[Washupdates] Washington Update: House and Senate Appropriators Release Details of the Final FY 2011 Appropriations Deal

[Cindy Schmidt]

Thanks to Lewis-Burke Associates LLC for the following information about 
the final (finally) FY11 appropriations bill:

*Budget Update: House and Senate Appropriators Release Details of the 
Final FY 2011 Appropriations Deal*

On Monday, April 11, the legislation to "seal the deal" on final funding 
for the entire federal government for the remainder of fiscal year (FY) 
2011 was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives.  The final 
bill would save a total of $38.5 billion below the FY 2010 enacted 
levelthrough a combination of savings in discretionary appropriated 
programs and changes in mandatory programs.  The House intends to take 
up the bill on Wednesday, April 13 with Senate action anticipated on 
Thursday, April 14.  Both chambers will likely have to depend on 
crossover votes from the minority party in order to pass the bill and 
send it to the President for his signature before Friday at midnight 
when the current Continuing Resolution (CR) expires.  Key takeaway 
points include:

·The bill would set non-defense spending levels for the last half of the 
fiscal year and includes rescissions (cancellation) of previously 
provided funding that has not yet been spent.

·Federal science agencies generally fared well in the final 
appropriations measure, although all of the non-defense funding levels 
would be reduced by a 0.2 percent across-the-board cut to achieve 
savings of approximately $1.1 billion.

·The final appropriations measure includes the full Department of 
Defense spending bill which provides a minimal increase for DOD above 
the FY 2010 enacted level.

·The bill requires the National Science Foundation, National Aeronautics 
and Space Administration, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration to provide spending plans to Congress within 60 days of 
enactment of the bill.

**

Proposed funding levels in the final FY 2011 appropriations bill are as 
follows and do not include the 0.2 percent across-the-board reduction:

**

_National Institutes of Health (NIH). _

NIH would receive *$30.7 billionin the final FY 2011 appropriations 
bill, a cut of $260 million or less than 1 percent below FY 2010 
levels*.  While the biomedical research community advocated for level 
funding for NIH in FY 2011, the reduction is not as deep as the $1.6 
billion cut included in H.R. 1, the House Republican-proposed FY 2011 
appropriations bill.   Of the $260 millionreduction, $210 million would 
be cut from research funding and $50 million would be cut from funding 
for buildings and facilities on the NIH campus in Bethesda, MD. The $210 
million cut would be applied proportionally across all institutes and 
centers, and to programs within the Office of Director.

_Other Department ofHealth and Human Services (HHS) Programs._

·Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA): The bill provides 
*$6.247 billion for HRSA, which would be a cut of $1.259 billion below 
FY 2010 levels.* Included are significant cuts to the Community Health 
Centers, rural health programs and the health professions training programs.

·Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ): The bill contains 
*$372 million for AHRQ, which is $25 million below the FY 2010 enacted 
level. *

·Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA): The 
bill includes *$3.386 billion for SAMHSA which is a $45 million decrease 
from the FY 2010 enacted level.*

·Centers for Disease Control (CDC): The bill contains *$5.66 billion for 
CDC, an estimated $814 million reduction from the FY 2010 enacted 
level.* This amount includes reductions for funding for the Emerging and 
Zoonotic Infectious Disease Program, the National Institute for 
Occupational Safety and Health, and HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD and 
TB Prevention.

_Department of Energy (DOE)._

The DOE Office of Science is slated for *$4.884 billion in the final FY 
2011 bill, a reduction of $35 million below the FY 2010 enacted level*, 
and $252 million below the President's FY 2011 budget request.  Energy 
Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) activities would receive a total 
of $1.835 billion, a reduction of $438 million below the FY 2010 enacted 
level and $550 million below the President's FY 2011 budget request.  
The Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability programs at DOE would be 
funded at $145 million, a reduction of $31 million below the FY 2010 
level.  A total of $737.1 million is recommended for Nuclear Energy, a 
reduction of $56 million below the FY 2010 level.  Fossil Energy R&D 
programs would receive $586 million, a reduction of $226 million below 
FY 2010.   The Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) would 
receive $180 million to support high-risk, high-reward research on 
game-changing energy technologies, which is $180 million above the FY 
2010 funding level.

__

_Department of Defense (DOD). _

The bill includes *$513 billion for DOD which is about $5 billion or 
less than 1 percent above the FY 2010 enacted level*. Despite the slight 
increase, the bump is significantly less than DOD has seen in recent 
years and illustrates a newfound Congressional willingness to put 
defense spending on the table when looking for savings.  Within the 
total, $74.77 billion is included for research, development, test, and 
evaluation activities, a decrease of $5.57 billion or 7 percent below 
the FY 2010 enacted level.  Specifically, Army RDTE would receive $9.71 
billion (15 percent below the FY 2010 level); Navy RDTE would receive 
$17.74 billion (11 percent below the FY 2010 level); Air Force RDTE 
would receive $26.52 billion (6 percent below the FY 2010 level); and 
Defense-wide RDTE, which funds the Defense Advanced Research Projects 
Agency (DARPA) and research programs at a variety of other agencies 
would receive $20.8 billion (an increase of less than 1 percent above 
the FY 2010 level).

_Department of State/U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)_.

A total of *$48.3 billion is included for foreign operations through the 
Department of State and U.S. Agency for International Development 
(USAID), which would represent a reduction of $504 million or 1 percent 
below the FY 2010 enacted level.*  While most of the money is taken from 
direct foreign assistance and contributions to international 
organizations such as the United Nations, the compromise also includes a 
reduction of $33 million from education and cultural exchange programs.  
Significant reductions below the FY 2010 enacted levels also come from 
funding for international climate change assistance, an international 
clean technology fund, and an initiative to hire hundreds of new foreign 
and civil service officers at the State Department and USAID.  The 
reduction to hiring authority may jeopardize the agencies' ability to 
add contracting specialists and individuals with science and engineering 
backgrounds as proposed by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and USAID 
Administrator Rajiv Shah as part of the Administration's efforts to 
modernize U.S. diplomacy and foreign assistance.

_National Science Foundation (NSF)._

NSF would be funded at *$6.874 billion in the final FY 2011 
appropriations bill, $53 million or 0.8 percent below the FY 2010 
level*, and $551 million below the President's FY 2011 budget request.  
(If the $54 million transferred to the Coast Guard in FY 2010 for 
icebreaking services is not included in the FY 2010 baseline, then the 
amount provided for FY 2011 is essentially flat).  NSF's Research and 
Related Activities (R&RA) account would be funded at $5.575 billion, $43 
million (0.8 percent) below the FY 2010 level, and the Education and 
Human Resources account (EHR) would be funded at $862.8 million, $10 
million (1.2 percent) below the FY 2010 level.

**

_National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). _

Overall, NASA would receive *$18.485 billion, a decrease of $239 million 
or 1.3 percent below the FY 2010 enacted level.*  Yet, while the overall 
level for NASA would be decreased, several individual accounts are 
increased.  Science would receive $4.945 billion, an increase of $452 
million or 10 percent above the FY 2010 enacted level and just $60 
million below the President's FY 2011 request.  Aeronautics would also 
receive an increase to $535 million, 5.5 percent above the FY 2010 
level.  The new Space Technology program is not mentioned.  Education 
would receive the largest percentage cut of any NASA account, down 20.7 
percent to $145.8 million.  However, this amount is consistent with the 
President's FY 2011 budget request for Education and largely reflects 
the elimination of funds for Congressional earmarks.  The bill would 
also remove restrictions on the human space flight program, allowing 
NASA to move forward with its replacement of the Constellation rocket 
development program as authorized in the NASA Authorization Act passed 
this fall.**

**

_National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). _

The final agreement would provide NOAA with approximately *$4.52 
billion, which would represent a reduction of about $142 million or 3 
percent below the FY 2010 enacted level.*  More significantly, this 
amount would not cover the sizable funding increases requested by 
President Obama for NOAA's satellite programs in FY 2011, specifically 
the Joint Polar-Orbiting Satellite System (JPSS).  The bill includes 
$3.185 billion for NOAA's Operations, Research and Facilities (ORF) 
account, which is $119 million or 3.6 percent below FY 2010.  In 
addition, the Procurement, Acquisition and Construction (PAC) account 
(the account that funds NOAA's satellite programs) would receive $1.335 
billion, which is $23 million or 1.7 percent below FY 2010 (but $865 
million below the amount requested by the President).   These final 
funding numbers for NOAA are largely in-line with the amounts floated 
earlier in the year in prior CRs.  However, the current CR also includes 
language stating that for the remainder of FY 2011, none of the funds 
appropriated to NOAA may be used to "implement, establish, or create a 
NOAA Climate Service."  This limitation reflects the objection of many 
Congressional Republicans to NOAA's plans to reorganize the agency to 
enable the development of a Climate Service line office.  Many 
Congressional Republicans are of the belief that NOAA requires 
legislation to authorize such reorganization.

_National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).**_

NIST would receive *$751.6 million, a reduction of $105 million or 12.3 
percent below FY 2010 enacted levels. *NIST's Scientific and Technical 
Research Services (STRS), which funds research, competitive grants, and 
research fellowships, would receive $508 million for FY 2011, down $7 
million or 1.4 percent below the FY 2010 enacted level. Industrial 
Technology Services (ITS) would receive $173.6 million, a reduction of 
$21 million or 10.8 percent below FY 2010. Within the ITS account, the 
Technology Innovation Program is slated to receive $44.9 million, a 
reduction of $25 million or 35.8 percent below FY 2010. The Hollings 
Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP), also within ITS, would 
receive $128.7 million, an increase of $4 million or 3.2 percent above 
the FY 2010 enacted level. Construction of Research Facilities (CFR) 
would be funded at $70 million, a reduction of $77 million or 52.4 
percent below FY 2010. Congress provided no additional funding for the 
extramural Construction Grant Program in the final appropriations bill.

_Department of Homeland Security (DHS)._

The bill includes *$688 million for the DHS Science and Technology 
Directorate, which is a decrease of $175 million from the FY 2010 
enacted level.* The bill contains language that would ensure that 
funding for University Programs is not reduced by more than 20 percent 
from the FY 2010 enacted level.

_Department of Education._

The final FY 2011 appropriations bill would *keep the Pell maximum at 
$5,550; however it would eliminate the year round Pell grant*, as 
proposed in the President's FY 2012 budget request, for the 2011-2012 
academic year.  The bill would provide $737.5 million for the Federal 
Supplemental Education Opportunity Grants (SEOG) program, a reduction of 
$20 million or 2.6 percent from the FY 2010 enacted level.  It would 
eliminate funding for the Leveraging Education Assistance Partnership 
(LEAP) program, which was funded at a level of $63.9 million in FY 2010. 
The bill would also provide $150 million for the Investing in Innovation 
(i3) program and $700 million for the Race to the Top program, two 
priorities of the Obama Administration. The Title VI International 
Education and Foreign Language programs would receive $75.9 million, a 
reduction of $50 million or 39.7 percent from the FY 2010 enacted level.

TRIO programs would receive $828 million, a $25 million or 3 percent 
reduction from FY 2010, and the Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness 
for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) would receive $303 million, a $20 
million or 6 percent reduction from FY 2010.  The Institute of Education 
Sciences (IES) would receive $610 million, a reduction of $49 million or 
7 percent below the FY 2010 enacted level.  Finally, the Fund for the 
Improvement for Post-Secondary Education (FIPSE) would be funded at 
$19.4 million, a reduction of $140 million or 87.8 percent from the FY 
2010 enacted level.  It is unclear how this reduction will affect the 
current FY 2011 FIPSE grant competition.

_Cultural Agencies._

The final FY 2011 appropriations bill would fund the *National Endowment 
for the Humanities (NEH) and its sister agency, the National Endowment 
for the Arts (NEA) each at a level of* *$155 million, a reduction of 
$12.5 million or a 7 percent cut from FY 2010 funding*.  This is above 
the proposed levels of $146 million included in the President's FY 2012 
budget request and House passed H.R.1.  The National Historical 
Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC), the grant-making arm of the 
National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), would receive $7 
million, a reduction of $6 million or 46 percent from FY 2010.  The 
Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) would receive $237.8 
million, a reduction of $28 million or 10 percent below FY 2010.  The 
Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which has been targeted in previous 
budget discussions, would receive $6 million, a reduction of $80 million 
or 93 percent from the FY 2010 enacted level.

_U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Institute of Food and 
Agriculture (NIFA)_

The final bill would *provide NIFA with $1.22 billion, a reduction of 
$126 million below the FY 2010 enacted level* and the President's FY 
2011 budget request.  Funding for the competitive research program, the 
Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI), would be increased to 
$265 million or one percent above the $262. 5 million provided in FY 
2010.  Funding for the Hatch Act formula program supporting the nation's 
land-grant universities would be increased to $237 million, an increase 
of $22 million or 10 percent above FY 2010.  The Smith-Lever sections 
3(b) and 3(c) would be funded at $295 million, a reduction of $3 million 
below FY 2010.  The McIntire-Stennis Cooperative Forestry program would 
receive $33 million, an increase of $4 million or 12 percent above FY 2010.

_USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS)_

A total of *$1.135 billion would be provided to support ARS, a reduction 
of $44 million below the FY 2010 enacted level.*  No new funding is 
provided for ARS buildings and facilities.

_Department of Commerce, Economic Development Administration (EDA)_

The final FY 2011 appropriations bill *includes $246 million for EDA 
Economic Development Assistance programs (EDAP), a $9 million or 3 
percent reduction below the FY 2010 enacted level. *This is also level 
with the President's FY 2012 budget request for EDAP.

_U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)_

USGS would receive *$1.085 billion in the final appropriations bill, 
which is $27 million or 2.42 percent below the FY 2010 enacted level. *

**

The text of the final FY 2011 appropriations legislation can be found 
here: 
http://rules.house.gov/Media/file/PDF_112_1/Floor_Text/FINAL2011_xml.pdf

A summary of the legislation from the House and Senate Appropriations 
Committees can be found here:
House Appropriations Committee: 
http://appropriations.house.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressReleases.Detail&PressRelease_id=285 
<http://appropriations.house.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressReleases.Detail&PressRelease_id=285>

Senate Appropriations Committee: 
http://appropriations.senate.gov/news.cfm?method=news.view&id=5ba835d4-e8d4-47a4-bd13-950f99790f67 
<http://appropriations.senate.gov/news.cfm?method=news.view&id=5ba835d4-e8d4-47a4-bd13-950f99790f67>

As always, Lewis-Burke will provide additional updates as Congress 
completes the FY 2011 appropriations process.



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