President requests more R&D funds in budget.

In early February, President Clinton submitted his budget request for fiscal year 1998 to Congress. The White House predicted that the $1.69 trillion budget would shrink the deficit each year, resulting in a $17 billion surplus by fiscal year 2002. Despite concerns from congressional Republicans,

Included in the budget request is an increase in total federal funding for research and development across all agencies to approximately $75 billion - more than $1.6 billion, or 2 percent, over fiscal year 1997. Two percent may seem like a small increase, but in the current environment of shrinking resources, any funding increase could be considered a victory.

The slice of the total budgetary pie that goes to fund R&D is extremely small - only 4.4 cents out of every dollar in the budget request. Of that, almost 2.4 cents would go for defense-related activities, and the rest would go for nondefense R&D.

Within R&D programs across all agencies, $15.3 billion would go for basic research (an increase of $418 million, or 3 percent, over fiscal year 1997). In the following years, basic research is projected to increase by nearly 5 percent to fiscal year 2002. Also in the proposal is a raise in university-based research of $289 million, to a total of $13.3 billion, which includes $524 million for R&D in education technology. A 5-percent increase is requested for defense-related fundamental research, including an 8-percent increase in the Defense Department's basic research budget to $1.16 billion.

Overall, the budget request would increase funding for civilian applied research by 6 percent. This includes increases for the Commerce Department's Advanced Technology Program (raised to $275.6 million) and Manufacturing Extension Partnerships (up to $123.4 million), and $281 million for the multiagency Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles Program. The White House also proposes to extend the research and experimentation tax credit for one year.

The budget request for the Department of Education includes an extension of the Section 127 employee education-assistance tax exemption through 2000 for undergraduate- and graduate-level coursework - a move supported by ASME.

In general, most agencies with engineering, science, and technology programs would receive modest increases. For example, the total budget request for the Department of Commerce is $4.22 billion, up $466 million over fiscal year 1997. This would include $692.5 million (up from $572 million) for the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

The Department of Transportation (DOT) has requested a fiscal-year-1998 budget of $38.5 billion, about the same level as the previous fiscal year. Included are $250 million for the intelligent transportation system, a package of technologies designed to enhance the efficiency of the surface-transportation infrastructure, and $70 million for the Research and Special Programs Administration.

The $19.2 billion budget proposed for the Department of Energy (DOE) is slightly unusual because it includes $1.6 billion in up-front funding for construction. Such a request for advanced construction funding - and its associated move toward increased privatization - is a new approach for DOE but is already used by other federal agencies, including NASA.

Within the DOE total, up $2.6 billion over fiscal year 1997, is $876.4 million for the National Ignition Facility, a giant laser to be used for nuclear-weapons experiments currently scheduled for completion in 2002. Taking a hit would be the Fossil Energy Program, which would receive $385 million (down $135 million from last fiscal year), though energy-research activities would receive a modest increase to $2.54 billion.

The budget request for the National Science Foundation (NSF) is $3.4 billion, a $100 million increase. This includes $360.4 million for the Engineering Directorate, up from $347.9 million. And after several years of threats of severe budget cuts, NASA's funding future looks more sanguine: The agency's request is $13.5 billion, $200 million less than its current budget, but $400 million more than the $13.1 billion projected last year.

The president's proposal is the first step on the long road toward final budget approval. Congress now gets into the act, passing authorizing bills to create or continue an agency or program and to set funding ceilings, then enacting appropriations bills that provide the actual funds.

In February, the ASME Dynamic Systems and Control Division testified before a House Appropriations subcommittee in support of DOT R&D programs in the proposed budget. The Council on Education also plans to testify on the NSF budget request later this spring.

The full text of the president's budget request is available on the World Wide Web at www.access.gpo.gov/omb or from the Government Relations page's What's Hot link on ASMENET, at www.asme.org.