Earlier this month, the President signed the compromise budget agreement passed by Congress earlier that week, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2017. The “omnibus” bill, which glues together the 11 appropriations bills that had yet to be passed for an up-or-down vote as a single package, protects and even enhances funding for agencies targeted for severe cuts by Trump’s “skinny budget” released on March 16th. This is strong evidence that despite apparent opposition by the White House, basic research maintains strong bipartisan support in both houses of Congress. In fact, during our visit to DC in late March, offices on both sides of the aisle did not hesitate to declare many of the proposed cuts “dead on arrival.”

In addition to other basic research increases, including a $2 billion increase for the National Institutes of Health, the agencies that fund particle physics and cosmology-related research fared very well.

The table below summarizes the both the increases proposed in President Obama’s (first colored column) budget request for fiscal year 2017, and the funding changes now enacted through the omnibus bill (second colored column).

FY17 Omnibus Summary Chart

Worthy of note is the fact that the main source of funding for HEP research, the DOE Office of High-Energy Physics, is the only office within the DOE Office of Science to receive a larger increase than was requested by President Obama!

The funding level included in the omnibus compromise ($825M), reflects our “ask” from last year’s DC trip. This favorable outcome is due in part to the strong advocacy effort advanced by the research community over the past several years, including phone calls, office visits, and multiple visits to DC by various members of the high-energy physics community.

The P5 Report—the result of a community-wide effort to propose and prioritize projects in high-energy physics into a coherent research plan—has been instrumental in building and maintaining this united Congressional support. Having previously been told, in so many words, that “bickering scientists get nothing,” we now enjoy continued praise for the unified message of project prioritization and realistic planning that, we’ve been told, set us apart from other research communities.

Support for the P5 plan was recently codified by the House in Section 305(a) of the DOE Research and Innovation Act, which is currently being considered on the Senate side by the Energy and Natural Resources subcommittee.

Overall, although this omnibus compromise is overall a very positive development within the research community, it is important to remember that this compromise only funds the government at these levels until September 30th, when the specter of a government shutdown, the debt ceiling, and other key votes simultaneously require action by Congress.

It has never been more important to call your Senators and Representatives and let them know that sustained funding for science is critical to the future of technology, education, and discovery in America!

In addition to asking for their support on future issues, it is important to thank your representatives when they take positive action, so if your Senators or Representative voted yes on the science-friendly omnibus budget, (see the Senate and House roll call votes via GovTrack), call and let them know you appreciate their support!