Federal Research and Development (R&D) Funding: FY2025
Congressional research reportDec 9, 2024
Ask Donna
What actually matters in this document.
Text
Federal Research and Development (R&D)
Funding: FY2025
December 9, 2024
Congressional Research Service
https://crsreports.congress.gov
R48307
SUMMARY
Federal Research and Development (R&D)
Funding: FY2025
R48307
December 9, 2024
Laurie Harris, Coordinator
Analyst in Science and
The U.S. government supports a broad range of scientific and engineering research and
Technology Policy
development (R&D). The purposes of this R&D include addressing national defense, health,
safety, the environment, and energy security; advancing knowledge generally; developing the
U.S. scientific and engineering workforce; strengthening the capacity of U.S. institutions and
firms to conduct cutting-edge research and to develop innovative technologies; and enhancing the
competitiveness of the United States 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. Congress provides annual
R&D appropriations through 9 of the 12 regular appropriations bills.
President Biden’s budget proposal for FY2025 includes approximately $201.9 billion for R&D, $7.4 billion (4%) above the
FY2024 estimated level of $194.6 billion (see figure). Adjusted for inflation to FY2023 dollars, the President’s FY2025 R&D
proposal represents a constant-dollar increase of 1.5% above the FY2024 estimated level.
Amounts discussed below have not been adjusted for inflation. Federal-government-wide R&D funding amounts are included
in the “Research and Development” chapter of the Analytical Perspectives portion of the President’s FY2025 budget. This
chapter notes that the FY2024 amounts are estimated using annualized appropriations provided by the Continuing
Appropriations Act, 2024 (Division A of P.L. 118-15), since final FY2024 appropriations were not enacted at the time the
FY2025 budget was prepared. FY2023 amounts reflect actual R&D funding from enacted appropriations.
Funding for R&D is concentrated in a few federal departments and agencies. In FY2025, six agencies would receive nearly
95% of total federal R&D funding—the Department of Defense (DOD), the Department of Health and Human Services
(HHS), the Department of Energy (DOE), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the National Science
Foundation (NSF), and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)—with DOD (46%) and HHS (25%) combined
accounting for more than 70% of all proposed federal R&D funding.
Federal Research and Development
Funding, FY2023-FY2025
(In billions of current dollars)
Source: CRS analysis of data from Executive Office of the
President, Office of Management and Budget, “Research and
Development,” in Analytical Perspectives, Budget of the United
States Government, Fiscal Year 2025, March 2024.
Congressional Research Service
Under the President’s FY2025 budget proposal, R&D
funding would increase (in current dollars), relative to
FY2024 estimates, for four of the six agencies receiving the
most R&D funding. The largest increases in R&D funding
(without accounting for inflation) would be for HHS (up
$3.8 billion, 8%, to $51.3 billion), DOD (up $2.1 billion,
2%, to $92.8 billion), DOE (up $1.2 billion, 5%, to $23.4
billion), and NSF (up $322 million, 4%, to $8.1 billion).
The exceptions in FY2025 are NASA, which would
decrease by $82 million (-1%) to $11.7 billion, and USDA,
which would decrease by $96 million (-3%) to $3.3 billion.
Other agencies would see decreases in their R&D funding:
the Department of Commerce (down $4.0 million, -1%, to
$3.9 billion), the Department of Veterans Affairs (down
$90 million, -5%, to $1.7 billion), the Department of
Homeland Security (down $90 million, -14%, to $544
million), and the Department of Education (down $5.0
million, -1%, to $441 million). Other agencies that would
see increases in R&D funding are the Department of
Transportation (up $51 million, 3%, to $1.5 billion), the
Department of the Interior (up $72 million, 6%, to $1.3
billion), the Environmental Protection Agency (up $46
million, 8%, to $614 million), and the Smithsonian
Institution (up $43 million, 12%, to $390 million).
Federal Research and Development (R&D) Funding: FY2025
The President’s FY2025 budget proposal would increase funding, in current dollars, relative to FY2024 estimates for basic
research by $1.6 billion (3%), applied research by $3.3 billion (7%), development by $2.0 billion (2%), and R&D facilities
and equipment by $487 million (9%).
Several multiagency R&D initiatives continue under the President’s FY2025 budget proposal. Some activities supporting
these initiatives are discussed in agency budget justifications. However, comprehensive aggregate budget information on
these initiatives will likely not be available until budget supplements for each are released later in the year.
Given that 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.
In recent years, Congress has completed the annual appropriations process after the start of the fiscal year. Doing so, as well
as using continuing resolutions, can affect agencies’ executions of their R&D budgets, which among other things may result
in delays or cancellations of planned R&D activities and acquisitions of R&D-related equipment.
Congressional Research Service
Federal Research and Development (R&D) Funding: FY2025
Contents
Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1
The President’s FY2025 Budget Proposal ....................................................................................... 3
Federal R&D Funding Perspectives ................................................................................................ 4
Federal R&D by Agency ........................................................................................................... 4
Federal R&D by Character of Work, Facilities, and Equipment ............................................... 5
Federal Role in U.S. R&D by Character of Work ..................................................................... 6
Federal R&D by Agency and Character of Work Combined .................................................... 7
Multiagency R&D Initiatives .......................................................................................................... 8
Networking and Information Technology Research and Development (NITRD) Program ............ 9
Climate-Change-Related R&D ...................................................................................................... 10
U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) ............................................................... 10
National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) ..............................................................................11
FY2025 Appropriations Status ...................................................................................................... 12
Department of Defense (DOD) ..................................................................................................... 14
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)....................................................................... 17
National Institutes of Health (NIH) ......................................................................................... 18
Department of Energy (DOE) ....................................................................................................... 23
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) ............................................................ 25
National Science Foundation (NSF) .............................................................................................. 27
Overall ..................................................................................................................................... 28
Research .................................................................................................................................. 29
Education ................................................................................................................................ 29
Construction ............................................................................................................................ 29
Other Initiatives ....................................................................................................................... 30
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) ...................................................................................... 32
Agricultural Research Service (ARS) ..................................................................................... 33
National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) ................................................................. 34
Research and Education .................................................................................................... 34
Extension .......................................................................................................................... 34
Integrated Activities .......................................................................................................... 35
National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) .................................................................... 35
Economic Research Service (ERS) ......................................................................................... 35
Office of the Under Secretary for Research, Education, and Economics (REE) and
Office of the Chief Scientist (OCS) ..................................................................................... 35
Department of Commerce (DOC) ................................................................................................. 37
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) ......................................................... 37
FY2025 Funding Provided by the CHIPS Act of 2022 ..................................................... 39
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) ................................................. 40
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) ............................................................................................ 43
Department of Transportation (DOT) ............................................................................................ 46
Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) ............................................................................. 47
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) .................................................................................. 47
Office of the Secretary (OST) ................................................................................................. 48
Congressional Research Service
Federal Research and Development (R&D) Funding: FY2025
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)................................................... 48
Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) .................................................................................. 48
Federal Transit Administration (FTA) ..................................................................................... 48
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) ........................................................ 49
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) ..................................... 49
Department of the Interior (DOI) .................................................................................................. 51
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) ............................................................................................. 52
Other DOI Components .......................................................................................................... 52
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ...................................................................................... 53
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) .................................................................................... 56
Figures
Figure 1. Composition of U.S. Basic Research, Applied Research, and Development by
Funding Sector, 2022 ................................................................................................................... 7
Tables
Table 1. Federal Research and Development (R&D) Funding by Agency, FY2023FY2025 ......................................................................................................................................... 5
Table 2. Federal R&D Funding by Character of Work, Facilities, and Equipment,
FY2023-FY2025 .......................................................................................................................... 6
Table 3. Selected R&D Funding Agencies by Character of Work, Facilities, and
Equipment: FY2023-FY2025 ....................................................................................................... 8
Table 4. Networking and Information Technology Research and Development (NITRD)
Program Funding, FY2022-FY2025 .......................................................................................... 10
Table 5. U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) Funding, FY2022-FY2025 .............11
Table 6. National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) Funding, FY2022-FY2025 .......................... 12
Table 7. Alignment of Agency R&D Funding and Regular Appropriations Bills ......................... 13
Table 8. Department of Defense (DOD) Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation
(RDT&E) .................................................................................................................................... 16
Table 9. National Institutes of Health (NIH) Funding ................................................................... 21
Table 10. Department of Energy R&D and Related Activities ...................................................... 24
Table 11. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) R&D ................................... 26
Table 12. National Science Foundation (NSF) Funding ................................................................ 31
Table 13. U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) R&D ............................................................. 36
Table 14. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Funding ................................. 39
Table 15. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Annual R&D
Enacted and Requested Direct Obligations ................................................................................ 42
Table 16. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) R&D ................................................................... 45
Table 17. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) R&D by Designated Research Area ................... 46
Table 18. Department of Transportation (DOT) R&D Activities and Facilities ............................ 49
Table 19. Department of the Interior (DOI) R&D ......................................................................... 53
Table 20. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Science and Technology Account ........ 55
Congressional Research Service
Federal Research and Development (R&D) Funding: FY2025
Table 21. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) R&D Accounts ........................................... 57
Appendixes
Appendix. CRS Contacts for Agency Research and Development (R&D) ................................... 58
Contacts
Author Information........................................................................................................................ 58
Congressional Research Service
Federal Research and Development (R&D) Funding: FY2025
Introduction
The 118th Congress is engaged in a range of legislative activities focused on the U.S. research and
development (R&D) enterprise, in particular federal R&D programs and policies, including
authorizations, appropriations, and oversight. The federal government has played an important
role in supporting R&D efforts that have led to scientific breakthroughs and new technologies,
from the internet to communications satellites and defenses against disease. Beyond agency
mission objectives and policies to promote the competitiveness of the United States in the global
economy, executive and legislative branch decisions about the prioritization of R&D recently
have been driven generally by federal budget caps, both in the context of the entire federal
budget1 as well as among competing needs within the federal R&D portfolio.
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 U.S. scientific and engineering workforce;
strengthening the capacity of U.S. institutions and firms to conduct cutting-edge scientific
research and to develop innovative technologies; and enhancing the global competitiveness of
U.S. institutions and firms. 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. Generally, each agency develops its R&D budget
internally as part of its overall budget development process (and in coordination with other
agencies for multi-agency initiatives and programs). R&D funding may be included either in
appropriations accounts that are entirely devoted to R&D or in accounts that also include funding
for non-R&D activities. Agency budgets are reviewed, revised, and approved 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 all
federal agencies.
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. As
Congress acts on the FY2025 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 high-level discussion of the overall funding level of R&D in President
Biden’s FY2025 budget request, followed by analyses of requested R&D funding across selected
agency and department budgets and for selected multiagency initiatives; these include analyses of
R&D funding by agency, by character of R&D work, and by a combination of the two
perspectives. The remainder of the report discusses and analyzes in more depth the R&D budget
requests of selected individual federal departments and agencies that collectively account for
approximately 99% of total federal R&D funding.
The text box below provides definitions of selected terms associated with federal R&D funding.
The Appendix lists the primary CRS experts on R&D funding for the agencies covered in this
report.
1 For example, the Budget Control Act of 2011 (P.L. 112-25) imposed caps on discretionary spending through FY2021,
and the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 (P.L. 118-5) set new caps on defense and nondefense discretionary spending
for FY2024 and FY2025. For more information, see CRS Insight IN12340, The FY2025 President’s Budget in
Historical Context, by D. Andrew Austin.
Congressional Research Service
1
Federal Research and Development (R&D) Funding: FY2025
Definitions Associated with Federal Research and Development (R&D) Funding
Two key sources of definitions associated with federal R&D funding are the White House Office of Management
and Budget (OMB) and the National Science Foundation (NSF).
Office of Management and Budget. OMB provides definitions of R&D-related terms in OMB Circular No.
A-11, “Preparation, Submission, and Execution of the Budget.”2 This document provides guidance to agencies in
the preparation of the President’s annual budget and instructions on budget execution. Though boundaries
separating one type of R&D activity from another may not always be clear or seem relevant in practice, where
such lines are drawn and how various R&D activities are categorized directly informs the budget process. OMB
Circular No. A-11 provides definitions for R&D activities to be used in the identification and collection of federal
R&D spending across federal agencies and departments. Importantly, these definitions have varied over time. For
example, as of FY2017, OMB replaced the R&D category “development” with a subset referred to as
“experimental development” to better align its data with those collected by NSF and to be consistent with
international standards. OMB thus omits “non-experimental development” funding (which the Department of
Defense [DOD] categorizes under budget activities 6.7 and 6.8) from the calculation of DOD and total federal
R&D funding levels. OMB Circular No. A-11 provides the following definitions:
•
Conduct of R&D: Research and experimental development 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 R&D. 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 and National Science Foundation (NSF). The National Science Board and NSF
provide the following definitions of R&D-related terms:3
•
Research and Experimental Development: Research and experimental development comprises creative and
systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge—including knowledge of humankind, culture,
and society—and 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 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.
2 Executive Office of the President, Office of Management and Budget (OMB), “Preparation, Submission, and
Execution of the Budget,” Circular No. A-11, July 2024, https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/
a11.pdf.
3 National Science Board, National Science Foundation (NSF), Research and Development: U.S. Trends and
International Comparisons, May 21, 2024, https://ncses.nsf.gov/pubs/nsb20246.
Congressional Research Service
2
Federal Research and Development (R&D) Funding: FY2025
The President’s FY2025 Budget Proposal
On March 11, 2024, President Biden released his proposed FY2025 budget, which includes
$201.9 billion for R&D, $7.4 billion (4%) above the FY2024 estimated level of $194.6 billion.4
Adjusted for inflation to FY2023 dollars,5 the President’s FY2025 R&D proposal represents a
constant-dollar increase of 1.5% above the FY2024 estimated level.6 Unless otherwise noted, the
funding amounts discussed in this report have not been adjusted for inflation, that is, the amounts
generally represent current dollars.
The President’s proposal 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 FY2025 proposal as it
relates to R&D and related activities. The government-wide analysis in this report is based on
data from OMB that include advance appropriations (already enacted) for FY2025,7 as well as
new funding requested for FY2025; with a few exceptions, individual agency analyses that follow
are based on agency budget justifications and do not include advance appropriations. More
information will become available as the House and Senate act on the President’s budget request
through appropriations bills. Factors that complicate analysis of the President’s FY2025 budget
request are detailed in the following text box.
Factors Affecting Analysis of the FY2025 Budget Request
Several factors complicate the analysis of changes in R&D funding for FY2025, both in aggregate and for selected
agencies:
•
The government-wide analysis in this report is based on data from OMB that include advance appropriations
(i.e., appropriations provided in an act signed in one fiscal year for a future fiscal year) that become available
in FY2025, as well as new funding requested for FY2025. In contrast, individual agency analyses in this report
are based on agency budget justifications and generally do not include advance appropriations. Where
information is provided on advance appropriations in the discussions of individual agencies, the advance
appropriations information is given in the footnotes. Similarly, when agencies received supplemental
appropriations for the fiscal years described in this report, this is noted in individual agency analyses.
4 According to OMB, the President’s FY2025 proposal presented in the Analytical Perspectives report that
accompanies the President’s FY2025 budget request includes advance appropriations provided to agencies for FY2025.
(Email conversation between CRS and OMB, May 1, 2024.) Additionally, FY2024 amounts are estimates because most
appropriations acts do not specify research and development (R&D) amounts; rather, R&D amounts generally are
known after agencies allocate appropriations to specific activities and report those figures. Executive Office of the
President, Office of Management and Budget, “Research and Development,” in Analytical Perspectives, Budget of the
United States Government, Fiscal Year 2025, March 2024, https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/analyticalperspectives/.
5 As calculated by CRS using the gross domestic product (GDP) (chained) price index for FY2024-FY2025 in White
House, Table 10.1, “Gross Domestic Product and Deflators Used in the Historical Tables: 1940–2029,” in Budget of the
United States Government, Fiscal Year 2025, https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/
hist10z1_fy2025.xlsx.
6 The FY2024 estimates apply “the main 2025 Budget volume approach of using annualized appropriations provided by
the 2024 Continuing Resolution”; Executive Office of the President, OMB, Analytical Perspectives, Budget of the
United States Government, Fiscal Year 2025, Research and Development, March 2024, p. 58,
https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/analytical-perspectives/.
7 An advanced appropriation is “one made to become available one year or more beyond the year for which the
appropriations act is passed.” For example, “the Infrastructure Investments and Jobs Appropriations Act (Division J of
P.L. 117-58) was enacted in fiscal year 2022 and provided advanced appropriations for several programs that become
available in fiscal years 2023 through 2026.” See White House, “Advance Appropriations,” in Budget of the United
States Government, Fiscal Year 2025, https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/aaa_fy2025.pdf.
Congressional Research Service
3
Federal Research and Development (R&D) Funding: FY2025
•
Inconsistency among agencies in reporting R&D activities 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 Table 4, 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 FY2023 (actual), FY2024 (estimated), and FY2025
(requested).8
Under the FY2025 request, eight federal agencies would receive approximately 97% of total
federal R&D funding: the Department of Defense (DOD), 46.0%; Department of Health and
Human Services (HHS), primarily the National Institutes of Health (NIH), 25.5%; Department of
Energy (DOE), 11.6%; National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), 5.8%; National
Science Foundation (NSF), 4.0%; Department of Commerce (DOC), 1.9%; U.S. Department of
Agriculture (USDA), 1.6%; and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), 0.8%. 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). Additionally, for artificial intelligence (AI),
the budget includes “$200 million in mandatory R&D funding that will bolster efforts to harness
the capacity of AI to accelerate scientific research across a variety of disciplines at multiple
agencies.”9
R&D funding for six federal agencies would decrease under the President’s FY2025 request,
compared with those agencies’ FY2024 estimated levels: NASA, DOC, USDA, VA, DHS, and
the Department of Education (ED). R&D funding for the eight other federal agencies with R&D
funding amounts included in the President’s FY2025 budget request would increase compared to
their FY2024 estimated levels: DOD (up $2.1 billion, 2.3%), HHS (up $3.8 billion, 7.9%), DOE
(up $1.2 billion, 5.4%), NSF (up $322 million, 4.1%), DOT (up $51 million, 3.5%), DOI (up $72
million, 5.7%), EPA (up $46 million, 8.1%), and the Smithsonian Institution (up $43 million,
12.4%). (See Table 1.)
8 Executive Office of the President, OMB, Analytical Perspectives, Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal
Year 2025, Research and Development, March 2024, https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/analyticalperspectives/.
9 Ibid.
Congressional Research Service
4
Federal Research and Development (R&D) Funding: FY2025
Table 1. Federal Research and Development (R&D) Funding by Agency,
FY2023-FY2025
(budget authority, in millions of current dollars)
FY2024-FY2025
Department/Agency
FY2023
Actual
FY2024
Estimate
FY2025
Request
Dollar
Change
Percentage
Change
Department of Defense
95,541
90,632
92,757
2,125
2.3%
Department of Health and Human
Services
48,393
47,591
51,364
3,773
7.9%
Department of Energy
20,790
22,237
23,440
1,203
5.4%
National Aeronautics and Space
Administration
11,691
11,797
11,715
-82
-0.7%
National Science Foundation
7,988
7,800
8,122
322
4.1%
Department of Agriculture
3,380
3,379
3,283
-96
-2.8%
Department of Commerce
5,141
3,930
3,926
-4
-0.1%
Department of Veterans Affairs
1,684
1,799
1,709
-90
-5.0%
Department of Transportation
1,411
1,462
1,513
51
3.5%
Department of the Interior
1,296
1,258
1,330
72
5.7%
Department of Homeland Security
634
634
544
-90
-14.2%
Environmental Protection Agency
568
568
614
46
8.1%
Department of Education
389
446
441
-5
-1.1%
Smithsonian Institution
347
347
390
43
12.4%
Other
702
684
601
-83
-12.1%
Artificial Intelligence (AI) Mandatory
Proposala
0
0
200
200
―
199,955
194,564
201,949
7,385
3.8%
Total
Source: CRS analysis of data from Executive Office of the President, Office of Management and Budget (OMB),
“Research and Development,” in Analytical Perspectives, Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2025,
March 2024, https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/analytical-perspectives/.
Notes: Components may not sum to totals because of rounding. FY2025 data includes advance appropriations
and new appropriations proposed by the President. DOD amounts include budget activities 6.1 through 6.6.
a. According to the Analytical Perspectives report, the FY2025 budget request incudes “$200 million in mandatory R&D funding that will bolster efforts to harness the capacity of AI to accelerate scientific research
across a variety of disciplines at multiple agencies.”
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 Biden’s FY2025 request
includes $47.7 billion for basic research, an increase of $1.6 billion (3.4%) above the FY2024
estimated level; $51.2 billion for applied research, an increase of $3.3 billion (6.9%); $96.8
billion for experimental development, an increase of $2.0 billion (2.1%); and $6.2 billion for
R&D facilities and equipment, an increase of $487 million (8.5%).
Congressional Research Service
5
Federal Research and Development (R&D) Funding: FY2025
Table 2. Federal R&D Funding by Character of Work, Facilities, and Equipment,
FY2023-FY2025
(budget authority, in millions of current dollars)
FY2024-FY2025
Character of Work, Facilities,
and Equipment
FY2023
Actual
FY2024
Estimate
FY2025
Request
Dollar
Change
Percentage
Change
Basic research
47,023
46,105
47,684
1,579
3.4%
Applied research
49,725
47,930
51,221
3,291
6.9%
Development
98,017
94,803
96,831
2,028
2.1%
Facilities and equipment
5,190
5,726
6,213
487
8.5%
199,955
194,564
201,949
7,385
3.8%
Total
Source: CRS analysis of data from Executive Office of the President, OMB, “Research and Development,” in
Analytical Perspectives, Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2025, March 2024,
https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/analytical-perspectives/.
Note: Components may not sum to totals because of rounding. FY2025 data include both advance
appropriations and new appropriations proposed by the President.
Federal Role in U.S. R&D by Character of Work
A primary policy justification for public investments in basic research and incentives for private
sector research (e.g., tax credits) is the view that, absent such policies, the private sector tends to
underinvest in basic research from a societal perspective. The usual argument for this view, which
is widely held by economists, 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
because of the time value of money), high levels of technical risk and uncertainty, shareholder
demands for shorter-term returns, and asymmetric and imperfect information regarding potential
returns of those research investments.
The federal government is the nation’s largest supporter of basic research, funding 40% of it in
2022 (the most recent year for which comprehensive data are available). Business funded 37% of
U.S. basic research in 2022, with higher education, state governments, and other nonprofit
organizations funding the remaining 23%. For U.S. applied research, business is the primary
funder, accounting for an estimated 62% in 2022, while the federal government accounted for an
estimated 29%. State governments, higher education, and other nonprofit organizations funded
the remaining 9%. Business also provides the vast majority of U.S. funding for development.
Business accounted for 88% of development funding in 2022, while the federal government
provided 10%. State governments, higher education, and other nonprofit organizations funded the
remaining approximately 2%. (See Figure 1.)10
10 CRS analysis of NSF, National Patterns of R&D Resources: 2021-2022 Data Update, NSF 24-318, Tables 7-9,
January 2024. Some data are preliminary and may be revised. Components may not add to total because of rounding.
Congressional Research Service
6
Federal Research and Development (R&D) Funding: FY2025
Figure 1. Composition of U.S. Basic Research, Applied Research, and Development
by Funding Sector, 2022
Source: CRS analysis of National Science Foundation, National Patterns of R&D Resources: 2021-2022 Data
Update, NSF 24-318, Tables 7-9, January, 2024.
Notes: 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 FY2025 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 adversaries. 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 President Biden’s FY2025 budget request, HHS, primarily NIH, would account for around half
(49.5%) of all federal funding for basic research. HHS would also be the largest federal funder of
applied research, accounting for about 53.2% of all federally funded applied research in the
President’s FY2025 budget request. DOD would be the primary federal funder of experimental
development, accounting for 86.8% of total federal development funding in the President’s
FY2025 budget request. DOE would be the primary federal funder of R&D facilities and
equipment, accounting for 61.5% of total federal R&D facilities and equipment funding in the
President’s FY2025 budget request.11
11 CRS analysis of data from Executive Office of the President, OMB, Analytical Perspectives, Budget of the United
States Government, Fiscal Year 2025, Research and Development, March 2024, https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/
budget/analytical-perspectives/.
Congressional Research Service
7
Federal Research and Development (R&D) Funding: FY2025
Table 3. Selected R&D Funding Agencies by Character of Work, Facilities, and
Equipment: FY2023-FY2025
(budget authority, in millions of current dollars)
FY2024-FY2025
FY2023
Actual
FY2024
Estimate
FY2025
Request
Dollar
Change
Percentage
Change
Department of Health and Human
Services
23,097
22,748
23,602
854
3.8%
National Science Foundation
6,775
6,324
6,923
599
9.5%
Department of Energy
6,290
6,134
6,267
133
2.2%
47,023
46,105
47,684
Department of Health and Human
Services
24,819
24,363
27,262
2,899
11.9%
Department of Energy
6,643
7,086
7,351
265
3.7%
Department of Defense
8,013
6,237
6,024
-213
-3.4%
49,725
47,930
51,221
Department of Defense
84,681
81,624
84,019
2,395
2.9%
Department of Energy
4,499
5,270
5,343
73
1.4%
National Aeronautics and Space
Administration
4,654
4,399
4,133
-266
-6.0%
98,017
94,803
96,831
2,873
3,557
3,823
266
7.5%
National Science Foundation
827
492
649
157
31.9%
Department of Commerce
520
511
640
129
25.2%
5,190
5,726
6,213
Character of Work and Agency
Basic research
Total
Applied research
Total
Experimental development
Total
Facilities and equipment
Department of Energy
Total
Source: CRS analysis of data from Executive Office of the President, OMB, “Research and Development,” in
Analytical Perspectives, Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2025, March 2024,
https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/analytical-perspectives/.
Note: This table shows only the top three funding agencies in each category, based on the FY2025 request.
FY2025 data include advance appropriations and new appropriations proposed by the President.
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
Congressional Research Service
8
Federal Research and Development (R&D) Funding: FY2025
shortly after the presidential budget release.12 Other multiagency R&D initiatives have operated at
the discretion of the President, without a specific statutory mandate. President Biden’s FY2025
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 selected statutorily required initiatives.
Networking and Information Technology Research
and Development (NITRD) Program13
Established by the High-Performance Computing Act of 1991 (P.L. 102-194), the NITRD
program coordinates unclassified federal networking and information technology R&D
investments in areas such as supercomputing, high-speed networking, AI, cybersecurity, software
engineering, and information management. The NITRD National Coordination Office (NCO)
coordinates the information technology R&D activities of 25 federal agency members and more
than 45 other participating agencies with program interests and activities in IT R&D. NITRD
efforts are further coordinated by the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) NITRD
Subcommittee.14
P.L. 102-194, as reauthorized by the American Innovation and Competitiveness Act of 2017 (P.L.
114-329), requires the director of the NITRD NCO to deliver an annual report 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 November 2023 and related to the FY2024 budget
request. Information is not available as of the writing of this report regarding the program’s
funding under the President’s FY2025 budget request. The President’s FY2024 budget request for
federal agencies’ NITRD-related R&D was $10.9 billion, up 13.5% from the FY2023 requested
level. (See Table 4.)
For additional information on the NITRD program, see https://www.nitrd.gov.
12 See, for example, discussion of national coordination offices’ operations and budgets in CRS Report R47410, The
Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP): Overview and Issues for Congress, by Emily G. Blevins.
13 For additional information on the Networking and Information Technology Research and Development program,
contact Patricia Moloney Figliola, Specialist in Internet and Telecommunications Policy.
14 The National Science and Technology Council (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, the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, 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.
The quote is from Executive Office of the President, Office of Science and Technology Policy, “NSTC,”
https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/administration/eop/ostp/nstc. For more information on the NSTC, see CRS
Report R47410, The Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP): Overview and Issues for Congress, by Emily G.
Blevins.
Congressional Research Service
9
Federal Research and Development (R&D) Funding: FY2025
Table 4. Networking and Information Technology Research and
Development (NITRD) Program Funding,
FY2022-FY2025
(budget authority, in millions of current dollars)
Total
FY2022
Actual
FY2023
Estimate
FY2024
Request
FY2025
Request
9,409a
10,272b
10,910
n/a
Source: Executive Office of the President, National Science and Technology Council, The Networking &
Information Technology R&D Program and the National Artificial Intelligence Initiative Office: Supplement to the
President’s FY 2024 Budget, November 2023, https://www.nitrd.gov/pubs/FY2024-NITRD-NAIIO-Supplement.pdf.
Notes: n/a = not available. Funding for activities that contribute to NITRD has been appropriated to more than
20 federal departments and agencies in the past. 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 NITRD program office. The FY2025 request amount is not available because the FY2025 Supplement to the
President’s Budget was not published at the time of this report.
a. Congress appropriated an additional $591.4 million in supplemental appropriations for FY2022.
b. Congress appropriated an additional $1.534 billion in supplemental appropriations for FY2023.
Climate-Change-Related R&D
The President’s FY2025 budget proposes “over $10.7 billion in clean energy innovation
activities,” as well as “$4.5 billion in climate research activities,” including various activities of
the USGCRP.15 While the Analytical Perspectives report in the President’s FY2025 budget
identifies activities and funding proposals for certain components of the request, the itemization is
limited. In past years, most of the clean energy and climate technology R&D has been
appropriated to DOE.
U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP)
The USGCRP, established by the Global Change Research Act of 1990 (GCRA; P.L. 101-606),
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 “empower the nation and the world to anticipate and
respond to urgent risks of climate and global change by creating and providing accessible, usable
knowledge.”16 In February 2023, DHS became the 14th member of the USGCRP and the first new
member in nearly 20 years.17
In FY2024, 10 departments and agencies reported funding in support of their USGCRP
participation.18 (See Table 5 for total USGCRP funding by fiscal year.) USGCRP efforts are
coordinated by the NSTC Subcommittee on Global Change Research. Each agency develops and
15 Executive Office of the President, OMB, Analytical Perspectives, Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal
Year 2025, Research and Development, March 2024, https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/analyticalperspectives/.
16 U.S. Global Change Research Program, “USGCRP’s 2022-2031 Strategic Plan,” https://www.globalchange.gov/
about-us/strategic-plan.
17 U.S. Global Change Research Program, Our Changing Planet: The U.S. Global Change Research Program for
Fiscal Year 2024: A Supplement to the President’s Budget for Fiscal Year 2024, 2024,
https://downloads.globalchange.gov/ocp/ocp2024/Our-Changing-Planet_FY2024.pdf.
18 Ibid., p. 37.
Congressional Research Service
10
Federal Research and Development (R&D) Funding: FY2025
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-change-related
activities with programmatic missions, not predominantly scientific. These are reported separately
in budget justifications.
The GCRA 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.19 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 most of the 20 years prior to FY2018, 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.”20 The USGCRP reports, pursuant to the
GCRA, enacted and proposed budgets by agency each fiscal year, along with agency descriptions
of major programs and initiatives, in a publication entitled Our Changing Planet.
For additional information on the earlier climate change budget crosscuts, see CRS Report
R43227, Federal Climate Change Funding from FY2008 to FY2014, by Jane A. Leggett, Richard
K. Lattanzio, and Emily Bruner. For additional USGCRP information, see
http://www.globalchange.gov.
Table 5. U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) Funding, FY2022-FY2025
(budget authority, in millions of current dollars)
Total
FY2022
Enacted
FY2023
Enacted
FY2024
Request
FY2025
Request
3,761
4,221
5,140
n/a
Source: USGCRP, Our Changing Planet: The U.S. Global Change Research Program for Fiscal Year 2024, January
2024, https://downloads.globalchange.gov/ocp/ocp2024/Our-Changing-Planet_FY2024.pdf.
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 of USGCRP’s spending 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. The FY2025 request amount is not available because the USGCRP annual report to
Congress, which includes supplemental USGCRP budgetary information, was not published at the time of this
report.
National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI)
Launched in FY2001, the NNI 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
19 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.
20 See, most recently, P.L. 115-31, Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2017, Section 416.
Congressional Research Service
11
Federal Research and Development (R&D) Funding: FY2025
atoms or bulk matter.21 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 FY2024, the President’s request included NNI funding
for 18 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 deliver an annual report to Congress at the same time as the
President’s budget request. 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 March 2024 and related to
the FY2024 budget request. President Biden requested $2.16 billion for NNI research in FY2024,
an increase of almost $90 million (4.3%) from the estimated FY2023 level. (See Table 6.)22
For additional information on the NNI, see http://www.nano.gov.
Table 6. National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) Funding, FY2022-FY2025
(budget authority, in millions of current dollars)
Total
FY2022
Actual
FY2023
Estimate
FY2024
Request
FY2025
Request
2,521.1
2,073.9
2,163.6
n/a
Source: Executive Office of the President, National Science and Technology Council, The National
Nanotechnology Initiative: Supplement to the President’s 2024 Budget, March 5, 2024.
Notes: n/a = not available. Funding for activities that contribute to the NNI has been appropriated to more than
a dozen federal departments and agencies in the past. 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 National Nanotechnology Coordination Office. The FY2025 request amount is not available because the NNI
Supplement to the President’s 2025 Budget was not published at the time of this report.
FY2025 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 FY2025 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.
21 In the context of the National Nanotechnology Initiative 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.
22 Executive Office of the President, NSTC, The National Nanotechnology Initiative: Supplement to the President’s
2024 Budget, March 2024.
Congressional Research Service
12
Federal Research and Development (R&D) Funding: FY2025
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.
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 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 has passed four of the nine appropriations bills that
provide R&D funding; the Senate has not had a floor vote on any of its versions of the
appropriations bills shown in Table 7.
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
(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
•
National Institutes of Health
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
Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies
Appropriations Act
•
National Institute of Standards and Technology
•
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
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
Environmental Protection Agency
Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related
Agencies Appropriations Act
Congressional Research Service
13
Federal Research and Development (R&D) Funding: FY2025
Source: CRS Report R40858, Locate an Agency or Program Within Appropriations Bills, by Justin Murray.
Department of Defense (DOD)23
DOD’s mission is to provide “the military forces needed to deter war and ensure our nation’s
security.”24 Congress supports DOD R&D activities 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 (S&T) base on
which those products rely.
Most of what DOD spends on RDT&E is appropriated in Title IV (Research, Development, Test,
and Evaluation) of the annual defense appropriations bill. 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. For FY2025, the Biden
Administration’s request includes $143.2 billion for DOD’s Title IV RDT&E accounts, $5.2
billion (-3.6%) below the FY2024 enacted level (in current dollars). On June 28, 2024, the House
passed H.R. 8774, the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2025, which would provide
$146.0 billion for DOD’s Title IV RDT&E accounts, $2.9 billion (2.0%) above the requested
level and $2.4 billion (-1.6%) below the FY2024 enacted level, if the legislation were enacted.
(See Table 8.)
RDT&E funds also are appropriated in other parts of the defense appropriations bill, including
Title V (Revolving and Management Funds) and Title VI (Other Department of Defense
Programs). Following are two examples:
•
•
•
The Defense Health Program (DHP) supports the delivery of health care to DOD
personnel and their families. DHP funds (including RDT&E funds) are requested
through the Defense-wide Operations and Maintenance 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.
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 request. Congress appropriates
funds for this program in Title VI.
The National Defense Sealift Fund supports procurement, operation and
maintenance, and R&D associated with the nation’s naval reserve fleet as well as
a U.S.-flagged merchant fleet that can serve in times 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.
The FY2025 request includes $972.4 million in RDT&E through DHP (down $1.9
billion, -66.2%, from FY2024 enacted amounts), $754.8 million in RDT&E through the Chemical
Agents and Munitions Destruction Program (down $247.8 million, -24.7%, from FY2024 enacted
amounts), and $1.9 million for the Inspector General for RDT&E-related activities (down $1.5
23 This section was written by Marcy E. Gallo, Analyst in Science and Technology Policy, CRS Resources, Science,
and Industry Division.
24 U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), “About,” https://www.defense.gov/About/.
Congressional Research Service
14
Federal Research and Development (R&D) Funding: FY2025
million, -44.1%, from FY2024). The FY2025 budget includes no RDT&E funding via the
National Defense Sealift Fund (the same as FY2024).
For more than a decade, RDT&E funds were also 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 referred to as
“Overseas Contingency Operations” (OCO). In appropriations bills, the combined term “Overseas
Contingency Operations/Global War on Terror” (OCO/GWOT) was used. Typically, the RDT&E
funds appropriated for OCO activities were directed toward specified program elements in Title
IV. President Biden’s FY2025 request does not include separate OCO/GWOT funding.
In general, DOD’s RDT&E budget request is organized by DOD component. (See Table 8.) 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); these are aggregated in the Defense-wide account.
DOD’s RDT&E budget request and funding is often analyzed by budget activity code, which
describes the type of RDT&E supported (e.g., basic research). The budget activities designated as
6.1, 6.2, and 6.3 (basic research, applied research, and advanced technology development,
respectively) constitute DOD’s 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. A new budget activity, 6.8, was added as part of DOD’s FY2021
budget request and supports software and digital technology pilot programs.25
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
FY2025 request for Title IV S&T funding is $17.2 billion, $4.3 billion (-20.0%) below the
FY2024 enacted level. The proposed FY2025 cuts in S&T are spread across a variety of program
elements in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Defense-wide accounts. The largest cut
to an S&T budget in both percentage and dollars (-38.8%, $1.8 billion) would be to the Army,
followed by the Navy (-25.8%, $880.9 million), Air Force (-24.8%, $883.5 million), Space Force
(-22.3%, $242.7 million), and Defense-wide (-5.6%, $497.4 million).
Over half of DOD’s basic research budget, characterized as 6.1 within the S&T program, is spent
at universities. The Biden Administration is requesting $2.5 billion for DOD basic research for
FY2025, $175.3 million (-7.1%) below the FY2024 enacted level. Among the proposed cuts to
basic research in FY2025 are the University Research Initiatives program elements in the Army
(-8.8%, $7.5 million), Navy (-11.4%, $12.1 million), and Air Force (-22.7%, $42.1 million). By
contrast, the University Research Initiatives program element in the Space Force would increase
(2.3%, $331,000).
25 OMB data on R&D funding included in Table 1 excludes “non-experimental development” funding (which DOD
categorizes under budget activities 6.7 and 6.8) from the calculation of DOD and total federal R&D funding levels.
Though OMB also temporarily omitted DOD budget activity 6.6, characterizing it as “non-investment activity,”
between FY2017-FY2022, it resumed its inclusion of budget activity 6.6 funding in FY2023 to fully capture DOD’s
contribution to total federal R&D funding. Email communication and telephone conversation between CRS and OMB
staff, September 8, 2022.
Congressional Research Service
15
Federal Research and Development (R&D) Funding: FY2025
Additionally, there would be cuts to the following program elements within the Defense-wide
account, relative to FY2024 enacted levels: Basic Research Initiatives (-31.0%, $34.7 million)
and Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Minority Institutions (-1.7%, $1.7 million).
DOD is a substantial source of federal funds for university R&D in certain fields, such as
industrial and manufacturing engineering (64%); aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical
engineering (62%); electrical, electronic, and communications engineering (58%); metallurgical
and materials engineering (48%); mechanical engineering (47%); computer and information
sciences (46%); and materials science (38%).26
Table 8. Department of Defense (DOD) Research, Development,
Test, and Evaluation (RDT&E)
(total obligational authority, in millions of current dollars)
Budget Account
FY2024
Enacted
FY2025
Request
FY2025
House
FY2025
Senate
FY2025
Enacted
Title IV—RDT&E by Organization
Army
17,115.0a
14,073.3
15,335.7
Navy
27,964.8b
25,697.8
26,668.3
Air Force
47,470.0c
49,108.8
48,648.6
Space Force
18,669.8
18,700.2
18,279.5
Defense-wide
36,892.9d
35,227.8
36,742.1
337.5
348.7
348.7
148,450.1e
143,156.6
146,022.9
Director, Operational Test and
Evaluation
Total (by
Organization)
Title IV—RDT&E by Budget Activity
6.1 Basic Research
2,628.2
2,452.9
2,527.8
6.2 Applied Research
7,592.8
5,795.9
6,712.4
6.3 Advanced Technology
Development
11,286.9
8,959.0
9,893.5
Subtotal Defense S&T
(6.1-6.3)
21,507.9
17,207.8
19,133.7
6.4 Advanced Component
Development and Prototypes
39,096.6
37,131.1
38,374.0
6.5 Systems Development and
Demonstration
26,573.3
26,933.3
26,299.1
6.6 Management Support
9,828.8
9,534.5
9,857.0
6.7 Operational Systems
Development
51,140.3
51,958.5
43,302.4
6.8 Software and Digital
Technology Pilot Projects
303.2
391.3
9,056.7
26 CRS analysis of data from NSF, “Table 14,” in Higher Education Research and Development Survey, Fiscal Year
2022, November 2023, https://ncses.nsf.gov/surveys/higher-education-research-development/2022#data.
Congressional Research Service
16
Federal Research and Development (R&D) Funding: FY2025
FY2024
Enacted
FY2025
Request
FY2025
House
148,450.1e
143,156.6
146,022.9
n/a
n/a
n/a
Defense Health Program
2,877.0
972.4
2,238.4
Chemical Agents and Munitions
Destruction
1,002.3
754.8
754.8
3.4
1.9
1.9
152,203.5
144,885.7
149,018.0
Budget Account
Total (by Budget
Activity)
National Defense Sealift Fund
Inspector General
Grand totalf
FY2025
Senate
FY2025
Enacted
Source: CRS analysis of Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller), Department of Defense Budget,
Fiscal Year 2025, RDT&E Programs (R-1), March 2024, https://comptroller.defense.gov/Portals/45/Documents/
defbudget/FY2025/FY2025_r1.pdf; P.L. 118-50; H.R. 8774; and H.Rept. 118-557.
Notes: n/a = not available. Components may not sum to totals because of rounding. Figures for the blank
columns will be added as Congress completes each action. 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 Office of the
Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller), “Department of Defense Financial Management Regulation,” DOD
7000.14-R, http://comptroller.defense.gov/fmr.aspx.
a. The total does not include the $18.6 million in supplemental funding provided in P.L. 118-50 “to respond to
the situation in Ukraine.”
b. The total does not include the $13.8 million in supplemental funding provided in P.L. 118-50 “to respond to
the situation in Ukraine” or the $7.0 million in supplemental funding provided in P.L. 118-50 “to support
improvements to the submarine industrial base.”
c. The total does not include the $406.8 million in supplemental funding provided in P.L. 118-50 “to respond
to the situation in Ukraine.”
d. The total does not include the $194.1 million in supplemental funding provided in P.L. 118-50 “to respond
to the situation in Ukraine.”
e. The total does not include the following supplemental funding amounts provided in P.L. 118-50: $640.4
million “to respond to the situation in Ukraine” and $542.4 million “for transfer to operation and
maintenance accounts, procurement accounts, and research, development, test and evaluation
accounts…for unfunded priorities of the United States Indo-Pacific Command for fiscal year 2024.” Further,
the specific amount that may be transferred to RDT&E accounts is unknown.
f.
The grand totals for FY2024 and FY2025 include funding for budget activities 6.7 and 6.8 that OMB no
longer counts as R&D. For these and other reasons, these amounts do not align with the DOD totals in
Table 1. The grand total for FY2024 does not include supplemental funding provided in P.L. 118-50.
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
HHS’s mission 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.”27 This section focuses on HHS R&D funded through NIH, an HHS
agency that accounts for nearly 97% of total HHS R&D funding.28 Other HHS agencies that
27 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), “About,” http://www.hhs.gov/about.
28 Unpublished data provided to CRS by OMB. Email communication, April 2024.
Congressional Research Service
17
Federal Research and Development (R&D) Funding: FY2025
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.29
National Institutes of Health (NIH)30
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. NIH’s 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.”31 The agency consists of the NIH Office of the
Director (OD) and 27 institutes and centers (ICs). Of these, 24 ICs and OD manage research
programs. Each IC plans and manages its own research programs in coordination with OD.
FY2022 appropriations established a new entity that has been placed within NIH: the Advanced
Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H).32 This report includes ARPA-H in its discussion
and analysis of NIH funding.
According to NIH, about 11% of its budget supports intramural research projects conducted by
nearly 6,000 NIH federal scientists, most of whom are located on the NIH campus in Bethesda,
MD. All 25 research ICs have intramural research programs of varying sizes. Nearly 83% 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. The remaining 6% covers research support and other
administrative and operational costs.33
Funding for NIH comes primarily from the annual Labor, HHS, and Education (LHHS)
appropriations act, with an additional amount for Superfund-related research activities at the
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences from the Department of the Interior,
Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act (hereinafter referred to as the
“Interior/Environment appropriations act”).34 Those two appropriations acts provide NIH’s
discretionary budget authority. In addition, NIH has received mandatory funding of $150 million
annually through the Public Health Service Act (PHSA), Section 330B, for the Special Diabetes
Program for type 1 diabetes. This mandatory funding is set to expire on December 31, 2024 (as
29 Ibid.
30 This section was written by Kavya Sekar, Analyst in Health Policy, CRS Domestic Social Policy Division, with
support from John Gorman, Research Assistant, CRS Domestic Social Policy Division.
31 National Institutes of Health (NIH), “About NIH, What We Do, Mission and Goals,” http://www.nih.gov/about-nih/
what-we-do/mission-goals.
32 See CRS Report R47568, Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H): Overview and Selected Issues,
by Kavya Sekar and Marcy E. Gallo.
33 NIH, “What We Do: Budget,” https://www.nih.gov/about-nih/what-we-do/budget.
34 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 National Institute
of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) within NIH supports health research and training related to hazardous
waste sites through its Superfund Research Program. See NIEHS, “Superfund Research Program,”
https://www.niehs.nih.gov/research/supported/centers/srp.
Congressional Research Service
18
Federal Research and Development (R&D) Funding: FY2025
extended in P.L. 118-42). NIH also receives some funding under unique transfer authorities (the
Public Health Service [PHS] Evaluation set-aside)35 and budget enforcement rules (21st Century
Cures Act Innovation account).36
As shown in Table 9, separate appropriations are provided to 24 of the 27 ICs, ARPA-H, 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.
President Biden’s FY2025 budget request proposes a total NIH and ARPA-H program level of
$50.174 billion, an increase of $1.36 billion (i.e., an increase of 2.8% in current dollars, which
does not account for inflation) from FY2024 enacted levels. The proposed FY2025 program level
would provide (see Table 9)
•
•
•
•
$47.812 billion in discretionary LHHS budget authority (nontransfer),
$2.018 billion in PHS program evaluation transfers,
$83 million for the Superfund research program and related activities from
Interior/Environment appropriations, and
$260 million in proposed funding for the mandatory type 1 diabetes research
program.37
Under this request, most IC accounts would receive an increase in funding compared with
FY2024 enacted levels (see Table 9), though in many cases an increase of less than 1% (without
accounting for inflation). (Note that the FY2025 request was formulated before FY2024 enacted
appropriations were finalized.) The accounts that would see decreases are (1) the National
Institute on Aging (-1.8%, $82 million decrease), (2) the National Institute on Minority Health
and Health Disparities (-1.4%, $7.7 million decrease), and (3) the National Center for Advancing
Translational Sciences (-0.2%, $2.2 million decrease).38 Funding for ARPA-H would remain the
35 The Public Health Service (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. Although the PHS Act limits the tap to no more than 1% of eligible appropriations, in recent years, annual
Labor, HHS, and Education appropriations acts have specified a higher amount (2.5% in FY2024; P.L. 118-47,
Division D). 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).
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.
36 Appropriations to the NIH Innovation Account created by the 21st Century Cures Act (Cures Act; P.L. 114-255) fund
programs authorized by that act. Appropriations of funds in this account are, in effect, not subject to discretionary
spending limits. 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. All amounts authorized by the Cures Act have been fully
appropriated to the Innovation Account since FY2017, including $407 million for FY2024. See the section on the 21st
Century Cures Act in CRS Report R41705, The National Institutes of Health (NIH): Background and Congressional
Issues, by Judith A. Johnson and Kavya Sekar.
37 Under current law, funding for the type 1 diabetes research program expires at the end of December 31, 2024, and is
set at $150 million annually. See PHS Act §330B; 42 U.S.C. §254c-2.
38 These figures account for proposed transfers and other funding sources. Excluding the PHS evaluation tap transfer,
NIGMS would see a decrease of $601.3 million compared to FY2024 enacted (-18.5%). Excluding the mandatory type
1 diabetes funding, the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) would also see a
slight decrease compared to FY2024 enacted.
Congressional Research Service
19
Federal Research and Development (R&D) Funding: FY2025
same as for FY2024 enacted appropriations: $1.5 billion. The Innovation Account would receive
the full amount authorized to be appropriated: $127 million.39
The budget request also proposes two new mandatory appropriations for NIH in FY2025: $1.49
billion in new mandatory appropriations for the Cancer Moonshot for FY2025 and $2.69 billion
in new mandatory appropriations for pandemic preparedness, to be made available for five years.
Accounting for this proposed mandatory funding, NIH and ARPA-H would receive a total
FY2025 program funding level of $54.312 billion, a $5.5 billion (11.3%) increase from the
FY2024 enacted level.
The mandatory proposed funding for the Cancer Moonshot would go to the National Cancer
Institute, which, in addition to $742 million in proposed discretionary funding, would provide for
an overall Cancer Moonshot funding level of $2.164 billion in FY2025. The Cancer Moonshot is
President Biden’s initiative to cut the U.S. death rate from cancer by 50% over the next 25 years
and to improve the experience of patients and their families living with cancer.40 The total
program funding would support related research, training, and health education activities. 41 The
$2.96 billion pandemic preparedness funding is NIH’s portion of a $20 billion in total FY2025
funding across HHS, to be appropriated to the Public Health and Social Services Emergency
Fund according to the request.42 The proposal generally does not designate specific amounts for
NIH ICs but describes a number of activities the new funding would support, including
developing vaccines and therapies, expanding laboratory capacity, and developing nextgeneration diagnostics.43
The Administration estimates that the proposed FY2025 funding level would support 43,636
research project grants, an increase of 460 from the FY2023 enacted level, with a total of 10,273
new and competing grants.44 With respect to specific research areas and initiatives, following are
some highlights and increases from the request:45
•
•
AI: Under the FY2025 request, $1.6 billion in investments in AI-related activities
will be made across NIH. This includes a program to increase representation in
the AI and machine learning field of underrepresented researchers and
communities.46
Women’s health research: The FY2025 request includes $154 million for the
Office of Women’s Health research within the OD, an increase of $76 million
from FY2023 and FY2024 enacted levels, each of which provided $76.5
million.47 The new funds are intended to support research on topics such as
research in menopause and diabetes, opioid use disorder in pregnant women, and
39 NIH, Overview of FY 2025 President’s Budget Proposal, p. 47, https://officeofbudget.od.nih.gov/pdfs/FY25/br/
Overview%20of%20FY%202025%20Presidents%20Budget.pdf.
40 CRS In Focus IF12504, The Cancer Moonshot: Overview and Issues, by Kavya Sekar.
41 NIH, Overview of FY 2025 President’s Budget Proposal, p. 8.
42 Called “biodefense” in HHS, Budget in Brief: FY2025, p. 171, https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/fy-2025budget-in-brief.pdf.
43 NIH, Overview of FY 2025 President’s Budget Proposal, pp. 19-20.
44 HHS, Budget in Brief: FY2025, p. 54, https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/fy-2025-budget-in-brief.pdf.
45 Ibid., pp. 47-51.
46 The White House, “Research and Development,” in President’s Budget: Analytical Perspectives, March 11, 2024, p.
52, https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/ap_6_research_fy2025.pdf.
47 Congressional Record, vol. 168, no. 198, Book II (December 20, 2022), pp. S8881-S8887, S8853; Congressional
Record, vol. 170, no. 51, Book II (March 22, 2024), p. H1891.
Congressional Research Service
20
Federal Research and Development (R&D) Funding: FY2025
•
alcohol use during pregnancy. NIH also intends to create a new nationwide
network of centers of excellence and innovation in women’s health.
Mental and behavioral health: The FY2025 request includes an increase of
$200 million relative to FY2023 for the National Institute of Mental Health
(NIMH) to support better diagnostics, improved treatments, and enhanced
precision of care for mental health. This would result in a $274.8 million (12.1%)
increase under the FY2025 request (accounting for Cures Act transfers)
compared with the FY2024 enacted level. (See Table 9.)
Table 9. National Institutes of Health (NIH) Funding
(budget authority, in millions of current dollars)
FY2024
Enacted
FY2025
Request
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
7,224
7,839
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
(NHLBI)
3,982
3,997
National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial
Research (NIDCR)
520
522
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and
Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)a
2,311
2,310
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and
Stroke (NINDS)
2,604
2,788
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious
Diseases (NIAID)
6,562
6,581
National Institute of General Medical Sciences
(NIGMS)b
1,832
1,231
National Institute of Child Health and Human
Development (NICHD)
1,759
1,766
National Eye Institute (NEI)
897
899
National Institute of Environmental Health
Sciences (NIEHS)c
914
917
4,508
4,425
National Institute of Arthritis and
Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS)
685
690
National Institute on Deafness and Other
Communication Disorders (NIDCD)
534
536
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and
Alcoholism (NIAAA)
595
599
National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR)
198
198
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
1,663
1,668
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
2,188
2,503
National Human Genome Research Institute
(NHGRI)
663
664
National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and
Bioengineering (NIBIB)
441
442
Institute or Center
National Institute on Aging (NIA)
Congressional Research Service
FY2025
House
FY2025
Senate
FY2025
Enacted
21
Federal Research and Development (R&D) Funding: FY2025
FY2024
Enacted
FY2025
Request
National Center for Complementary and
Integrative Health (NCCIH)
170
171
National Institute on Minority Health and Health
Disparities (NIMHD)
534
527
Fogarty International Center (FIC)
95
95
National Library of Medicine (NLM)
498
527
National Center for Advancing Translational
Sciences (NCATS)
928
926
2,606
3,013
Innovation Accounte
407
127
Buildings and Facilities (B&F)
350
350
Subtotal, NIH (LHHS Discretionary
Budget Authority)
45,669
46,312
PHS Program Evaluation (provided to NIGMS)
1,412
2,018
Superfund (Interior appropriations to NIEHS)f
80
83
Mandatory type 1 diabetes funds (to NIDDK)g
150
260h
47,311
48,674
1,500
1,500
Institute or Center
Office of the Director (OD)d
NIH Program Level
Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health
(ARPA-H)
NIH and ARPA-H Program Level
48,811
50,174
Pandemic Preparedness (proposed mandatory)i
—
2,690
Cancer Moonshot (proposed mandatory)j
—
1,448
48,811
54,312
Total with Proposed Mandatory Amounts
FY2025
House
FY2025
Senate
FY2025
Enacted
Sources: Congressional Record, daily edition, vol. 170, no. 51, Book 11 (March 22, 2024), p. H2022,
https://www.congress.gov/118/crec/2024/03/22/170/51/CREC-2024-03-22-bk2.pdf, and P.L. 118-47, in addition to
sources listed in footnotes below. FY2025 Request numbers are from NIH, Overview of FY2025 President’s Budget,
pp. 100, 101, https://officeofbudget.od.nih.gov/pdfs/FY25/br/
Overview%20of%20FY%202025%20Presidents%20Budget.pdf, and ARPA-H, Congressional Justification: FY2025, p.
9, https://arpa-h.gov/sites/default/files/2024-03/ARPA-H%20FY%202025.pdf.
Notes: LHHS = Labor, HHS, and Education. Components may not sum to totals because of rounding. Figures
for the blank columns will be added as Congress completes each action. Amounts in table may differ from actual
values in many cases. By convention, budget tables do not subtract the amount of transfers to the PHS Evaluation
set-aside from the agencies’ appropriation. In general, amounts provided to NIH for emergency requirements are
excluded from these totals.
a. Amounts for the NIDDK do not include mandatory funding for type 1 diabetes research (see note i).
b. Amounts for NIGMS do not include funds from the Public Health Service (PHS) Evaluation Set-Aside (§241
of the PHS Act [PHSA]).
c. Amounts for NIEHS do not include Interior/Environment Appropriations amount for Superfund research
(see note g).
d. Amounts for OD include transfer from the Pediatric Research Initiative Fund (PRIF) as authorized by the
Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Act.
e. Innovation Account amounts are to be transferred to other accounts. For FY2024, based on prior year
practice, of the total $172 million for the BRAIN Initiative, $86 million may be transferred to each of
NINDS and NIMH respectively. The total $235 million for the Precision Medicine Initiative may be
transferred to OD. For the FY2025 request, the budget request shows that of the total for BRAIN, $45.5
Congressional Research Service
22
Federal Research and Development (R&D) Funding: FY2025
f.
g.
h.
i.
j.
million would be transferred to each of NINDS and NIMH, respectively. The total $36 million for PMI
would go to OD.
This is a separate account in the Interior/Environment appropriations for NIEHS research activities related
to Superfund research.
Mandatory funds are available to NIDDK for type 1 diabetes research under PHSA Section 330B, which was
most recently extended through December 31, 2024.
This is a proposed amount. The budget request proposes $260 million in new mandatory funding for
FY2025 under PHSA Section 330B (42 U.S.C. §254c-2). See NIH, Overview of FY 2025 President’s Budget
Proposal, p. 100.
The FY2025 request proposes new mandatory funding for pandemic preparedness to be available for five
years. The request proposes an HHS-wide total of $20 billion for pandemic preparedness with $2.69 billion
of the total designated for NIH. This amount is shown as a non-add in the request, meaning it was not
added to the FY025 requested total for NIH.
The FY2025 request proposes new mandatory funding for the Cancer Moonshot. The request proposes
$716 million in discretionary funding and $1.488 billion in mandatory funding for FY2025. NIH, Overview of
FY2025 President’s Budget, pp. 7, 19-20.
Department of Energy (DOE)48
DOE 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, particularly 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.49
The Administration’s FY2025 budget request for DOE includes about $21.0 billion for R&D and
related activities, including programs in three broad categories: science, national security, and
energy. This request is about 0.2% more (in current dollars) than the enacted FY2024 amount for
DOE. (See Table 10.)
The FY2025 request for the DOE Office of Science is $8.58 billion, an increase of 4.2% from the
FY2024 enacted level of $8.2 billion. Funding would increase for all of the office’s major
research programs except basic energy sciences, which would decrease by about $44 million. The
Fusion Energy Sciences (FES) budget would receive an increase of $54 million and includes
proposals to realign the FES program with the Administration’s Bold Decadal Vision50 which
seeks to focus R&D efforts around fusion power.
In addition, the Isotope R&D and Production account would increase by $54 million to support,
in part, anticipated supply disruptions of critical and high-impact isotopes associated with supply
chain vulnerabilities heightened since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The request for DOE national security R&D is more than $6.1 billion, with an increase of $99
million from the FY2024 enacted level. In the Weapons Activities account, the request for
48 This section was written by Todd Kuiken, Analyst in Science and Technology Policy, CRS Resources, Science, and
Industry Division.
49 For additional information on the DOE Office of Science, see CRS In Focus IF12692, Department of Energy (DOE)
Office of Science, by Todd Kuiken.
50 The White House, Fact Sheet: Developing a Bold Vision for Commercial Fusion Energy, 2022,
https://www.whitehouse.gov/ostp/news-updates/2022/03/15/fact-sheet-developing-a-bold-vision-for-commercialfusion-energy/.
Congressional Research Service
23
Federal Research and Development (R&D) Funding: FY2025
Stockpile Research, Technology, and Engineering would decrease by $106 million compared to
the FY2024 enacted level. The FY2025 budget request does not specify which programs within
the account would be reduced but describes continued support for certain programs, including
Enhanced Capabilities for Subcritical Experiments (ECSE) and the Inertial Confinement Fusion
(ICF) program, and the development of new materials, technologies, and processes to modernize
the nuclear systems and production complex.
The request for DOE energy R&D is $6.3 billion, a decrease of $394 million from the FY2024
enacted level. The largest overall decrease in funding, $342 million, would be for energy
efficiency and renewable energy R&D, while the Fossil Energy and Carbon Management budget
would increase by $35 million. The Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy (ARPA-E),
which is intended to advance high-impact energy technologies that have too much technical and
financial uncertainty to attract near-term private sector investment, would decrease by $10 million
compared to the FY2024 level.
Table 10. Department of Energy R&D and Related Activities
(budget authority, in millions of current dollars)
FY2024
Enacted
FY2025
Request
Basic Energy Sciences
2,626
2,582
High Energy Physics
1,200
1,231
Biological and Environmental Research
900
945
Nuclear Physics
804
833
1,016
1,153
Fusion Energy Sciences
790
844
Isotope R&D and Production
130
184
Accelerator R&D and Production
29
31
Other
745
780
8,240
8,583
Weapons Activities Stockpile RT&E
3,280
3,174
Naval Reactors
1,946
2,119
Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation R&D
766
803
Defense Environmental Cleanup Technology
Development
36
31
6,028
6,127
Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
3,460
3,118
Fossil Energy and Carbon Management
865
900
1,525
1,441
280
293
Category/Program
FY2025
House
FY2025
Senate
FY2025
Enacted
Science
Advanced Scientific Computing Research
Total
National Security
Total
Energy
Nuclear Energy
Electricity
Congressional Research Service
24
Federal Research and Development (R&D) Funding: FY2025
FY2024
Enacted
FY2025
Request
CESER Risk Management Tools and Technologies
113
107
Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy
460
450
Total
6,703
6,309
Grand total
20,971
21,019
Category/Program
FY2025
House
FY2025
Senate
FY2025
Enacted
Sources: FY2024 enacted from P.L. 118-42 and explanatory statement, https://docs.house.gov/billsthisweek/
20240304/FY24%20EW%20Conference%20JES%20scan.pdf. FY2025 request from DOE FY2025 congressional
budget justification, https://www.energy.gov/cfo/articles/fy-2025-budget-justification.
Notes: RT&E = Research, Technology, and Engineering; CESER = Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and
Emergency Response. Components may not sum to totals because of rounding. Figures for the blank columns
will be added as Congress completes each action.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
(NASA)51
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, astrophysics, heliophysics, the biological and physical sciences, aeronautics, and
astronaut health and performance, 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’s request includes $25.4 billion for NASA in FY2025. This would be 2.1%
more than the FY2024 level of $24.9 billion (in current dollars). For a breakdown of these
amounts, see Table 11. About half of NASA funding supports R&D. Some accounts (such as
Science and Space Technology) fund R&D almost exclusively, while others (such as Exploration
and Space Operations) fund a mix of R&D, testing and demonstration, operations, and other
activities. Table 11 indicates the estimated R&D share of each account, based on OMB data for
the FY2025 request.52 Those shares may be different for FY2024 and for FY2025 appropriations
provided by Congress.
The FY2025 request for Science is $7.6 billion, an increase of 3.2% from $7.3 billion in the
FY2024 enacted level. A requested 8.4% increase for Earth Science includes $150 million for
Landsat Next and $168 million for the newly established Responsive Science Initiatives program,
which consolidates selected Earth Science activities that connect NASA science with user needs.
A requested increase of 0.5% for Planetary Science includes $236 million for Near-Earth Object
Surveyor (up from $210 million in FY2024) and $435 million for the Dragonfly mission to
Saturn’s moon Titan (up from $360 million in FY2024). The initial FY2025 request did not
include a proposed amount for Mars Sample Return, as NASA’s internal assessment of the
mission architecture was not yet completed. In April 2024, after completion of NASA’s internal
assessment, NASA issued a revised request including $200 million for Mars Sample Return,
which is $100 million less than FY2024 appropriations. In response to concerns over the cost and
timeline for Mars Sample Return, NASA is soliciting proposals for alternate mission
architectures. The proposed funding would support the evaluation and potential incorporation of
51 This section was written by Rachel Lindbergh, Analyst in Science and Technology Policy, CRS Resources, Science,
and Industry Division.
52 Based on federal R&D funding data provided to CRS by OMB via email communications, April 2024.
Congressional Research Service
25
Federal Research and Development (R&D) Funding: FY2025
proposals.53 The FY2025 request for Aeronautics is $966 million, an increase of 3.3% from $935
million in FY2024. The bulk of the proposed increase would be for Advanced Air Vehicles,
supporting additional R&D on sustainable aviation fuels, composite aircraft manufacturing, and
other topics.
The FY2025 request for Space Technology is $1.2 billion, an increase of 7.4% from $1.1 billion
enacted for FY2024. Within this account, the request includes $459 million for Technology
Demonstration, $341 million for Technology Maturation, $140 million for Early-Stage Innovation
and Partnerships, and $242 million for Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business
Technology Transfer. In the Technology Demonstration program, the request proposes $123
million for space nuclear technologies.
The FY2025 request for Deep Space Exploration Systems (currently Exploration) is $7.6 billion,
a decrease of 0.6% from $7.7 billion in FY2024. Within this account, the request for Moon to
Mars Transportation System (formerly Common Exploration Systems Development) includes
$1.0 billion for the Orion crew capsule (down from $1.1 billion in FY2024) and $2.4 billion for
the Space Launch System (SLS) heavy-lift rocket (down from $2.6 billion in FY2024). As the
Orion and SLS programs mature, they are focusing more on testing and production of flight
hardware, with less R&D content than in previous years. The proposed 1.6% increase for the
Moon to Mars Lunar System Development (formerly Artemis Campaign Development) would
support continued development of the Gateway platform in lunar orbit ($818 million) and the
lunar Human Landing System ($1.90 billion, up slightly from $1.88 billion enacted for FY2024).
In the Space Operations account, requests for R&D-related activities include $261 million for ISS
research; $109 million to develop a U.S. deorbit vehicle to safely deorbit the ISS in 2030; $143
million for the Human Research Program (in Space and Flight Support); and $170 million for
Commercial Low Earth Orbit Development (down from $229 million in FY2024). Commercial
crew transport activities have largely transitioned from development to operations (which is
funded separately, but also in Space Transportation). SpaceX launched its first post-certification
crewed flight to the ISS in November 2020; a crewed test flight of Boeing’s competing crew
transport system launched in June 2024.
Table 11. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) R&D
(budget authority, in millions of current dollars)
Category/Program
Science
Estimated
FY2024
R&D
Enacted
Share
96%
FY2025
Request
Earth Science
2,195
2,379
Planetary Science
2,717
2,732
Astrophysics
1,530
1,578
Heliophysics
805
787
Biological and Physical Sciences
88
91
7,334
7,566
Total
FY2025
House
FY2025
Senate
FY2025
Enacted
53 NASA, “NASA Sets Path to Return Mars Samples, Seeks Innovative Designs,” press release, April 15, 2024,
https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-sets-path-to-return-mars-samples-seeks-innovative-designs/.
Congressional Research Service
26
Federal Research and Development (R&D) Funding: FY2025
Category/Program
Exploration/Deep Space Exploration
Systems
Estimated
FY2024
R&D
Enacted
Share
26%
FY2025
Request
Common Exploration Systems
Development
4,533
4,213
Artemis Campaign Development
n/a
3,288
Human Exploration Requirements and
Architecture
n/a
117
7,666
7,618
International Space Station
n/a
1,270
Space Transportation
n/a
1,862
Space and Flight Support
n/a
1,088
Commercial LEO Development
228
170
4,220
4,390
Total
Space Operations
FY2025
House
FY2025
Senate
FY2025
Enacted
6%
Total
Aeronautics
82%
935
966
Space Technology
97%
1,100
1,182
STEM Engagement
0%
143
144
Safety, Security, and Mission Services
7%
3,129
3,044
Construction and Environmental C&R
12%
300
424
Inspector General
0%
48
51
Grand total
46%
24,875
25,384
Sources: Estimated R&D share calculated by CRS based on OMB data for R&D and R&D-related facilities and
equipment funding in the FY2025 request, provided to CRS via email communications in April 2024. FY2024
enacted from P.L. 118-42 and Explanatory Statement, H.R. 4366, 118th Cong., 2nd sess., Congressional Record, vol.
170, no. 39 (March 5, 2024), pp. S1141-S1142, https://www.congress.gov/118/crec/2024/03/05/170/39/CREC2024-03-05.pdf. FY2025 request from NASA FY2025 congressional budget justification, as revised in April 2024,
https://www.nasa.gov/fy-2025-budget-request/.
Notes: n/a = not available. LEO = Low Earth Orbit. C&R = Compliance and Remediation. Components may not
sum to totals because of rounding. Figures for the blank columns will be added as Congress completes each
action.
National Science Foundation (NSF)54
NSF supports basic research and education in the nonmedical sciences and engineering. Congress
established NSF as an independent federal agency in 1950 to “promote the progress of science; to
advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare; to secure the national defense; and for other
purposes.”55 NSF is a major source of federal support for U.S. university research, especially in
the social sciences, mathematics, and computer science. It is also responsible for significant
54 This section was written by Laurie Harris, Analyst in Science and Technology Policy, CRS Resources, Science, and
Industry Division.
55 The National Science Foundation Act of 1950 (P.L. 81-507).
Congressional Research Service
27
Federal Research and Development (R&D) Funding: FY2025
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), STEM Education (EDU, the main education account),56 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, EDU, and MREFC accounts. (The RRA and EDU
accounts also include non-R&D funding.) Together, these three accounts comprise 95% of the
total requested funding for NSF. Actual and estimated R&D obligations for each account are
known after NSF allocates funding appropriations to specific activities and reports those figures. 57
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 FY2023 actual, FY2024 enacted, and FY2025 requested levels are reported by
account, including amounts for R&D conduct and physical assets where applicable, in Table 12.
Funding for NSF for FY2024 was enacted on March 9, 2024.58 Funding details for FY2024
enacted amounts below the account level were not available at the time the FY2025 budget
request was prepared. Therefore, in this analysis, at the account level, the FY2025 request
amounts are compared with the FY2024 enacted amounts; below the account level, the FY2025
request amounts are compared with the FY2023 actual amounts for subaccounts and R&D
amounts. Comparisons are reported by account and for R&D conduct and facilities and
equipment in Table 12.
Overall
The Administration is requesting $10.2 billion for NSF in FY2025, $1.12 billion (12%) more than
the FY2024 enacted amount (in current dollars). The request would increase budget authority in
each of the three R&D accounts relative to the FY2024 enacted level: RRA by $869 million
(12%), EDU by $128 million (11%), and MREFC by $66.0 million (28%). Overall, NSF
estimates that, under the FY2025 request, agency-wide funding rates for competitive awards (i.e.,
the percentage of submitted proposals that are successfully awarded funding after competitive
review) would remain at 27%, with an estimated 10,900 awards.
For FY2025, $8.12 billion is requested for R&D activities, a $510 million (6.7%) increase from
FY2023 actual funding for R&D. R&D activities account for approximately 80% of NSF’s total
funding. The total request for R&D activities includes $7.48 billion (92%) for the conduct of
R&D, and $639 million (8%) for R&D facilities and major equipment. Of funding requested for
56 In the FY2023 budget request, NSF proposed changing the name of the Directorate for Education and Human
Resources to the Directorate for STEM Education. The name for the corresponding appropriations account is now
STEM Education (EDU), rather than Education and Human Resources (EHR).
57 R&D actual (FY2023), estimated (FY2024), and requested (FY2025) amounts are reported in the “Quantitative Data
Tables” section of NSF, FY 2025 Budget Request to Congress, March 11, 2024, pp. QDT-1 to QDT-8, https://nsf-govresources.nsf.gov/files/00_NSF_FY25_CJ_Entire%20Rollup_web.pdf?VersionId=
cbkdqD_UMweHEIsZwPjtVgcQRwMccgvu (hereinafter, NSF FY 2025 Budget Request).
58 The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024 (P.L. 118-42); S.Rept. 118-62; and the “Explanatory Statement
Submitted by Mrs. Murray, Chair of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, Regarding H.R. 4366, Consolidated
Appropriations Act, 2024,” Senate, Congressional Record, daily edition, vol. 170, no. 39 (March 5, 2024), pp. S1413S1414.
Congressional Research Service
28
Federal Research and Development (R&D) Funding: FY2025
the conduct of R&D, 84% is requested for basic research and 16% requested for applied research.
Overall funding for R&D facilities and major equipment supports not only the construction and
acquisition phases, funded through MREFC ($300 million requested), but also planning, design,
and post-construction operations and maintenance, funded through RRA ($339 million
requested).
Research
The Administration seeks $8.05 billion for RRA in FY2025, a $869 million (12%) increase
compared with the FY2024 enacted funding. Within the RRA account, the FY2025 request
includes $7.29 billion for R&D, an increase of $376 million (5.4%) compared with the FY2023
actual amount. Of this amount, the majority ($6.95 billion, 95%) is requested for conducting
research, including $6.07 billion for basic research and $875 million for applied research.
Compared with the FY2024 enacted amounts, the FY2025 requested amount includes funding
increases for 10 of 12 RRA subaccounts. This includes a request of $900 million for the most
recently created directorate, the Directorate for Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships (TIP),
meant to advance key technologies; accelerate the translation of research to market; “cultivate
new education pathways”; and catalyze partnerships across academia, industry, government,
investors, and civil society.59 The FY2025 request also includes $258 million for the Established
Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR), a $6.34 million (2.5%) increase
compared with FY2023 actual funding.
Education
The FY2025 request for the EDU account is $1.30 billion, $128 million (11%) more than the
FY2024 enacted amount. By program division, in terms of dollars and percentages, the Division
of Undergraduate Education (DUE) would receive the largest increase, $35.6 million (13%) over
the FY2023 actual amount. The Division of Research on Learning in Formal and Informal
Settings (DRL) would receive a slight decrease of $1.48 million (-0.7%) from FY2023.
Within EDU, requested funding for R&D is $523 million, which is equal to the FY2024 enacted
funding amount and accounts for approximately 6% of the agency’s total R&D request. All of the
account’s requested funding would support the conduct of R&D, including $193 million for basic
research and $330 million for applied research.
Construction
The MREFC account supports the acquisition, construction, and commissioning of major
facilities and larger mid-scale research infrastructure, with all of the funding supporting R&D
facilities.60 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. These estimates are updated annually. This section of the analysis includes
comparisons with FY2025 requested funding for specific projects, based on these out-year
59 The Directorate for Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships (TIP Directorate) was established in March 2022 and
codified by the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS) and Science Act (P.L. 117-167). For
more information on the TIP Directorate, see NSF FY 2025 Budget Request, pp. TIP-1 to TIP-6.
60 Initial development and design and post-construction operations and maintenance are funded through the Research
and Related Activities (RRA) account.
Congressional Research Service
29
Federal Research and Development (R&D) Funding: FY2025
estimates. The Administration is seeking $300 million for MREFC in FY2025, $66.0 million
(28%) more than the FY2024 enacted amount.
Requested MREFC funding would support mid-scale research infrastructure and continued
construction on two ongoing major facility projects:
•
•
the Antarctic Infrastructure Recapitalization program ($60.0 million requested,
equal to the FY2023 actual amount)61 and
the Leadership-Class Computing Facility, “envisioned as a distributed facility
that will provide unique computational and data analytics capabilities, as well as
critical software and services, for the nation’s science and engineering research
community”; the anticipated funding amount and construction timeline is $520
million from FY2024 through FY2027, with $154 million requested for
FY2025.62
Additionally, $85 million is requested for Mid-scale Research Infrastructure Track 2 projects
(those projects with funding amounts between $20 million and $100 million), an increase of
$8.75 million (11%) from the FY2023 actual amount.63
Other Initiatives
The FY2025 NSF budget request includes funding for multiple agency-wide investments,
including crosscutting research topics, as well as multiagency initiatives.64 This funding is
included in multiple NSF appropriations accounts, and R&D amounts are not separately provided.
For FY2025, NSF requests funding for various administration priority areas and crosscutting
research topics. Requested funding amounts for each research area compared with the FY2023
actual amounts (in current dollars) include the following:65
•
•
•
•
Advanced manufacturing: $387 million requested, up $32.3 million (9%) from
FY2023
Advanced wireless: $168 million requested, up $13.9 million (9%) from FY2023
AI: $729 million requested, up $65.9 million (10%) from FY2023
Biotechnology: $421 million requested, up $36.4 million (9%) from FY2023
61 The Antarctic Infrastructure Recapitalization program is “a portfolio of investments in facilities and infrastructure
across U.S. Antarctic Program (USAP) stations and gateways.” NSF FY 2025 Budget Request, p. Research
Infrastructure-11.
62 NSF FY 2025 Budget Request, p. Research Infrastructure-28.
63 Mid-Scale Research Infrastructure Track 2 was a new funding line-item in the Major Research Equipment and
Facilities Construction (MREFC) account as of FY2020, meant to manage support for upgrades to major facilities and
stand-alone projects in this range as a portfolio. NSF FY 2025 Budget Request, p. Research Infrastructure-48.
64 Prior versions of this CRS report included funding requests for NSF’s Big Ideas investments. As the budget request
notes, “NSF’s Big Ideas, first put forth in FY 2017, ended as a unifying concept in FY 2023 as planned. Investments in
these forward-looking research categories across the [RRA], EDU, and MREFC accounts provided the groundwork for
many new successes. Most of the Big Ideas will continue as core research programs or be superseded by new but
related efforts.” See NSF, FY 2024 Budget Request to Congress, March 13, 2023, p. Cross-Theme Topics-15,
https://nsf-gov-resources.nsf.gov/2023-08/
NSF%20FY24%20CJ_Entire%20Rollup_web_%28ERRATA%20v4%29.pdf?VersionId=
O1Um6rPm6xnLj80uA05Dm7IwxHUqScDO.
65 For additional details on funding amounts by account, see NSF FY 2025 Budget Request, pp. Summary Tables-8 to
Summary Tables-10.
Congressional Research Service
30
Federal Research and Development (R&D) Funding: FY2025
•
•
•
Quantum information science: $294 million requested, up $27.6 million (10%)
from FY2023
Microelectronics and semiconductors: $175 million requested, up $22.7 million
(15%) from FY2023
Clean energy technology: $551 million requested, up $28.6 million (6%) from
FY2023
Table 12. National Science Foundation (NSF) Funding
(budget authority, in millions of current dollars)
Account
FY2023
Actuala
FY2024
Enacted
FY2025
Requestb
Research and Related
Activities (RRA)c
7,631.0
7,176.5
8,045.3
R&D, RRA Total
6,911.9
n/a
7,287.9
Conduct of R&D
6,591.5
n/a
6,948.5
320.4
n/a
339.4
1,229.3
1,172.0
1,300.0
R&D Facilities and Major
Equipment
STEM Education (EDU)c
R&D, EDU Total
522.9
n/a
523.0
Conduct of R&D
522.4
n/a
523.0
0.6
n/a
0.0
Major Research Equipment
and Facilities Construction
(MREFC)
187.2
234.0
300.0
R&D, MREFC Total
159.9
n/a
300.0
0.0
n/a
0.0
R&D Facilities and Major
Equipment
159.9
n/a
300.0
Agency Operations and
Award Management
(AOAM)d
463.0
448.0
504.0
Office of Inspector General
(OIG)d
23.4
24.4
28.5
National Science Board
(NSB)d
5.1
5.1
5.2
NSF, Total Discretionarye
9,539.0
9,060.0
10,183.0
R&D, NSF Total
7,610.8
7,800.0f
8,120.9
Total, Conduct of R&Dg
7,130.0
n/a
7,481.5
Total, R&D Physical Assets
480.8
n/a
639.4
R&D Facilities and Major
Equipment
Conduct of R&D
FY2025
House
FY2025
Senate
FY2025
Enacted
Sources: Data in the columns titled “FY2023 Actual,” “FY2024 Enacted,” and “FY2025 Request” are from P.L.
118-42 and NSF, FY 2025 Budget Request to Congress, March 11, 2024, https://nsf-gov-resources.nsf.gov/files/
00_NSF_FY25_CJ_Entire%20Rollup_web.pdf?VersionId=cbkdqD_UMweHEIsZwPjtVgcQRwMccgvu.
Notes: n/a = not available. Appropriations accounts are in boldface. Non-boldface amounts are a subset of
funding provided through the specified appropriations accounts, and italicized amounts are subsets of non-
Congressional Research Service
31
Federal Research and Development (R&D) Funding: FY2025
boldface total amounts. Components may not sum to totals because of rounding. Figures for the blank columns
will be added as Congress completes each action.
a. FY2023 actual funding amounts are as reported in the NSF FY 2025 Budget Request to Congress; these
amounts reflect “the anticipated transfer of $15.0 million of carryover within the [RRA] account to the
AOAM account to be competed in FY 2024.” FY2023 amounts also included supplemental appropriations
from Division B and Division N in P.L. 117-328.
b. Figures in the FY2025 Request column do not include advance appropriations.
c. Per the NSF FY 2025 Budget Request to Congress, FY2025 RRA and EDU accounts “are restated to show
consolidation of NSF mission support activities within [RRA] comparably with FY 2025; [EDU] account
shifts $16.72 million to [RRA]” in the FY2023 Actual column.
d. The AOAM, NSB, and OIG accounts have no reported R&D funding.
e. In addition to discretionary funding, NSF reports mandatory funding from Creating Helpful Incentives to
Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS) for American Workforce and Education Fund mandatory appropriations
(per P.L. 117-167, Division A), and H-1B visa and donation sources, which are not included in this total.
f.
The “R&D, NSF Total,” amount for FY2024 is an estimate from the Analytical Perspectives report in the
President’s FY2025 budget, based on annualized continuing resolutions. NSF did not include FY2024 R&D
estimates in its FY2025 budget request.
g. The “Total, Conduct of R&D” amounts include supplemental funding from the CHIPS for American
Workforce and Education Fund, including $16.1 million in FY2023 and $10 million in FY2025, not shown in
the account breakouts in this table. See NSF FY 2025 Budget Request to Congress, p. QDT-8.
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)66
USDA was created in 1862 in part 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, as well as 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 science issues
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.67 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 for REE, coordinates
science activities across the department.
USDA’s FY2024 enacted discretionary appropriations and the Administration’s FY2025 budget
request for the four REE agencies and OCS are discussed below, and funding amounts are
presented in Table 13. In annual agriculture appropriations acts, Title I (Agricultural Programs)
provides discretionary appropriations for USDA, including the REE agencies and OCS. REE
agencies and programs receive additional funding from sources other than this title, including
discretionary funding from Title VII (General Provisions) of annual agriculture appropriations
66 This section was written by Eleni Bickell, Analyst in Agricultural Policy, CRS Resources, Science, and Industry
Division.
67 For additional information, see CRS Report R40819, Agricultural Research: Background and Issues, by Eleni G.
Bickell.
Congressional Research Service
32
Federal Research and Development (R&D) Funding: FY2025
acts, mandatory funding authorized by the 2018 farm bill (P.L. 115-334 nonfederal matching
contributions, and private donations and grants.68 Funding from these other sources is discussed
separately in the text and is not presented in Table 13.
FY2024 enacted appropriations (Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024, P.L. 118-42 provided a
total of $3.80 billion in discretionary spending for the REE activities through Division B
(Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies
Appropriations Act, 2024), Title I.69 The Administration is requesting a total of $3.81 billion for
REE activities in FY2025, an increase of $10 million (in current dollars).
Agricultural Research Service (ARS)
ARS is USDA’s in-house basic and applied research agency and is responsible for conducting and
leading the national agricultural research effort. ARS operates approximately 90 laboratories with
about 5,300 permanent employees, including approximately 2,000 research scientists.70 The work
of ARS laboratories includes 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 FY2024, P.L. 118-42 provided $1.788 billion for ARS salaries and expenses, and $57.2
million for buildings and facilities. For FY2025, the Administration is requesting $1.755 billion
for ARS salaries and expenses, a decrease of $32.5 million below the FY2024 discretionary
appropriations. This request includes increases of $47 million for high priority program
initiatives. The FY2025 request for buildings and facilities is $28.4 million, a decrease of $28.8
million (50.3%) from the FY2024 appropriations.
ARS continues to coordinate with DHS on the new National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility
(NBAF), which DHS is constructing to replace the outdated Plum Island Animal Disease
Center.71 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 the completion and
commissioning of NBAF.72 For FY2024, P.L. 118-42 provided a total of $24.5 million to remain
available until expended to be used to carry out the science program and transition activities for
the NBAF to Manhattan, KS. The FY2025 request includes an increase of $13.0 million to be
used for operations and maintenance required by the new NBAF.
68 Ibid.
69 FY2024 enacted appropriations and related congressional directives presented in this section derive from P.L. 118-42
and the accompanying Joint Explanatory Statement, Division B—Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug
Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2024.
70 Table ARS-4 (p. 20-7) of the 2025 U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Explanatory Notes for the Agricultural
Research Service states that in 2024, the Agricultural Research Service had a total of 5,334 permanent positions: 538
located in Washington, DC, and 4,796 located in field offices.
71 For additional information, see CRS In Focus IF11492, National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility: Purpose and Status,
by Genevieve K. Croft. Congressional readers may contact Eleni Bickell, Analyst in Agricultural Policy, for follow-up.
72 USDA and Department of Homeland Security (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,
https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/usda-dhs-moa.pdf.
Congressional Research Service
33
Federal Research and Development (R&D) Funding: FY2025
National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA)
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.73
Federal funds awarded through NIFA capacity (formula-based) and competitive grants enhance
research capacity at these institutions.74 While NIFA is headquartered in Washington, DC, USDA
relocated the majority of NIFA staff positions to Kansas City, MO, in 2019.75
For FY2024, P.L. 118-42 provided $1.679 billion in discretionary funds for NIFA activities. For
FY2025, the Administration is requesting $1.732 billion, an increase of $52.9 million (3.2%). In
the explanatory notes for NIFA, the Administration proposes a change in appropriations language
that would combine three separate NIFA funding accounts—for research and education,
extension, and integrated activities—into one agency account that includes all programs.76
Research and Education
The 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 enacted P.L.
118-42 provided $265.0 million, and the Administration is requesting the same funding level for
FY2025. For Evans-Allen programs, FY2024 appropriations provided $89.0 million, and for
FY2025, the Administration is requesting $98.0 million, a 10.1% increase. The McIntire-Stennis
program funds capacity building for forestry research. For FY2024, P.L. 118-42 provided $38.0
million for this program, and the Administration is requesting $36.0 million for FY2025.
The Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) is USDA’s flagship competitive research
grants program and currently represents about 26.5% of NIFA’s total discretionary budget. The
FY2024 enacted bill provided $445.2 million for AFRI, and the Administration is requesting
$475.0 million for FY2025, a 6.7% increase.
Extension
The Smith-Lever Act created a cooperative extension service associated with each land-grant
institution.77 Smith-Lever subsections 3(b) and 3(c) authorize capacity grants to 1862 Institutions
to support cooperative extension. The FY2024 enacted appropriations provided $325.0 million
for these programs, and the Administration is requesting the same funding level for FY2025. For
73 1862, 1890, and 1994 refer to the years of enactment of the laws that created these institutional classifications. For
more information on land-grant colleges and universities (LGUs) and other institutions funded by the National Institute
of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), see CRS Report R45897, The U.S. Land-Grant University System: Overview and Role
in Agricultural Research, by Eleni G. Bickell; CRS In Focus IF11847, 1890 Land-Grant Universities: Background and
Selected Issues, by Eleni G. Bickell; and CRS In Focus IF12009, 1994 Land-Grant Universities: Background and
Selected Issues, by Eleni G. Bickell.
74 The National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (P.L. 95-113) designated USDA as
the lead federal agency for higher education in the food and agricultural sciences.
75 For further information, see CRS In Focus IF11527, Relocation of the USDA Research Agencies: NIFA and ERS, by
Genevieve K. Croft. Congressional readers may contact Eleni Bickell, Analyst in Agricultural Policy, for follow-up.
76 Similar consolidations in NIFA have been proposed in seven of the past nine President’s Budget Requests but were
not adopted by Congress.
77 USDA, NIFA, “About NIFA: Who We Are,” https://www.nifa.usda.gov/about-nifa/who-we-are/history.
Congressional Research Service
34
Federal Research and Development (R&D) Funding: FY2025
extension capacity grants for 1890 Institutions, FY2024 appropriations included $72.0 million,
and the Administration is requesting $76.0 million for FY2025, a 5.6% increase.
Smith-Lever Act 3(d) programs provide for competitive grants to LGUs to support cooperative
extension. These programs include grants for food and nutrition education; new technologies for
agricultural extension; federally recognized tribes; children, youth, and families at risk; and farm
safety education. For FY2024, P.L. 118-42 provided $88.6 million for Smith-Lever 3(d)
programs. For FY2025, the Administration is requesting $114.6 million, a 29.3% increase. Of the
FY2024 enacted appropriations, $70.0 million supports the Expanded Food and Nutrition
Education Program (EFNEP), and $4 million supports the Federally-Recognized Tribes Extension
Program. The Administration is requesting $90 million for EFNEP and $7.7 million for the
Federally-Recognized Tribes Extension Program in FY2025.
Integrated Activities
Integrated activities include some combination of teaching, education, and research. For FY2024,
P.L. 118-42 provided $41.1 million for integrated activities, and the Administration is requesting
$15.0 million for FY2025, a 63.5% decrease.
National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS)
NASS conducts the Census of Agriculture every five years and provides official statistics on
agricultural production and farm sector indicators. It is one of the 13 principal statistical agencies
of the U.S. Federal Statistical System. For FY2024, P.L. 118-42 provided $187.5 million for
NASS, of which up to $46.9 million is reserved to support the Census of Agriculture. The
Administration is requesting $196.0 million for NASS in FY2025, of which up to $48.2 million
would be for the Census of Agriculture, a 4.5% increase in current dollars.
Economic Research Service (ERS)
ERS supports economic and social science analysis about agriculture, rural development, food,
commodity markets, and the environment. It also collects and disseminates data concerning
USDA programs and policies. Like NASS, ERS is one of the principal statistical agencies of the
U.S. Federal Statistical System. While ERS is headquartered in Washington, DC, USDA relocated
the majority of ERS staff positions to Kansas City, MO, in 2019.78
For FY2024, P.L. 118-42 provided $90.6 million for ERS activities. The Administration is
requesting $98.1 million for FY2025, an 8.3% increase.
Office of the Under Secretary for Research, Education, and
Economics (REE) and Office of the Chief Scientist (OCS)
Congress created OCS in 2008 when it established the dual role of the Under Secretary for REE
as the USDA Chief Scientist (7 U.S.C. §6971). OCS coordinates research programs and activities
across USDA. Administratively, it is a component of the Office of the Under Secretary for REE.
In recent years, congressional appropriations for the Office of the Under Secretary for REE have
included funds for the Under Secretary and a partial staff. Congress has not directed
appropriations specifically for OCS staff since its establishment. Therefore, OCS has been funded
78 See CRS In Focus IF11527, Relocation of the USDA Research Agencies: NIFA and ERS, by Genevieve K. Croft. For
more information, congressional readers can contact Eleni Bickell, Analyst in Agricultural Policy.
Congressional Research Service
35
Federal Research and Development (R&D) Funding: FY2025
via interagency agreement among the REE agencies. FY2024 appropriations provided $1.9
million for the Office of the Under Secretary for REE. Of the $1.9 million, $0.5 million was
allocated to OCS. The President’s budget request for FY2025 includes $4.2 million for the Office
of the Under Secretary for REE, of which $2.8 million would be allocated for OCS.
Table 13. U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) R&D
(budget authority, in millions of current dollars)
Agency or Major Program
FY2024
Enacted
FY2025
Requesta
FY2025
House
FY2025
Senate
FY2025
Enacted
Agricultural Research Service (ARS)
Salaries and Expenses
1,788.1
1,755.5
Buildings and Facilities
57.2
28.4
1,845.2
1,783.9
AFRI (competitive grants)
445.2
475.0
Hatch Act (1862 Institutions)
265.0
265.0
Evans-Allen (1890 Institutions)
89.0
98.0
McIntire-Stennis (forestry)
38.0
36.0
Other
238.8
232.7
1,076.0
1,106.7
Smith-Lever 3(b) and 3(c)
325.0
325.0
Smith-Lever 3(d)
88.6
114.6
1890 Extension Activities
72.0
76.0
1994 Extension Activities
11.0
21.0
Other
65.1
74.0
561.7
610.6
41.1
15.0
1,678.8
1,732.3
National Agricultural Statistics
Service (NASS)
187.5
196.0
Economic Research Service (ERS)
90.6
98.1
Office of the Under Secretary for REE
1.9
4.2
Office of the Chief Scientist
0.5
2.8
3,804.0
3,814.5
Total, ARS
National Institute of Food and
Agriculture (NIFA)
NIFA Research and Education
Total, NIFA Research and
Education
NIFA Extension
Total, NIFA Extension
Integrated Activities
Total, NIFA
Grand total, USDA Research,
Education, and Economics
Appropriations
Sources: CRS, compiled from Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024 (P.L. 118-42) and the accompanying Joint
Explanatory Statement, Division B—Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and
Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2024; and USDA, FY2025 USDA Budget Justification Notes,
https://www.usda.gov/cj/fy2025-explanatory-notes.
Congressional Research Service
36
Federal Research and Development (R&D) Funding: FY2025
Notes: Components may not sum to totals because of rounding. Figures for the blank columns will be added as
Congress completes each action.
a. Figures in the FY2025 Request column do not include advance appropriations.
Department of Commerce (DOC)
Two DOC agencies have major R&D programs: the National Institute of Standards and
Technology (NIST) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)79
The mission of NIST is “to promote U.S. innovation and industrial competitiveness by advancing
measurement science, standards, and technology in ways that enhance economic security and
improve our quality of life.”80 NIST research provides measurement, calibration, and quality
assurance methods and techniques that support U.S. commerce, technological progress, product
reliability, manufacturing processes, and public safety. NIST’s responsibilities include
developing, maintaining, and retaining custody of the national standards of measurement;
providing the means and methods for making measurements consistent with those standards; and
ensuring that U.S. national measurement standards are compatible with those of other nations.81
Regular appropriations for NIST are provided through the annual Commerce, Justice, Science,
and Related Agencies Appropriations Act. President Biden requests $1.498 billion for NIST in
FY2025, an increase of $38.5 million (up 2.6%, in current dollars) from the FY2024 enacted
appropriation of $1.460 billion.82 (See Table 14.)
NIST discretionary funding is provided through three accounts: Scientific and Technical Research
and Services (STRS), Industrial Technology Services (ITS), and Construction of Research
Facilities (CRF).
The President’s FY2025 request includes $975.0 million for laboratory R&D programs, corporate
services, and standards coordination and special programs in the STRS account, a decrease of
$105.0 million (down 9.7%) from the FY2024 enacted appropriation of $1.080 billion.83 Program
changes highlighted in the STRS account include
79 This section was written by Emily G. Blevins, Analyst in Science and Technology Policy, CRS Resources, Science,
and Industry Division.
80 National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) website, “General Information,” http://nist.gov/
public_affairs/general_information.cfm.
81 15 U.S.C. §272.
82 CRS analysis of data from U.S. Department of Commerce, “National Institute of Standards and Technology,” in The
Department of Commerce Budget in Brief, Fiscal Year 2025, p. 142, https://www.commerce.gov/sites/default/files/
2024-04/FY2025-Budget-in-Brief.pdf; P.L. 118-42; and Explanatory Statement, H.R. 4366, 118th Cong., 2nd sess.,
Congressional Record, vol. 170, no. 39 (March 5, 2024), p. S1399, https://www.congress.gov/118/crec/2024/03/05/
170/39/CREC-2024-03-05.pdf.
83 The $1,080.0 million FY2024 appropriation for the Scientific and Technical Research and Services (STRS) account
included $222.8 million for congressionally directed external projects. After the removal of congressionally directed
spending for FY2024, the President’s FY2025 request of $975.0 million for STRS represents an increase of $117.8
million. CRS analysis of data from U.S. Department of Commerce, “National Institute of Standards and Technology,”
in The Department of Commerce Budget in Brief, Fiscal Year 2025, p. 142; P.L. 118-42; and Explanatory Statement,
H.R. 4366, 118th Cong., 2nd sess., Congressional Record, vol. 170, no. 39 (March 5, 2024), p. S1399.
Congressional Research Service
37
Federal Research and Development (R&D) Funding: FY2025
•
•
$47.7 million for activities assigned to NIST in Executive Order 14110, “Safe,
Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence,”84 and
$13.9 million to expand NIST’s quantum information S&T-related R&D efforts.85
The FY2025 request would provide $212.0 million for the ITS account, which would represent no
change from the FY2024 enacted level.86 The FY2025 request’s allocation of funding within the
ITS account would also leave FY2024 program levels unchanged, with $175.0 million requested
for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) program and $37.0 million for
Manufacturing USA.87 Program changes highlighted in the ITS account include proposed
spending reductions within the MEP program and Manufacturing USA to offset FY2025
inflationary costs.88
Funding requested for MEP would continue support for the national network of 51 MEP Centers,
which develop a range of services for area manufacturers, such as initiatives focused on supply
chain optimization, workforce development, and technology adoption.89
Funding for Manufacturing USA would continue program coordination and network support for a
projected 18 Manufacturing USA institutes.90 The proposed budget also requests funding for
merit-based investments in industry test beds at Manufacturing USA institutes to accelerate the
transfer of technology and workforce skills from institutes to U.S. production.91
The FY2025 request includes $311.5 million for the CRF account to address the repair and
maintenance backlog of NIST facilities, up $143.5 million (up 85.4%) from the FY2024 enacted
level of $168.0 million.92 Program changes highlighted within the CRF account include a
requested $178.3 million to complete the ongoing modernization of Building 245, which is
NIST’s primary facility for its work on measurement standards and calibrations for
electromagnetic radiation and radioactivity used by government entities and private industry
throughout the United States as well as globally.93
84 U.S. Department of Commerce, “National Institute of Standards and Technology,” in The Department of Commerce
Budget in Brief, Fiscal Year 2025, p. 146.
85 Ibid.
86 CRS analysis of data from U.S. Department of Commerce, “National Institute of Standards and Technology,” in The
Department of Commerce Budget in Brief, Fiscal Year 2025, p. 142, https://www.commerce.gov/sites/default/files/
2024-04/FY2025-Budget-in-Brief.pdf; P.L. 118-42; and Explanatory Statement, H.R. 4366, 118th Cong., 2nd sess.,
Congressional Record, vol. 170, no. 39 (March 5, 2024), p. S1399, https://www.congress.gov/118/crec/2024/03/05/
170/39/CREC-2024-03-05.pdf.
87 U.S. Department of Commerce, “National Institute of Standards and Technology,” in The Department of Commerce
Budget in Brief, Fiscal Year 2025, p. 142.
88 Ibid., p. 148.
89 Ibid., p. 142.
90 The FY2025 Budget Request estimates that by the end of FY2024, the network of Manufacturing USA institutes will
include two institutes sponsored by the Department of Commerce, nine sponsored by DOD, and seven sponsored by
DOE; ibid., p. 142.
91 Ibid.
92 CRS analysis of data from U.S. Department of Commerce, “National Institute of Standards and Technology,” in The
Department of Commerce Budget in Brief, Fiscal Year 2025, p. 142, https://www.commerce.gov/sites/default/files/
2024-04/FY2025-Budget-in-Brief.pdf; P.L. 118-42; and Explanatory Statement, H.R. 4366, 118th Cong., 2nd sess.,
Congressional Record, vol. 170, no. 39 (March 5, 2024), p. S1399, https://www.congress.gov/118/crec/2024/03/05/
170/39/CREC-2024-03-05.pdf.
93 U.S. Department of Commerce, “National Institute of Standards and Technology,” in The Department of Commerce
Budget in Brief, Fiscal Year 2025, p. 143.
Congressional Research Service
38
Federal Research and Development (R&D) Funding: FY2025
Table 14. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Funding
(budget authority, in millions of current dollars)
FY2024
Enacted
FY2025
Request
Laboratory Programs
n/a
848.9
Corporate Services
n/a
17.7
Standards Coordination and Special Programs
n/a
108.4
Congressionally Directed External Projects
222.8
0
1,080.0
975.0a
Manufacturing Extension Partnership
175.0
175.0
Manufacturing USA
37.0
37.0
Total
212.0
212.0
Construction and Major Renovations
n/a
178.3
Safety, Capacity, Maintenance and Major Repairs
87.8
133.2
Congressionally Directed Extramural
Construction
80.2
0
Total
168.0
311.5
Grand total
1,460.0
1,498.5
Account or Program
FY2025
House
FY2025
Senate
FY2025
Enacted
Scientific and Technical Research and
Services
Total
Industrial Technology Services
Construction of Research Facilities
Source: NIST, National Technical Information Service: Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Submission to Congress, March 2024,
p. NIST-2, https://www.commerce.gov/sites/default/files/2024-03/NIST-NTIS-FY2025-Congressional-BudgetSubmission.pdf; P.L. 118-42; and Explanatory Statement, H.R. 4366, 118th Cong., 2nd sess., Congressional Record, vol.
170, no. 39 (March 5, 2024), p. S1399, https://www.congress.gov/118/crec/2024/03/05/170/39/CREC-2024-0305.pdf.
Notes: n/a = not available. Components may not sum to totals because of rounding. Figures for the blank
columns will be added as Congress completes each action.
a. This amount does not include transfer of $1.5 million from the Department of Justice for NIST Office of
Law Enforcement Standards, see NIST Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Submission to Congress, p. NIST-10.
FY2025 Funding Provided by the CHIPS Act of 2022
In addition to regular appropriations, in July 2022, Congress passed the Creating Helpful
Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS) and Science Act (P.L. 117-167) which, among
other things, included the CHIPS Act of 2022 as Division A. The CHIPS Act of 2022 provided
mandatory funding for FY2022-FY2026 and amended NIST authorities established under the
William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (P.L. 116283). These funds are not included in Table 14.
For FY2025, P.L. 117-167 appropriated $6.1 billion for the Secretary of Commerce to carry out
the provisions specified in Sections 9902 and 9906 of P.L. 116-283, as amended. The provisions
seek to expand U.S. domestic semiconductor manufacturing fabrication capacity and R&D
through financial incentives—direct financial assistance (i.e., grants, loans, loan guarantees) and
tax deductions—and the formation of public-private joint research activities. NIST’s FY2025
Congressional Research Service
39
Federal Research and Development (R&D) Funding: FY2025
budget submission to Congress indicates that the $6.1 billion appropriated for FY2025 by P.L.
117-167 will be allocated as follows:
•
•
•
•
$5 billion for the Incentives Program to continue making financial assistance
awards to spur investment in domestic semiconductor production capacity and to
continue addressing national security requirements;94
$1.03 billion for the National Semiconductor Technology Center to provide
ongoing funding for projects and operations;95
$23 million to provide continued support for NIST metrology R&D programs;96
and
$25 million to provide support for the Manufacturing USA institutes established
using prior year funding.97
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)98
NOAA conducts scientific research in areas such as coastal and marine ecosystems, the
atmosphere, global climate change, weather, and oceans; collects and disseminates data on the
oceans and atmosphere; and manages coastal and marine species and environments. NOAA was
created in 1970 by Reorganization Plan No. 4.99
NOAA is organized into six line offices or subagencies: the National Environmental Satellite,
Data, and Information Service (NESDIS); National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS); National
Ocean Service (NOS); National Weather Service (NWS); Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric
Research (OAR); and the Office of Marine and Aviation Operations (OMAO). The line offices
are supported by Mission Support, which conducts crosscutting administrative functions related
to education, planning, information technology, human resources, and infrastructure. Through the
annual Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies appropriations act, Congress provides
most of the discretionary funding for the line offices and Mission Support through two accounts:
(1) Operations, Research, and Facilities and (2) Procurement, Acquisition, and Construction.
NOAA has released several documents and guidance that describe its R&D mission and focus
areas. The most recent NOAA R&D plan, published in June 2020, identifies R&D priorities in
three thematic areas: (1) reduction of societal impacts from hazardous weather and other
environmental phenomena, (2) sustainable use and stewardship of ocean and coastal resources,
and (3) a robust and effective research, development, and transition enterprise.100 In addition, the
agency issued a NOAA administrative order (NAO) focused on R&D in June 2022.101 The NAO
“establishes the principles, policies, and responsibilities by which [R&D] throughout NOAA can
94 Authorized in Section 9902 of P.L. 116-283; NIST, National Technical Information Service: Fiscal Year 2025
Budget Submission to Congress, March 2024, p. NIST-132, https://www.commerce.gov/sites/default/files/2024-03/
NIST-NTIS-FY2025-Congressional-Budget-Submission.pdf.
95 Authorized in Section 9906(c) of P.L. 116-283; ibid., p. NIST-133.
96 Authorized in Section 9906(e) of P.L. 116-283; ibid.
97 Authorized in Section 9906(f) of P.L. 116-283; ibid.
98 This section was written by Eva Lipiec, Specialist in Natural Resources Policy, CRS Resources, Science, and
Industry Division.
99 “Reorganization Plan No. 4 of 1970,” 35 Federal Register 15627-15630, October 6, 1970.
100 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), NOAA Research and Development Vision Areas:
2020-2026, June 2020, p. 2, https://research.noaa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/noaa_24933_DS1.pdf.
101 NOAA, “NAO 216-115B: Research and Development in NOAA,” issued June 7, 2022, https://www.noaa.gov/
organization/administration/nao-216-115b-research-and-development-in-noaa.
Congressional Research Service
40
Federal Research and Development (R&D) Funding: FY2025
be continually reviewed, evaluated and rebalanced in light of evolving mission needs.”102 The
handbook accompanying the NAO provides information on the planning, monitoring, evaluation,
and reporting of NOAA R&D.103
For FY2025, President Biden has requested $1,164.9 million for NOAA R&D funding, including
R&D-related equipment and facilities.104 This is $80.4 million (-6.5%) below the FY2024 enacted
level of $1,245.3 million.105 The FY2025 request does not include advance appropriations from
laws such as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA; P.L. 117-58) or P.L. 117-169,
commonly referred to as the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The President’s FY2025 request for
NOAA R&D is 16.4% of the requested FY2025 NOAA discretionary direct obligations of $7.1
billion.106 According to OMB, direct obligations include annual appropriations, transfers, and
recoveries from prior-year obligations.107 Of the total requested for NOAA R&D in FY2025,
$684.0 million is for research (58.7%), $176.7 million is for development (15.2%), and $304.3
million is for R&D equipment and facilities (26.1%).108 Table 15 provides R&D amounts for
NOAA enacted in FY2024 and as requested by the Administration for FY2025.
OAR accounts for the majority of NOAA R&D budget requests and enacted amounts in most
years, including for the FY2025 budget request. The Administration requested $608.8 million for
OAR R&D in FY2025, which is $95.7 million (-13.6%) below the FY2024 enacted funding level
of $704.5 million.109 OAR conducts research in three major areas—(1) climate; (2) weather and
air chemistry; and (3) oceans, coasts, and the Great Lakes—and supports high-performance
computing requirements and research in uncrewed aircraft and marine systems.
For FY2025, among R&D activities, the Administration requested the largest amounts of R&D
funding for climate and weather laboratories and cooperative institutes, and research
supercomputing.110 The President requested
102 NOAA, Procedural Handbook for NOAA Administrative Order (NAO) 216-115B: Research and Development in
NOAA, January 2023, p. 3, https://www.noaa.gov/sites/default/files/2023-01/handbook_NAO-216-115B.pdf.
103 Ibid., pp. 3-4.
104 NOAA, Budget Estimates FY2025, March 2024, p. NOAA-29, https://www.noaa.gov/sites/default/files/2024-03/
NOAA_FY25_Congressional_Justification.pdf (hereinafter NOAA, Budget Estimates FY2025). NOAA was unable to
provide the amount of Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA; P.L. 117-58) and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA;
P.L. 117-169) funds requested for R&D in FY2025 (email correspondence with the NOAA Budget Office, May 1,
2024).
105 Email correspondence with the NOAA Budget Office, April 29, 2024. R&D funding amounts in annual
appropriations acts are estimated by NOAA because neither the legislative text nor the explanatory statement provide a
breakout of R&D funding and include only discretionary direct obligations (telephone conversation with NOAA
Budget Office, September 3, 2020). NOAA allocated another $323.5 million from IIJA and IRA funds for FY2024
R&D activities. NOAA was unable to provide the amount of IIJA and IRA funds requested for R&D in FY2025 (email
correspondence with the NOAA Budget Office, May 1, 2024).
106 NOAA, Budget Estimates FY2025, p. Control Table-18.
107 Congressional documents sometimes refer to direct obligations as program levels. (For example, see “Regarding the
House Amendment to the Senate Amendment to H.R. 2471, Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022,” Explanatory
Statement Submitted by Ms. DeLauro, Chair of the House Committee on Appropriations, Congressional Record, vol.
168 (March 9, 2022), pp. H1775 and H1781.) For further descriptions of what types of obligations are direct versus
reimbursable, see OMB, “Preparation, Submission, and Execution of the Budget,” Circular No. A-11, July 2016, p. 3 of
Section 83, https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/sites/default/files/omb/assets/a11_current_year/a11_2016.pdf.
108 NOAA, Budget Estimates FY2025, p. Control Table-18.
109 Email correspondence with the NOAA Budget Office, April 29, 2024. NOAA requested a total of $645.7 million in
FY2025 for Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR) R&D and non-R&D activities (NOAA, Budget
Estimates FY2025, p. Control Table-3).
110 Email correspondence with the NOAA Budget Office, April 29, 2024.
Congressional Research Service
41
Federal Research and Development (R&D) Funding: FY2025
•
•
•
$95.2 million for climate labs and cooperative institutes in FY2025, $8.9 million
(-8.6%) less than the FY2024 enacted amount of $104.1 million;111
$86.1 million for weather and air chemistry labs and cooperative institutes in
FY2025, $4.0 million (-4.5%) less than the FY2024 enacted amount of $90.2
million;112 and
$68.5 million for research supercomputing in FY2025, $18.5 million (37%) more
than the FY2024 enacted amount of $50.0 million.113
Table 15. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Annual R&D
Enacted and Requested Direct Obligations
(budget authority, in millions of current dollars)
Office or Subagency
FY2024
Enacteda
FY2025
Requestb
National Environmental
Satellite, Data, and
Information Service
(NESDIS)
59.9
60.7
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS)
75.6
60.9
National Ocean Service
(NOS)
121.1
105.3
National Weather Service
(NWS)
41.9
39.4
Office of Marine and
Aviation Operations
(OMAO)
227.7
274.7
Office of Oceanic and
Atmospheric Research
(OAR)
704.5
608.8
Mission Support
14.8
15.0
1,245.3
1,164.9
Total
FY2025
House
FY2025
Senate
FY2025
Enacted
Sources: NOAA Budget Office via email correspondence in April 2024 and NOAA, Budget Estimates Fiscal Year
2025, May 2024, p. NOAA-29, https://www.noaa.gov/sites/default/files/2024-03/
NOAA_FY25_Congressional_Justification.pdf.
Notes: Components may not sum to totals because of rounding. Figures for the blank columns will be added as
Congress completes each action. Direct obligations include annual appropriations, transfers, and recoveries from
111 NOAA, Budget Estimates FY2025, p. Control Table-3, and Sen. Murray, Unanimous Consent Agreement - H.R.
4366, Congressional Record, vol. 170, No. 39 (March 5, 2024), p. S1402 (hereinafter Sen. Murray, FY2024
Unanimous Consent Agreement, 2024). Congress provided $104.1 million for climate laboratories and cooperatives
institutes in FY2023 (Explanatory Statement Submitted by Sen. Leahy, Chair of the Senate Committee on
Appropriations, Regarding H.R. 2617, Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, Congressional Record, vol. 168, no.
198 (December 20, 2022), p. S7910 (hereinafter Sen. Leahy, FY2023 Explanatory Statement, 2022).
112 Ibid. Congress provided $93.2 million for weather and air chemistry laboratories and cooperatives institutes in
FY2023 (Sen. Leahy, FY2023 Explanatory Statement, 2022, p. S7910).
113 NOAA, Budget Estimates FY2025, p. Control Table-10, and Sen. Murray, FY2024 Unanimous Consent Agreement,
2024, p. S1402. Congress provided $70.0 million for research supercomputing in FY2023 annual funding (Sen. Leahy,
FY2023 Explanatory Statement, 2022, p. S7917).
Congressional Research Service
42
Federal Research and Development (R&D) Funding: FY2025
prior-year obligations. Congress and NOAA use several different budgetary terms, such as direct obligations,
program levels, budget authority, and appropriations.
a. Amounts in the FY2024 Enacted column do not include advance appropriations, such as those from the
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA; P.L. 117-58) or the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA; P.L. 117-169).
Advance appropriations made up a total of $323.5 million in FY2024, on top of the annual FY2024 amount,
with the most funding allocated to OAR ($221.2 million).
b. Amounts in the FY2025 Request column do not include advance appropriations, such as those from IIJA and
IRA.
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)114
The VA provides health care and health-related services to eligible veterans through the Veterans
Health Administration (VHA). VHA’s primary mission is to provide health care services to
eligible veterans and some family members.115 The VHA is also statutorily required to conduct
medical research into the special health care needs of veterans.116
The President is requesting $1.715 billion for VA R&D in FY2025, a decrease of $110.5 million
(6.1%) from FY2024 enacted levels.117 (See Table 16.) According to the President’s request,
FY2025 strategic priorities for VA R&D include increasing veterans’ access to clinical trials;
increasing the real-world impact of VA research; effectively using VA data for veterans;
promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion within the VA sphere of influence; and building
community through VA research.118 In addition, the VA plans to prioritize research on pain and
opioid use, environmental exposures related to military service, traumatic brain injury, cancer and
precision oncology, and suicide prevention.11
This text is long and has been trimmed here. Open the source document for the complete record.
This is a copy of a public record, reproduced as it was published. It is not legal advice, and it may not be the version a court would rely on. Check the official source before you cite it.