inertial fusion system. There are numerous studies, detailed calculations, and experiments that support the conclusion that HIF is promising: however, enough `promising` fusion schemes have come and gone that many fusion researchers (and politicians) have developed some skepticism about the results and projections of studies, calculations, and even some experiments. To be believable, results and projections must be consistent with scientific, technological, and industrial experience. Therefore this paper will not emphasize detailedmore » studies, but rather plausibility arguments based on experience with large high-energy accelerators and common industrial practice.« less

Washington Watch: Initiative on Biotechnology Research Included in Bush Budget Proposal

Washington Watch: Initiative on Biotechnology Research Included in Bush Budget Proposal

Regulatory agencies' funding up in Bush's budget

Under President Bush's fiscal 1991 budget proposal, funding for the regulatory agencies that interact in one way or another with the chemical community is generally up by well over both the 3% rise slated for the government as a whole and the predicted 4% inflation rate. For instance, the Office of Management & Budget points out that the 12% increase to $2.2 billion requested for the Environmental Protection Agency in fiscal 1991 is one of the largest requested for any government agency's operating budget. Within that total funding for EPA, enforcement activities would rise 22% to $419 million. EPA Administrator William K. Reilly says this increase serves notice that President Bush and EPA are committed to sustained, tough, predictable enforcement of the nation's environmental laws. The increase would allow for the addition of more compliance inspectors, attorneys, criminal investigators, and technical experts to the agency's staff. EPA says its goal is to ensure that complex ...

CHROMOSOME CARTOGRAPHY

The new Bush budget. . .calls for funding of about $100 million for what has come to be known as the Human Genome Initiative. The human genome is complex. On all the chromosomes, there are between 50,000 and 100,000 genes encoding information that controls human growth and accounts for everything from hair and eye color to some aspects of personality and proneness to certain diseases. Among the chromosomes scheduled for initial exploration . . . is the 21st chromosome because it is believed to be linked to Alzheimer's disease and Down's syndrome. All the body's genes together make up the human genome. Microbiologists need to know the sequence of the estimated three billion DNA subunits; so far, only about 1,500 human genes have been identified. Ethicists are worried that such knowledge will exacerbate prejudices against individuals with "non-normal" genes, such as the handicapped or some unborn infants. A renowned MIT biologist . . . raises a more practical concern: "Megaprojects are inviting targets for the political control of science". . . . Indeed, the idea of mapping the human genome is already under political pressure in Europe. The Human Genome Initiative will be a strong test of the U.S.'s ability to shape and implement science policy. It may well invite attack from those who are fearful of or hostile to the future. It should also attract the active support of those willing to defend the future.

House cuts NASA, NSF budgets

The House passed its version of the Fiscal Year 1990 spending bill July 20, voting less money than requested for NASA, NSF, and other independent agencies. An appropriation of $1.6 billion was approved for the space station despite an effort to cut funding for the project on the House floor.With a voice vote the House approved a Veterans Affairs‐Housing and Urban Development‐ Independent Agencies subcommittee (VAHUDIA) package totaling $65.1 billion, nearly $2.5 billion more than requested in President Bush's budget. NSF received $1.99 billion in the bill, $150 million less than requested, and NASA $12.26 billion, more than a billion less than the President asked for. The Department of Housing and Urban Development ($2.23 billion more than requested) and the Department of Veteran's Affairs ($908 million more than requested) were the big winners in the bill.

Bush Budget Proposal Calls For Increases in R&D Funding

Bush Budget Proposal Calls For Increases in R&D Funding

Bush's budget problems

Bush's budget problems