The Energy Department's science chief will shoulder a heavy load this week as he visits House appropriators to defend an Obama administration request for 2012 science funding that is more than 9 percent above 2010 levels.

Steven Koonin, the Energy Department's undersecretary for science, will appear Wednesday before the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Subcommittee to make his case for the Office of Science's fiscal 2012 request.

At $5.4 billion, that amounts to 9.1 percent more than the office received in 2010 -- a tough sell for Republican lawmakers looking for places to reduce discretionary spending.

Tomorrow, Energy Secretary Steven Chu is scheduled to address the same subcommittee to defend the overall DOE budget, which features a 12 percent spending boost over 2010 levels, held in check largely by cuts to fossil energy research (see related story).

Subcommittee Chairman Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-N.J.) recently said he did not believe the DOE budget request reflected many "tough decisions," saying, "I think we are making a lot tougher decisions in the [continuing resolution]" (Greenwire, Feb. 28). That stopgap spending measure would fund the government through the rest of fiscal 2011.

The Office of Science's 2012 budget request includes boosts of more than 20 percent for several programs, including those for advanced scientific computing, basic energy sciences, biological and environmental research and work force development for teachers and scientists -- an area slated to grow by 72 percent. Nuclear physics work would see a 15.9 percent boost under the proposal and the science program direction would increase 14.5 percent compared with 2010. The biggest drop would be science laboratory infrastructure, which would see a 12.4 percent decrease.

Schedule: The hearing is Wednesday, March 16, at 10 a.m. in 2362-B Rayburn.

Witness: Steven Koonin, undersecretary for science, Department of Energy.