TO: Mark Hamilton
THROUGH: Wendy Redman
FROM: Martha Stewart
RE: Results of FY06 Federal Initiative Effort
DATE: February 2, 2006
This memorandum lists the federal appropriations that appear in the FY06 budget relevant to the University of Alaska. At the end are items that were not funded and recommendations.
In addition to the following appropriated amounts, two authorizations occurred which will translate into funding for the University. The first is the addition of the University of Alaska as one of ten University Transportation Research Centers in the Safe, Accountable, Flexible and Efficient Transportation Equity Act, otherwise known as the “Highway Bill”. This should result in approximately $3.5 million to the University in the years FY06 to FY09. There is a match required. Also authorized was an Arctic Engineering Research Center in the Energy Policy Act which can mean, if funds are appropriated, $3 million a year to the University.
This was a particularly difficult year for a number of reasons. The President’s budget began the cycle with low spending levels, that, eliminated all fossil energy research and many Department of Agriculture programs that we rely on. Congress followed by setting very low overall spending levels. Mid-cycle, Congress faced unexpected and expensive national disasters and avian influenza preparation costs. These came against a backdrop of continuing war costs. The spending ceilings were so severe in the Departments of Education, Labor and Health and Social Services that all earmarks, representing over $1 billion, had to be removed. There was an explosion of earmark requests across the country. The American Association for the Advancement of Science cites an increase of 13 percent from the prior year, and a 63 percent increase from FY03. Senator Stevens, no longer Chair of the Appropriations Committee, faced difficulty in advancing and retaining Alaska earmarks. This disadvantage was coupled with a heightened level of scrutiny for any Alaska projects due to unfavorable attention brought to Alaska for bridge funding in Central and Southeast Alaska.
It is reasonable to expect that the FY07 funding cycle will again be difficult. Many of the conditions mentioned above will remain. In addition, recent lobbying scandals in the national news and linkage between those scandals and earmarking activities such as the kind listed here, will be even more problematic.
Per your direction, efforts to scrutinize the University’s FY07 requests for necessity and sustainability need to intensify as well as renewed efforts to shift the University’s federal dollars to competitively awarded funding.
The following are listed alphabetically by federal budget area. All appropriations will experience a 1 percent across the board cut as mandated by Congress late in the cycle to also meet the reduced spending levels.
Agriculture
· Seafood Waste $75,000 (Work done by UAF but at Kodiak. Actual amounts to be identified but what is reflected here is the minimum amount. Senator Stevens Office reported $2.45 million. ( On-going project)
· Avian Influenza $298,000 (UAF obtains a share of this for work with the Agricultural Research Service Laboratory at Athens, Georgia. On-going project and FY05 funding was $300,000.)
· Arctic Germplasm Research $1.004 million. (This is a cooperative project between the Agricultural Research Service, the State of Alaska and the University of Alaska Fairbanks to collect and grow indigenous Arctic plants. Ongoing project that received level funding.)
· Fruit and Berry Crop Research in Remote Villages $500,000 (New. This was not requested as part of the UA process.)
· Berry Research $1.3 million. ($1 million of this is available for the research and development of nutraceuticals and pharmaceutical products derived from Alaska berries. UAF on-going project and down from $1.79 million in FY05.)
· Alternative Salmon Products $1.099 million. (An on-going project with the State of Alaska and UAF. Down from 1.1 million in FY05.)
· New Crop Opportunities $443,000 (UAF on-going project and down from $447,000 in FY05)
· Virus Free Potato Research $600,000 (UAF on-going project and up from $593,000in FY05.)
· Greenhouse Crop Production $300,000 (UAF ongoing project and down from $449,000 in FY05.)
· Food Preparation and Marketing $331,000 (UAF-Cooperative Extension. On-going project and down from $334,000 in FY05.)
· Food Product Development $350,000 (UAF-Cooperative Extension. On-going project and down from $476,000 in FY05)
· Rural Development $683,000 (UAF-Cooperative Extension. Ongoing project and down from $688,000 in FY05.)
· Wood Utilization $6.43 million to be shared with 10 other universities. (UAF oversees the work which is done in Sitka. Ongoing project and up from $6.28 million in FY05.)
· Alaska Native Serving and Native Hawaiian Serving Education Grants $3.25 million. (These funds are shared between Alaska and Hawaii and used within the UA System by several campuses within the College of Rural and Community Development, Prince William Sound Community College and UAS-Sitka. On-going and down from $5.64 million in FY05)
Department of Defense
· Center for Supply Chain Management $12.75 million (On-going UAA project.)
· Hibernation Genomics $2.6 million (On-going UAF project)
· Ramgen Fuel Cell $3.5 million (On-going UAF project.)
· Automotive Research $1.7 million (On-going UAF project.)
· Office of Electronic Miniaturization $5.1 million (On-going UAF project.)
· Arctic Regional Supercomputer $4.7 million (On-going UAF project.)
· DEPSCoR $13.1 million (UA supported nationwide request of $25 million.)
Education, Labor and Health and Human Services
· No earmarks were provided nationwide in these departments.
· Congress proposed significant reductions in the Department of Health and Social Services to Title VII and Title VIII from which we received funds for health related initiatives. Most funding levels restored except for Geriatric Education.
· IDEA program $230 million (UA supported nationwide request of $250 million)
· Alaska Native/Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions $11.9 million (On-going program that a number of UA campuses benefit by at all MAUs.)
· Alaska Native Educational Equity Act $34.25 million (UA supported continued funding for this program that several campuses benefit by through competitive proposals.)
Energy and Water
· Arctic Energy Office $7 million (On-going project from which the University receives a substantial portion of funds, primarily UAF but also UAA.)
Interior/Environment and Related Agencies
· Small Public Water System Technology Centers $4 million (On-going UAS-Sitka program that is shared among eight universities.)
Science/State/Justice/Commerce
· Arctic Research Initiative involving Russian research vessels $2 million (UAF, second year of funding.)
· Alaska Oceans Observing System $1.7 million (On-going multi-member project down from $2 million in FY05 funding.)
· Coastal Vulnerability to Climate Change $2.5 million. (UAF new start).
· National Undersea Research Project $4.25 million of which $1 million will go to Alaska and $3.25 million will go to Hawaii. This is significant in that the East Coast NURP Offices would receive no funding. For UAF, this represents a cut from approximately $2.14 million in prior years to $965,000. (On-going project.)
· TWEAK $2 million (On-going UAF tsunami warning project)
· UAF’s Gulf Apex Predator $1 million. (UAF on-going project and down from $1.5 million in FY05. Not requested by the University, asked for by industry but will recommend it be included in FY07 request.)
· North Pacific Fisheries Observer Training Program/North Pacific Marine Resources Observers $1.5 million. This item requires explanation. In the past, these two programs were separately funded. The first, and the University’s at $750,000 and the second, federal USFW work based in Seattle were funded at $1.8 million. They were combined in this budget for a total of $1.5 million. However, Senator Stevens Office agreed to an additional infusion of $2.3 million which will more than restore the initial/perceived losses. (On-going UAA program.)
· We have been informed by the delegation that the University has $350,000 in additional undesignated funding for International Polar Year activities via NOAA, but the acknowledgement by NOAA that this is the case, is still pending.
· International Polar Year and Permafrost Conference at UAF $500,000. (UAF project and new.)
· Language supporting the work of the UAA American Russian Center which translates into $3 million for that program.
· NASA EPSCoR $12.5 million (UA supported request for $15 million)
· NSF EPSCoR $100 million (Requested support level was $120 million)
Treasury/Transportation/ Housing and Urban Development and Independent Agencies
· Language, actually corrected in Defense appropriations, that transfers the remaining $2 million in funds from Treasury Department’s United States/Canada Rail Commission to the University of Alaska-Fairbanks for the purpose of the railroad/corridor study.
· In HUD, Alaska Native/Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions $3 million (On-going and funding shared with Hawaii and benefits a number of campuses at all MAUs.)
· Alaska Volcano Observatory $3 million (On-going FAA funds. This represents a reduction in $1,000,000 from prior year earmarks.)
· Center for Excellence for General Aviation $500,000 (On-going consortium of which UAA and UAF are members.)
The following are requested items that were not funded and a recommendation regarding future action. This does not include reductions that are addressed by item in the colloquy above. It also does not include the requests that would logically have fallen in the Departments of Labor, Education and Health and Social Services where all earmarks were eliminated.
· We asked, with the University of Hawaii, that $1 million in funds be added to an existing line in the Department of Agriculture called Agricultural Development in the American Pacific. There was only interest in funding Alaska’s entry into the program which was $200,000. Even then, the delegation was unable to access funds to add. Recommend trying again.
· Language was asked for with respect to the evaluation of the need for educational requirements for participation in the North Pacific Fisheries Observer Program. This did not occur in large part due to an overall trend to reduce item specific rhetoric in the budgets. Will readdress issue in proposed effort this year for related program authorization.
· A request for funding a tsunami warning pilot project in Dutch Harbor was rejected due to increased funding available for worldwide warning systems.
· $2 million was requested in Energy Efficiency funds to allow the Arctic Energy office to fund research on rural energy projects. The Department of Energy vigorously opposed this earmark noting that we should be pursuing competitive opportunities for this kind of research either alone or with others. This was the second year this request was declined. Recommend we not advance this further.
· Requested language that the Army Corps of Engineers would conduct a study on the need to upgrade the permafrost tunnel in Fairbanks. There was no interest and recommend it not be advanced again.
· Requested funding for the continuation of the Marine Mining Technology Center at UAF for $1.5 million. This item was eliminated due to the funding constraints in the Department of Interior budget. Recommend we not pursue.
· We asked for $450,000 for an air traffic control simulator but by March, other funds had been identified.
· Also, there was a request for a variety of aviation educational enhancements for $2.7 million. This did not occur for unknown reasons and recommend trying again.
· We asked for $700,000 for engineering design of the Alaska pipeline work. This did not occur. The request has not been resubmitted and I recommend we not pursue.
· There was a request for funds for the Alaska Statehood Celebration for $500,000. This had been funded in the General Services Administration budget in prior years. This year there was a decision not to earmark that area and efforts shifted to obtain funds in the Department of Education, but that area was earmark free at the end. Given the shift in the Celebration’s administration from the University to the State of Alaska, recommend we not pursue.
· We requested $6 million in funds for unmanned aerial vehicle work which did not occur. In part this was due to the amount requested and the area where it might have been funded, NASA, being under tight fiscal constraints. Recommend a reduced amount, a more specific purpose for the work such as ghost net detection, express interest in funding from departments other than NASA.
Please let me know if there are questions.
Cc: Chancellors
Provosts
Deans and Directors
Statewide Executive Staff
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