61 



made a similar point The National Commission on the Environment, in its Choosing 

 a Sustainable Future report in December 1992, recommended that "the Federal gov- 

 ernment should substantially increase funding for research and development." 



The EPA Science Advisory Board's Research Strategies Advisory Council reviewed 

 the President's Fiscal Year 1995 budget request for EPA's ORD earlier this year, 

 and sent its results to EPA Administrator Browner on April 29, 1994. The SAB ex- 

 pressed concern about the "long-term erosion that has occurred in the level of the 

 Agency's research and development activities." According to the SAB, the Agency's 

 R&D budget has declined (measured in constant 1987 dollars) from $460 million in 

 Fiscal Year 1980 to $440 million in Fiscal Year 1995. The SAB further noted the 

 "even more striking" drop in agency R&D personnel, from 2,300 workyears in Fiscal 

 Year 1980 to 1,800 workyears in Fiscal Year 1995. The SAB noted that, "This is 

 especially disturbing in view of the scope of new issues that need a research effort 

 in order to provide an adequate science base for Agency decisions. Thus, the Agency 

 does not appear to be heading in the direction of creating the stronger science base 

 that is so desperately needed." 



Increased EPA R&D Is Affordable 



By cutting unnecessary military R&D spending, the U.S. can afford to boost envi- 

 ronmental R&D without increasing the deficit Between Fiscal Year 1980 and Fiscal 

 Year 1995, defense R&D exploded in a 39 percent increase while EPA R&D declined 

 by 4 percent These figures, measured in constant dollars, were published in 1994 

 by the EPA Science Advisory Board and the American Association for the Advance- 

 ment of Science. 



Presidential science adviser John Gibbons has endorsed a funding priority shift 

 from defense to non-defense programs, but it is not happening this year. The AAAS 

 reported earlier this year that defense R&D consumed $385 billion in Fiscal Year 

 1994_54 percent of all Federal R&D spending. AAAS further noted that President 

 Clinton's request for Fiscal Year 1995 would keep defense R&D at 54 percent of 

 total R&D, and that this is still well above the 47 percent share defense R&D had 

 15 years ago in Fiscal Year 1980. (AAAS Report XTX, "Research and Development 

 Fiscal Year 1995," p. 20, 54). 



Championing Salaries and Expenses Could Help EPA R&D 



The Environment and Public Works Committee could speed management reform 

 of EPA R&D by championing salaries and expenses funding for EPA. This is the 

 kind of cause that is taken up by no particular member of Congress. This leaves 

 the authorizing committee of jurisdiction as the sole advocate with the Appropria- 

 tions Committee and the President's Office of Management and Budget 



The salaries and expenses account, now called Program Research and Operations 

 (PRO), funds the EPA research workforce. Due to funding shortfalls in salaries and 

 expense, the agency's R&D workforce has declined from 2,300 FTEs in Fiscal Year 

 1980 to 1,800 FTEs in Fiscal Year 1995, according to the SAB's Fiscal Year 1995 

 budget review. This hurts EPA's ability to attract high-quality new scientists, and 

 it also invites disaster because there are not enough EPA staff to manage the agen- 

 cy's many contractors. In fact, one material weakness that has been identified by 

 the EPA is inadequate management of extramural resources. In its Fiscal Year 1994 

 budget review last year, SAB pointed out that this has resulted in an over reliance 

 on a "shadow workforce." SAB said "inadequate funding has resulted in a reliance 

 on on-site contractors which transcends mere support services and now seriously 

 threatens the scientific excellence of the organizations. ... In effect, a 'shadow bu- 

 reaucracy' is created." A "disproportionate" share — almost 50 percent — of the 

 workforce at laboratories is on-site contractors, as opposed to agency personnel. 

 Those EPA scientists who remain must spend more of their time and energy at- 

 tempting to manage this excessive number of contractors, instead of doing their own 

 scientific work. 



President Clinton and Administrator Browner deserve credit for proposing a con- 

 tractor reform initiative in their Fiscal Year 1995 budget request, including $45 mil- 

 lion in the PRO account to convert 620 contractor FTEs to in-house employees. How- 

 ever, it should be noted that the Senate Appropriations Committee recently cut 



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