1. The Federal R&D Budget Process 101
Matt Hourihan
October 17, 2018
For the Vanderbilt STEM Advocacy and Policy Seminar
AAAS R&D Budget and Policy Program

2. The Federal Budget is Kind Of a Big Deal
Major impact for R&D and innovation: most basic research, and most university research, is federally funded
“Politics is who gets what, when, and how.” - Harold Lasswell
Public dollars are scarce resources
The budget process is ultimately a negotiation between competing interests (and their proxies) in a decentralized system
Budget choices are influenced by many things at every step:
values; politics and political constituencies; power and control; tradeoffs; incrementalism; rules and institutions; and even merit!

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

8. 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)
Congress has the Power of the Purse
Does the President’s Budget even matter? Yes and no…

9. 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 process (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)

11. 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)

14. From Budget to Appropriations
Budget Resolution limits  Appropriations Committee Chairs  Subcommittees (302(b) limits)
Information gathering:
Hearings with agencies
“Dear colleagues” or other input from members
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
Conference committees to resolve differences
Senate can sometimes moderate changes
Appropriators and their choices
“All politics is local”
Personal legislator interest
Public interest
Ideology and party preferences
Key: Getting a bill that can actually pass (duh)
Incrementalism helps

15. 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

16. 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: public health and preparedness matter (BioShield, BARDA, CDC, etc)

17. 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 continue to value basic research
Disciplinary fights and national interest controversies?
NASA: recent priority (J-O-B-S)
Again: labs and research centers help
Balancing the science portfolio?
NOAA and NIST: some program elements more controversial than others (often for local reasons – i.e. Sea Grant)
NOAA: climate research funding can be a source of dispute, of course
NIST: lab programs have been supported, but industrial innovation/manufacturing programs can be a target

18. 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)

19. 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!”

20. 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

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

22. Where Are We Headed?
FY 2019 appropriations: five bills done on time, fastest progress in 22 years
Defense, Energy, Labor-H, Veterans, Legislative Branch
CR in place for remaining seven bills until December 7
Covers NASA, NSF, USDA, Commerce, others
FY 2020 and 2021: cap negotiations one more time
Who controls Congress next year?
Will widening deficit impact the negotiations?
Beyond the caps: what happens with the discretionary budget?

25. ????

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