(All figures in this analysis are preliminary
and will be revised in later AAAS releases. This analysis is a preview of the
forthcoming AAAS Report XXXI: Research and Development FY 2007, a comprehensive
look at the President's budget for R&D in FY 2007. More tables and continually
updated supplemental materials on R&D in the FY 2007 budget can be found on
the AAAS R&D Web site at www.aaas.org/spp/rd).
On
February 6, President Bush released his proposed budget for fiscal year (FY) 2007.
The new budget proposes substantial increases for key physical sciences and engineering
programs as part of an "American Competitiveness Initiative" that was
first previewed in the President's State of the Union address as a response to
a growing wave of concern about the state of U.S. innovation. The three favored agencies of the
National Science Foundation (NSF), the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science,
and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) laboratories in
Commerce would receive substantial budget increases after years of flat or declining
funding. DOE also benefits from the President’s “American Energy Initiative” with
large increases in its energy R&D portfolio.
The
overall federal investment in research and development (R&D) would increase
to $137 billion in 2007, but in a repeat of past budgets the continuing Administration
priorities of weapons development and space vehicles development would take up
the entire increase and more, leaving declining funding for the remainder of the
R&D portfolio.
The
federal investment in basic and applied research (excluding development and R&D
facilities) would decline 3.4 percent to $54.7 billion, meaning increases for
physical sciences and related research in DOE, NSF, and NIST would be more than
offset by cuts in other agencies’ research. The National Institutes of Health
(NIH) budget would be flat for the second year in a row and would fund less than
1 out of every 5 grant applications; the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
(NASA), despite being a major sponsor of physical sciences research, would see
its research funding fall to offset a big increase in development of new space
vehicles.
The
large proposed increases for physical sciences and engineering research are not
enough to keep the federal investment in basic and applied research (excluding
development) from declining for the third year in a row after peaking in 2004.
R&D in the FY 2007 Budget: Cuts for Most Areas, Gains for Weapons, Space Vehicles, Energy, and the
Physical Sciences
On
February 6, President Bush released his proposed budget for fiscal year (FY) 2007
and offered the same themes as in previous years: big increases for defense and
homeland security, trims in some entitlement programs, proposed extensions of
expiring tax cuts, and a promise to reduce the budget deficit by cutting domestic
discretionary spending. But the President also announced two major initiatives
in his State of the Union address to boost federal investments in physical sciences
research and energy R&D. The FY 2007 budget follows through with large increases
for key physical sciences funding agencies and the Department of Energy’s (DOE)
energy R&D portfolio, but otherwise the budget request is similar to past
requests: federal R&D would increase slightly less than projected inflation,
the entire increase and more would go toward the development of new weapons and
new human space vehicles, and increases in the remainder of the federal R&D
portfolio would be offset by cuts in other areas. The large increases for the
DOE Office of Science, NSF, and the NIST laboratories in the American Competitiveness
Initiative, the increases for NASA development geared to returning humans to the
moon, and increases for DOE energy R&D to pursue alternatives to imported
oil all enable nondefense R&D to increase 1.7 percent,
in contrast to the 0.5 percent requested cut for all domestic programs in the
FY 2007 budget. But within a declining domestic budget, there would be stark contrasts
between priority programs and everything else: the above priorities would receive
large increases, while everything else in the federal R&D portfolio would
face steep cuts (see Figure 1), with only biomedical research flat in the middle.
(All figures in this release are preliminary and will be revised in later AAAS
releases with revised agency data.)
Figure 1. (click
on the image for PDF)
-
The proposed federal R&D portfolio in FY 2007 is $137.0 billion, 1.9
percent or $2.6 billion above this year’s funding level, just short of the
2.2 percent increase needed to keep pace with expected inflation (see Table
1 and Figure 2). In real terms, the total federal R&D portfolio would
decline for the first time since 1996 after flattening out the last few years.
Development would be the clear winner: increases for weapons development in the
Department of Defense (DOD; up $4.2 billion) and space vehicles development in
the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA; up $851 million) would
be far greater than the overall $2.6 billion increase, leaving all other R&D
programs collectively with less money next year. Development funding would hit
a new high of $78.0 billion (up 6.2 percent). Total federal support of research (basic and applied) would fall 3.4 percent
to $54.7 billion, even with large proposed increases for physical sciences and
related research in NSF, DOE’s Office of Science, and
NIST (see Table 2 and Figure 2). In real terms,
the federal research portfolio would fall nearly 6 percent.
-
The nondefense R&D investment would increase
1.7 percent to $58.5 billion, far better than the 0.5 percent cut requested for
all nondefense discretionary programs (see Table
1 and Figure 3). Boosts for physical sciences research, energy R&D, and
space vehicles development help to offset requested cuts in other nondefense R&D programs, but even increases in these areas
are not enough to keep the nondefense portfolio from
falling behind expected inflation. Four nondefense R&D
agencies would do well in the 2007 budget request (see Figure 1): there would
be significant increases for R&D in DOE’s Office
of Science (up 14 percent to $3.8 billion), NIST intramural research (up 18 percent
to $383 million), and NSF (up 8.3 percent to $4.5 billion) because of the American
Competitiveness Initiative; a substantial 8.1 percent increase for DOE’s
energy R&D investments to $1.4 billion as part of the
American Energy Initiative; and a 7.5 percent increase to $12.2 billion for NASA
R&D to develop a Crew Exploration Vehicle and Crew Launch Vehicle.
Figure 2. (click
on the image for PDF)
-
But other nondefense R&D agencies not linked to the high priority
areas would see flat funding or steep cuts (see Figure 1). Many but not all
of the cuts are due to the proposed elimination of congressional earmarks. The
NIH budget, after declining slightly in 2006 for the first time in 36 years, would
remain flat at $28.6 billion. All but two NIH institutes and centers would see
their budgets fall for the second year in a row. Other R&D agencies would
face steep cuts: the Environmental Protection Agency’s (R&D) portfolio would
fall 7.2 percent to $557 million, while Commerce’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA) would see its R&D funding decline 6.3 percent to $578
million. R&D funding in the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the U.S. Department
of Agriculture (USDA; down 16.5 percent) would also fall. Even the Department
of Homeland Security (DHS), a past favorite, would see its R&D portfolio decline
5.6 percent to $1.3 billion within a rising overall DHS budget.
-
There would be tough budgetary choices even in agencies with increasing
budgets. At NASA, an $851 million boost in R&D funding to $12.2 billion
would be far less than the $1.3 billion boost to $3.1 billion for the Constellation
Systems program, which is charged with developing the next generation of human
space vehicle to replace the Space Shuttle and to enable humans to return to the
moon. Among the casualties of the shift in resources are NASA’s aeronautics research
program, falling 18 percent to $724 million, and what remains of its life sciences
program, proposed for a 56 percent cut after a 30 percent cut in 2006. Other NASA
research programs would also decline. R&D at the National Institute of Standards
and Technology (NIST) laboratories would climb 18 percent to $383 million, but
in a repeat of past years the budget proposes to eliminate NIST’s
Advanced Technology Program (ATP) and halve the budget of the Manufacturing Extension
Partnership (MEP). While NSF’s research directorates would do well, its Education
and Human Resources directorate would barely increase, to a level 20 percent below
the 2004 budget in real terms. Substantial increases for DOD development would
be offset by steep cuts in DOD research. Only DOE appears immune from tradeoffs:
the large increases proposed for energy and science R&D are possible because
of a nearly $1 billion expected drop in DOE’s environmental
costs as several cleanup projects reach completion.
-
Defense R&D continues to do relatively well, in a budget that sustains overall
defense spending at record funding levels. Total defense R&D would increase
2.1 percent to $78.4 billion, falling just short of matching inflation for the
first time since 1996 (see Table 1). Department of
Defense (DOD) weapons systems development would increase dramatically by 7 percent
to a new high of $62.9 billion (see Figure 1), but once again there would be steep
cuts in DOD’s S&T (DOD “6.1” through “6.3” plus medical research) programs.
DOD S&T would plummet 18.6 percent down to $11.2 billion, with cuts in all
three categories of basic research, applied research, and technology development.
DOE’s weapons-related R&D would rise 0.6 percent
to $4.0 billion after a cut in 2006.
-
The total federal research investment (basic and applied research, excluding
development and facilities funding) would total $54.7 billion in 2007, down 3.4
percent from the current year (see Table 2 and
Figure 2). Although NSF (up 7.1 percent), DOE’s Office of Science (up 11 percent), and NIST (up 11 percent)
would do very well for their research portfolios in the 2007 budget, there would
be steep cuts in other agencies. Some of the cuts would be from agencies shifting
funds out of research and into development, such as DOD (research down 16 percent),
the Department of Homeland Security (DHS, down 16.5 percent), and NASA (down 18
percent). Other cuts would result from the proposed elimination of research earmarks,
such as USDA (down 13 percent), EPA (7 percent), DOD, and NOAA (down 2.4 percent).
NIH, the largest federal sponsor of research, would see its research funding remain
flat at $27.7 billion, a 2.2 percent loss after adjusting for inflation.
-
The federal investment in basic research would do better than research overall
with a modest 1.2 percent increase to $28.2 billion (see Table
2). As with all research, cuts in DOD, NASA, USDA, and DHS support of basic
research would partially offset big proposed gains in DOE’s
Office of Science, NIST, and NSF.
-
The Administration priorities of defense development, space exploration, energy,
and basic physical sciences research show up clearly in the federal R&D portfolio
by mission (see Table 3). The priority missions
would all receive large increases, while R&D for national missions would fall
sharply. Space-related R&D would gain 10.1 percent to $11.5 billion, though
entirely from gains in development funding of new space vehicles instead of the
broader space R&D portfolio. Boosts to DOE Office of Science and NSF R&D
make up the 10.9 percent gain for general science R&D to $8.3 billion, while
a new commitment to renewables, nuclear, hydrogen, and coal R&D are responsible
for the proposed 8.3 percent increase in energy R&D to $1.5 billion. Defense
R&D continues to be a high priority with a 2.1 percent boost to $78.4 billion.
But R&D for other national missions including agriculture (down 19 percent),
transportation (down 22 percent), and the environment (down 7 percent) would all
fall in a tight domestic budget. Even health R&D, usually on the positive
side, would fall for the second year in a row down to $29.7 billion after decades
of steady gains.
-
Federal homeland security-related R&D would total $5.2 billion in
FY 2007, a small gain of $24 million or 0.5 percent that would be a further
leveling off of the federal investment after dramatic increases in the aftermath
of the 2001 terrorist attacks (see Table 4; the
totals are significantly higher than in previous years because DOD recently expanded
its reporting of homeland security-related spending). The majority of the multi-agency
portfolio would remain outside the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), with
the largest part in the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for its biodefense research portfolio. NIH’s
portfolio, mostly in the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
(NIAID), would total $2.0 billion in FY 2006, up 6.1 percent despite a flat overall
NIH budget. After annual increases greater than 20 percent in the first few years
of its existence, the DHS R&D portfolio would fall for the first time with
a 5.6 percent proposed cut to $1.3 billion.
- The federal government continues to invest billions of dollars in multi-agency
R&D initiatives that cut across agency missions (see Table
5). After an increase in 2006, funding for the National Nanotechnology Initiative would fall 1.8 percent to $1.3 billion, primarily because DOD would remove
earmarked 2006 nanotechnology projects from its 2007 request. Funding for the
Networking and Information Technology
R&D initiative would increase 2.4 percent to $3.1 billion because of the
American Competitiveness Initiative, which encompasses increasing support for
computer sciences and other IT research. DOE would boost its IT support 23 percent
to $473 million, led by a 36 percent requested increase for the Advanced Scientific
Computing Research (ASCR) program at the Office of Science. At NSF, not only would
the Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) directorate receive
a 6 percent boost but the new Office of Cyberinfrastructure,
a CISE offshoot, would see its budget climb 43.5 percent. Climate
Change Science Program (CCSP) funding would barely increase by 0.2 percent
to $1.7 billion, after a steep cut in 2006 due to falling NASA funding for space-based
observations of the environment.
The FY 2007 R&D Budget in Historical Context: Another Year of Decline
Figure 3. (click
on the image for PDF)
Although
high-priority investments in weapons development, human space exploration, and
now physical sciences research and alternative energy technologies help to keep
the federal R&D outlook brighter than the bleak outlook for domestic programs
overall, the FY 2007 budget would keep federal R&D on a downward slope from
the highs of a few years ago. Even though some agencies and disciplines would
do well in 2007, for trend after trend there were big increases leading up to
2003 or 2004 followed by real cuts that would continue into next year.
Nondefense
R&D peaked in FY 2004 and is now headed down, but for most programs funding
has been stagnant for nearly two decades. Nondefense
R&D did very well between 1998 and 2003 because of the campaign to double
the NIH budget, as shown in Figure 3. The creation of the DHS also helped to boost
nondefense R&D investments by creating a new area
for investment. But all the other nondefense R&D
funding agencies collectively have seen their budgets remain flat for nearly two
decades (see the red bars in Figure 3), even as the U.S.
economy, the federal budget, and the U.S.
population have all boomed during that time. The 2007 proposed increases for NASA,
DOE Office of Science, NSF, and NIST would begin to recover the lost ground of
the past few years. These non-NIH agencies, combined with DOD’s research investments
(also flat or declining in recent years), fund nearly all of the federal investment
in non-biomedical research, including the physical sciences, non-medical life
sciences, environmental sciences, engineering, mathematics, computer sciences,
and social sciences. Federal support of biomedical research was on a growth path
until 2003, especially during the NIH doubling campaign, but in recent years growth
has leveled off and federal support has begun to decline in real terms.
Figure 4. (click
on the image for PDF)
The
federal research investment would continue to decline in the 2007 budget, despite
gains for the physical sciences. Federal support of research (excluding development)
peaked in 2004 (see Figure 4), driven primarily by big boosts to NIH research.
But the research portfolio declines in 2005 and 2006, and would fall even further
in 2007 as steep cuts in NASA, DOD, and other agencies’ research, and inflation-adjusted
cuts for NIH research more than offset proposed gains in NSF and DOE research.
The 2007 budget would leave the federal research portfolio 8 percent below the
2004 level in inflation-adjusted dollars.
Federal
research investments are shrinking as a share of the U.S. economy, just as other
nations are increasing their investments. As shown in Figure 5, the federal
R&D investment has exceeded 1 percent of U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
in recent years, buoyed by big increases in weapons development, but is projected
to decline sharply in 2006 and 2007. Federal investments in development, mostly
in DOD, have held steady as a share of the economy, but the federal research/GDP
ratio is in free fall down to a projected 0.40 percent in 2007, back down to the
long-term historical average after gains during the NIH doubling period. Despite
an increasingly technology-based economy and a growing recognition among policymakers
that federal research investments are the seed corn for future technology-based
innovations, the U.S. government research investment has failed to match
the new realities and has also failed to match the competition. While the European
Union goal of boosting its government research investments by 2010 may not be
met, Asian nations are dramatically increasing their government research investments:
both China and South Korea, for example, are boosting government research
by 10 percent or more annually.
Figure 5. (click
on the image for PDF)
Highlights of the Major R&D Funding Agencies
(Complete
coverage of the major R&D funding agencies will be available in the forthcoming
AAAS Report XXXI: R&D FY 2007 and on
the AAAS R&D web site in agency updates.)
-
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) budget would remain flat at
$28.6 billion in 2007 after a small cut in 2006. NIH R&D would remain exactly
even at $27.8 billion. After adjusting for inflation, the NIH budget would decline
for the third year in a row (see Figure 6). All but three NIH institutes and centers
would see their budgets fall for the second year in a row, with most institutes
falling between 0.6 percent and 0.8 percent after a similar cut in 2006. The National
Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), home to NIH’s
biodefense and avian flu effort, would do slightly better
with a 0.3 percent boost to $4.4 billion after a cut in 2006. The largest increase
would go to the Office of the Director (OD; up 26.6 percent) to boost funding
for the NIH Roadmap for Biomedical Research and to dramatically increase biodefense
countermeasures efforts. The Roadmap would receive $443 million in FY 2007 (up
34 percent), with $332 million coming from institute budgets and the remainder
from OD. The NIH biodefense effort would also increase
substantially, by 6.2 percent to $1.9 billion. NIH projects a decline in the number
of Research Project Grants (RPGs) for the third year
in a row to 35,805 (7 percent fewer than the peak), an average research grant
that would be 2 percent smaller in real terms compared to this year, and another
decline in the RPG success rate down to just 19 percent. The expected 9,337 new
(competing) RPGs in 2007 would be 10 percent fewer than
the number of new grants as recently as 2003.
-
The National Science Foundation (NSF) benefits from the Administration’s American Competitiveness Initiative with
a 7.9 percent boost in its total budget to $6.0 billion in 2007. Most research
directorates would receive increases between 5 percent and 9 percent after several
years of flat or declining funding. In real terms, funding for the Mathematical
and Physical Sciences (MPS), Geosciences, Biological Sciences, and the social
sciences (SBE) directorates would remain below 2004 funding levels even after
the 2007 increase, while the computer sciences, polar, and engineering directorates
would reach new highs. All the research directorates would increase average award
sizes, numbers of research grants, and success rates for grant applications. NSF’s
R&D investments would total $4.5 billion, an 8.3 percent increase that would
reverse the cuts of the past two years (see Figure 6) to narrowly reach an all-time
high in real terms. Although the large 2007 boost is packaged as the start of
a 10-year NSF doubling effort, it is worth remembering that Congress and President
Bush agreed on an NSF authorization law in 2002 promising a 5-year doubling effort
by 2007; the 2007 request falls nearly $4 billion short of that previous doubling
target. The Major Research Equipment and Facilities Construction account
would enjoy a sizeable increase, going from $191 million to $240 million because
of new starts, but the Education and Human Resources directorate budget would
barely increase and remain 20 percent the 2004 funding level in real terms.
Figure 6. (click
on the image for PDF)
- The Department of Defense (DOD) R&D investment continues to grow, with a proposed increase of 2.2 percent or
$1.6 billion to $74.1 billion, just matching the expected rate of inflation. DOD
weapons development would increase dramatically by 7 percent or $4.2 billion to
an all-time high of $62.9 billion; after a steep decline last year, the Pentagon
requests a $1.6 billion boost for development in the Missile Defense Agency (MDA)
to a new record of $9.3 billion and the Air Force requests nearly $3 billion more
than the current year for an array of fighter plane and related development projects.
But as in past years, the big proposed increases for development are matched by
steep cuts to DOD’s future-oriented investments: “Science and Technology” (S&T),
which includes research, medical research, and technology development, would fall
18.6 percent to $11.2 billion, erasing six years of gains (see Table
1 and Figure 6); at 2.55 percent of the regular DOD budget, the request would
fall far short of the Pentagon-endorsed target of 3 percent. Within S&T, basic
research (“6.1”) funding would fall 3.3 percent, while applied research (“6.2”)
would fall 13.4 percent, mostly but not entirely due to the proposed elimination
of 2006 earmarks. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) would
be a lone winner among research-oriented programs with a request of $3.3 billion,
a 10.6 percent increase, including a 13 percent increase for its basic research
program after an even steeper cut in 2006.
-
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
may be an Administration priority because of the President’s vision of returning
humans to the moon as a steppingstone to a Mars mission, but like other agencies
NASA is being asked to do more with less. The total NASA budget of $16.8 billion
in 2007 would be just 1.0 percent more than in 2006, but fortunately the non-R&D
Space Shuttle budget is expected to fall $721 million after the Shuttle returns
safely to flight this year and NASA finishes repairing hurricane-damaged Shuttle
facilities. The Shuttle savings would go toward boosting NASA R&D by $851
million or 7.5 percent to $12.2 billion (see Table 1 and
Figure 1), putting NASA near the head of the class among the top R&D funding
agencies. But an acceleration of NASA efforts to develop human space vehicles
to replace the Space Shuttle no later than 2014 would eat up the entire increase
and more, leaving all other NASA R&D with falling funding. The Constellation
Systems program to develop the new Crew Exploration Vehicle and the Crew Launch
Vehicle ballooned from just $422 million last year to $1.7 billion in 2006 and
would nearly double to $3.1 billion next year. Although NASA would mostly protect
the Science program of earth-sun science, earth observing, astronomy, and robotic
missions from cuts, aeronautics research would plummet 18 percent down to $724
million and the remnants of the life and physical sciences effort would tumble
56 percent to $275 million after a 30 percent cut in 2006. There would also be
steep cuts in other NASA investments such as new propulsion technologies as the
agency continues to juggle its many missions within a flat budget.
-
The Department of Energy (DOE)
would enjoy substantial increases for its energy and science R&D portfolios
in 2007, an unusual turn of events for a department that has mostly seen flat
budgets in recent years (see Figure 6). The DOE Office of Science (OS) would emerge
as the clear winner in the 2007 budget with a 14 percent increase to $3.8 billion
for its R&D portfolio centered around the physical
sciences. The largest OS programs would all receive increases of 8 percent or
more, including a dramatic 24 percent boost for Nuclear Physics after a decade
of stagnant funding, a 36 percent increase for computing research, a 25 percent
increase for Basic Energy Sciences centered around several
large-scale facilities, and a 31 percent increase for the core life sciences research
portfolio. Although these increases would help BES, computing research, and nuclear
physics reach new highs, high-energy physics, fusion, and biological and environmental
research would remain below previous years’ funding levels because of years of
eroding budgets. Fusion research would climb 11 percent to $319 million as the
U.S. gears up
to be a full partner in the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER)
project while also sustaining a domestic fusion program. DOE’s energy R&D would jump 8.1 percent to $1.4 billion
because of large increases for hydrogen, nuclear energy, fuel cells, and coal.
DOE would invest $288 million in the Hydrogen Fuel Initiative to develop technologies
for hydrogen-powered cars, up sharply from $235 million in 2006. Nuclear energy
R&D would increase almost 40 percent, while spending on solar energy R&D
would nearly double. But DOE would eliminate R&D on gas and oil technologies
and some renewable energy technologies.
-
After large increases in the first few years of its existence, the Department
of Homeland Security (DHS) R&D portfolio would decline for the first
time in 2007, falling 5.6 percent to $1.3 billion even as overall DHS spending
would continue to increase. While R&D on radiological and nuclear countermeasures
would continue to climb with the establishment of the new Domestic Nuclear Detection
Office, other DHS R&D areas would see funding cuts. The biological countermeasures
portfolio would fall 10 percent to $337 million, while R&D on technologies
to counter shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles would fall from $109 million
down to $5 million as prototype technologies transition out of R&D to deployment.
- The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) R&D portfolio would fall 16.5 percent
down to $2.0 billion, in a repeat of the annual tug-of-war over congressional
earmarks (see Figure 6). Most of the steep cut comes from eliminating 2006 earmarks
in the 2007 budget. Despite a falling budget, the National Research Initiative
(NRI) of competitively awarded research grants would increase $67 million to a
record $248 million, although similar proposed increases in past years have not
made it through Congress. The expected completion of the National Centers for
Animal Health in Ames, Iowa,
and the proposed elimination of earmarked facilities projects would allow intramural
facilities funding to plummet from $139 million down to $8 million.
-
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) laboratories in the
Department of Commerce would be a star in the
2007 R&D budget as part of the President’s American Competitiveness Initiative.
NIST intramural research would climb 18 percent to $383 million, while construction
funding for NIST research facilities would jump 42 percent to $451 million. But
once again, the increased investments for the NIST laboratories would be offset
by cuts in other NIST programs. The Bush Administration once again proposes to
eliminate NIST’s extramural Advanced Technology Program
(ATP). The ATP has a budget of $79 million in FY 2006, down by nearly half from
the previous year. And in another repeat of previous requests, the budget would
cut the non-R&D Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership by 56 percent
down to $46 million. Total NIST R&D would increase 6.4 percent to $451 million.
Also in Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA) R&D would fall by 6.3 percent to $578 million, mostly from the
elimination of FY 2006 congressional earmarks.
-
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) would
maintain a flat R&D budget of $765 million in FY 2007, but planned funding
from other sources would bring total VA-performed R&D to $1.6 billion.
-
R&D in the Department of the Interior
would fall 5.8 percent to $537 million, with a similar 4.3 percent cut
to $537 million for R&D in Interior’s lead science agency, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The cuts would,
as in previous requests, be concentrated in USGS’ mineral resources and water
resources R&D, with modest increases or flat funding for other R&D priorities.
-
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) R&D
portfolio of $557 million would be a 7.2 percent cut, mostly from the proposed
elimination of earmarks after a similarly-sized cut in 2006.
- Department of Transportation (DOT) R&D
funding would plummet 20.9 percent to $557 million, based on preliminary information.
Early reports from DOT indicate steep cuts to both aviation
R&D and highway-related R&D.
Budget
Context and Outlook
The
President’s FY 2007 budget now goes to Congress. As members of Congress gear up
for budget hearings in coming weeks, they will also be considering a burgeoning
number of innovation-related bills that all attempt to address growing concerns
about the state of U.S.
innovation. These bills take numerous approaches, from revamping science and math
education to establishing new incentives for students to choose science, engineering,
and mathematics majors to authorizing increasing funding for basic research. As
a result, President Bush’s proposals to increase physical sciences and related
research funding could find a receptive audience on Capitol Hill. But there will
also be immense pressure to boost funding for biomedical research, restore funding
to proposed R&D cuts, and add funding to domestic programs proposed for consolidation
or elimination, all while keeping the budget deficit in check and keeping dollars
flowing to the U.S. military in Iraq and Afghanistan. Just as in past years, there
are many months and many obstacles ahead before the FY 2007 budget becomes law,
and no guarantee that any of the proposed increases or cuts will make it into
the final budget.
-
February 8, 2006
(More materials on R&D in the
FY 2007 budget, historical data and charts, and more information on AAAS Report
XXXI: Research and Development FY 2007, can be found on the AAAS
R&D Web site at www.aaas.org/spp/rd. The information in this preliminary
analysis will be continually updated with revised agency data, and revisions.)
