Budget and Appropriations

Congress made mostly incremental changes to the budgets of federal STEM education programs for fiscal year 2021, rejecting Trump administration proposals for cuts and restructuring.

The Defense Department’s spending on R&D, test, and evaluation is leveling out after several years of rapid growth and funding for early-stage R&D accounts is increasing 5% to $16.9 billion.

Congress’ fiscal year 2021 appropriation for NASA funds all major science missions under development but does not provide the budget the Trump administration had requested to advance its aggressive schedule for a crewed lunar landing.

The U.S. Geological Survey’s budget is increasing 4% to $1.3 billion in fiscal year 2021, with most of the additional funding directed to geological mapping, water monitoring, and landslide hazards programs.

The National Institutes of Health is receiving a 3% funding increase in fiscal year 2021, bringing its total budget to just under $43 billion. This is the sixth year in a row the agency has received a boost of over $1 billion. Most of NIH’s component institutes will receive budget increases of between 1.5% and 3%, except for those focused on aging and minority health disparities, which will see significantly larger increases.

Science policy was subject to a variety of pressures during the Trump administration, not least during the COVID-19 pandemic, though many science programs have thrived nonetheless, owing to bipartisan support in Congress.

The National Security Administration budget is surging by $3 billion to nearly $20 billion for fiscal year 2021, with most of the increase directed to modernizing the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile and associated infrastructure.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s appropriation for fiscal year 2021 includes funding increases for climate and weather research programs as well as continued support for ongoing weather satellite acquisition projects.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology’s research budget is rising 5% to $788 million for fiscal year 2021, with much of the increase directed to quantum information science and artificial intelligence research. NIST's facilities construction and maintenance budget is cut by one-third to $80 million.