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Washington Update

 February 15, 2008

Following the winter holiday recess, Congress reconvened in mid-January in advance of the President’s State of the Union Address and the release of his Fiscal Year 2009 (FY09) budget. Overall, the Administration’s proposed budget for FY09 offers many of the same themes as in previous years: big increases for defense and homeland security, reductions in some entitlement programs, extensions of expiring tax cuts, and plans to reduce the budget deficit primarily by cutting domestic discretionary spending. The proposals contained in the President’s budget are simply a blueprint for federal spending for the coming fiscal year, and Congress must still approve its FY09 budget resolution before the actual appropriations process can begin.

In other news from Capitol Hill, last week the House passed a comprehensive reauthorization of the Higher Education Act (HEA) for the first time in nearly a decade. And, Chancellor Block recently traveled to Washington, DC to meet with Members of Congress and agency officials to discuss UCLA’s education and research priorities.

I. PRESIDENT’S BUDGET PROPOSAL – FISCAL YEAR 2009

On February 4, President Bush submitted to Congress his $3.1 trillion federal budget proposal for FY09. Under the President’s proposal, total discretionary spending would be $987.6 billion, a 4.9 percent increase over FY08. However, only $393 billion of that would be available for non-defense and non-homeland security discretionary programs, which is only $1.3 billion (or 0.03 percent) more than was enacted for the current year.

Once again, the President’s budget contains a mix of good and bad news for higher education and university research. The Administration supports increasing Pell Grants, but has again called for reductions or eliminations of several other financial aid and education programs. With regard to research, the FY09 R&D portfolio stays on track with the third year of the American Competitiveness Initiative (ACI), which proposes to double the budgets of the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) laboratories by 2016. The three research-oriented ACI agencies lead the pack in R&D gains, followed closely by proposed increases for development programs within DOE and the Department of Defense. The National Institutes of Health (NIH), however, would be flat funded, and there are proposed cuts to NASA science accounts as well as certain agricultural and environmental R&D agencies.

Summaries of the President’s FY09 budget request for education and research within the major federal departments/agencies are provided below.

 The Administration’s FY09 budget request for the Department of Defense would provide $11.48 billion for DOD Science and Technology (S&T), which includes basic research, applied research and advanced technology development. Overall, the S&T request is 2.23 percent of the President’s total $515.4 billion proposed Defense budget for FY09.

Within S&T, the basic research (6.1) portion of the budget includes research programs funded under the Office of the Secretary of Defense and DARPA, also known as Defense Wide, as well those supported by the respective military services (Navy, Army, and Air Force). Overall, basic research represents 14.8 percent of the total proposed S&T budget. Compared to the current (FY08) funding levels, the President’s FY09 request represents an increase for basic research, when Congressionally-directed (earmarked) funds are subtracted. The research community is pleased that Pentagon officials have indicated this is the first year of a multi-year effort to expand the overall Defense basic research budget.

The FY09 allocations for the S&T accounts are as follows (as compared to levels appropriated in FY08, which included earmarked funds):

• Basic Research (overall): $1.7 billion (decrease of $85.3 million, or 4.8 percent)
• Applied Research (overall): $4.25 billion (decrease of 4805.3 million, or 15.9 percent)
• Army Basic Research: $379.4 million (increase of $0.3 million, or 0.1 percent)
• Army Applied Research: $723.5 million (decrease of $451.8 million, or 38.4 percent)
• Navy Basic Research: $528.3 million (increase of $30.6 million, or 6.1 percent)
• Navy Applied Research: $633.3 million (decrease of $167.7 million, or 20.9 percent)
• Air Force Basic Research: $452.3 million (increase of $31.2 million, or 7.4 percent)
• Air Force Applied Research: $1.05 billion (decrease of $124.3 million, or 10.6 percent)
• National Defense Education Program (NDEP): $69.8 million (increase of $25 million, or 56.8 percent)
• Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA): $3.29 billion (increase of $326.5 million, or 11 percent)
• Semiconductor Technology Focus Centers: The President’s DARPA request includes $20 million for “Semiconductor Technology Focus Centers.” The UCLA Functional Engineered Nano Architectonics (FENA) Center is one of these centers, and is scheduled to receive matching funds from DARPA and the semiconductor industry in FY09.

Department of Education

 The President’s FY09 budget would freeze the overall discretionary budget for the Department of Education at $59.2 billion (the budget also includes $5.7 billion in mandatory funds). On the positive side, the request would provide $138 billion for federal student financial aid grants and loans to almost 11 million students and parents. For the second year in a row, however, the Administration has proposed eliminating several student aid programs. Overall, the Department of Education budget proposes to eliminate 48 programs for a projected savings of $3.2 billion in FY09.

Overall, the FY09 budget would provide $2.1 billion (mandatory and discretionary funds) for higher education programs, including graduate and international education and institutional aid programs:

• Pell Grants: The FY09 budget would increase the maximum Pell Grant to $4,800, when combined with the $490 mandatory increase authorized by the College Cost Reduction and Access Act (CCRA) for FY08. The Administration estimates that this increase would make year-round Pell Grants available to 5.8 million students.
• Supplemental Education Opportunity Grants (SEOG): The budget proposes to eliminate the SEOG program.

• Perkins Loans: The budget proposes to eliminate the Perkins Loan program and to recall the entire federal portion of the evolving funds held by participating institutions.

• Academic Competitiveness and SMART Grants: The budget proposes $308 million in mandatory funds for ACG and SMART grants, after a rescission of $652 million in unobligated balances fromFY08. The Administration estimates there will be 84,000 new ACG awards and 6,000 new SMART grant awards compared to the prior year, but the average award for both programs is expected to drop.
• Federal Work Study: The budget would provide $980 million for this program, the same level as FY08.

• GEAR UP & TRIO: The budget would provide $303 million for GEAR UP and $828.2 million for federal TRIO programs, the same as the FY08 budget request. An additional $57 million in mandatory funds will be available through the CCRA for the Upward Bound TRIO programs.
• Leveraging Educational Assistance Partnerships (LEAP): The budget proposes to eliminate the program.
• International Education and Foreign Language Studies (IEFLS): The budget would fund IEFLS at $110 million, an increase of $1 million above FY08. This would include $94.9 million for domestic programs, $13.4 million for overseas programs, and $1.7 million for the Institute for International Public Policy.

• GAANN and Javits: The budget would provide a $3 million increase for the GAANN program, bringing the total to $32.5 million. The request would support 747 GAANN fellowships, including 529 new fellows. The budget request also includes $9.8 million for the Javits Fellowship program, which would support 225 fellowships in 2009 including 66 new fellows.
• National Security Language Initiative (NSLI): The budget provides a renewed commitment to this program, which addresses the need for skilled professionals with competency in languages criticalto U.S. national security. The key component is a $24-million request for grants to universities for language education partnerships with K-12 school districts.

Department of Energy (DOE)

The Administration is requesting $25 billion in discretionary funding for the Department of Energy, which includes funding for the department’s science, energy research, environmental management, and defense programs. The FY09 request is an increase of $1.073 billion, or 4.2 percent, over the FY08 appropriation.

As part of the American Competitiveness Initiative (ACI), the President’s FY09 budget proposes $4.7 billion for the DOE Office of Science, an increase of $748.8 million, or 18.8percent, over the FY08 enacted level. This request retains the $124 million that was included in the final FY08 Omnibus Appropriations Act for congressionally-directed projects (earmarks), but it reallocates the funding to competitive programs in FY09 rather than for continuation of the earmarked activities.

Overall, the FY09 budget proposes substantial increases in the following areas (as compared to levels appropriated in FY08):

• High Energy Physics (HEP) : $805 million (increase of $115.6 million, or 16.8 percent)
• Nuclear Physics (NP) : $510.1 million (increase of $77.4 million, or 17.9 percent)
• Fusion Energy Sciences ( FES) : $493 million (increase of $206.5 million, or 72.1 percent). The budget request would restore U.S. funding for the international ITER project, a major internationalfusion experiment in which UCLA Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (MAE) and Physics faculty are involved. The FY09 budget calls for $214.5 million for ITER, an increase of $203.9 million above FY08.
• Biological and Environmental Research (BER) : $568.5 million (increase of $24.1 million, or 4.4 percent)
• Basic Energy Science: $1.57 billion (increase of $298.3 million, or 23.5 percent)
• Advanced Scientific & Computing Research (ASCR) : $368.8 million (increase of $17.6 million, or 5 percent)
• Science Laboratories Infrastructure: $110.3 million (increase of $43.4 million, or 64.9 percent)
• Workforce Development for Teachers and Scientists: $13.6 million (increase of $5.5 million, or 68.9 percent)

The DOE Office of Science budget also includes a request for $100 million for the creation of Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRCs), to help accelerate the rate of scientific breakthroughs needed to create advanced energy technologies.  The grants would range from

$2 million to $5 million per year for an initial five-year period, and would support basic research in areas such as solar energy utilization, superconductivity, and hydrogen production, storage and use.

Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)

The President’s HHS budget proposal for FY09 would flat fund the NIH, and reduces funding for the CDC and training programs for health professionals.

• National Institutes of Health (NIH): The President's FY09 budget for NIH assumes a final FY08 enacted funding level of $29.23 billion and requests identical funding for FY09. If the President’s FY09 request becomes law, NIH will have lost 14 percent of its purchasing power since 2003 due to inflation.
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): $5.69 billion (decrease of $38 million, or 6 percent, from the FY08 enacted level).

• Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA): $5.78 billion (decrease of $1.08 billion, or 15.7 percent, from the FY08 enacted level).

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA )  

The President’s FY09 budget request includes a total of $17.6 billion for NASA, an increase of $305 million, or 1.8 percent, above the FY08 enacted level.

Science Mission Directorate (SMD): NASA’s Science portfolio would receive $4.4 billion, which is $264 million, or 5.62 percent, below the enacted FY08 level of $4.7 billion. Within SMD, Earth Science would receive $1.37 billion (increase of $87.2 million, or 6.8 percent); Planetary Science would receive $1.33 billion (increase of $86 million, or 6.9 percent); Astrophysics would receive $1.16 billion (decrease of $215 million, or 16 percent); and Heliophysics would receive $577 million (approximately the same as enacted in FY08).

Aeronautics Mission Directorate (AMD): The budget would provide $446 million for the Aeronautics portfolio, which is $65.2 million, or 12.7 percent, below the FY08 enacted level of $512 million.

Exploration Mission Directorate (EMD): The budget includes $3.5 billion in direct costs for NASA’s exploration programs, which is $357.5 million, or 11 percent, over the FY08 enacted level of $3.14 billion.

Education: The budget would provide $115.6 million for NASA Education programs, which is a reduction of $31 million, or 21 percent, from the FY08 enacted level of $146.8 million.

Cross-Agency Support Programs*: The FY09 budget includes $3.3 billion for Cross-Agency Support Programs, an increase of $57 million, or 1.8 percent, above the FY08 enacted level of $3.24 billion.

* It is important to note that the funding levels outlined in the FY09 NASA budget for Science, Aeronautics, Exploration Systems, and Education consist of direct costs required to execute the programs in these directorates. Indirect costs are now budgeted within Cross-Agency Support.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA )

The President has requested $4.1 billion for NOAA, an increase of 5.2 percent, over FY08 enacted levels. The budget would fund the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR) at $382.6 million, a decrease of $15.4 million, or 4 percent, from the current year. Specific programs within OAR include:

• National Integrated Drought Information Systems, which would be increased by $2 million to $10.4 million. The additional funding is requested to support the next generation Climate Forecast System.
• National Sea Grant College Program Base, which would be decreased by $2.0 million, or 3.6 percent, to $55 million.
• Integrated Ocean Observing System, which would be increased by $7 million.

The FY09 budget includes a substantial increase in funding for NOAA's satellite program, to ensure that the agency continues to receive the critical data necessary for weather forecasts and climate predictions. Specifically, $242.2 million is included for the GOES-R program, in support of the next generation of geostationary satellites.

National Science Foundation (NSF)

The National Science Foundation (NSF) continues to be at the core of the American Competitiveness Initiative (ACI) and the White House has reaffirmed its commitment to doubling the agency’s budget by 2016. The President’s total FY09 budget request for NSF is $6.854billion, an increase of $821 million, or 13.6 percent, above the amount appropriated by Congress in the FY08 omnibus.

Research and Related Activities (R&RA)

The President’s FY09 budget would provide $5.59 billion for Research and Related Activities (R&RA), an increase of $789 million, or 16.4 percent, over the amount appropriated for the current year. Within R&RA, the budget request dictates the following for the major NSF directorates (as compared to FY08 funding):

• Biological Sciences: $675.0 million (increase of $63.0 million, or 10.3 percent);
• Computer and Information Science and Engineering: $638.8 million (increase of $104.2 million, or 19.5 percent)
• Engineering: $759.3 million (increase of $122.4 million, or 19.2 percent);
• Geosciences: $848.7 million (increase of $96.0 million, 12.8 percent);
• Mathematics and Physical Sciences : $1.4 billion (increase of $235.4 million, or 20.1 percent);
• Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences: $233.5 million (increase of $18.4 million, or 8.6 percent);
• Office of Cyberinfrastructure: $220 million (increase of $34.8 million, or 18.8 percent)
• Office of International Science and Engineering: $47.4 million (increase of $6 million, or 14.8 percent)
• Office of Polar Programs: $491 million (increase of $48.4 million, or 10.9 percent)
• Integrative Activities: $276 million (increase of $43.7 million, or 18.8 percent)

Education and Human Resources (EHR)

The President’s budget proposes $790.4 million for EHR programs, an increase of $64.8 million, or 8.9 percent, above the FY08 appropriated level. Graduate Education programs would receive $190.7 million, an increase of $30.6 million, or 19.1 percent, while Undergraduate Education programs would receive $219 million, an increase of $8.8 million, or 4.2 percent.

Within the EHR account, the budget request would fund an estimated 3,075 fellows under the Graduate Research Fellowship (GRF); 950 Graduate Teaching Fellows in K-12 Education (GK-12); and 1,425 trainees under the Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) program.

Major Research Equipment and Facilities Construction (MREFC)

The FY09 budget would fund the MREFC account at $147.5 million. This is a reduction of $73.2 million, or 33.2 percent, below the estimated current year level of $220.7 million. Part of this reduction is due to the completion of several MREFC projects in 2008; other projects must undergo a final design review process before additional funding will be requested, and are therefore not included in the FY09 budget request.

National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH)

The President’s FY09 budget proposes $144.4 million for the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), a reduction of about $400,000 from the FY08 level. Only the “We the People” program would receive an increase – $5 million (or 33 percent) more than the current year, for a total of $20 million in FY09. Otherwise, the majority of NEH’s core programs (including research, education, preservation and access, and the Digital Humanities Initiative) would be funded at exactly the same level as FY08, and NEH Challenge Grants would be cut by about $2.3 million.

II. LEGISLATIVE UPDATE

HEA Reauthorization

On Thursday, February 7, the House passed the “College Opportunity and Affordability Act of 2007,” which reauthorizes the Higher Education Act for the first time since 1998. The bill passed by a final vote of 354-58. The Senate approved its own version of comprehensive HEA reform last July by a 95-0 vote. Members of the House and Senate Education Committees will now head to conference to iron out the differences in their two HEA bills before sending the final reauthorization to the President to be signed into law.

Overall, the House-passed bill upholds the federal commitment to higher education by expanding college access and improving the financial aid process. Among the many positive reforms in the bill are provisions to:

• Protect students from aggressive marketing practices by lenders, and provide students fair and full information about their borrowing options when taking out and repaying student loans.

• Provide students with advance information on textbook pricing to help them plan for expenses before each semester, and ensure that colleges and faculty have full textbook pricing information when making purchasing decisions.

• Create new scholarships for active duty military personnel and their family members, and establish support centers to help veterans succeed in and graduate from college.

• Streamline the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) process, and create an easy-to-navigate two-page FAFSA-EZ form for low-income families.

• Help colleges recruit, retain, and graduate students with disabilities and expand eligibility for Pell Grant scholarships and other need-based aid for students with intellectual disabilities.

The University of California joined its peer AAU and NASULGC institutions in support of final passage of the College Opportunity and Affordability Act. We do, however, have concerns about several new provisions in the House bill, including new endowment and foreign giftreporting requirements, complaint procedures for Title VI international education programs, and peer-to-peer file sharing regulations. All in all, there are more than 200 potential new reporting requirements for colleges and universities in the current form of the bill. As the House and Senate prepare for the conference to reconcile the versions of the legislation, we will work with the higher education community to address these concerns.

Washington , DC Advocacy

Chancellor Block traveled to Washington, DC in January to meet with federal agency officials, Members of the California Congressional Delegation, and area alumni. During his two-day trip, he met with NSF Director Arden Bement and Deputy Director Kathie Olsen, Under Secretary of Education Sara Tucker, and OSTP Director John Maurburger. On Capitol Hill, he met with U.S. Representatives Adam Schiff, Linda Sanchez, Henry Waxman, David Dreier and Jerry Lewis. The Chancellor also returned to Washington in early February and met with NIH Director Elias Zerhouni.The annual “UCLA in Washington, DC” advocacy trip, hosted by the Office of Federal Relations, will take place on May 5-7, 2008. In the weeks ahead, we will be sharing details on the trip for interested faculty, staff, students and other members of the Bruin community.