News of the Week
FUNDING RESOLUTION CUTS MOST R&D DUDGETS The good news is that the federal government didn't have to shut down on Dec. 15. The bad news is that Congress' passage and the President's signing of what is, in effect, the fourth continuing resolution for fiscal 1982 left the budget picture for federal R&D agencies more confused than ever. As Sen. Mark Hatfield (R.-Ore.), chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said on the Senate floor during the debate over the most recent resolution, "This has been an extraordinary budget year, one unprecedented in difficulty, complexity, and constraint in federal spending programs." Not only has the Administration called for more and more budget cuts, but other problems have turned up that should have been minor but which instead became severe. For example, the second continuing resolution—which President Reagan vetoed, in effect shutting down the government, if only for a day (C&EN, Nov. 30, page 21)—floundered over a definition. As Hatfield explained, "That measure was vetoed because, according to the calculations made by the Office of Management & Budget, we had met only a quarter of the savings in the President's budgetary plan... .AH our work went down the drain because we were talking about budget authority, and OMB was talking budget outlays." This most recent continuing resolution provides funding only until March 31,1982; thus final fiscal 1982 R&D budget figures are available for only one Department—Defense. And here the news is good. DOD's R&D budget is up 21% in fiscal 1982 to $20 billion. The Air Force's R&D budget is up 22% to $8.7 billion, the Navy's 17.5% to $5.8 billion, and the Army's 15.4% to $3.6 billion. The Department of Energy did not fare so well. The President has signed the appropriations bill that covers
No Dec. 28 issue Chemical & Engineering News will not publish an issue on Dec. 28,1981. The editors wish all readers a very happy holiday season. Our next issue will be Jan. 4, 1982.
6 C&EN Dec. 21, 1981
Hatfield: work down the drain
billion in the appropriations bill for a 6.7% increase, is cut to about $970 million under the continuing resolution for a mere 2.4% increase. The corresponding figures for NASA's R&D programs are $5.0 billion, up 14.7%, in the appropriations bill, but $4.8 billion, up 10%, in the continuing resolution. However, EPA's R&D budget will be down no matter what happens. Under the appropriations bill, the budget would be set at almost $168 million for a 34% decrease. Under the continuing resolution it is set at $161 million for a 36% decrease. The Department of Agriculture's research budget also will be down no matter what happens— down 1% in the appropriations bill to about $618 million and down 5% in the continuing resolution. Perhaps hardest hit in the continuing resolution is the National Institutes of Health. Both the full House and the Senate Appropriations Committee had approved an approximately 10% increase for NIH in fiscal 1982. But that bill has not been passed by the full Senate, so NIH must operate with the funding contained in the continuing resolution, which allows it only a 2% increase to $3.6 billion. With Congress adjourning for the year last week and with the continuing resolution already signed into law, President Reagan easily can veto any appropriations bill that he feels is too high; all he has to do is not sign it within 10 days. D
two parts of its R&D budget. The bill provides for an almost 9% increase in funding for DOE's general science and research activities to about $411 million. But the bill cuts funding for energy supply R&D 16% to $2.0 billion. Beyond that, the budget gets far more complicated. Funding for DOE's fossil energy R&D activities is contained in both the latest continuing resolution and in an appropriations bill that has been cleared by Congress and sent to President Reagan for his signature. Under the resolution, funding for fossil energy R&D is set at almost $397 million, a 40% decrease from fiscal 1981. This funding would improve slightly, however, if the President were to sign the appropriations Creationists expected bill which automatically supercedes the continuing resolution and pro- to lose Arkansas fight vides funding for all of fiscal 1982 at a level of $413 million, still a 37% The trial to determine the constitudecrease. In general the continuing tionality of Arkansas' creationism law resolution applies a 4% across-the- ended last week in Little Rock withboard cut to thefinalfigurecontained out closing arguments. Although fedin appropriations bills that already eral district court judge William J. have been cleared by Congress. Overton's decision will not be anThe National Science Foundation, nounced until some time this week, National Aeronautics & Space Ad- many observers believe it's inevitaministration, and Environmental ble that he will strike down the law. The trial is the result of a suit filed Protection Agency face the same situation: Thefiscal1982 appropriations in May by the American Civil Liberbill which sets their funding levels ties Union on behalf of 23 groups has been cleared by Congress but not and individuals challenging Arkansas yet signed by the President. Thus, Act 590, a law that requires "balanced NSF's budget for research and related treatment" for evolution and for what activities, which would be set at $1.0 the law terms "creation science" in
