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R&D Flat, but Budget Reflects Obama Administration Priorities
R&D Flat, but Budget Reflects Obama Administration Priorities
The first budget request of the Obama Administration keeps R&D funding virtually flat, at $147.6 billion, rising only 0.4% over the enacted FY2009 levels. That conclusion is somewhat misleading however, given Congress only approved the FY09 budget two months ago and the massive Recovery Act a month earlier. Recovery Act funding will be spent over both FY09 and FY10, providing agencies more money for research and economic development than at any time previously. The White House Office of Science & Technology Policy (OSTP) estimates the federal government will spend $165.4 billion for R&D in FY09.
Despite level funding, the Administration refocuses much of the FY10 spending on what it perceives are national imperatives: fighting climate change, finding cures for cancer, making our economy more innovation-based and efficient, and tying education and training to 21st century skill development.
The full report is available for download in pdf format.
Research Budgets Shifting Among Agencies
The Administration also begins a shift toward earlier research. Compared to the enacted FY09 budget, federal support for basic research would grow 3.4% in FY10 with the Administration's request. In contrast, federal basic and applied research funding has declined in real terms for the past four years.
More of the shift in priorities is reflected at the agency level. Five agencies would see double-digit percentage growth in their FY10 research appropriations as a result of the Administration request. Profiles for most agencies can be found at: http://www.ssti.org/Digest/2009/fy10budget.pdf but the percentage increases for the biggest gains for total research are below:
- 18.9% Education
- 15.8% NIST
- 13.7% Veterans Affairs
- 12.7% Health & Human Services, excluding NIH
- 10.0% NASA
- 9.4% National Science Foundation
- 6.7% Environmental Protection Agency
- 6.2% U.S. Geological Survey
Agencies for which the Administration requests total research budget reductions include:
- -2.4% Defense (military)
- -6.2% Agriculture
- -8.0% NOAA
All other major agencies would see gains of less than 3.0%.
STEM Education Responsibilities Also See Agency Shift
OSTP highlights the Administration's commitment to science, technology, engineering and mathematics education (STEM) through its support of more than 100 programs by FY10 funding of $3.7 billion. The figure does not include the additional $276 million included in the Recovery Act for STEM.
Some agencies will become more active in STEM support, including $124 million more (516% increase from enacted FY09 levels) for a new program within the Department of Energy. Other significant agency gains for STEM funding are in the National Science Foundation with $43 million of new funding for a total $1.1 billion (4.0% increase), the Department of Agriculture with $41 million for a total $88 million (87.2% increase) and the Department of Transportation with $15 million in new funding for a total of $174 million (9.4% increase).
Several agencies would see diminished funding for STEM, including the removal of all $10 million of STEM funding from the Department of Labor; $87 million cut from the Department of Education (10.2% decrease); $14 million reduction from the Department of Commerce (28.0% decrease) and NASA losing $43 million (25.4% decrease).
After all of the shuffling, federal STEM support would experience a net increase of $98 million, or 2.7%, in FY10.