President Obama released a $3.8 trillion budget plan for fiscal year (FY) 2014 on 10 April 2013. According to the White House, the budget proposal would reduce the federal deficit by increasing revenues and cutting spending.  The proposal would replace sequestration, the $1.2 trillion in automatic spending cuts mandated by the Budget Control Act.
Science is once again a priority in the President’s budget request, according to a new analysis by the American Institute of Biological Sciences.  The Administration proposed $142.8 billion for federal research and development (R&D), an increase of 1.3 percent over the 2012 level. Although defense R&D would be cut by 5.2 percent, non-defense R&D would increase by 9.2 percent to $69.6 billion.
Nearly all science agencies and biological research programs would see increased funding in FY 2014. Notably, the National Science Foundation would receive an 8.4 percent increase. Other science programs slated for a budget increase include the National Institutes of Health, Department of Energy Office of Science, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Agriculture, and several Department of the Interior bureaus. Funding for Environmental Protection Agency science would be reduced.
Science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education programs would be consolidated across the federal government. More than 100 programs at 11 agencies are targeted for elimination or reorganization. Some programs would be moved to the Department of Education, National Science Foundation, or Smithsonian Institution.
Download a free copy of the report on science funding in the President’s budget request at www.aibs.org/public-policy/budget_report.html.