In the fiscal year (FY) 1998 federal budget, finalized Dec. 2, behavioral science held its own and, in general, funding levels remained similar to those of FY 1997, analysts say.

?We?re delighted with the increases Congress granted to NIH and NSF,? said Richard McCarty, APA?s executive director for science. ?There is good reason to expect that much of these increases will be used to fund investigator-initiated grants, which means behavioral and social scientists will benefit along with biomedical sciences.?

As in every battle, there are winners and losers. Among federal agencies important to psychology, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Department of Defense (DoD) saw cuts to their offices that fund behavioral science research.

However, APA fought and won a tough battle to protect funding for the Army Research Institute for Behavioral and Social Sciences (ARI), which supports research in training and personnel topics, including gender issues. Also, ?if either NSF [National Science Foundation] or NIH [National Institutes of Health] funds your work, you?re in good shape,? says Pat Kobor, director of science policy at APA.

Below are the budget figures, many of which are from the American Association for the Advancement of Science?s R&D Budget and Policy Project. It?s important to note that with inflation expected to be 2.5 percent in FY 1998, the smaller ?increases? end up being budget cuts.

National Institutes of Health
NIH has again received a sizable increase, garnering $13.1 billion for research and development (R&D), a 7.1 percent boost over FY 1997. That?s twice the increase that DoD received for R&D. After adjusting for inflation, NIH?s R&D budget has now risen by 13.5 percent in the past 4 years.

Every NIH institute received a raise for R&D of at least 6 percent over FY 1997 figures. Those that fund social and behavioral science saw increases ranging from 6.6 percent to 7.6 percent:

? R&D at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) grew by 7.1 percent to $750 million.

? Funding for R&D at the National Institute on Drug Abuse increased to $527 million, a 7.6 percent gain.

? At the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, R&D saw a 7.5 percent jump to $227 million.

? The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development now has a $675 million R&D budget?6.8 percent more than in FY 1997.

? The National Cancer Institute (NCI), which funds research on cancer prevention and adherence to medication and exercise, among other areas, had its R&D budget grow by 6.6 percent to $2.5 billion.

The Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR), in NIH?s Office of the Director, received a 6.6 percent increase, bringing its budget to $2.67 million. The Senate also demonstrated support for OBSSR by praising the office in the NIH appropriations bill. Such declarations ?lay the groundwork for getting [the office] a little more money? in the future, explains Kobor.

Commentary in appropriation and other bills is not legally binding, but often serves to direct agencies? activities. At the urging of APA and other organizations, Congress included other language supportive of the social and behavioral sciences in the NIH appropriation bill, says Kobor.

For example, House and Senate report language states that NIMH should focus on prevention research, particularly in the area of children?s mental disorders. The institute should also address the shortage of researchers who study prevention. The Senate noted that it supports NCI?s efforts to determine how to prevent children from smoking.

National Science Foundation
Congress appropriated $2.6 billion for NSF?s R&D budget, a 6.1 percent increase over FY 1997. The figures demonstrate that Congress is willing to continue to provide solid support for R&D at NSF, says Kobor. NSF?s total budget grew by only 4.9 percent.

The budget for the NSF Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences (SBE) expanded from $122 million to $129 million, a 6 percent boost. Of NSF?s seven directorates, SBE received the third-largest increase. However, its budget remains the smallest of the directorates.

For comparison, Mathematical and Physical Sciences received $713 million for FY 1998, and the Biological Sciences?s budget jumped 15.4 percent. NSF often funds projects that involve multiple directorates. One such project, Knowledge and Distributed Intelligence, promotes multidisciplinary research in psychology, linguistics and computer science. Kobor noted that funding for this project will probably grow as a result of the FY 1998 appropriation.

Department of Defense
While DoD received only a 2 percent boost to its total budget, R&D grew by 3.1 percent to $38.2 billion. Congress allocated $3.1 billion to the applied research program, 7.5 percent more than in FY 1997. That account provides about one-fourth of DoD?s support for academic R&D, including studies of human factors, perception and training.

But Congress cut funding for DoD?s basic research account by 1.2 percent, lowering it to $1.1 billion. That account provides about half of the department?s support for academic R&D. This is the fifth consecutive year that Congress has cut DoD?s basic research budget.

Why pick on basic science? Reducing its budget provides very appealing short-term financial gains, says Christine Hartel, PhD, associate executive director for science at APA. However, such cuts can have long-term negative consequences.

Congress appropriated the Army $5.1 billion for its FY 1998 R&D budget, a 3.6 percent increase. ARI, which was slated for termination, ended up with a small slice of the pie: $21.4 million. That?s less than the $24 million it received in FY 1997, but enough to sustain its main activities. The Air Force?s Office of Scientific Research, which supports human factors and training research, received $207.2 million, a decrease of $12.3 million, or 5.6 percent. The Air Force?s total R&D budget climbed 3.1 percent to $14.3 billion.

While the Office of Naval Research (ONR) received level funding of $1.3 billion for FY 1998, its Cognitive and Neural Science and Technology Division was cut by 9.6 percent to $44.4 million. The Navy?s total R&D budget for FY 1998 is $8 billion, 1.9 percent more than in FY 1997.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration
At NASA, the Office of Life and Microgravity Sciences, which supports research in neuroscience and visualmotor performance, among other areas, was cut by 10.1 percent to $219 million for FY 1998. However, its account that funds research grants was cut by only 3.4 percent, to $86 million. Meanwhile, NASA?s R&D activities as a whole received a raise for FY 1998. Congress appropriated $9.8 billion for R&D, 5.3 percent more than in FY 1997.

Environmental Protection Agency
In FY 1998, EPA received $618 million for its R&D programs, which examine chemicals? developmental and neurotoxic effects, among other issues. That 14.2 percent, or $77 million, increase over FY 1997 funding makes up for deep cuts in FY 1995 and FY 1996. R&D did better than the agency as a whole, which garnered $7.4 billion, an 8.3 percent jump.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
The $369 million R&D budget that CDC received for FY 1998 represents a 6.6 percent increase over FY 1997. CDC supports research into AIDS and violence prevention, as well as occupational safety and health.

Department of Education
The department?s Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI) received $223 million for FY 1998, an 8.1 percent increase over FY 1997. OERI?s budget for its institutes remained level, while the laboratories? budget got a 9.8 percent boost.

On the negative side, funding remained level for the OERI program that funds basic and applied research grants submitted by investigators in the field. In the coming year, APA will advocate for increased funding for the program and for educational research in general.

Tina Adler is a freelance writer in Cabin John, Md.