You are browsing the archive for Federal budget Archives - The Bridge: Connecting Science and Policy.
November 27, 2019
Funding an Energy Transition
As appropriators are still trying to finalize the 2020 budget, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development sat down last week for a hearing about the DOE’s role in addressing climate change. The main thematic questions of the hearing were: What technologies will help move us into the future sustainably, and how can DOE facilitate the energy transition? This lively and lengthy hearing made a strong case for not …
November 20, 2019
Science Funding Remains Frozen
Nearly two months into fiscal year (FY) 2020, the appropriations process to fund the federal government continues. On Tuesday, 19 November, the House passed another continuing resolution (CR), keeping the government funded at FY2019 levels, ahead of the 21 November deadline granted by a recent CR signed into law in September. The Senate is expected to approve the legislation on Thursday, 21 November. The new CR will keep the government funded for another four weeks …
October 2, 2019
Funding Update: Continuing Resolution keeps government open, appropriations continue
On Friday, 27 September, President Trump signed into law a continuing resolution (CR) that will keep the government funded through 21 November 2019. The CR extends 2019 funding levels into the start of Fiscal Year (FY) 2020, which began on 1 October. Although this means that science agencies will remain operational, while under a CR agencies cannot award new grants, plan new programs, or budget appropriately. Additionally, the CR can …
June 3, 2019
House Spending Bills Boost Science Funding: Part 2
Before leaving for the Memorial Day recess, the House Committee on Appropriations finished consideration of the major science funding bills. We reviewed several spending bills already in part one of our budget breakdown. In this post, we’ll take a deeper dive into the spending bill that funds the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the National Science Foundation. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) …
House Spending Bills Boost Science Funding: Part 1
Before leaving for the Memorial Day recess, the House Committee on Appropriations finished consideration of the major science funding bills, including the spending bills that fund the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, the Department of Energy, United States Geological Survey, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the United States Forest Service. Over the next two posts, we’ll detail the spending and programmatic highlights for federal Earth and space science agencies. …
March 29, 2019
Sequestration is back; and science funding is in jeopardy.
The Budget Control Act of 2011 (BCA) required Congress to find ways to cut the deficit by capping funding for non-defense, including science, and defense programs. Congress never came to an agreement on ways to cut the deficit and therefore automatic across the board cuts for government spending, or sequestration, were invoked. Sequestration was supposed to be so bad that Congress would be forced to reach an agreement. Under the BCA, FY2020 defense …
June 27, 2018
Science Spending Bills Ready for Votes
Appropriations: Part 3 All spending bills for the Earth and space science agencies are in play right now! The House and Senate Appropriations Committees each passed their own version of funding legislation for NASA, NOAA, NSF, USGS, EPA, and DOE. Now, the full House and Senate must vote on the bills. The House and Senate have both passed their versions of the fiscal year (FY) 2019 Energy and Water Bill (which funds DOE) as part …
May 24, 2018
House Spending Bill: Support for Science Agencies Not Across the Board
Appropriations: Part 1 The appropriations process is so far following a more conventional timeline this year as opposed to last year’s drawn-out deals. On 17 May (compared with 13 July last year), the House Appropriations committee approved the fiscal year 2019 (FY 2019) Commerce-Justice-Science spending bill, which funds NASA, NOAA, and NSF. The bill continues to grow funding for NASA and NSF over FY2018 levels. However, NOAA funding takes a …
January 24, 2018
More Continuing Resolutions, More Negotiations
On Monday, Congress passed a new continuing resolution (CR), ending the second government shutdown in five years. The current CR marks the fourth short term spending bill in fiscal year (FY) 2018 and only funds the government through 8 February. While Congress was able to pass a bipartisan spending bill that ensures that our federal science agencies can currently provide the information and services that protect our local communities, there …
September 28, 2017
5 Things to Know about the Current State of Science Funding
Sequestration (a.k.a. Major Government Cuts) Kicks-In in January The Budget Control Act of 2011 (BCA) required Congress to find ways to cut the deficit by capping funding for non-defense, including science, and defense programs. Congress never came to an agreement on ways to cut the deficit and therefore automatic across the board cuts for government spending, or sequestration, were invoked. Sequestration was supposed to be so bad that Congress would be forced to …
