[mmaimcal] Budget sent to President

[Al Wootten]

I'm not sure what all this means but it sounds good to me.  Congress
provided more than either the House or Senate provided...but I'll bet
we know where it went.  Excerpts follow...

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?r106:7:./temp/~r106Fj8nPb:e465982:

National Science Foundation

RESEARCH AND RELATED ACTIVITIES

Appropriates $3,350,000,000 for research and related activities instead of 
$3,117,690,000 as proposed by the House and $3,245,562,000 as proposed by 
the Senate. Bill language
provides up to $275,592,000 of this amount for Polar research and operations 
support. 

The conference agreement provides an increase of $384,000,000 above the 
fiscal year 2000 appropriated level for research and related activities. 
Within the appropriated level is
$215,000,000 for the information technology initiative, $75,000,000 for the 
biocomplexity initiative, $65,000,000 for plant genome research for 
economically significant crops, $150,000,000
for the new nanotechnology initiative, $75,000,000 for major research 
instrumentation, $94,910,000 for facilities within the astronomical 
sciences activity, and $1,000,000 to begin design
and model testing of a vessel to replace the R/V Alpha Helix. 

The increase of $15,000,000 provided for astronomical sciences facilities 
is intended to upgrade specifically facilities and operations, including 
new construction and instrumentation as
appropriate, for the Arecibo Observatory, the Green Bank Telescope, the 
Very Large Array, the Very Long Baseline Array, and other facilities in 
need of such attention on a priority
basis. The Foundation is directed to provide the Committees on Appropriations 
of the House and Senate with a list of facilities and the specific needs of 
each, on a priority basis, within
the Operating Plan submission and on a semi-yearly basis after that. 

Except as previously noted, the conferees expect that the remaining funds 
will be distributed proportionately and equitably, consistent with the 
ratio of the budget request level above the
fiscal year 2000 funding level, among all of the remaining directorates. 
In the distribution of funds within each directorate, the NSF is directed 
to provide each program, project, and activity
the same percentage of the overall budget as that provided in the budget 
request. The conferees request that such distribution be specifically 
noted in the fiscal year 2001 Operating Plan
submission. 

                                                                 [Page: H10127] 

MAJOR RESEARCH EQUIPMENT

Appropriates $121,600,000 for major research equipment instead of $76,600,000 
as proposed by the House and $109,100,000 as proposed by the Senate.