House Authorizes Increased
Funding For DOE Office of Science
April 18, 2003 - The House passed a comprehensive
energy bill April 10 that calls for significant funding increases
for the Department of Energy's Office of Science. The bill
(H.R.
6) would authorize appropriations for the Office of Science
of $3.79 billion in FY 2004, $4.15 billion in FY 2005, $4.62
billion in FY 2006 and $5.3 billion in FY 2007. The House
passed the measure 247 to 175.
The Office of Science received $3.28 billion in FY 2003,
and the President's budget requests $3.31 billion in FY 2004.
The AAMC has endorsed a statement by the Energy Sciences Coalition
calling for a minimum of $3.6 billion for the Office of Science
in FY 2004.
The authorization levels in H.R. 6 are consistent with or
slightly greater than those proposed in a bill reintroduced
in January 2003 by Rep. Judy Biggert (R-Ill.), chair of the
House Science Subcommittee on Energy. The Office of Science
authorization was originally part of legislation (H.R.
238) sponsored by House Science Committee Chair Sherwood
Boehlert (R-N.Y.) and Ranking Minority Member Ralph Hall (D-Texas)
that the committee unanimously approved April 2. That bill
was combined with several other energy-related measures to
form H.R. 6.
During its mark-up of H.R. 238, the Science Committee adopted
by voice vote an amendment by Reps. Biggert and Lincoln Davis
(D-Tenn.) authorizing the "Genomes to Life" program,
which calls for the Office of Science to continue work on
the human genome project and expand research into proteomics.
The amendment authorizes $100 million from the Office of Science
Budget in FY 2004 and "such sums as necessary" through
FY 2007.
Senators Carl Levin (D-Mich.), Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.),
Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.), and John Warner (R-Va.) introduced
a companion to the Biggert bill (S.
915) on April 10.
Information:
Dave Moore, Senior Director
AAMC Government Relations
dbmoore@aamc.org
(202) 828-0525
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