VOL. 23, NO. 14	FEBRUARY 6, 1998

resident Clinton delivered his State of the Union speech to a joint session of Congress and the nation on Jan. 27. He emphasized the need to preserve social security for the 21st century by reserving budget surpluses for the program. Science and education funding were key components of the hour-long speech.

  His budget was released early this week. Congress will now pass a budget resolution and begin the annual appropriation process.

  The 21st Century Research fund proposed by the President will include as much as an 8.5 percent increase in funding for the National Institutes of Health and doubling of the NIH budget over five years. For the National Science Foundation, the President has proposed a 9 percent increase; the Department of Energy will receive a 10 percent increase. A five-year package of tax incentives and research and development funding is proposed for developing advanced technologies to fight global warming. The package is part of the President’s climate change plan.

  Funding for a Millennium Program Fund ($50 million for each of three years) will be used to save America’s Treasures. In addition, the President will encourage Public/Private partnerships for funding the arts and humanities.

  In the education arena, much of the emphasis was on elementary and secondary education with funding for construction within schools, standard teacher training funds and mentoring projects. Clinton reiterated his major higher education tax and Pell Grant effort of last year.

  The President’s budget will be available on the world wide web through http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/budget/. All agencies will also have descriptions of their budgets on their World Wide Web sites.

  More details will be described in future updates. For additional information, please contact Ellen S. Smith, assistant vice president and director of federal relations, at ess@columbia.edu.