Federal Research and Development (R&D) Funding: FY2021
Congressional research reportDec 17, 2020
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Federal Research and Development (R&D)
Funding: FY2021
Updated December 17, 2020
Congressional Research Service
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R46341
SUMMARY
Federal Research and Development (R&D)
Funding: FY2021
President Trump’s budget request for FY2021 includes approximately $142.2 billion for research
and development (R&D) for FY2021, $13.8 billion (8.8%) below the FY2020 enacted level of
$156.0 billion. In constant FY2020 dollars, the President’s FY2021 R&D request would result in
a decrease of $16.6 billion (10.6%) from the FY2020 level.
R46341
December 17, 2020
John F. Sargent Jr.,
Coordinator
Specialist in Science and
Technology Policy
In 2017, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) adopted a change to the definition of
development, applying a more narrow treatment that it describes as “experimental development.”
This change was intended to harmonize the reporting of U.S. R&D funding data with the approach used by other nations. The
new definition is used in this report.
Federal Research and Development
Funding, FY2019-FY2021
In billions of dollars
Funding for R&D is concentrated in a few departments and agencies.
In FY2020, five federal agencies received 93.2% of total federal R&D
funding, with the Department of Defense (DOD, 41.4%) and the
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS, 26.2%) combined
accounting for more than two-thirds of all federal R&D funding. In the
FY2021 request, the top five R&D agencies would account for 93.8%,
with DOD accounting for 42.1% and HHS for 26.6%.
Under the President’s FY2021 budget request, nearly all federal
agencies would see their R&D funding decline relative to FY2020. The
only exception is the Department of Veterans Affairs, which would
increase by $38 million (2.9%) in FY2021 to $1.351 billion. The
largest dollar reductions in R&D funding would be made to the DOD
(down $4.713 billion), the Department of Energy (down $3.168
billion), and HHS (down $2.843 billion). The largest percentage
declines in R&D funding would be at the Department of Transportation
(down 47.6%), the Environmental Protection Agency (down 35.4%),
and Department of the Interior (down 25.5%)
Source: CRS analysis of data from OMB, Analytical
Perspectives, Budget of the United States Government,
Fiscal Year 2021, Research and Development,
February 10, 2020.
The President’s FY2021 budget request would reduce funding for basic
research by $2.822 billion (6.5%), applied research by $5.125 billion
(11.7%), development by $3.466 billion (5.5%), and facilities and
equipment by $2.375 billion (39.6%).
Several multiagency R&D initiatives continue under the President’s FY2021 budget. Some activities supporting these
initiatives are discussed in agency budget justifications and are reported in the agency analyses in this report. However,
comprehensive aggregate budget information on these initiatives will likely not be available until budget supplements for
each are released later in the year.
The request represents the President’s R&D priorities. Congress may opt to agree with none, part, or all of the request, and it
may express different priorities through the appropriations process. As of the date of this report, the House has passed 10 of
the 12 regular annual appropriations acts through the use of two consolidated bills, H.R. 7608 and H.R. 7617; the Department
of Homeland Security Appropriations Act is the only appropriations act that includes R&D that the House has not yet passed.
The Senate had not passed an appropriations act, but on November 11, 2020, the Senate Committee on Appropriations posted
all 12 of the FY2021 appropriations acts on its webpage. Though not passed by the Senate, these bills were presented by the
Senate Majority Leader as a basis for discussions and negotiation with the House. In recent years, Congress has completed
the annual appropriations process after the start of the fiscal year. On September 30, 2020, Congress passed the Continuing
Appropriations Act, 2021 and Other Extensions Act (P.L. 116-159) that, among other things, provides funding for most
federal agencies through December 12, 2020. Completing the process after the start of the fiscal year and the accompanying
use of continuing resolutions can affect agencies’ execution of their R&D budgets, including the delay or cancellation of
planned R&D activities and acquisition of R&D-related equipment.
Congressional Research Service
Federal Research and Development (R&D) Funding: FY2021
Contents
Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1
The President’s FY2021 Budget Request........................................................................................ 3
Federal R&D Funding Perspectives ................................................................................................ 3
Federal R&D by Agency ........................................................................................................... 3
Federal R&D by Character of Work, Facilities, and Equipment ............................................... 5
Federal Role in U.S. R&D by Character of Work ..................................................................... 5
Federal R&D by Agency and Character of Work Combined .................................................... 6
Multiagency R&D Initiatives .......................................................................................................... 7
Networking and Information Technology Research and Development Program
(NITRD) ................................................................................................................................. 8
U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) ................................................................. 9
National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) ............................................................................. 10
Other Highlighted R&D in the President’s FY2021 Budget .................................................... 11
Science and Technology Supporting the “Industries of the Future” .................................. 11
National Security .............................................................................................................. 13
FY2020 Appropriations Status ...................................................................................................... 13
Department of Defense .................................................................................................................. 15
Department of Health and Human Services .................................................................................. 20
National Institutes of Health ................................................................................................... 20
Department of Energy ................................................................................................................... 28
National Aeronautics and Space Administration ........................................................................... 31
National Science Foundation ......................................................................................................... 35
Department of Agriculture ............................................................................................................. 40
Agricultural Research Service ................................................................................................. 41
National Institute of Food and Agriculture ............................................................................. 42
National Agricultural Statistics Service .................................................................................. 43
Economic Research Service .................................................................................................... 44
Office of the REE Under Secretary and Office of the Chief Scientist .................................... 44
Department of Commerce ............................................................................................................. 46
National Institute of Standards and Technology ..................................................................... 46
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ................................................................ 50
Department of Veterans Affairs ..................................................................................................... 53
Department of Transportation........................................................................................................ 57
Federal Aviation Administration ............................................................................................. 57
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration ................................................................... 58
Other DOT Components ......................................................................................................... 58
Department of the Interior ............................................................................................................. 59
U.S. Geological Survey ........................................................................................................... 60
Other DOI Components .......................................................................................................... 60
Department of Homeland Security ................................................................................................ 61
Environmental Protection Agency ................................................................................................. 63
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Federal Research and Development (R&D) Funding: FY2021
Figures
Figure 1. Composition of U.S. Basic Research, Applied Research, and Development by
Funding Sector, 2018.................................................................................................................... 6
Tables
Table 1. Federal Research and Development Funding by Agency, FY2019-FY2021 ..................... 4
Table 2. Federal R&D Funding by Character of Work and Facilities and Equipment,
FY2019-FY2021 .......................................................................................................................... 5
Table 3. Selected R&D Funding Agencies by Character of Work, Facilities,
and Equipment, FY2019 Actual, FY2020 Enacted, and FY2021 Request................................... 7
Table 4. Networking and Information Technology Research and Development Program
Funding, FY2019-FY2021 ........................................................................................................... 9
Table 5. U.S. Global Change Research Program Funding, FY2019-FY2021 ............................... 10
Table 6. National Nanotechnology Initiative Funding, FY2019-FY2021 ...................................... 11
Table 7. Alignment of Agency R&D Funding and Regular Appropriations Bills ......................... 14
Table 8. Department of Defense RDT&E ..................................................................................... 18
Table 9. National Institutes of Health Funding.............................................................................. 25
Table 10. Department of Energy R&D and Related Activities ...................................................... 30
Table 11. National Aeronautics and Space Administration R&D .................................................. 34
Table 12. National Science Foundation Funding........................................................................... 39
Table 13. U.S. Department of Agriculture R&D ........................................................................... 45
Table 14. National Institute of Standards and Technology Funding.............................................. 49
Table 15. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration R&D ............................................. 53
Table 16. Department of Veterans Affairs R&D ............................................................................ 55
Table 17. Department of Veterans Affairs R&D by Designated Research Area ............................ 56
Table 18. Department of Transportation R&D Activities and Facilities........................................ 58
Table 19. Department of the Interior R&D.................................................................................... 61
Table 20. Department of Homeland Security R&D Accounts ....................................................... 63
Table 21. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Science and Technology (S&T)
Account ...................................................................................................................................... 68
Appendixes
Appendix A. Acronyms and Abbreviations ................................................................................... 71
Appendix B. CRS Contacts for Agency R&D ............................................................................... 76
Contacts
Author Information........................................................................................................................ 77
Congressional Research Service
Federal Research and Development (R&D) Funding: FY2021
Introduction
The 116th Congress continues its interest in U.S. research and development (R&D) and in
evaluating support for federal R&D activities. The federal government has played an important
role in supporting R&D efforts that have led to scientific breakthroughs and new technologies,
from jet aircraft and the internet to communications satellites, shale gas extraction, and defenses
against disease. In recent years, federal budget caps have driven executive and legislative branch
decisions about the prioritization of R&D, both in the context of the entire federal budget and
among competing needs within the federal R&D portfolio. The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2019,
among other things, increased the previously established FY2020 and FY2021 discretionary
spending limits for defense and nondefense spending. This act reduced some of the budgetary
constraints affecting R&D decisions.
The U.S. government supports a broad range of scientific and engineering R&D. Its purposes
include addressing national defense, health, safety, the environment, and energy security;
advancing knowledge generally; developing the scientific and engineering workforce; and
strengthening U.S. innovation and competitiveness in the global economy. Most of the R&D
funded by the federal government is performed in support of the unique missions of individual
funding agencies.
The federal R&D budget is an aggregation of the R&D activities of these agencies. There is no
single, centralized source of R&D funds. Agency R&D budgets are developed internally as part
of each agency’s overall budget development process. R&D funding may be included either in
accounts that are entirely devoted to R&D or in accounts that also include funding for non-R&D
activities. Agency budgets are subjected to review, revision, and approval by the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) and become part of the President’s annual budget submission to
Congress. The federal R&D budget is then calculated by aggregating the R&D activities of each
federal agency.
Congress plays a central role in defining the nation’s R&D priorities as it makes decisions about
the level and allocation of R&D funding—overall, within agencies, and for specific programs. In
recent years, some Members of Congress have expressed concerns about the level of federal
spending (for R&D and for other purposes) in light of the federal deficit and debt. Other
Members of Congress have expressed support for increased federal spending for R&D as an
investment in the nation’s future competitiveness. As Congress acts to complete the FY2021
appropriations process, it faces two overarching issues: the amount of the federal budget to be
spent on federal R&D and the prioritization and allocation of the available funding.
This report begins with a discussion of the overall level of R&D in President Trump’s FY2021
budget request, followed by analyses of R&D funding in the request from a variety of
perspectives and for selected multiagency R&D initiatives. The remainder of the report discusses
and analyzes the R&D budget requests of selected federal departments and agencies that,
collectively, account for approximately 98% of total federal R&D funding.
Selected terms associated with federal R&D funding are defined in the text box on the next page.
Appendix A provides a list of acronyms and abbreviations.
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Federal Research and Development (R&D) Funding: FY2021
Definitions Associated with Federal Research and Development Funding
Two key sources of definitions associated with federal research and development funding are the White House
Office of Management and Budget and the National Science Foundation.
Office of Management and Budget. The Office of Management and Budget provides the following definitions
of R&D-related terms in OMB Circular No. A-11, “Preparation, Submission, and Execution of the Budget.”1 This
document provides guidance to agencies in the preparation of the President’s annual budget and instructions on
budget execution. In 2017, OMB adopted a refinement to the categories of R&D, replacing “development” with
“experimental development,” which more narrowly defines the set of activities to be included. The new definition
has resulted in lower reported R&D by some agencies, including the Department of Defense and the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration. This definition is used in the President’s FY2021 budget.
Conduct of R&D. Research and experimental development (R&D) activities are defined as creative and
systematic work undertaken in order to increase the stock of knowledge—including knowledge of people,
culture, and society—and to devise new applications using available knowledge.
Basic Research. Basic research is defined as experimental or theoretical work undertaken primarily to
acquire new knowledge of the underlying foundations of phenomena and observable facts. Basic research may
include activities with broad or general applications in mind, such as the study of how plant genomes change,
but excludes research directed towards a specific application or requirement, such as the optimization of the
genome of a specific crop species.
Applied Research. Applied research is defined as original investigation undertaken in order to acquire new
knowledge. Applied research is, however, directed primarily towards a specific practical aim or objective.
Experimental Development. Experimental development is defined as creative and systematic work,
drawing on knowledge gained from research and practical experience, which is directed at producing new
products or processes or improving existing products or processes. Like research, experimental development
will result in gaining additional knowledge.
R&D Equipment. R&D equipment includes amounts for major equipment for research and development. It
includes acquisition, design, or production of major movable equipment, such as mass spectrometers, research
vessels, DNA sequencers, and other major movable instruments for use in R&D activities. It includes programs
of $1 million or more that are devoted to the purchase or construction of major R&D equipment.
R&D Facilities. R&D facilities includes amounts for the construction of facilities that are necessary for the
execution of an R&D program. This may include land, major fixed equipment, and supporting infrastructure
such as a sewer line or housing at a remote location.
National Science Board/National Science Foundation. The National Science Board/National Science
Foundation provides the following definitions of R&D-related terms in its report Science and Engineering Indicators:
2020.2
Research and Development (R&D): Research and experimental development comprise creative and
systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge—including knowledge of humankind, culture,
and society—and its use to devise new applications of available knowledge.
Basic Research: Experimental or theoretical work undertaken primarily to acquire new knowledge of the
underlying foundations of phenomena and observable facts, without any particular application or use in view.
Applied Research: Original investigation undertaken to acquire new knowledge; directed primarily,
however, toward a specific, practical aim or objective.
Development (or Experimental Development): Systematic work, drawing on knowledge gained from
research and practical experience and producing additional knowledge, which is directed to producing new
products or processes or to improving existing products or processes.
1 The White House, Office of Management and Budget, Circular No. A-11, “Preparation, Submission, and Execution of
the Budget,” December 18, 2019, https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/a11.pdf.
2 National Science Board/National Science Foundation, Science and Engineering Indicators 2020, January 2020,
https://ncses.nsf.gov/pubs/nsb20201/glossary.
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Federal Research and Development (R&D) Funding: FY2021
The President’s FY2021 Budget Request
On February 10, 2020, President Trump released his proposed FY2021 budget. President Trump
is proposing $142.2 billion for R&D for FY2021, a decrease of $13.8 billion (8.8%) below the
FY2020 level of $156.0 billion. Adjusted for inflation to FY2021 dollars, the President’s FY2021
R&D request represents a constant-dollar decrease of 10.6% from the FY2020 actual level.3
The President’s request includes continued R&D funding for existing single-agency and
multiagency programs and activities, as well as new initiatives. This report provides governmentwide, multiagency, and individual agency analyses of the President’s FY2021 request as it relates
to R&D and related activities. Additional information and analysis will be included as the House
and Senate act on the President’s budget request through appropriations bills.
It is not yet clear how the national response to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)
pandemic will affect Administration and congressional priorities for FY2021 R&D funding, or
the congressional authorization and appropriations processes for enacting that funding.
Factors Affecting Analysis of the FY2021 Budget Request
Two factors complicate the analysis of changes in R&D funding for FY2021, both in aggregate and for selected
agencies:
Beginning in FY2018, OMB replaced the R&D category “development” with a subset referred to as
“experimental development” in an effort that OMB asserts better aligns its data with the survey data
collected by the National Science Foundation, and for greater consistency with international standards. The
new definition excludes some activities, primarily at the Department of Defense (DOD) and the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) that had been characterized as development in previous
budgets. The new definition (experimental development) is used throughout this report for FY2017 and later
years, except in the section “Department of Defense,” which treats non-experimental development
funding as part of its total research, development, testing, and evaluation budget in line with DOD practice.
Inconsistency among agencies in the reporting of R&D and the inclusion of R&D activities in accounts with
non-R&D activities may result in different figures being reported by OMB and the White House Office of
Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), including those shown in Table 1, and those in agency budget
analyses that appear later in this report.
Federal R&D Funding Perspectives
Federal R&D funding can be analyzed from a variety of perspectives that provide different
insights. The following sections examine the data by agency, by the character of the work
supported, and by a combination of these two perspectives.
Federal R&D by Agency
Congress makes decisions about R&D funding through the authorization and appropriations
processes primarily from the perspective of individual agencies and programs. Table 1 provides
data on R&D funding by agency for FY2019 (actual), FY2020 (enacted), and FY2021 (request).4
3 As calculated by CRS using the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) (chained) price index for FY2020-FY2021 in Table
10.1, “Gross Domestic Product and Deflators Used in the Historical Tables: 1940–2022,” Budget of the United States
Government, Fiscal Year 2021, https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/hist10z1-fy2019.xlsx.
4 EOP, OMB, Analytical Perspectives, Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2020, Research and
Development, February 10, 2020, https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/ap_17_research_fy21.pdf.
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Federal Research and Development (R&D) Funding: FY2021
Under the request, eight federal agencies would receive nearly 98% of total federal R&D funding
in FY2021: the Department of Defense (DOD), 42.1%; Department of Health and Human
Services (HHS), primarily the National Institutes of Health (NIH), 26.6%; Department of Energy
(DOE), 11.3%; National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), 9.4%; National Science
Foundation (NSF), 4.5%; Department of Agriculture (USDA), 1.9%; Department of Commerce
(DOC), 1.1%; and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), 1.0%. This report provides an analysis of
the R&D budget requests for these agencies, as well as for the Department of Homeland Security
(DHS), Department of the Interior (DOI), Department of Transportation (DOT), and
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
All but one federal agency would see their R&D funding decrease under the President’s FY2021
request compared to their FY2020 enacted level. The only agency that would see an increase in
R&D funding in FY2021 relative to the FY2020 level would be the VA (up $38 million, 2.9%).
The agencies with the largest R&D funding declines (measured in dollars) in the FY2021 request
compared to FY2020 enacted level are DOD (down $4.713 billion), DOE (down $3.168 billion),
HHS (down $2.943 billion), NASA (down $723 million), and DOT (down $540 million). See
Table 1.
The agencies with the largest percentage declines in R&D funding in the FY2021 request
compared to FY2020 enacted level are DOT (down 47.6%), EPA (down 35.4%), DOI (down
25.5%), DOC (down 22.7%), and DOE (down 16.5%). See Table 1.
Table 1. Federal Research and Development Funding by Agency, FY2019-FY2021
(budget authority, dollar amounts in millions)
FY2020-FY2021
Dollar
Percent
Change
Change
Department/Agency
FY2019
Actual
FY2020
Enacted
Department of Defense
54,691
64,544
59,831
-4,713
-7.3%
Dept. of Health and Human Services
38,511
40,818
37,875
-2,943
-7.2%
Department of Energy
18,271
19,219
16,051
-3,168
-16.5%
NASA
10,698
14,057
13,334
-723
-5.1%
National Science Foundation
6,586
6,752
6,328
-424
-6.3%
Department of Agriculture
3,026
2,941
2,769
-172
-5.8%
Department of Commerce
1,959
1,948
1,506
-442
-22.7%
Department of Veterans Affairs
1,370
1,313
1,351
38
2.9%
Department of Transportation
1,071
1,134
594
-540
-47.6%
Department of the Interior
958
973
725
-248
-25.5%
Department of Homeland Security
668
532
450
-82
-15.4%
Smithsonian Institution
339
330
328
-2
-0.6%
Environmental Protection Agency
489
492
318
-174
-35.4%
Department of Education
248
259
230
-29
-11.2%
Other
1,249
661
495
-166
-25.1%
Total
140,134
155,973
142,185
-13,788
-8.8%
Congressional Research Service
FY2021
Request
4
Federal Research and Development (R&D) Funding: FY2021
Source: CRS analysis of data from EOP, OMB, Analytical Perspectives, Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal
Year 2021, Research and Development, February 10, 2020, https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/
02/ap_17_research_fy21.pdf.
Note: Components may not sum to totals due to rounding.
Federal R&D by Character of Work, Facilities, and Equipment
Federal R&D funding can also be examined by the character of work it supports—basic research,
applied research, or development—and by funding provided for construction of R&D facilities
and acquisition of major R&D equipment. (See Table 2.) President Trump’s FY2021 request
includes $40.638 billion for basic research, down $2.822 billion (6.5%) from FY2020 enacted
level; $38.805 billion for applied research, down $5.125 billion (11.7%); $59.112 billion for
development, down $3.466 billion (5.5%); and $3.630 billion for facilities and equipment, down
$2.375 billion (39.6%).
Table 2. Federal R&D Funding by Character of Work and Facilities and Equipment,
FY2019-FY2021
(budget authority, dollar amounts in billions)
Change, FY2020-FY2021
Character of Work, Facilities,
and Equipment
FY2019
Actual
FY2020
Enacted
FY2021
Request
Dollars
Percent
Basic research
39.316
43.460
40.638
-2.822
-6.5%
Applied research
42.964
43.930
38.805
-5.125
-11.7%
Development
53.369
62.578
59.112
-3.466
-5.5%
Facilities and Equipment
4.485
6.005
3.630
-2.375
-39.6%
140.134
155.973
142.185
-13.788
-8.8%
Total
Source: CRS analysis of data from EOP, OMB, Analytical Perspectives, Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal
Year 2021, Research and Development, February 10, 2020, https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/
02/ap_17_research_fy21.pdf.
Note: Components may not sum to totals due to rounding.
Federal Role in U.S. R&D by Character of Work
A primary policy justification for public investments in basic research and for incentives (e.g., tax
credits) for the private sector to conduct research is the view, widely held by economists, that the
private sector will, left on its own, underinvest in basic research from a societal perspective. The
usual argument for this view is that the social returns (i.e., the benefits to society at large) exceed
the private returns (i.e., the benefits accruing to the private investor, such as increased revenues or
higher stock value). Other factors that may inhibit corporate investment in basic research include
long time horizons for achieving commercial applications (diminishing the potential returns due
to the time value of money), high levels of technical risk and uncertainty, shareholder demands
for shorter-term returns, and asymmetric and imperfect information.
The federal government is the nation’s largest supporter of basic research, funding 42% of U.S.
basic research in 2018 (the most recent year for which comprehensive data are available).
Business funded 29% of U.S. basic research in 2018, with state governments, universities, and
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Federal Research and Development (R&D) Funding: FY2021
other nonprofit organizations funding the remaining 30%.5 For U.S. applied research, business is
the primary funder, accounting for an estimated 54% in 2018, while the federal government
accounted for an estimated 34%. State governments, universities, and other nonprofit
organizations funded the remaining 11%. Business also provides the vast majority of U.S. funding
for development. Business accounted for 85% of development funding in 2018, while the federal
government provided 13%. State governments, universities, and other nonprofit organizations
funded the remaining 2% (see Figure 1).6
Figure 1. Composition of U.S. Basic Research, Applied Research, and Development
by Funding Sector, 2018
Source: CRS analysis of National Science Foundation, National Patterns of R&D Resources: 2017–18 Data Update,
NSF 20-307, Tables 6-9, January 8, 2020.
Notes: Components may not add to total due to rounding. Data are preliminary and may be revised.
Federal R&D by Agency and Character of Work Combined
Federal R&D funding can also be viewed from the combined perspective of each agency’s
contribution to basic research, applied research, development, and facilities and equipment. Table
3 lists the three agencies with the most funding in each of these categories as proposed in the
President’s FY2021 budget. The overall federal R&D budget reflects a wide range of national
priorities, including supporting advances in spaceflight, developing new and affordable sources of
energy, and understanding and deterring terrorist groups. These priorities and the mission of each
individual agency contribute to the composition of that agency’s R&D spending (i.e., the
allocation of R&D funding among basic research, applied research, development, and facilities
and equipment).
In the President’s FY2021 budget request, the Department of Health and Human Services,
primarily NIH, would account for nearly half (47.1%) of all federal funding for basic research.
HHS would also be the largest federal funder of applied research, accounting for about 47.3% of
all federally funded applied research in the President’s FY2021 budget request. DOD would be
the primary federal funder of development, accounting for 88.0% of total federal development
funding in the President’s FY2021 budget request. DOE would be the primary federal funder of
5 Percentages may not sum to 100% due to rounding.
6 CRS analysis of National Science Foundation, National Patterns of R&D Resources: 2017–18 Data Update, NSF 20-
307, Tables 6-9, January 8, 2020. Components may not add to total due to rounding.
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Federal Research and Development (R&D) Funding: FY2021
facilities and equipment, accounting for 58.7% of total federal facilities and equipment funding in
the President’s FY2021 budget request.7
Table 3. Selected R&D Funding Agencies by Character of Work, Facilities,
and Equipment, FY2019 Actual, FY2020 Enacted, and FY2021 Request
(budget authority, dollar amounts in billions)
Change, FY2020-FY2021
Character of Work/Agency
FY2019
Actual
FY2020
Enacted
FY2021
Request
Dollars
Percent
Basic Research
Health and Human Services
19.082
20.492
19.154
-1.338
-6.5%
NASA
4.948
6.880
6.110
-0.770
-11.2%
Energy
5.103
5.514
5.461
-0.053
-1.0%
Health and Human Services
19.110
20.026
18.336
-1.690
-8.4%
Energy
8.318
8.351
6.526
-1.825
-21.9%
Defense
6.071
6.288
5.506
-0.782
-12.4%
Defense
46.106
53.775
51.994
-1.781
-3.3%
NASA
2.890
4.121
3.767
-0.354
-8.6%
Energy
2.606
2.982
1.935
-1.047
-35.1%
Energy
2.244
2.372
2.129
-0.243
-10.2%
National Science Foundation
0.663
0.623
0.523
-0.100
-16.1%
Health and Human Services
0.243
0.265
0.350
0.085
32.1%
Applied Research
Experimental Development
Facilities and Equipment
Source: CRS analysis of data from EOP, OMB, Analytical Perspectives, Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal
Year 2021, Research and Development, February 10, 2020, https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/
02/ap_17_research_fy21.pdf.
Note: This table shows only the top three funding agencies in each category, based on the FY2021 request.
Multiagency R&D Initiatives
For many years, presidential budgets have reported on multiagency R&D initiatives. Often, they
have also provided details of agency funding for these initiatives. Some of these efforts have a
statutory basis—for example, the Networking and Information Technology Research and
Development (NITRD) program, the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI), and the U.S.
Global Change Research Program (USGCRP). These programs generally produce annual budget
supplements identifying objectives, activities, funding levels, and other information, usually
published shortly after the presidential budget release. Other multiagency R&D initiatives have
7 CRS analysis of data from EOP, OMB, Analytical Perspectives, Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year
2021, Research and Development, February 10, 2020, https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/
ap_17_research_fy21.pdf.
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operated at the discretion of the President, without such a basis, and may be eliminated at the
discretion of the President. President Trump’s FY2021 budget is largely silent on funding levels
for these efforts and whether any or all of the nonstatutory initiatives will continue. Some
activities related to these initiatives are discussed in agency budget justifications and may be
addressed in the agency analyses later in this report. This section provides available multiagency
information on these initiatives and will be updated as additional information becomes available.
Networking and Information Technology Research and
Development Program (NITRD)8
Established by the High-Performance Computing Act of 1991 (P.L. 102-194), the Networking and
Information Technology Research and Development program is the primary mechanism by which
the federal government coordinates its unclassified networking and information technology R&D
investments in areas such as supercomputing, high-speed networking, cybersecurity, software
engineering, and information management. According to NITRD, it coordinates the information
technology R&D activities of 24 federal agency members and more than 45 other participating
agencies with program interests and activities in IT R&D. NITRD efforts are coordinated by the
National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) Subcommittee on Networking and
Information Technology Research and Development.9
P.L. 102-194, as reauthorized by the American Innovation and Competitiveness Act of 2017 (P.L.
114-329), requires the director of NITRD to prepare an annual report to be delivered to Congress
along with the President’s budget request. This annual report, often referred to as a budget
supplement, is to include, among other things, detailed information on the program’s budget for
the current and previous fiscal years and the proposed budget for the next fiscal year. The latest
annual report was published in September 2019 and related to the FY2020 budget request.
President Trump requested $5.506 billion for NITRD research in FY2020, a decrease of $195
million (3.4%) from the estimated FY2019 level (see Table 4).10 For additional information on
the NITRD program, see CRS Report RL33586, The Federal Networking and Information
Technology Research and Development Program: Background, Funding, and Activities, by
Patricia Moloney Figliola. Additional NITRD information also can be obtained at
https://www.nitrd.gov.
8 For additional information on the Networking and Information Technology Research and Development program,
please contact Patricia Moloney Figliola, Specialist in Internet and Telecommunications Policy.
9 The NSTC was established by Executive Order 12881 in 1993. According to the White House, “This Cabinet-level
Council is the principal means within the Executive Branch to coordinate science and technology policy across the
diverse entities that make up the Federal research and development enterprise. Chaired by the President, the
membership of the NSTC is made up of the Vice President, Cabinet Secretaries and Agency Heads with significant
science and technology responsibilities, and other White House officials. In practice, the Assistant to the President for
Science and Technology Policy oversees the NSTC’s ongoing activities.” (Source: The White House, Office of Science
and Technology Policy, “NSTC,” https://www.whitehouse.gov/ostp/nstc/.) For more information on the NSTC, see
CRS Report R43935, Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP): History and Overview, by John F. Sargent Jr.
and Dana A. Shea; and https://www.whitehouse.gov/ostp/nstc/.
10 EOP, National Science and Technology Council, The Networking and Information Technology Research and
Development Program: Supplement to the President’s FY2020 Budget, September 2019.
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Table 4. Networking and Information Technology Research and Development
Program Funding, FY2019-FY2021
(budget authority, in millions of current dollars)
Total, NITRD
FY2019
Actual
FY2020
Enacted
FY2021
Request
6,472.1
6,692.2a
6,505.0
Source: EOP, National Science and Technology Council, The Networking and Information Technology Research and
Development Program: Supplement to the President’s FY2021 Budget, August 14, 2020.
Note: n/a = not available.
a. Includes $6,666.5 million in regular appropriations and additional $25.7 million in supplemental
appropriation.
U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP)11
The U.S. Global Change Research Program coordinates and integrates federal research and
applications to understand, assess, predict, and respond to human-induced and natural processes
of global change. The program seeks to advance global climate change science and to “build a
knowledge base that informs human responses to climate and global change through coordinated
and integrated Federal programs of research, education, communication, and decision support.”12
In FY2019, 10 departments and agencies received appropriations for their USGCRP participation.
USGCRP efforts are coordinated by the NSTC Subcommittee on Global Change Research. Each
agency develops and carries out its activities as its contribution to the USGCRP, and funds are
appropriated to each agency for those activities; those activities may or may not be identified as
associated with the USGCRP in agency budget justifications or other program materials available
publicly. Complementing USGCRP activities are many federal climate change or global changerelated activities with programmatic missions, not predominantly scientific. These are reported
separately in budget justifications.
The Global Change Research Act of 1990 (GCRA) (P.L. 101-606) requires each federal agency or
department involved in global change research to report annually to Congress on each element of
its proposed global change research activities, as well as the portion of its budget request
allocated to each element of the program.13 The President is also required to identify those
activities and the annual global change research budget in the President’s annual budget request.
The President’s budget requests for years later than FY2017 do not report these budget data
required by the GCRA, although some agencies report their contributions in their budget
justifications to Congress.
In addition, in the 20 years prior to FY2018, language in appropriations laws required the
President to submit a comprehensive report to the appropriations committees “describing in detail
all Federal agency funding, domestic and international, for climate change programs, projects,
and activities … including an accounting of funding by agency….”14 As these are no longer
11 For additional information on the U.S. Global Change Research Program, please contact Jane A. Leggett, Specialist
in Energy and Environmental Policy.
12 U.S. Global Change Research Program website, http://www.globalchange.gov/about/mission-vision-strategic-plan.
13 Directives to report annually to Congress on budget requests and spending occur in several sections of P.L. 101-606,
including Sections 105(b) and (c) on Budget Coordination, and Section 107, Annual Report.
14 See, most recently, P.L. 115-31, Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2017, Section 416.
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reported by the Office of Management and Budget, Table 5 presents data compiled by CRS from
communications with departments and agencies that participated in the USGCRP in FY2018.
For additional information on the USGCRP, see CRS Report R43227, Federal Climate Change
Funding from FY2008 to FY2014, by Jane A. Leggett, Richard K. Lattanzio, and Emily Bruner.
Additional USGCRP information can be obtained at http://www.globalchange.gov.
Table 5. U.S. Global Change Research Program Funding, FY2019-FY2021
(budget authority, in millions of current dollars)
Total, USGCRP
FY2019
Enacted
FY2020
Request
FY2021
Request
2,436
1,943
n/a
Source: GlobalChange.gov, https://www.globalchange.gov/about.
Notes: n/a = not available. Funding for activities that contribute to the USGCRP has been appropriated to more
than a dozen federal departments and agencies in the past, and some spending of it is transferred or coordinated
through interagency agreements. Almost all of the funding is spent directly by agencies on research and related
activities; a small percentage is spent for interagency coordination and communications in the USGCRP program
office.
National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI)15
Launched in FY2001, the National Nanotechnology Initiative is a multiagency R&D initiative to
advance understanding and control of matter at the nanoscale, where the physical, chemical, and
biological properties of materials differ in fundamental and sometimes useful ways from the
properties of individual atoms or bulk matter.16 In 2003, Congress enacted the 21st Century
Nanotechnology Research and Development Act (P.L. 108-153), providing a legislative
foundation for some of the activities of the NNI. NNI efforts are coordinated by the NSTC
Subcommittee on Nanoscale Science, Engineering, and Technology (NSET). For FY2020, the
President’s request included NNI funding for 15 federal departments and independent agencies
and commissions with budgets dedicated to nanotechnology R&D. The NSET includes other
federal departments and independent agencies and commissions with responsibilities for health,
safety, and environmental regulation; trade; education; intellectual property; international
relations; and other areas that might affect or be affected by nanotechnology.
P.L. 108-153 requires the NSTC to prepare an annual report to be delivered to Congress at the
time the President’s budget request is sent to Congress. This annual report, often referred to as a
budget supplement, is to include detailed information on the program’s budget for the current
fiscal year and the program’s proposed budget for the next fiscal year, as well as additional
information and data related to the performance of the program. The latest annual report was
published in August 2019 and related to the FY2020 budget request. President Trump requested
$1.469 billion for NNI research in FY2020, a decrease of $103 million (6.6%) from the estimated
FY2019 level.17
15 For additional information on the National Nanotechnology Initiative, please contact John F. Sargent, Jr., Specialist
in Science and Technology Policy.
16 In the context of the NNI and nanotechnology, the nanoscale refers to lengths of 1 to 100 nanometers. A nanometer
is one-billionth of a meter, or about the width of 10 hydrogen atoms arranged side by side in a line.
17 EOP, National Science and Technology Council, The National Nanotechnology Initiative: Supplement to the
President’s 2020 Budget, August 2019.
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For additional information on the NNI, see CRS Report RL34401, The National Nanotechnology
Initiative: Overview, Reauthorization, and Appropriations Issues, by John F. Sargent Jr.
Additional NNI information can be obtained at http://www.nano.gov.
Table 6. National Nanotechnology Initiative Funding, FY2019-FY2021
(budget authority, in millions of current dollars)
Total, NNI
FY2019
Estimated
FY2020
Enacted
FY2021
Request
1,858.3
1,839.7
1,723.2
Source: EOP, National Science and Technology Council, The National Nanotechnology Initiative: Supplement to the
President’s 2021 Budget, October 2020.
Other Highlighted R&D in the President’s FY2021 Budget
The President’s FY2021 budget highlights R&D spending in several areas discussed in the
following sections.
Science and Technology Supporting the “Industries of the Future”
The President’s FY2021 budget states the Administration’s prioritization for areas of science and
technology that it asserts will underpin the Industries of the Future (IotF),18 among other
prioritizations and reallocations in lower priority areas.
For 2021, the Administration is prioritizing the science and technology that underpin the
Industries of the Future (IotF)—artificial intelligence (AI), quantum information science
(QIS), 5G/advanced communications, biotechnology, and advanced manufacturing.
Relative to the 2020 President’s Budget, this includes major increases in QIS and nondefense AI R&D as part of a commitment to double Federal AI and QIS R&D investments
by 2022. R&D investments in AI and QIS, in particular, act as innovation multipliers and
employment drivers, not only by promoting S&T progress across many disciplines, but
also by helping to build a highly-skilled American workforce. Other IotF areas, such as
biotechnology and advanced manufacturing, are poised for potentially transformative
advances. Together, IotF investments are vital to the Nation’s global competitiveness and
the health, prosperity, and security of the American people. 19
Artificial Intelligence (AI)20
On February 11, 2019, President Trump issued Executive Order 13859,21 “Maintaining American
Leadership in Artificial Intelligence,” launching the American AI Initiative and later that year
18 “Industries of the Future” is a term that generally refers to new industries that are expected to emerge out of leading-
edge technologies.
19 EOP, OMB, Analytical Perspectives, Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2021, Research and
Development, February 10, 2020, p. 235, https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/
ap_17_research_fy21.pdf.
20 For additional information on artificial intelligence and the American AI Initiative, please contact Laurie A. Harris,
Analyst in Science and Technology Policy.
21 Executive Order 13859, “Maintaining American Leadership in Artificial Intelligence,” 84 Federal Register 39673972, February 14, 2019.
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defined the effort’s priority investment areas in The National Artificial Intelligence Research and
Development Strategic Plan: 2019 Update.22
The FY2021 budget states that AI “is transforming every segment of American life, with
applications ranging from medical diagnostics and precision agriculture, to autonomous
transportation, job reskilling and upskilling and national defense, and beyond.”23
The FY2021 budget includes increases in the AI R&D budget as part of its efforts to double nondefense AI R&D funding by FY2022. The President’s proposed AI R&D funding for FY2021
includes
A 76% increase in the AI R&D budget of the National Science Foundation to
$868 million over the FY2020 level, for AI-related research and the creation of
several National AI Research Institutes, in collaboration with USDA, DHS, DOT,
and VA. The institutes are to support multisector, multidisciplinary research and
workforce efforts among academia, industry, federal agencies, and nonprofits.
An additional $100 million for the USDA Agriculture and Food Research
Initiative (AFRI) for AI and machine learning research to promote advanced
manufacturing in the food and agricultural sciences, as well as to continue efforts
in robotics and the application of big data to precision agriculture.
$125 million for DOE’s Office of Science, a $54 million increase over the
FY2020 request.
$50 million for NIH research on chronic diseases using AI and related
approaches.
$459 million for DARPA AI R&D, an increase of $50 million from the FY2020
request.
$290 million for DOD’s Joint AI Center, up from $242 million in FY2020.24
Quantum Information Science25
The FY2021 budget seeks an increase of more than 50% for federal quantum information science
(QIS) funding over the FY2020 budget as part of the Administration’s goal of doubling funding
for QIS by FY2022. The President’s proposed QIS R&D funding for FY2021 includes
$230 million for NSF to support the National Quantum Initiative, $120 million
above the FY2020 level.
22 EOP, NSTC, Committee on Technology, Subcommittee on Networking and Information Technology Research and
Development (NITRD), The National Artificial Intelligence Research and Development Strategic Plan: 2019 Update,
June 21, 2019, https://www.nitrd.gov/pubs/National-AI-RD-Strategy-2019.pdf.
23 EOP, OMB, Analytical Perspectives, Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2021, Research and
Development, p. 235, February 10, 2020.
24 Ibid., pp. 235-236; The White House, Fact Sheets, “President Trump’s FY 2021 Budget Commits to Double
Investments in Key Industries of the Future,” February 11, 2020, https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/
president-trumps-fy-2021-budget-commits-double-investments-key-industries-future/; NSF, FY 2021 Budget Request
to Congress, February 10, 2020, p. Overview-3; and NSF, FY2020 Budget Request to Congress, March 18, 2019, p.
Overview-9.
25 For additional information on quantum information science and the National Quantum Initiative, please contact
Patricia Moloney Figliola, Specialist in Science and Technology Policy.
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$237 million for the DOE Office of Science, an increase of approximately $75
million, for QIS work at the national laboratories and in academia and industry.
$25 million for the DOE Office of Science to support early stage research for a
quantum internet.
Additionally, the budget provides
funding for NIST work in QIS standards and engineering efforts in quantum
systems;
funding for the defense and intelligence community for QIS science and
technology, new applications, and industrial engagement; and
initial funding for NASA to explore the potential for a space-based quantum
entanglement experiment.26
The President’s budget also includes an additional $50 million for NSF, compared to the 2020
budget, for education and workforce development for AI and QIS, with focused outreach efforts
to community colleges, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), and Minority
Serving Institutions (MSIs).
National Security
The President’s FY2021 budget also highlights investments in national security-related R&D,
including more than $59 billion in research, engineering, and prototyping activities in FY2021 to
enable advanced military capabilities, including work in “offensive and defensive hypersonic
weapons capabilities, resilient national security space systems, and modernized and flexible
strategic and nonstrategic nuclear deterrent capabilities.”27
The FY2021 budget request for Department of Homeland Security R&D includes $83 million for
detection and defense against radiological, nuclear, chemical, and biological threats; $44 million
for improving resilience to natural disasters and physical threats, for first responder technologies
and public safety, and for cross-border threat screening and supply chain defense; and $38 million
for cybersecurity.
FY2020 Appropriations Status
The remainder of this report provides a more in-depth analysis of R&D in 12 federal departments
and agencies that, in aggregate, receive nearly 99% of total federal R&D funding. Agencies are
presented in order of the size of their FY2020 R&D budget requests, with the largest presented
first.
Annual appropriations for these agencies are provided through 9 of the 12 regular appropriations
bills. For each agency covered in this report, Table 7 shows the corresponding regular
appropriations bill that provides primary funding for the agency, including its R&D activities.
Because of the way that agencies report budget data to Congress, it can be difficult to identify the
portion that is R&D. Consequently, R&D data presented in the agency analyses in this report may
differ from R&D data in the President’s budget or otherwise provided by OMB.
26 EOP, OMB, Analytical Perspectives, Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2021, Research and
Development, p. 236, February 10, 2020.
27 Ibid., p. 236.
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Funding for R&D is often included in appropriations line items that also include non-R&D
activities; therefore, in such cases, it may not be possible to identify precisely how much of the
funding provided in appropriations laws is allocated to R&D specifically. In general, R&D
funding levels are known only after departments and agencies allocate their appropriations to
specific activities and report those figures.
As of the date of this report, the House had completed action on 10 of the 12 appropriations acts
through passage of two consolidated appropriations bills, H.R. 7608 and H.R. 7617. The only
appropriations bill containing R&D funding that the House has not yet acted upon is the
Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2021. In the absence of passage of
appropriations acts at the end of the fiscal year, on September 30, 2020, Congress passed the
Continuing Appropriations Act, 2021 and Other Extensions Act (P.L. 116-159) that, among other
things, provides funding for most federal agencies through December 12, 2020. As of the date of
this report, the Senate had not passed an appropriations act. On November 11, 2020, the Senate
Committee on Appropriations posted all 12 of the FY2021 appropriations acts on its webpage.
Though not passed by the Senate, these bills were presented by the Senate Majority Leader as a
basis for discussions and negotiation with the House.
In addition to this report, CRS produces individual reports on each of the appropriations bills and
for a number of federal agencies. These reports can be accessed via the CRS website at
http://www.crs.gov/iap/appropriations. Also, the status of each appropriations bill is available on
the CRS web page “Appropriations Status Table,” available at http://www.crs.gov/
AppropriationsStatusTable/Index.
Table 7. Alignment of Agency R&D Funding and Regular Appropriations Bills
Department/Agency
Regular Appropriations Bill
Department of Defense
Department of Defense Appropriations Act
Department of Health and Human Services
- National Institutes of Health
(1) Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services,
and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act
(2) Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related
Agencies Appropriations Act
Department of Energy
Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies
Appropriations Act
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies
Appropriations Act
National Science Foundation
Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies
Appropriations Act
Department of Agriculture
Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug
Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act
Department of Commerce
- National Institute of Standards and Technology
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies
Appropriations Act
Department of Veterans Affairs
Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, and Related
Agencies Appropriations Act
Department of the Interior
Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related
Agencies Appropriations Act
Department of Transportation
Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and
Related Agencies Appropriations Act
Department of Homeland Security
Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act
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Department/Agency
Regular Appropriations Bill
Environmental Protection Agency
Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related
Agencies Appropriations Act
Source: CRS Report R40858, Locate an Agency or Program Within Appropriations Bills, by Justin Murray.
Department of Defense28
The mission of the Department of Defense is to provide “the military forces needed to deter war
and ensure our nation’s security.”29 Congress supports research and development activities at
DOD primarily through the department’s Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation (RDT&E)
funding. These funds support the development of the nation’s future military hardware and
software and the science and technology base upon which those products rely.
Most of what DOD spends on RDT&E is appropriated in Title IV of the annual defense
appropriations bill. (See Table 8.) Title IV RDT&E funds support activities such as R&D
performed by academic institutions, DOD laboratories, and companies, as well as test and
evaluation activities at specialized DOD facilities, among other things. However, RDT&E funds
are also appropriated in other parts of the bill. For example, RDT&E funds are appropriated as
part of the Defense Health Program, the Chemical Agents and Munitions Destruction Program,
and the National Defense Sealift Fund. The Defense Health Program (DHP) supports the delivery
of health care to DOD personnel and their families. DHP funds (including the RDT&E funds) are
requested through the Defense-wide Operations and Maintenance appropriations request. The
program’s RDT&E funds support congressionally directed research on breast, prostate, and
ovarian cancer; traumatic brain injuries; orthotics and prosthetics; and other medical conditions.
Congress appropriates funds for this program in Title VI (Other Department of Defense
Programs) of the defense appropriations bill. The Chemical Agents and Munitions Destruction
Program supports activities to destroy the U.S. inventory of lethal chemical agents and munitions
to avoid future risks and costs associated with storage. Funds for this program are requested
through the Defense-wide Procurement appropriations request. Congress appropriates funds for
this program also in Title VI. The National Defense Sealift Fund supports the procurement,
operation and maintenance, and research and development associated with the nation’s naval
reserve fleet and supports a U.S. flagged merchant fleet that can serve in time of need. In some
fiscal years, RDT&E funding for this effort is requested in the Navy’s Procurement request and
appropriated in Title V (Revolving and Management Funds) of the appropriations bill.
RDT&E funds also have been requested and appropriated as part of DOD’s separate funding to
support efforts in what the George W. Bush Administration termed the Global War on Terror
(GWOT) and what the Obama and Trump Administrations have referred to as Overseas
Contingency Operations (OCO). In appropriations bills, the term Overseas Contingency
Operations/Global War on Terror (OCO/GWOT) has been used; President Trump’s FY2021
budget uses the term Overseas Contingency Operations. Typically, the RDT&E funds
appropriated for OCO activities go to specified Program Elements (PEs) in Title IV.
28 This section was written by John F. Sargent Jr., Specialist in Science and Technology Policy, CRS Resources,
Science, and Industry Division.
29 Department of Defense, https://www.defense.gov/Our-Story/.
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According to the Comptroller of the Department of Defense, the FY2021 OCO request is divided
into two requirement categories—direct and enduring war, and OCO for base requirements.30 For
purposes of this report, these categories of OCO funding requests are reported collectively.
In addition, OCO/GWOT-related requests/appropriations have included money for a number of
transfer funds. In the past, these have included the Iraqi Freedom Fund (IFF), the Iraqi Security
Forces Fund, the Afghanistan Security Forces Fund, and the Pakistan Counterinsurgency
Capability Fund. Congress typically has made a single appropriation into each such fund and
authorized the Secretary of Defense to make transfers to other accounts, including RDT&E, at his
discretion. These transfers are eventually reflected in Title IV prior-year funding figures.
For FY2021, the Trump Administration is requesting $106.555 billion for DOD’s Title IV
RDT&E PEs (base plus OCO), $1.159 billion (1.1%) above the enacted FY2020 level. (See
Table 8.) In addition, the FY2021 request includes $562.5 million in RDT&E through the
Defense Health Program (DHP; down $1.744 billion, 75.6% from FY2020), $782.2 million in
RDT&E through the Chemical Agents and Munitions Destruction program (down $93.7 million,
10.7% from FY2020), and $1.1 million for the Inspector General for RDT&E-related activities
(down $1.9 million, 63.0% from FY2020). The FY2021 budget includes no RDT&E funding via
the National Defense Sealift Fund, the same as the FY2020 enacted level.
On July 31, the House passed H.R. 7617, the Defense, Commerce, Justice, Science, Energy and
Water Development, Financial Services and General Government, Labor, Health and Human
Services, Education, Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development Appropriations Act, 2021,
a consolidated bill that incorporates the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2021 as
Division A. The House-passed bill would appropriate $104.794 billion in Title IV and OCO R&D
funding, a decrease of $601.6 million (0.6%) from the FY2020 enacted level and a decrease of
$1.761 billion (1.7%) from the request. In addition, Title VI of the House-passed bill would
provide $1.669 billion for the Defense Health Program ($637.4 million (27.6%) less than the
FY2020 enacted level and $1.106 billion (196.7%) more than the request); $782.2 million for the
Chemical Agents and Munitions Destruction program ($93.7 million (10.7%) less than the
FY2020 enacted level and the same as the request); and $1.1 million for the Inspector General for
RDT&E ($1.9 million (63.4%) less than the FY2020 enacted level and about the same as the
request).
On November 11, the Senate Committee on Appropriations posted all 12 of the FY2021
appropriations acts on its webpage, including the appropriations act for the Department of
Defense. While not passed by the Senate, these bills were presented by the Senate Majority
Leader as a basis for discussions and negotiation with the House. The Senate bill, as posted,
would appropriate $104.4 billion in Title IV and OCO R&D funding, a decrease of $1.020 billion
(1.0%) from the FY2020 enacted level, a decrease of $2.179 billion (2.0%) from the request, and
a decrease of $418.3 million (0.4%) from the House-passed level. In addition, Title VI of the
Senate bill would provide $1.750 billion for the Defense Health Program, $556.5 million (24.1%)
less than the FY2020 enacted level, $1.027 billion (142.0%) more than the request, and $80.9
30 “Direct War Requirements” reflect combat or combat support costs that are not expected to continue once combat
operations end at major contingency locations. “OCO for Enduring Requirements” reflects enduring in-theater and
CONUS costs that will remain after combat operations end. “OCO for Base Requirements” reflects funding for base
budget requirements, which support the National Defense Strategy, such as defense readiness, readiness enablers, and
munitions, financed in the OCO budget to comply with the base budget defense caps included in current law.
Department of Defense, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller)/Chief Financial Officer, Defense
Budget Overview: Department of Defense Fiscal Year 2020 Budget Request, March 19, 2019,
https://comptroller.defense.gov/Portals/45/Documents/defbudget/fy2020/
fy2020_Budget_Request_Overview_Book.pdf.
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million (4.8%) more than the House-passed level; $782.2 million for the Chemical Agents and
Munitions Destruction program, $93.7 million (10.7%) less than the FY2020 enacted level and
the same as the request and the House-passed levels; and $1.1 million for the Inspector General
for RDT&E ($1.9 million (63.4%) less than the FY2020 enacted level and the same as the request
and the House-passed levels).
RDT&E funding can be analyzed in different ways. RDT&E funding can be characterized
organizationally. Each military department requests and receives its own RDT&E funding. So,
too, do various DOD agencies (e.g., the Missile Defense Agency and the Defense Advanced
Research Projects Agency), collectively aggregated within the Defense-Wide account. RDT&E
funding also can be characterized by budget activity (i.e., the type of RDT&E supported). Those
budget activities designated as 6.1, 6.2, and 6.3 (basic research, applied research, and advanced
technology development, respectively) constitute what is called DOD’s Science and Technology
(S&T) program and represent the more research-oriented part of the RDT&E program. Budget
activities 6.4 and 6.5 focus on the development of specific weapon systems or components for
which an operational need has been determined and an acquisition program established. Budget
activity 6.6 provides management support, including support for test and evaluation facilities.
Budget activity 6.7 supports the development of system improvements in existing operational
systems. Budget activity 6.8 was added in the FY2021 budget and supports software and digital
technology pilot programs.31
Many congressional policymakers are particularly interested in DOD S&T program funding,
since these funds support the development of new technologies and the science that underlies
them. Some in the defense community see ensuring adequate support for S&T activities as
imperative to maintaining U.S. military superiority into the future. The knowledge generated at
this stage of development may also contribute to advances in commercial technologies. The
FY2021 request for Title IV S&T funding (base plus OCO) is $14.071 billion, $1.991 billion
(12.4%) below the FY2020 enacted level. The Senate bill, as posted, would provide $15.188
billion, $874.1 million (5.4%) below the FY2020 enacted level, and $1.117 billion (7.9%) more
than the request for Title IV S&T funding (base plus OCO). Within the S&T program, basic
research (6.1) receives special attention, particularly by the nation’s universities, as over half of
DOD’s basic research budget is spent at universities. The Trump Administration is requesting
$2.319 billion for DOD basic research for FY2021, $284.2 million (10.9%) below the FY2020
enacted level. The Senate bill, as posted, would provide $2.407 billion for DOD basic research
for FY2021, $196.2 million (7.5%) below the FY2020 enacted level and $88.0 million (3.8%)
more than the request. While DOD is not the largest federal funder of basic research, it is a
substantial source of federal funds for university R&D in certain fields, such as aerospace,
aeronautical, and astronautical engineering (60%); electrical, electronic, and communications
engineering (58%); industrial and manufacturing engineering (48%); mechanical engineering
(46%); computer and information sciences (44%); metallurgical and materials engineering (39%);
and materials science (33%).32
Congress also provided the DOD Defense Health Program with $415.0 million in RDT&E
funding under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act (P.L. 116-136).
31 For additional information on the structure of Defense RDT&E, see CRS Report R44711, Department of Defense
Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation (RDT&E): Appropriations Structure, by John F. Sargent Jr.
32 CRS analysis of data from NSF, Higher Education Research and Development Survey, Fiscal Year 2017, data tables,
November 20, 2018, https://ncsesdata.nsf.gov/herd/2017/.
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Table 8. Department of Defense RDT&E
(total obligational authority, in millions of dollars)
FY2020
Enacted
Budget
Account
FY2021
Request
FY2021
Senatea
FY2021
House
FY2021
Enacted
Base +
OCO
Base
OCO
Total
Base
OCO
Total
Base
OCO
Total
Army
12,690.7
12,587.3
182.8
12,770.2
13,138.5
175.8
13,314.3
12,812.7
148.2
12,960.8
Navy
20,450.0
21,427.0
59.6
21,486.6
20,186.6
59.6
20,246.1
19,758.5
59.6
19,818.1
Air Force
45,695.2
37,391.8
5.3
37,397.1
36,070.6
$5.3
36,075.9
35,695.3
5.3
35,700.6
10,327.6
0.0
10,327.6
10,191.8
0.0
10,191.8
10,434.3
Space Forceb
Base
10,434.3
Defense-wide
26,332.3
24,280.9
82.8
24,363.7
24,675.2
80.8
24,756.0
25,122.2
Director,
Operational
Test and
Evaluation
227.7
210.1
0.0
210.0
210.1
0.0
210.1
257.2
Total Title
IV—By
Account
105,395.9
106,224.8
330.5
106,555.3
104,472.8
321.5
104,794.3
104,080.2
295.8
104,376.0
6.1 Basic
Research
2,603.3
2,319.1
0.0
2,319.1
c
c
c
2,407.1
0.0
2,407.1
6.2 Applied
Research
6,071.4
5,391.1
5.7
5,396.8
c
c
c
5,997.7
5.7
6,003.4
6.3 Advanced
Technology
Development
7,386.9
6,331.4
23.1
6,354.6
c
c
c
6,753.9
23.
6,777.0
6.4 Advanced
Component
Development
and Prototypes
27,207.1
28,390.6
77.9
28,468.5
c
c
c
27,887.8
77.9
27,965.7
6.5 Systems
Dev. and
Demonstration
16,778.2
16,426.9
99.0
16,525.8
c
c
c
15,435.9
64.3
15,500.3
6.6
Management
Supportd
7,216.9
6,981.6
5.1
6,986.8
c
c
c
7,189.2
5.1
7,194.3
6.7
Operational
Systems
Developmente
38,132.2
39,687.4
119.7
39,807.0
c
c
c
37,691.4
119.7
37,811.1
6.8 Software
and Digital
Technology
Pilot Projects
0.0
696.7
696.7
c
c
c
692.0
0
692.0
25.0
0
25.0
104,080.2
295.8
104,376.0
82.8
25,205.0
257.2
Budget
Activity
Undistributed
Total Title
IV—by
Budget
Activity
105,395.9
106,224.8
330.5
Congressional Research Service
106,555.3
104,472.8
321.5
104,794.3
18
OCO
Total
Federal Research and Development (R&D) Funding: FY2021
FY2020
Enacted
Budget
Account
Base +
OCO
FY2021
Request
Base
OCO
FY2021
Senatea
FY2021
House
Total
Base
OCO
Total
Base
OCO
FY2021
Enacted
Total
Base
Title V—
Revolving
and
Management
Funds
National
Defense Sealift
Fund
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
2,306.1
562.5
0.0
562.5
1,668.7
0.0
Chemical
Agents and
Munitions
Destruction
875.9
782.2
0.0
782.2
782.2
Inspector
General
3.0
1.1
0.0
1.1
Grand Total
108,580.9
107,570.6
330.5
107,901.1
CARES Act
415.0f
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
1,668.7
1,749.6
0.0
1,749.6
0.0
782.2
782.2
0.0
782.2
1.1
0.0
1.1
1.1
0.0
1.1
106,924.8
0.0
106,924.8
106,613.0
295.8
106,908.9
Title VI—
Other
Defense
Programs
Defense
Health
Program
(P.L. 116-136)
Source: CRS analysis of Department of Defense Budget, Fiscal Year 2021, RDT&E Programs (R‑1), February 2020;
P.L. 116-36; H.R. 7617; Senate Department of Defense appropriation bill, as posted on Senate Appropriations
Committee website on November 11, 2020, https://www.appropriations.senate.gov/news/committee-releasesfy21-bills-in-effort-to-advance-process-produce-bipartisan-results.
Notes: n/a = not available. Figures for the column headed “FY2021 Enacted” will be added, if available, as action
is completed. Totals may differ from the sum of the components due to rounding. According to DOD, “Total
Obligation Authority (TOA) is the sum of (1) all budget authority (BA) granted (or requested) from the
Congress in a given year, (2) amounts authorized to be credited to a specific fund, (3) BA transferred from
another appropriation, and (4) Unobligated balances of BA from previous years which remain available for
obligation. In practice, this term is used primarily in discussing the DOD budget, and most often refers to TOA
as the ‘direct program,’ which equates to only (1) and (2) above.” DOD defines “budget authority” as “the
authority becoming available during the year to enter into obligations that result in immediate or future outlays
of Government funds.” See DOD 7000.14-R, “Department of Defense Financial Management Regulation,”
http://comptroller.defense.gov/fmr.aspx.
a. This bill was not passed by the Senate, but was presented by the Senate Majority Leader as a basis for
discussions and negotiation with the House.
b. The Space Force was established in December 2019. Its FY2020 RDT&E activities are largely supported by
funds appropriated to the Air Force.
c. CRS was unable to determine these amounts due to amendments to overall accounts that were not
reflected in the budget activity funding levels included in H.R. 7617.
d. Includes funding for Director of Test and Evaluation.
e. Includes funding for Classified Programs.
f.
Funding provided by the CARES Act (P.L. 116-136) for the Defense Health Program, “to prevent, prepare
for, and respond to coronavirus, domestically or internationally.”
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OCO
Total
Federal Research and Development (R&D) Funding: FY2021
Department of Health and Human Services
The mission of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is “to enhance and protect
the health and well-being of all Americans ... by providing for effective health and human
services and fostering advances in medicine, public health, and social services.”33 This section
focuses on HHS research and development funded through the National Institutes of Health
(NIH), an HHS agency that accounts for nearly 97% of total HHS R&D funding.34 Other HHS
agencies that support R&D include the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Food and Drug Administration (FDA),
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), Health Resources and Services
Administration (HRSA), and Administration for Children and Families (ACF); additional R&D
funding is attributed to departmental management.35
National Institutes of Health36
NIH is the primary agency of the federal government charged with performing and supporting
biomedical and behavioral research. It also has major roles in training biomedical researchers and
disseminating health information. The NIH mission is “to seek fundamental knowledge about the
nature and behavior of living systems and the application of that knowledge to enhance health,
lengthen life, and reduce illness and disability.”37 The agency consists of the NIH Office of the
Director (OD) and 27 institutes and centers (ICs). Each IC plans and manages its own research
programs in coordination with OD. As shown in Table 9, separate appropriations are provided to
24 of the 27 ICs, as well as to OD, the Innovation Account (established by the 21st Century Cures
Act in 2016, P.L. 114-255), and an intramural Buildings and Facilities account. The other three
centers, which perform centralized support services, are funded through transfers from the other
ICs.
According to NIH, about 10% of the NIH budget supports intramural research projects conducted
by the nearly 6,000 NIH federal scientists, most of whom are located on the NIH campus in
Bethesda, MD. All research ICs have an intramural research program of varying sizes. More than
80% of NIH’s budget goes to the extramural research community in the form of grants, contracts,
and other awards. This funding supports research performed by more than 300,000 nonfederal
scientists and technical personnel who work at more than 2,500 universities, hospitals, medical
schools, and other research institutions.38
Funding for NIH comes primarily from the annual Labor, HHS, and Education (LHHS)
appropriations act, with an additional amount for Superfund-related activities from the
33 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, “About,” http://www.hhs.gov/about.
34 CRS analysis of data from OMB, Analytical Perspectives, Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year
2020, 2019, p. 268, https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/spec-fy2020.pdf.
35 Ibid.
36 This section was written by Kavya Sekar, Analyst in Health Policy, CRS Domestic Social Policy Division, with
support from Isaac Nicchitta, Research Assistant, CRS Domestic Social Policy Division. For background information
on NIH, see CRS Report R41705, The National Institutes of Health (NIH): Background and Congressional Issues, by
Judith A. Johnson and Kavya Sekar.
37 HHS, National Institutes of Health, “About NIH, What We Do, Mission and Goals,” http://www.nih.gov/about-nih/
what-we-do/mission-goals.
38 NIH, “What We Do: Budget,” https://www.nih.gov/about-nih/what-we-do/budget.
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Interior/Environment appropriations act.39 Those two appropriations acts provide NIH’s
discretionary budget authority. In addition, NIH has received mandatory funding of $150 million
annually that is provided in Public Health Service Act (PHSA) Section 330B, for the Special
Diabetes Program for type 1 diabetes, most recently extended through FY2020 by the CARES
Act (P.L. 116-136), with additional partial-year FY2021 funding of $25.1 million to cover the
period of October 1, 2020, through November 30, 2020.
Some funding is also pursuant to the PHS Evaluation Set-Aside, also known as the PHS
Evaluation Tap transfer authority, under Section 241 of the PHS Act (42 U.S.C. §238j). This
provision allows the Secretary of HHS, with the approval of appropriators, to redistribute a
portion of eligible PHS agency appropriations across HHS for program evaluation purposes.40
Although the PHS Act limits the tap to no more than 1% of eligible appropriations, in recent
years, annual LHHS appropriations acts have specified a higher amount (2.5% in FY2020, P.L.
116-94). Those acts also have typically directed specific amounts of funding from the tap for
transfer to a number of HHS programs, including at NIH—particularly for the National Institute
of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS). Readers should note that funding amounts in this report
show amounts “transferred in” to NIH under the PHS evaluation set-aside, but do not show
amounts “transferred out” under the same authority.
NIH also receives funding through LHHS appropriations that is subject to different budget
enforcement rules than the rest of the NIH funding in the act—appropriations to the NIH
Innovation Account created by the 21st Century Cures Act (“the Cures Act,” P.L. 114-255) to fund
programs authorized by that act. Appropriations of funds in this account are, in effect, not subject
to discretionary spending limits.41 The NIH Director may transfer these amounts from the NIH
Innovation Account to other NIH accounts but only for the purposes specified in the Cures Act. If
the NIH Director determines that the funds for any of the four Innovation Projects are not
necessary, the amounts may be transferred back to the NIH Innovation Account. All amounts
authorized by the Cures Act have been fully appropriated to the Innovation Account since
FY2017, including $492 million for FY2020. For FY2021, $404 million is authorized to be
appropriated.42
For FY2020, NIH has a program level of $41.915 billion (Table 9) and has separately received
emergency supplemental appropriations in three coronavirus relief measures totaling over $3.59
billion.43 According to the Senate Appropriations committee majority draft explanatory statement
39 The Superfund program was created to carry out the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and
Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA; P.L. 96-510), which authorized the federal government to prioritize contaminated
sites in the United States for cleanup in coordination with the states in which the sites are located and to make the
“potentially responsible parties” connected to those sites financially liable for the cleanup costs. The Superfund
program is administered by the Environmental Protection Agency. For more information on the Superfund program,
see CRS Report R41039, Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act: A Summary of
Superfund Cleanup Authorities and Related Provisions of the Act, by David M. Bearden.
40 For more information on the PHS evaluation tap, or PHS Evaluation Set-Aside, see discussion in CRS Report
R44916, Public Health Service Agencies: Overview and Funding (FY2016-FY2018), coordinated by C. Stephen
Redhead and Agata Dabrowska.
41 See section on 21st Century Cures Act in CRS Report R41705, The National Institutes of Health (NIH): Background
and Congressional Issues.
42 P.L. 114-255, Sec. 1001.
43 CRS Report R43341, National Institutes of Health (NIH) Funding: FY1995-FY2021, by Kavya Sekar. FY2020
program level updated based on totals in U.S. Congress, Senate Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on
Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies, Explanatory Statement for
Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill, 2021, committee print, 116th
Cong., 2nd sess., November 10, 2020, pp. 250-252.
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Federal Research and Development (R&D) Funding: FY2021
accompanying its proposed FY2021 LHHS appropriations, the Administration’s FY2021 budget
estimate44 would provide NIH with a total program level of $39.133 billion, a decrease of $2.78
billion (-6.6%) from FY2020 enacted levels (regular appropriations). The proposed FY2021
program level would be made up of 45
$38.07 billion in LHHS budget authority (BA);
$741.0 million pursuant to the PHS Evaluation Tap authority;
$73.69 million for the Superfund Research Program in Interior/Environment
appropriations;
$150.0 million in proposed annual funding for the mandatory type 1 diabetes
program; and
$98.5 million from the mandatory Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Trust
Fund (PCORTF).46
Under the President’s FY2021 request, all existing IC accounts would receive a decrease
compared to FY2020 funding levels, except for (1) the National Institute of Allergy and
Infectious Diseases (NIAID), which would receive an increase in regular budget authority from
$5.876 billion in FY2020 to $5.885 billion in FY2021, and (2) the Building and Facilities
account, which would receive an increase of $100 million in LHHS Discretionary BA (though a
decrease in funding of $125 million when accounting for the FY2020 transfer from the
Nonrecurring Expenses Fund to this account (see Table 9)).47 In addition, the full amount ($404
million) authorized by the 21st Century Cures Act for FY2021 (P.L. 114-255) would be
appropriated to the Innovation Account.
The FY2021 budget request proposes consolidating the Agency for Healthcare Research and
Quality (AHRQ) into NIH, forming a 28th IC—the National Institute for Research on Safety and
Quality (NIRSQ). The creation of a new NIH institute generally would require amendments to the
PHSA, especially Section 401(d), which specifies that “[i]n the National Institutes of Health, the
number of national research institutes and national centers may not exceed a total of 27.” Under
44 President Trump released the first budget request for NIH on February 10, 2020, and then subsequently on March 17,
2020, the Office of Management and Budget submitted an amendment that would increase funding for the National
Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID) by $440 million relative to the original request. This amendment is
reflected in the budget tables of Senate appropriations committee documents. See Letter from Michael R. Pence,
President of the Senate, to Donald Trump, President of the United States, March 17, 2020, at
https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Letter-regarding-additional-funding-to-support-the-UnitedStates-response-to-COVID-19-3.17.2020.pdf, and U.S. Congress, Senate Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee
on Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies, Explanatory Statement
for Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill, 2021, committee print,
116th Cong., 2nd sess., November 10, 2020, pp. 250-252.
45 U.S. Congress, House Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on the Departments of Labor, Health and
Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies, Department of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education,
and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill, 2021, Report to accompany H.R. 7614, 116th Cong., 2nd sess., July 15, 2020,
H.Rept. 116-450 (Washington: GPO, 2020).
46 The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Trust Fund (PCORTF) is a 10-year, multibillion dollar trust fund,
established by The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (ACA, P.L. 111-148), that is used to fund
clinical research, specifically those research activities at the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI),
and would be provided to the proposed NIRSQ. For more information about the Patient Centered Outcomes Research
Fund, see CRS Insight IN11010, Funding for ACA-Established Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Trust Fund
(PCORTF) Extended Through FY2029, by Amanda K. Sarata.
47 P.L. 116-94 directed a transfer of $225 million from the HHS Nonreccurring Expenses Fund to the NIH Buildings
and Facilities account in FY2020 enacted appropriations.
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Federal Research and Development (R&D) Funding: FY2021
the FY2021 request, NIRSQ would receive a total appropriation of $355.1 million, including
$256.7 million in discretionary LHHS budget authority and $98.5 million in mandatory
appropriations from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Trust Fund (PCORTF) in Social
Security Act Section 1181. Congress did not adopt the Administration’s similar proposals to
consolidate AHRQ into NIH as NIRSQ in FY2018, FY2019, or FY2020.48
In July 2020, the House passed two consolidated appropriations bills with proposed funding
levels for NIH accounts: H.R. 7617 with proposed LHHS appropriations in Division E49 and H.R.
7608 with proposed Interior/Environment appropriations in Division C.50 In summary, the Housepassed legislation would provide NIH FY2021 funding levels made up of
$40.647 billion provided through LHHS appropriations (including the full
amount authorized by the Cures Act);
$1.341 billion pursuant to the PHS evaluation transfer directed in the LHHS
appropriations bill; and
$83 million provided through Interior/Environment appropriations for
Superfund-related activities.
In total, the House legislation discussed above would provide NIH discretionary BA of $42.071
billion—$306 million (+0.7%) more than the FY2020 discretionary BA and $3.2 billion (+8.2%)
more than the discretionary BA proposed by the Administration’s FY2021 budget request. The
House appropriations bills would provide an increase to all IC accounts in discretionary BA
compared to FY2020 funding levels, except for the National Institute of Nursing Research
(decrease of $1.8 million compared to FY2020). The Buildings and Facilities which would
receive level funding in LHHS discretionary BA, but a decrease of $225 million in funding when
accounting for the NEF transfer to this account in FY2020.51 Consistent with the FY2021 budget
request, the full amount ($404 million) authorized by the 21st Century Cures Act for FY2021 (P.L.
114-255) would be appropriated to the Innovation Account.52
With the inclusion of estimated full-year mandatory funding for the Special Diabetes Program for
type 1 diabetes at current-law levels ($150 million), the total House-proposed FY2021 NIH
program level would be $42.221 billion.53 With this estimated funding, the House-proposed
48 See NIH sections of CRS Report R44888, Federal Research and Development Funding: FY2018; CRS Report
R45150, Federal Research and Development (R&D) Funding: FY2019; and CRS Report R45715, Federal Research
and Development (R&D) Funding: FY2020.
49 The Defense, Commerce, Justice, Science, Energy and Water Development, Financial Services and General
Government, Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development
Appropriations Act, 2021.
50 The State, Foreign Operations, Agriculture, Rural Development, Interior, Environment, Military Construction, and
Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act, 2021.
51 In FY2020, the Buildings and Facilities account received $200 in appropriations from the LHHS bill and a transfer of
$225 million from the Nonrecurring Expenses Fund (NEF).
52 This paragraph uses budget request funding levels from U.S. Congress, Senate Committee on Appropriations,
Subcommittee on Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies,
Explanatory Statement for Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill,
2021, committee print, 116th Cong., 2nd sess., November 10, 2020, pp. 249-252.
53 $150 million is the funding amount for the Special Diabetes Program for type 1 diabetes, distributed to the National
Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), in the FY2021 House Appropriations Committee
Report on H.R. 7614. Full year appropriations for the Special Diabetes Program for type 1 diabetes have not yet been
enacted.
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program level would be $306 million (+0.7%) more than the FY2020 enacted program level and
$3.1 billion (+7.9%) more than the FY2021 program level proposed by the Administration.
The House LHHS appropriations bill (in Title VI of Division E) also includes $5 billion in
emergency funding “to support biomedical research—including support for current grantees to
cover the shutdown costs, startup costs, and other costs related to delays in research in 2020.”54
The $5 billion would be appropriated to the Office of the Director (OD). Of this total, the NIH
Director is directed to transfer not less than $2.5 billion to the IC accounts “in proportion to the
amounts otherwise made available” in FY2020 enacted LHHS appropriations, and to transfer the
full FY2020 enacted amount to the Building and Facilities account.55 As shown in the House
report, this funding would be distributed to all NIH accounts, except the Innovation Account, with
funding levels ranging from the lowest amount of $5 million for the Fogarty International Center
to the highest amount of $2.275 billion for the Office of the Director account.56
On November 10, 2020, the chair of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, Senator Richard
Shelby, released drafts of all 12 annual appropriations bills along with draft accompanying
explanatory statements. Proposed funding levels for NIH accounts were located in the LHHS and
Interior/Environment bills.57 In summary, the Senate Appropriations Committee majority draft
legislation would provide NIH FY2021 funding levels made up of
$41.869 billion provided through LHHS appropriations (including the full
amount authorized by the Cures Act)
$1.586 billion pursuant to the PHS evaluation transfer directed in the LHHS
appropriations bill; and
$81.5 million provided through Interior/Environment appropriations for
Superfund-related activities
In total, the Senate Appropriations Committee majority draft bills would provide NIH
discretionary BA funding of $43.766 billion—$2.0 billion (+4.8%) more than FY2020
discretionary BA funding and $4.88 billion (+12.6%) more than the discretionary BA funding
proposed by the Administration’s FY2021 budget request. The Senate Appropriations Committee
majority draft bills would provide an increase to all IC accounts compared to FY2020 enacted
levels, The Buildings and Facilities account would receive the same funding level as FY2020 in
LHHS Discretionary BA, though a decrease of $225 million when accounting for the NEF
transfer in FY2020. Consistent with the FY2021 budget request, the full amount ($404 million)
authorized by the 21st Century Cures Act for FY2021 (P.L. 114-255) would be appropriated to the
Innovation Account.58
54 Ibid.
55 H.R. 7617, Division E, Title VI
56 Ibid.
57 U.S. Congress, Senate Committee on Appropriations majority staff, “Committee Releases FY21 Bills in Effort to
Advance Process, Produce Bipartisan Results,” press release, November 10, 2020, at
https://www.appropriations.senate.gov/news/committee-releases-fy21-bills-in-effort-to-advance-process-producebipartisan-results.
58 U.S. Congress, Senate Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Departments of Labor, Health and Human
Services, and Education, and Related Agencies, Explanatory Statement for Labor, Health and Human Services,
Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill, 2021, committee print, 116th Cong., 2nd sess., November 10,
2020, pp. 249-252 and U.S. Congress, Senate Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Department of the
Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies, Explanatory Statement for the Department of the Interior, Environment,
and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill, 2021, committee print, 116th Cong., November 10, 2020, p. 2.
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Federal Research and Development (R&D) Funding: FY2021
With the inclusion of estimated full-year mandatory funding for the Special Diabetes Program for
type 1 diabetes at current-law levels ($150 million), the total FY2021 NIH program level would
be $43.916 billion, per the Senate majority draft bills. With this estimated funding, the program
level would be $2.0 billion (+4.8%) more than the FY2020 enacted program level and $4.8
billion (+12.2%) more than the FY2021 program level proposed by the Administration.59
Neither the Senate majority draft of the LHHS bill, nor the House-passed LHHS proposal would
adopt the Administration’s proposal to consolidate the Agency for Healthcare Research and
Quality into NIH. The report accompanying the LHHS appropriations bill (H.Rept. 116-450) did
not address this proposal.60 The Senate Appropriations Committee majority draft explanatory
statement states, “The Committee rejects the budget’s request to create a new National Institute
for Research on Safety and Quality by consolidating the Agency for Healthcare Research and
Quality into NIH.”61
Table 9. National Institutes of Health Funding
(budget authority, in millions of dollars)
Institutes/Centers
FY2020
Final
FY2021
Request
FY2021
Housepassed
FY2021
Senatea
Cancer Institute (NCI)
6,440
5,881
6,494
6,723
Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
3,625
3,298
3,655
3,728
Dental/Craniofacial Research (NIDCR)
478
435
482
493
Diabetes/Digestive/Kidney (NIDDK)b
2,115
1,924
2,132
2,169
Neurological Disorders/Stroke (NINDS)
2,447
2,245
2,465
2,256
Allergy/Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
5,876
5,885
6,013
6,143
General Medical Sciences (NIGMS)c
1,706
1,931
1,631
1,461
Child Health/Human Development
(NICHD)
1,557
1,416
1,582
1,658
National Eye Institute (NEI)
823
749
831
850
Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)d
803
730
810
829
3,546
3,226
3,609
4,015
Arthritis/Musculoskeletal/Skin Diseases
(NIAMS)
625
568
635
645
Deafness/Communication Disorders
(NIDCD)
491
446
495
507
National Institute of Mental Health
(NIMH)
2,043
1,845
2,060
2,139
National Institute on Aging (NIA)
FY2021
Enacted
59 Ibid.
60 U.S. Congress, House Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on the Departments of Labor, Health and
Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies, Department of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education,
and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill, 2021, Report to accompany H.R. 7614, 116th Cong., 2nd sess., July 15, 2020,
H.Rept. 116-450 (Washington: GPO, 2020).
61 U.S. Congress, Senate Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Departments of Labor, Health and Human
Services, and Education, and Related Agencies, Explanatory Statement for Labor, Health and Human Services,
Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill, 2021, committee print, 116th Cong., 2nd sess., November 10,
2020, p. 84.
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Federal Research and Development (R&D) Funding: FY2021
FY2021
Request
FY2021
Housepassed
1,458
1,432
1,477
1,505
Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism (NIAAA)
547
497
550
564
Nursing Research (NINR)
172
157
171
178
Human Genome Research Institute
(NHGRI)
604
612
624
Biomedical Imaging/Bioengineering (NIBIB)
405
407
418
Minority Health/Health Disparities
(NIMHD)
336
349
392
Complementary/Integrative Health
(NCCIH)
152
153
157
Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS)
833
788
840
890
Fogarty International Center (FIC)
81
74
86
83
National Library of Medicine (NLM)
457
416
461
472
Institutes/Centers
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
Office of Director (OD)e
FY2020
Final
FY2021
Senatea
550
368
305
138
2,252
2,099
2,337
2,391
Innovation Accountf
157
109
109
109
Buildings and Facilities (B&F)
200
300
200
200
National Institute for Research on Safety
and Quality (NIRSQ)
—
257
—
—
Subtotal, NIH (LHHS Discretionary
BA)
40,228
38,070
40,647
41,869
PHS Program Evaluation (provided to
NIGMS)
1,231
741
1,341
1,586
Superfund (Interior approp. to NIEHS)g
81
74
83
81.5
Nonrecurring Expenses Fund (NEF)
Transfer (to Buildings and Facilities)h
225
—
—
229
Mandatory type 1 diabetes funds (to
NIDDK)i
150
150
150j
150j
Patient-Centered Outcomes Research
Trust Fund (PCORTF, to NIRSQ)
—
98
—
—
41,915
39,133
42,221
43,916
not less
than 3,587k
—
5,000
—
NIH Program Level
Emergency Funding
FY2021
Enacted
Source: For FY2020, FY20201 Budget Request, and Senate: U.S. Congress, Senate Committee on
Appropriations, “Committee Releases FY21 Bills in Effort to Advance Process, Produce Bipartisan Results,” press
release, November 10, 2020, at https://www.appropriations.senate.gov/news/committee-releases-fy21-bills-ineffort-to-advance-process-produce-bipartisan-results and U.S. Congress, Senate Committee on Appropriations,
Subcommittee on Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies,
Explanatory Statement for Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations
Bill, 2021, committee print, 116th Cong., 2nd sess., November 10, 2020, pp. 249-252. For House-passed, U.S.
Congress, House Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on the Departments of Labor, Health and
Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies, Department of Labor, Health, and Human Services, and Education,
and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill, 2021, Report to accompany H.R. 7614, 116th Cong., 2nd sess., July 15,
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Federal Research and Development (R&D) Funding: FY2021
2020, H.Rept. 116-450 (Washington: GPO, 2020), H.R. 7617, Division E as passed by the House, except as noted
below.
Notes: Totals may differ from the sum of the components due to rounding. Figures for the column headed
“FY2021 Enacted” will be added, if available, as action is completed. Amounts in table may differ from actuals in
many cases. By convention, budget tables such as Table 9 do not subtract the amount of transfers to the
evaluation tap from the agencies’ appropriation. Figures for the column headed “FY2021 Senate” will be added, if
available, as the action is completed. Emergency funding is shown in this table presentation to reflect the NIH
budget and appropriations process for FY2021.
a. This bill was not passed by the Senate, but was presented by the Senate Majority Leader as a basis for
discussions and negotiation with the House.
b. Amounts for the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) do not include
mandatory funding for type 1 diabetes research (see note i).
c. Amounts for National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) do not include funds from PHS
Evaluation Set-Aside (§241 of the PHS Act). Though the FY2021 budget request provides an increase to
NIGMS through discretionary LHHS budget authority (BA) compared to FY2020, the total amount for
NIGMS with the PHS evaluation transfer included is less than FY2020 enacted levels. Similarly, the FY2021
House passed legislation funding for NIGMS is lower than FY2020 in discretionary LHHS BA, but higher
than FY2020 with the PHS evaluation transfer included.
d. Amounts for National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) do not include
Interior/Environment Appropriations amount for Superfund research (see note f).
e. Includes $12.6 million for the Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Act.
f.
The amount shown for the NIH Innovation Account in each column represents only a portion of the total
appropriation to the account ($492 million for the FY2020; $404 million for FY2021). The remaining funds
for this account are incorporated, where applicable, into the totals for other ICs. For FY2021, this includes
$195 to NCI for cancer research and $50 million to each of NINDS and NIMH for the BRAIN Initiative.
g. This is a separate account in the Interior/Environment appropriations for National Institute of
Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) research activities related to Superfund research.
h. The nonrecurring expenses fund (NEF) permits HHS to transfer unobligated balances of expired
discretionary funds from FY2008 and subsequent years into the NEF account. Congress authorized use of
the funds for capital acquisitions including information technology (IT) and facilities infrastructure (42 U.S.C.
§3514a).
i.
Mandatory funds are available to NIDDK for type 1 diabetes research are under PHSA Sec. 330Bm, most
recently extended through FY2020 by the CARES Act (P.L. 116-136), with additional partial-year FY2021
funding of $25.1 million to cover the period of October 1, 2020 through November 30, 2020.
j.
Cited House and Senate source documents show an estimated FY2021 funding level of $150 million, though
full year appropriations have not yet been enacted.
k. FY2020 emergency funding to NIH was provided in three coronavirus supplemental appropriations
measures: $836 million in P.L. 116-123; $945.4 million in P.L. 116-136; and transfers from the Public Health
and Social Services Emergency Fund (PHSSEF) directed in P.L. 116-139 to three NIH accounts totaling not
less than $1.806 billion. By convention, CRS does not add amounts pursuant to an emergency requirement
to program level totals.
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Federal Research and Development (R&D) Funding: FY2021
Department of Energy62
The Department of Energy was established in 1977 by the Department of Energy Organization
Act (P.L. 95-91), which combined energy-related programs from a variety of agencies with
defense-related nuclear programs that dated back to the Manhattan Project. Today, DOE conducts
basic scientific research in fields ranging from nuclear physics to the biological and
environmental sciences; basic and applied R&D relating to energy production and use; and R&D
on nuclear weapons, nuclear nonproliferation, and defense nuclear reactors. The department has a
system of 17 national laboratories around the country, mostly operated by contractors, that
together account for about 40% of all DOE expenditures.
The Administration’s FY2021 budget request for DOE includes about $13.853 billion for R&D
and related activities, including programs in three broad categories: science, national security, and
energy. This request is about 19.1% less than the comparable enacted FY2020 amount of $17.124
billion. The House bill would provide $17.453 billion for these programs in regular
appropriations and an additional $11.125 billion in emergency supplemental appropriations. The
Senate bill would provide $17.610 billion. (See Table 10 for details.)
The request for the DOE Office of Science is $5.838 billion, a decrease of 16.6% from the
FY2020 appropriation of $7.000 billion. Funding would decrease for five of the office’s six major
research programs. In the largest program, Basic Energy Sciences, almost two-thirds of the
proposed 16.6% decrease would result from spending less on facility construction. Most of the
remainder would result from spending less on existing scientific user facilities, in some cases by
reducing hours of operation. Funding for Biological and Environmental Research would decrease
by 31.1%, with reductions concentrated in the Earth and Environmental Systems Sciences
subprogram as proposed in other recent Administration budgets. Funding for Fusion Energy
Sciences would decrease by 36.6%. Within Fusion Energy Sciences, the U.S. contribution to
construction of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), a fusion energy
demonstration and research facility in France, would be $107 million (down from $242 million in
FY2020). The one major research program receiving an increase would be Advanced Scientific
Computing Research (up 0.8%). Within Advanced Scientific Computing Research, an increase of
$109 million for research would be partly offset by a decrease of $81 million for facilities; the
Office of Science Exascale Computing Project would receive $169 million, down from $189
million in FY2020.63
The House bill would provide regular appropriations of $7.055 billion for the Office of Science,
20.9% above the request and 0.8% above FY2020. All six of the office’s major research programs
would receive increases relative to FY2020. In Biological and Environmental Research, the Earth
and Environmental Systems Sciences subprogram would receive not less than $355 million, an
increase of $10 million from FY2020 and $177 million more than the request. The U.S.
contribution to ITER would be $260 million. The House bill would also provide emergency
supplemental appropriations of $6.250 billion for the Office of Science, with an emphasis on the
High Energy Physics, Basic Energy Sciences, and Fusion Energy Sciences programs.
The Senate bill would provide $7.026 billion for the Office of Science, 20.4% above the request
and 0.4% above FY2020. Five of the six major programs would receive more than in FY2020,
while Fusion Energy Sciences would receive 4.6% less. The Senate explanatory statement does
not specify an allocation for Earth and Environmental Systems Sciences, but it recommends more
62 This section was written by Daniel Morgan, Specialist in Science and Technology Policy, CRS Resources, Science,
and Industry Division.
63 This project is part, but not all, of the DOE-wide Exascale Computing Initiative.
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Federal Research and Development (R&D) Funding: FY2021
funding than requested for selected projects within the program. The U.S. contribution to ITER
would be $211 million.
The request for DOE national security R&D is $5.066 billion, an increase of 6.3% from $4.765
billion in FY2020. In Weapons Activities, the request for Stockpile Research, Technology, and
Engineering would be an increase of 9.0% above the comparable FY2020 amount.64 The bulk of
the increase would be for Assessment Science ($773 million, up from $595 million in FY2020)
and Weapon Technology and Manufacturing Maturation ($298 million, up from $222 million in
FY2020). A proposed increase of 7.2% for R&D in the Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation account
reflects $40 million requested for National Technical Nuclear Forensics R&D, a program
formerly funded in DHS.
The House bill would provide regular appropriations of $5.021 billion for national security R&D,
0.9% below the request and 5.4% above FY2020. In Weapons Activities, the bill would provide
$65 million less than the request for Engineering and Integrated Assessments, $13 million less
than the request for Assessment Science, and $64 million less than the request for Weapon
Technology and Manufacturing Maturation. Funding for R&D in the Defense Nuclear
Nonproliferation account would be $70 million more than the request; it would include funds for
National Technical Nuclear Forensics R&D at the requested level. The emergency supplemental
appropriations in the House bill do not include DOE national security R&D.
The Senate bill would provide regular appropriations of $5.103 billion for national security R&D,
0.7% above the request and 7.1% above FY2020. In Weapons Activities, the bill would provide
the requested amounts for Engineering and Integrated Assessments, Assessment Science, and
Weapon Technology and Manufacturing Maturation. Funding for R&D in the Defense Nuclear
Nonproliferation account would be $15 million more than the request but would include only half
the requested amount for National Technical Nuclear Forensics R&D.
The request for DOE energy R&D is $2.949 billion, a decrease of 45.0% from $5.360 billion in
FY2020. Many of the proposed reductions in this category are similar to the Administration’s
FY2019 and FY2020 budget proposals. Funding for energy efficiency and renewable energy
R&D would decrease by 70.1%, with reductions in all major research areas and a shift in
emphasis toward early-stage R&D rather than later-stage development and deployment. In the
Fossil Energy R&D account, an increase of $172 million for Advanced Energy Systems would be
largely offset by decreases for carbon capture, utilization, and storage ($123 million, down from
$218 million in FY2020), natural gas technologies ($15 million, down from $51 million), and oil
technologies ($17 million, down from $46 million). The request for nuclear fuel cycle R&D is
$187 million (down from $305 million), and nuclear energy as a whole would decrease by 20.1%,
with no funding requested for the Integrated University Program ($5 million in FY2020) or the
Supercritical Transformational Electric Power (STEP) R&D initiative ($5 million in FY2020).
The Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), which is intended to advance highimpact energy technologies that have too much technical and financial uncertainty to attract nearterm private-sector investment, would be terminated.
The House bill would provide regular appropriations of $5.376 billion for DOE energy R&D,
82.3% above the request and 0.3% above FY2020. The allocation to major program areas would
be similar to FY2020. ARPA-E would not be terminated; the committee report directs DOE not to
“use any appropriated funds to plan or execute the termination of ARPA-E” and to “disburse
funds appropriated for ARPA-E within a reasonable time period.” The House bill would also
64 The structure of the Weapons Activities account has been reorganized in the FY2021 budget. This item is not directly
comparable to any single item in the FY2020 enacted appropriation, but the FY2021 budget justification provides a
crosswalk for comparison purposes.
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provide emergency supplementation appropriations of about $4.875 billion for energy R&D
activities in Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Fossil Energy, Nuclear Energy, Electricity,
and ARPA-E.
The Senate bill would provide $5.480 billion for DOE energy R&D, 85.8% above the request and
2.3% above FY2020. The allocation to major program areas would be similar to FY2020. ARPAE would not be terminated; the explanatory statement states that “the Committee continues to
definitively reject the short-sighted proposal to terminate ARPA-E” and includes language similar
to the House report language prohibiting the use of appropriated funds to plan ARPA-E’s
termination and directing DOE to disburse ARPA-E funds in a timely manner.
Table 10. Department of Energy R&D and Related Activities
(budget authority, in millions of dollars)
FY2020
Enacted
FY2021
Request
FY2021
House
(Reg.)
FY2021
House
(Supp.)
FY2021
Senatea
7,000b
5,838
7,055
6,250
7,026
Basic Energy Sciences
2,213
1,936
2,242
1,301
2,215
High Energy Physics
1,045
818
1,050
2,271
1,050
Biological and Environmental Research
750
517
760
150
750
Nuclear Physics
713
653
715
48
725
Advanced Scientific Computing Research
980
988
1,020
877
1,029
Fusion Energy Sciences
671
425
680
309
640
Other
628
501
588
1,293
617
4,765
5,066
5,021
—
5,103
Weapons Activities Stockpile RT&E
2,553c
2,782
2,660
—
2,798
Naval Reactors
1,648
1,684
1,684
—
1,684
Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation R&D
533
572d
642d
—
587d
Def. Environmental Cleanup Technol. Devel.
30
28
35
—
35
5,360
2,949
5,376
4,875
5,480
2,406f
720
2,472
1,625
2,476
Fossil Energy R&D
750
731
735
1,250
750
Nuclear Energy
1,493
1,180
1,436
1,250
1,505
Electricity
190
195
195
500
223
Cybersec., En. Secy., and Emerg. Respon. R&D
95
103
104
—
96
425
21g
435
250
430
17,124
13,853
17,453
11,125
17,610
Science
National Security
Energy
Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energye
Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy
DOE, Total
FY2021
Enacted
Source: FY2020 enacted from P.L. 116-94 and explanatory statement, Congressional Record, December 17, 2019,
Book III. FY2021 request from DOE FY2021 congressional budget justification, https://www.energy.gov/cfo/
downloads/fy-2021-budget-justification. FY2021 House from H.R. 7617 as passed by the House and H.Rept. 116449 (on H.R. 7613). FY2021 Senate from draft released by the Committee on Appropriations. Column currently
blank will be added as Congress acts.
Notes: Totals may differ from the sum of the components due to rounding. Figures for the column headed
“FY2021 Enacted” will be added, if available, as action is completed. The House bill would provide emergency
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supplemental appropriations separately from regular appropriations in Title VI, “Additional Infrastructure
Investments.” The R&D portion of these additional amounts is estimated by CRS based on descriptions in the bill
text.
a. This bill was not passed by the Senate, but was presented by the Senate Majority Leader as a basis for
discussions and negotiation with the House.
b. Does not include additional $99.5 million appropriated by the CARES Act (P.L. 116-136).
c. FY2020 enacted amount is as given in the FY2021 budget justification for comparison with FY2021.
Stockpile Research, Technology, and Engineering is part of a new budget structure for FY2021.
d. Includes National Technical Nuclear Forensics R&D (funded in DHS before FY2021).
e. Excluding Weatherization and Intergovernmental Activities.
f.
Reduced for $71 million in rescissions of prior-year unobligated balances. Some of that rescission may be of
funds appropriated for non-R&D activities.
g. The request also proposes to cancel $332 million provided to ARPA-E in prior years.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration65
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was created in 1958 by the National
Aeronautics and Space Act (P.L. 85-568) to conduct civilian space and aeronautics activities.
NASA has research programs in planetary science, Earth science, heliophysics, astrophysics, and
aeronautics, as well as development programs for future human spacecraft and for multipurpose
space technology such as advanced propulsion systems. In addition, NASA operates the
International Space Station (ISS) as a facility for R&D and other purposes.
The Administration has requested about $22.243 billion for NASA R&D in FY2021. This would
be 14.4% more than the FY2020 level of about $19.439 billion. The House bill would provide
about $19.448 billion. The Senate bill would provide about $20.332 billion. For a breakdown of
these amounts, see Table 11. NASA R&D funding comes through five accounts: Science;
Aeronautics; Space Technology (called Exploration Technology in the Administration’s budget
request); Exploration (Deep Space Exploration Systems in the request); and the ISS, Commercial
Crew, and Commercial Low Earth Orbit (LEO) Development portions of Space Operations
(called LEO and Spaceflight Operations in the request).
The OMB figures presented in Table 1 indicate a substantially smaller amount for NASA R&D
than the figures presented in this section, and a decrease in the FY2021 request relative to
FY2020 rather than an increase. The main reason for this appears to be that OMB treats only
about half of the Exploration account as R&D (somewhat more than half in FY2020, somewhat
less than half in FY2021). As systems being developed under that account move from R&D to
testing and ultimately operations, the share of the account spent on R&D may decrease. In order
to allow consistent tracking as Congress acts on FY2021 appropriations legislation, this section
treats the entirety of the Exploration account as R&D.
The FY2021 request for Science is $6.307 billion, a decrease of 11.7% from FY2020. Within this
total, funding for Earth Science would decrease by $204 million (10.4%) and funding for
Astrophysics would decrease by $475 million (36.4%). In Earth Science, the Administration
proposes to terminate the Pre-Aerosol, Clouds, and Ocean Ecosystem (PACE) and Climate
Absolute Radiance and Refractivity Observatory (CLARREO) Pathfinder missions ($131 million
and $26 million respectively in FY2020). In Astrophysics, it proposes to terminate the Roman
Space Telescope (formerly the Wide Field Infrared Space Telescope, WFIRST) and Stratospheric
Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) missions ($511 million and $85 million in
65 This section was written by Daniel Morgan, Specialist in Science and Technology Policy, CRS Resources, Science,
and Industry Division.
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FY2020). PACE and CLARREO Pathfinder were also proposed for termination in the FY2018
through FY2020 budgets, and WFIRST was also proposed for termination in the FY2019 and
FY2020 budgets, but in each case they were funded by Congress. The Planetary Science request
includes $404 million (down from $593 million in FY2020) for a mission to orbit Jupiter’s moon
Europa. Despite direction otherwise in the FY2020 explanatory statement, the Europa mission
would be launched on a commercial rocket and would not include a lander.
The House bill would provide $7.098 billion for Science, 12.5% more than the request but 0.6%
less than the FY2020 appropriation. Within this total, funding for Earth Science would be more
than either the request or the FY2020 amount, and funding for Astrophysics would be the same as
in FY2020. The House rejected the proposed terminations of PACE (which would receive $145
million), CLARREO Pathfinder ($25 million), WFIRST ($505 million), and SOFIA ($85
million). In Planetary Science, the House bill would provide the requested amount for a Europa
mission; it would provide no funding for a Europa lander, but the committee report “strongly
encourage[d] NASA to proceed with plans to use the [Space Launch System]” rather than a
commercial rocket.
The Senate bill would provide $7.275 billion for Science, 15.4% more than the request. This total
would include $79 million for Biological and Physical Sciences, an item funded in the
International Space Station budget in FY2020, the request, and the House bill. Funding for Earth
Science and Astrophysics in the Senate bill would be more than either the request or the FY2020
amount. Funding for Planetary Science would be more than the request but less than in FY2020.
Like the House, the Senate rejected the proposed terminations of PACE (which would receive
$141 million), CLARREO Pathfinder ($25 million), and the Roman telescope ($505 million).
Regarding the proposed termination of SOFIA, the Senate explanatory statement would direct
NASA to “review SOFIA at the appropriate time to determine whether this mission should have
its prime mission extended,” while applying unused FY2020 SOFIA funding to the mission’s
FY2021 operations. The Senate bill and explanatory statement do not specify funding for a
Europa mission, but the bill would direct NASA to use the Space Launch System as the launch
vehicle.
The FY2021 request for Aeronautics is $819 million, an increase of 4.5% from $784 million in
FY2020. As projected in prior budgets, the request includes $79 million for the Low Boom Flight
Demonstrator program, intended to demonstrate quiet supersonic flight. The House bill would
provide the requested amount. The Senate bill would provide $829 million.
The FY2021 request for Exploration Technology (currently Space Technology) is $1.578 billion,
an increase of 43.5% from FY2020. The combined RESTORE-L/SPIDER mission to demonstrate
in-space satellite servicing and robotic manufacturing would receive $134 million (down from
$227 million in FY2020). A newly integrated Space Nuclear Technologies portfolio would
receive $100 million for development of space nuclear power and propulsion technologies. The
budget justification emphasizes Exploration Technology’s support of NASA’s Artemis human
exploration initiative and its plans for a human lunar landing in 2024. In contrast, FY2020
congressional report language emphasized “broad technology development goals … independent
of mission-specific needs” (H.Rept. 116-101) and technologies that “can serve all NASA mission
directorates and are not solely focused on enabling human spaceflight” (S.Rept. 116-127).
The House bill would provide $1.100 billion for Space Technology, the same as the FY2020
appropriation. RESTORE-L would receive $227 million. Instead of the integrated Space Nuclear
Technologies proposal, the House bill would provide $110 million for continued development and
demonstration of a nuclear thermal propulsion system. The House committee report reaffirmed
the committee’s support for “the independence of the Space Technology Mission Directorate” and
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directed NASA to “preserve the Directorate’s focus across NASA and in support of each of the
mission directorates.”
The Senate bill would provide $1.206 billion for Space Technology, an increase of 9.6% from
FY2020 but 23.6% less than the request. The total would include $227 million for RESTORE-L
and $110 million for nuclear thermal propulsion. The Senate explanatory statement repeated the
FY2020 Senate report language emphasizing service to all NASA mission directorates, not just
human spaceflight.
The FY2021 request for Deep Space Exploration Systems (currently Exploration) is $8.762
billion, an increase of 45.6% from FY2020. Within this account, the request for Exploration
Systems Development includes $1.401 billion for the Orion crew capsule (down from $1.407
billion in FY2020) and $2.257 billion for the Space Launch System heavy-lift rocket (SLS, down
from $2.586 billion in FY2020). The proposed 228.9% increase for Exploration R&D reflects a
request for $3.370 billion for development of a human lunar landing system. Exploration R&D
funding would also include $739 million (up from $450 million in FY2020) for development of
the Gateway lunar-orbiting platform, intended to support human and robotic missions to the lunar
surface.
The House bill would provide $6.018 billion for Exploration, the same as the FY2020
appropriation. This total would include the requested amount for Orion and $2.600 billion for the
SLS. It would include $1.557 billion for Exploration R&D, up 8.5% from FY2020 but 67.0% less
than the request. The House committee report described the human lunar landing system and
related activities in Exploration R&D as “being rushed to meet a politically motivated timeline.”
The Senate bill would provide $6.706 billion for Exploration, 11.4% more than in FY2020 but
23.5% less than the request. Orion and the SLS would receive the same as in FY2020. In
Exploration R&D, development of the human lunar landing system would receive $1.000 billion.
The Senate explanatory statement notes: “While the Committee supports the mission of returning
U.S. astronauts to the surface of the Moon, the lander element represents the largest remaining
cost, schedule, and technical risk, and has yet to be selected. This uncertainty makes it difficult to
analyze the future impacts that funding the accelerated Moon mission will have on NASA’s other
important missions.”
In the LEO and Spaceflight Operations account (currently Space Operations), the request includes
$1.401 billion for the ISS; $100 million for the Commercial Crew program (down from $102
million in FY2020); and $150 million for Commercial LEO Development (up from $15 million
in FY2020). Commercial crew activities are transitioning from development to operations (which
is funded separately). SpaceX launched its first post-certification crewed flight to the ISS in
November 2020; certification of Boeing’s competing commercial crew system is anticipated in
2021. The Commercial LEO Development program, intended to stimulate a commercial space
economy in low Earth orbit, was initiated in the FY2019 budget. The Administration has
requested $150 million for it each year since then; Congress has so far appropriated a total of $55
million.
The House committee report and Senate explanatory statement do not explicitly state their
funding recommendations for the ISS and the Commercial Crew program, but they appear to
include the Administration-requested amounts for both programs, with the exception of the ISS
Biological and Physical Sciences funding that would be transferred to Science in the Senate bill.
The House report recommends $15 million for Commercial LEO Development, the same as in
FY2020, while the Senate explanatory statement recommends $17 million.
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Federal Research and Development (R&D) Funding: FY2021
Table 11. National Aeronautics and Space Administration R&D
(budget authority, in millions of dollars)
FY2020
Enacted
FY2021
Request
FY2021
House
FY2021
Senatea
Science
7,139b
6,307
7,098
7,275
Earth Science
1,972
1,768
2,022
1,984
Planetary Science
2,713
2,660
2,713
2,674
Astrophysics
1,306
831
1,306
1,346
James Webb Space Telescope
423
415
423
415
Heliophysics
725
633
633
776
Biological and Physical Sciencesc
—
—
—
79
Aeronautics
784
819
819
829
Space Tech. / Exploration Tech.
1,100
1,578
1,100
1,206
Exploration / Deep Sp. Exp. Sys.
6,018
8,762
6,018
6,706
Exploration Systems Development
4,583
4,042
4,460
4,583
Exploration R&D
1,435
4,719
1,557
2,124
~1,575d
1,650
~1,515d
~1,437d
International Space Station
n/s
1,401
n/s
n/s
Commercial Crew
102
100
n/s
n/s
Commercial LEO Development
15
150
15
17
16,616
19,116
16,550
17,453
Non-R&D Programse
2,727
2,581
2,708
2,715
Safety, Security, and Mission Services
2,913f
3,010
2,953
2,937
Associated with R&Dg
2,503
2,652
2,538
2,541
Construction & Environmental C&R
373
539
419
390
Associated with R&Dg
321
475
360
338
NASA, Total (R&D)
19,439bf
22,243
19,448
20,332
NASA, Total
22,629bf
25,246
22,630
23,495
Space Ops. / LEO and Spaceflight Ops.d
Subtotal R&D
FY2021
Enacted
Sources: FY2020 enacted from P.L. 116-93 and explanatory statement, Congressional Record, December 17,
2019, Book II. FY2021 request from NASA FY2021 congressional budget justification, http://www.nasa.gov/news/
budget/. FY2021 House from H.R. 7617 as passed by the House and H.Rept. 116-455 (on H.R. 7667). FY2021
Senate from draft bill and explanatory statement posted on Senate Appropriations Committee website.
Notes: Totals may differ from the sum of the components due to rounding. Figures for the column headed
“FY2021 Enacted” will be added, if available, as action is completed. LEO = Low Earth Orbit. C&R = Compliance
and Remediation. n/s = not specified. Column currently blank will be added as Congress acts.
a. This bill was not passed by the Senate, but was presented by the Senate Majority Leader as a basis for
discussions and negotiation with the House.
b. Does not reflect rescission of $70 million in unobligated prior-year balances.
c. Biological and Physical Sciences is included in International Space Station except in Senate bill.
d. Excluding non-R&D activities: Space and Flight Support and Space Transportation other than Commercial
Crew. FY2020 enacted total assumes the requested FY2020 amount for International Space Station ($1,458
million) in order to allow calculation of a total for R&D. FY2021 House and Senate totals assume the
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Federal Research and Development (R&D) Funding: FY2021
e.
f.
g.
requested FY2021 amounts for International Space Station and Commercial Crew (less Biological and
Physical Sciences in the Senate bill).
Non-R&D activities in Space Operations / LEO and Spaceflight Operations (see note c); STEM Engagement;
and Inspector General.
Does not include additional $60 million appropriated by the CARES Act (P.L. 116-136).
CRS estimates the allocation between R&D and non-R&D in proportion to the underlying program amounts
in order to allow calculation of a total for R&D.
National Science Foundation66
The National Science Foundation supports basic research and education in the nonmedical
sciences and engineering. Congress established the foundation as an independent federal agency
in 1950 and directed it to “promote the progress of science; to advance the national health,
prosperity, and welfare; to secure the national defense; and for other purposes.”67 The NSF is a
primary source of federal support for U.S. university research, especially in computer science,
biology, mathematics and the social and psychological sciences. It is also responsible for
significant shares of the federal science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)
education program portfolio and federal STEM student aid and support.
NSF has six appropriations accounts: Research and Related Activities (RRA, the main research
account), Education and Human Resources (EHR, the main education account), Major Research
Equipment and Facilities Construction (MREFC), Agency Operations and Award Management
(AOAM), the National Science Board (NSB), and the Office of Inspector General (OIG).
Appropriations are generally provided at the account level, while program-specific direction may
be included in appropriations acts, or accompanying conference reports or explanatory
statements.
Funding for R&D is included in the RRA, EHR, and MREFC accounts. (The RRA and EHR
accounts also include non-R&D funding.) Together, these three accounts comprise over 95% of
the total requested funding for NSF. Actual R&D obligations for each account are known after
NSF allocates funding appropriations to specific activities and reports those figures.68 The budget
request specifies R&D funding for the conduct of research, including basic and applied research,
and for physical assets, including R&D facilities and major equipment. Funding amounts for
FY2019 actual and FY2021 requested levels are reported by account, including amounts for R&D
conduct and physical assets where applicable, in Table 12.
Funding for NSF for FY2020 was enacted on December 20, 2019.69 Funding details below the
account level were not available at the time the FY2021 budget request was prepared. Therefore,
at the account level, the FY2021 request amounts are compared to the FY2020 enacted amounts,
as well as to the FY2019 actual amounts in this analysis; below the account level and for R&D
totals, the FY2021 request amounts are compared to FY2019 actual amounts. This section will be
updated when FY2020 R&D breakouts and subaccount funding amounts are available for
comparison. FY2019 actual, FY2020 enacted, and FY2021 requested amounts are reported by
66 This section was written by Laurie Harris, Analyst in Science and Technology Policy, CRS Resources, Science, and
Industry Division.
67 The National Science Foundation Act of 1950 (P.L. 81-507).
68 R&D actual (FY2019) and requested (FY2021) amounts are reported in the “Quantitative Data Tables” section of the
FY2021 NSF Budget Request to Congress, February 10, 2020, pp. QDT-1–QDT-7.
69 The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020 (P.L. 116-93); and Explanatory Statement, Consolidated Appropriations
Act, 2020, Division B (Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2020), Congressional
Record, vol. 165, no. 204—Book II (December 17, 2020), p. H10971.
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Federal Research and Development (R&D) Funding: FY2021
account in Table 12; funding for R&D conduct and facilities and equipment is included for
FY2021 requested and FY2019 actual amounts.
On July 31, the House passed H.R. 7617, the Defense, Commerce, Justice, Science, Energy and
Water Development, Financial Services and General Government, Labor, Health and Human
Services, Education, Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development Appropriations Act, 2021.
H.R. 7617 is a consolidated bill that incorporates the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related
Agencies Appropriations Act, 2021 as Division B. Division B would provide funding for the NSF
accounts. On November 10, 2020, the Senate Committee on Appropriations released a committee
print of the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies, 2021 legislative text (hereinafter
referred to as the Senate committee print) and explanatory statement that includes proposed
funding levels for the NSF accounts.70
Overall. The Administration is requesting $7.741 billion for the NSF in FY2021, $537 million
(6.5%) less than the FY2020 enacted amount, and $409 million (5.0%) less than the FY2019
actual amount. The request would decrease budget authority in all three of the R&D accounts
relative to the FY2020 enacted level: RRA by $524 million (7.8%), EHR by $9.1 million (1.0%),
and MREFC by $13.5 million (5.5%). Overall, NSF estimates that, under the FY2021 request,
agency-wide funding rates (i.e., the percentage of submitted proposals that are successfully
awarded funding) would decrease slightly from 27% to 25%, with 500 fewer new competitive
awards, compared to FY2019.
As a proportion of NSF’s total funding, R&D activities account for approximately 80%. For
FY2021, $6.33 billion is requested for R&D activities, a 4.8% decrease from FY2019 actual
funding for R&D of $6.65 billion. The total request includes $5.80 billion (92%) for the conduct
of R&D, and $523 million (8%) for R&D facilities and major equipment. Of funding requested
for the conduct of R&D, 86% is requested for basic research, and 14% for applied research.
Overall funding for R&D facilities and major equipment supports not only the construction and
acquisition phases, funded through MREFC ($230 million requested), but also the planning,
design, and postconstruction operations and maintenance, funded through RRA ($293 million
requested).
The House-passed bill would provide $8.55 billion for NSF for FY2021, $270 million (3.3%)
more than the enacted FY2020 level, and $807 million (10.4%) more than the request. The Senate
committee print would provide $8.48 billion for NSF in FY2021, $200 million (2.4%) more than
the enacted FY2020 level, and $737 million (9.5%) more than the request.
Research. The Administration seeks $6.21 billion for RRA in FY2021, a $524 million (7.8%)
decrease compared to the FY2020 enacted funding, and a $365 million (5.6%) decrease compared
to FY2019 actual funding. Compared to the FY2019 actual levels, the FY2021 request includes
decreases for 8 of the 10 RRA subaccounts. The largest percentage decrease would go to the
Office of Polar Programs (14.1%, down $69 million). The Computer and Information Science and
Engineering (CISE) subaccount would receive the largest dollar increase (7.8%, up $77 million).
The FY2021 request also includes $164 million for the RRA Established Program to Stimulate
Competitive Research (EPSCoR) program, a $12 million (6.8%) decrease compared to FY2019
actual funding.
Within the RRA account, the FY2021 request includes $5.61 billion for R&D, a decrease of $284
million (4.8%) compared to the FY2019 actual amount. Of this amount, the majority ($5.32
70 https://www.appropriations.senate.gov/news/committee-releases-fy21-bills-in-effort-to-advance-process-produce-
bipartisan-results.
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billion, 95%) is requested for the conduct of research, including $4.85 billion for basic research
and $469 million for applied research.
The House-passed bill would provide $6.97 billion for RRA for FY2021, $230 million (3.4%)
more than the enacted FY2020 level, and $754 million (12.1%) more than the request. The Senate
committee print would provide $6.91 billion for RRA for FY2021, $170 million (2.5%) more
than the enacted FY2020 level, and $694 million (11.2%) more than the request.
Education. The FY2021 request for the EHR account is $931 million, $9.1 million (1.0%) less
than the FY2020 enacted amount and $3.6 million (0.4%) less than the FY2019 actual level. By
program division, the Division of Graduate Education would receive an increase of $28.7 million
(11.3%) over the FY2019 actual level. The Divisions of Research on Learning in Formal and
Informal Settings, and Undergraduate Education would receive decreases of 2.1% ($224 million
requested), and 10.7% ($237 million requested), respectively. The Division on Human Resource
Development would receive approximately the same amount of funding ($189 million requested).
EHR programs of particular interest to congressional policymakers include the Graduate
Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) and National Research Traineeship (NRT) programs. The
FY2021 request for GRFP is $275 million, a reduction of $9.27 million (3.3%) from the FY2019
actual level. The FY2021 request for NRT is $61.9 million, a $7.78 million increase (14.4%) from
FY2019.
Within EHR, requested funding for R&D is $485 million, which is $17.9 million (3.8%) more
than the FY2019 actual funding amount and accounts for approximately 7.7% of the agency’s
total R&D request. All of the requested funding would support the conduct of R&D, including
$167 million for basic research and $318 million for applied research.
The House-passed bill would provide $970 million for EHR for FY2021, $30 million (3.2%)
more than the enacted FY2020 level, and $39 million (4.2%) more than the request. The Senate
committee print would provide $964 million for EHR for FY2021, $23.5 million (2.5%) more
than the enacted FY2020 level, and $32.6 million (3.5%) more than the request.
Construction. The MREFC account supports large construction projects and scientific
instruments, with all of the funding supporting R&D facilities. The construction phases of such
large-scale projects tend to span multiple years; therefore, NSF provides out-year estimates of
funding for major facilities for the duration of the anticipated timeline, which are updated
annually. This section of the analysis includes comparisons to FY2020 estimated funding, based
on these projections. The Administration is seeking $230 million for MREFC in FY2021, $13.5
million (5.5%) less than the FY2020 enacted amount, and $55.5 million (19.5%) less than the
FY2019 actual amount.
Requested MREFC funding would support continued construction of the Vera C. Rubin
Observatory ($40.8 million requested, down 12.1% from the FY2020 estimate)—previously
called the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST)—and the Antarctic Infrastructure
Modernization for Science project (AIMS, $90.0 million requested, down 8.1% from FY2020
estimate). The request includes $33.0 million for upgrades to the Large Hadron Collider in
Switzerland, which would represent the second year of a five-year project. Additionally, $65.0
million is requested for Mid-scale Research Infrastructure projects (those projects with funding
amounts in the $20 million to $70 million range); this was a new funding line-item in the MREFC
account as of FY2020, meant to manage support for upgrades to major facilities and stand-alone
projects in this range as a portfolio.
The House-passed bill would provide $243 million for MREFC for FY2021, equal to the enacted
FY2020 level, and $13 million (5.8%) more than the request. The Senate committee print would
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Federal Research and Development (R&D) Funding: FY2021
provide $240 million for MREFC, $3.5 million (1.4%) less than the enacted FY2020 amount, and
$10 million (4.4%) more than the request.
Other initiatives. The FY2021 NSF budget request includes funding for multiple agency-wide
investments, including the Big Ideas and Convergence Accelerator, as well as three multiagency
initiatives. This funding is included in multiple NSF appropriations accounts, and R&D amounts
are not separately provided.
The Big Ideas, which include six Research and three Enabling Big Ideas, first proposed in 2016,
“endeavor to break down the silos of conventional scientific research … to define and push the
frontiers of global science and engineering leadership and to invest in fundamental research.”71
Requested funding amounts for each of the Big Ideas compared to the FY2019 actual amounts
include the following:
Harnessing the Data Revolution for 21st-Century Science and Engineering
(HDR): $45 million requested, up $15 million (50%) from FY2019.
The Future of Work at the Human Technology Frontier (FW-HTF): $45 million
requested, up $15 million (50%) from FY2019.
The Quantum Leap (QL): Leading the Next Quantum Revolution: $50 million
requested, up $20 million (67%) from FY2019.
Navigating the New Arctic (NNA): $30 million requested, equal to FY2019.
Understanding the Rules of Life (URoL): Predicting Phenotype: $30 million
requested, equal to FY2019.
Windows on the Universe (WoU): The Era of Multi-Messenger Astrophysics:
$30 million requested, equal to FY2019.
Inclusion across the Nation of Communities of Learners of Underrepresented
Discoverers in Engineering and Science (NSF INCLUDES): $18.9 million
requested, down $1.3 million (6.3%) from FY2019.
Growing Convergence Research at NSF (GCR): $15.2 million requested, down
$0.6 million (3.8%) from FY2019.
Mid-Scale Research Infrastructure: $97.7 million requested, up $37.6 million
(62.7%) from FY2019.
The Convergence Accelerator (CA)
is an organizational framework that stands separately from the NSF research directorates,
with its own budget, staff, and initiatives. Each CA research track will be a time-limited
entity focused on specific research topics and themes. Therefore, CA research tracks will
evolve over time and will be informed by external stakeholder input. The CA will reward
high-risk, innovative thinking by multidisciplinary teams of researchers who want to
accelerate discovery and innovation. The CA is a way of achieving rapid lab-to-market or
research outcomes.72
The initial CA research tracks have focused on a subset of the Big Ideas, though the CA
investments “are distinguished from the corresponding Big Ideas by the nature of the research,
the time scale of the activities supported, and the more hands-on, agile approach to project
management and support that is envisioned [by the CA program].” NSF has requested $70 million
for the CA in FY2021, which is $28.6 million more than the FY2019 actual amount. The budget
71 NSF, FY2021 Budget Request to Congress, February 10, 2020, pp. Overview-9 – Overview-10.
72 Ibid, p. Overview-10.
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request states that NSF anticipates financial contributions from external partners to begin in
FY2021 (amount unspecified).
The budget request also includes three multi-agency initiatives. The National Nanotechnology
Initiative would receive $454 million, $67.2 million (12.9%) less than in FY2019. The
Networking and Information Technology Research and Development program would receive
$1.57 billion, an increase of $151 million (10.7%). The U.S. Global Change Research Program
would receive $217 million, $24 million (9.8%) less than in FY2019.73
Table 12. National Science Foundation Funding
(budget authority, in millions of dollars)
FY2019
Actual
FY2020
Enacted
FY2021
Request
FY2021
House
FY2021
Senatea
Research and Related Activities
(RRA)
6,578.1
6,737.2
6,213.0
6,967.1
6,907.4
R&D, RRA Total
5,896.1
n/a
5,612.3
n/a
n/a
Conduct of R&D
5,529.5
n/a
5,319.5
n/a
n/a
Account
R&D Facilities and Major Equipment
366.7
n/a
292.8
n/a
n/a
Education and Human Resources
(EHR)
934.5
940.0
930.9
970.0
963.5
R&D, EHR Total
466.9
n/a
484.8
n/a
n/a
Conduct of R&D
466.7
n/a
484.8
n/a
n/a
R&D Facilities and Major Equipment
0.2
n/a
0.0
n/a
n/a
Major Research Equipment and
Facilities Construction (MREFC)
285.3
243.2
229.8
243.2
239.8
R&D, MREFC Total
285.3
n/a
229.8
n/a
n/a
0.0
n/a
0.0
n/a
n/a
Conduct of R&D
R&D Facilities and Major Equipment
285.3
n/a
229.8
n/a
n/a
Agency Operations and Award
Management (AOAM)b
332.7
336.9
345.6
345.6
345.0
Office of the Inspector General
(OIG)a
15.3
16.5
17.9
17.9
17.9
National Science Board (NSB)b
4.3
4.5
4.2
4.5
4.5
NSF, Total Discretionaryc
8,150.2
8,278.3
7,741.4
8,548.3
8,478.0
R&D, NSF Total
6,648.3
n/a
6,326.9
n/a
n/a
Total, Conduct of R&D
5,996.1
n/a
5,804.4
n/a
n/a
652.1
n/a
522.5
n/a
n/a
Total, R&D Facilities & Major Equipment
FY2021
Enacted
Sources: Data in the columns titled “FY2019 Actual” and “FY2021 Request” are from the FY2021 NSF Budget
Request to Congress. Data in the “FY2020 Enacted” column are from P.L. 116-93. Data in the “FY2021 House”
column are from H.R. 7617, as passed by the House. Data in the “FY2021 Senate” column are from the Senate
Committee on Appropriations, Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies, 2021, committee print,
November 10, 2020, https://www.appropriations.senate.gov/news/committee-releases-fy21-bills-in-effort-toadvance-process-produce-bipartisan-results.
73 For additional information on these initiatives, see “Multiagency R&D Initiatives.”
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Federal Research and Development (R&D) Funding: FY2021
Notes: Appropriations accounts are in bold. NSF total may differ from the sum of the accounts due to rounding.
Nonbold R&D funding amounts are a subset of funding for the specified accounts. Funding amounts in the
“FY2021 Enacted” column will be added as action is completed. The term “n/a” = not available.
a. This bill was not passed by the Senate, but was presented by the Senate Majority Leader as a basis for
discussions and negotiation with the House.
b. The AOAM, NSB, and OIG accounts have no reported R&D funding.
c. In addition to discretionary funding, NSF reports mandatory funding from H-1B visa and donation sources,
which are not included in this total.
Department of Agriculture74
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) was created in 1862 to support agricultural research
in an expanding, agriculturally dependent country. Today, USDA conducts intramural research at
federal facilities with federally employed scientists, and supports extramural research at
universities and other facilities through competitive grants and capacity (formula-based) funding.
The breadth of contemporary USDA research spans traditional agricultural production practices,
organic and sustainable agriculture, bioenergy, nutritional needs and food composition, food
safety, animal and plant health, pest and disease management, economic decisionmaking, and
other social sciences affecting consumers, farmers, and rural communities.
The four agencies of USDA’s Research, Education, and Economics (REE) mission area carry out
the Department’s research and education activities.75 These agencies are the Agricultural
Research Service (ARS), the principal intramural research agency; the National Institute of Food
and Agriculture (NIFA), the principal extramural research agency; the National Agricultural
Statistics Service (NASS), which undertakes a variety of surveys to capture relevant data; and the
Economic Research Service (ERS), which applies economic analysis to a wide range of topics
related to food and agriculture. In addition to the four REE agencies, the Office of the Chief
Scientist (OCS), a staff office within the Office of the Under Secretary of REE, coordinates
science activities across the department.
On November 10, 2020, the Senate Committee on Appropriations released its draft appropriations
bill for Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies,
2021.76 This draft would provide $3,319.1 million discretionary spending for the REE agencies
for FY2021, a 2.4% decrease ($80.4 million) from the enacted FY2020 amount ($3,399.5
million). On July 24, 2020, the House passed the State, Foreign Operations, Agriculture, Rural
Development, Interior, Environment, Military Construction, and Veterans Affairs Appropriations
Act, 2021. H.R. 7608 is a consolidated bill that incorporates the Agriculture, Rural Development,
Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2021 as Division B.
The House-passed bill recommends $3,313.3 million for the REE agencies, a 2.5% decrease
($86.2 million), which is similar in overall amount to the Senate draft but which allocates the
funds differently.77
74 This section was written by Genevieve K. Croft, Analyst in Agricultural Policy, CRS Resources, Science, and
Industry Division.
75 For additional information, see CRS Report R40819, Agricultural Research: Background and Issues, by Genevieve
K. Croft.
76 For additional information, see CRS Report R46437, Agriculture and Related Agencies: FY2021 Appropriations, by
Jim Monke.
77 The committee report for the House-passed FY2021 appropriations bill for agriculture is H.Rept. 116-446. This
report remains associated with the original bill reported for agriculture (H.R. 7610). Amendments to the reported bill
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Federal Research and Development (R&D) Funding: FY2021
The Senate draft for FY2021 discretionary appropriations, the House-passed bill, and the
Administration’s FY2021 request are discussed below for the REE agencies and the Office of the
Under Secretary of REE. Table 13 presents funding amounts. In addition to discretionary
appropriations, agricultural research is funded by certain mandatory funding authorized by the
2018 farm bill (P.L. 115-334) as well as state matching contributions and private donations or
grants.78
Agricultural Research Service
ARS is USDA’s in-house basic and applied research agency, and has major responsibilities for
conducting and leading the national agricultural research effort. ARS operates approximately 90
laboratories in the United States and abroad, with about 5,000 permanent employees, including
approximately 2,000 research scientists. ARS laboratories include a focus on efficient and
sustainable food and fiber production, development of new products and uses for agricultural
commodities, development of effective controls for pest management, and support of USDA
regulatory and technical assistance programs. ARS also operates the National Agricultural Library
(NAL). NAL is the world’s largest agricultural research library, and is a primary information
repository for food, agriculture, and natural resource sciences.
For FY2021, the Senate draft would provide $1,485.6 for ARS salaries and expenses, a 5.0%
increase over the FY2020 appropriation ($1,414.4 million), and 8.6% more than the
Administration’s FY2021 request ($1,367.9 million). For ARS buildings and facilities, the Senate
draft would provide $24.5 million, an 87.3% decrease from the FY2020 appropriation ($192.7
million) and 51.0% less than the amount requested by the Administration for FY2021 ($50.0
million, Table 13). The Administration notes that its request for ARS buildings and facilities is
lower than FY2020 funding because fully-funded construction projects for ARS co-located
facilities are complete.79 The House-passed bill would provide $45 million less than the Senate
for ARS ($1,453.7 million for salaries and expenses and $11.2 million for buildings and
facilities).
ARS is coordinating with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on the new National Bio
and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF), which DHS is constructing to replace the outdated Plum
Island Animal Disease Center (PIADC).80 In January 2019, USDA and DHS signed a
Memorandum of Agreement to govern the transition of NBAF from DHS to USDA, with
ownership to transfer upon its completion and commissioning, at the time expected in December
2022.81 The Senate draft for FY2021 appropriations would provide ARS with an additional $8.0
are posted at House Committee on Rules, “H.R. 7608,” https://rules.house.gov/bill/116/hr-7608.
78 For additional information, see CRS Report R40819, Agricultural Research: Background and Issues, by Genevieve
K. Croft.
79 USDA, “Agricultural Research Service,” 2021 USDA Budget Explanatory Notes for Committee on Appropriations,
2020, p. 20-66.
80 For additional information, see CRS In Focus IF11492, National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility: Purpose and Status,
by Genevieve K. Croft.
81 USDA and DHS, Memorandum of Agreement Between the U.S. Department of Agriculture Marketing and
Regulatory Programs, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Research, Education, and Economics, and the Department
of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate, June 20, 2019, at https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/
documents/usda-dhs-moa.pdf. The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) reports that progress towards these
goals has been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. See GAO, DHS and USDA Are Working to Transfer
Ownership and Prepare for Operations, but Critical Steps Remain, July 2020, https://www.gao.gov/assets/710/
708025.pdf.
Congressional Research Service
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Federal Research and Development (R&D) Funding: FY2021
million in NBAF research funds, as requested by the Administration, and $15.0 million for
standup activities and initial operations and maintenance costs. The House-passed bill would
provide ARS with $8.0 million in NBAF research funds, and would maintain the FY2020 funding
level for operations and maintenance: $66.0 million, as reported by USDA.82
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
The National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) is USDA’s principal extramural research
agency. It provides federal funding for research, education, and extension projects conducted in
partnership with land-grant colleges and universities (LGUs), State Agricultural Experiment
Stations, the Cooperative Extension System, other research and education institutions, private
organizations, and individuals. NIFA partnerships include the three types of LGUs—1862
(original) Institutions, 1890 (historically black) Institutions, and 1994 (tribal) Institutions—as
well as other higher education institutions.83 Federal funds awarded through NIFA capacity
(formula-based) and competitive grants enhance research capacity at these institutions.84 While
NIFA is headquartered in Washington, DC, USDA relocated the majority of NIFA staff positions
to Kansas City, MO, in October 2019.85
The Senate draft recommends $1,538.9 million in discretionary spending for NIFA activities in
FY2021. This is $11.5 million more (0.8%) than was enacted in FY2020, and $51.9 million less (3.3%) than the Administration request ($1,590.8, Table 13). The House-passed bill recommends
$39.4 million more in discretionary spending than the Senate draft ($1,578.3 million).
Research and Education. Hatch Act and Evans-Allen Act funds support capacity grants for
research and education activities at 1862 and 1890 Institutions, respectively. For Hatch Act
programs, the Senate draft and the House-passed FY2021 bill would provide $259.0 million,
$15.8 million more (6.5%) than the Administration request ($243.2 million). For Evans-Allen
programs, the Senate draft would provide $67.0 million, 24.5% more than the Administration
request ($53.8 million). H.R. 7608 would provide $75.0 million.86
The McIntire-Stennis program provides capacity funds for forestry research at LGUs and state
colleges of forestry. For FY2021, the Senate draft would provide $36.0 million for this program,
the same funding as provided in FY2020. H.R. 7608 would provide $38.0 million, $2.0 million
more than in FY2020. The Administration is req
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