FY 2019 R&D Appropriations Dashboard

The below dashboard compares White House, House, and Senate spending proposals for science and technology programs in FY 2019, along with spending bill progress and estimates of R&D. It will be updated regularly as the funding debate unfolds over the spring and summer. Click on different tabs to see how different agencies are faring to date, and mouse over for more detail. See also: FY 2019 Omnibus Summary

How It Works: In the typical budget process, the White House requests funding levels for each agency and program first, in the early spring. Congress then follows with a set of spending bills that provide actual funding; often these are very different from what the Administration had in mind. The House and Senate work separately to craft their own bills. Eventually, compromise is reached between the House and Senate to set final spending levels for the year.

The dashboard is set up to compare funding changes requested by the White House, recommended by the House and Senate, and (eventually) enacted in a final compromise. The data for each account will be regularly updated over the course of the year as different spending bills move through the process. Updates will include initial funding recommended by the House and Senate appropriations committees, and any subsequent changes adopted via amendment.

Most major funding accounts and programs for science agencies are covered. Mousing over individual data points will show additional information, including:

• What It Funds: A short description of what's included in each account.
• Budget Authority: Total spending level recommended.
• Notes: Additional information beyond basic numbers.

The final two tabs show aggregate data on:

• Congressional Subcommittees and Spending Bills. Nearly all federal R&D is contained in nine spending bills (out of twelve total), each written by a particular House or Senate appropriations subcommittee. This tab breaks down AAAS estimates of R&D in each bill, including total spending and relative change from FY 2018. It also contains a progress chart for these nine bills.
• R&D Totals. This tab provides data on AAAS estimates for total R&D and R&D by character, including basic and applied research, development, and facilities, and the distribution among agencies. This tab will be updated with House and Senate figures once each chamber has introduced all twelve bills, to make sure any comparisons are apples-to-apples. Note that the figures in this tab are only estimates generated from agency and OMB data and appropriations documents.

If you have questions, contact us. 

Cover photo credit: Architect of the Capitol