COMMERCE, JUSTICE, SCIENCE, AND RE- LATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2020 U.S. SENATE, SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS, Washington, DC. NONDEPARTMENTAL WITNESSES [CLERK’S NOTE.—The subcommittee was unable to hold hearings on nondepartmental witnesses. The statements and letters of those submitting written testimony are as follows:] PREPARED STATEMENT OF THE AMERICAN ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY NASA AND THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION On behalf of the over 7,000 members of the American Astronomical Society (AAS), thank you for the opportunity to submit outside witness testimony regarding our funding priorities for NASA and the National Science Foundation (NSF) in fiscal year 2020. Before I get to fiscal year 2020, I would like to express our sincere thanks for your subcommittee’s incredibly strong support of the astronomical sciences in prevous years. Our community of students, scientists, engineers, and educators recognizes and appreciates your steadfast support for key programs at NASA and the NSF ena- bling worldclass research in astronomy, planetary science, and heliophysics. These wise investments opened a completely new way of seeing the universe, through gravitational waves. They made possible dramatic discoveries, ranging from the composition of the surface of Mars to the formation of distant planets circling other stars, to the siren call of two black holes spiraling together to become one. Regarding fiscal year 2020, we understand there are many competing priorities and budgetary pressures, so we are advocating elsewhere for both a new bipartisan agreement raising the non-defense discretionary budget caps and strong 302(b) allo- cations for your subcommittee. Assuming that another budget deal is reached, the AAS asks that your fiscal year 2020 subcommittee bill include at least $9.0 billion for NSF and at least $22.6 billion for NASA. I have included a more detailed sum- mary table at the end of this testimony. As you may know, our community sets its ranked priorities for new investment via a consensus-based ‘‘decadal survey’’ process, commissioned by the agencies and carried out independently by the National Academy of Sciences. AAS advocates for a balanced Federal astronomical sciences portfolio that follows the guidance of the decadal surveys, associated midterm reports, and other scientific community inputs like senior, portfolio, and standing advisory committee reviews. These guiding in- puts paired with strong support from Congress have allowed the U.S. to be the clear world leader in space science research since the U.S. astronomy community pio- neered the decadal survey mechanism in the 1960s. NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION (NSF) The AAS joins the other 100∂ organizations of the Coalition for National Science Funding (CNSF) to urge you to prioritize the NSF for what we recognize is an ambi- tious increase by providing a $9.0 billion (+11 percent) investment in fiscal year 2020. The demand is real and far exceeds this requested ∼$1 billion increase. The NSF must deny the equivalent of billions of dollars of support to excellent-rated, re- search and education grant proposals every year. The most recent NSF-wide solici- (1) 2 tation of interest in mid-sized instrumentation identified $3 billion in high impact projects in the $20–70 million range. Our national research and development enter- prise depends on a strong NSF that is empowered to support bold, transformative science and prepare a highly-skilled and diverse technical workforce. The U.S. should rise to meet the challenge of an era of both immense scientific and technical potential and unprecedented global competition. In the space sciences, NSF plays a key complementary role to NASA. NSF’s Divi- sion of Astronomical Sciences (AST), in the Mathematical and Physical Sciences Di- rectorate (MPS), is the Federal steward of ground-based astronomy in the U.S., and the Division of Atmospheric and Geospace Science (AGS) in the Geosciences Direc- torate (GEO), supports complementary studies of our Sun and its interaction with Earth. GEO pioneered the innovative Cubesat program that supports training of students and support for researchers at many smaller institutions across the Na- tion. Ever-increasing grant pressure and growing costs of building and operating the cutting-edge facilities befitting a global leader persist in both divisions. We risk missing potential paradigm-shifting scientific investigations from the widest possible research community and settling for diminished returns on U.S. taxpayer invest- ment in both existing and future facilities. The Astronomy and Geospace Portfolio Reviews acknowledged the important science made possible by existing facilities such as the Arecibo Observatory in Puer- to Rico and the Green Bank Observatory in West Virginia, but the reviews still rec- ommended divestment of these facilities because it was overly constrained by pessi- mistic budget forecasts. With exception of a welcome infusion of one-time funds in fiscal year 2018 (including Hurricane Maria emergency supplemental funds), the overall budget situation for NSF astronomy was, and remains, so dire as to risk fu- ture U.S. scientific leadership in ground-based astronomy. In tandem, the signifi- cant reductions in publicly-funded telescope time and data analysis deepens the di- vide within the astronomical community between the ‘‘haves’’ at elite institutions and the ‘‘have-nots,’’ reducing broad, diverse access to the study of the universe. The Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope and Large Synoptic Survey Telescope, soon to be completed, require operational support that, as currently planned, will be carved out of the competed research grant programs. Right now, the National Acad- emies’ Astronomy and Astrophysics Decadal Survey (Astro2020) is considering what the next generation of world-leading observatories should look like. These proposed world-leading observatories cannot be built, let alone operated, with the current NSF budget and approach to building and operating large facilities. The dramatic— not incremental—leap in capability and scientific understanding represented by these new machines, together with a generation of scientists and engineers and their technological achievements, stand to be lost without an ambitious recommit- ment to NSF. NSF is strongest when its research programs and education programs—housed within both the Research and Related Activities (R&RA) and Education and Human Resources (EHR) accounts—are strong and able to engage a STEM workforce across diverse sectors and career stages. NSF education programs provide opportunities for both students and educators in a dedicated way that no other science agency does. NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION (NASA) At NASA, as in previous years, the AAS requests support for a balanced , world- leading scientific program guided by the decadal surveys, consistent with past con- gressional appropriations and authorizations. While we do not specify a number for NASA’s STEM Engagement office, we are totally opposed to the administration’s proposal to eliminate these important programs. The divisions of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate (SMD) engage in discovery research across size and distance scales, from using local laboratory measurements here on Earth to interpret information carried by photons and particles, to collecting those photons and particles with space-based telescopes and detectors on robotic ve- hicles. Scientific exploration of space can lay the intellectual and technical ground- work for the human exploration of space; the expansion of human knowledge of phe- nomena in space and the search for life’s origin, evolution, distribution, and future in the universe are statutory objectives for NASA. Astrophysics Division: We ask that you reject the administration’s proposed 30 percent budget reduction that would devastate our Nation’s efforts to understand how the universe works, how we got here, and whether we are alone. We request that your subcommittee continue to support a strong astrophysics portfolio that grows by a steady 5 percent per year. An additional appropriation of $134 million would also enable continued development of the next decade’s Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope, WFIRST ($446 million; +43 percent), which is building on the sci- 3 entific legacy of the Hubble Space Telescope and learning from the hard develop- ment and budgeting challenges of the James Webb Space Telescope. New small and medium explorers will advance through their early development stages in fiscal year 2020, and the 2019 Astrophysics Senior Review and two SOFIA reviews will ensure efficient use and maximum scientific return from the fleet of existing astrophysics assets in fiscal year 2020 and a strong appropriation. The total Astrophysics Divi- sion request—including the planned increase for WFIRST development on top of a 5 percent increase for the rest of the program to ensure balance—is $1.37 billion (+15 percent). Heliophysics Division: Consistent with past support from your subcommittees, we ask that you provide continued robust funding in support of the top-priority Heliophysics DRIVE initiative, to provide critical support for early career scientists and for the development of new technologies in anticipation of an increased cadence for Explorer missions. Also, consistent with the provisions of the Senate’s space weather program, invest in space weather observations and forecasting that advance research-to-operations and operations-to-research efforts.