US President Obama's Plan for Science and Innovation Doubling Funding for Key Basic Research Agencies in the 2010 Budget (August 31, 2009)

The 2010 Budget sustains the President’s commitment to double the budgets for three key basic-research agencies over a decade. All monies in US$.

Building on investments in the Recovery Act and the 2009 Omnibus Appropriations Act, the 2010 Budget provides substantial increases in funding for the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Department of Energy’s Office of Science (DOE SC), and the National Institute of Standards and Technology  (NIST) laboratories and establishes a clear path to completing the doubling effort in 2016.

Federally supported basic research has been a reliable source of new knowledge and new products. It has fuelled important developments in fields ranging from telecommunications to transportation to medicine, and has yielded positive rates of economic return by creating entirely new industries with highly skilled, high-wage jobs. The President’s Plan for Science and Innovation and the America COMPETES Act have identified NSF, DOE SC, and NIST as key to our nation’s prosperity and to preserving America’s place as the world leader in science and technology. Although the previous Administration voiced support for efforts to double these agencies’ budgets between 2006 and 2016, these efforts fell short in 2007 and 2008. In 2009, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and the 2009 Omnibus Appropriations Act signed by President Obama finally put these agencies back on a doubling trajectory.

The 2010 Budget builds on these early Administration accomplishments with a requested $12.6 billion total for NSF, DOE SC, and the NIST labs, an increase of $731 million or 6.1 percent above the 2009 enacted total (excluding Recovery Act funds of $5.2 billion for the three agencies).

These substantial increases keep the agencies on track for the fourth year of a ten-year doubling trajectory. In addition, the 2010 Budget establishes projections laying out a clear path to completing the doubling effort in 2016 with $19.5 billion for the three agencies, double the $9.7 billion they received in 2006. Between 2009 and 2016, the Obama Administration’s enacted and proposed budgets would add $42.6 billion to the 2008 budgets for these basic research agencies, with a special emphasis on encouraging high-risk, high-return research and supporting researchers at the beginning of their careers.

Basic Research Agencies in the President’s Plan for Science and Innovation

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is the primary source of support for academic research for most non-biomedical disciplines, funding basic research across the entire spectrum of the sciences and engineering. It is well regarded for funding nearly all of its research through a competitive, peer-reviewed process. The increase in NSF funding to $7.0 billion in 2010, or 8.5 percent more than the 2009 enacted level, will support many more researchers, students, post-doctoral fellows and technicians contributing to the innovation enterprise. The 2010 Budget also is in line with the President’s commitment to triple the number of NSF’s Graduate Research Fellowships to 3,000 by 2013

The Department of Energy’s Office of Science supports grants and infrastructure for a wide range of basic research that promises to have a major impact on such economically significant areas as nanotechnology, high end computing, energy, and climate change. The 2010 Budget of $4.9 billion, or 3.5 percent more than the 2009 enacted level, increases funding for both cutting-edge research and facilities. The 2010 DOE SC Budget will help us improve our understanding of climate science, continue the U.S. commitment to international science and energy experiments, and expand Federal support at the frontiers of energy research.

The Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) invests in technological innovation through research, advanced measurement, and standards development. The 2010 Budget of $652 million for NIST’s intramural laboratories will improve NIST’s research capabilities by providing high-performance laboratory research and facilities for a diverse portfolio of basic research in areas such as health information technology, the digital smart grid, and carbon measurements. Separately, the 2010 Budget also sustains NIST’s external programs, including $125 million in 2010 (a $15 million increase over the 2009 enacted level) for the  Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) to enhance the competitiveness of the nation’s manufacturers.