Dear Colleagues and Staff:
On Thursday, February 12, 2009, the details reflecting the final language of H.R.1, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act emerged. Earlier that week, and in previous weeks, WSU had a strong presence on the Hill advocating for strength in this Act to reflect the role of the research university as creating the innovation necessary to spur economic recovery. I am pleased to report that this final language contains a significant number of positive provisions for higher education and research universities.
The news that we have at this time is summarized in this concise report. Please note that this information is preliminary, as confirmed by the Washington delegation last week. Here is the bottom line: things in Washington D.C. are moving very rapidly right now and the details for the ARRA will emerge over the next few weeks. We will follow and communicate these details carefully and efficiently. We also understand that many of you are very well-connected with individual agencies, programs, and program directors. Because of this, I have set up a unique email stimulus.info@wsu.edu and web site http://informer.ogrd.wsu.edu/stimulus/ to facilitate the sharing of information to our entire faculty. I encourage you to use these venues to benefit everyone.
With respect to science and research (the focus of this communication – I’ll leave Pell Grants and other information to the appropriate offices in charge of these activities), the following agencies budgets are summarized as follows.
· $3.0 billion for the National Science Foundation (NSF);
· $10.4 billion for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), including a $400-million transfer from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ);
· $2.0 billion for research at the Department of Energy (DOE), including $1.6 billion for Science and $400 million for Advanced Research Project Agency-Energy (ARPA-E);
· $580 million for the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), including $180 million for a competitive research facilities construction program;
· $280 million for National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) research; and,
· $400 million and $150 million, respectively, for NASA science and aeronautics programs.
At this time, we know some additional details regarding NIH. Many of these funds will need to be expended during FY 09 and FY 10. For this reason, it is predicted that equipment grants will be popular and funded at a significantly higher level than normal. If you have a GM grant, the collaborative research supplement (~$90K DC supplements to existing GM grants to expand your research scope) is anticipated to be very popular to fund this summer. In other words, if this is possible for you, act quickly.
Many of you may note the obvious omission of the Department of Agriculture from the above list. Despite our many efforts, both from WSU and from NASUGLC universities nationwide, these agencies did not receive any increases in the ARRA. This is indeed unfortunate and we will continue to apply pressure for increases in these budgets in other venues. There is no indication at this time that USDA budgets will decrease.
This Act was finalized in relation to the fates of the state fiscal stabilization fund as it relates to public higher education and funding for higher education infrastructure renovations and repairs. Ultimately, the conference report includes a total of $53.6 billion for the state fiscal stabilization fund. Of that amount, approximately $39.5 billion would be sent to the states, explicitly, for elementary, secondary, and public higher education, and as applicable, early education. Nearly $8.8 billion would be allocated for "other government services." While it may be too early to know how this will play out in Washington, there may be infrastructure funds available to allow us to proceed with some of our highest priorities involving Global Animal Health and the ARS building. We will continue to follow this situation as it moves from the federal to the state level.
As stated above, I encourage those of you with more detailed information on specific programs to share that information by sending it to stimulus.info@wsu.edu. We will gather all of this information, add subsequent information from the Washington delegation members, and continually update our faculty to position themselves with as much lead time as possible to take advantage of these emerging opportunities. You may also send questions to the above email, and we will attempt to find the answers in a timely manner.
Lastly, we are in the preliminary stages of forming several one-day “summer camps” that address the unique funding opportunities afforded by the ARRA. Although things are moving extraordinarily quickly, we are mobilizing just as rapidly in response. As a major research university, I know we will take advantage of this historical situation and our participation will help spur the recovery that this Act aims to accomplish.
Howard D. Grimes,
Vice President for Research
Dean of the Graduate School
Washington State University
