January 23, 2014
On Friday, January 17, the president signed into law the "Consolidated Appropriations Act" of Fiscal Year 2014 (also called the Omnibus). The legislation will provide the U.S. National Science Foundation with $7.172 billion, an increase of $287.8 million (or 4.2%) over the FY 2013 Current Plan level of $6.884 billion, and is $454 million (or 6%) below the FY 2014 request. This amount is $177 million (or 2.5%) above the House previously recommended FY 2014 level, and $254 million (or 3.4%) below the Senate recommended FY 2014 level.
In the Omnibus, the Research and Related Activities account receives $5.81 billion, $265 million (4.8%) above the Current Plan, and $403 million (6.5%) below the request. The Education and Human Resources Directorate is given $846.5 million in the bill, an increase of $13.2 million (1.6%) over the Current Plan, and $34 million (3.8%) below the request. The Major Research, Equipment and Facilities Construction account is funded at $200 million, $3.8 million (2%) over the Current Plan, and $10 million (4.8%) below the request. The Agency Operation and Awards Management account is given $298 million, $4.4 million (1.5%) over the Current Plan, but is $6 million (2.1%) below the request. The National Science Board is provided $4.3 million, an increase of 4.4% from the Current Plan, and a 3.8% reduction from the request. The Office of Inspector General receives $14.2 million, an increase of 7.7% over the CP, and a reduction of nearly 1% from the request.
Please see the table below for details. Numbers are presented in millions of dollars.
| FY 2013 Current Plan ($) |
FY 2014 Request ($) |
FY 2014 Omnibus ($) |
Difference vs. Current Plan ($) | Difference vs. Current Plan (Percent) | Difference vs. FY 2014 Request ($) | Difference vs. FY 2014 Request (Percent) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Research and Related Activities |
5,543.72 |
6,212.29 |
5,808.92 |
265.20 |
4.78% |
(403) |
-6.49% |
| Education and Human Resources |
833.31 |
880.30 |
846.50 |
13.19 |
1.58% |
(34) |
-3.84% |
| Major Research, Equipment and Facilities Construction |
196.17 |
210.12 |
200.00 |
3.83 |
1.95% |
(10) |
-4.82% |
| Agency Operation and Awards Management |
293.60 |
304.29 |
298.00 |
4.40 |
1.50% |
(6) |
-2.07% |
| Office of Inspector General |
13.19 |
14.32 |
14.20 |
1.01 |
7.66% |
(0) |
-0.84% |
| Office of the National Science Board |
4.12 |
4.47 |
4.30 |
0.18 |
4.37% |
(0) |
-3.80% |
| Total |
$6,884.11 |
$7,625.79 |
$7,171.92 |
$287.81 |
4.18% |
($454) |
-5.95% |
Totals may not add due to rounding.
Full report language
National Science Foundation
This Act includes $7,171,918,000 for the National Science Foundation (NSF).
Research and Related Activities
This Act includes $5,808,918,000 for Research and Related Activities (R&RA).
Terminations and reductions.-NSF's R&RA termination and reduction proposals are incorporated unless specifically noted otherwise in this statement or in language in either the House or Senate report that is not modified or superseded by this statement.
International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP).-The agreement provides the requested amount for IODP.
Cross-Foundation initiatives.-Limits on the implementation of OneNSF initiatives as proposed in the Senate report are not included. However, future growth in interdisciplinary research should not come at the expense of adequate support for infrastructure and core research programs in each of NSF's individual scientific disciplines. NSF is urged to assess and refine the balance among these activities in its budget request for fiscal year 2015 and future years.
Major Research Equipment and Facilities Construction
This Act includes $200,000,000 for Major Research Equipment and Facilities Construction. Funds are provided at the request level for all projects for which construction has already begun, and remaining funds are for the initiation of the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) project. If NSF determines that LSST requires additional funding in fiscal year 2014, NSF may submit a transfer proposal to provide such funds.
Education and Human Resources
This Act includes $846,500,000 for Education and Human Resources (EHR).
Terminations and reductions.-NSF's EHR termination and reduction proposals are incorporated unless specifically noted otherwise in this statement or in language in either the House or Senate report that is not modified or superseded by this statement.
Broadening participation programs.-The agreement includes funding at the fiscal year 2013 current plan level for Centers for Research Excellence in Science and Technology and at the Senate level for the Historically Black Colleges and Universities Program, the Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation, the Tribal Colleges and Universities Program and the Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate.
NSF shall comply with both House direction to report on current and potential future efforts to meet the needs of Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSis) through existing NSF programs and Senate direction to consider the establishment of an HSI-specific program similar to NSF's other broadening participation programs.
Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL).-The agreement includes $55,000,000 for AISL.
Agency Operations and Award Management
This Act includes $298,000,000 for Agency Operations and Award Management.
Office of the National Science Board
This Act includes $4,300,000 for the National Science Board.
Office of Inspector General
This Act includes $14,200,000 for the OIG.
Administrative Provision
This Act includes a provision that establishes terms and conditions for the transfer of funds.