Order Code RL34448
Federal Research and Development
Funding: FY2009
Updated October 23, 2008
John F. Sargent (Coordinator),
Christine M. Matthews, John D. Moteff, Daniel Morgan,
Robert Esworthy, and Wendy H. Schacht
Resources, Science, and Industry Division
Pamela W. Smith
Domestic Social Policy Division
Wayne A. Morrissey
Knowledge Services Group

Federal Research and Development Funding: FY2009
Summary
President Bush proposed total research and development (R&D) funding of
$147.0 billion in his FY2009 budget request to Congress, a $3.9 billion (2.7%)
increase over the estimated FY2008 level of $143.1 billion. The President’s request
included $29.3 billion for basic research, up $847 million (3.0%) from FY2008;
$27.1 billion for applied research, down $1.0 billion (-3.6%); $84.0 billion for
development, up 1.6 billion (1.9%); and $6.5 billion for R&D facilities and
equipment, up $2.5 billion (61.7%). Congress is to play a central role in defining the
nation’s R&D priorities, especially with respect to two overarching issues: the extent
to which the Federal R&D investment can grow in the context of increased pressure
on discretionary spending and how available funding will be prioritized and
allocated. A low or negative growth rate in the overall R&D investment may require
movement of resources across disciplines, programs, or agencies to address priorities.
The Administration requested significantly larger percentage increases in the
R&D budgets of the three agencies that are part of its American Competitiveness
Initiative: the Department of Energy’s Office of Science, the National Science
Foundation, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology. In 2007,
Congress authorized substantial R&D increases for these agencies under the America
COMPETES Act (P.L. 110-69). The President’s budget would reduce R&D funding
for the Department of Agriculture, down $357 million; Department of Veterans
Affairs, down $76 million; Department of the Interior, down $59 million; and
Environmental Protection Agency, down $7 million. The FY2009 request included
increases for three multiagency R&D initiatives: the National Nanotechnology
Initiative, up $35 million; Networking and Information Technology R&D program,
up $194 million; and Climate Change Science Program, up $177 million.

On September 30, 2008, President Bush signed into law H.R. 2638, the
Consolidated Security, Disaster Assistance, and Continuing Appropriations Act,
2009 (P.L. 110-329). This act provides FY2009 appropriations for the Department
of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, and Military Construction and
Veterans Affairs; continued funding for all other agencies not covered under these
provisions at their FY2008 funding levels through March 6, 2009; and supplemental
funding for disaster relief. Under this act, FY2009 R&D funding is approximately
$147.2 billion. None of the FY2008 regular appropriations bills has been passed by
both the House and Senate.
For the past two years, federal R&D funding and execution has been affected
by mechanisms used to complete the annual appropriations process — the year-long
continuing resolution for FY2007 (P.L. 110-5) and the combining of 11
appropriations bills into the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2008 for FY2008 (P.L.
110-161). For example, FY2008 R&D funding for some agencies and programs is
below the level requested by the President and passed by the House of
Representatives and the Senate. Completion of appropriations after the beginning of
each fiscal year has also resulted in delays or cancellation of planned R&D and
equipment acquisition.

Contents
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Federal R&D Funding Perspectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Agency Perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Character of Work, Facilities, and Equipment Perspective . . . . . . . . . . 3
Combined Perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Multi-Agency Initiatives Perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
FY2009 Federal R&D Appropriations Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Supplemental Appropriations for FY2008 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Effect of FY2007-FY2008 Appropriations Process on R&D . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Multiagency R&D Initiatives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Department of Defense (DOD) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
National Institutes of Health (NIH) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Department of Energy (DOE) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
National Science Foundation (NSF) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Department of Commerce (DOC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) . . . . . . . . . . . 34
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Department of Agriculture (USDA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Department of the Interior (DOI) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Department of Transportation (DOT) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
List of Tables
Table 1. Federal Research and Development Funding by Agency,
FY2008-FY2009 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Table 2. Federal Research and Development Funding by Character of
Work, Facilities and Equipment, FY2008-FY2009 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Table 3. Top R&D Funding Agencies by Character of Work,
Facilities and Equipment, FY2008-FY2009 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Table 4. Department of Defense RDT&E . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Table 5. Department of Defense RDT&E Associated with the Global War on
Terror Funding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Table 6. Department of Homeland Security R&D and Related Programs . . . . . 17
Table 7. National Institutes of Health . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Table 8. Department of Energy R&D . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Table 9. National Science Foundation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Table 10. NIST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Table 11. NOAA R&D . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Table 12. NASA R&D . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Table 13. U.S. Department of Agriculture R&D . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Table 14. Department of the Interior R&D . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Table 15. Environmental Protection Agency S&T Account . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Table 16. Department of Transportation R&D . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48


Federal Research and Development
Funding: FY2009
Overview
Congress continues to take a strong interest in the health of the U.S. research
and development (R&D) enterprise and in providing sustained support for federal
R&D activities. The United States government supports a broad range of scientific
and engineering research and development (R&D). Its purposes include addressing
specific concerns such as national defense, health, safety, the environment, and
energy security; advancing knowledge generally; developing the scientific and
engineering workforce; and strengthening U.S. innovation and competitiveness in the
global economy. Most of the research funded by the federal government is in support
of specific activities of the federal government as reflected in the unique missions of
the funding agencies. The federal government has played an important role in
supporting R&D efforts that have led to scientific breakthroughs and new
technologies, from jet aircraft and the Internet to communications satellites and
defenses against disease.
President Bush requested $147.0 billion for R&D in FY2009, a 2.7% increase
over FY2008 R&D funding which is estimated to be $143.1 billion.1 FY2008 funding
is provided through the Defense Appropriations Act, 2008 (P.L. 110-116), signed
into law by President Bush on November 13, 2007, and the Consolidated
Appropriations Act, 2008 (P.L. 110-161), signed into law on December 26, 2007.
P.L. 110-161 provides funding for departments and agencies covered in the eleven
appropriations acts on which action had not been completed.
The President’s FY2009 proposed R&D increase over the FY2008 funding level
is due primarily to funding for the American Competitiveness Initiative (ACI) and
an advance appropriation to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for
acquisition under Project BioShield of medical countermeasures, such as vaccines,
against biological terror attacks.2 The Office of Management and Budget has
1 Funding levels included in this document are in current dollars unless otherwise noted.
Inflation diminishes the purchasing power of federal R&D funds, so an increase that does
not equal or exceed the inflation rate may reduce real purchasing power. For example, if
inflation in 2008 exceeds 2.7 %, then the President’s R&D funding request for FY2009 may
represent a decline in real purchasing power. The Consumer Price Index, a key measure of
inflation, rose 2.8% in 2007 and is on a pace to exceed 4% in 2008.
2 The Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2004 (P.L. 108-90), provided
funding under Title III, Preparedness and Recovery, in the amount of $5.593 billion to
remain available through FY2013. The act restricts DHS from spending more than $3.418
(continued...)

CRS-2
classified $2.175 billion of the DHS advance appropriation as R&D facilities
construction in FY2009. Some have questioned the appropriateness of classifying
these funds as R&D facilities and equipment since the funds appear to be intended
for product acquisition rather than research, development, or facilities construction.
This advance appropriation accounts for more than half of the net increase in R&D
funding in the President’s FY2009 budget request.
Analysis of federal R&D funding is complicated by several factors, including
the Administration’s omission of Congressionally directed spending from its current
year budget request, inconsistency among agencies in the reporting of R&D, and the
apparent mis-categorization of some funding in the President’s request. As a result
of these and other factors, the R&D agency figures reported by OMB (and shown in
Table 1) may differ somewhat from those 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 unique insights.
Agency Perspective. The authorization and appropriations process views
federal R&D funding primarily from agency and program perspectives. Table 1
provides data on R&D by agency for FY2007 (actual), FY2008 (estimate), and
FY2009 (request) as reported by OMB. Under the President’s FY2009 budget
request, five federal agencies would receive 92.8% of total federal R&D funding: the
Department of Defense (DOD), 54.8%; the Department of Health and Human
Services (HHS) (primarily the National Institutes of Health), 20.1%; the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), 7.3%; the Department of Energy
(DOE), 7.2%; and the National Science Foundation (NSF), 3.5%. This report
provides an analysis of the R&D budget requests for these agencies, as well as for the
Departments of Agriculture (USDA), Commerce (DOC), Homeland Security, Interior
(DOI), and Transportation (DOT), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
In total these departments and agencies account for more than 98% of current and
requested federal R&D funding.
The Administration requested significantly larger percentage increases for the
three agencies that are part of its American Competitiveness Initiative (ACI): DOE’s
Office of Science (up 19% above the estimated FY2008 level), the National Science
Foundation (up 14%), and DOC’s National Institute of Standards and Technology
(NIST) (up 5%). In 2007, Congress authorized substantial R&D increases for these
agencies under the America COMPETES Act (P.L. 110-69).3 The President’s budget
would reduce R&D funding for four agencies: the Department of Agriculture, down
$357 million (-15.5%); the Department of Veterans Affairs, down $76 million (-
2 (...continued)
billion in fiscal years 2004 through 2008. The balance, $2.175 billion, will become
available for use by DHS in FY2009.
3 For additional information, see CRS Report RL34328, America COMPETES Act:
Programs, Funding, and Selected Issues
, by Deborah D. Stine.

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7.9%); the Department of the Interior, down $59 million (-8.7%); and the
Environmental Protection Agency, down $7 million (-1.3%).
Table 1. Federal Research and Development Funding by
Agency, FY2008-FY2009
(Budget authority, dollar amount in millions)
Dollar
Percent
FY2008
FY2009
Change,
Change,
Department/Agency
Estimatea
Request
2008 to
2008 to
2009
2009
Agriculture
2,309
1,952
-357
-15.5
Commerce
1,113
1,157
44
4.0
Defense
80,192
80,494
302
0.4
Energy
9,739
10,558
819
8.4
Environmental Protection
Agency
557
550
-7
-1.3
Health and Human Services
29,475
29,480
5
0.0
Homeland Security
1,143
3,287
2,144
187.6
Interior
676
617
-59
-8.7
NASA
10,436
10,737
301
2.9
National Science Foundation
4,500
5,201
701
15.6
Transportation
823
901
78
9.5
Veterans Affairs
960
884
-76
-7.9
Other
1,140
1,145
5
0.4
TOTAL
143,063
146,963
3,900
2.7
Source: Analytical Perspectives, Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2009, Office
of Management and Budget, The White House, February 2008.
a. The FY2008 figures in this table do not include supplemental funding for R&D for FY2008
provided under the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2008 (P.L. 110-252).
Character of Work, Facilities, and Equipment Perspective. Federal
R&D funding can also be examined by the character of work (basic research, applied
research, and development) it supports, and funding provided for facilities and
acquisition of R&D major equipment (see Table 2). The President’s FY2009 request
included $29.3 billion for basic research, up $847 million (3.0%) from FY2008;
$27.1 billion for applied research, down $1.0 billion (-3.6%); $84.0 billion for
development, up $1.6 billion (1.9%); and $6.5 billion for facilities and equipment,
up $2.5 billion (61.7%).

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Table 2. Federal Research and Development Funding by
Character of Work, Facilities and Equipment, FY2008-FY2009
(Budget authority, dollar amount in millions)
Dollar
Percent
FY2008
FY2009
Change,
Change,
Estimate
Request
2008 to
2008 to
2009
2009
Basic research
28,472
29,319
847
3.0
Applied research
28,112
27,087
-1,025
-3.6
Development
82,432
84,013
1,581
1.9
Facilities and equipment
4,047
6,544
2,497
61.7
TOTAL
143,063
146,963
3,900
2.7
Source: Analytical Perspectives, Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2009, Office
of Management and Budget, The White House, February 2008.
Combined Perspective. Combining these perspectives, federal R&D
funding can be viewed in terms of each agency’s contribution to basic research,
applied research, development, and facilities and equipment (see Table 3). The
federal government is the largest supporter of basic research (funding an estimated
58.8% of U.S. basic research in 2006),4 primarily because the private sector asserts
it cannot capture an adequate return on long-term fundamental research investments.
The Department of Health and Human Services (primarily HHS’s National Institutes
of Health (NIH)) accounts for more than half of all federal funding for basic research.
In contrast to basic research, industry is the primary funder of applied research
in the United States, accounting for an estimated 58.9% in 2006, while the federal
government accounted for an estimated 33.3%.5 Among federal agencies, HHS is the
largest funder of applied research, accounting for nearly half of all federally funded
applied research.
Industry also provides the vast majority of funding for development, accounting
for an estimated 82.5% in 2006, while the federal government provided an estimated
16.2%.6 DOD is the primary federal agency development funder, accounting for
88.5% of total federal development funding in the FY2009 request.
4 Science and Engineering Indicators 2008,Volume 2: Appendix Tables, National Science
Foundation, 2008.
5 Ibid.
6 Ibid.

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Table 3. Top R&D Funding Agencies by Character of Work,
Facilities and Equipment, FY2008-FY2009
(Budget authority, dollar amount in millions)
Dollar
Percent
FY2008
FY2009
Change,
Change,
Estimate
Request
2008 to
2008 to
2009
2009
Basic Research
-Health and Human Services
15,897
15,884
-13
0.0
-National Science Foundation
3,689
4,336
647
17.5
-Energy
3,232
3,556
324
10.0
Applied Research
-Health and Human Services
13,414
13,424
10
0
-Defense
5,058
4,245
-813
-16.1
-Energy
3,513
3,474
-39
-1.1
Development
-Defense
73,358
74,393
1,035
1.4
-NASA
5,436
5,731
295
5.1
-Energy
2,232
2,472
240
10.7
Facilities and equipment
-Homeland Security
147
2,250
2,102
1420.3
-NASA
1,922
2,175
253
13.2
-Energy
762
1,056
294
38.6
Source: Analytical Perspectives, Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2009, Office
of Management and Budget, The White House, February 2008.
Note: Top funding agencies based on FY2009 request.
Multi-Agency Initiatives Perspective. Federal R&D funding can also be
viewed in terms of multi-agency efforts, such as the National Nanotechnology
Initiative (see “Multiagency R&D Initiatives” section), and other initiatives, such as
the Administration’s American Competitiveness Initiative (ACI).
The ACI was proposed by President Bush in February 2006 as a response to
growing concerns about America’s ability to compete in the global marketplace. The
$136 billion ACI proposal included $50 billion for additional research, science
education, and the modernization of research infrastructure from FY2007 through
FY2016. These funds were intended to double physical sciences and engineering
research in three agencies — NSF, DOE’s Office of Science, and NIST — over ten

CRS-6
years.7 Congress established authorization levels for FY2008-2010 that would put
funding for research at these agencies on track to double in approximately seven
years. However, FY2008 research funding provided in P.L. 110-161 for these
agencies falls below these doubling targets. Estimated FY2008 funding for ACI
research totals $10.61 billion, an increase of approximately $350 million (3.5%) over
the FY2007 ACI funding level.
In FY2009, President Bush requested $12.21 billion in funding for ACI research
at NSF, DOE’s Office of Science, and the National Institute of Standards and
Technology (including its core research program and facilities), an increase of $1.6
billion (15.1%) above the estimated FY2008 level of $10.61 billion.8 The NSF
funding request for FY2009 is $6.85 billion, an increase of $821 million (13.6%)
above the estimated FY2008 level of $6.03 billion.9 The FY2009 request for the
DOE Office of Science is $4.72 billion, $749 million (18.9%) more than the
estimated FY2008 level of $3.97 billion.10 FY2009 proposed funding for NIST’s
core research program and facilities totals $634 million, an increase of $33 million
(4.5%) above the estimated FY2008 level of $610 million.11
FY2009 Federal R&D Appropriations Status
On September 30, 2008, President Bush signed into law H.R. 2638, the
Consolidated Security, Disaster Assistance, and Continuing Appropriations Act,
2009 (P.L. 110-329). This act provides FY2009 appropriations for the Department
of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, and Military Construction and
Veterans Affairs, as well as supplemental funding for disaster relief. In addition,
Division A of the act provides continuing appropriations for FY2009 at their original
FY2008 levels12 to agencies not otherwise addressed in the act through March 6,
2009, or until the enactment into law of an appropriation for any project or activity
provided for in the act, or the enactment into law of the applicable appropriations act
for FY2009 without any provision for such project or activity, whichever occurs first.
Under the act, estimated total R&D funding for FY2009 is $147.2 billion.
7 The ACI proposes to double “innovation-enabling physical science and engineering
research” at the three agencies over ten years, and states that “individual agency allocations
remain to be determined.” (The American Competitiveness Initiative: Leading the World in
Innovation
, Office of Science and Technology Policy/Domestic Policy Council, The White
House, February 2006.)
8 American Competitiveness Initiative Research fact sheet, FY2009 request, Office of
Science and Technology Policy, The White House, February 2008.
9 Office of Management and Budget website. [http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/
fy2009/nsf.html]
10 Office of Management and Budget website. [http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/
fy2009/energy.html]
11 Office of Management and Budget website. [http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/
fy2009/commerce.html]
12 The original FY2008 funding levels do not include R&D funding provided under the
Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2008 (P.L. 110-252)

CRS-7
Previously, only one of the FY2009 regular appropriations bills, the Military
Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriation, FY2009 (H.R. 6599) had passed
the House; none had passed the Senate. The Senate Appropriations Committee has
approved nine of the regular appropriations bills, and the House Appropriations
Committee has approved four draft bills and H.R. 6599. Copies of some draft bills
and draft reports considered by the House Appropriations Committee are available
on the website of Congressional Quarterly.13 Section 522 of the Concurrent
Resolution on the Budget for Fiscal Year 2009 (S.Con.Res. 70), agreed to by the
House and Senate in June 2008, expresses Congress’ support for the research and
education efforts authorized in the America COMPETES Act and states that “the
Congress should provide sufficient funding so that our Nation may continue to be the
world leader in education, innovation and economic growth.”
Supplemental Appropriations for FY2008
On June 30, 2008, President Bush signed into law H.R. 2642, the Supplemental
Appropriations Act, 2008 (P.L. 110-252). Among its provisions, the act provides
additional funding for FY2008 of $1.75 billion to the Department of Defense for
research, development, test, and evaluation (RDT&E) activities; $365 million to the
Department of Defense, Defense Health Program RDT&E; and $338 million to other
agencies for science-related activities. Of these funds, the National Institutes of
Health received $150 million; NASA received $62.5 million for its Return to Flight
activity; NSF received $62.5 million; and the Department of Energy received $62.5
million for its non-defense energy programs. In addition, the act provides $62.5
million to the Department of Energy for defense environmental cleanup.
Effect of FY2007-FY2008 Appropriations Process on R&D
For the past two years, federal R&D funding levels and execution have been
affected by mechanisms used to complete the annual appropriations process — the
year-long continuing resolution for FY2007 (P.L. 110-5) and the combining of 11
appropriations bills into the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2008 for FY2008 (P.L.
110-161). For example, FY2008 R&D funding for some agencies and programs is
below the level requested by the President, and originally passed by House and
Senate appropriations committees.14 The Department of Energy estimates that cuts
in its FY2008 R&D budget for its Office of Science will result in layoffs of 525
personnel at the Stanford Linear Accelerator, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory,
Argonne National Laboratory, and other laboratories and universities.15 Completion
of the appropriations process after the beginning of the fiscal year may also result in
delay, reduction, or cancellation of planned R&D, equipment acquisition, and
facilities construction, and may impede the ability of agencies to fully obligate funds
ultimately appropriated (see CRS Report RS22774, Federal Research and
13 See [http://www.cq.com/budgettracker.do].
14 Letter from Secretary of Energy Samuel W. Bodman to Sen. Jeff Bingaman, Chairman,
Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, February 4, 2008.
[http://energy.senate.gov/public/_files/SignedlettertoSenBingamanrequest0.pdf]
15 Ibid.

CRS-8
Development Funding: Possible Impacts of Operating Under a Continuing
Resolution
, by Dana A. Shea and Daniel Morgan).
The following sections provide analyses of the President’s FY2009 R&D and
related funding requests for selected Federal agencies and multiagency R&D
initiatives. These sections include information on appropriations actions taken by
Congress and will be updated periodically.
Multiagency R&D Initiatives
The President’s FY2009 budget requests increased funding for three
multiagency R&D initiatives. Funding for the National Nanotechnology Initiative
(NNI) was requested in the amount of $1.53 billion for FY2009, an increase of 2.4%
over the estimated FY2008 level of $1.50 billion (see CRS Report RL34401, The
National Nanotechnology Initiative: Overview, Reauthorization, and Appropriations
Issues,
by John F. Sargent).16 Under the President’s FY2009 budget, the NNI would
increase its efforts in fundamental phenomena and processes by $19.2 million
(3.6%); instrument research, metrology, and standards by $21.1 million (34.9%);
environmental, health, and safety by $17.8 million (30.4%); and nanomanufacturing
by $11.9 million (23.7%). Smaller increases would support major research facilities
and instrumentation acquisition (up $6.9 million, 4.5%) and efforts in education and
societal dimensions (up $1.7 million, 4.4%). Funding would fall by $27.5 million
(-10.8%) for nanomaterials research and by $15.3 million (-4.5%) for nanoscale
devices and systems.
The President requested $3.57 billion in FY2009 funding for the Networking
and Information Technology R&D (NITRD) program, an increase of 5.8% above the
estimated FY2008 level of $3.37 billion. The NITRD increase is due primarily to
requested funding increases for NSF (up $159 million, 17.1%) and DOE (up $58
million, 13.3%).17 For additional information, see CRS Report RL33586, The
Federal Networking and Information Technology Research and Development
Program: Funding Issues and Activities
, by Patricia Moloney Figliola.
The administration proposed $2.01 billion for the Climate Change Science
Program (CCSP), an increase of 9.6% over the estimated FY2008 level of $1.84
16 National Nanotechnology Initiative: Research and Development Funding in the
President’s FY2009 Budget
, fact sheet, Office of Science and Technology Policy, The White
House, February 2008; National Nanotechnology Initiative website.
[http://www.nano.gov/html/about/funding.html]
17 Analytical Perspectives: Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2009,
Office of Management and Budget, The White House, 2008. The NITRD data in OMB’s
Analytical Perspectives include the DOD Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA).
According to the NITRD National Coordination Office, DISA’s contribution is not included
in the FY2009 Networking and Information Technology Research and Development:
Supplement to the President’s Budget
report.

CRS-9
billion.18 (See CRS Report RL33817, Climate Change: Federal Funding and Tax
Incentives
, by Jane A. Leggett). Four agencies account for most of the FY2009
CCSP requested funding increase: NASA (up $126 million, 11.7%), the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) (up $20 million, 8.3%), DOE (up
$18 million, 14.1%), and NSF (up $16 million, 7.8%).
Department of Defense (DOD)
Congress supports research and development in the Department of Defense
(DOD) through its Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation (RDT&E)
appropriation. The appropriation primarily supports the development of the nation’s
future military hardware and software and the technology base upon which those
products rely.
Nearly all of what DOD spends on RDT&E is appropriated in Title IV of the
defense appropriation bill (see Table 4). However, RDT&E funds are also requested
as part of the Defense Health Program and the Chemical Agents and Munitions
Destruction Program. The Defense Health Program supports the delivery of health
care to DOD personnel and their families. Program funds are requested through the
Operations and Maintenance appropriation. The program’s RDT&E funds support
Congressionally directed research in such areas as breast, prostate, and ovarian cancer
and other medical conditions. 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 Army Procurement appropriation. The Joint
Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Fund also contains additional RDT&E monies.
However, the fund does not contain an RDT&E line item as do the two programs
mentioned above. The Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Office, which now
administers the fund, tracks (but does not report) the amount of funding allocated to
RDT&E. Typically, Congress has funded all of these programs in Title VI (Other
Department of Defense Programs) of the defense appropriations bill.
More recently, RDT&E funds have also been requested and appropriated as part
of DOD’s separate funding to support what the Bush Administration terms the Global
War on Terror (GWOT). Congress has appropriated these funds in response to
emergency supplemental requests and under a separate GWOT request. GWOT-
related requests/appropriations often include funds for a number of transfer funds.
These include the Iraqi Freedom Fund (IFF), the Iraqi Security Forces Fund, the
Afghanistan Security Forces Fund, and, more recently, the Mine Resistant and
Ambush Protected Vehicle Fund (MRAPVF). Congress typically makes a single
appropriation into each of these funds, and authorizes the Secretary to make transfers
to other baseline accounts, including RDT&E, at his discretion. GWOT-related
RDT&E funding is given in Table 5. Note that while much of these GWOT-related
appropriations are distributed to a baseline account, they are accounted for separately.

18 Analytical Perspectives: Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2009,
Office of Management and Budget, The White House, 2008.

CRS-10
For FY2009, the Bush Administration requested $79.6 billion for DOD’s
baseline Title IV RDT&E, roughly $2.5 billion more than Congress appropriated for
Title IV in FY2008. The FY2009 requests for RDT&E in the Defense Health
Program and the Chemical Agents and Munitions Destruction program were $194
million and $269 million, respectively. The Administration also submitted an
FY2008 Global War on Terror request (i.e., a supplemental request), which included
$2.9 billion for RDT&E. Congress only partially approved the Administration’s
FY2008 GWOT request made last year. The Administration hopes to make up the
balance of that request this year. The Administration also made a FY2009 GWOT
“Bridge” request in March. This additional request included $379 million in
classified RDT&E. By requesting bridge funding, the administration hopes to have
ready emergency funds at the beginning of the fiscal year (in October) rather than
await passage of the entire defense appropriations.
Since FY2001, funding for RDT&E in Title IV has increased from $42 billion
to $77 billion in FY2008. In constant FY2008 dollars, the increase is roughly 58%.
Historically, RDT&E funding has reached its highest levels in constant dollars,
dating back to 1948.19 Congress has appropriated more for RDT&E than has been
requested, every year, since FY1996.
RDT&E funding can be broken out in a couple of ways. Each of the military
services request and receive their own RDT&E funding. So, too, do various DOD
agencies (e.g., the Missile Defense Agency and the Defense Advanced Research
Projects Agency), collectively aggregated within the Defensewide account. RDT&E
funding also can be characterized by budget activity (i.e., the type of RDT&E
supported).Those budget activities designated as 6.1, 6.2, and 6.3 (basic research,
applied research, and advanced development) constitute what is called DOD’s
Science and Technology Program (S&T) and represents 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 (e.g., the Joint Strike Fighter or missile
defense systems), for which an operational need has been determined and an
acquisition program established. Budget activity 6.7 supports system improvements
in existing operational systems. Budget activity 6.6 provides management support,
including support for test and evaluation facilities.
S&T funding is of particular interest to Congress since these funds support the
development of new technologies and the underlying science. Assuring adequate
support for S&T activities is seen by some in the defense community as imperative
to maintaining U.S. military superiority. This was of particular concern at a time
when defense budgets and RDT&E funding were falling at the end of the Cold War.
As part of its 2001 Quadrennial Review, DOD established a goal of stabilizing its
base S&T funding (i.e., Title IV) at 3% of DOD’s overall funding. Congress has
embraced this goal. The FY2009 S&T funding request in Title IV is $11.5 billion,
about $1.3 billion less than what Congress appropriated for S&T in Title IV in
19 This historical data can be found in DOD’s National Defense Budget Estimates for the
FY2008 Budget
(also known as the “Green Book”). Office of the Under Secretary for
Defense (Comptroller).March 2007.pp 62-67. See [http://www.defenselink.mil/
comptroller/defbudget/fy2008/fy2008_greenbook.pdf]. Last viewed May 10, 2007.

CRS-11
FY2008 (not counting S&T funding requested as part of the GWOT request or S&T’s
share of the general reduction made to Title IV). Furthermore, the S&T request for
Title IV is approximately 2.2% of the overall baseline DOD budget request (not
counting funds for the Global War on Terror), short of the 3% goal. The ability for
the Administration to meet its 3% goal has been strained in recent years as the overall
Defense budget continues to rise. In the FY2007 defense authorization bill (P.L.
109-364, Sec. 217), Congress reiterated its support for the 3% goal, extended it to
FY2012, and stipulated that, if the S&T budget request does not meet this goal, DOD
submit a prioritized list of S&T projects that were not funded solely due to
insufficient resources.
Within the S&T program, basic research (6.1) receives special attention,
particularly by the nation’s universities. DOD is not a large supporter of basic
research, when compared to the National Institutes of Health or the National Science
Foundation. However, over half of DOD’s basic research budget is spent at
universities and represents the major contribution of funds in some areas of science
and technology (such as electrical engineering and material science). The FY2009
request for basic research ($1.7 billion) is roughly $65 million more than what
Congress appropriated for Title IV basic research in FY2008.
Congress passed the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2008 (P.L. 110-252) on
June 30, 2008. Title IX of the act provided supplemental funding for the Department
of Defense and the Global War on Terror. See Table 5. Chapter 1 of Title IX
addressed the GWOT Pending request and Chapter 2 of Title IX addressed the
FY2009 GWOT Bridge request. Congress did not provide all the RDT&E funding
requested in the FY2008 GWOT Pending request for the departments and defense
agencies, but added RDT&E funds for the Defense Health Program. In addition,
Congress directed a general reduction of the RDT&E funds provided. Congress
provided the requested level of RDT&E in the Bridge request, plus a little more for
the Air Force. The act also provided a $2.5 billion for the Iraqi Security Forces Fund,
$2 billion for the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Fund, and $1.7 billion
for the Mine Resistant and Ambush Protected Vehicle Fund, from which the
Secretary may transfer funds into RDT&E.
Congress passed a FY2009 defense appropriations as part of the Consolidated
Security, Disaster Assistance, and Continuing Appropriations Act, 2009 (P.L. 101-
329, Division C). The bill provided $80.5 billion for Title IV RDT&E. This
included $13.5 billion for S&T, of which $1.8 billion was for basic research (i.e.
approximately $100 million more than was requested). Section 8101 reduced Title
IV funding by $218 million to account for revised economic assumptions. In
addition, Congress provided $903 million for RDT&E within the Defense Health
Program (including $150 million and $80 million for peer-reviewed breast and
prostate cancer research, respectively) and $289 million for RDT&E within the
Chemical Agents and Munitions Destruction Program. (CRS Contact: John
Moteff.)


CRS-12
Table 4. Department of Defense RDT&E
($ in millions )
FY2009
FY2008
FY2009
Enacted
Enactedd
Request
(P.L. 110-329)
Title IV - By Account
Army
12,127
10,524 12,060
Navy
17,919
19,337 19,764
Air Force
26,255
28,067
27,084
Defense Agencies
20,791
21,499
21,423
Dir. Test & Eval
180
189
189
Adjustments
improved economic assumptions

(367)e
(218)
Total Title IV - By Account a
76,905
79,616 80,303
Title IV - By Budget Activity
6.1 Basic Research
1,634
1,699
1,842
6.2 Applied Research
5,096
4,245
5,113
6.3 Advanced Development
6,039
5,532
6,532
6.4 Advanced Component Development
15,817
and Prototypes
15,745
15,774
6.5 Systems Dev. and Demo
18,321
19,537
18,654
6.6 Management Support b
4,274
4,369 4,543
6.7 Op. Systems Dev c
26,163
28,461 28,020
Adjustments
improved economic assumptions

(367)e
(218)
Total Title IV - by Budget Activity a
76,905
79,617 80,303
Tanker Replacement Transfer Fund
150
Title VI - Other Defense Programs
Defense Health Program
536
194
903
Chemical Agents and Munitions
Destruction
313
269 289
Continuing Resolution (P.L. 110-92) and
Consolidated Appropriations Act 2008
(P.L. 110-161)
926f
Grand Total
78,830
80,080
81,495
Sources: Title IV figures for the FY2009 request were taken from RDT&E Programs (R-1) Exhibits,
Department of Defense Budget FY2009. The FY2009 RDT&E request for the Defense Health
Program was taken from the Operations and Maintenance Exhibit (O-1), Department of Defense
Budget FY2009. The FY2009 RDT&E request for the Chemical Agents and Munitions Destruction
Program was taken from the Procurement Exhibit (P-1), Department of Defense Budget FY2009. The
FY2009 enacted figures were taken from P.L. 110-329 and the Congressional Record version of the
DOD explanatory statement, Sept. 24, 2008.
a. Total Budget Authority for Account and Budget Activity may not agree due to rounding.

CRS-13
b. Includes funds for Developmental and Operational Test and Evaluation.
c. Includes funding for classified programs.
d. Does not include subsequent rescissions or transfers, unless noted.
e. Sec. 8104 of the FY2008 Defense Appropriations Act (P.L. 110-116) required a general reduction
to account for improved economic assumptions. RDT&E’s designated share was $367 million. Sec.
8097 of this act also required a general reduction of $507 million to be taken proportionately from
Operations and Maintenance (Title II), Procurement (Title III), and RDT&E (Title IV) to account for
contractor efficiencies. The RDT&E’s share of this reduction is not counted in this table.
f. Congress addressed some of the Administration’s FY2008 GWOT request in one of the continuing
resolutions (P.L. 110-92) which supported government operations in early FY2008 and in the
Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2008 (P.L. 110-161). The continuing resolution provided
additional funds for the MRAPVF. The Consolidated Appropriations Act provided funds to the IFF,
some of which were transferred to RDT&E.
Table 5. Department of Defense RDT&E Associated with the
Global War on Terror Funding
($ in millions )
FY2008
FY2009
P.L. 110-252
GWOT
GWOT
Supplemental Appropriations
Pending
(Bridge
Act, 2008
Request)
Title IX
Request
Request
Enacted
FY2009
FY2008
Bridge Fund-
Supplemental
ing
GWOT-Related Title IV
By Account
Army
163
163
Navy
611
113
366
113
Air Force
1,487
72
400
72
Defense Agencies
684
194
816
203
Dir. Test & Eval
Total Budget Auth.a
2,945
379
1,745
388
By Budget Activity
6.1 Basic Research
6.2 Applied Research
6
6.3 Advanced Development
25
6.4 Advanced Component
Development and Pro-
totypes
228
6.5 Systems Dev. and
Demo
514
6.6 Management Supportb
54
6.7 Op. Systems Dev
2,121
379
388d
Sec. 8003 general
reduction
?c

CRS-14
FY2008
FY2009
P.L. 110-252
GWOT
GWOT
Supplemental Appropriations
Pending
(Bridge
Act, 2008
Request)
Title IX
Request
Request
Enacted
FY2009
FY2008
Bridge Fund-
Supplemental
ing
Total Budget Auth.a
2,948 379
388
GWOT-Related Other Defense Programs
Defense Health Program
365
Grand Total
2,948
379
<2,110
388
Sources: The figures for the Continuing Resolution (P.L. 110-92) and the Consolidated
Appropriations Act 2008 (P.L. 110-161) and the FY2008 GWOT Pending Request were taken from
the Office of Secretary of Defense, FY2008 Global War on Terror Pending Request, Exhibits for
FY2008, Feb. 2008.
a. Account vs. Budget Activity Total Obligational Authority numbers may not agree due to rounding.
b. Includes funds for Developmental and Operational Test and Evaluation.
c. Section 8003 of the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2008 included a general reduction of $3.6
billion to be applied proportionately to each of the following accounts: Procurement, RDT&E,
and Defense Working Capital. RDT&E’s share is not calculated here.
d. P.L. 110-252 does not designate which budget activity was supported. The table presumes the
enacted amounts were for the same budget activity as requested.
Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) requested $1.449 billion for R&D
and related programs in FY2009, an 8% increase from FY2008. This total included
$869 million for the Directorate of Science and Technology (S&T), $564 million for
the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office (DNDO), and $16 million for Research,
Development, Test, and Evaluation (RDT&E) in the U.S. Coast Guard. The House
committee recommended a total of $1.447 billion.20 The Senate committee
recommended a total of $1.476 billion.21 The final appropriation was a total of
$1.465 billion.22 For details, see Table 6.
The Directorate of Science and Technology (S&T) is the primary DHS R&D
organization. Headed by the Under Secretary for Science and Technology, the
directorate performs R&D in several laboratories of its own and funds R&D
performed by the national laboratories, industry, universities, and other government
agencies. The FY2009 request for the S&T Directorate was 5% above the FY2008
appropriation. A proposed increase of $18 million for the Explosives program was
to fund R&D on countering improvised explosive devices (IEDs), with an emphasis
20 CRS analysis of H.R. 6947 as reported and H.Rept. 110-862.
21 CRS analysis of S. 3181 as reported and S.Rept. 110-396.
22 CRS analysis of P.L. 110-329, Division D, and explanatory statement, Congressional
Record
, September 24, 2008, pp. H9806-H9807.

CRS-15
on basic research to complement shorter-term R&D being conducted by other
agencies. A proposed increase of $43 million for the Laboratory Facilities program
included $29 million for startup costs at the National Biodefense Analysis and
Countermeasures Center (NBACC) as well as $14 million for laboratory employee
salaries previously budgeted in the Management and Administration account. A
proposed $27 million reduction in the Infrastructure and Geophysical program was
largely the result of reducing funding for local and regional initiatives previously
established or funded at congressional direction.
The House committee recommended a total of $887 million for S&T. Increases
relative to the request included $11 million for the Infrastructure and Geophysical
program to support the National Institute for Hometown Security; $5 million for
Laboratory Facilities to accelerate ongoing construction activities at the Pacific
Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL); $4 million to help develop an operational
test and evaluation program for first responder technologies; $2 million for a pilot
program to improve the productivity and efficiency of the homeland security
industrial base; and $7 million for University Programs to support university centers
of excellence and maintain the fellowship program at the FY2008 level. Decreases
included $5 million for new maritime technologies “more appropriately handled by
the Coast Guard” and $6 million for the Innovation program “due to a lack of
budgetary details.” The committee directed DHS to provide a report on issues related
to the S&T Directorate’s unobligated balances.
The Senate committee recommended a total of $919 million for S&T. Increases
relative to the request included $25 million for cyber security research in the
Command, Control, and Interoperability program; $27 million for the Infrastructure
and Geophysical program to continue the Southeast Region Research Initiative; and
$15 million for the ongoing construction at PNNL. Decreases included $12 million
for Innovation (because of the need for “sound business plans” based on “operational
requirements”) and $4 million for Human Factors. The committee recommended that
$5 million for the Homeland Security Institute be provided as a separate item, as it
was in FY2008, rather than as part of the Transition program as the Administration
requested.
The final appropriation for S&T was $933 million. Relative to the request, this
total included increases of $10 million for cyber security research, $11 million for the
National Institute for Hometown Security, $27 million for the Southeast Region
Research Initiative, $15 million for the ongoing construction at PNNL, and $6
million for University Programs. Decreases included $12 million from Innovation,
because the DHS Inspector General “raised concerns about how projects were
selected and managed” and because S&T took nine months to inform the committee
how FY2008 funding would be spent. Funding for the Homeland Security Institute
was provided as a separate line item.
Among the issues facing Congress are the S&T Directorate’s priorities and how
they are set, its relationships with other federal R&D organizations, its budgeting and
financial management, and the allocation of its R&D resources to national
laboratories, industry, and universities. The directorate announced five new
university centers of excellence in February 2008. Some existing centers are
expected to be terminated or merged over the next few years to align with the

CRS-16
directorate’s division structure. For more information, see CRS Report RL34356,
The DHS Directorate of Science and Technology: Key Issues for Congress.
The Domestic Nuclear Detection Office (DNDO) is the primary DHS
organization for combating the threat of nuclear attack. It is responsible for all DHS
nuclear detection research, development, testing, evaluation, acquisition, and
operational support. The FY2009 request for DNDO was a 16% increase from
FY2008. Most of the growth was in the Systems Acquisition account, where an
increase of $68 million for procurement of Advanced Spectroscopic Portals (ASPs)
was partly offset by a decrease of $10 million for the Securing the Cities initiative in
the New York City area.
The House committee recommended a total of $544 million for DNDO.
Changes relative to the request included reductions of $3 million for new
headquarters employees, $1 million for a proposed fellowship program at the
National Technical Nuclear Forensics Center, and $15 million for the Radiation
Portal Monitoring Program. The House bill would continue the prohibition on
full-scale procurement of ASPs until the Secretary certifies their performance and
would prohibit DNDO from engaging in high-risk concurrent development and
production of mutually dependent software and hardware. The draft House report
directed DNDO to conduct a risk assessment for radiological dispersal devices.
The Senate committee recommended a total of $541 million for DNDO. The
only change relative to the Administration request was a reduction of $23 million in
the Radiation Portal Monitoring Program because of delays in the required
certification of ASP performance. Like the House bill, the Senate bill would
continue the prohibition on full-scale procurement of ASPs and prohibit high-risk
concurrent development and production. The Senate committee report urged DNDO
to prioritize its programs based on risk and directed it to contract with the National
Academy of Sciences (or another independent organization) to develop a conceptual
framework for prioritizing defensive efforts relative to mitigation measures.
The final appropriation for DNDO was $514 million. Reductions relative to the
request included $10 million from new initiatives in Transformational R&D and $38
million from the Radiation Portal Monitoring Program due to development delays.
Like the House and Senate bills, the final bill continued the prohibition on full-scale
procurement of ASPs and prohibited high-risk concurrent development and
production.
Congressional attention has focused on the testing and analysis DNDO
conducted to support its decision to purchase and deploy ASPs, a type of next-
generation radiation portal monitor.23 The requirement for secretarial certification
before full-scale ASP procurement has been included in each appropriations act since
FY2007. The expected date for certification has been postponed several times; the
23 See, for example, Government Accountability Office, Combating Nuclear Smuggling:
Additional Actions Needed to Ensure Adequate Testing of Next Generation Radiation
Detection Equipment
, GAO-07-1247T, testimony before the House Committee on Energy
and Commerce, Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, September 18, 2007.

CRS-17
current target is reportedly November 2008.24 The global nuclear detection
architecture overseen by DNDO and the relative roles of DNDO and the S&T
Directorate in research, development, testing, and evaluation also remain issues of
congressional interest. For more information on the global nuclear detection
architecture, see CRS Report RL34574, The Global Nuclear Detection Architecture:
Issues for Congress
. (CRS Contact: Daniel Morgan.)
Table 6. Department of Homeland Security
R&D and Related Programs
($ in millions)
FY2008 FY2009
FY2009
FY2009
FY2009
Enacted Request
H. Cte.
S. Cte.
Final
Directorate of Science & Technology
830
869
887
919
933
Management and Administrationa
139
132
132
132
132
R&D, Acquisition, and Operations
692
737
755
787
800
Border and Maritime
25
35
30
35
33
Chemical and Biological
208
200
200
200
200
Command, Control, & Interoperability
57
62
62
87
75
Explosives
78
96
96
96
96
Human Factors
14
12
12
8
12
Infrastructure and Geophysical
64
38
49
65
76
Innovation
33
45
39
33
33
Laboratory Facilitiesa
104
147
152
162
162
Test and Evaluation, Standards
29
25
29
25
29
Transitionb
25
32
34
27
29
University Programs
49
44
51
44
50
Homeland Security Instituteb
5


5
5
Domestic Nuclear Detection Office
485
564
544
541
514
Management and Administration
32
39
35
39
38
Research, Development, and Operations
324
334
333
334
323
Systems Engineering and Architecture
22
25
25
25
25
Systems Development
118
108
108
108
108
Transformational R&D
96
113
113
113
103
Assessments
38
32
32
32
32
Operations Support
34
38
38
38
38
24 Government Accountability Office, Combating Nuclear Smuggling: DHS Need to
Consider the Full Costs and Complete All Tests Prior to Making a Decision on Whether to
Purchase Advanced Portal Monitors
, GAO-08-1178T, September 25, 2008.

CRS-18
FY2008 FY2009
FY2009
FY2009
FY2009
Enacted Request
H. Cte.
S. Cte.
Final
Natl. Technical Nuclear Forensics Ctr.
15
18
17
18
17
Systems Acquisition
130
191
176
168
153
Radiation Portal Monitoring Program
90
158
143
135
120
Securing the Cities
30
20
20
20
20
Human Portable Radiation Detn. Sys.
10
13
13
13
13
U.S. Coast Guard RDT&E
25
16
16
16
18
TOTAL
1,340
1,449
1,447
1,476
1,465
Source: DHS FY2009 congressional budget justification; H.R. 6947 as reported and H.Rept.
110-862; S. 3181 as reported and S.Rept. 110-396; and P.L. 110-329, Division D, and explanatory
statement, Congressional Record, September 24, 2008, pp. H9806-H9807.
Notes: Totals may not add because of rounding.
a. Funding for the salaries of DHS laboratory employees ($14 million in FY2008) was transferred
from Management and Administration to Laboratory Facilities in the FY2009 request.
b. For FY2008, Congress appropriated $5 million for the Homeland Security Institute as a separate
line item. The FY2009 budget justification incorporated this amount into Transition. The
FY2009 request for Transition included $5 million for the Homeland Security Institute.
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
The NIH budget request for FY2009 continued the trend of the previous five
years, during which increases, if any, have been below the rate of inflation.
Congressional action on FY2009 appropriations bills, not yet finalized, has
recommended funding growth approximately equal to the estimated 3.5% inflation
rate. Currently, NIH is operating under the FY2009 continuing resolution at a rate
based on its original FY2008 appropriations.
The President’s FY2009 request for $29.165 billion for NIH was about level
with the original FY2008 amount (see Table 7). The Consolidated Appropriations
Act, 2008 (P.L. 110-161) provided a total of $29.171 billion. Later, the
Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2008 (P.L. 110-252, enacted June 30, 2008) gave
NIH an additional $150 million, bringing the FY2008 program level total to $29.321
billion, 1.0% above FY2007. The FY2009 request was $155 million below the
FY2008 enacted program level (-0.5%). In Table 7, FY2008 amounts are shown
both before and after the supplemental appropriations.
The FY2009 Continuing Appropriations Resolution (Division A of P.L. 110-
329, the Consolidated Security, Disaster Assistance, and Continuing Appropriations
Act, 2009, enacted September 30, 2008) provides funds for government operations
from October 1, 2008, through March 6, 2009. For most covered agencies and
programs, including NIH, funds are available at a rate for operations provided in the
FY2008 appropriations acts, not counting amounts designated as emergency funding
(such as the June 2008 supplemental funding NIH received). In the discussion
below, most references are to FY2008 funding levels prior to the supplemental

CRS-19
appropriations, since the FY2009 request and congressional actions were based on
the original FY2008 amounts.
NIH’s funding comes primarily from the appropriations bill for the Departments
of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies
(Labor/HHS), with an additional amount for Superfund-related activities from the
appropriations bill for the Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related
Agencies (Interior/Environment). Those two bills provide NIH’s discretionary
budget authority. In addition, NIH receives $150 million annually from separate
legislation funding diabetes research, and $8.2 million from a transfer within the
Public Health Service (PHS). NIH loses part of its appropriation to a transfer to the
Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria. For several years, about
$100 million of the annual NIH appropriation was transferred to the Global Fund.
In the FY2008 request, the President increased the amount to $300 million, and the
final amount of the transfer from the NIH appropriation was $295 million. The
FY2009 budget again proposed to transfer $300 million to the Global Fund. In
Table 7, the total funding available for NIH activities, taking account of add-ons and
transfers, is called the program level.25
In congressional action on the FY2009 request, the Senate Appropriations
Committee reported S. 3230 (S.Rept. 110-410) on July 8, 2008, recommending a
program level total of $30.113 billion for NIH within the Labor/HHS appropriations
bill. Although the committee did not take action on the Interior/Environment bill,
funding of approximately $78 million for the NIH Superfund account might have
been projected based on past years. The NIH program level total recommended by
the Senate committee would then have been about $30.191 billion, some $1.02
billion (3.5%) over the original FY2008 amount and $870 million (3.0%) over the
revised FY2008 level.
The full House Appropriations Committee did not take final action on either its
Labor/HHS bill or its Interior/Environment bill. On June 19, 2008, the House
Labor/HHS subcommittee reported a draft bill to the full committee that
recommended program level funding of $30.238 billion for NIH, $125 million more
than the Senate committee amount. The total NIH program level, again assuming
$78 million for the Superfund account, might have been projected at approximately
$30.316 billion, some $1.145 billion (3.9%) over the original FY2008 total amount
and $995 million (3.4%) over the revised FY2008 level.
In this decade, the peak of NIH’s purchasing power was in FY2003, when
Congress completed a five-year doubling of the NIH budget. Congress provided NIH
with annual increases in the range of 14%-15% each year from FY1999 through
FY2003. Since then, increases have been between 1%-3% each year, except that
FY2006 was a 0.3% decrease. The President requested no increase for NIH for
FY2009, while the advocates in the research community recommended a 6.5%
increase. The projected inflation rate for medical research prices is 3.5% for both
FY2008 and FY2009. In inflation-adjusted terms, the FY2008 funding level
25 The “NIH program level” cited in the Administration’s budget documents does not reflect
the Global Fund transfer.

CRS-20
represented an estimated 10.7% decrease in purchasing power from the FY2003
peak, and the FY2009 request level was 14% below FY2003.
The agency’s organization consists of the Office of the NIH Director and 27
institutes and centers. The Office of the Director (OD) sets overall policy for NIH
and coordinates the programs and activities of all NIH components, particularly in
areas of research that involve multiple institutes. The institutes and centers
(collectively called ICs) focus on particular diseases, areas of human health and
development, or aspects of research support. Each IC plans and manages its own
research programs in coordination with the Office of the Director. As shown in
Table 7, Congress provides a separate appropriation to 24 of the 27 ICs, to OD, and
to a buildings and facilities account. (The other three centers, not included in the
table, are funded through the NIH Management Fund, financed by taps on other NIH
appropriations.)
The President’s FY2009 budget gave most of the institutes and centers
approximately level funding from their original FY2008 amounts, requesting
increases of 0.1% or 0.2%. The President requested increases greater than 0.5% only
for the National Center for Research Resources (1.0%) and the National Library of
Medicine (0.8%). The Senate committee and the House subcommittee recommended
increases of about 3% and 3.5%, respectively, for most of the ICs compared to the
original FY2008 levels.
The two biggest changes proposed in the request were a 5.6% increase in the
Buildings and Facilities account, and a 4.7% drop in funding for the Office of the
Director. Many of the laboratories, animal facilities, and office buildings on the NIH
campus are aging, and are in need of upgrading to stay compliant with health and
safety guidelines and to provide the proper infrastructure for the Intramural Research
program. The budget requested $126 million for Buildings and Facilities, an increase
of $7 million. The House subcommittee agreed with that amount, while the Senate
committee recommended $147 million, an increase of $28 million (23%).
In the request, the net $52 million drop in the OD account, from $1,109 million
in FY2008 to $1,057 million, represented the proposed cancellation of a study
combined with increases for several other OD activities. The National Children’s
Study was funded at $111 million in FY2008. It is a long-term (25+ year), multi-
agency environmental health study that was mandated by the Children’s Health Act
of 2000 (P.L. 106-310). The overall projected cost for the whole study is about $2.7
billion. Starting with the FY2007 request, when the study moved from the planning
phase to the more costly implementation phase, the Administration has proposed
each year to end its funding. Congress has continued to support the study. Both the
Senate committee and the House subcommittee included $192 million for the study,
an increase of $81 million (73%).
The President proposed increases within the OD account totaling $59 million,
including a $38 million increase (7.7%) for the NIH Roadmap initiatives funded
through the Common Fund. The NIH Roadmap for Medical Research is a set of
trans-NIH research activities designed to support high-risk/high-impact research in
emerging areas of science or public health priorities. For FY2009, the President
requested $534 million for the Roadmap/Common Fund, up from $496 million in

CRS-21
FY2008. The Senate committee recommended $568 million for the Common Fund
(a $73 million increase), and boosted overall funding for the OD account to $1,275
million, an increase of $166 million (15%). The House subcommittee recommended
$544 million for the Common Fund (a $49 million increase) within overall funding
of $1,255 million for the OD account, an increase of $146 million (13%). The other
major increase in the President’s request for OD was an additional $19 million
(19.9%) for research on medical countermeasures against nuclear, radiological, and
chemical threats, increasing that program to $113 million from $94 million in
FY2008. That was the only significant increase for NIH’s biodefense portfolio,
which totaled $1,748 million in the President’s FY2009 request (up 1.2%). The
House subcommittee included $100 million for countermeasures research; the Senate
committee did not discuss biodefense research.
NIH has two major concerns in the face of tight budgets: maintaining support
of investigator-initiated research through research project grants, and expanding the
supply of new investigators. Total funding for research project grants (RPGs), at
$15.5 billion, represents about 53% of NIH’s budget. The FY2009 request proposed
to support an estimated 38,257 awards, about the same number as projected in
FY2008 before the supplemental. Within that total, 9,757 awards would have been
competing RPGs, 14 fewer than in FY2008. (“Competing” awards means new grants
plus competing renewals of existing grants.) The Senate committee estimated that
its funding level would support 10,471 competing RPGs, while the House
subcommittee level would support 10,812. The request proposed that no inflationary
increases be paid for noncompeting (continuation) RPGs, and that the average annual
cost of competing RPGs remain at the FY2008 level, about $361,000. The House
subcommittee included an average 2% increase for both new and continuing grants;
the Senate report did not specify average costs. Under the request, the expected
“success rate” of applications receiving funding would have declined to about 18%
from the estimated rate of 19% for FY2008 (pre-supplemental). Estimated success
rates for the various ICs would have ranged from 8% to 26%.
Several NIH efforts are focused on supporting new investigators to encourage
young scientists to undertake careers in research and to help them speed their
transition from training to independent research. The request proposed that the
Pathway to Independence program support approximately 500 awardees, including
170 new awards, for a total of $71 million. The request proposed an increase of $5
million (0.6%) to $786 million for regular training mechanisms such as the National
Research Service Awards, including stipend increases of 1% for both pre- and post-
doctoral fellows. Clinical research training, including the Clinical and Translational
Science Awards, would have been funded at a total of $475 million. The request
proposed to support about 25 New Innovator Awards for a total of $56 million in the
Common Fund. The NIH Director’s Bridge Award is a program that can give short-
term funding to established, meritorious investigators who have just missed the
funding cutoff for a renewal application and who have little other support, giving
them time to resubmit without disrupting the operation of their laboratory. The
request included $91 million for 244 awards, an increase of $1.6 million. Both the
Senate committee and the House subcommittee specifically mentioned support for
most of these initiatives, as well as others; both included funding increases beyond
the request for the New Innovator Awards.

CRS-22
Changes proposed in the request for other funding mechanisms within the NIH
budget included increased support for research centers, up $20 million to $2,963
million; a $33 million increase to $3,275 million for R&D contracts, including $5
million additional for the Global HIV/AIDS Fund; $50 million more for the NIH
intramural research program, for a total of $3,119 million; an increase of $20 million
to a total of $1,361 million for research management and support; and a decrease of
$23 million for other research grants totaling $1,786 million.
NIH and three of the other Public Health Service agencies within HHS are
subject to a budget “tap” called the PHS Program Evaluation Set-Aside. Section 241
of the PHS Act (42 U.S.C. § 238j) authorizes the Secretary to use a portion of
eligible appropriations to assess the effectiveness of federal health programs and to
identify ways to improve them. The tap has the effect of redistributing appropriated
funds among PHS and other HHS agencies. The FY2008 appropriation kept the tap
at 2.4%, the same as in FY2007; the FY2009 Senate bill and the draft House bill
maintain that level. NIH, with the largest budget among the PHS agencies, becomes
the largest “donor” of program evaluation funds, and is a relatively minor recipient.
By convention, budget tables such as Table 7 do not subtract the amount of the
evaluation tap, or of other taps within HHS, from the agencies’ appropriations. For
further information on the Evaluation Set-Aside, see CRS Report RL34098, Public
Health Service (PHS) Agencies: Background and Funding
, coordinated by Pamela
W. Smith.
At the end of the 109th Congress, the House and Senate agreed on the first NIH
reauthorization statute enacted since 1993, the NIH Reform Act of 2006 (P.L. 109-
482). The law made managerial and organizational changes in NIH, focusing on
enhancing the authority and tools for the NIH Director to do strategic planning,
especially to facilitate and fund cross-institute research initiatives. The measure
authorized, for the first time, overall funding levels for NIH, although not for the
individual ICs, and established a “common fund” for trans-NIH research. For further
information on NIH, see CRS Report RL33695, The National Institutes of Health:
Organization, Funding, and Congressional Issues,
by Pamela W. Smith. (CRS
Contact: Pamela Smith.)

Table 7. National Institutes of Health
($ in millions)
FY2008
FY2009 FY2009
original FY2008 FY2009
House
Senate
Institutes and Centers (ICs)
approp.a enactedb request Subcom. Comm.
Cancer (NCI)
4,805
4,831
4,810
4,975
4,959
Heart/Lung/Blood (NHLBI)
2,922
2,938
2,925
3,026
3,006
Dental/Craniofacial Research (NIDCR)
390
392
391
404
401
Diabetes/Digestive/Kidney (NIDDK)
1,707
1,716
1,708
1,767
1,756
Neurological Disorders/Stroke (NINDS)
1,544
1,552
1,545
1,599
1,588
Allergy/Infectious Diseases (NIAID)c
4,561
4,583
4,569
4,716
4,689
General Medical Sciences (NIGMS)
1,936
1,946
1,938
2,004
1,992
Child Health/Human Development (NICHD)
1,255
1,261
1,256
1,299
1,291

CRS-23
FY2008
FY2009 FY2009
original FY2008 FY2009
House
Senate
Institutes and Centers (ICs)
approp.a enactedb request Subcom. Comm.
Eye (NEI)
667
671
668
691
687
Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)
642
646
643
665
661
Aging (NIA)
1,047
1,053
1,048
1,084
1,077
Arthritis/Musculoskeletal/Skin (NIAMS)
509
511
509
527
523
Deafness/Communicat’n Disorders (NIDCD)
394
396
395
409
406
Nursing Research (NINR)
137
138
138
142
141
Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism (NIAAA)
436
439
437
452
449
Drug Abuse (NIDA)
1,001
1,006
1,002
1,036
1,030
Mental Health (NIMH)d
1,405
1,413
1,407
1,455
1,446
Human Genome Research (NHGRI)
487
489
488
505
501
Biomedical Imaging/Bioengineering (NIBIB)
299
300
300
311
307
Research Resources (NCRR)
1,149
1,156
1,160
1,200
1,193
Complementary/Alternative Med (NCCAM)
122
122
122
126
125
Minority Health/Hlth Disparities (NCMHD)
200
201
200
207
205
F
ogarty Intern
ational
Center (FIC)
67
67
67
69
69
National Library of Medicine (NLM)
321
322
323
332
330
Office of Director (OD)
1,109
1,112
1,057
1,255
1,275
Common Fund (non-add)
(496)
(498)
(534)
(544)
(568)
Buildings & Facilities (B&F)
119
119
126
126
147
Subtotal, Labor/HHS Appropriation
29,230
29,380
29,230
30,380
30,255
Superfund (Interior approp to NIEHS)e
78
78
78
78e
78e
Total, NIH discretionary budget authority
29,307
29,457
29,307
30,458f
30,333f
Pre-appropriated Type 1 diabetes fundsg
150
150
150
150
150
PHS Evaluation Tap fundingh
8
8
8
8
8
Global Fund transfer (AIDS/TB/Malaria)c
-295
-295
-300
-300
-300
Total, NIH program level
29,171 29,321 29,165 30,316f 30,191f
Sources: Adapted by CRS from NIH and congressional tables. FY2008 amounts are from NIH
Office of Budget at [http://officeofbudget.od.nih.gov/ui/fy2008elws.html]. FY2009 amounts are from
House Appropriations Committee table reflecting subcommittee action on the draft bill, and S.Rept.
110-410 reflecting the committee-reported bill (S. 3230). Details may not add to totals due to
rounding.
a. FY2008 original appropriations were provided in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2008 (P.L.
110-161, Division G, enacted December 26, 2007). Also includes comparative IC transfers
from NHLBI to NIDDK ($0.816 million) and from NLM to NIDCR ($0.455 million). The
FY2008 amounts are the reference point for the FY2009 Continuing Resolution (CR).
b. FY2008 enacted includes $150 million from the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2008 (P.L. 110-
252, June 30, 2008), distributed proportionally to the ICs. Those funds were designated as
emergency spending and are not counted for the FY2009 CR.
c. NIAID totals include funds for transfer to the Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, TB, and Malaria.
d. FY2008 NIMH has $0.983m from Office of the Secretary to administer the Interagency Autism
Coordinating Committee.
e. Separate account in the Interior/Environment appropriations for NIEHS research activities related
to Superfund. For FY2009, neither the Senate nor the House Appropriations Committees took
action on the Interior/Environment bills. The $78 million figure is an estimated amount based
on past years.

CRS-24
f. These totals include the estimated $78 million for Superfund-related activities.
g. Funds available to NIDDK for diabetes research under PHS Act § 330B (authorized by P.L. 106-
554, P.L. 107-360, and P.L. 110-173).
h. Additional funds for NLM from PHS Evaluation Set-Aside (§ 241 of PHS Act).
Department of Energy (DOE)
The Department of Energy (DOE) has requested $10.535 billion for R&D in
FY2009, including activities in three major categories: science, national security, and
energy. See Table 8 for details. This request is 6% above the FY2008 appropriation.
The House committee recommended $10.903 billion. The Senate committee
recommended $11.010 billion. The Continuing Appropriations Resolution, 2009
(Division A of P.L. 110-329) provides funding for continuing DOE activities at the
FY2008 rate through March 6, 2009.
The request for the DOE Office of Science is $4.722 billion, a 19% increase
from FY2008. This unusually large increase reflects the American Competitiveness
Initiative (ACI), which President Bush announced in the 2006 state of the union
address. Over 10 years, the ACI would double R&D funding for the Office of
Science and two other agencies.26 Congress set even faster growth targets in the
America COMPETES Act (P.L. 110-69), establishing authorization levels that would
double R&D funding for these agencies in seven years. The percentage increase in
the President’s FY2009 request for the Office of Science is higher than what would
be required on an annual basis to reach the ACI doubling target. This was also the
case in FY2007 and FY2008, but although the House and Senate bills for those years
would have provided increases even relative to the request, the final appropriations
were lower than the ACI amount. For FY2009, the House committee recommended
$140 million more than the request, while the Senate committee recommended $82
million less than the request.
Within the Office of Science, the request for basic energy sciences includes
increases of $153 million for a new program of Energy Frontier Research Centers,
$66 million for construction of the National Synchrotron Light Source II, and $73
million to increase operating time at existing facilities. The Senate committee
recommended reducing basic energy sciences by $153 million below the request; $59
million of that amount represents solar energy R&D activities transferred to another
account; the remainder of the reduction was not specified. The requested 17%
increase for high energy physics would go mostly to programs cut in the final
FY2008 appropriation that were funded in the House and Senate bills for that year.27
The requested 72% increase for fusion energy sciences would fund the U.S.
contribution to the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), which
was eliminated in the final FY2008 appropriation, again despite support in the House
26 The February 2006 White House document American Competitiveness Initiative: Leading
the World in Innovation
states that “ACI doubles total research fund; individual agency
allocations remain to be determined.” The three ACI agencies may individually receive
more or less than the amount required to double their separate FY2006 levels.
27 In response to these cuts, the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2008 (P.L. 110-252)
provided $62.5 million in supplemental FY2008 funding for the DOE Office of Science.

CRS-25
and Senate bills for that year. In December 2007, DOE announced new estimates of
the cost and schedule for ITER: between $1.45 and $2.2 billion (previously $1.122
billion) with a completion date between FY2014 and FY2017 (previously FY2014).
The House and Senate committees recommended the requested amount for ITER.
The requested funding for DOE national security R&D is $3.132 billion, a 2%
decrease. Increases would include $53 million for the naval reactors program, mostly
to support processing and storage of spent nuclear fuel, and $10 million for the
reliable replacement warhead program, which Congress zeroed in the FY2008
appropriation. The major decrease would be $79 million for proliferation detection
R&D, a program that Congress increased in FY2008. The House committee
recommended a total of $3.052 billion, while the Senate committee recommended
$3.252 billion. Neither committee recommended any funding for the reliable
replacement warhead program, and the Senate committee recommended restoring
$75 million of the requested decrease for proliferation detection R&D. In the
Weapons Activities account, the House committee recommended an increase of $87
million for inertial confinement fusion and a decrease of $66 million for advanced
simulation and computing.
The request for DOE energy R&D is $2.681 billion, down 2% from FY2008.
Within this total, R&D on nuclear energy and coal would increase, while hydrogen
R&D would decrease and gas and oil technology programs would be terminated (as
also proposed, unsuccessfully, in other recent years). Most of the requested 17%
decrease for energy efficiency and renewable energy results from the omission of
$186 million in FY2008 congressionally directed projects. The requested 44%
increase for nuclear energy R&D would be mostly for the Advanced Fuel Cycle
Initiative (AFCI). The House and Senate committees both recommended substantial
increases in energy R&D, particularly in energy efficiency and renewable energy, but
decreases in nuclear energy. Both committees recommended funding the gas and oil
technology programs at approximately the FY2008 level, and both provided less than
the request for the AFCI. (CRS Contact: Daniel Morgan.)
Table 8. Department of Energy R&D
($ in millions)
FY2009 FY2009 FY2009
FY2008 Request H.Cte.
S.Cte.
Science
$3,973
$4,722
$4,862
$4,640
Basic Energy Sciences
1,270
1,568
1,600
1,415
High Energy Physics
689
805
805
805
Biological and Environmental Research
544
569
579
599
Nuclear Physics
433
510
517
510
Fusion Energy Sciences
287
493
499
493
Advanced Scientific Computing Research
351
369
379
369
Other
399
408
483
449
National Security
3,199
3,132
3,052
3,252
Weapons Activitiesa
2,016
1,996
1,916
2,051
Naval Reactors
775
828
828
828

CRS-26
FY2009 FY2009 FY2009
FY2008 Request H.Cte.
S.Cte.
Nonproliferation and Verification R&D
387
275
276
350
Defense Environmental Cleanup TD&D
21
32
32
22
Energy
2,730
2,681
2,989
3,118
Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energyb
1,440
1,197
1,567
1,542
Fossil Energy R&D
743
754
854
877
Nuclear Energy R&Dc
438
630
464
566
Electr. Delivery & Energy Reliability R&D
110
100
105
133
Total
9,903
10,535
10,903
11,010
Source: DOE FY2009 congressional budget justification; draft House-reported bill and draft House
report; and S. 3258 and S.Rept. 110-416.
a.
Includes Stockpile Services R&D Support, Stockpile Services R&D Certification and Safety,
Reliable Replacement Warhead, Science Campaigns, Engineering Campaigns except Enhanced
Surety and Enhanced Surveillance, Inertial Confinement Fusion, Advanced Simulation and
Computing, and a prorated share of Readiness in Technical Base and Facilities. Additional
R&D activities may take place in the subprograms of Directed Stockpile Work that are devoted
to specific weapon systems, but these funds are not included in the table because detailed
funding schedules for those subprograms are classified.
b.
Excludes Weatherization and Intergovernmental Activities.
c.
Includes Nuclear Power 2010, Generation IV Nuclear Energy Systems Initiative, Nuclear
Hydrogen Initiative, and Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiative (AFCI). Note that AFCI funding
appears in the Fuel Cycle Research and Facilities line item in FY2008 and the FY2009 House
report, but in the Research and Development line item in the FY2009 request, and the FY2009
Senate report.
National Science Foundation (NSF)
The FY2009 request for the National Science Foundation (NSF) was $6.854
billion, a 13.6% increase ($822.1 million) over the FY2008 estimate of $6.032 billion
(see Table 9). President Bush has proposed doubling the NSF budget over 10 years,
from FY2007 to FY2016, as part of his American Competitiveness Initiative (ACI).
The FY2009 request represents another installment toward that doubling effort. In
August 2008, Congress passed the America COMPETES Act which authorizes
funding for NSF for FY2008 through FY2010 at a pace that would more than double
the agency’s funding in seven years. NSF has identified several strategies in the
FY2009 budget request: to maintain a portfolio with “powerful momentum” across
all disciplines; to build a world-class science and engineering workforce; to perform
effectively with the highest standards of accountability; and to support potentially
transformative research. The NSF Director describes transformative research as “a
range of endeavors, which promise extraordinary outcomes; such as, revolutionizing
entire disciplines, creating entirely new fields, or disrupting accepted theories and
perspective.”28 Several reports have recommended that funds be allocated
specifically for this type of research. NSF contends that in the global environment
28 Bement, Jr., Arden L., Director, National Science Foundation, “Transformative Research:
The Artistry and Alchemy of the 21st Century,” remarks, Texas Academy of Medicine,
Engineering and Science Fourth Annual Conference, Austin, Texas, January 4, 2007.
[http://www.nsf.gov/news/speeches/bement/07/alb070104_texas.jsp]

CRS-27
of science and engineering, support for transformative, high-risk, high-reward
research is critical to U.S. competitiveness. These strategies parallel some of the
goals contained in the President’s ACI, and are designed to promote research that
will drive innovation and support the design and development of world-class
facilities, instrumentation, and infrastructure.
Included in the FY2009 request is $5.594 billion for Research and Related
Activities (R&RA), a 16.0% increase ($772.5 million) above the FY2008 estimate
of $4.822 billion. R&RA funds research projects, research facilities, and education
and training activities. The scientific and academic communities have voiced
concerns about the imbalance between support for the life sciences and the physical
sciences. Research is multidisciplinary and transformational in nature, and very
often, discoveries in the physical sciences lead to advances in other disciplines. The
America COMPETES ACT authorizes increased federal research support in the
physical sciences, mathematics, and engineering. The FY2009 request provides a
20.2% increase for the Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS) directorate. The
MPS portfolio supports investments in fundamental research, facilities, and
instruments, and provides approximately 44.0% of the federal funding for basic
research in mathematics and physical sciences conducted at colleges and universities.
R&RA includes Integrative Activities (IA), a cross-disciplinary research and
education program, and is a source of funding for the acquisition and development
of research instrumentation at institutions. The FY2009 request provides $276.0
million for IA. The IA also funds Partnerships for Innovation, disaster research
teams, and the Science and Technology Policy Institute. In FY2008, support for the
Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) was transferred
from the Education and Human Resources Directorate (EHR) to IA. NSF’s FY2009
request for EPSCoR is $113.5 million, which is a part of the total IA funding request.
The FY2009 request would support a portfolio of three complementary strategies —
research infrastructure, co-funding, and outreach — for the 27 EPSCoR jurisdictions.
Approximately 67.0% of the funding for EPSCoR would be used for a combination
of new awards and research infrastructure improvement grants. The balance of
funding would support co-funding (31.7%) and outreach activities (1.7%).
The NSF asserts that international research partnerships are critical to the nation
in maintaining a competitive edge, addressing global issues, and capitalizing on
global economic opportunities. The Administration has requested $47.4 million for
the Office of International Science and Engineering (OISE). The OISE manages
NSF’s offices in Beijing, Paris, and Tokyo that report on and analyze in-country and
regional science and technology policies and developments. The OISE serves as a
liaison with research institutes and foreign agencies, and facilitates coordination and
implementation of NSF research and education efforts.
The Office of Polar Programs (OPP) is funded in the R&RA. The FY2009
request for addressing the challenges in polar research is $491.0 million. NSF
continues in its leadership role in planning U.S. participation in observance of the
International Polar Year, 2007-2009.29 The NSF also serves in a leadership capacity
29 International Polar Year runs from March 2007 through March 2009. Sponsors say that
(continued...)

CRS-28
for several international research partnerships in the Arctic and Antarctic. Increases
in OPP in FY2009 are directed at research programs for arctic and antarctic sciences
— glacial and sea ice, terrestrial and marine ecosystems, the ocean and the
atmosphere, and biology of life in the cold and dark. In FY2006, responsibility for
funding the operational costs of three icebreakers that support scientific research in
the polar regions was transferred from the U.S. Coast Guard to the NSF.30 NSF is
responsible for the operation, maintenance, and staffing of the vessels. Beginning in
FY2009, one of the icebreakers is to be in drydock. To meet the need for back-up
icebreaking services, the FY2009 request includes an additional $9.0 million for
contracting of other vessels.
NSF supports several interagency R&D priorities in the FY2009 request. It is
a lead agency in the U.S. nanotechnology research effort, accounting for $396.8
million of the National Nanotechnology Initiative’s $1.53 billion FY2009 request.
Funding would support research in emerging areas of nanoscale science and
technology such as new drug delivery systems, advanced materials, more powerful
computer chips. Support would be directed also at research and education in the
environmental, health, and safety impacts of nanotechnology. NSF’s other
interagency priorities include funding for the Climate Change Science Program
($220.6 million), Homeland Security ($379.2 million), Networking and Information
Technology R&D ($1,090.3 million), and Climate Change Technology Program
($23.5 million).
The NSF supports a variety of individual centers and center programs. The
FY2009 request provides $76.0 million for Science and Technology Centers, $53.6
million for Materials Research Science and Engineering Centers, $53.6 million for
Engineering Research Centers, $44.6 million for Nanoscale Science and Engineering
Centers, $15.0 million for Science of Learning Centers, $20.0 million for Centers for
Chemical Innovation, and $18.4 million for Centers for Analysis and Synthesis.
The FY2009 request for the EHR Directorate is $790.4 million, $64.8 million
(8.9%) above the FY2008 estimate. The EHR portfolio is focused on, among other
things, increasing the technological literacy of all citizens; preparing the next
generation of science, engineering, and mathematics professionals; and closing the
achievement gap of underrepresented groups in all scientific fields. Support at the
various educational levels in the FY2009 request is as follows: research on learning
in formal and informal settings (including precollege), $226.5 million;
undergraduate, $219.8 million; and graduate, $190.7 million. Priorities at the
precollege level include research and evaluation on education in science and
engineering ($42.0 million), informal science education ($66.0 million), and
Discovery Research K-12 ($108.5 million). Discovery Research is structured to
combine the strengths of three existing programs and encourage innovative thinking
in K-12 science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education.
29 (...continued)
a two-year period was selected to provide equal coverage of both the Arctic and Antarctic.
30 For expanded discussion of the icebreakers see for example CRS Report RL34391, Coast
Guard Polar Icebreaker Modernization: Background, Issues, and Options for Congress
, by
Ronald O’Rourke.

CRS-29
According to NSF, programs at the undergraduate level are designed to “create
leverage for institutional change.” Priorities at the undergraduate level include the
Robert Noyce Scholarship Program ($11.6 million); Course, Curriculum, and
Laboratory Improvement ($39.2 million); STEM Talent Expansion Program ($29.7
million); Advanced Technological Education ($51.6 million); and Scholarship for
Service ($15.0 million). The Math and Science Partnership Program (MSP), an
interagency program, is proposed at $51.0 million in the FY2009 request. The MSP
in NSF coordinates activities with the Department of Education and its state-funded
MSP sites. At the graduate level, NSF’s priorities are Integrative Graduate Education
and Research Traineeship ($25.0 million), Graduate Research Fellowships ($116.7
million), and the Graduate Teaching Fellows in K-12 Education ($49.0 million).
Additional priorities in the EHR would support a portfolio of programs directed
at strengthening and expanding the participation of underrepresented groups and
diverse institutions in the scientific and engineering enterprise. Among these targeted
programs in the FY2009 request are the Historically Black Colleges and Universities
Undergraduate Program ($31.0 million), Tribal Colleges and Universities Program
($13.4 million), Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation ($42.5 million),
and Centers of Research Excellence in Science and Technology ($30.5 million).
Improving the success rate of grant applicants has been a long-term priority for
NSF. The funding rate (the number of grants awarded as a share of total grant
applications) declined from 30% in FY2000 to an estimated 21% in FY2008. NSF
anticipates increasing the funding rate to 23.0% in FY2009 by supporting an
additional 1,370 research grants.
The Major Research Equipment and Facilities Construction (MREFC) account
is funded at $147.5 million in the FY2009 request, a decrease of 33.2% from the
FY2008 estimate. The MREFC supports the acquisition and construction of major
research facilities and equipment that extend the boundaries of science, engineering,
and technology. According to NSF, it is the primary federal agency providing
support for “forefront instrumentation and facilities for the academic research and
education communities.” NSF’s first priority for funding is for ongoing projects.
Second priority is given to projects that have been approved by the National Science
Board for new starts. To qualify for support, NSF required MREFC projects to have
“the potential to shift the paradigm in scientific understanding and/or infrastructure
technology.” The FY2009 request is indicative of NSF’s tighter standards and
requirements for receiving funding in this account. Three projects that appeared in
the FY2008 request (Alaskan Regional Research Vessel, Ocean Observatories
Initiative, and the National Ecological Observatory Network) have to undergo a final
design review and a risk management plan to meet NSF’s policy of not allowing cost
overruns on major facilities projects. These projects are still supported by NSF, and
will be considered for inclusion in the budget cycle following submission of their
revised baseline budgets and contingencies. The FY2009 request supports three
ongoing projects: Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory
($51.4 million), Atacama Large Millimeter Array ($82.3 million), and the IceCube
Neutrino Observatory ($11.3 million). The request also provides $2.5 million to
support design activities for a new start, the Advanced Technology Solar Telescope.

CRS-30
On June 25, 2008, the House Appropriations Committee approved a Commerce,
Justice, Science and Related Agencies draft bill that would provide $6.854 billion for
the NSF in FY2009, $789.1 million above the FY2008 enacted and the same as the
President’s request. The R&RA would receive $5.554 billion, a $722.7 million
increase above the FY2008 level and $49.9 million below the request. Additional
funding in the House bill includes $840.3 million for the EHR and $147.5 million for
MREFC. The Senate-reported bill of June 18, 2008 would provide $6.854 billion for
the NSF, the same as the House bill and the request. R&RA would be funded at
$5.594 billion, $40 million above the House bill and the same as the President’s
request. The Senate-reported bill would fund the EHR and the MREFC at $790.4
million and $152 million, respectively.
On June 30, 2008, the President signed into law the Supplemental
Appropriations Act, 2008 (P.L.110-252, H.R. 2642). The act provides, among other
things, $62.5 million in emergency supplemental funding for the NSF. Included in
the total is $22.5 million for R&RA, of which $5.0 million is to be available solely
for the Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship program. The
supplemental provides $40.0 million for the EHR, of which $20.0 million is directed
for activities of the Robert Noyce scholarship program. Please note that the FY2008
supplemental funding has not been included in the table column below.
On September 30, 2008, the President signed into law the Consolidated
Security, Disaster Assistance, and Continuing Appropriations Act, 2009 (P.L.110-
329, H.R. 2638). The continuing resolution funds the NSF at the FY2008 level until
passage of the Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies appropriations bill
or until March 6, 2009, whichever occurs first.
(CRS Contact: Christine M. Matthews.)
Table 9. National Science Foundation
($ in millions)
FY2008
FY2009
FY2009
FY2009
Estimate
Request
House
Senate
Research & Related Activities
Biological Sciences
$612.0
$675.1
Computer & Inform. Sci. & Eng.
534.5
638.8
Engineering
636.9
759.3
Geosciences
752.7
848.7
Math and Physical Sciences
1,167.3
1,402.7
Social, Behav., & Econ. Sciences
215.1
233.5
Office of Cyberinfrastructure
185.3
220.1
Office of International Sci. & Eng.
41.3
47.4
U.S. Polar Programs
442.5
491.0
Integrative Activities
232.3
276.0
U.S. Arctic Research Commission
1.5
1.5
Subtotal Res. & Rel. Act
4,821.5
5,594.0
5,554.0c
5,594.0c

CRS-31
FY2008
FY2009
FY2009
FY2009
Estimate
Request
House
Senate
Ed. & Hum. Resr.
725.6
790.4
840.3
790.4
Major Res. Equip. & Facil. Constr.
220.7
147.5
147.5
152.0
Agency Operations & Award
Management.
281.8
305.1
305.1
300.6
National Science Board
4.0
4.0
4.0
4.0
Office of Inspector General
11.4
13.1
13.1
13.1
Rescission required under P.L. 110-161
-33.0



Total NSF a
6,032.0b
6,854.1
6,854.0
6,854.1
a. The totals do not include carry overs or retirement accruals. Totals may not add due to rounding.
b. The Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2008 (P.L. 110-252) provides NSF with $62.5 million in
additional FY2008 funding. NSF obligated all of its supplemental monies by the end of the
fiscal year. Emergency supplemental funds are not included in the base for a Continuing
Resolution. The FY2008 supplemental funding has not been incorporated into the above table
column.
c. Specific allocations for each directorate or for individual programs and activities are not yet
available.
Department of Commerce (DOC)
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is a laboratory of
the Department of Commerce with a mandate to increase the competitiveness of U.S.
companies through appropriate support for industrial development of precompetitive,
generic technologies and the diffusion of government-developed technological
advances to users in all segments of the American economy. NIST research also
provides the measurement, calibration, and quality assurance techniques that
underpin U.S. commerce, technological progress, improved product reliability,
manufacturing processes, and public safety.
The Administration’s original FY2009 budget proposed $638.0 million in
funding for NIST. On June 6, 2008, the President submitted a series of amendments
to his budget including a reduction of $2.0 million in the amount requested for NIST
(from the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) program). The new request
of $636.0 million is 15.9% below FY2008 due to an absence of support for the
Technology Innovation Program (TIP)31 and a significant decrease in financing for
MEP. Funding for in-house research and development under the Scientific and
Technology Research and Services (STRS) account (including the Baldrige National
Quality Program) was to increase 21.5% to $535.0 million, while MEP would be
provided $2.0 million to close out the federally financed portion of the program such
that “...MEP centers will become independent, as intended in the program’s original
authorization.” Construction support would decline 38.3% to $99.0 million. (See
Table 10.)
31 The Technology Innovation Program replaced the Advanced Technology Program as
mandated by P.L. 110-69.

CRS-32
The draft bill approved by the House Committee on Appropriations, would fund
NIST at $816.9 million, 8.1% above FY2008. The STRS account would increase
13.7% to $500.7 million while support for TIP at $65.2 million would remain
constant and MEP funding would increase 36.2% to $122.0 million. Construction
would decrease 19.6% to $129.0 million. S. 3182, as reported by the Senate
Committee on Appropriations, provided $813.5 million for NIST, an increase of
7.6% over FY2008. Included was $489.5 million for the STRS account (an 11.1%
increase), $65.0 million for TIP, and $110.0 million for MEP (a 22.8% increase).
The construction budget would decline 7.2% to $149.0 million.
No final FY2009 appropriations legislation was enacted by the beginning of that
fiscal year. P.L. 110-329, the Consolidated Security, Disaster Assistance, and
Continuing Appropriations Act, 2009, provides, in part, funding for NIST at FY2008
levels through March 6, 2009.
The FY2008 Consolidated Appropriations Act, P.L. 110-161, financed NIST at
$755.8 million, an increase of 11.7% over FY2007. Support for the STRS account
increased 1.4% to $440.5 million (including $7.9 million for the Baldrige Quality
Program). The Technology Innovation Program (formerly the Advanced Technology
Program (ATP)) was appropriated $65.2 million (with an additional $5 million from
FY2007 unobligated balances under ATP), 17.6% below the previous fiscal year.
Funding for MEP decreased 14.4% to $89.6 million. Support for construction almost
tripled to $160.5 million.
The President’s FY2008 budget proposal requested $640.7 million for NIST,
5.3% below the FY2007 appropriation. The STRS account would have increased
15.2% to $500.5 million (including the Baldrige Quality Program). There was no
funding for ATP and financing for MEP would have been reduced 55.8% to $46.3
million. Construction expenses were to increase 60% to $93.9 million.
No final FY2007 appropriations legislation for NIST was enacted during the
109th Congress. A series of continuing resolutions funded the program at FY2006
levels through February 15, 2007. However, P.L. 110-5, passed in the 110th Congress,
provided $676.9 million in FY2007 support for NIST. Funding for the STRS
account increased 10% over the previous fiscal year to $434.4 million while the
construction budget decreased 66% to $58.7 million. Financing for ATP at $79.1
million and support for MEP at $104.7 million reflected similar funding in FY2006.
As part of the American Competitiveness Initiative, the Administration stated
its intention to double over 10 years funding for “innovation-enabling research”
performed at NIST through its “core” programs (defined as internal research in the
STRS account and the construction budget). To this end, the President’s FY2007
budget requested an increase of 18.3% for intramural R&D at NIST; FY2007
appropriations for these in-house programs increased 9.6%. For FY2008, the
omnibus appropriations legislation provided for a small increase in the STRS
account. This was in contrast to the Administration’s FY2008 budget which included
a 15.2% increase in funding, as did the original appropriations bill, H.R. 3093, as
passed by the House, while the Senate-passed version contained a 15.6% increase.
The President’s FY2009 budget request proposed a 21.5% increase in support for the

CRS-33
STRS account. Increases in the STRS account were included in the House and
Senate bills, but at amounts less than the budget request.
Continued support for the Advanced Technology Program was a major funding
issue, particularly because opponents objected to large companies receiving research
grants. Although Congress maintained (often decreasing) funding for ATP, the initial
appropriation bills passed by the House since FY2002 failed to include financing for
the program. In FY2006, support for the program was cut 41% and in FY2007, P.L.
110-69 replaced ATP with the Technology Innovation Program which focuses on
small and medium sized firms. The Consolidated Appropriations Act, FY2008,
provides funding for this new initiative. The Administration’s FY2009 budget
request did not include financing for TIP, while the House and Senate bills provided
support similar to FY2008. The budget for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership,
another extramural program administered by NIST, has also been debated for several
years. The President’s FY2009 budget proposal recommended curtailing the
federally funded portion of the MEP and provided $2.0 million to accomplish this
objective. The House and Senate bills included large increases in funding for the
program.
For additional information, see CRS Report 95-30, The National Institute of
Standards and Technology: An Appropriations Overview; CRS Report RS22815, The
Technology Innovation Program
; and CRS Report 97-104, The Manufacturing
Extension Partnership Program: An Overview
, all by Wendy H. Schacht. (CRS
Contact: Wendy H. Schacht.)

Table 10. NIST
($ in millions)
FY2009
FY2008
FY2009
NIST Program
FY2008
Request
S. 3182
Request
House
(amended)
STRSa
$500.5
440.5
535.0
500.7
489.5
ATP/TIP
0
65.2b
0
65.2
65.0
MEP
46.3
89.6
2.0
122.0
110.0
Construction 93.9
160.5
99.0
129.0
149.0
NIST Total
640.7
755.8
636.0
816.9
813.5
Note: Figures may not add up because of rounding.
a. Includes funding for the Baldrige National Quality Program.
b. Funding is for the new Technology Innovation Program (TIP) that replaces ATP.

CRS-34
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
For FY2009, President Bush proposed $576 million for the Department of
Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for R&D
funding (Table 11). According to the NOAA FY2009 Budget Summary, released on
February 4, 2008, this is about 14% of NOAA’s total discretionary budget request of
$4.109 billion. Also, the R&D request would consist of 93% research funding and
7% development funding. About 70% of the R&D request would fund intramural
programs and 30% would fund extramural activities.
NOAA’s Budget Office reported the R&D funding request for the Office of
Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR) to be $293 million, or 51% of total
NOAA R&D funding requested for FY2009. NOAA R&D request figures indicate
that there would be an increase of 38% for the National Ocean Service (NOS) and
one of 24% for the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). These line offices
in general sustained overall budget cuts affecting R&D in FY2008. The National
Environmental Satellite Data and Information Service (NESDIS) R&D budget
request of $29 million is a slight increase of $2 million as compared with the FY2008
enacted appropriation. National Weather Service (NWS) R&D is essentially flat
funded at $23 million. The President’s budget request for FY2009 indicated that
$260 million of NOAA’s budget would be for the U.S. Climate Change Science
Program (CCSP). Also, it indicated that the $378 million requested for OAR
represents NOAA’s portion of the President’s “Federal Science and Technology
Budget” for FY2009, of which $128.1 million would be for OAR labs and
cooperative institutes.
The Senate Committee on Appropriations reported S. 3182 on June 19, 2008
(S.Rept. 110-397). According to a AAAS R&D analysis, the committee
recommended a total of $633 million for R&D for FY2009 (Table 11).32 This
amount is reported to be 9.9% greater than the FY2009 request of $576 million, or
an increase of $57 million, and is proposed for NOAA’s five line offices and “all
other R&D.” Also, it is 8.9% more than the FY2008 appropriation of $581 million.
The largest monetary increase, for R&D, compared with the President’s request,
would be $33 million for OAR. Of that amount, climate research and high
performance computing R&D would stand to benefit the most from S. 3182. The
Senate’s largest increase above the R&D request in terms of percentage is for NOS
(23.2%), or an additional $13 million. AAAS indicated that the NOS R&D increase
is for congressionally directed programs.33
The FY2009 Consolidated Security, Disaster Assistance, and Continuing
Appropriations Act (P.L. 110-329) would freeze most NOAA funding at FY2008
levels. AAAS noted that “R&D in NOAA would have gained 8.9 percent to $633
32 American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), “Funding Update on
Commerce R&D in Senate Appropriations” (Based on FY2009 Appropriations Bills and
Including Conduct of R&D and R&D Facilities),” July 1, 2008, at [http://bakser.aaas.org/
spp/rd/doc09s.htm].
33 Id.

CRS-35
million in the Senate plan instead of a requested cut.”34 Even so, Division B of the
act provides $17 million in supplemental appropriations for NOAA to improve its
hurricane track and intensity forecasts for the protection of life and property. This
may boost R&D funding for experimental modeling activities at NOAA’s Hurricane
Research Division (HRD) at the Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Lab
(AOML) and foster research to operations for NOAA Central Forecast Guidance.
(CRS Contact: Wayne Morrissey.)
Table 11. NOAA R&D
($ in millions)
R&D By NOAA Line Office
FY2008
FY2009
S. 3182
and Program Support
Enacteda
Request
National Ocean Service (NOS)
57
58
71
National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)
45
52
56
Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR)
323
288
321
National Weather Service (NWS)
23
23
24
National Environmental Satellite Data
26
29
29
and Information Service (NESDIS)
Office of Marine and Aviation Services
107
127
132
(OMAO)b — Program Support
Total Conduct of R&Dc
$581
$577
$633
Source: Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA,
“FY2007-FY2009, Research and Development,” personal communication, March 13, 2008.
a. P.L. 110-161 (Reported as Amendment to the Senate Amendment to H.R. 2764, the Consolidated.
Appropriations Act of 2008, Div. B, Title I, Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies
b. OMAO R&D includes marine research data acquisition and services.
c. The request figures for FY2009 reported by AAAS are based on “OMB R&D data and
supplemental agency budget data.”
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
(NASA)
The Administration requested $12.857 billion for NASA R&D in FY2009. This
request is a 5% increase over FY2008, in a total NASA budget that would increase
by 2%. The House committee recommended $12.967 billion.35 The Senate
committee recommended $13.044 billion.36 In addition, the National Aeronautics
and Space Administration Authorization Act of 2008 (P.L. 110-422) includes
authorization levels for many programs for FY2009. For details, see Table 12. The
34 AAAS, “Federal Research Funding Flat in 2009 as Federal Budget Stalls,” September 30,
2008, at [http://www.aaas.org/spp/rd/upd908.htm].
35 CRS analysis of committee-approved drafts of the House-reported bill and House report.
36 CRS analysis of S. 3182 as reported and S.Rept. 110-397.

CRS-36
Continuing Appropriations Resolution, 2009 (Division A of P.L. 110-329) provides
funding for continuing NASA activities at the FY2008 rate through March 6, 2009.
For more information, see CRS Report RS22818, National Aeronautics and Space
Administration: Overview, FY2009 Budget, and Issues for Congress
.
Budget priorities throughout NASA are being driven by the Vision for Space
Exploration. Announced by President Bush in January 2004 and endorsed by
Congress in the NASA Authorization Act of 2005 (P.L. 109-155), the Vision
includes returning the space shuttle to regular flight status following the 2003
Columbia disaster, but then retiring it by 2010; completing the International Space
Station, but discontinuing its use by the United States by 2017; returning humans to
the Moon by 2020; and then sending humans to Mars and “worlds beyond.” To
replace the space shuttle and carry astronauts to the Moon, NASA is developing a
new spacecraft and a new launch vehicle, known as Orion and Ares I. Their first
crewed flight is expected in March 2015.
In general, the FY2009 request includes increases for programs related to the
Vision and decreases for other programs. The request for Constellation Systems, the
program responsible for developing Orion and Ares I, is an increase of $576 million
or 23% relative to FY2008. The request for the International Space Station is an
increase of $247 million or 14%. Among programs not focused on human space
exploration, the request for Science is a decrease of $15 million or 0.3%,37 and the
request for Aeronautics is a decrease of $65 million or 13%. The Senate committee
recommended $30 million more than the request for Constellation Systems, while the
House committee recommended $20 million less (but $26 million more for
Advanced Capabilities in the same account). Both committees recommended the
requested amount for the International Space Station and more than the request for
both Science and Aeronautics.
Within the nearly flat request for Science, increases for Earth Science and
Planetary Science would be offset by a decrease for Astrophysics. The request for
Earth Science would fund two new missions recommended by the National Research
Council in its decadal survey,38 while the request for Planetary Science would initiate
a new program in lunar robotic science. In Astrophysics, two programs have been
of particular congressional interest: the NASA/DOE Joint Dark Energy Mission
(JDEM) and the Space Interferometer Mission (SIM). The request includes funds for
JDEM, as directed by Congress in the FY2008 explanatory statement,39 but not for
SIM. NASA explains that a new exoplanet exploration initiative could include a
smaller, medium-class version of SIM, as recommended by the FY2008 Senate
report.40 The House and Senate committees both recommended more than the
request for each of the four Science programs. Among their recommended increases
were additions to cover cost growth in the Glory, Mars Science Laboratory, and
37 After adjusting for transfers. See notes to Table 12.
38 National Research Council, Earth Science and Applications from Space: National
Imperatives for the Next Decade and Beyond
, 2007.
39 Congressional Record, December 17, 2007, pp. H15820 and H15923.
40 S.Rept. 110-124, p. 110.

CRS-37
James Webb Space Telescope missions and to fund decadal survey missions in Earth
Science. (CRS Contact: Daniel Morgan.)
Table 12. NASA R&D
($ in millions)
FY2009
FY2009
FY2009
FY2008a
FY2009
Request
H.Cte.
S.Cte.
Auth.
Scienceb
$4,456
$4,442
$4,518
$4,523
$4,932
Earth Science
1,280
1,368
1,448
1,440
1,518
Planetary Science
1,248
1,334
1,411
1,411
1,483
Astrophysics
1,338
1,162
1,181
1,184
1,290
Heliophysicsb
591
577
618
633
641
Adjustmentc


-140
-145

Aeronautics
512
446
515
500
853
Exploration
3,143
3,500
3,506
3,530
4,886
Constellation Systems
2,472
3,048
3,028
3,078
4,148
Advanced Capabilities
671
452
478
452
738
International Space Station
1,813
2,060
2,060
2,060
n/a
Subtotal R&D
9,924
10,449
10,599
10,613
n/a
Other NASA Programsd
4,142
3,866
3,925
3,880
n/a
Cross-Agency Supporte
3,243
3,300
3,245
3,320
3,300
Associated with R&D
2,288
2,409
2,368
2,431
n/a
Associated with Other
955
891
877
889
n/a
Total R&D
12,212
12,857
12,967
13,044
n/a
Total NASA
17,309
17,614
17,769
17,814
20,210
Source: NASA FY2009 congressional budget justification; draft House-reported bill and draft House
report; S. 3182 and S.Rept. 110-397; and Sec. 101 of P.L. 110-422. Amounts not specified in P.L.
110-422 are shown as n/a (not available).
a. Adjusted for accounting changes to be comparable with the FY2009 request.
b. Reduced by $250 million in FY2008 to adjust for the transfer of Near Earth Networks and Deep
Space Mission Systems from Heliophysics to Space and Flight Support in FY2009.
c. Reflects reallocated funds carried over from FY2008.
d. Space Shuttle, Space and Flight Support (increased in FY2008 as in note b), Education, and
Inspector General.
e. Allocation between R&D and non-R&D is estimated by CRS in proportion to the underlying
program amounts in order to allow calculation of a total for R&D. The Cross-Agency Support
account consists mostly of indirect costs for other programs assessed in proportion to their direct
costs.

CRS-38
Department of Agriculture (USDA)
The FY2009 request for research and education activities in the U.S.
Department of Agriculture (USDA) was $2.280 billion, a 12.0% decrease ($310.7
million) from the FY2008 estimate of $2.591 billion (see Table 13). The
Agricultural Research Service (ARS) is USDA’s in-house basic and applied research
agency, and operates approximately 100 laboratories nationwide. The ARS
laboratories focus on efficient food and fiber production, development of new
products and uses for agricultural commodities, development of effective biocontrols
for pest management, and support of USDA regulatory and technical assistance
programs. Included in the total support for USDA in FY2009 is $1.050 billion for
ARS, $117.2 million below the FY2008 estimate. In the ARS, the Administration
proposes the reduction of $41.0 million in funding add-ons designated by Congress
for research at specific locations. Also, there is the proposed discontinuation and
redirection of $105.0 million in lower priority programs. The amounts are to be
redirected to critical research priorities of the Administration that include livestock
production, food safety, crop protection, and human nutrition. Included in the
FY2009 request for ARS is $13.2 million for buildings and facilities.
The Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES)
distributes funds to State Agricultural Experiment Stations, State Cooperative
Extension Systems, land-grant universities, and other institutions and organizations
that conduct agricultural research, education, and outreach. Included in these
partnerships is funding for research at 1862 land-grant institutions, 1890 historically
black colleges and universities, and 1994 tribal land-grant colleges. Funding is
distributed to the states through competitive awards, statutory formula funding, and
special grants. The FY2009 request provides $994.1 million for CSREES, a decrease
of $189.7 million from the FY2008 estimate. The CSREES FY2009 budget includes
the proposed elimination of $144.0 million in Congressional add-ons and the
reduction of $88.0 million in lower priority programs. Funding for formula
distribution in FY2009 to the state Agricultural Experiment Stations is $273.2
million, approximately $1.5 million below the FY2008 estimate. Support for the
1890 formula programs is $38.3 million, $2.8 million below the FY2008 level. One
of the primary goals of the FY2009 CSREES budget is to expand competitive, peer-
reviewed allocation of research programs. The FY2009 budget request has proposed,
as in previous years, to modify the Hatch formula program.41 It would expand the
multistate research programs share of Hatch funds from 25.0% to approximately
70.0%. The request would redirect 42.0% of Hatch funds to nationally, competitively
awarded, multi-state/multi-institutional projects in the first year, with the balance of
funds distributed over a four year period. In addition, the FY2009 request proposes
allocating 67.0% of McIntire-Stennis funds for the creation of a competitively
awarded multi-state research program. The extension programs are also proposed to
be strengthened through competitively awarded grants. The programs are designed
41 Hatch Act Formula grants are provided for agricultural research to state agricultural
experiment stations (SAES) in accordance with the act approved July 2, 1862 (7 U.S.C. 301
et seq.) — as amended through P.L. 107-293. SAESs are directed to support research
projects that have relevance to the special needs of the respective states. SAESs are
required to provide 100% in matching funds.

CRS-39
to be more responsive to critical national issues such as agricultural security, local
and regional emergencies, zoonotic diseases, and pest risk management.
The FY2009 request proposes $256.5 million for the Agriculture and Food
Research Initiative (AFRI), an increase of $65.6 million over the FY2008 estimate.
In addition to supporting fundamental and applied science in agriculture, USDA
maintains that the AFRI makes a significant contribution to developing the next
generation of agricultural scientists by providing graduate students with opportunities
to work on research projects. A focus of these efforts is providing increased
opportunities for minority and under-served communities in agricultural science.
AFRI funding also will support projects directed at developing alternate methods of
biological and chemical conversion of biomass, and research determining the impact
of a renewable fuels industry on the economic and social dynamics of rural
communities. The Administration has proposed support for initiatives in agricultural
genomics, emerging issues in food and agricultural security, the ecology and
economics of biological invasions, and plant biotechnology. Research is proposed
that moves beyond water quality issues to extend to water availability, reuse, and
conservation.
The FY2009 request for USDA provides $82.1 million for the Economic
Research Service (ERS), $4.2 million above the FY2008 estimated level; and $153.5
million for the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), approximately $9.9
million below the FY2008 level. The budget includes support to improve research
efforts in analyzing the impacts of bioenergy production, and to examine those
concerns pertaining to feedstock storage, transportation networks, and the vagaries
in commodity production. Funding for NASS will allow for the creation of a data
series on key elements of bioenergy production. Research areas to explore include
production and utilization of biomass materials; stocks and prices of distillers’ grains;
and current and proposed ethanol plants. Funding is provided in the NASS FY2009
request to fully fund the last year of the 2007 Census of Agriculture. Funding will
be available also for data collection to measure energy use and production on farms.
On July 21, 2008, the Senate Committee on Appropriations reported S. 3289,
the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related
Agencies Appropriation Bill, FY2009 (S.Rept. 110-426). The bill would provide a
total of $2.543 billion for research and education activities in USDA, $262.6 million
above the Administrations’s FY2009 request and $48.1 million below the FY2008
estimate. S. 3289 would fund the ARS at $1.165 billion and CSREES at $1.150
billion. In addition, funding in the Senate-reported bill for the ERS and the NASS
would be $78.2 million and $149.1 million, respectively.
On September 30, 2008, the President signed into law the Consolidated
Security, Disaster Assistance, and Continuing Appropriations Act, 2009 (P.L. 110-
329, H.R. 2638). The continuing resolution funds the USDA at the FY2008 level
until passage of the regular appropriations bill or until March 6, 2009, whichever
occurs first. (CRS Contact: Christine M. Matthews.)

CRS-40
Table 13. U.S. Department of Agriculture R&D
($ in millions)
FY2009
FY2008
FY2009
Senate
Estimate
Requesta
(S. Rept.110-
426)
Agricultural Research Service (ARS)
Product Quality/Value Added
$105.1
$97.6
Livestock Production
84.8
70.1
Crop Production
200.6
191.0
Food Safety
104.5
105.8
Livestock Protection
82.4
68.8
Crop Protection
196.0
188.7
Human Nutrition
85.3
79.5
Environmental Stewardship
222.5
199.6
National Agricultural Library
21.8
18.4
Repair and Maintenance
17.5
17.5
Subtotal
1,120.6
1,037.0
1,134.1d
Buildings and Facilities
46.8
13.2
31.0
Total, ARS
1,167.4
1,050.2
1,165.1
Cooperative State Research, Education, & Extension (CSREES) Research and Education
Hatch Act Formula
195.8
139.2
205.6
Cooperative Forestry Research
24.8
19.5
26.0
Evans-Allen Formula (Payments to 1890
41.1
38.3
43.1
Special Research Grants
107.1
18.1
50.7
Agriculture & Food Research Initiative
190.9
256.5
200.0
Federal Administration
42.2
10.7
20.4
Higher Educationb
47.8
41.6
52.0
Other Programs
18.6
11.4
32.1
Total, Cooperative Research. & Educationc
668.3
535.3
629.9
Extension Activities
Smith-Lever Sections 3b&c
274.7
273.2
288.4
Smith-Lever Sections 3d
97.5
91.5
97.6
Renewable Resources Extension
4.0
4.1
4.0
1890 Colleges, Tuskegee, & West Virginia State
17.3
16.6
37.6
Other Extension Prog. & Admin.
59.7
46.4
36.7
Total, Extension Activities
453.2
431.8
464.3
Integrated Activities
55.9
20.1
55.9
Outreach for Disadvantaged Farmers
6.4
6.9
0.0e
Total, CSREESc
1,183.8
994.1
1,150.1
Economic Research Service
77.3
82.1
78.2
National Agricultural Statistics Service
162.1
153.5
149.1
Total, Research, Education, and Economics
2,590.6
2,279.9
2,542.5
Note: Research activities carried out in support of Homeland Security are reflected under the Food
Safety, Livestock Protection, and Crop Protection program areas — FY2008, $35.5 million; and
FY2009, $64.3 million.

CRS-41
a. Funding levels are contained in U.S. Department of Agriculture FY2009 Budget Summary,
documents internal to the agency, and S.Rept. 110-426.
b. Higher education includes payments to 1994 institutions and 1890 Capacity Building Grants
program, the Native American Institutions Endowment Fund, the Alaska Native and Native
Hawaiian-Serving Institutions Education Grants, and others.
c. Program totals may or may not include set-asides (non-add) or contingencies. The CSREES total
includes support for Community Food Projects and the Organic Agriculture Research and
Education Initiative.
d. Specific allocations for individual programs and activities are not yet available.
e. The Committee does not include funding for this program. The Food, Conservation, and Energy
Act of 2009 provides $15.0 million for this activity and repeals the authorization for
appropriations.
Department of the Interior (DOI)
President Bush has requested $617 million for Department of the Interior (DOI)
R&D in FY2009, an estimated decrease of 8.7% from FY2008 funding of $676
million (see Table 14). The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is the primary
supporter of R&D within DOI, accounting for nearly 90% of the department’s total
R&D appropriations. President Bush has proposed $546 million for USGS R&D in
FY2009, a reduction of $40.6 million (-6.9%) from the estimated FY2008 level.
FY2009 R&D funding would decline in three of the four USGS research divisions:
Geographic Research, Geological Resources, and Water Resources. FY2009 funding
for the Biological Research Division would remain flat. Funding for a new USGS
program, Global Change, was authorized by Congress in FY2008 and funded at $7.4
million. The President’s FY2009 budget proposes a 260.1% increase in funding for
this program to $26.6 million.
No final FY2009 appropriations legislation was enacted by the beginning of that
fiscal year. On September 30, 2008, President Bush signed into law the Consolidated
Security, Disaster Assistance, and Continuing Appropriations Act, 2009 (P.L. 110-
329). Division A of this act provides continuing appropriations for FY2009 at their
FY2008 levels to agencies not otherwise addressed in the act through March 6, 2009,
or until the enactment into law of an appropriation for any project or activity
provided for in the act, or the enactment into law of the applicable appropriations act
for FY2009 without any provision for such project or activity, whichever occurs first.
For the Department of the Interior, this provides $671 million for R&D, an increase
of $43 million above the President’s FY2009 request.
Previously, the House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittees on Interior,
Environment, and Related Agencies have held hearings on agency budget requests,
however scheduled full committee markups have been postponed and no bill to fund
Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies for FY2009 has been introduced to date.
USGS Geographic Research efforts seek to describe and interpret America’s
landscape by mapping the nation’s terrain, monitoring changes over time, and
analyzing how and why these changes have occurred. The President’s FY2009
budget for Geographic Research R&D proposes a $5.6 million cut (-11.8%) to $41.9
million from its estimated FY2008 level of $47.5 million.

CRS-42
Funding for Geological Resources R&D in FY2009 would decrease by $33.4
million (-15.2 percent) to $185.5 million from its estimated FY2008 level of $218.8
million. The Geological Resources Program assesses the availability and quality of
the nation’s energy and mineral resources. The Geological Resources Program
researches, monitors, and assesses the landscape to understand geological processes
to help distinguish natural change from those resulting from human activity. Within
the earth sciences, the USGS plays a major role in important geological hazards
research, including research on earthquakes and volcanoes. Enterprise Information
conducts information science research to enhance the National Map and National
Spatial Data infrastructure.
USGS Water Resources R&D is focused on water availability, water quality and
flood hazards. The President’s FY2009 budget for Water Resources R&D proposes
a $21.4 million cut (-16.7%) to $106.7 million from its estimated FY2008 level of
$128.1 million.
USGS Biological Research efforts seek to generate and distribute scientific
information that can assist in the conservation and management of the nation’s
biological resources. The President’s FY2009 budget request for Biological Research
R&D proposes a small increase of $0.5 million (less than 1%) to $180.3 million. The
USGS Biological Research program serves as DOI’s biological research arm, using
the capabilities of 17 research centers and associated field stations, one technology
center, and 40 cooperative research units that support research on fish, wildlife, and
natural habitats. Major research initiatives are carried out by USGS scientists who
collect scientific information through research, inventory, and monitoring
investigations. These activities develop new methods and techniques to identify,
observe, and manage fish and wildlife, including invasive species and their habitats.
(CRS Contact: John Sargent.)
Table 14. Department of the Interior R&D
($ in millions)
FY2008
FY2009
estimate
request
Geographic Research
47
42
Geological Resources
219
185
Water Resources
128
107
Biological Research
180
180
Global Change
7
27
Enterprise Information
5
5
USGS total
586
546
Other agenciesa
84
82
Totalb
671
628
Source: R&D estimates are from the Department of the Interior’s FY2009 agency budget
justification. [http://www.doi.gov/budget]

CRS-43
a. Includes the Bureau of Reclamation, the Bureau of Land Management, the Minerals Management
Service, and the National Park Service.
b. Totals may not add due to rounding.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the regulatory agency
responsible for carrying out a number of environmental pollution control laws, funds
a broad portfolio of R&D activities to provide the necessary scientific tools and
knowledge to support decisions relating to preventing, regulating, and abating
environmental pollution. Beginning in FY2006, EPA has been funded within the
“Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies” appropriations bill.42 Most of EPA’s
scientific research activities are funded within the agency’s Science and Technology
(S&T) appropriations account. This account is funded by a “base” appropriation and
a transfer from the Hazardous Substance Superfund (Superfund) account. These
transferred funds are dedicated to research on more effective methods to clean up
contaminated sites. The House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittees on
Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies held hearings on agency budget
requests, however, scheduled full committee markups were postponed and no bills
to fund Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies for FY2009 were introduced
prior to the enactment of the Consolidated Security, Disaster Assistance, and
Continuing Appropriations Act (P.L. 110-329).
P.L. 110-329 as enacted September 30, 2008, contained no specific provisions
regarding EPA’s programs and activities including the agency’s R&D activities and
programs. As per Section 101 in Division A of P.L. 110-329, until March 6, 2009,
funds are appropriated “at a rate for operations as provided in the applicable
appropriations Acts for fiscal year 2008 and under the authority and conditions
provided in such Acts.” For FY2008, Title II of Division F of the FY2008
Consolidated Appropriations Act (P.L. 110-161) appropriated $7.46 billion for EPA,
including $785.8 million (including a transfer from the Superfund account) for the
S&T account.
Including the transfer from the Superfund account, the President’s original
FY2009 budget request included $789.9 million for the S&T account. On August 1,
2008, the President submitted a series of amendments43 to the FY2009 budget request
including a $10.6 million increase within the EPA S&T account for homeland
42 For information on funding for all EPA accounts and each of the other agencies funded
in this bill see CRS Report RL34461, Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies: FY2009
Appropriations
.
43 White House, Office of Management and Budget, Estimate #7 — FY 2009 Budget
Amendments: Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Education, Health and Human
Services, Homeland Security, the Interior, Labor, and State, and the Environmental
Protection Agency
. [http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/amendments.htm]

CRS-44
security bioterrorism activities.44 The amended request after the transfers from the
Superfund account was $800.5 million, a $14.7 million increase (nearly 2%) above
the FY2008 appropriation of $785.8 million (see Table 15). The total amount
requested for the S&T account represented 11% of the $7.18 billion requested for
EPA overall for FY2009.
Without adjusting for inflation, requested FY2009 funding for certain research
activities would have been an increase relative to FY2008 appropriated levels,
however, funding for many of the program areas within the S&T account would have
remained relatively constant or declined. For example, the request included
decreased funding for the “Climate Change Protection Program” and “Global Change
Research,” but an increase for “Air Toxics and Quality” programs. Overall funding
for “Human Health and Ecosystem Research,” including funding for the Science to
Achieve Results (STAR) program, would have decreased based on the FY2009
request. However, within this category, funding for human health “Computational
Toxicology Research” would have increased. The largest requested increase for
FY2009 within the S&T account was for two EPA homeland security activities:
Water Security Initiative, and Decontamination Research.45 As revised by the
President’s August 1st budget request amendment, the combined $62.0 million
requested46 for FY2009 was $29.9 million above the FY2008 appropriation of $32.1
million for these two activities; a 93% increase.47
Although the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) reports48 historical and
projected budget authority amounts for R&D at EPA (and other federal agencies),
OMB documents do not describe how these amounts explicitly relate to the requested
and appropriated funding amounts for the many specific EPA program activities.
44 The August 1, 2008 White House amendment also included a $24.2 million increase
within EPA’s Hazardous Substance Superfund appropriations account for homeland security
bioterrorism activities.
45 Under the Bioterrorism Act of 2002, and Homeland Security Presidential Directives 7, 9
and 10, EPA is the lead federal agency for coordinating security of the Nation’s water
systems, and plays a role in developing early warning monitoring and decontamination
capabilities associated with potential attacks using biological contaminants.
46 Includes recommended increase per the August 1, 2008 White House amendments to the
FY2009 budget request.
47 The FY2009 President’s budget as amended included a total of $84.5 million for
Homeland Security activities within the S&T account; $30.4 million above the FY2008
enacted appropriation of $54.1 million.
48 The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) reports R&D budget authority amounts
in its Analytical Perspectives accompanying the annual President’s budget, but amounts for
specific programs are not included. The R&D budget authority amounts reported by OMB
are typically significantly less than amounts appropriated/requested for the S&T account,
but the differences are not explicitly defined. For example, for EPA R&D OMB reported
actual budget authority of $606 million for FY2007, an estimated amount of $557 million
for FY2008, and $550 million proposed for FY2009. See OMB, Fiscal Year 2009 Budget
of the United States: Analytical Perspectives - Cross Cutting Programs
.
[http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/fy2009/]

CRS-45
EPA’s annual appropriations are requested, considered, and enacted according to
eight statutory appropriations accounts, which were established by Congress during
the FY1996 appropriations process. The Science and Technology (S&T) account
incorporates elements of the former EPA Research and Development (R&D)
account, as well as a portion of the former Salaries and Expenses, and Program
Operations accounts, which had been in place until FY1996. Because of the
differences in the scope of the activities included in these accounts, apt comparisons
before and after FY1996 are difficult.
The activities funded within the Science and Technology (S&T) account
include research conducted by universities, foundations, and other non-federal
entities with grants awarded by EPA, and research conducted by the agency at its
own laboratories and facilities. R&D at EPA headquarters and laboratories around
the country, as well as external R&D, is managed primarily by EPA’s Office of
Research and Development (ORD). A large portion of the S&T account funds EPA’s
R&D activities managed by ORD, including the agency’s research laboratories and
research grants. The account also provides funding for the agency’s applied science
and technology activities conducted through its program offices (e.g., the Office of
Water). Many of the programs implemented by other offices within EPA have a
research component, but the research is not necessarily the primary focus of the
program.
The operation and administration of the agency’s laboratories and facilities
necessitate significant expenditures for rent, utilities, and security. Prior to FY2007,
a significant portion of the funding for these expenses had been requested and
appropriated within EPA’s Environmental Programs and Management (EPM)
appropriations account. In FY2007, and FY2008, increasing portions of funding for
these expenses were requested and appropriated within the S&T account. This
change affects comparisons of the S&T appropriations over time. Funding for these
latter expenses represents approximately 10% of the total S&T account in the
FY2009 request and the FY2008 appropriations, compared to less than 5% in the
FY2007 appropriations.49
Some Members of Congress and an array of stakeholders have continually
raised concerns about the adequacy of funding for scientific research at EPA. The
adequacy of funding for EPA’s scientific research activities has been part of a
broader question about the adequacy of overall federal funding for a broad range of
scientific research activities administered by multiple federal agencies. Some
Members of Congress, scientists, and environmental organizations have expressed
concern about the downward trend in federal resources for scientific research over
time. The debate continues to center around the question of whether the regulatory
actions of federal agencies are based on “sound science,” and how scientific research
is applied in developing federal policy. (CRS Contact: Robert Esworthy).
49 For example, for research alone (net after operations and administration expenses), the
FY2008 consolidated appropriations provided a $6.4 million increase above the FY2008
request for the S&T account, but $17.5 million less than the FY2007 appropriations
(includes transfers from the Superfund account).

CRS-46
Table 15. Environmental Protection Agency S&T Account
($ in millions)
FY2008
FY2009
Environmental Protection Agency
Enacted
Requested
Science and Technology Appropriations
Account
— Base Appropriations
$760.1
$774.1
— Transfer in from Superfund Account
25.7
26.4
Science and Technology Total
785.8
800.5
— (Operations and Administration)
(72.7)
(74.9)
Net Science and Technology
713.1
725.6
Source: Prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) using information
provided by the House Appropriations Committee, and the July 31, 2008 White House
amendments to the FY2009 budget request. Enacted amounts for FY2008 in the above
table reflect a 1.56 % across-the-board rescission required in P.L. 110-161 for any
discretionary appropriations in Division F Titles I through IV of the law (Division F
Title IV § 437 of P.L. 110-161). Numbers may not add due to rounding.
Department of Transportation (DOT)
President Bush requested $901 million for Department of Transportation (DOT)
R&D in FY2009, an increase of approximately $78 million (9.5%) from FY2008
funding of $823 million (see Table 16). In addition to receiving R&D funds through
the regular appropriations process, DOT also receives R&D funding from the
Transportation Trust Fund through authorization legislation.50 For example, P.L.
109-59, the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act — A
Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU), which became law in August 2005, set DOT
surface transportation authorization levels for each fiscal year from FY2005 through
FY2009, providing increased DOT R&D funding during this period.
No final FY2009 appropriations legislation was enacted by the beginning of
that fiscal year. On September 30, 2008, President Bush signed into law the
Consolidated Security, Disaster Assistance, and Continuing Appropriations Act,
2009 (P.L. 110-329). Division A of this act provides continuing appropriations for
FY2009 at their FY2008 levels through March 6, 2009, to agencies not otherwise
addressed in the act, or until the enactment of an appropriation for any project or
activity provided for in the act, or the enactment of the applicable appropriations act
for FY2009 without any provision for such project or activity, whichever occurs first.
For the Department of Transportation, this provides $823 million for R&D, $78
million less than the President’s FY2009 request.
50 Appropriators may add to or direct funds identified in authorization legislation.

CRS-47
The Senate Committee on Appropriations unanimously reported S. 3261, the
Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies
Appropriations Act, 2009, on July 10, 2008. Neither the bill nor the accompanying
report (S.Rept. 110-418) provide sufficient detail to allow a complete analysis of the
level of R&D funding provided to DOT. Where the bill provides detailed R&D
information, it is provided in the agency funding discussions below. The American
Association for the Advancement of Science has estimated DOT agency R&D
funding under S. 3261; this data is included in Table 16.
Previously, the House Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on
Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies marked-up
an unnumbered draft on June 20, 2008. No details have been provided publicly in
the form of a bill or report, though a related press release and a summary table of
funding are available on the subcommittee’s website.51
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA) together account for more than 80 percent of DOT’s R&D
funding request. FHWA, FAA and the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) account
for all increases in the DOT FY2009 R&D budget request.
The President requested $392.8 million in FY2009 for FHWA R&D, an
increase of $20.1 million (5.4%) above the FY2008 funding level of $372.6 million.
FHWA’s research programs include the investigation of ways to improve safety,
reduce congestion, improve mobility, reduce lifecycle construction and maintenance
costs, improve the durability and longevity of highway pavements and structures,
enhance the cost-effectiveness of highway infrastructure investments, and minimize
negative impacts on the natural and human environment.
FHWA’s FY2009 budget would provide $166.9 million for R&D under the
Surface Transportation Research, Development, and Deployment Program, an
increase of $23 million (16%) above the FY2008 level of $143.9 million, and $51.3
million for R&D for the Intelligent Transportation Systems program, an increase of
$7.5 million (17%) above the FY2008 level of $43.8 million. These increases are
partially offset by decreases in R&D funds for State Planning and Research (down
$10.7 million, -6.4%) which would receive $156.2 million in FY2009. S.Rept. 110-
418 states that S. 3261 recommends FHWA transportation research at the level
requested by the President.
The President requested $335.0 million for Federal Aviation Administration
(FAA) R&D, up $64.2 million (23.2%) from the FY2008 level of $270.7 million.
The request includes $171.0 million for Research, Engineering, and Development,
$161.5 million for the Air Traffic Organization (ATO), $2.3 million for Safety and
Operations, and $125,000 for Commercial Space Transportation. The request
includes an increase in R&D funding for FAA’s Next Generation Air Transportation
System (NextGen) which is focused on addressing air traffic growth by increasing
the nation’s airspace capacity and efficiency and reducing emissions and noise.
51 See [http://appropriations.house.gov/Subcommittees/sub_tranurb.shtml].

CRS-48
NextGen R&D funding under Research, Engineering, and Development increases
from $24.3 million in FY2008 to $56.5 million in FY2009, up $32.2 million
(132.5%). An additional $69.4 million is requested for NextGen R&D under ATO
focused on systems development, demonstrations and infrastructure development.
S.Rept. 110-418 reports that S. 3261 provides $171 million for FAA’s Research,
Engineering, and Development (RE&D) activity, approximately equal to the
President’s request. FAA’s RE&D activity accounts for approximately one-half of
the agency’s total overall R&D funding. Additional FAA R&D funding details are
not available.
The President’s FY2009 budget proposes $16.8 million in R&D funding for
the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), up $4.9 million over the FY2008 level of
$11.9 million. (CRS Contact: John Sargent.)
Table 16. Department of Transportation R&D
($ in millions)
FY2008
FY2009
FY2009
Department of Transportation
estimated
request
Senate b
Federal Highway Administration
373
393
393
Federal Aviation Administration
271
335
335
Other agenciesa
179
174
185
Total
823
901
912
Source: R&D estimates are from unpublished OMB tables and DOT budget justifications.
a. “Other agencies” includes National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Federal Railroad
Administration, Federal Transit Administration, Research and Innovative Technology
Administration, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, Pipeline and Hazardous
Materials Safety Administration, and the Office of the Secretary.
b. Based on analysis by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).