ACS Position Statement: FY 2010

Statement on Department of Energy Science & Technology: FY 2010

ACS Statement on Department of Energy Science & Technology: FY 2010

ACS Position

The American Chemical Society (ACS) urges Congress to approve, at a minimum, the president’s recommended budget allocation of $4.9 billion for the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Science in FY 2010, an increase of $169 million (3.5 percent) over FY 2009. When funding from the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act is considered along with the Administration’s budget request, this proposal is consistent with the authorized level from the American COMPETES Act and continues the commitment to double Office of Science funding by 2016.

The Office of Science is central to improving energy security: It drives advances in energy production, efficiency, conservation, and alternative energy sources. It enables numerous technologies crucial to our nation’s security and environmental goals and fosters economic growth by supporting fundamental research, which economists agree drives long-term productivity and job gains. Yet fundamental research is precisely the type of research that industry has been forced to reduce. We encourage Congress to work with the Department to ensure America’s premier physical sciences research agency receives the resources necessary to meet America’s growing competitiveness challenge.

America COMPETES Act

ACS also remains committed to the broad blueprint contained in the America COMPETES Act. When combined with the resources dedicated in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, funding for the DOE Office of Science is on pace to doubling in 2016, continuing the commitment Congress made to research and development. We commend the Administration and Congress for their work to reinvigorate the basic sciences and urge policymakers to continue to invest in this vital resource.

Office of Science

ACS believes that the Office of Science, the largest federal supporter (40 percent) of research in the physical sciences, warrants increased investment. A Secretary of Energy’s Advisory Board report, the Office of Science facilities plan, and the Office’s 20-year strategic plan drew this same conclusion. In light of these documents, rising energy prices, and the unstable nature of world petroleum supplies, ACS feels a $169 million increase is the minimum necessary to ensuring America’s technological leadership and economic competitiveness, as well as fostering energy self-sufficiency.

The Office of Science is now able to fund unsolicited, peer-reviewed proposals at a considerably lower ratio than the National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health. We recommend that increased funding be provided next year to support more high-quality, basic research and continue shoring DOE’s scientific facilities.

Given the tight budget constraints facing policymakers, ACS urges Congress to avoid funding projects (i.e., “earmarks”) at the Office of Science that are not properly vetted via the peer review and competitive grant process. ACS strongly supports the process of peer review in determining the best use of resources at the Office of Science. Any funding for new programs at DOE should not compromise fully funding the resources of the Office of Science.

Basic Energy Sciences

The Basic Energy Sciences (BES) program, for example, is critical to advances in the physical sciences, but historically flat budgeting is hampering its ability to fund significant opportunities in catalysis, nanotechnology, high-speed computing, hydrogen, biomass, and other vital research areas critical to solving the energy and climate problems facing the U.S. and the world. The president’s FY 2010 request would allow BES—which allocates over half its budget to facilities like our national laboratories—to restore its research-grant size closer to historic norms. ACS urges the Department of Energy’s leadership to make current and future efforts to increase grants for research across the board in the Office of Science —specifically at the Office of Chemistry, Geosciences, and Biosciences within Basic Energy Sciences.

Biological and Environmental Research

The Biological and Environmental Research (BER) program supports some of America’s top groundbreaking science research: the human genome, medical imaging, climate change, and environmentally sound energy production. For example, BER funds research to understand how microscopic sea organisms absorb sunlight in hopes of discovering processes to dramatically improve the efficiency of solar cells. Strong research funding is also needed to advance efficient pollution-prevention methods for clean-up of aging DOE weapons production sites.

Nuclear Science Education

The Society strongly supports the Office of Science program authorized in the America COMPETES Act to strengthen nuclear science education by addressing the acute needs of nuclear chemistry, radiochemistry, and nuclear engineering academic programs at American universities. It is essential for Congress to provide the authorized investment in this program, which fits well with the Office of Science’s overall mission of bolstering U.S. scientific competitiveness in key science fields.