FY 2008 Supplemental--Help is on the way, we hope.....

In FY 2008 (our current FY) Dept. of Energy, NSF, etc. did not fare as well as the research community had hoped. Numerous layoffs at several national energy labs, which affects some A&M researchers, plus the slowdown at NSF sends a pall over R&D in the country.

Today, the House released information for forthcoming vote likely to be enacted a measure to help address the measure. It's attached to the DoD supplemental bill that primarily funds the war effort. There is a veto threat. But before that, the bill must be approved by the Senate.

Here are the numbers as to be voted on by the House:

The measures include $400 million in funding for science. The breakdown of the science funding is as follows:

--$150 million for the National Institutes of Health (NIH)
--$62.5 million for the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science
The DOE is instructed to utilize this funding to eliminate all furloughs and reductions in force which are a direct result of budgetary constraints.
--$62.5 million for DOE Environmental Cleanup
--$62.5 million for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
--$62.5 million for the National Science Foundation (NSF), of which:
--$22.5 million would be directed to research, with $5 million for the Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR)
--$40 million would be directed for education, with $20 million allocated to the Robert Noyce Scholarship Program and $20 million is to develop a new Program to encourage top college juniors and seniors majoring in STEM fields.

The supplemental also includes the veteran's education provisions supported by the higher education community.