On February 15, President Trump signed into law, H.J. Res 31, a $333 billion omnibus spending measure, containing 7 individual Fiscal Year 2019 appropriations bills and eliminating the threat of a second government shutdown. The final package includes funding for several agencies and programs important to the population sciences, including:
- $8.1 billion for the National Science Foundation (NSF)–a 4 percent increase over the enacted FY 2018 level and more than either the House and Senate Appropriations Committees had recommended; and,
- $3.8 billion for the Census Bureau, which is $1 billion more than the agency received in FY 2018.
In a report accompanying the package, Congress included language indefinitely delaying the proposed transfer of the Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service to the Office of the Chief Economist. The Population Association of America (PAA) had joined forces with other organizations to oppose this move and is, therefore, pleased by this outcome. The absence of language in the package targeting the NSF Social, Behavioral, and Economic Science Directorate (SBE) for cuts is another major additional victory. Instead, the bill includes language preserving NSF’s flexibility to fund the very best science across all domains.
Overall, PAA is pleased with the outcome of the FY 2019 appropriations process. However, there are numerous unresolved issues as a result of the longest government shutdown in history. It is not clear, for example, how the Census Bureau will reconcile the loss of over a month of American Community Survey data. Further, population scientists and research institutions are still recovering from the delays in NSF funding. The PAA Government and Public Affairs Committee will be addressing the fallout of the shutdown in the coming months.
Congress will soon start writing the FY 2020 appropriations bills—a process that will officially begin once the President submits his proposed budget the week of March 11. However, before they can do this in earnest, lawmakers must first negotiate a larger budget deal to address top-line budget caps that are currently placed on discretionary spending for FY 2020. These budget caps are automatically triggered by the statutory mandates of the Budget Control Act of 2011, which was originally enacted to tamp down discretionary spending and reduce the federal deficit. Instead, Congress has provided relief each year by passing legislation to “raise the caps.” Another agreement must be reached in the months ahead in order to avoid major reductions in discretionary spending next year, including for science and statistical agencies.
On March 1, a delegation of PAA officials will be meeting with policymakers in Washington, DC, to express their support for funding federal agencies that directly and indirectly support the population sciences in FY 2020 and for raising the overall federal budget spending caps.
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