1. Catalyzing Advocacy in Science and Engineering (CASE) workshop 2018
Tiffany Kaul & Sonia Rao

2. American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and CASE
Learned about the role of science in policy-making and the federal policy-making process
Learned about the structure and organization of Congress, the federal budget and appropriations processes
Learned more about effective science communication and civic engagement
Goals of AAAS
Enhance communication among scientists, engineers, and the public;
Promote and defend the integrity of science and its use;
Strengthen support for the science and technology enterprise;
Provide a voice for science on societal issues;
Promote the responsible use of science in public policy;
Strengthen and diversify the science and technology workforce;
Foster education in science and technology for everyone;
Increase public engagement with science and technology; and
Advance international cooperation in science

3. Federal budget is a big deal!
No budget , no policy
Major impact for R&D and innovation
Most basic research and university research is federally funded

4. The Budget Process at a Glance
Executive Branch
Legislative Branch
White House
Budget Committees
Budget Resolution
OMB
Agencies
OSTP
February Budget Request
Appropriations Committees & Subcommittees
SPENDING BILLS (x12)
Timeline is 18 months or more from the start of agency planning to completion of appropriations and start of the fiscal year on October 1, however…
Congress hasn’t gotten appropriations finished on time since 1996

5. Agencies in the Budget Process
Executive Branch
Agency process kicks off 18+ months in advance. Generally:
Developing strategic priorities, objectives (winter/early spring)
Then developing and iterating concrete, detailed program proposals and scenarios (spring/summer)
Often bottom-up in the details: small units  larger units  agency leadership/CFO
Ingredients include:
Agency head and staff judgment
External input from advisory or review committees, workshops or meetings, NAS decadal surveys, Congress, etc.
Incrementalism: last year’s budget influences next year’s
Performance metrics
White House
OMB
Agencies
OSTP

6. The White House in the Budget Process
Executive Branch
OMB = Office of Management and Budget
Spring: Guidance memo to agencies
Fall: Thorough, detailed review of agency budget submissions, followed by “passbacks” and appeals
OMB’s job is to constrain spending
OSTP = Office of Science and Technology Policy
Summer: joint memo with OMB outlining broad S&T priority areas for investment
Advice (with PCAST) and coordination to President, agencies, OMB, NSTC on science investments and strategies
High-level political, spending, or legislative priorities
Negotiation with agencies
Things must wrap in January
This is all truncated in transition years
White House
OMB
Agencies
OSTP

7. Office of Science and Technology (OSTP)
Created in 1976 to provide the Executive office with advice on scientific, engineering, and technological aspects of the economy, national security, homeland security, health, and environment among other topics
Current OSTP priority areas are military superiority, security, prosperity, energy dominance, and health; priority practices include supporting innovative early-stage research
Science and Tech highlights: drone pilot system, gene editing, artificial intelligence
President Truman was first to have a science assistant
Obama administration had an activist view with OSTP
Now philosophy is to let orgs/states do their thing and OSTP should make sure they reach their mission goals
50 people in OSTP during Bush from 130 in Obama. Low 50s now.

8. The Budget Process at a Glance
Legislative Branch
Executive Branch
White House
Budget Committees
Budget Resolution
OMB
Agencies
OSTP
February Budget Request
Appropriations Committees & Subcommittees
SPENDING BILLS (x12)
Congress has the Power of the Purse
Does the President’s Budget even matter? Only as much as Congress lets it

9. Appropriations Committees & Subcommittees
The Budget Resolution
Legislative Branch
Established by 1974 CBA
Intended to reassert legislative control
Overall framework:
Revenue, deficit, and total spending targets
Non-binding recommendations
Key for science: discretionary spending limit to govern appropriations
Isn’t law and can’t change law, but can set up reconciliation instructions (i.e. tax reform)
Best seen as a political document as much as a governing document
Partly because it isn’t always adopted…
Budget Committees
Budget Resolution
Appropriations Committees & Subcommittees
SPENDING BILLS (x12)

10. Enter the Appropriators
Executive Branch
Legislative Branch
White House
Budget Committees
Budget Resolution
OMB
Agencies
OSTP
February Budget Request
Appropriations Committees & Subcommittees
SPENDING BILLS (x12)
Budget resolution discretionary target  spending caps for each appropriations bill
Twelve appropriations subcommittees = twelve spending bills

11. From Budget to Appropriations
Budget Resolution limits  Approps Committees  Subcommittees
These caps remain in place all the way through floor consideration
Led by “Cardinals”
Committee Chairs: Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (NJ), Sen. Thad Cochran (MS)
Ranking Members: Rep. Nita Lowey (NY), Sen. Patrick Leahy (VT)
Appropriators will often have their own priorities
“All politics is local”
National needs, merit, ideology, constituent needs, balance and tradeoffs, waste, and good government
“President proposes, Congress disposes”
Key: Getting bills that can pass

14. Energy & Water Subcommittee
House
Senate
Chair
Mike Simpson (ID)
Lamar Alexander (TN)
Ranking Member
Marcy Kaptur (OH)
Dianne Feinstein (CA)
Tradeoffs: Balancing basic research and facilities, labs, tech portfolio, NNSA; also Army Corps, Bureau of Reclamation
NNSA the biggest priority of late
Office of Science: as basic science arm, generally supported
National labs help
Technology programs: Congress tends to fund when funding is available, but can also be first on the chopping block
Some value innovation programs more than others
Regional energy politics and economics
Ideology matters
National nuclear security administration

15. Labor, HHS, Education Subcommittee
House
Senate
Chair
Tom Cole (OK)
Roy Blunt (MO)
Ranking Member
Rosa DeLauro (CT)
Patty Murray (WA)
Deep divisions over public health programs, education, labor
But everybody loves NIH!
We have now had multiple years of multibillion dollar increases
Alzheimer’s, cancer, opioids among the big priorities lately
Congress has so far protected NIH awardees from indirect cost changes
Other programs also have their supporters (BioShield, BARDA, CDC, etc)

16. Commerce, Justice, Science Subcommittee
House
Senate
Chair
John Culberson (TX)
Richard Shelby (AL)
Ranking Member
Jose Serrano (NY)
Jeanne Shaheen (NH)
Tradeoffs: Balancing Justice, Commerce, NASA, NSF; smaller bills this year
NSF: many appropriators still value basic research
Though disciplinary fights and attacks can have their toll
NASA: recent priority, especially popular with current cardinals
Again: labs and research centers help
NOAA and NIST: more controversy but aspects of these agencies do have supporters, often for locally-driven reasons
(i.e. Sea Grant has been protected)
NOAA – national oceanic atmospheric administration
NIST- national institute of standards and technology

17. The Federal Budget Cycle
Gov’t is usually working on 3 budgets at a time
(However, presidential transitions complicate things)

18. 2018 Omnibus- Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018
$1.3 trillion spending bill passed on March 22, 2018 and funds the federal government through September 30, 2018
Includes large increases to both defense and non-defense spending following 2018 budget-cap increases
Highlights
NOAA budget increases by $234 million
DOD budget increased by $61 billion
$359 million to cancer research, $125 million for traumatic brain injury and mental health
DOE budget increases by $1.1 billion
NIH budget increased by $3 billion (largest research funding increase in the last decade)
Focus on addiction and obesity research
~11% increase for Research
Largest since Recovery Act
Excluding stimulus: largest in 15 years
NSF: +5% for research
DOE big winner
Office of Science: +16%
Priorities include exascale, fusion, user facilities
ARPA-E and other programs saved, tech boosted
DOD: science and tech +6%
DARPA +6%
Navy basic research: +10.5%
Manufacturing programs among priorities (including National Defense Education Program)
Other winners: Planetary science, competitive ag grants, NIH, NNSA, DHS S&T
Climate/environmental research programs protected, and in some cases boosted
More than $3 billion for opioids research, surveillance, response (CDC, NIH, SAMHSA, Justice, FDA, etc)

19. NIST= national institute of standards and technology
USDA= Dept of Agriculture
DHS= Dept of homeland security

20. FY 2019: Hurry up and wait, again
Will probably be OK year, but certainly less generous than FY 2018 given spending caps
Only a 3% increase allowed for nondefense overall in FY19, versus the 12% jump in FY18

22. CEO of AAAS Rush Holt
"I would think that when the White House last year released their immigration policy they did not think about science AAAS was there to say that that would hurt science...You must preserve freedom of movement and ideas... and that policy would be an affront to science not just individuals...we are frequently speaking out on such things...We find ourselves in challenging times”

23. Civic Engagement Take-Aways
What influences members of congress
Media
Personal convictions/issues
District
Most effective way to communicate
Know your audience
Tell your story
Talk about your experiences as a student
Share informed opinions
Be willing to say I don’t know
Connect invention to jobs, economics, high skilled workforce
Don’t cast federal funding of R&D as an entitlement or criticize other interest groups
Don’t use jargons

24. Opportunities AAAS Fellowships OSTP science policy internships
S&T Policy Fellow – learn first-hand about policy making while contributing knowledge and analytical skills to federal policymaking process. Serve year long assignment in branches of federal government fellows are selected each year.
OSTP science policy internships
Work to develop national science and technology policy
Other opportunities
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health policy fellowship

25. Sonia and Tiff on the Hill