The below dashboard can be used to follow science and technology appropriations for FY 2018. Click on individual tabs to see how different agencies are faring throughout the funding debate, and mouse over for more detail. See also: FY 2018 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. In the end, a 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 the final compromise. The data for each account will be regularly updated over the course of the summer and into fall, as different spending bills move through the process and more data comes to light. Updates will include initial funding recommended by the House and Senate Appropriations Committees, and any subsequent changes adopted via amendment.
Most tabs cover the major funding accounts and programs by agency, and also include basic information on spending bill progress. 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 net spending level recommended.
- Notes: Additional information beyond basic numbers.
The final two tabs show aggregate data on:
- Congressional Subcommittees. Nearly all federal R&D is contained in nine spending bills, each written by a particular House or Senate subcommittee. This tab breaks down AAAS estimates of R&D in each bill, including total spending and relative change from FY 2017. 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.
If you have questions, contact us.