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For Immediate Release April 19, 1993
SIX MAJOR R & D INITIATIVES
INCLUDED IN PRESIDENT'S FY'94 BUDGE
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President Clinton's FY'94 budget includes funding for six major research anddevelopment initiatives that will be implemented through coordinated efforts ofa number of agencies. These six initiatives reflect the Administration' scommitment to invest in America's future by investing in science andtechnology.
Jack Gibbons, Assistant to the President for Science and Technology, says "These initiatives are essential to the President's economic program. They arean integra l part of the President's overall strategy to use science andtechnology to achieve national goals. A strong economy and high quality oflife depend on initiatives like these."
Specifically, the President has proposed $1.4 billion for AdvancedMan ufacturing Technology; $1 billion for High Performance Computing andCommunications (HPCC); $1.5 billion for Global Change Research; over $2 billionfor Advanced Materials and Processing; $4.3 billion for Biotechnology Research;over $2.3 billion for scie nce, Mathematics, Engineering, and TechnologyEducation. In addition, $96 million is proposed for Information InfrastructureTechnology and Applications, a component of the HPCC Initiative. (See attachedTable for Department and agency budget requests.)
The initiatives were developed through the Federal Coordinating Council forScience and Engineering, and Technology (FCCSET), chaired by Gibbons, who isalso Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy. " These FCCSETinitiatives dem onstrated that government can work cohesively to improve theefficiency in all our science and technology investments," Gibbons says.
The six FCCSET initiatives are summarized in a report supplementing thePresident's FY 1994 Budget entitled "FCCSE T Initiatives in the FY 1994 Budget,"now available from the Office of Science and Technology Policy.
Gibbons adds, " In the current, very constrained budget climate, the supportfor the FCCSET Initiatives reflects the determination by the Preside nt and theVice President to make research and development essential elements of economicgrowth."
The Advanced Manufacturing Technology (AMT) Initiative will helpindustry harness technology to improve the Nation's economic strength. It willfoster the shift from rigid mass production to flexible manufacturing thatresponds quickly and cost - effectively to rapidly changing market demands. Atop priority is coordination of the public/private partnership to produce a low- pollution vehicle that can recapture world market share for the American autoindustry.
The agencies participating in the HPCC Initiative intend topartner with industry to " network the nation," ensuring that each sector ofthe economy has ac cess to state - of - the - art computing and communicationsequipment. This type of access will mean that students in Idaho canparticipate in lab experiments in New York, that the medical records ofaccident victims are available in distant States, that business can formregional alliances to develop and market new products, and that scientistsmodeling global change have ready discourse with their colleagues around theglobe.
The U. S. Global Change Research Program Initiative seek s toreduce the uncertainties about the rate and consequences of global change byprobing current atmospheric conditions and the historical record. Theinformation generated by the basic research program is analyzed to developpolicy options for response strategies -- mitigation and adaptation -- thatprovide cost - effective insurance against potentially severe effects ofenvironmental change.
The Advanced Materials and Processing (AMP) Initiative will helpestablish the United Stat es as the leader in advanced materials and processing.In FY'94, AMP participants will direct resources toward projects such as:improving the function and lowering the cost of superconducting materials foruse in power lines; developing new refrigerants to replace ozone - depletingCFC's; and developing materials to enhance the suitability and durability ofbiomedical implants, such as artificial joints and organs.
The Biotechnology Initiative aims to sustain and extend U. S.leaders hip in biotechnology research, enhance the quality of life for allAmericans, and spur the growth of the U. .S. economy. Advances in health -related biotechnology can help contain spiralling health care costs through newdiagnostic, prevention, and trea tment techniques. Gene therapy offers hope fortreating cystic fibrosis, cancer, AIDS, and other diseases. The Federalresearch program spurs much of the commercialization effort forbiotechnology.
In support of the President's efforts to improve mathematics and scienceeducation, the Science, Mathematics, Engineering, and TechnologyEducation Initiative will help to ensure U. S. world leadership inbasic science, mathematics, engineering, and technology, build a highly trainedwork force, and increase public understanding of science. It will addresselementary and secondary system reform by fostering standards - based systemicreform, support curriculum revisions, provide pre - and post - doctoral studentsupport, foster improvemen ts in technical education, and assist technologytransfer, particularly by helping transfer military expertise in education andtraining to the civilian sector.
Sixteen Cabinet Departments and independent agencies that are members of FCCSETare par ticipating in one or more of the FY 1994 Initiatives. Seven FCCSETmembers are participating in all six Initiatives: Departments of Commerce,Defense, Energy, and Health and Human Services, as well as the NationalAeronautics and Space Administration, Environmental Protection Agency, andNational Science Foundation.
FCCSET plays a critical role in planning, budgeting, and coordinatinggovernment - wide R & D initiatives. It helps ensure efficient use ofFederal R & D resources. In close cooperation with the Office of Managementand Budget, FCCSET strives to achieve consensus on how to use R & Dprograms to reach national goals and to guide the actions of participatingagencies.
Funding for FCCSET Initiatives, FY 1994 (Bud get Authority in millions ofdollars)
Agency Manufacturing HPCC* Global Change Materials Biotechnolgy Education Total 1,385 1,000 1,476 2,061 4,298
2,334 DOD 596 385 7 422 94 539 DOI 64 34 22 6 90
USDA 50 48 46 191 24 DOC 141 14 70 57 14 6
HHS 47 2 93 3,369 464 DOT 13
DOE 367 124 98 946 245 128 ED 2 356 DVA
72 EPA 1 12 27 4 20 10 NASA
36 111 1,013 131 40 84 NSF 130 305 170 328 216 622 AID**
31 SI** 7 10 * HPCC = High Performance Computing and Communications; does not include$96 million for Information Ifrastructure Technology andApplications (IITA).
** Is Not a member of full FCCSET (AID = Agency for InternationalDevelopment; SI = Smithsonian Institution