There is little doubt that science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) programs are essential to the nation’s ability to compete in the global economy. 

A February 2012 Government Accountability Office report cited 209 STEM education programs in 13 separate agencies, 173 of which (83 percent) overlap to some degree with at least one other program offering similar services to similar target groups in similar STEM fields to achieve similar objectives.  In fiscal year 2010, the federal government obligated $3.1 billion towards STEM education programs.  This large expenditure of taxpayer dollars should place the U.S. at the top of the ladder in these fields worldwide in terms of performance as opposed to funding, but instead there has not been an adequate increase in the number of future STEM workers needed to permit the U.S. to compete in tomorrow’s global economy.  More than one-third of these programs were first funded between FYs 2005 and 2010. 

Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) has been on the front lines, calling for the consolidation and reform of these programs in an effort to reduce wasteful, duplicative spending in government.  On February 5, 2013, CAGW President Tom Schatz testified before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, stating that “despite reminders from all sides that wasteful spending is rampant and endemic to government, many of these glaringly wasteful programs have been allowed to continue and even grow.”

The President’s FY 2014 budget proposal includes a recommendation to consolidate or eliminate 90 STEM programs and realign the remaining activities.  According to the President’s proposal, the nearly $180 million in potential savings will be redirected to the Department of Education (DoEd), the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Smithsonian Institution from nine other agencies to better promote STEM literacy and education programs across the country.  The budget places the DoEd in charge of efforts to improve the impact of federal investments in STEM education, and develop STEM innovation networks to reform STEM instruction.  The department will also work toward supporting the President’s new STEM Master Teachers program. 

According to the President’s budget plan, the DoEd will also work on restructuring its own efforts to reach the President’s goal of generating 100,000 effective STEM teachers over the next decade.  The NSF will take on STEM undergraduate education improvements and reform graduate fellowship programs in order to reach more students and align with national needs.  The Smithsonian Institution will use the federal funding to improve and expand the reach of its informal education activities, and make these endeavors relevant to the classroom environment and aligned with state standards.

What is vexing about the President’s budget proposal is that rather than using the savings to reduce the deficit, eliminated program funding would pay for his new STEM initiatives.  There are 78 programs that will be eliminated as follows:

·     Department of Agriculture – $11 million redirected from 6 programs;

·     Department of Commerce –$13 million redirected from 6 programs;

·     Department of Defense – $49 million redirected from 6 programs;

·     Department of Energy – $11 million redirected from 8 programs;

·     Department of Health and Human Services – $28 million redirected from 10 programs;

·     Department of Homeland Security – $1 million redirected from 1 programs;

·     Environmental Protection Agency – $16 million redirected from 2 programs;

·     National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) – $48 million redirected from 38 programs; and

·     Nuclear Regulatory Commission – less than $1 million redirected from 1 program.

In addition, the budget plan reorganizes programs within two agencies:  NSF will have eleven programs reorganized ($118 million), and NASA will have one program reorganized ($2 million)).   This represents a total of $177 million in redirected funding to the DoEd, NSF and the Smithsonian to promote the President’s agenda.  However, the budget does not go into great detail on the reorganization plan, including how much each agency will receive from the redirected funding.

One would think that by eliminating duplicative programs, the savings would be used to reduce the deficit.  Reshuffling the deck is insufficient.  Like a street hustler playing a shell game, the hand is quicker than the eye, and the taxpayers are losing out.