1. The Federal R&D Budget Part 2: The Congressional Process
Matt Hourihan
September 13, 2018
For the AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellows
AAAS R&D Budget and Policy Program

2. The Basic 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)

3. The Basic 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)
Congress has the Power of the Purse (per U.S. Constitution, Article I, Section 9)
Does the President’s science budget matter? Yes and no…more “no”

5. Appropriations Committees & Subcommittees
The Budget Resolution
Legislative Branch
Established by the 1974 Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act
Intended to reassert, and broaden, legislative control over the budget
Also created the House and Senate budget committees, which write the Resolution
Overall framework:
Revenue, deficit, and total spending targets
Typically includes programmatic recommendations
Key for science spending: 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)

9. 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)

12. From Budget to Appropriations
Budget Resolution limits  Appropriations Committee Chairs  Subcommittees (302(b) limits)
Information gathering:
Hearings with agencies
“Dear colleagues” and other input from members, authorizers
Constituents, experts, lobbyists
Subcommittee  Committee  Floor
Bills AND reports: Appropriations reports provide important guidance to agencies
Can be amended throughout, subject to 302(b) caps
Bills have to pass both chambers; differences are negotiated/resolved in conference committee
Senate can sometimes moderate
Appropriators and their choices
“All politics is local”
Personal legislator interest
Ideology and party preferences
Key: Getting a bill that can actually pass (duh)
Incrementalism helps

13. 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 funding has been a big priority of late
Office of Science: as basic science arm, generally supported in more bipartisan fashion
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

14. 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, neuroscience, opioids among the big priorities lately
Congress has so far protected NIH awardees from indirect cost changes, salary cap changes, etc
Other programs also have their supporters (BioShield, BARDA, CDC, etc)

15. Commerce, Justice, Science Subcommittee
House
Senate
Chair
John Culberson (TX)
Jerry Moran (KS)
Ranking Member
Jose Serrano (NY)
Jeanne Shaheen (NH)
How to balance different missions?
NSF: many appropriators still value basic research
Disciplinary fights and attacks?
NASA: recent priority, especially popular with current cardinals
Again: labs and research centers help (J-O-B-S)
Balancing the science portfolio?
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: climate research funding can be a source of dispute, of course
NIST: lab programs often get support, but industrial innovation/manufacturing programs can be a target

16. 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)

17. 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)
“Please don’t veto us!”

18. Other Legislative Appropriations Tools
Continuing Resolutions: often necessary to avoid a shutdown October 1
…with depressing regularity
Length can vary, from a day to a year
Uncertainty? New starts? Spending slowdowns?
Omnibus (multi-bill package)
Or minibus, or megabus, or cromnibus, or…
Supplementals
i.e. Zika, Ebola, Hurricanes
Also war funding
Not subject to spending caps

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

20. Mandatory Spending: An Alternate Path for R&D?
Appropriating discretionary dollars is basically a two-step process
First authorization from authorizing committees (i.e. House Energy & Commerce), then appropriation from Appropriations Committee
Mandatory or direct spending only requires the first step
Recent examples:
Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR)
Diabetes Research (NIH)
Biomass R&D Program (USDA)
Other Recent Proposals:
Obama’s FY 2017 budget request
21st Century Cures, originally
Potential challenges:
Shifting power away from appropriators
Can make it harder for Congress to intervene
Paying for it
Potential advantages: Stability?

26. But Congress did not go along with these changes…
Senate rules: need 60 votes to change the caps
That gives minority Democrats a measure of power, and thus mandates deal-making
(same story with individual spending bills)
Defense hawks: wanted to see bigger increases for defense spending; accepted nondefense increases to get it
Moderate Republicans: not in favor of harsh fiscal choices, or otherwise are “Senate realists”
"This is once again an act of Senate denial," Rep. Charlie Dent (R-PA), on talks to get Defense spending through alone
Fiscal conservatives: revolted against budget deal, but didn’t have votes to stop it
Ultimately…

30. Where Are We Headed?
Good progress; conference reports for several bills done in September??
Energy + veterans already done
Some appropriations won’t be fully finalized until later in the fall given midterms, requiring a partial CR
FY 2020 and 2021: cap negotiations one more time
Who controls Congress next year?
Will widening deficit impact the negotiations?
How likely is it that the discretionary budget – and thus, research spending – keeps growing?

31. ????

34. mhouriha@aaas.org 202-326-6607 http://www.aaas.org/rd
For more info…