From the President’s Office – 8/4/2011

The political climate here in Washington has been tense, to say the least.  The heat has only added to it! However, after weeks of debate, the federal government finally came to an agreement on the debt ceiling this week.  On Monday, the House passed a measure that would raise the debt ceiling by $2.4 trillion.  The measure was then passed by the Senate on Tuesday and quickly signed into law by President Obama − just hours before the default deadline.

Even though we narrowly avoided a default, the celebrations are quite subdued.  The hard part is just beginning as major cuts (trillions of dollars) loom to curb our country’s immense debt.

With this in mind, and the FY2012 budget process currently underway, I have spent considerable time over the past couple of weeks trying to read the tea leaves with the Senate and House appropriations committees and OMB to ascertain what the future holds for science funding.  In addition, last week, I met with a number of Senators and their staff emphasizing the importance of investment in ocean science in fueling the economy and driving innovation.

My assessment is that we are in for a very rough ride over the next few years.  No one really knows how this deficit cutting exercise is going to end up for science.  But, one thing is for sure, when you are thinking of cuts in the trillions of dollars, everyone is going to pay something.  Getting a flat budget for any agency will be viewed as a real win.  For the FY2012 budget, a passage date is very uncertain. Remember that the FY2011 budget was not passed until May of this year, eight months after the 2011 fiscal year was supposed to start.

So, that is the reality we are faced with today.  Having a feeling that we were headed in this direction, I discussed this issue at our March Trustees meeting.  If you haven’t read these comments, I suggest you have a look.  We are facing a new world.  We need to be prepared, and we need to change to accommodate for it.

In the meantime, I strongly encourage you to enjoy summer.  It will be over before we know it.

Bob

Related Posts:

• From the President’s Office – 7/22/2011
• From the President’s Office – 6/3/2011
• From the President’s Office – 5/17/2012
• From the President’s Office – 5/11/2012
• From the President’s Office – 4/23/2012