Members of Congress have pledged that this is the year they will finally "reform" the practice of "earmarking," the controversial, noncompetitive grants set aside by lawmakers for colleges and other constituents. But judging from the first appropriations bill set to clear Congress this year -- to finance the Defense Department in 2007 -- it's business as usual, at least regarding earmarks for academe.
The House of Representatives approved the bill on Tuesday, the Senate is expected to pass it this week, and President Bush is likely to sign it. The number and value of earmarks provided by the bill in several Pentagon accounts that primarily finance university research would remain unchanged in the 2007 fiscal year, which begins Sunday, compared with this year, according to an analysis by The Chronicle.
Within an over-all total of $377.6-billion to run the massive department, the bill, HR 5631, contains a total of $1.55-billion to finance fundamental or basic research, an increase of nearly 6 percent over this year. Typically, about 60 percent of this money goes to universities.
Of the total for Pentagon basic research, the bill sets aside $176-million, or 11 percent, for 88 earmarks. Those figures are down only slightly from this year's level of 90 earmarks, worth $181-million. A similar parity was seen in the two years' earmarks within the Army's medical-research programs, another major source of pork for academe.
It is difficult to determine exactly how many of the earmarks will flow to universities, because none of the Pentagon ones identify a recipient. However, Chronicle analyses of previous years' appropriations show that the Defense Department was the largest single source of funds earmarked for academe among all federal agencies.
Congress typically considers up to 11 appropriations bills to finance the various departments of the federal government each year, and most of these bills contain academic earmarks. But the majority of these bills for 2007 are not expected to be completed until November, when lawmakers will convene in a lame-duck session. Congress will recess at the end of this week to allow members to campaign for the November election.
(The House has so far approved 10 of the 11 required appropriations bills for 2007. The Senate is expected to complete both the defense bill and a measure financing the Department of Homeland Security this week.)
Congressional earmarking has exploded in recent years, and the practice remains controversial among college officials. Critics say earmarks circumvent the open competitions that federal agencies use to distribute most of their research funds. Supporters say earmarks are the only method of financing some worthy projects that federal grant-makers have overlooked.
The level financing for Pentagon earmarks contrasts with assurances from House leaders this month that they were cutting back on earmarking. In all, earmarked funds in appropriations bills for 2007 fell by nearly half, to about $10-billion in 2007 from nearly $18-billion this year, said John Scofield, a spokesman for the House Committee on Appropriations. In the defense bill alone, earmarked funds fell to $5-billion for 2007, compared with $6-billion this year, he said.
The Pentagon spending bill is a compromise between the versions previously passed by the House and Senate. Leaders in the Senate have voiced no interest in cutting back on earmarks. Still, The Chronicle found that more than half of the earmarked funds for basic research in the compromise defense bill were originally proposed in the House version.
According to Mr. Scofield, there was no deliberate effort in the House to spare research earmarks from the ax. He did not provide a further explanation, saying that staff members of the Appropriations Committee had not yet provided details about earmarks in the compromise bill.
Critics of earmarks can take heart that the level financing for pork-barrel, basic-research projects in the Pentagon bill means that most of the increase for 2007 will flow to non-earmarked, competitively awarded grants.
One provision offers welcome news for all universities: The bill doubles spending for a Pentagon scholarship program, the National Defense Education Program, to $19.5-million in 2007. The relatively small program pays full tuition and a stipend for undergraduates and graduate students who study mathematics and science and agree to work for the Pentagon or defense-related firms after graduation. In 2006, multiyear awards went to 32 students.
