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IP: CRA-B on NSF Appropriations
From: Dave Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>
Date: Wed, 22 Oct 1997 16:08:18 -0400
COMPUTING RESEARCH ASSOCIATION BULLETIN =3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-= =3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D- Volume 5=A0=A0 Number 2=A0=A0=A0 October 22, 1997 ------------------------------------------------------------------- The Computing Research Association is a non-profit association of computer science and computer engineering departments, industrial research institutions and affiliated technical societies in the United States andCanada. To Subscribe: Send the following mail message to listproc () cra org: subscribe cra_b firstname lastname Archives:=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0 Located at http://www.cra.org/cra_b/. =3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-= =3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D- NSF APPROPRIATIONS BILL: House and Senate conferees agreed on a Fiscal 1998 funding package that included the National Science Foundation. Some of the details of that agreement are beginning to become clearer and in some cases foggier, and several affect the Computer and Information Science and Engineering directorate. As usual in conference, the overall NSF mark split the difference between the generous House mark and a positive, but smaller increase from the Senate. But, because of some reshuffling among categories, the research line item was actually larger than either chamber had given originally. First, the numbers: Line Item=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0= =A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0 Request=A0=A0 House=A0=A0 Senate=A0 Final =A0 (in millions of dollars) Research and =A0 Related Activities=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0= =A0=A0 2,515=A0=A0=A0 2,538=A0=A0 2,524=A0=A0 2,545 Major Research =A0 Equipment=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0= =A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0 85=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0 175=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0= 85=A0=A0=A0=A0 109 Education and Human =A0 Resources=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0= =A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0 625=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0 632=A0=A0=A0=A0 625=A0=A0= =A0=A0 632 Salaries and Expenses, =A0 and IG=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0= =A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0 142=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0 142=A0=A0=A0=A0= 142=A0=A0=A0=A0 142 Total=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0= =A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0 3,367=A0=A0 3,487=A0=A0 3,377=A0=A0= 3,428 Some details: Appropriations bills, even NSF's, are typically filled with specific allocations and critiques of particular programs, and this one is no exception. Many relate to CISE. Some examples: Next Generation Internet (NGI): Perhaps the most confusing and complicated action was with regard to NGI. The House had increased NSF's NGI budget from $10M to $23M, while the Senate left it at $10M. The conference report established the House mark, good news, but appropriated no money for it. Rather, they directed NSF to take $23M from a fund held by Network Solutions, Inc (NSI) which came from user fees charged for domain name registration. NSI was operating under an NSF contract, which specified that excess income be held and used for improving the Internet. As has been widely reported, the whole issue of domain name registration has blown up into a major fight, with the fund in the middle. Lawsuits have already been filed over NSI control of domain name registration and fee collection, and, should NSF actually try to get their hands on that money for NGI purposes, more will probably be initiated. Many think it is highly unlikely that NSF will have a clean and timely chance to spend that money this fiscal year. The net effect, so to speak, may be a zero appropriation for NSF's NGI activities. The conference report also expressed the concern raised in the Senate that NGI participation be equitably dispersed among the states, and directed NSF to produce a report on that issue for the committees by next March. Knowledge and Distributed Intelligence (KDI): The House was positive, but the Senate had a negative reaction to the KDI and withheld funding . The Senate report language found the program somewhat fuzzy and lacking in detail. Conference report language expresses the committee's expectations that NSF provide more detailed milestones and guideposts before KDI money is spent, but did not hold the money out of the budget. Partnerships for Advanced Computational Infrastructure (PACI): The House raised concerns about the transition funding for the two losing Supercomputer Centers who were bidders in the PACI competition. They added $5M to the transition funds to be made available to those centers. The conference report removed the $5M, but retained language expressing concern. It directed NSF to monitor the transition carefully and submit a report with the FY 1999 Budget request that particularly analyzes the fate of "high-end" users of the IBM SP (the system currently in operation at the Cornell Center). On other fronts, the conference bill retained the Senate's increase of $40M for plant genome research, and deferred to the next fiscal year one-half of the $70M allotment for upgrading NSF's Antarctic facilities. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES SCIENCE POLICY STUDY: Congressman Vern Ehlers (R MICHIGAN), Vice Chair of the House Science COmmittee,=A0 has been asked by House Speaker Newt Gingrich to conduct a= year long review of U.S. Science Policy. Ehlers, speaking to a group of computer association executives a few days ago, said that the study will hopefully lead to some form of bill or resolution, that will reestablich the contract and attract bipartisan consensus on the government's role in funding scientific research. The study will formally kick off tomorrow (Oct 23rd) with a lunch meeting with a few dozen science leaders. Mr. Ehlers, Mr. Gingrich, and Chair of the Science Committee, F. James Sensenbrenner (R WISCONSIN). The study will have a web page, and the CRA web page (http://www.cra.org/) will provide a link to it when available. Also watch the House Science Committee web page (http://www.house.gov/science) for progress reports.=20 ************************************************** "Photons have neither morals nor visas" -- Dave Farber 1994 **************************************************
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