[mmaimcal] Addendum

[Al Wootten]

Folks,

When I sent out the biweekly calendar, the full language of the funding
bills was not yet available.  It is now.
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/cpquery/R?cp109:FLD010:@1(hr520)
-------MRE and ALMA words--------

The Committee recommendation includes requested funding for five 
continuing projects, as follows: $47,890,000 for Atacama Large Millimeter 
Array (ALMA); $27,400,000 for EarthScope; $28,650,000 for the IceCube 
Neutrino Observatory; $42,880,000 for the Scientific Ocean Drilling 
Vessel; and $9,130,000 for South Pole Station Modernization. In addition, 
the recommendation includes initial funding for three new project starts, 
as follows: $56,000,000 for the Alaska Region Research Vessel; $13,500,000 
for the Ocean Observatories Initiative; and $11,800,000 for the National 
Ecological Observatory Network. The recommendation does not include 
$3,000,000 requested to reimburse the Judgment Fund of the U.S. Treasury.

The Committee is aware that the NSF has recently completed a detailed 
re-examination of the ALMA project. The United States' cost for 
completing the new baseline is estimated to be 45 percent higher than 
originally projected. Although a part of the increase is due to rising 
labor and material costs, some of these new liabilities are the result 
of management problems, in particular, the lack of partner integration 
and centralized decision making that can potentially cause cost growth. 
While the recommendation includes the full request for the ALMA project 
for 2007, the NSF is directed to submit a report to the Committee by 
October 1, 2006, on how it intends to correct the overall management 
and project issues. In the event that there are additional ALMA funding 
requirements in fiscal year 2007, the Committee expects NSF to submit a 
reprogramming of funds from lower priorities or new starts in accordance 
with the procedures set forth in section 605 of this Act.

---------NASA------------

The Committee understands that NASA is in the process of reviewing the 
future course of action on the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared 
Astronomy (SOFIA). The Committee encourages NASA to propose a reallocation 
of funding through the regular reprogramming process should this review 
result in a continuation of the program.

And the results of the review are in as in the biweekly report:
The world's largest airborne astronomical observatory has passed a 
technical and programmatic review that could potentially lead to the 
continuation of the mission.  NASA's Program Management Council concluded 
that there were no insurmountable technical or programmatic challenges 
to the continued development of the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared 
Astronomy (SOFIA). The agency has developed a technically viable plan to 
proceed with the development of the SOFIA aircraft, subject to the 
identification of appropriate funding offsets.
http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2006/jun/HQ_06240_SOFIA_update.html

Clear skies,
Al