February 27, 2012 - IMM@BUCT

GOVERNMENT & POLICY
KEVIN LAMARQUE/REUTERS/NEWSCOM
AFFIRMING SCIENCE
President’s 2013 BUDGET proposal provides
increases to R&D and education
GOVERNMENT & POLICY DEPARTMENT
FEDERAL R&D Defense work
dominates proposed fiscal 2013 budget.
Commerce a
Agriculture 2%
2%
NSF
4%
NASA
7%
Energy
8%
Health &
Human Services
22%
Other b
4%
2013 R&D request = $141 billion
Defense
51%
NOTE: Proposed budgets are for R&D activities
only. a Proposed budget for 2013 includes funding
for two mandatory projects: the Wireless Innovation
Fund and the National Network for Manufacturing
Innovation. b Agencies receiving a share less than
1%, including EPA, Education, Homeland Security,
Interior, the Smithsonian Institution, Transportation,
and Veterans Affairs.
SOURCE: White House Office of Science &
Technology Policy
SINCE TAKING OFFICE, President Barack
Obama has touted the importance of basic
research and science, technology, engineering,
and mathematics (STEM) education
for the economic prosperity of the U.S.
Even in what has become a trying fiscal environment,
the President does not appear
to be wavering in his support.
The 2013 budget request reaffirms his
commitment. The $3.8 trillion proposal,
which is within the spending caps imposed
by the Budget Control Act of 2011,
provides $140.8 billion for federal R&D,
a 1.4% increase over the 2012 outlay. Of
that amount, $64.0 billion, up 3.3% from
2012, would support basic and applied research—the
R in R&D.
The Administration’s support for R&D
focuses on several priorities. These include
sustaining the growth of the National
Science Foundation, the Department of
Energy Office of Science, and the National
Institute of Standards & Technology; promoting
clean energy; supporting U.S. jobs
through advanced manufacturing R&D;
and preparing new innovators by ensuring
effective STEM education.
“In the State of the Union, I outlined
a blueprint for an economy that is built
to last—an economy built on new manufacturing,
and new sources of energy, and
new skills and education for the American
people,” the President said at an event rolling
out the 2013 budget request. Calling the
2013 budget the details of that blueprint,
Obama said that the request makes tough
decisions about what programs to expand
and which ones to scale back or terminate.
The following review of proposed R&D
spending at the federal agencies comes
with some caveats. The numbers are given
mostly as budget obligations—that is,
the amount that agencies can contract
to spend during the fiscal year. What the
agencies actually spend, or outlay, during
the year may be more or less.
Also, the federal budget is a complex
document with various ways of adding up
programs and totals. As a result, sometimes
the agency or department figures
and the totals from the White House Office
of Management & Budget are not the same
and may be published in different places
with different amounts. The variations are
usually small and reflect alternative methods
of allocating funds.
Even in what has become a trying fiscal environment, the
President does not appear to be wavering in his support.
WWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG 38 FEBRUARY 27, 2012