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Figure 1. (click on the image to view
or download a full-page PDF version of the chart)
Trends in Total R&D
Figure 1 compares the trajectories of total R&D,
defense R&D and nondefense R&D for the period FY 1976-2002. As
the figure illustrates, defense R&D and nondefense R&D have achieved
relative parity in recent years after a marked divergence during the defense
build-up of the Reagan Administration in the 1980s. Growth in nondefense
R&D in recent years has resulted primarily from steady growth in the
NIH budget, including increases of approximately 15 percent for four years
in a row. (Detailed historical tables and other supplementary material
are available on the AAAS R&D Web site.)
- The federal investment in research and development (R&D)
exceeds $100 billion for the first time. Federal R&D in FY 2002
totals $103.7 billion, a $12.3 billion or 13.5 percent increase over
FY 2001 that is the largest dollar increase in history and the largest
percentage increase in nearly 20 years (see Table
1).
- There are substantial increases for all the major federal R&D
agencies, in contrast to proposed cuts for most agencies in the Bush
Administration's April budget request. The largest dollar and percentage
increases go to the two largest R&D funding agencies, the Department
of Defense (DOD) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), reflecting
the high priority placed on defense and health by the Bush Administration
and Congress. DOD R&D increases by $7.4 billion or 17.3 percent
to reach $50.1 billion thanks to dramatic increases for missile defense
development and other DOD investments to respond to U.S. military needs.
NIH R&D increases 15.8 percent to $22.8 billion to fulfill the fourth
year of a five-year campaign to double the NIH budget, with additional
funds provided to combat bioterrorism.
- There are large increases for basic and applied research in FY
2002, especially in NIH (see Table 2).
The total federal investment in research (basic and applied) is $48.2
billion, an increase of 11.0 percent or $4.8 billion over FY 2001. NIH
remains the largest single sponsor of basic research; in FY 2002, NIH
alone will fund 46 percent of all federal support of research. All federal
agencies receive increases for their research portfolios, especially
agencies with defense or counter-terrorism research programs.
- R&D for all national missions increases, with especially large
boosts for defense and health R&D (see Table
3). In defense, DOD S&T investments exceed $10 billion for the
first time to reach $10.5 billion (up 11.8 percent), while funding for
missile defense development nearly doubles. In health, the NIH budget
remains on track to double between FY 1998 and FY 2003 with a $3.1 billion
increase in R&D to $22.8 billion, but NIH and the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC) also receive substantial emergency funds
for bioterrorism R&D and improved laboratory facilities. Counter-terrorism
R&D funds are responsible for large increases for other missions:
agriculture R&D rises 9.4 percent to $1.9 billion in part to address
food safety issues and to improve security at agricultural laboratories
that handle pathogens; natural resources and environment R&D rises
11.2 percent to $2.5 billion in part for R&D on securing drinking
water supplies; and transportation R&D climbs 6.7 percent to $1.8
billion, partially because of a large infusion of emergency funds for
the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) aviation security R&D
programs.
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