HOUSE APPROPRIATIONS SUBCOMMITTEE DENIES NSF/HPCC REQUEST

[David Farber <farber () central cis upenn edu>]

HOUSE APPROPRIATIONS SUBCOMMITTEE DENIES NSF/HPCC REQUEST
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In a June 9 markup, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on VA, HUD, and
Independent Agencies recommended a three percent increase in fiscal 1995
for the National Science Foundation--only half of the six percent increase
the president had requested in February.


Also, the subcommittee recommended that the NSF's High Performance
Computing and Communications program get $29 million less than the
administration's $329 million request. The president's request for NSF's
HPCC program would have meant a 23 percent increase over fiscal 1994.
However, with the subcommittee's recommendations, this increase would only
amount to 12 percent.


The subcommittee is operating under a constrained budget allocation, an
overall $413 million less than what the president had requested for
agencies and programs under the subcommittee's jurisdiction.


Of this shortfall, $94 million would come out of the president's request
for NSF. Also, the subcommittee recommended shifting $45 million more than
the request into Academic Facilities, whereas it recommended $132 million
less for research and related activities. This would translate into a 2.5
percent increase for research and related activities in 1995 over 1994.


The appropriations bill will go before the full committee next week.


Below is a table, with figures (in millions of dollars) for the fiscal 1994
plan, the 1995 request, and the 1995 House appropriations subcommittee
recommendations:


NSF Account                     FY94    FY95    FY95
                                        Req.    House
- -------------------------------------------------------------------
Reseach and Related Activities  2,164   2,349   2,217
Academic Res. Facilities        105     55      100
Major Research Equipment        52      70      70*
Education & Human Resources     570     586     586
Salaries & Expenses             118     131     124
Inspector General               4       4       4
NSF Relocation                  5       5       5
- -------------------------------------------------------------------
Total, NSF                      3,018   3,200   3,106
- -------------------------------------------------------------------
NSF/HPCC                        267     329     300


* The subcommittee's bill also includes a $35 million rescission from the
FY94 appropriation for Research and Related Activities and the
reappropriation of these resources in the FY95 appropriations for Major
Research Equipment for the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave
Observatory.