For example, COMPETES 2007  authorized creation of the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy in  DOE to overcome long-term and high-risk technological barriers in  developing energy technologies, and it authorized programs in Education  and NSF to train teachers in STEM fields. Appropriations Generally Increased but Fell Short of Authorizations, and Most Newly Authorized Programs Were Not Funded

Of the $62.2 billion authorized under the COMPETES Acts in fiscal years  2008 through 2012, $52.4 billion was appropriated, including $51.9 billion  for the entire budgets of NSF, Science, and NIST. 1.) The COMPETES Acts also specifically authorized funding for 40  individual programs, including some programs within and some outside of  NSF, Science, and NIST. Among the 40 programs for which the COMPETES Acts specifically  authorized funding, the 12 programs that existed before the acts all  received appropriations and continue to operate. Agencies did include funding requests in their budget  submissions for 4 of the 22 newly authorized programs that did not  receive funding. For the other 18 programs, officials most often told us they did not  request appropriations because their agencies already had similar  programs under way or could work within current programs to carry out  similar activities. For example, Science officials told us the office did not  request appropriations for the Discovery Science and Engineering  Innovation Institutes because the program’s implementation would have  duplicated existing activities. Recent Evaluations Generally Suggest Positive Results and Some Recommend Improvements for Implemented Programs

Recent evaluations that we identified have generally suggested positive  results for the fully implemented programs for which the COMPETES Acts  specifically authorized funding; some of the evaluations have also  recommended ways to improve the programs. We also reviewed  relevant laws, including COMPETES 2007 and the COMPETES  Reauthorization Act of 2010 (COMPETES 2010), and we interviewed  agency officials from the National Science Foundation (NSF); the  Department of Energy (DOE), including the Office of Science (Science)  and the Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy (ARPA-E); the  Department of Commerce (Commerce), including the National Institute of  Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Economic Development  Administration; and the Department of Education (Education). We interviewed agency  officials to learn about the status of programs that received funding. We  reported findings on a select number of programs and evaluations based  on the following criteria: (1) we included programs that received federal  funding in fiscal year 2012 and are continuing operations as of May 2013  and (2) for each focus area, we chose programs with the most recent  evaluations and included up to two of the most recent studies for those  programs. Appendix II: Programs for Which the COMPETES Acts Specifically Authorized Funding

Figure 4 below shows the 40 programs for which the America Creating  Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote Excellence in Technology,  Education, and Science (COMPETES) Act of 2007 or the COMPETES  Reauthorization Act of 2010 specifically authorized funding. The scope of our review is based on a mandate in the America  COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 (COMPETES 2010) that  calls for GAO to evaluate the extent to which programs authorized  under the law have been funded, implemented, and are contributing to  achieving the goals of the act. 2. 3.
Why GAO Did This Study

Scientific and technological innovation and a workforce educated in STEM fields are critical to long-term U.S. economic competitiveness. Leaders in government, business, and education have expressed concern about the nation's ability to compete with other technologically advanced countries in these fields. In this context, Congress passed COMPETES 2007 and reauthorized the act with COMPETES 2010, each with the overall goal of investing in research and development to improve U.S. competitiveness. Among other things, the acts specifically authorized funding for certain programs.
COMPETES 2010 mandated GAO to evaluate the status of authorized programs. GAO examined (1) the extent to which funding was appropriated under the authorization of COMPETES 2007 and COMPETES 2010 and (2) what recent evaluations suggest about how programs for which the acts specifically authorized funding are working. To answer these questions, GAO reviewed relevant federal laws, interviewed agency officials, and reviewed program evaluations for quality and content.
This report contains no recommendations.

What GAO Found

In fiscal years 2008-2012, $52.4 billion was appropriated out of the $62.2 billion authorized under the America Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote Excellence in Technology, Education, and Science Act of 2007 (COMPETES 2007) and the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 (COMPETES 2010). Almost all of these funds went to the entire budgets of three existing research entities--the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and the Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Science (Science)--including all of the programs and activities the entities carry out. Appropriations for NSF, NIST, and Science generally increased under the acts but did not reach levels authorized by the acts. In addition to authorizing the budgets of these entities, COMPETES 2007 and COMPETES 2010 specifically authorized funding for 40 individual programs, including some programs within and some outside of these entities. Among those 40 programs, the 12 programs that existed before COMPETES 2007 received appropriations and continue to operate. Six of 28 newly authorized programs were also funded. Of these 6 programs, 1--DOE's Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy, set up to develop new energy technologies--is continuing operations, 3 were not funded in fiscal year 2012, and 2 were not fully implemented as of May 2013. For the 22 programs that were not funded, agency officials generally said that they did not request funding in their budget submissions; most often this was because agencies had similar programs under way or could pursue similar objectives within current programs. For example, Science said it did not request funding for the Discovery Science and Engineering Innovation Institutes because it would have duplicated other Science programs.
For the fully implemented programs for which the COMPETES Acts specifically authorized funding, recent evaluations generally reported positive results, and some evaluations provided suggestions for improvements. Recent evaluations have been conducted for almost all of the programs that were implemented, or for aspects of those programs. For example, studies of the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program found that the program has increased the number of qualified science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) teachers, but also suggested that retention of teachers in high-need schools could be improved.