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1 of 4
 This
tutorial is adapted from an "Introduction to the Federal Budget" seminar
presented by Kei Koizumi, Director of the R&D Budget
and Policy Program, to various audiences. The tutorial is designed to introduce
audiences to the U.S. federal budget process, especially as it relates to federal
R&D funding. The tutorial will be updated continually with the latest federal
budget information, including information on the pending fiscal year (FY) 2009
budget, highights of which are below. The budget is often regarded as arcane,
complicated, and impossible: and it is! But there are several reasons to make
an effort to learn about it anyway: This tutorial was updated in August 2008.
1/ It's a LOT of money and it used to be yours The federal
government will spend $3.1 trillion next year, which amounts to a fifth of the
U.S. economy. The federal budget determines how the federal government gets and
spends that money, and thus affects every part of the U.S. economy and even the
world economy. 2/ You can't do POLICY in Washington without MONEY Money
makes policies possible, and without money policies can't be implemented. There
are many examples of government programs created in law but never implemented
because the federal budget never provides money for them. There are examples of
federal policies that can be implemented without federal money, such as 'unfunded
mandates' on industry, or state and local government, or even private citizens
in which federal law requires other organizations to cover the costs of compliance.
These are, of course, unpopular. But by and large, federal laws require federal
spending or at least federal assistance. And federal spending decisions come out
of the federal budget process. It's also true that in these times of budget
deficits, every policy decision has to be considered in the context of its effect
on the federal budget. 3/ The budget takes up a lot of time and effort
on Capitol Hill and the executive branch The federal agencies and Congress
spend an extraordinary amount of time every year on the budget, and unlike many
other tasks of the federal government it has to be done EVERY year. There's an
annual cycle to the federal budget that affects nearly every other decision in
Washington, with timelines and deadlines that impact other activities, sometimes
to the extent that the budget may be the only thing that gets done during a legislative
year. 4/ The federal budget determines the health of U.S. science and
engineering research and education The federal government spends more
than $140 billion a year on research and development (R&D), which the AAAS
R&D Budget and Policy Program tracks. Although people often speak of an
"R&D budget" for the federal government, in fact R&D funding
is part of the overall federal budget and R&D funding decisions are made as
part of the overall federal budget process. R&D programs are regular federal
programs contained, along with other types of spending, within the budgets of
more than 20 federal agencies and departments. (For more on R&D in the federal
budget, see Chapter 1 of the annual AAAS
R&D report.) The federal R&D investment is extremely important:
the federal government funds the majority of the nation's basic research, funds
60 percent of all R&D performed at the nation's universities, and also supports
fellowships, scholarships, student loans, and other aid. Continue
with the Tutorial Back
to Main Guide to R&D Funding Data Page
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