Bush Budget Projects Record Deficit, Omits War Expense Figures: Winners and Losers

On February 3, 2003, President Bush delivered his $2.2 trillion federal budget for 2004. The budget projects a record deficit of $307 billion despite omitting funding for a possible military invasion and occupation of Iraq. The budget showers much of its largesse on military and homeland security spending, along with a handful of showcase priorities, while placing a stranglehold on most other domestic programs.

Fortunately, the humanities are well funded. The National Endowment for the Humanities' (NEH) budget sees the largest increase (22%) in recent years, much of which is slated for the “We the People” initiative intended to promote a broad understanding of the ideas and events that shaped our nation. The program will establish diverse funding opportunites across virtually every activity area within NEH. Other winners include: the Department of Education's “Teaching of Traditional American History” initiative which sees FY 2003's budget of $50 million doubled; the NSF received a 9% increase over FY 2003's budget; the Smithsonian Institution which is budgeted for a 7% increase over FY 2003; the National Archives with a 13% increase in the budget; and the Institute of Museum and Library Sciences with a 13% increase over FY 2003.

Perhaps the biggest victim of the president's preference for military spending is the National Park Service whose paltry budget increase of $8.3 million over last year's operating budget of $2.4 billion led one park advocate to state, “The Administration is walking away from its commitment to the public and our parks.” The National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) was one of many disappointed programs to have their funding frozen at the same level as in FY 2003. This figure actually represents a budget cut as “level-funding” at the rate of inflation as is the case of Health and Human Services funding (2–3% increase over FY 2003), and below, as is the case for NHPRC funding and NIH funding (1.8%), forces program cuts to break even.

The president's budget is expected to easily pass the Republican-controlled House, but is expected to face a difficult fight in the Senate. Moderate Republicans are expected to team with Senate Democrats when they discover that many of their top priorities have been underfunded, if funded at all.

Administration Appoints Retooled Human Subjects Advisory Panel

On January 3, 2003 the Administration appointed 11 members to the newly reformulated Advisory Committee on Human Research Protection. The appointments were a matter of some concern to many university officials who feared that the Bush administration would hand select advisees to ensure extension of government restrictions on research involving human embryos. At least one member of the new board is on record against such research.

NIH Appoints New Deputy Director

NIH Director Elias A. Zerhouni appointed Dr. Raynard S. Kington his new deputy director. Dr. Kington has previously served as both Associate Director and Director of NIH Behavioral and Social Sciences Research. His most recent appointment was a stint as Acting Director for the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). Dr. Kington earned undergraduate and medical degrees from the University of Michigan before completing his residency training in internal medicine at Michael Reese Medical Center in Chicago. He received an M.B.A and a Ph.D. in Health Policy and Economics from the Wharton School. His research studies social factors as determinants of health, and has focused on health differences across disparate populations stratified by socioeconomic, racial, ethnic, and age factors. Dr. Kington said of his appointment: “NIH is the main engine behind medical discovery in this country and it is a great honor to be given this opportunity. I am looking forward to working with Dr. Zerhouni and the NIH leadership to help set the course for biomedical research in the 21st century.”

Sources for this column include the National Coordinating Committee for the Promotion of History's NCC Washington Update, the Chronicle of Higher Education, and the Consortium of Social Science Associations' Washington Update.