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Summary

President Obama has requested $147.620 billion for R&D in FY2010, a $555 million (0.4%) increase from the estimated FY2009 R&D funding level of $147.065 billion (not including FY2009 R&D funding provided under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (P.L. 111- 5). According to the Obama Administration, preliminary allocations of R&D funding provided under P.L. 111-5 brings total FY2009 R&D funding to $165.400 billion. Unless otherwise noted in this report, comparisons of FY2009 and FY2010 R&D funding do not incorporate funding provided under P.L. 111-5. To the extent possible, the agency discussions in this report include an analysis of House and Senate actions with respect to R&D funding. In some cases, however, there is insufficient information to parse agency R&D funding from other spending. Congress will play a central role in defining the nation's R&D priorities, especially with respect to two overarching issues: the extent to which the Federal R&D investment can grow in the context of increased pressure on discretionary spending and how available funding will be prioritized and allocated. A low or negative growth rate in the overall R&D investment may require movement of resources across disciplines, programs, or agencies to address priorities. Under the President's request, six federal agencies would receive 95.1% of total federal R&D spending: the Department of Defense (54.0%), Department of Health and Human Services (21.0%), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (7.7%), Department of Energy (7.3%), National Science Foundation (3.6%), and Department of Agriculture (1.5%). The President's FY2010 request includes $30.884 billion for basic research; $28.139 billion for applied research; $84.054 billion for development; and $4.543 billion for R&D facilities and equipment. The FY2010 request includes funding for three multiagency R&D initiatives: National Nanotechnology Initiative, $1.637 billion; Networking and Information Technology R&D program, $3.927 billion; and Climate Change Science Program, $2.026 billion. President Obama has requested increases in the R&D budgets of the three agencies that were targeted for doubling in the America COMPETES Act and by President Bush as part of his American Competitiveness Initiative: the Department of Energy Office of Science (up 3.5%), the National Science Foundation (up 8.6%), and the Department of Commerce National Institute of Standards and Technology's core research and facilities (up 1.2%). Two of the regular appropriations bills, the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2010 (P.L. 111-68) and the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010 (P.L. 111-80), have been signed into law. Division B, the Continuing Appropriations Resolution, 2010, of P.L. 111-80 provides appropriations to all departments and agencies, including those that receive R&D funds, at FY2009 levels until October 31, 2010, until the enactment into law of an appropriation for any project or activity provided for in P.L. 111-68, or until the enactment into law of the applicable appropriations act for FY2010 without any provision for such project or activity, whichever occurs first. For the past three years, federal R&D funding and execution has been affected by mechanisms used to complete the annual appropriations process--the year-long continuing resolution for FY2007 (P.L. 110-5) and the combining of multiple regular appropriations bills into the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2008 for FY2008 (P.L. 110-161), and the Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009 (P.L. 111-8). Completion of appropriations after the beginning of each fiscal year may cause agencies to delay or cancel some planned R&D and equipment acquisition.

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