Administration proposes FY20 cuts to federal science programs

Funding for Earth system science would take a hit

Apr 10, 2019 - by Staff

On March 11, the White House released the administration’s fiscal year 2020 budget request, about a month behind schedule due to the December-January shutdown. Similar to previous spending requests, science funding and other non-defense discretionary spending were significantly cut. The proposed budget will encounter considerable opposition in Congress.

In addition to Congress passing funding bills, they are also facing an expiring resolution on the budget caps. Budget caps on spending were instituted in 2011 to reduce the deficit over the next ten years. Congress has been passing deals to raise the caps since then, with the most recent one expected to expire at the end of this fiscal year, on September 30. The president’s budget adheres to the lower cap levels, which play a role in the dramatic cuts to spending.

We are continuing to discuss with members of Congress the importance of federal investments in science. While we do not anticipate that these cuts will take place, we do want to make the Earth system science community aware of relevant numbers in the latest proposal.

Here are a few highlights:

NSF

  • NSF budget request is $7.1 billion, which is 12.6% below FY19 enacted.
  • NSF Geosciences budget request is $787 million, which is a 13.3% decrease from FY18 actuals. There was some one-time funding for infrastructure in FY18, which accounts for part of the decrease. However, cuts are also proposed.

NOAA

  • NOAA budget request is $4.7 billion, which is 17.2% below FY19 enacted.
  • NOAA Oceanic & Atmospheric Research budget request is $335 million, which is a 41% decrease from FY19 enacted.
  • NOAA National Weather Service budget request is $1,082 million, which is a 7% decrease from FY19 enacted.

NASA

  • NASA Science budget request is $6.3 billion, which is 9% below FY19 enacted.
  • NASA Earth Sciences budget request is $1.8 billion, which is an 8% decrease from FY19 enacted.
  • NASA Heliophysics budget request is $705 million, which is a 2.1% increase from FY19 enacted.

DOE

  • DOE Science budget request is $5.5 billion, which is 16% below FY19 enacted.

USGS

  • USGS budget request is $984 million, which is 15% below FY19 enacted.

More about the federal budget

If you are interested in learning more about the budget process for key agencies providing funding for Earth system science, here are a few websites:

 

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