NSC Alliance was among 760 organizations that signed a letter urging Congress to reject proposed cuts to non-defense discretionary (NDD) appropriations.
The letter, led by the Coalition for Health Funding, calls on Congress to reject cuts to NDD appropriations and instead set funding for fiscal year (FY) 2024 at a level that recognizes both rising costs and the need for investment in programs important to fostering economic growth and meeting human needs.
The letter reads, in part: “Non-defense appropriations are a small part of the federal budget—less than one-sixth—yet they fund a wide range of important programs and services that make America run. Examples include: scientific and medical research, medical care for veterans, environmental protections, assistance with housing and child care for low-income families, rural development, support for K-12 education and skills training, financial aid for college students, infrastructure investments in things like sewage treatment, safe drinking water, flood control and navigation improvements, diplomacy, humanitarian aid and development, courts and reentry programs, assistance for small businesses, and other programs for seniors, public health, and many more.”
The letter is in response to the House-passed debt limit bill, the Limit, Save, Grow Act of 2023, which would return discretionary spending to FY 2022 levels—a $130 billion cut—and then limit the annual growth of spending to 1 percent for a decade. According to estimates from the Federation of American Scientists, the proposed reductions to discretionary spending could translate to a 22 percent cut to non-defense research spending—which includes funding for the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, and other science agencies—in FY 2024 relative to FY 2023, if defense spending is protected from the spending caps.