More research may yield ways to repair damaged spinal cords and eventually permit the restoration of some degree of function to paralyzed patients.
NSF: The budget provides $3.92 billion - seven percent more than in 1999 - for NSF, whose broad mission is to promote science and engineering research and education across all fields and disciplines. In 1998, NSF - funded scientists determined that the years 1997, 1995, and 1990 were the warmest since 1400 A.D., providing further evidence of recent human influence on the global climate system. The budget provides $146 million for NSF to play a lead role in the Administration's information technology initiative, focusing on long-term computer science research and providing scientists access to world-class supercomputers. The budget also increases funding for bio-complexity research to promote understanding of the complex biological, physical, chemical, and social interactions within and among the Earth's ecosystems.
Department of Energy (DOE): The budget provides $2.84 billion, a six-percent increase over 1999, for DOE's research programs in physics, chemistry,materials, biology, computer science, fusion, and other areas. DOE operates large scientific user facilities to enable research in these fields, as well as fields ranging from biomedicine to agriculture. The budget provides for the construction of new scientific facilities, including the Spallation Neutron Source and the Large Hadron Collider (in partnership with other countries), and the development of advanced computing and networking capabilities. In the past year, DOE-funded scientists achieved many notable successes, such as discovering how genetic material replicates and developing an atom-by-atom model of the enzyme responsible. In 2000, DOE will operate the newly constructed Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider to simulate conditions that existed in the universe in the first millionth of a second after the Big Bang. In addition, the budget includes $543 million for the Advanced Strategic Computing Initiative in support of nuclear weapon stockpile stewardship.
National Aeronautics and Spade Administration (NASA): The budget funds several ongoing and new activities in support of NASA's missions, including $2.48 billion for the International Space Station, which began assembly in orbit in 1998 with the launch of the first U.S. and Russian elements. The Russian economic situation has increased uncertainty about Russia's ability to meet future critical milestones in this international development program. While the Administration remains committed to Russia's participation in this multi-national partnership, the budget reflects key steps taken to help ensure the ultimate success of this complex international program. By increasing funding for the Space Station, the Administration will help to maintain the construction schedule and enable development of backup capabilities in the event of potential shortfalls in Russian contributions. In addition to this "backup strategy," the Administration is also concerned about Space Station cost growth due to domestic problems, and has established oversight of the Space Station as a Priority Management Objective, as discussed in Section IV, "Improving Performance Through Better Management." The Administration will work closely with the Congress on any future issues to enable the program's success.
The NASA budget also includes: $2.2 billion - a four-percent increase over 1999 - for Space Science, a program that made several significant discoveries in 1998, including the first confirmable evidence of ice on the moon; $1.46 billion - a three-percent increase over 1999 - for Earth Science, which seeks to understand the influence of natural processes and human activities on the global environment and which will launch in 2000 the first in a new series of faster, cheaper satellites, known as Earth System Science Pathfinders; $254 million for Advanced Space Transportation Technology, which in 1999 will initiate development of the first in a new series of reusable launch vehicle demonstrations, known as Future-X; $620 million for Aeronautics Research and Technology programs, including Aviation Safety R&D; and $1.2 billion in funds after 2000 to support new launch vehicles to lower NASA's launch costs. Finally, the budget includes a $463 million, five-year technology investment to leverage recent sucdesses in Space Science, like Mars Pathfinder, and to enable robotic scientific outposts throughout the solar system.
