Bush Budget? Bummer!

Of course it could have been worse, but we can't find much to sing about. The Administration's FY06 budget was released last week, and except for a couple of bright spots, the news for psychological research, services and education is bleak. Where there are increases, most are too small to clear the bar for inflation (3 - 3.5 percent last year). If this budget were enacted, spending for non-defense science and technology would decline in for the first time in decades, according to long-time observers. Basic and applied R&D spending would decline by 1percent, or $870 million, for the year that begins October 1, 2005. This would result in an overall science and technology budget of $61 billion.

The Administration proposed the elimination or significant reduction of approximately 150 programs in its budget (Click here [PDF 230K] to see the programs). Few research programs are on the list, although the perennially threatened Advanced Technology Project at the Department of Commerce is listed.

The two major funders of behavioral research, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Science Foundation (NSF), received slight increases - 1 percent and 2 percent respectively.

President Bush proposed $5.6 billion for the National Science Foundation (NSF) in FY06, technically an increase of 2.4 percent over current funding. Of this total amount, $4.3 billion is slated for the Research and Related Activities account (an increase of $113 million over FY05 research support, although $48 million of this increase represents a transfer of funding from the U.S. Coast Guard for polar equipment). The Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences Directorate (SBE) received about a 1 percent increase in the proposed budget, with substantial funding provided for the Foundation-wide research priority area in Human and Social Dynamics. The Education and Human Resources Directorate is slated for a significant five percent cut in support for FY06, due largely to the elimination of programs described by NSF's Director as either "sunsetting" or duplicative with Department of Education programs. Advocacy organizations decried the small increases, noting last year's passage of authorizing legislation calling for NSF's budget to double in five years. According to a Minority Budget Report from the House Science Committee, "At this rate, NSF's budget will double in 25 years."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was given a $500 million cut from last year's $4.5 billion budget. CDC would slash preventive health grants and bioterrorism preparedness grants to state and local health departments.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH), which last year completed a five-year doubling of its budget, would receive $196 million, or 0.7 percent, over the 2005 level. The budget includes more money for biodefense and a new chemical countermeasures project. The budget also calls for additional spending on NIH's Roadmap, a series of cross-cutting scientific initiatives designed to produce knowledge applicable to all the institutes and centers' missions.

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The budget includes a request for $479 million for the Institute of Education Sciences, including $164 million in funding for research, development, and dissemination. While the budget once again calls for the elimination of the regional labs, Congress has restored the $66 million for funding the labs, which would increase IES's budget to more than $500 million. Many education programs can be found on the list of eliminations or significant reductions announced by the Administration. The federal student loan program would need to be restructured to recoup $10.7 billion over the next decade.

So where are the bright spots? The Budget provides $16.5 billion for NASA, a 2.4 percent increase from the 2005 enacted level. This Budget will allow NASA to make progress toward realizing the Vision for Space Exploration announced by the President last summer, and other agency priorities. The Budget provides $3.2 billion, an 18 percent increase from 2005, for Exploration Systems. The funding includes $800 million for human-oriented research and technology to ensure the health, habitation, safety and effectiveness of future astronauts. Other NASA programs were not so fortunate. Budgets for NASA's aeronautics R&D and earth and space sciences programs would decline.

Reflecting the Administration's continuing concern about domestic terrorism, the Department of Homeland Security was one of the big budget winners with a whopping increase of 7% over FY 05. Although only 3% of the overall budget goes toward Science and Technology programs, S&T will actually receive a 22.7% increase, but the lion's share of that is going toward a Domestic Nuclear Detection Office.

The Department of Defense (DoD) budget is set to grow substantially, reaching $65 billion for R&D. But the overwhelming majority of Pentagon spending is development, too far advanced to be considered science and technology for budget purposes. The DoD Science and Technology account (S&T) took a heavy blow in the President's budget request, falling more than 21 percent from the FY05 level of $13.3 billion to $10.5 billion. Particularly hard-hit were Army basic and applied research programs, some of which were slashed by almost 50 percent. At press time it was unclear how psychological research fared within this broader context, but given that research funding is down defense-wide, the outlook is not optimistic.

Funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) research account was cut in the Administration's budget. The request for $393 million for direct costs of the VA Medical and Prosthetics Research program (which supports intramural psychological research) is $9 million, 2.2 percent less than the current spending level. The Friends of VA (FOVA) coalition, of which APA is a member, estimates that this proposal would result in 62 fewer grants funded by and 270 research positions eliminated within the VA in FY06.

Even more than most years, this year promises contentious fights over federal spending. The growth of the federal budget deficit in the wake of tax cuts and the war in Iraq is a matter of concern to Democrats who opposed those actions by the Administration, and some Republicans who consider themselves deficit hawks. Science and research have enjoyed bipartisan support but those programs could be squeezed, like many others, as Congress comes to grips with the deficit. The President's budget is just the first step in a long process. The House and Senate will develop and adopt a congressional budget, accepting or rejecting the Administration's plans, and then the appropriations committees will develop spending legislation. APA Science Policy staff will be in the mix, advocating for spending increases for research funding overall, and behavioral and social science programs in particular. So watch your Inbox for future issues of SPIN to stay informed on policy news that affects psychological scientists.

View a list of proposed program eliminations or reductions in the President's Budget [PDF 230K]