Geoscience Policy Monthly Review
august 2017
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budget
White House releases research and development budget priorities for FY 2019
August 17, 2017
Mick Mulvaney, Director of the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and Michael Kratsios, Deputy Assistant to the President at the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), issued a memo for the heads of executive departments and agencies regarding the budget priorities for research and development (R&D) in fiscal year (FY) 2019. The memo highlights R&D priority areas for formulating FY 2019 budget submissions, provides additional guidelines for balancing new priorities with existing demands, and encourages R&D investments that best serve the American people, according to OMB.
The main priority areas identified in the memo include American military superiority, homeland security, economic growth, energy independence, and public health. Following the lead of previous FY 2018 budget guidance, the memo emphasizes that federally-funded energy R&D should focus on private sector cooperation, particularly for commercialization and funding of later-stage R&D. The memo also encourages funding basic research that drives economic prosperity by empowering the private sector to take later-stage research to the marketplace.
The Priority Practices called out in the memo highlight increasing government accountability and efficiency, and direct agencies to ensure that R&D proposals do not duplicate existing projects, are based on sound science, and have the potential to contribute to the good of the American public. The memo also asks agencies to identify R&D projects that could be undertaken by the private industry sector, and to modify or eliminate projects for which federal involvement may no longer be necessary.
The Workforce and Education section of the memo presses for strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education and apprenticeships to build a strong American workforce. In particular, it dictates that agencies should prioritize expansion of the STEM workforce to women and other underrepresented groups.
Source: Executive Office of the President
Hurricane Harvey puts additional strain on the federal appropriations process
August 28, 2017
Hurricane Harvey made landfall on the Gulf coast of Texas as a category 4 storm on August 25, dumping massive amounts of rain on southeast Texas and surrounding areas. Widespread flooding and storm damage ensued as the storm moved over the land, displacing and endangering the lives of tens of thousands of inhabitants. Houston, TX, the fourth most populated city in the United States, was hit particularly hard by the storm. As a result, the projected disaster relief costs may put a large financial strain on Congress when it returns to session after the August recess.
Before Harvey made landfall, President Donald Trump pre-emptively approved a disaster declaration to prepare for the hurricane’s impacts; however, Congress will likely have to negotiate ways to provide additional emergency relief funds in the coming weeks. White House Homeland Security Adviser Thomas Bossert estimated that there is currently about $3 billion in the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) disaster relief fund. If Congress passes an appropriations bill for Homeland Security before the end of fiscal year (FY) 2017 on September 30, it would potentially authorize $7.3 billion in discretionary funding to the disaster relief fund for FY 2018.
In response to Hurricane Sandy in 2012, Congress passed H.R.41 in 2013 to temporarily increase the borrowing authority of FEMA for carrying out the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), providing nearly a $10 billion increase in NFIP funding for recovery and relief. Shortly afterwards, Congress passed the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act (H.R.152), authorizing approximately $60 billion in relief funds. The NFIP is up for reauthorization on September 30. Congress also must deal with an appropriations package to continue funding the entire federal government by the same date.
Sources: E&E News, Federal Emergency Management Agency, White House Office of the Press Secretary