AAS ACTION ALERT 2000-5

 

Summary

 

AAS members should write letters to their members of Congress and members of the appropriations committees supporting the House VA-HUD-IA appropriations subcommittee report and seeking funding levels for NSF closer to the Administration’s request.  The length of this alert is due to the addresses provided at the end of the email.

 

Background

 

On May 23, the House VA-HUD-IA Appropriations Subcommittee (the subcommittee responsible for NASA and NSF appropriations) sent their draft VA-HUD-IA appropriations bill to the full House Appropriations Committee for approval.  Approval of this draft legislation, or report, is the first stage of the appropriations process.  The House Appropriations Committee will probably meet to edit and approve the bill sometime in mid-June, or earlier.  To have an impact on the House version of the legislation, letters must arrive before June 5 or 6.

 

Overall, the report is very favorable to astronomy and space science.  Significantly, the portion of the report covering appropriations for NASA’s Office of Space Science contains no earmarks (unlike previous year’s reports).  However, the report does propose a reduction of $20 million for the ‘Living With a Star’ initiative, which is a new start program for FY 2001.  Justification for the reduction was not included in the report language, but the subcommittee did request NASA’s Inspector General to review the program’s administration to “ensure that contract awards are made only after full and open competition.”  The report goes on to state “until the review is complete, the subcommittee recommends no funding for the program in fiscal year 2001.”  No further explanation for this reduction was available.

 

It cannot be stressed too heavily that this is one of the first times in recent memory that the NASA appropriations bill came out of subcommittee without significant reductions or earmarks.  The members of the subcommittee should be heartily thanked for adhering closely to the administration’s request for NASA’s Space Science activities.

 

The report language dealing with NSF’s budget did contain significantly reduced funding levels compared with the administration’s request.  In addition to reductions to a number of other directorates’ proposed FY 2001 budgets, the Mathematics and Physical Science (MPS) directorate would only receive an increase of 5.9% (~ $ 45 million to $ 803 million) if the subcommittee report is passed by the full committee.  The administration originally requested an increase of 16.3% ($ 124 million to $ 881 million).  Exactly how this reduction would affect the Astronomy Division (AST) is unknown, but the large percentage increase slated for the grants program (administration request = +37% or up $ 24 million to $60 million total) would be a likely target for reduction.  The committee also reduced the Major Research Equipment line from the requested level of $ 139 million to $ 77 million.  Details on exactly what items were reduced are not yet available.  This line is important for astronomy, as it has funded telescopes such as the Very Large Array and the Gemini telescopes.

 

The next step in the appropriations process is approval of the subcommittee report by the full House Appropriations Committee, followed by similar action by the Senate appropriations subcommittee and full committee.  Because this is an election year, the process has moved on a much faster schedule than normal.  Input must be made now to have any impact at all.

 

Request for Action

 

AAS members are encouraged to perform three simple tasks to help the situation for Astronomy funding for FY 2001.  Remember to keep your letters to one concise page and to add some personal detail to the letters to your own legislators.

 

1)     Write to the members of the House VA-HUD-IA Appropriations Subcommittee (addresses below) thanking them for the favorable markup.  You may wish to especially thank them for their budgetary and policy leadership as demonstrated by the lack of earmarks in the NASA OSS budget.

 

2)     Write to your own Representatives and Senators supporting the Administration’s proposed funding levels for NASA and NSF, especially those for NASA’s Office of Space Science and the MPS Directorate at NSF.  Ask your members of Congress to encourage their colleagues on the House and Senate Appropriations Committees to follow the Administration’s request.  The Physics division, the Office of Polar Programs and the Education and Human Resources (EHR) Directorate, also fund some astronomical related research and programs.  Finally, the Major Research Equipment budget line has funded the construction of national observing facilities and should always be endorsed when possible.  No telescopes, no research is the basic message here.

 

3)     Write to the members of the House Appropriations Committee, the Senate VA-HUD-IA Subcommittee and the Senate Appropriations Committee (addresses below) supporting the House version of the VA-HUD-IA Appropriations bill.   No bill number has been assigned, so mention it by name.

 

 

(NOTE: The following sample letter is meant as an EXAMPLE only!  Letters should be personally written and contain a basic message and some level of personal detail.  Your voice will carry far more weight using this method than by using form letters.  Besides, you may not agree with all the opinions expressed in the sample letter below, but still support its overall message. )

 

Sample Letter

 

Senator Kit Bond

Senate VA-HUD-IA Appropriations Subcommittee

Washington, DC 20510

 

Dear Senator Bond,

 

I am writing to ask that you follow the example of the House VA-HUD-IA appropriations subcommittee and at least meet their markup levels for the VA-HUD-IA appropriations bill.

 

As you know, both NASA and NSF fund Astronomy and Space Science.  NASA’s Office of Space Science supports space-based and balloon-borne astronomical research efforts (such as the Hubble Space Telescope or the Boomerang Antarctic balloon experiment) while NSF provides grants to individual researchers, ground-based observing facilities (such as the Gemini telescopes, the Arecibo radio telescope and the Very Large Array) and educational/outreach funding as well as partnering with NASA on a variety of projects.  These agencies have made the United States astronomy research enterprise the best in the world today.  However, ultimately the true responsibility for our Nation’s success is Congress’ leadership and foresight in providing adequate funds for our researchers to succeed in their research endeavors. 

 

The House VA-HUD-IA appropriations subcommittee version of the VA-HUD-IA appropriations bill is a fine example of Congressional leadership in this regard.  Working within the subcommittee allocations, the members were able to nearly fully fund the Administration’s request for NASA’s Office of Space Science and provide a significant increase for the Mathematics and Physical Science Directorate at NSF.  I hope your subcommittee will try to do the same.  Although some room for improvement for NSF’s budget still exists, there can be no doubt that the funding levels passed by the subcommittee are substantially adequate for our Nation’s astronomers to move into the next fiscal year well prepared for the discoveries ahead

 

Thank you again for your continued support of scientific research in the United States.  Your support for NSF, NASA and other research-oriented agencies has been strong.  I know you continue to appreciate the importance of scientific research and the benefits it provides our Nation.  Please provide the funds that will let scientists fulfill their role of providing the know how to keep our Nation at the forefront of research and technology.  If I can be of any service to your office or your committee, do not hesitate to call on me.

 

Sincerely,

 

Iama S. Upernova

 

 

ADDRESSES

 

You can find the addresses for your own Congressional representatives on the AAS Public Policy Web pages: http://www.aas.org/policy/Contact.html

 

All House Addresses are: Washington, DC 20515

All Senate Addresses are: Washington, DC 20510

 

Since there are so many members of the House Appropriations Committees, first send letters to the chair and ranking member (Young, Obey) of the full committee and the chair and ranking member of the VA-HUD-IA subcommittee (Walsh,Mollohan) and any members from your home state or a state you go to observe or do research). 

 

The Senate Chair and Ranking Member of the full committee are Stevens and Byrd.  The VA-HUD-IA subcommittee Chair and Ranking Member are Bond and Mikulski. 

 

VA-HUD-IA subcommittee members are marked with a * next to their room number.

 

House Appropriations Members

 

State             Name                 Building & Room

                 

Alabama

                  Robert Aderholt      LHOB    1007

                  Sonny Callahan       RHOB    2466

                  Robert Cramer        RHOB    2350 *

Arizona

                  Jim Kolbe            RHOB    2266

                  Ed Pastor            RHOB    2465

Arkansas

                  Jay Dickey           RHOB    2453

California

                  Randy Cunningham     RHOB    2238

                  Julian Dixon         RHOB    2252

                  Sam Farr             LHOB    1221

                  Jerry Lewis          RHOB    2112

                  Ron Packard          RHOB    2372

                  Nancy Pelosi         RHOB    2457

                  Lucille Roybal-Allard RHOB    2435

Connecticut

                  Rosa DeLauro         CHOB     436

Florida

                  F. Allen Boyd        CHOB     107

                  Carrie Meek          CHOB     401  *

                  Dan Miller           CHOB     102

                  C.W. Young           RHOB    2407

Georgia

                  Jack Kingston        LHOB    1034

Illinois

                  Jesse Jackson        CHOB     313

                  John Porter          RHOB    2373

Indiana

                  Peter Visclosky      RHOB    2313

Iowa

                  Tom Latham           CHOB     324

Kansas

                  Todd Tiahrt          CHOB     428

Kentucky

                  Anne Northup         LHOB    1004  *

                  Harold Rogers        RHOB    2470

Maryland

                  Steny Hoyer          LHOB    1705

Massachusetts

                  John Olver           LHOB    1027

Michigan

                  Carolyn Kilpatrick   CHOB     503

                  Joseph  Knollenberg  RHOB    2349  *

Minnesota

                  Martin Olav Sabo     RHOB    2336

Mississippi

                  Roger Wicker         CHOB     206  *

Missouri

                  Jo Ann Emerson       CHOB     132

New Hampshire

                  John Sununu          CHOB     316  *

New Jersey

                  Rodney Frelinghuysen CHOB     228  *

New Mexico

                  Joe Skeen            RHOB    2302

New York

                  Maurice Hinchey      RHOB    2431

                  Nita Lowey           RHOB    2421

                  Jose Serrano         RHOB    2342

                  James Walsh          RHOB    2351  *

North Carolina

                  David Price          RHOB    2162  *

                  Charles Taylor       CHOB     231

Ohio

                  David Hobson         LHOB    1514  *

                  Marcy Kaptur         RHOB    2366  *

                  Ralph Regula         RHOB    2309

Oklahoma

                  Ernest Istook        RHOB    2404

Pennsylvania

                  John Murtha          RHOB    2423

                  John Peterson        CHOB     307

South Carolina

                  James Clyburn        CHOB     319

Tennessee

                  Zach Wamp            CHOB     423

Texas

                  Henry Bonilla        LHOB    1427

                  Tom DeLay            CHOB     341  *

                  Chet Edwards         RHOB    2459

                  Kay Granger          CHOB     435

Virginia

                  James Moran          RHOB    2239

                  Frank Wolf           CHOB     241

Washington

                  Norman Dicks         RHOB    2467

                  George Nethercutt    LHOB    1527

West Virginia

                  Alan Mollohan        RHOB    2346 *

Wisconsin

                  David Obey           RHOB    2314

 

 

Senate Appropriations Members

 State            Name                 Building  Room

 

Alabama

                  Richard Shelby       Hart      110  *

Alaska

                  Ted Stevens          Hart      522

Arizona

                  Jon Kyl              Hart      724  *

California

                  Dianne Feinstein     Hart      331

Colorado

                  Ben Nighthorse       Russell   380

Hawaii

                  Daniel Inouye        Hart      722

Idaho

                  Larry Craig          Hart      520  *

Illinois

                  Richard Durbin       Russell   364

Iowa

                  Tom Harkin           Hart      731  *

Kentucky

                  Mitch McConnell      Russell   361A

Maryland

                  Barbara Mikulski     Hart      709  *

Mississippi

                  Thad Cochran         Russell   326 

Missouri

                  Christopher Bond     Russell   274  *

Montana

                  Conrad Burns         Dirksen   187  *

Nevada

                  Harry Reid           Hart      528

New Hampshire

                  Judd Gregg           Russell   393

New Jersey

                  Frank Lautenberg     Hart      506  *

New Mexico

                  Pete Domenici        Hart      328

North Dakota

                  Byron Dorgan         Hart      713

Pennsylvania

                  Arlen Specter        Hart      711 

South Carolina

                  Ernest Hollings      Russell   125

Texas

                  Kay Bailey Hutchison Russell   284  *

Utah

                  Robert Bennett       Dirksen   431

Vermont

                  Patrick Leahy        Russell   433  *

Washington

                  Slade Gorton         Hart      730

                  Patty Murray         Russell   173

West Virginia

                  Robert Byrd          Hart      311

Wisconsin

                  Herbert Kohl         Hart      330