Federal Research and Development Funding:
FY2018

(name redacted), Coordinator
Specialist in Science and Technology Policy
July 10, 2017
Congressional Research Service
7-....
www.crs.gov
R44888


Federal Research and Development Funding: FY2018

Summary
President Trump’s budget request for FY2018 includes $117.697 billion for research and
development (R&D). This represents a $30.605 billion (20.6%) decrease from the FY2016 actual
level of $148.302 billion (FY2017 enacted levels were not available at the time of publication).
Adjusted for inflation, the President’s FY2018 R&D request represents a constant dollar decrease
of 23.6% from the FY2016 actual level.
However, in 2016 the Office of Management and Budget changed the definition used for
“development” to “experimental development.” This new definition was used in calculating R&D
in the FY2018 budget but no adjustments were made to data reported for FY2016 or FY2017 data
to reflect the new definition. OMB asserts that the definitional change results in the exclusion of
$33.547 billion from FY2018 requested R&D funding (DOD and NASA) that would have been
included in previous years. According to OMB, these funds are being requested in the FY2018
budget, but no longer classified as R&D. Thus, applying the prior definition for R&D, aggregate
federal R&D in the Trump Administration’s budget for FY2018 would represent a $2.942 billion
(2.0%) increase over FY2016; in constant dollars, federal R&D would be down $2.837 billion or
1.9%. The DOD and VA would receive increased R&D funding for FY2018. The other major
federal R&D funding agencies would see their R&D budgets reduced under the President’s
budget.
The request represents the President’s R&D priorities; Congress may opt to agree with none, part,
or all of the request, and it may express different priorities through the appropriations process. In
particular, Congress will play a central role in determining the allocation of the federal R&D
investment in a period of intense pressure on discretionary spending. Budget caps may limit
overall R&D funding and may require movement of resources across disciplines, programs, or
agencies to address priorities.
Funding for R&D is concentrated in a few departments and agencies. Under President Trump’s
FY2018 budget request, eight federal agencies would receive 96.5% of total federal R&D
funding, with the Department of Defense (45.4%) and the Department of Health and Human
Services (22.2%) combined accounting for more than two-thirds of all federal R&D funding.
President’s Trump’s FY2018 budget is largely silent on funding levels for a number of
multiagency R&D initiatives in President Obama’s FY2017 request, including the National
Nanotechnology Initiative, Networking and Information Technology Research and Development
program, U.S. Global Change Research Program, Brain Research through Advancing Innovative
Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) initiative, Precision Medicine Initiative, Cancer Moonshot,
Materials Genome Initiative, National Robotics Initiative, and National Network for
Manufacturing Innovation. However, some activities supporting these initiatives are discussed in
agency budget justifications and reported in the agency analyses in this report.
In recent years, Congress has completed the annual appropriations process after the start of the
fiscal year. Failure to complete the process by the start of the fiscal year and the accompanying
use of continuing resolutions can affect agencies’ execution of their R&D budgets, including the
delay or cancellation of planned R&D activities and the acquisition of R&D-related equipment.

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Contents
Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1
The President’s FY2018 Budget Request ........................................................................................ 3
Federal R&D Funding Perspectives ................................................................................................ 3
Federal R&D by Agency ........................................................................................................... 4
Federal R&D by Character of Work, Facilities, and Equipment ............................................... 6
Federal Role in U.S. R&D by Character of Work ..................................................................... 7
Federal R&D by Agency and Character of Work Combined .................................................... 7
Multiagency R&D Initiatives .......................................................................................................... 9
Networking and Information Technology Research and Development Program ...................... 9
U.S. Global Change Research Program .................................................................................... 9
National Nanotechnology Initiative ........................................................................................ 10
Other Initiatives ....................................................................................................................... 10
FY2018 Appropriations Status ...................................................................................................... 10
Department of Defense .................................................................................................................. 12
Department of Health and Human Services .................................................................................. 15
National Institutes of Health ................................................................................................... 15
Department of Energy ................................................................................................................... 21
National Aeronautics and Space Administration ........................................................................... 23
National Science Foundation ......................................................................................................... 26
Department of Agriculture ............................................................................................................. 30
Agricultural Research Service ................................................................................................. 30
National Institute of Food and Agriculture ............................................................................. 31
National Agricultural Statistics Service .................................................................................. 32
Economic Research Service .................................................................................................... 32
Department of Commerce ............................................................................................................. 33
National Institute of Standards and Technology ..................................................................... 34
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ................................................................ 35
Department of Veterans Affairs ..................................................................................................... 38
Department of the Interior ............................................................................................................. 41
U.S. Geological Survey ........................................................................................................... 41
Other DOI Components .......................................................................................................... 42
Department of Transportation ........................................................................................................ 43
Federal Aviation Administration ............................................................................................. 44
Federal Highway Administration ............................................................................................ 44
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration ................................................................... 44
Other DOT Components ......................................................................................................... 44
Department of Homeland Security ................................................................................................ 46
Directorate of Science and Technology (S&T) ....................................................................... 46
Domestic Nuclear Detection Office (DNDO) ......................................................................... 46
Environmental Protection Agency ................................................................................................. 48

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Tables
Table 1. Federal Research and Development Funding by Agency, FY2016-FY2018 ..................... 5
Table 2. Federal R&D Funding by Character of Work and Facilities and Equipment,
FY2016-FY2018 .......................................................................................................................... 6
Table 3. Top R&D Funding Agencies by Character of Work, Facilities,
and Equipment, FY2016-FY2018 ................................................................................................ 8
Table 4. Alignment of Agency R&D Funding and Regular Appropriations Bills .......................... 11
Table 5. Department of Defense RDT&E ..................................................................................... 14
Table 6. National Institutes of Health Funding .............................................................................. 19
Table 7. Department of Energy R&D and Related Activities ........................................................ 23
Table 8. National Aeronautics and Space Administration R&D .................................................... 25
Table 9. National Science Foundation Funding ............................................................................. 29
Table 10. U.S. Department of Agriculture R&D ........................................................................... 33
Table 11. National Institute of Standards and Technology Funding .............................................. 35
Table 12. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration R&D ............................................. 37
Table 13. Department of Veterans Affairs R&D ............................................................................ 39
Table 14. Department of Veterans Affairs Amounts by Designated Research Areas .................... 40
Table 15. Department of the Interior R&D .................................................................................... 43
Table 16. Department of Transportation R&D Activities and Facilities ....................................... 45
Table 17. Department of Homeland Security R&D Accounts ....................................................... 47
Table 18. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Science and Technology (S&T)
Account ...................................................................................................................................... 51

Appendixes
Appendix. Acronyms and Abbreviations ........................................ Error! Bookmark not defined.
Appendix. CRS Contacts for Agency R&D .................................................................................. 57

Contacts
Author Contact Information .......................................................................................................... 58
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Introduction
The 115th Congress continues its interest in U.S. research and development (R&D) and in
evaluating support for federal R&D activities. The federal government has played an important
role in supporting R&D efforts that have led to scientific breakthroughs and new technologies,
from jet aircraft and the internet to communications satellites, shale gas extraction, and defenses
against disease. However, widespread concerns about the federal debt and recent and projected
federal budget deficits are driving difficult decisions about the prioritization of R&D, both in the
context of the entire federal budget and among competing needs within the federal R&D
portfolio.
The U.S. government supports a broad range of scientific and engineering R&D. Its purposes
include specific concerns such as addressing national defense, health, safety, the environment,
and energy security; advancing knowledge generally; developing the scientific and engineering
workforce; and strengthening U.S. innovation and competitiveness in the global economy. Most
of the R&D funded by the federal government is performed in support of the unique missions of
individual funding agencies.
The federal R&D budget is an aggregation of the R&D activities of each federal agency. There is
no single, centralized source of R&D funds allocated to individual agencies. Agency R&D
budgets are developed internally as part of each agency’s overall budget development process and
may be included either in accounts that are entirely devoted to R&D or in accounts that include
funding for non-R&D activities. These budgets are subjected to review, revision, and approval by
the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and become part of the President’s annual budget
submission to Congress. The federal R&D budget is then calculated by aggregating the R&D
activities of each federal agency.
Congress plays a central role in defining the nation’s R&D priorities as it makes decisions about
the level and allocation of R&D funding—overall, within agencies, and for specific programs.
Some Members of Congress have expressed concerns about the level of federal spending (for
R&D and for other purposes) in light of the current federal deficit and debt. Other Members of
Congress have expressed support for increased federal spending for R&D as an investment in the
nation’s future competitiveness. As Congress acts to complete the FY2018 appropriations
process, it faces two overarching issues: the extent to which federal R&D investments can be
made in the face of increased pressure on discretionary spending and the prioritization and
allocation of the available funding. Budget caps may limit overall R&D funding and may require
movement of resources across disciplines, programs, or agencies to address priorities. Moving
funding between programs/accounts/agencies can be complex and difficult because the funding
for different programs/accounts/agencies is often provided through different appropriations bills.
This report begins with a discussion of the overall level of President Trump’s FY2018 R&D
request, followed by analyses of the R&D funding request from a variety of perspectives and for
selected multiagency R&D initiatives. The report concludes with discussion and analysis of the
R&D budget requests of selected federal departments and agencies that, collectively, account for
nearly 99% of total federal R&D funding. Selected terms associated with federal R&D funding
are defined in the text box on the next page. Appendix A provides a list of acronyms and
abbreviations.
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Definitions Associated with Federal Research and Development Funding
Two key sources of definitions associated with federal research and development funding are the White House Office
of Management and Budget and the National Science Foundation.
Office of Management and Budget. The Office of Management and Budget provides the following definitions of
R&D-related terms in OMB Circular No. A-11, “Preparation, Submission, and Execution of the Budget” (July 2016).
This document provides guidance to agencies in the preparation of the President’s annual budget and instructions on
budget execution. As reflected in the July 2016 update, OMB has adopted a refinement to the categories of R&D,
replacing “development” with “experimental development,” which more narrowly defines the set of activities to be
included, resulting in lower reported R&D by some agencies, including the Department of Defense and the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration. This definition is used in the President’s FY2018 budget, but the figures for
earlier years have not been adjusted.
Conduct of Research. Research and experimental development (R&D) activities are defined as creative and
systematic work undertaken in order to increase the stock of knowledge—including knowledge of people, culture,
and society—and to devise new applications using available knowledge.
Basic Research. Basic research is defined as experimental or theoretical work undertaken primarily to acquire
new knowledge of the underlying foundations of phenomena and observable facts. Basic research may include
activities with broad or general applications in mind, but should exclude research directed towards a specific
application or requirement.
Applied Research. Applied research is defined as original investigation undertaken in order to acquire new
knowledge. Applied research is, however, directed primarily towards a specific practical aim or objective.
Experimental Development. Experimental development is creative and systematic work, drawing on
knowledge gained from research and practical experience, which is directed at producing new products or
processes or improving existing products or processes. Like research, experimental development will result in
gaining additional knowledge.
R&D Equipment. R&D equipment includes amounts for major equipment for research and development.
Includes acquisition, design, or production of major movable equipment, such as mass spectrometers, research
vessels, DNA sequencers, and other major movable instruments for use in R&D activities. Includes programs of
$1 million or more that are devoted to the purchase or construction of major R&D equipment
R&D Facilities. R&D facilities includes construction of facilities that are necessary for the execution of an R&D
program. This may include land, major fixed equipment, and supporting infrastructure such as a sewer line or
housing at a remote location.
National Science Foundation. The National Science Foundation provides the following definitions of R&D-related
terms in its Science and Engineering Indicators: 2016 report.
Research and Development. Research and development, also called research and experimental development;
comprises creative work undertaken on a systematic basis to increase the stock of knowledge—including
knowledge of man, culture, and society—and its use to devise new applications.
Basic Research. The objective of basic research is to gain more comprehensive knowledge or understanding of
the subject under study without specific applications in mind. Although basic research may not have specific
applications as its goal, it can be directed in fields of present or potential interest. This is often the case with basic
research performed by industry or mission-driven federal agencies.
Applied Research. The objective of applied research is to gain knowledge or understanding to meet a specific,
recognized need. In industry, applied research includes investigations to discover new scientific knowledge that
has specific commercial objectives with respect to products, processes, or services.
Development. Development is the systematic use of the knowledge or understanding gained from research
directed toward the production of useful materials, devices, systems, or methods, including the design and
development of prototypes and processes.
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The President’s FY2018 Budget Request
On May 23, 2017, President Trump released his proposed FY2018 budget. This report provides
government-wide, multiagency, and individual agency analyses of the President’s FY2018 request
as it relates to R&D and related activities. Additional information and analysis will be included as
the House and Senate act on the President’s budget request through appropriations bills that
provide funding for R&D and related activities.
For FY2018, the Trump Administration is using a new definition for development (“experimental
development”), drawn up in 2016 by the Obama Administration (see box entitled “Caveats With
Respect to Analysis of the FY2018 Budget Request” for a more detailed explanation) in its R&D
calculations. The new definition excludes some activities previously characterized as
development in previous budgets. The Trump Administration did not, however, provide
adjustments to its FY2016 R&D data based on this new definition. For purposes of this section of
the report, CRS is providing additional lines in Table 1, Table 2, and Table 3 that adjust the
FY2018 Department of Defense (DOD), National Aeronautics and Space Administration
(NASA), and development and total R&D figures by the amounts the Office of Management and
Budget has stated were excluded under the new definition ($31.036 billion and $2.511 billion
respectively) to allow for a more accurate comparison between years.1
Under the new definition, President Trump is proposing $117.697 billion for R&D. Adjusting this
figure to include an additional $33.547 billion of development funding that is being requested for
DOD and NASA but not counted in the President’s budget under the experimental development
definition, the President’s request is $151.244 billion, an increase of $2.942 billion (2.0%) over
the comparable FY2016 level.2 Adjusted for inflation, the President’s FY2018 adjusted R&D
request represents a constant dollar decrease of 1.9% from the FY2016 actual level.3
The President’s R&D request includes continued funding of existing single agency and
multiagency programs and activities, as well as new initiatives. Single agency initiatives
are discussed in their respective sections of this report. Multiagency initiatives are
discussed in the section “Multiagency R&D Initiatives.”
Federal R&D Funding Perspectives
Federal R&D funding can be analyzed from a variety of perspectives that provide different
insights. The following sections examine the data by agency, by the character of the work
supported, by a combination of these two perspectives, and by whether R&D is defense-related or
not.

1 Email correspondence from OMB to CRS on May 26, 2017.
2 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 falls short of the inflation rate may reduce real purchasing
power.
3 As calculated by CRS using the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) (chained) price index for FY2017 and FY2018 in
Table 10.1, “Gross Domestic Product and Deflators Used in the Historical Tables: 1940–2022,” Budget of the United
States Government, Fiscal Year 2018
,
https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/whitehouse.gov/files/omb/budget/fy2018/hist10z1.xls.
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Caveats with Respect to Analysis of the FY2018 Budget Request
A number of factors complicate the analysis of changes in R&D funding for FY2018, both in aggregate and for selected
agencies. For example:

For FY2018, OMB replaced the R&D category “development” with a subset referred to as “experimental
development” in an effort that OMB asserts would better align its data with the data collected by the National
Science Foundation on its multiple R&D surveys, and to be consistent with international standards. According to
OMB, this change reduces reported R&D funding by approximately $33.5 billion in FY2018 (of which $31.036
billion is attributable to DOD, and $2.511 billion is attributable to NASA); while these funds are being requested
as part of the FY2018 budget, they are not characterized as R&D. OMB opted not to apply the category revision
to earlier fiscal years in the FY2018 budget so there is no comparable data for FY2016 or FY2017. Relevant
changes in agency guidance were embodied in a July 2016 update to OMB Circular No. A-11, as discussed earlier
(see box titled, “Definitions Associated with Federal Research and Development Funding”).

Several large NASA Human Exploration and Space Operations programs will transition from the development
phase to operations in FY 2018, and will no longer be counted as part of NASA’s R&D funding.

Due to the late completion of the FY2017 appropriations process, FY2017 enacted budget authority was not
available at the time the FY2018 budget was prepared. Accordingly, OMB included FY2017 annualized continuing
resolution (CR) R&D funding levels in place of FY2017 enacted budget authority. However, enactment of the
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2017 in May 2017, rendered the FY2017 annualized CR levels obsolete.
Where FY2017 enacted levels were available, this report compares FY2018 request levels to FY2017 enacted
levels. Where FY2017 enacted levels were not available, this report compares FY2018 request levels to FY2016
actual levels; in those cases, as FY2017 enacted levels become available, the agency analyses in this report will be
updated.

In President Obama’s FY2017 budget, a change in the Department of Energy’s reporting of administrative
expenses led to an increase in reporting of R&D investments “on the order of $2 to $3 billion a year.”
In addition, inconsistency among agencies in the reporting of R&D and the inclusion of R&D activities in accounts with
non-R&D activities may result in different figures being reported by OMB and the White House Office of Science and
Technology Policy (OSTP), including those shown in Table 1, and those in agency budget analyses that appear later in
this report.
Federal R&D by Agency
Congress makes decisions about R&D funding through the authorization and appropriations
processes primarily from the perspective of individual agencies and programs. Table 1 provides
data on R&D by agency for FY2016 (actual) and FY2018 (request).4 Data for FY2017 (enacted)
were not included in the president’s FY2018 budget due to the late completion of the FY2017
budget process in May 2017.
Under President Trump’s FY2018 budget request, eight federal agencies would receive more than
96% of total federal R&D funding: the Department of Defense (DOD), 45.4%; Department of
Health and Human Services (HHS) (primarily the National Institutes of Health (NIH)), 22.2%;
Department of Energy (DOE), 11.4%; National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA),
8.8%; National Science Foundation (NSF), 4.6%; Department of Agriculture (USDA), 1.7%;
Department of Commerce (DOC), 1.3%; and Veterans Affairs (VA), 1.2%. This report provides
an analysis of the R&D budget requests for these agencies, as well as for the Department of
Homeland Security (DHS), Department of the Interior (DOI), Department of Transportation
(DOT), and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Setting aside the aforementioned caveats, nearly every federal agency would see its R&D funding
decrease under the President’s FY2018 request compared to their FY2016 levels. The only

4 EOP, OMB, Analytical Perspectives, Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2018, May 23, 2017, pp.
203-205, https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/Analytical_Perspectives.
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agencies with increased R&D funding in FY2018 would be the Department of Veterans Affairs
(up $135 million, 11.0%), the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Trust Fund (up $64 million,
13.6%), and the Smithsonian Institution (up $53 million, 21.1%). However, applying the previous
definition of R&D to the FY2018 data (to allow for comparability to FY2016 data), DOD R&D
funding would receive the largest dollar increase, rising by $13.011 billion (18.2%).5
The largest declines (as measured in dollars) would occur in the budgets of HHS (down $6.099
billion, 18.9%), DOE (down $1.809 billion, 11.9%), USDA (down $666 million, 25.1%), NSF
(down $639 million, 10.6%), and the EPA (down $239 million, 46.3%). Applying the previous
definition of R&D to the FY2018 data (to allow for comparability to FY2016 data), NASA R&D
would decline by $415 million (3.1%).6
Table 1. Federal Research and Development Funding by Agency, FY2016-FY2018
(Please note definitional difference in FY2016 and FY2018 data as described in the table notes)
(budget authority, dollar amounts in millions)



Change, FY2016-FY2018
FY2016
FY2018
Department/Agency
Actual
Request
Dollar
Percent
Department of Defense
$71,421
$53,396
n/a
n/a
Department of Defense (adjusted)

$84,432
$13,011
18.2
Dept. of Health and Human Services
32,243
26,144
-6,099
-18.9
Department of Energy
15,217
13,408
-1,809
-11.9
NASA
13,253
10,327
n/a
n/a
NASA (adjusted)

12,838
-415
-3.1
National Science Foundation
6,010
5,371
-639
-10.6
Department of Agriculture
2,657
1,991
-666
-25.1
Department of Commerce
1,681
1,567
-114
-6.8
Department of Veterans Affairs
1,222
1,357
135
11.0
Department of Transportation
927
923
-4
-0.4
Department of the Interior
973
818
-155
-15.9
Department of Homeland Security
582
564
-18
-3.1
Environmental Protection Agency
516
277
-239
-46.3
Other
1,600
1,554
-46
-2.9
Total
$148,302
$117,697
n/a
n/a
Total (adjusted)
$148,302
$151,244
$2,942
2.0
Source: CRS analysis of data from Executive Office of the President (EOP), Office of Management and Budget,
Analytical Perspectives, Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2018, May 23, 2017, p. 203-205,
https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/Analytical_Perspectives.

5 DOD R&D would be $31.036 billion higher for FY2018 using the FY2016 definition of R&D than reported by OMB
for FY2018 using the new definition. Email correspondence from OMB to CRS on May 26, 2017.
6 NASA R&D would be $2.511 billion higher for FY2018 using the FY2016 definition of R&D than reported by OMB
for FY2018 using the new definition. Email correspondence from OMB to CRS on May 26, 2017.
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Note:
Amounts in this table may differ from amounts reported in the agency chapters of this report due to a variety of
factors.
Figures shown in italics have been adjusted to include certain development work at DOD and NASA that is
being requested in the FY2018 budget, but not counted by the Office of Management and Budget as R&D under
the new definition of development that OMB adopted in 2016 (discussed earlier) and has applied to its reported
FY2018 data; this adjustment provides greater comparability to the FY2016 data.
n/a = not applicable; FY2018 unadjusted DOD and NASA R&D figures are not comparable to FY2016 data.
Federal R&D by Character of Work, Facilities, and Equipment
Federal R&D funding can also be examined by the character of work it supports—basic research,
applied research, or development—and by funding provided for construction of R&D facilities
and acquisition of major R&D equipment. (See Table 2.) President Trump’s FY2018 request
includes $28.936 billion for basic research, down $3.977 billion (12.1%) from FY2016; $33.485
billion for applied research, down $3.562 billion (9.6%); $53.194 billion for (experimental)
development (data not comparable to FY2016); and $2.082 billion for facilities and equipment,
down $500 million (19.4%). Using the FY2016 definition for development, President Trump’s
budget includes $86.741 billion in development funding for FY2018, an increase of $10.981
billion (14.5%) above the FY2016 level. The $33.5 billion difference in funding between the new
and old definitions of development is being requested in the FY2018 budget, but is not being
reported as R&D.
Table 2. Federal R&D Funding by Character of Work and Facilities and Equipment,
FY2016-FY2018
(Please note definitional difference in FY2016 and FY2018 data as described in the table notes)
(budget authority, dollar amounts in millions)



Change, FY2016-FY2018
FY2016
FY2018

Actual
Request
Dollar
Percent
Basic research
$32,913
$28,936
-$3,977
-12.1
Applied research
37,047
33,485
-3,562
-9.6
Development
75,760
53,194
n/a
n/a
Development (adjusted)

86,741
10,981
14.5
Facilities and Equipment
2,582
2,082
-500
-19.4
Total
$148,302
$117,697
n/a
n/a
Total (adjusted)

$151,244
$2,942
2.0%
Source: CRS analysis of data from Executive Office of the President (EOP), Office of Management and Budget,
Analytical Perspectives, Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2018, May 23, 2017, p. 203-205,
https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/Analytical_Perspectives.
Notes:
Figures shown in italics have been adjusted to include certain development work at DOD and NASA that is
being requested in the FY2018 budget, but not counted by the Office of Management and Budget as R&D under
the new definition of development that OMB adopted in 2016 (discussed earlier) and has applied to its reported
FY2018 data; this adjustment provides greater comparability to the FY2016 data.
n/a = not applicable; FY2018 unadjusted DOD and NASA R&D figures are not comparable to FY2016 data.
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Federal Role in U.S. R&D by Character of Work
A primary policy justification for public investments in basic research and for incentives (e.g., tax
credits) for the private sector to conduct research is the view, widely held by economists, that the
private sector will, left on its own, underinvest in basic research from a societal perspective. The
usual argument for this view is that the social returns (i.e., the benefits to society at large) exceed
the private returns (i.e., the benefits accruing to the private investor, such as increased revenues or
higher stock value). Other factors that may inhibit corporate investment in basic research include
long time horizons for commercial applications (diminishing the potential returns due to the time
value of money), high levels of technical risk/uncertainty, shareholder demands for shorter-term
returns, and asymmetric and imperfect information.
The federal government is the nation’s largest supporter of basic research, funding 45.4% of U.S.
basic research in 2014.7 Business funded 27.4% of U.S. basic research in 2014, with state
governments, universities, and other non-profit organizations funding the remaining 27.2%.8
In contrast to basic research, business is the primary funder of applied research in the United
States, accounting for an estimated 51.7% in 2014, while the federal government accounted for an
estimated 36.0%.9
Business also provides the vast majority of funding for development. Business accounted for
82.4% of development in 2014, while the federal government provided 16.0%.10
Federal R&D by Agency and Character of Work Combined
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 overall federal R&D budget reflects a wide range of national priorities, including
supporting advances in spaceflight, developing new and affordable sources of energy, and
understanding and deterring terrorist groups. These priorities and the mission of each individual
agency contribute to the composition of that agency’s R&D spending (i.e., the allocation among
basic research, applied research, development, and facilities and equipment). In the President’s
FY2018 budget request, the Department of Health and Human Services, primarily NIH, would
account for nearly half (44.3%) of all federal funding for basic research. HHS would also be the
largest federal funder of applied research, accounting for about 39.3% of all federally funded
applied research in the President’s FY2018 budget request. DOD would be the primary federal
funder of development, accounting for 86.6% of total federal development funding in the
President’s FY2018 budget request.11

7 CRS analysis of data from the National Science Foundation, National Patterns of R&D Resources: 2014–15 Data
Update
, March 14, 2017. More recent data regarding business and other R&D funding are not yet available.
8 Ibid.
9 Ibid.
10 Ibid.
11 EOP, OMB, Analytical Perspectives, Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2018, May 23, 2017, pp.
203-205, https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/Analytical_Perspectives.
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Table 3. Top R&D Funding Agencies by Character of Work, Facilities,
and Equipment, FY2016-FY2018
(Please note definitional difference in FY2016 and FY2018 data as described in the table notes)
(budget authority, dollar amounts in millions)
Change, FY2016-FY2018
FY2016
FY2018

Actual
Request
Dollar
Percent
Basic Research




Dept. of Health and Human Services
$15,630
12,816
-2,814
-18.0
National Science Foundation
4,841
4,280
-561
-11.6
Dept. of Energy
4,609
3,978
-631
-13.7
Applied Research




Dept. of Health and Human Services
16,422
13,158
-3,264
-19.9
Dept. of Energy
6,469
6749
280
4.3
Dept. of Defense
5,058
5,097
39
0.8
Development




Dept. of Defense
64,011
46,047
n/a
n/a
Dept. of Defense (adjusted)

77,083
13,072
20.4
NASA
7,194
3,955
n/a
n/a
NASA (adjusted)

6,466
-728
-10.1
Dept. of Energy
2,981
1,705
-1,276
-42.8
Facilities and Equipment




Dept. of Energy
1,158
976
-182
-15.7
National Science Foundation
409
420
11
2.7
Dept. of Commerce
314
376
62
19.7
Source: EOP, OMB, Analytical Perspectives, Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2018, May 23, 2017,
pp. 206-207, https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/Analytical_Perspectives.
Notes:
The top three funding agencies in each category, based on the FY2018 request, are listed.
Figures shown in italics have been adjusted to include certain development work at DOD and NASA that is
being requested in the FY2018 budget, but not counted by the Office of Management and Budget as R&D under
the new definition of development that OMB adopted in 2016 (discussed earlier) and has applied to its reported
FY2018 data; this adjustment provides greater comparability to the FY2016 data.
n/a = not applicable; FY2018 unadjusted DOD and NASA R&D figures are not comparable to FY2016 data.

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Multiagency R&D Initiatives
For many years, presidential budgets have reported on multiagency R&D initiatives and often
provided various levels of detail with respect to agency funding. Some of these efforts have a
statutory basis—for example, Networking and Information Technology Research and
Development (NITRD) program, the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI), and the U.S.
Global Change Research Program. These programs generally produce annual budget supplements
identifying objectives, activities, funding levels, and other information, usually published shortly
after the presidential budget release. Other multiagency R&D initiatives have operated at the
discretion of the President without such a basis and may be eliminated at the discretion of the
President. President Trump’s FY2018 budget is largely silent on funding levels for these efforts
and whether some or all of the non-statutory initiatives will continue. Some activities related to
these initiatives are discussed in agency budget justifications and may be included in the
agencies’ analyses in this report. This section provides available information on these initiatives
and will be updated as additional information becomes available.
Networking and Information Technology Research and
Development Program12
Established by the High-Performance Computing Act of 1991 (P.L. 102-194), the Networking and
Information Technology Research and Development (NITRD) program is the primary mechanism
by which the federal government coordinates its unclassified networking and information
technology R&D investments in areas such as supercomputing, high-speed networking,
cybersecurity, software engineering, and information management. In FY2017, 21 agencies were
NITRD members; non-member agencies also participate in NITRD activities. NITRD efforts are
coordinated by the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) Subcommittee on
Networking and Information Technology Research and Development. Additional NITRD
information can be obtained at https://www.nitrd.gov. This section will be updated when the
NITRD subcommittee publishes its updated budget information.
U.S. Global Change Research Program13
The U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) coordinates and integrates federal
research and applications to understand, assess, predict, and respond to human-induced and
natural processes of global change. The program seeks to advance global climate change science
and to “build a knowledge base that informs human responses to climate and global change
through coordinated and integrated Federal programs of research, education, communication, and
decision support.”14 In FY2017, 13 departments and agencies participated in the USGCRP.
USGCRP efforts are coordinated by the NSTC Subcommittee on Global Change Research.
Additional USGCRP information can be obtained at http://www.globalchange.gov. This section
will be updated when the USGCRP updates its budget information.

12 For additional information on the NITRD program, see CRS Report RL33586, The Federal Networking and
Information Technology Research and Development Program: Background, Funding, and Activities
, by (name red
acted)
.
13 For additional information on the USGCRP, see CRS Report R43227, Federal Climate Change Funding from
FY2008 to FY2014
, by (name redacted), (name redacted), and (name redacted) .
14 U.S. Global Change Research Program website, http://www.globalchange.gov/about/mission-vision-strategic-plan.
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National Nanotechnology Initiative15
Launched by President Clinton in his FY2001 budget request, the National Nanotechnology
Initiative (NNI) is a multiagency R&D initiative to advance understanding and control of matter
at the nanoscale, where the physical, chemical, and biological properties of materials differ in
fundamental and useful ways from the properties of individual atoms or bulk matter.16 In 2003,
Congress enacted the 21st Century Nanotechnology Research and Development Act (P.L. 108-
153), providing a legislative foundation for some of the activities of the NNI. In FY2017, the NNI
included 11 federal departments and independent agencies and commissions with budgets
dedicated to nanotechnology R&D, as well as nine other federal departments and independent
agencies and commissions with responsibilities for health, safety, and environmental regulation;
trade; education; training; intellectual property; international relations; and other areas that might
affect or be affected by nanotechnology. NNI efforts are coordinated by the NSTC Subcommittee
on Nanoscale Science, Engineering, and Technology (NSET). Additional NNI information can be
obtained at http://www.nano.gov. This section will be updated when the NSET subcommittee
publishes its updated budget information.
Other Initiatives
Presidential initiatives without statutory foundations in operation at the end of the Obama
Administration, but not explicitly addressed in President Trump’s FY2018 budget, include: the
Advanced Manufacturing Partnership (including the National Robotics Initiative (NRI) and the
National Network for Manufacturing Innovation (NNMI)), the Cancer Moonshot, the BRAIN
Initiative, the Precision Medicine Initiative, the Materials Genome Initiative, and an effort to
doubling federal funding for clean energy R&D. Some of the activities of these initiatives are
discussed in agency budget justifications and the agency analyses in this report.
FY2018 Appropriations Status
The remainder of this report provides a more in-depth analysis of R&D in 12 federal departments
and agencies that, in aggregate, receive nearly 99% of total federal R&D funding. Agencies are
presented in order of the size of their R&D budgets, with the largest presented first. Where
FY2017 enacted levels were available, agency analyses in this report compare FY2018 request
levels to FY2017 enacted levels. Where FY2017 enacted levels were not available, agency
analyses compare FY2018 request levels to FY2016 actual levels; in those cases, as FY2017
enacted levels become available, the agency analyses in this report will be updated.
Annual appropriations for these agencies are provided through 9 of the 12 regular appropriations
bills. For each agency covered in this report, Table 4 shows the corresponding regular
appropriations bill that provides primary funding for the agency, including its R&D activities.
In addition to this report, CRS produces individual reports on each of the appropriations bills.
These reports can be accessed via the CRS website at http://www.crs.gov/iap/appropriations.
Also, the status of each appropriations bill is available on the CRS web page, Status Table of
Appropriations
, available at http://www.crs.gov/AppropriationsStatusTable/Index.

15 For additional information on the NNI, see CRS Report RL34401, The National Nanotechnology Initiative:
Overview, Reauthorization, and Appropriations Issues
, by (name redacted)

16 In the context of the NNI and nanotechnology, the nanoscale refers to lengths of 1 to 100 nanometers. A nanometer
is one-billionth of a meter, or about the width of 10 hydrogen atoms arranged side by side in a line.
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Because of the way that agencies report budget data to Congress, it can be difficult to identify the
portion that is R&D. Consequently, R&D data presented in the agency analyses in this report may
differ from R&D data in the president’s budget or otherwise provided by OMB.
Funding for R&D is often included in appropriations line items that also include non-R&D
activities; therefore, in such cases, it may not be possible to identify precisely how much of the
funding provided in appropriations laws is allocated to R&D specifically. In general, R&D
funding levels are known only after departments and agencies allocate their appropriations to
specific activities and report those figures.
Table 4. Alignment of Agency R&D Funding and Regular Appropriations Bills
Department/Agency
Regular Appropriations Bill
Department of Defense
Department of Defense Appropriations Act
Department of Health and Human Services
Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and
- National Institutes of Health
Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act
Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related
Agencies Appropriations Act
Department of Energy
Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies
Appropriations Act
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies
Appropriations Act
National Science Foundation
Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies
Appropriations Act
Department of Agriculture
Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug
Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act
Department of Commerce
Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies
- National Institute of Standards and Technology
Appropriations Act
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Department of Veterans Affairs
Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, and Related
Agencies Appropriations Act
Department of the Interior
Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related
Agencies Appropriations Act
Department of Transportation
Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and
Related Agencies Appropriations Act
Department of Homeland Security
Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act
Environmental Protection Agency
Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related
Agencies Appropriations Act
Source: CRS Report R40858, Locate an Agency or Program Within Appropriations Bills, by (name redacted)
.
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Department of Defense17
The mission of the Department of Defense (DOD) is “to provide the military forces needed to
deter war and to protect the security of our country.”18 Congress supports research and
development activities at DOD primarily through the department’s Research, Development, Test,
and Evaluation (RDT&E) funding. The appropriation supports the development of the nation’s
future military hardware and software and the science and technology base upon which those
products rely.
Nearly all of what DOD spends on RDT&E is appropriated in Title IV of the defense
appropriations bill. (See Table 5.) However, RDT&E funds are also appropriated in other parts of
the bill. For example, RDT&E funds are appropriated as part of the Defense Health Program,
Chemical Agents and Munitions Destruction Program, and the National Defense Sealift Fund.
The Defense Health Program (DHP) supports the delivery of health care to DOD personnel and
their families. DHP funds (including the RDT&E funds) are requested through the Defensewide
Operations and Maintenance appropriations request. The program’s RDT&E funds support
congressionally directed research on breast, prostate, and ovarian cancer; traumatic brain injuries;
orthotics and prosthetics; and other medical conditions. Congress appropriates funds for this
program in Title VI (Other Department of Defense Programs) of the defense appropriations bill.
The Chemical Agents and Munitions Destruction Program supports activities to destroy the U.S.
inventory of lethal chemical agents and munitions to avoid future risks and costs associated with
storage. Funds for this program are requested through the Defensewide Procurement
appropriations request. Congress appropriates funds for this program also in Title VI. The
National Defense Sealift Fund supports the procurement, operation and maintenance, and
research and development associated with the nation’s naval reserve fleet and supports a U.S.
flagged merchant fleet that can serve in time of need. The RDT&E funding for this effort is
requested in the Navy’s Procurement request and appropriated in Title V (Revolving and
Management Funds) of the appropriation bill.
The Joint Improvised-Threat Defeat Fund (JIDF, formerly the Joint Improvised Explosive Device
Defeat Fund) also contains RDT&E monies. However, the fund does not contain an RDT&E line
item as do the programs mentioned above. The Joint Improvised-Threat Defeat Organization
(JIDO), which administers the fund, tracks (but does not report) the amount of funding allocated
to RDT&E. JIDF funding is not included in the table below.
RDT&E funds also have been requested and appropriated as part of DOD’s separate funding to
support efforts in what the George W. Bush Administration termed the Global War on Terror
(GWOT), and what the Obama Administration referred to as Overseas Contingency Operations
(OCO). In appropriations bills, the term Overseas Contingency Operations/Global War on Terror
(OCO/GWOT) has been used; President Trump’s FY2018 budget uses the term Overseas
Contingency Operations. Typically, the RDT&E funds appropriated for OCO/GWOT activities go
to specified Program Elements (PEs) in Title IV.
In addition, OCO/GWOT-related requests/appropriations have included money for a number of
transfer funds. These have included in the past the Iraqi Freedom Fund (IFF), the Iraqi Security
Forces Fund, the Afghanistan Security Forces Fund, and the Pakistan Counterinsurgency
Capability Fund. Congress typically has made a single appropriation into each of these funds and

17 This section was written by (name redacted), Specialist in Science and Technology Policy, CRS Resources,
Science, and Industry Division.
18 Department of Defense, https://www.defense.gov/.
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authorized the Secretary to make transfers to other accounts, including RDT&E, at his discretion.
These transfers are eventually reflected in Title IV prior year funding figures.
For FY2018, the Trump Administration is requesting $83.328 billion for DOD’s Title IV RDT&E
PEs (base and OCO/GWOT), $9.547 billion (12.9%) above the enacted FY2017 level.
In addition to the Title IV RDT&E request, the Administration’s FY2018 request includes $673
million in RDT&E through the Defense Health Program (DHP down $1.429 billion, 68.0%, from
FY2017), $839 million in RDT&E through the Chemical Agents and Munitions Destruction
program (up $323 million, 62.6%, from FY2017), and $19 million in RDT&E funding for the
National Defense Sealift Fund, which received no funding in FY2017.
RDT&E funding can be analyzed in different ways. RDT&E funding can be characterized
organizationally. Each of the military departments 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 technology development, respectively) constitute what is called DOD’s
Science and Technology program (S&T) and represent the more research-oriented part of the
RDT&E program. Budget activities 6.4 and 6.5 focus on the development of specific weapon
systems or components (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 6.6
provides management support, including support for test and evaluation facilities. Budget activity
6.7 supports the development of system improvements in existing operational systems.19
Many congressional policymakers are particularly interested in DOD S&T program funding since
these funds support the development of new technologies and the underlying science. Some in the
defense community see ensuring adequate support for S&T activities as imperative to maintaining
U.S. military superiority into the future. The knowledge generated at this stage of development
may also contribute to advances in commercial technologies.
The FY2018 request for Title IV S&T funding (base and OCO/GWOT) is $13.224 billion, $804
million (5.7%) below the enacted FY2017 level.20
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 NIH or
NSF. However, over half of DOD’s basic research budget is spent at universities, and it represents
the major source of funds in some areas of science and technology (such as electrical engineering
and materials science). The Trump Administration is requesting $2.229 billion for DOD basic
research for FY2018. This is $47 million (2.1%) less than the FY2017 enacted level.

19 For additional information on the structure of Defense RDT&E, see CRS Report R44711, Department of Defense
Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation (RDT&E): Appropriations Structure
, by (name redacted)

20 For this calculation, CRS allocated the $50 million undistributed reduction in FY2017 DARPA funding to DOD S&T
since most DARPA funding (more than 94% in FY2016) supports DOD S&T.
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Table 5. Department of Defense RDT&E
(obligational authority, in millions of dollars)
FY2017
FY2018
FY2018
FY2018
FY2018
Enacted
Request
House
Senate
Enacted
Budget Account
Base + OCO
Base
OCO
Base
OCO Base OCO
Base
OCO
Army
8,675
9,425
119






Navy
17,541
17,675
130






Air Force
28,154
34,914
135






Defensewide
19,221
20,491
226






Dir., Operational Test & Eval.
190
211
0






Total Title IV—By
Account

73,781
82,717
611






Budget Activity









6.1 Basic Research
2,276
2,229
0






6.2 Applied Research
5,296
4,973
0






6.3 Advanced Dev.
6,456
5,997
25






6.4 Advanced Component
15,376
17,451
59






Dev. And Prototypes
6.5 Systems Dev. And Demo
12,781
14,671
58






6.6 Management Supporta
4,575
6,085
0






6.7 Op. Systems Dev.b
26,987
31,311
469






Undistributed DARPA
Reduction
-50








Undistributed OCO Funding
82








Total Title IV—by Budget
Activity

73,781
82,717
611






Title V—Revolving and
Management Funds










National Defense Sealift Fund
0
19
0






Title VI—Other Defense
Programs










Defense Health Program
2,102
673
0






Chemical Agents and
Munitions Destruction
516
839
0






Inspector General
3
3
0






Grand Total
76,401
84,251
611






Source: CRS analysis of: Department of Defense Budget, Fiscal Year 2018, RDT&E Programs (R1), May 2017;
explanatory statement accompanying P.L. 115-31, as published in the Congressional Record, May 3, 2017, Book
II, H3391-H3703; and Division B, P.L. 114-254.
Notes: Figures for the columns headed “FY2018 House,” “FY2018 Senate,” and “FY2018 Enacted” will be
added, if available, as each action is completed. Totals may differ from the sum of the components due to
rounding.
a. Includes funding for Director of Test and Evaluation.
b. Includes funding for Classified Programs.
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Department of Health and Human Services
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is the federal government’s “principal
agency for protecting the health of all Americans and providing essential human services,
especially for those who are least able to help themselves.”21 This section focuses on HHS R&D
funded through the National Institutes of Health, an HHS agency which accounts for more than
95% of total HHS R&D funding.22 Other HHS agencies that provide funding for R&D include the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid
Services (CMS), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Agency for Healthcare Research
and Quality (AHRQ), Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), and the
Administration for Children and Families (ACF).23
National Institutes of Health24
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the primary agency of the federal government charged
with performing and supporting biomedical and behavioral research. It also has major roles in
training biomedical researchers and disseminating health information. The NIH mission is “to
seek fundamental knowledge about the nature and behavior of living systems and the application
of that knowledge to enhance health, lengthen life, and reduce illness and disability.”25 The
agency’s organization consists of the NIH Office of the Director (OD) and 27 institutes and
centers (ICs).
The 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 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 OD. As shown in Table 6,
separate appropriations are provided to 24 of the 27 ICs, to OD, and to an intramural Buildings
and Facilities account. The other three centers, which perform centralized support services, are
funded through assessments on the IC appropriations.
NIH supports and conducts a wide range of basic and clinical research, research training, and
health information dissemination across all fields of biomedical and behavioral sciences. About
10% of the NIH budget supports intramural research projects conducted by the nearly 6,000 NIH
scientists, most of whom are located on the NIH campus in Bethesda, Maryland. More than 80%
of NIH’s budget goes out to the extramural research community in the form of grants, contracts,
and other awards. This funding supports research performed by more than 300,000 non-federal
scientists and technical personnel who work at more than 2,500 universities, hospitals, medical
schools, and other research institutions.26

21 HHS, “About,” http://www.hhs.gov/about.
22 CRS analysis of data presented in the Office of Management and Budget’s Analytical Perspectives, Budget of the
United States Government, Fiscal Year 2018,
May 23, 2017, pp. 203-205, https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/
Analytical_Perspectives.
23 Ibid.
24 This section was written by (name redacted), Specialist in Biomedical Policy, CRS Domestic Social Policy
Division. For background information on NIH, see CRS Report R41705, The National Institutes of Health (NIH):
Background and Congressional Issues
, by (name redacted) .
25 National Institutes of Health, “About NIH, What We Do, Mission and Goals,” at http://www.nih.gov/about-nih/what-
we-do/mission-goals.
26 Department of Health and Human Services, Fiscal Year 2018 Budget in Brief, Washington, DC, May 2017, p. 38,
(continued...)
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Funding for NIH comes primarily from the annual Labor, HHS, and Education (LHHS)
appropriations bill, with an additional amount for Superfund-related activities from the
Interior/Environment appropriations bill. Those two bills provide NIH’s discretionary budget
authority. In addition, NIH receives mandatory funding of $150 million annually that is provided
in the Public Health Service (PHS) Act for a special program on type 1 diabetes research and
funding from a PHS Act transfer. The total funding available for NIH activities, taking account of
add-ons and transfers, is known as the NIH program level.
President Trump’s FY2018 budget requests an NIH program level total of $26.92 billion, a
decrease of $5.391 billion (-16.7%) compared with FY2016 (see Table 6). Under President
Trump’s FY2018 budget request, each of the ICs would receive a decrease compared to FY2016.
The Trump budget proposes the elimination of the Fogarty International Center but retains in OD
$25 million in international research and related activities.27 The Trump budget also proposes the
consolidation of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) with NIH, forming a
new Institute, the National Institute for Research on Safety and Quality (NIRSQ). The FY2018
budget proposal includes $272 million in budget authority for NIRSQ “to preserve key research
activities previously carried out by AHRQ.”28 For example, NIRSQ would provide administrative
support for the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF); funding for this activity in the
FY2018 Trump budget is $7 million.29 “In addition, NIRSQ is projected to receive $107 million
in mandatory resources from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Trust Fund to continue the
targeted dissemination of study results and workforce development efforts in research designed to
help patients and providers make better informed health care decisions.”30
The FY2018 program level request for NIH includes $60 million for Superfund-related research,
and $150 million in mandatory funding for research on type 1 diabetes.31 The FY2018 program
level request proposes $780 million in funding transferred to NIH by the PHS Program
Evaluation Set-Aside, also called the evaluation tap. NIH and other HHS agencies and programs
authorized under the PHS Act are subject to a budget assessment found in Section 241 of the PHS
Act (42 U.S.C. §238j). This provision authorizes the Secretary to use a portion of eligible
appropriations to study the effectiveness of federal health programs and to identify
improvements. Although the PHS Act limits the tap to no more than 1% of eligible
appropriations, in recent years the annual LHHS appropriations act has specified a higher amount
(2.5% in FY2017) and has also typically directed specific amounts of funding from the tap for

(...continued)
https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/Consolidated%20BIB_ONLINE_remediated.pdf.
27 The NIH website states that Fogarty “is dedicated to advancing the mission of [NIH] by supporting and facilitating
global health research conducted by U.S. and international investigators, building partnerships between health research
institutions in the U.S. and abroad, and training the next generation of scientists to address global health needs.”
https://www.fic.nih.gov/About/Pages/mission-vision.aspx.
28 Ibid., p. 37.
29 Ibid., p. 41. This is a reduction of $4 million below AHRQ’s FY2017 Continuing Resolution level of administrative
support for the USPSTF.
30 NIH, FY2018 Justification of Estimates for Appropriations Committees, Vol. I, Overview, “Overview of Budget
Request, Introduction” p. 3. The Affordable Care Act [ACA, P.L. 111-148] created the Patient-Centered Outcomes
Research Trust Fund (PCORTF) to help build the national capacity and infrastructure needed to conduct patient-
centered outcomes research (PCOR), and to enable PCOR findings to be integrated into clinical practice. See:
https://aspe.hhs.gov/patient-centered-outcomes-research-trust-fund.
31 The Superfund amount is provided in the Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies
Appropriations Acts. Mandatory funds for type 1 diabetes research (under PHS Act §330B) were provided by P.L. 114-
10 for FY2016 and FY2017 and are proposed for FY2018.
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transfer to a number of HHS programs. The set-aside has the effect of redistributing appropriated
funds for specific purposes among PHS and other HHS agencies. NIH, with the largest budget
among the PHS agencies, has historically been the largest “donor” of program evaluation funds;
until recently, it had been a relatively minor recipient.32
The FY2018 NIH budget request includes
The 21st Century Cures Act and the
$496 million for the NIH Innovation account
NIH Innovation Account
(see text box). Amounts specified for FY2018
The 21st Century Cures Act created the NIH Innovation
by the 21st Century Cures Act for the NIH
account and specified that funds in the account must be
Innovation Projects are as follows: the
appropriated in order to be available for expenditure.
The first round of funding was provided by Section 194
Precision Medicine Initiative ($100 million),
of the Further Continuing and Security Assistance
the BRAIN Initiative ($86 million), cancer
Appropriations Act, 2017 (CR, P.L. 114-254). The CR
research ($300 million), and regenerative
appropriated $352 million in the NIH Innovation account
medicine using adult stem cells ($10 million).
for necessary expenses to carry out the four NIH

Innovation Projects as described in Section 1001(b)(4) of
The main funding mechanism NIH uses to
the Cures Act (P.L. 114-255).a The four projects
support extramural research is research project
authorized by the Cures Act are the Precision Medicine
Initiative ($40 million for FY2017), the BRAIN Initiative
grants (RPGs), which are competitive, peer-
($10 million for FY2017), cancer research ($300 million
reviewed, and largely investigator-initiated.
for FY2017), and regenerative medicine using adult stem
The FY2018 Trump budget requests a total of
cells ($2 million for FY2017). The NIH Director may
$14.2 billion in funding for RPGs,
transfer these amounts from the NIH Innovation account
representing about 53% of NIH’s proposed
to other NIH accounts but only for the purposes
specified in the Cures Act. If the NIH Director
budget.33 In FY2016, total funding for RPGs
determines that the funds for any of the four Innovation
was $17.8 billion, about 55% of the NIH
Projects are not necessary, the amounts may be
budget.34 The FY2016 NIH budget supported
transferred back to the NIH Innovation account. This
35,580 RPG awards; the FY2018 request
transfer authority is in addition to other transfer
would support an estimated 33,403 RPG
authorities provided by law. This $352 million is available
until expended and is in addition to amounts for FY2017
awards. Within that estimated total, 7,326
provided elsewhere by the CR or other FY2017
awards would be new RPGs and competing
appropriations acts.
RPGs (renewals of existing grants), a decrease

of 3,038 grants compared with FY2016.35 The
For further information, see CRS Report R44720, The
FY2018 budget request would cap the indirect
21st Century Cures Act (Division A of P.L. 114-255),
cost rate for NIH grants at 10%. Over the last
coordinated by (name r eda cted), and CRS Report
R44723, Overview of Further Continuing Appropriations
10 years, NIH data indicates that direct costs
for FY2017 (H.R. 2028), coordinated by (name red
(project-specific expenses) have averaged
acted).
about 72% of the total grant award, while
indirect costs (overhead—facility and administrative costs) have averaged about 28%.36 In
FY2016, the average annual cost of a new and competing RPG award was $484,000 (including

32 For more information, see the “PHS Evaluation Set-Aside” section of CRS Report R44505, Public Health Service
Agencies: Overview and Funding (FY2015-FY2017)
, coordinated by (name redacted) and (name redacted)
. By
convention, budget tables such as Table 6 do not subtract the amount of the evaluation tap from the donor agencies’
appropriations.
33 Department of Health and Human Services, Fiscal Year 2018 Budget in Brief, Washington, DC, May 2017, p. 37 and
p. 43, https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/Consolidated%20BIB_ONLINE_remediated.pdf.
34 Ibid., p. 43.
35 The Trump budget proposal for NIH would also support fewer small business grants, a total of 1,578 in FY2018
(compared with 1,689 in FY2016).
36 NIH, FY2018 Justification of Estimates for Appropriations Committees, Vol. I, Overview, “Statistical Data: Direct
and Indirect Cost Awarded,” p. 95.
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both direct and indirect costs); this would decrease by about 20% to $389,000 under the Trump
FY2018 budget request for NIH.37
Except for the mandatory type 1 diabetes funding, Congress has not usually specified amounts for
particular diseases or research areas. Congress generally appropriates specific amounts to each IC
and leaves it to NIH and its scientific advisory panels to allocate funding to different research
areas in order to allow maximum flexibility to pursue scientific opportunities that are important to
public health.38 Some bills may propose authorizations for designated research purposes, but
funding generally has remained subject to the NIH peer review process as well as the overall
discretionary appropriation to the agency. This pattern has changed in recent years, most notably
with Alzheimer’s disease research.
The overview below outlines the four priority themes highlighted by NIH in the FY2018 budget
request; dollar amounts for these research activities were not provided by the agency.
1. Fundamental Science Enhanced by Technological Advances. More than half of the proposed
NIH budget is targeted for basic research, which “provides the foundation for translational and
clinical studies that can lead to major medical advances, such as cancer-fighting drugs, vaccines,
and medical devices.”39 One example of basic research is the BRAIN Initiative, a collaborative
effort of ten ICs with the National Science Foundation, Defense Advanced Research Projects
Agency, and Food and Drug Administration. The BRAIN Initiative develops and applies new
tools for the study of complex brain functions. Insights into brain circuitry and activity gained via
the BRAIN Initiative are expected to help reveal the underlying problems in brain disorders and
may provide new treatments or prevention approaches.
Another example is the NIH Common Fund’s Single Cell Analysis Program (SCAP).40 According
to NIH, “Understanding more about how single cells function could help researchers identify rare
cells in a group (e.g., ones that could become cancerous), cells infected latently with a virus, or
cells that develop drug resistance.”41 A third example is the National Cancer Institute’s efforts
using cryo-electron microscopy to observe key molecules in cancer cells almost at the atomic
level; this may help in the development of more effective and targeted therapies.
2. Treatments and Cures. NIH-supported scientists are using a novel research method in an effort
to correct the genetic mutations causing sickle cell disease. Although more work would be
necessary before this approach could be used in patients, the lessons learned may pave the way
for new treatments to improve human health. Addressing the opioid epidemic is another high
priority topic. NIH is supporting research efforts to combat opioid addiction and the treatment of
overdoses. NIH is responding to the growing public health threat posed by antimicrobial
resistance bacteria by various mechanisms. These include support for the Antibacterial Resistance
Leadership Group and participation in a multi-agency effort focused on advancing antimicrobial
resistance research. Cancer immunotherapy is yet another high priority area of research and is at
the core of work supported by the “Cancer Moonshot,” funded by the 21st Century Cures Act.

37 Ibid, p. 96.
38 See NIH website, “Estimates of Funding for Various Research, Condition, and Disease Categories (RCDC),”
http://report.nih.gov/categorical_spending.aspx.
39 NIH FY2018 Justification of Estimates for Appropriations Committees, Vol. I, Overview, p. 4.
40 The NIH Common Fund is part of OD; it supports large complex research efforts that involve the collaboration of
two or more research ICs.
41 NIH, FY2018 Justification of Estimates for Appropriations Committees, Vol. I, Overview, p. 5.
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3. Health Promotion and Disease Prevention. As part of the Precision Medicine Initiative (PMI),
NIH would continue to establish a group of one million or more volunteers—called the All of Us
Research Program—whose health, genetic, environmental, and other data would be collected and
used in research studies to identify novel therapeutics and prevention strategies. Vaccination is
another important prevention strategy. NIH is engaged in vaccine research to prevent many
different diseases, including emerging diseases such as the Zika virus. NIH is also involved in
developing a “universal” influenza vaccine that produces a strong long-lasting immune response
to elements that are shared among all strains of the flu virus.
4. Enhancing Stewardship. NIH recognizes that to earn and maintain the public’s trust it is
essential to be “an efficient and effective steward of taxpayer funds” and to “allocate its resources
with sufficient transparency to allow taxpayers to see how their money is invested.”42 The agency
continues to “streamline administrative processes that can take investigators’ time away from
their research.”43 One key way NIH is focused on strengthening stewardship is through the
release and implementation of a new policy designed to enhance reproducibility of scientific
research through increased rigor and transparency in reporting.44 According to NIH, another
means of investing in the long-term health of the nation is “by strengthening and sustaining a
diverse, world-class research workforce.”45 The agency has crafted funding opportunities directed
at new investigators as well as created procedures to normalize success-in-grant-receipt rates
between early and more experienced scientists.
Table 6. National Institutes of Health Funding
(budget authority, in millions of dollars)
FY2018
FY2018
FY2018
FY2018

FY2016
Request
House
Senate
Enacted
Cancer Institute (NCI)
$5,206
$4,474



Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
3,109
2,535



Dental/Craniofacial Research (NIDCR)
413
321



Diabetes/Digestive/Kidney (NIDDK)a
1,964
1,600



Neurological Disorders/Stroke (NINDS)
1,693
1,356



Allergy/Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
4,750
3,783



General Medical Sciences (NIGMS)b
2,509
2,186



Child Health/Human Development (NICHD)
1,338
1,032



National Eye Institute (NEI)
707
550



Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)c
770
593



National Institute on Aging (NIA)
1,596
1,304



Arthritis/Musculoskeletal/Skin Diseases (NIAMS)
541
418



Deafness/Communication Disorders (NIDCD)
422
326



National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
1,517
1,245




42 Ibid., p. 10.
43 Ibid.
44 NIH, Rigor and Reproducibility, at: https://grants.nih.gov/reproducibility/index.htm.
45 NIH, FY2018 Justification of Estimates for Appropriations Committees, Vol. I, Overview, p. 10.
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FY2018
FY2018
FY2018
FY2018

FY2016
Request
House
Senate
Enacted
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
1,049
865



Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism (NIAAA)
467
361



Nursing Research (NINR)
146
114



Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI)
513
400



Biomedical Imaging/Bioengineering (NIBIB)
343
283



Minority Health/Health Disparities (NIMHD)
280
215



Complementary/Integrative Health (NCCIH)
130
102



Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS)
684
557



Fogarty International Center (FIC)
70




National Library of Medicine (NLM)
395
373



Office of Director (OD)
1,571
1,452



Buildings & Facilities (B&F)
129
99



Natl Institute for Research on Safety & Quality

379



(NIRSQ)46
Subtotal, NIH Program Level
32,311
26,920



Mandatory type 1 diabetes fundsd
-150
-150



PHS Program Evaluation
-780
-780



Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Trust Fund

-107



Superfund (Interior approp. to NIEHS)e
-77
-60



Total, NIH Labor/HHS Budget Authority
31,304
25,824



Source: NIH, FY2018 Justification of Estimates for Appropriations Committees, Vol. I, Overview, “Budget Request by
Institute and Center (Summary Table),” p. 81.
Notes: Totals may differ from the sum of the components due to rounding. Amounts in table may differ from
actuals in many cases. By convention, budget tables such as Table 6 do not subtract the amount of transfers,
such as the evaluation tap, from the agencies’ appropriation. Figures for the columns headed “FY2018 House,”
“FY2018 Senate,” and “FY2018 Enacted” will be added, if available, as each action is completed.
a. Amounts for the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) include
mandatory funding for type 1 diabetes research (see note d).
b. Amounts for National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) include funds from PHS Evaluation
Set-Aside (§241 of PHS Act).
c. Amounts for National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) include Interior Appropriation
for Superfund research.
d. Mandatory funds available to NIDDK for type 1 diabetes research under PHS Act §330B (provided by P.L.
114-10 for FY2016 and proposed for FY2018).
e. This is a separate account in the Interior/Environment appropriations for National Institute of
Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) research activities related to Superfund.

46 Budget authority for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality for FY2016 was $334 million. AHRQ,
Operating Plan for FY 2016, https://www.ahrq.gov/sites/default/files/wysiwyg/cpi/about/mission/operating-plan/op-
plan2016.pdf.
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Department of Energy47
The Department of Energy (DOE) was established in 1977 by the Department of Energy
Organization Act (P.L. 95-91), which combined energy-related programs from a variety of
agencies with defense-related nuclear programs that dated back to the Manhattan Project. Today,
DOE conducts basic scientific research in fields ranging from nuclear physics to the biological
and environmental sciences; basic and applied R&D relating to energy production and use; and
R&D on nuclear weapons, nuclear nonproliferation, and defense nuclear reactors. The department
has a system of 17 national laboratories around the country, mostly operated by contractors, that
together account for about 40% of all DOE expenditures.
The Administration’s FY2018 budget request for DOE includes $10.172 billion for R&D and
related activities, including programs in three broad categories: science, national security, and
energy. This request is 22.6% less than the enacted FY2017 amount of $13.140 billion. (See
Table 7 for details.)
The request for the DOE Office of Science is $4.473 billion, a decrease of 17.1% from the
FY2017 appropriation of $5.392 billion. There is no authorized funding level for the Office of
Science for FY2018. The most recent authorization of appropriations (in the America
COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010, P.L. 111-358) was through FY2013.
The Office of Science includes six major research programs. The request for the largest program,
Basic Energy Sciences (BES), is $1.555 billion, a decrease of 16.9%. Within BES, most research
areas and facilities would receive reduced funding, and funds would be eliminated for the
Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR, $15 million in FY2017); the
Energy Innovation Hub on Batteries and Energy Storage ($24 million in FY2017); and the Energy
Innovation Hub on Fuels from Sunlight ($15 million in FY2017). The BES program’s five
synchrotron light sources would receive $428 million, down from $494 million in FY2017; this
reduction would result in reduced operating hours (about 85% of optimal, as calculated by DOE)
and operation of the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource for only the first quarter of the
year.
The request for High Energy Physics is $673 million, a decrease of 18.5%. This total includes
$44 million for ongoing construction of the Muon to Electron Conversion Experiment (Mu2E), as
previously planned, and $55 million for ongoing construction of the Long Baseline Neutrino
Facility/Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (LBNF/DUNE), up from $50 million in
FY2017. Most other research areas and facilities would receive reduced funding.
The request for Biological and Environmental Research (BER) is $349 million, a decrease of
43.0%. This program has historically consisted of two roughly equal parts: Biological Systems
Science and Climate and Environmental Sciences. The request would rename the latter program
as Earth and Environmental Systems Sciences and reduce its share of the BER total to about one-
third. Within Earth and Environmental Systems Sciences, funding for Earth and Environmental
Systems Modeling (formerly Climate and Earth System Modeling) would decrease to $27 million
from $99 million in FY2016 (the FY2017 amount is not available). Climate Model Development
and Validation would receive no funding.
The request for Nuclear Physics is $503 million, a decrease of 19.2%. The proposed reduction is
spread across most research areas and facilities. The request includes $80 million for ongoing

47 This section was written by (name redacted), Specialist in Science and Technology Policy, CRS Resources, Science,
and Industry Division.
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construction of the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams, down from $100 million in FY2017 and $17
million less than previously projected for FY2018. It includes no further funding for construction
of the Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility (CEBAF) upgrade, which is to be
completed in FY2017. Reduced funding for facility operations would support operation of
CEBAF at about 29% utilization and the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) at about 67%
utilization.
The request for Advanced Scientific Computing Research is $722 million, an increase of 11.6%.
Of this total, $347 million would contribute to the DOE-wide Exascale Computing Initiative:
$197 million, up from $164 million in FY2017, for the Office of Science Exascale Computing
Project, and $150 million for upgrades at the two Leadership Computing Facilities, located at Oak
Ridge and Argonne National Laboratories.
The request for Fusion Energy Sciences is $310 million, a decrease of 18.4%. Included is $63
million for U.S. contributions to the construction of the International Thermonuclear
Experimental Reactor (ITER), up from $50 million in FY2017 but down from a peak of $200
million in FY2014. The DOE budget justification cites U.S. concerns about the cost and schedule
of the ITER project, which is currently under construction in France. The estimated total U.S.
cost range for ITER was updated in January 2017 and is now $4.7 to $6.5 billion (the low end of
the range was previously $4.0 billion).
The request for DOE national security R&D is $3.982 billion, an increase of 5.9%. The bulk of
the increase would be in the Weapons Activities account, including $51 million for a newly
consolidated subprogram on Enhanced Capabilities for Subcritical Experiments, $40 million to
initiate a Stockpile Responsiveness program, and $25 million in new construction funding for
exascale computing facilities at Los Alamos and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories.
Funding for Naval Reactors would increase by $60 million. The DOE budget justification
describes most of the proposed changes within Naval Reactors as consistent with prior plans for
ongoing projects.
The FY2018 request for DOE energy R&D is $1.717 billion, a decrease of 56.9%. Funding for
energy efficiency and renewable energy R&D would decrease by 64.9%, with reductions in all
major research areas and a shift in emphasis toward early-stage R&D rather than later-stage
development and deployment. 48 Funding for fossil energy R&D would decrease by 58.1%, with
reductions focused particularly on coal carbon capture and storage ($31 million, down from $196
million in FY2017) and natural gas technologies ($6 million, down from $43 million in FY2017).
Funding for nuclear energy would decrease by 30.8%, with no funding requested for small
modular reactor licensing technical support ($95 million in FY2017), the Integrated University
Program ($5 million in FY2017), or the Supercritical Transformational Electric Power (STEP)
R&D initiative ($5 million in FY2017), and $89 million for fuel cycle R&D (down from $208
million in FY2017). The Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy (ARPA-E) ARPA-E, which
is intended to advance high-impact energy technologies that have too much technical and
financial uncertainty to attract near-term private-sector investment, would be terminated, with
requested FY2018 funds used only to close out the program.

48 For additional information on energy efficiency, see CRS In Focus IF10661, DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and
Renewable Energy: FY2017 Appropriations and the FY2018 Budget Request
, by (name redacted) and (name redacted)
.
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Table 7. Department of Energy R&D and Related Activities
(budget authority, in millions of dollars)
FY2017
FY2018
FY2018
FY2018
FY2018

Enacted
Request
House
Senate
Enacted
Science
$5,392
$4,473



Basic Energy Sciences
1,872
1,555



High Energy Physics
825
673



Biological and Environmental Research
612
349



Nuclear Physics
622
503



Advanced Scientific Computing Research
647
722



Fusion Energy Sciences
380
310



Other
435
362



National Security
3,760
3,982



Weapons Activities RDT&E
1,842
2,028



Naval Reactors
1,420
1,480



Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation R&D
470
446



Defense Environmental Cleanup Technol. Devel.
28
28



Energy
3,988
1,717



Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energya
1,812
636



Fossil Energy R&D
668b
280



Nuclear Energy
1,017
703



Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability R&D
185
78



Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy
306
20



DOE, Total
13,140
10,172



Source: P.L. 115-31 and explanatory statement, Congressional Record, May 3, 2017, and DOE FY2018
congressional budget justification, http://energy.gov/cfo/downloads/fy-2018-budget-justification. Figures for the
columns headed “FY2018 House,” “FY2018 Senate,” and “FY2018 Enacted” will be added, if available, as each
action is completed.
Notes: Totals may differ from the sum of the components due to rounding.
a. Excluding Weatherization and Intergovernmental Activities.
b. Does not include rescission of $240 million in prior-year balances.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration49
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was created in 1958 by the National
Aeronautics and Space Act (P.L. 85-568) to conduct civilian space and aeronautics activities.
NASA has research programs in planetary science, Earth science, heliophysics, astrophysics, and
aeronautics, as well as development programs for future human spacecraft and for multipurpose

49 This section was written by (name redacted), Specialist in Science and Technology Policy, CRS Resources, Science,
and Industry Division. For more information, see CRS Report R44397, NASA: FY2017 Budget and Appropriations, by
(name redacted).
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space technology such as advanced propulsion systems. In addition, NASA operates the
International Space Station (ISS) as a facility for R&D and other purposes.
The Administration is requesting about $15.950 billion for NASA R&D in FY2018. This is 4.2%
less than the FY2017 level of about $16.657 billion. For a breakdown of these amounts, see Table
8
. NASA
R&D funding comes through five accounts: Science, Aeronautics, Space Technology,
Exploration, and the ISS and Commercial Crew portions of Space Operations.
The FY2018 request for Science is $5.712 billion, a decrease of 0.9%. Within this total, funding
for Earth Science would decrease by $167 million (8.7%); funding for the James Webb Space
Telescope would decrease by $36 million (6.3%) in line with previous plans; and funding for
Planetary Science and Astrophysics would increase. The bulk of the proposed reduction for Earth
Science would result from the elimination of four items in the Earth Systematic Missions
program: the Pre-Aerosol, Clouds, and ocean Ecosystem (PACE) mission, the Radiation Budget
Instrument (RBI), the Climate Absolute Radiance and Refractivity Observatory (CLARREO)
Pathfinder mission, and the NASA-provided instruments on the Deep Space Climate Observatory
(DSCOVR) mission. In Planetary Science, funding for a mission to Jupiter’s moon Europa would
increase from $275 million in FY2017 to $425 million in the FY2018 request; NASA expects this
mission to advance to Phase C (final design and fabrication) at the beginning of FY2019.
The FY2018 request for Aeronautics is $624 million, a decrease of 5.5%. The request includes
$79 million for a low-boom supersonic flight demonstrator, first proposed in the FY2017 budget.
The FY2018 request for Space Technology is $679 million, a decrease of 1.2%. This is the first
year since FY2011, when Space Technology was first established as a separate account, that the
Administration has not proposed to increase Space Technology funding. The request includes no
funding for the Restore-L satellite servicing mission. According to the FY2018 congressional
budget justification, NASA will “transition the Restore-L project to reduce its cost and better
position it to support a nascent commercial satellite servicing industry” and “pursue
collaborations with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and industry to most
effectively advance satellite servicing technologies and ensure broad commercial application.”
The FY2018 request for Exploration is $3.934 billion, a decrease of 9.0%. The Exploration
account primarily funds development of the Orion Multipurpose Crew Vehicle and the Space
Launch System (SLS) heavy-lift rocket, the capsule and launch vehicle mandated by the NASA
Authorization Act of 2010 for future human exploration beyond Earth orbit. The launch readiness
date for the first test flight of SLS carrying Orion but no crew (known as EM-1) was previously
planned for FY2018 but is expected to slip to 2019.50 The launch readiness date for the first flight
of Orion and the SLS with a crew on board (known as EM-2) continues to be FY2023.
In the Space Operations account, the request for Commercial Crew is $732 million, a decrease of
38.2%, and the request for the ISS is $1.491 billion (an increase of 3.8% from FY2016; the
FY2017 act did not specify an allocation for the ISS). The reduction in Commercial Crew funding
is in line with previous plans and reflects the expected transition of commercial crew activities
from development to operations. A domestic commercial capability to transport crews to the ISS
is expected to become available in September 2018.

50 See NASA comments in Government Accountability Office, NASA Human Space Exploration: Delay Likely for First
Exploration Mission
, GAO-17-414, April 2017, http://www.gao.gov/assets/690/684360.pdf, p. 18.
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Table 8. National Aeronautics and Space Administration R&D
(budget authority, in millions of dollars)
FY2017
FY2018
FY2018
FY2018
FY2018

Enacted
Request
House
Senate
Enacted
Science
5,765
5,712



Earth Science
1,921
1,754



Planetary Science
1,846
1,930



Astrophysics
750
817



James Webb Space Telescope
569
534



Heliophysics
679
678



Aeronautics
660
624



Space Technology
687
679



Exploration
4,324
3,934



Exploration Systems Development
3,929
3,584



Exploration R&D
395
350



International Space Station
n/sa
1,491



Commercial Crew
1,185
732



Subtotal R&D
14,005
13,171



Non-R&D Programsb
2,519
2,595



Safety, Security, and Mission Services
2,769
2,830



Associated with R&Dc
2,347
2,364



Construction & Environmental C&R
361d
496



Associated with R&Dc
306
414



NASA, Total (R&D)
16,657
15,950



NASA, Total
19,653d
19,092



Sources: FY2017 enacted from P.L. 115-31 and explanatory statement, Congressional Record, May 3, 2017, pp.
H3374-H3375. FY2018 request from NASA FY2018 congressional budget justification, http://www.nasa.gov/
news/budget/.
Figures for the columns headed “FY2018 House,” “FY2018 Senate,” and “FY2018 Enacted” will be
added, if available, as each action is completed.
Notes: Totals may differ from the sum of the components due to rounding. C&R = Compliance and
Remediation.
a. Not specified. The R&D totals shown lower in the table assume that unspecified amounts within Space
Operations are allocated in proportion to the Administration request.
b. Space Operations other than ISS and Commercial Crew; Education; and Inspector General.
c. CRS estimates the allocation between R&D and non-R&D in proportion to the underlying program amounts
in order to allow calculation of a total for R&D. The Safety, Security, and Mission Services account and the
Construction and Environmental Compliance and Remediation account consist mostly of indirect costs for
other programs, assessed in proportion to their direct costs.
d. Does not include $109 million in emergency appropriations for natural disaster repairs.
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National Science Foundation51
The National Science Foundation (NSF) supports basic research and education in the non-medical
sciences and engineering. Congress established the foundation as an independent federal agency
in 1950 and directed it to “promote the progress of science; to advance the national health,
prosperity, and welfare; to secure the national defense; and for other purposes.”52 The NSF is a
primary source of federal support for U.S. university research, especially in mathematics and
computer science. It is also responsible for significant shares of the federal science, technology,
engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education program portfolio and federal STEM student
aid and support.53
NSF has six appropriations accounts: Research and Related Activities (RRA, the main research
account), Education and Human Resources (EHR, the main education account), Major Research
Equipment and Facilities Construction (MREFC), Agency Operations and Award Management
(AOAM), the National Science Board (NSB), and the Office of Inspector General (OIG).
Appropriations are generally provided at the account level, while program-specific direction may
be included in appropriations acts, or accompanying conference reports or explanatory
statements.
For FY2017, P.L. 115-31 provided appropriations at the account level, and Congress directed
funding for a subset of programs within the RRA, EHR, and MREFC accounts in the
accompanying explanatory statement.54 Because NSF reports that FY2017 amounts were not
available when the FY2018 budget request was prepared, requested funding at the subaccount
level is generally compared to FY2016 actual funding. Therefore, this section of the report
compares account funding (and program-specific funding, where directed by Congress) to
FY2017 enacted funding; subaccount and R&D funding amounts are compared to FY2016 actual
levels.55
Funding for R&D is included in the RRA, EHR, and MREFC accounts, which also include non-
R&D funding. Together, these three accounts comprise 95% of the total requested funding for
NSF. Actual R&D obligations for each account are known after NSF allocates funding
appropriations to specific activities and reports those figures.56 The budget request specifies R&D
funding for the conduct of research, including basic and applied research, and for physical assets,
including R&D facilities and major equipment. Funding amounts for FY2016 actual, FY2017
enacted, and FY2018 requested levels are reported by account, including amounts for R&D
conduct and physical assets where applicable, in Table 9.

51 This section was written by Laurie Harris, Analyst in Science and Technology Policy, CRS Resources, Science, and
Industry Division.
52 The National Science Foundation Act of 1950 (P.L. 81-507).
53 For more information about NSF and the agency’s funding history, see CRS Report R44679, The National Science
Foundation: FY2017 Appropriations and Funding History
, by (name redacted) and (name redacted)
.
54 Explanatory Statement, Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2017, Division B (Commerce, Justice, Science, and
Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2017), Congressional Record, vol. 163, no. 76—Book II (May 3, 2017), p.
H3375.
55 Long-term, multi-year construction projects supported through the MREFC account are an exception, as NSF is able
to provide FY2017 estimated funding amounts for these projects.
56 R&D prior year (FY2016) and requested (FY2018) amounts are reported in the “Quantitative Data Tables” section of
the FY2018 NSF Budget Request to Congress, May 23, 2017, pp. QDT-1 – QDT-7.
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Federal Research and Development Funding: FY2018

Overall. The Trump Administration is requesting $6.653 billion for the NSF in FY2018, an $819
million (11%) decrease from the FY2017 enacted amount of $7.472 billion. The request would
decrease budget authority primarily in three accounts relative to the FY2017 enacted level: RRA
by $672 million (11%), EHR by $119 million (14%), and MREFC by $26 million (12%). The
request would provide slight decreases to the AOAM (0.5%, $1.5 million), and OIG (1.3%,
$200,000) accounts, and no change for the NSB account. Overall, NSF estimates that, under the
FY2018 request, funding for research grant awards would decrease from 21% to 19%, resulting in
800 fewer grants awarded, compared to FY2016.
As a proportion of NSF’s total funding, R&D activities account for approximately 81%. For
FY2018, $5.370 billion is requested for R&D activities, a 10.8% decrease from FY2016 actual
funding for R&D of $6.022 million. The total request includes $4.950 billion (92%) for the
conduct of R&D, and $420 million (8%) for R&D facilities and major equipment. Of funding
requested for the conduct of R&D, 86% is requested for basic research, and 14% for applied
research. Overall funding for R&D facilities and major equipment supports not only the
construction and acquisition phases, funded through MREFC ($183 million requested), but also
the planning, design, and post-construction operations and maintenance, funded through RRA
($237 million requested).
NSF’s budget justification identifies seven ongoing agency-wide investments that aim to bring
researchers from different fields of science and engineering together to address cross-disciplinary
questions. Compared to the FY2016 actual amounts, a slight increase in funding is requested for
one of these initiatives—the Inclusion across the Nation of Communities of Learners of
Underrepresented Discoverers in Engineering and Science (INCLUDES, 6.5%, $1 million
increase). Decreases of between 12% and 70% are requested for the remaining six investments.
These include Cyber-Enabled Materials, Manufacturing, and Smart Systems (CEMMSS, $222
million requested, 18% decrease); Innovations at the Nexus of Food, Energy, and Water Systems
(INFEWS, $24 million requested, 70% decrease); Innovation Corps (I-Corps, $26 million
requested, 12% decrease); Risk and Resilience ($31 million requested, 27% decrease); Secure and
Trustworthy Cyberspace (SaTC, $114 million requested, 12% decrease); and Understanding the
Brain (UtB), $134 million requested, 22% decrease).
Research. The Trump Administration seeks a $627 million (11%) decrease in funding for RRA in
FY2018 compared to FY2017 enacted funding, for a total of $5.362 billion. Compared to the
FY2016 actual levels, the FY2018 request includes decreases for all ten of the RRA subaccounts
except for the U.S. Arctic Research Commission (USARC), which would not change. The largest
percentage decrease would go to Integrative Activities (26%, $111 million decrease). The largest
decrease in dollars would go to Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS, $129 million, 9.6%).
The other subaccounts would receive decreases between 7.1% and 10.6%. The FY2018 request
also includes $100 million for the RRA program Established Program to Stimulate Competitive
Research (EPSCoR), which has drawn congressional interest, a decrease of 37.5% from the $160
million directed in the explanatory statement for FY2017 enacted funding.
In recent years, policymakers have debated congressional funding directives at the subaccount
level within RRA. Some assert that legislators have a role in establishing funding priorities by
scientific field, as part of the legislative oversight function and in order to assure accountability
for taxpayer funds. Others argue that the scientists who manage NSF ought to determine the
distribution of funding by field, based on their deeper knowledge of research needs and scientific
possibilities within each field, and of how these needs are best balanced across the NSF portfolio.
For FY2016, P.L. 114-113 did not specify the funding distribution within RRA, though it did limit
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the budget authority for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences to its FY2015 level.57 For
FY2017, P.L. 115-31 did not specify allocations for RRA subaccounts, but did specify that $544
million remain available for polar research and operations support, including activities for the
U.S. Antarctic program.
Within the RRA account, the FY2018 request includes $4.839 billion for R&D, a decrease of
$537 million (10%) compared to the FY2016 actual amount. Of this amount, the majority ($4.602
billion, 95%) is requested for the conduct of research, including $4.160 billion for basic research
and $443 million for applied research.
Education. The FY2018 request includes a $119 million (13.6%) decrease for EHR, for a total of
$761 million. This represents the largest percentage reduction requested among NSF’s
appropriations accounts. In FY2017, P.L. 115-31 provided $880 million for EHR and the
accompanying explanatory statement directed funding levels for a number of EHR programs.
By program division, the largest decrease in the FY2018 request is for the Division of Graduate
Education (20.5%, $57 million decrease), which would receive $221 million. The divisions on
human resource development, formal and informal learning, and undergraduate education would
receive decreases of 9.4% ($200 million requested), 11% ($135 million requested), and 12%
($204 million requested), respectively.
EHR programs of particular interest to congressional policymakers include the Graduate
Research Fellowship (GRF) and National Research Traineeship (NRT) programs. The FY2018
request for GRF is $246 million, a reduction of $86 million (26%) from the FY2016 actual level.
The requested amount would support 1,000 new fellows, a reduction from the 2,000 new fellows
supported through the GRF each year since 2011; in addition, funding will continue for an
estimated 5,000 active fellows. The FY2018 request for NRT is $40 million, a $16 million (28%)
decrease from FY2016.
Proposed funding for FY2018 for other EHR programs of particular congressional interest
include Cybercorps: Scholarships for Service ($40 million requested, 27.0% below the FY2017
directed level);58 Advancing Informal STEM Learning ($63 million requested, no change);
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics + Computing Partnerships ($20 million
requested, 61% decrease); Historically Black Colleges and Universities Undergraduate Program
($35 million requested, no change); Tribal Colleges and University Programs ($13 million
requested, 7.1% decrease); and the Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation ($41 million
requested, 10.9% decrease). Funding for the Hispanic Serving Institutions program, established in
FY2017 per congressional direction, is requested at the FY2017 enacted level of $15 million.
Within EHR, requested funding for R&D is $348 million, which accounts for approximately
(6.5%) of the agency’s total R&D request. The requested amount is a $57 million (14%) decrease
from the FY2016 actual amount of $405 million. The vast majority of the requested funding
would support the conduct of R&D, including $120 million for basic research and $228 million
for applied research.
Construction. The MREFC account supports large construction projects and scientific
instruments, with nearly all of the funding directed for R&D facilities. The Trump Administration
is seeking just over $183 million for MREFC in FY2018, $26 million (12.5%) less than the
FY2017 enacted amount.

57 Explanatory statement accompanying P.L. 114-113.
58 The explanatory statement further directed, of the $55 million provided for CyberCorps in FY2017, “no less than
$7.5 million for qualified community colleges as directed by the Senate.”
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Requested MREFC funding would support three main projects, including continued construction
of the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope ($58 million requested, 13.6% decrease from the FY2017
estimate) and the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope ($20 million requested, no change). Most of
the request ($105 million) would fund the Regional Class Research Vessels (RCRV) program to
build ships to support science in U.S. coastal waters. The FY2018 request—prepared in advance
of final FY2017 appropriations action by Congress—included support for two ships.
Subsequently, Congress directed NSF to provide $122 million to build three RCRVs. This
amounts to $41 million per ship, compared to the FY2018 request of $52.5 million per ship. The
budget request notes that the direction from Congress for three RCRVs will impact current and
future funding requirements at unspecified amounts.
Other initiatives. The FY2018 NSF budget request includes funding for three multiagency
initiatives. This funding is included in the six NSF appropriations accounts and not separately
provided. The National Nanotechnology Initiative would receive $389 million, $122 million
(24%) less than in FY2016. The Networking and Information Technology Research and
Development program would receive $1.062 billion, a decrease of $157 million (12.9%). The
U.S. Global Change Research Program would receive $264 million, $85 million (25.6%) less
than in FY2016. P.L. 115-31 did not specify NSF funding for these initiatives.
Table 9. National Science Foundation Funding
(budget authority in millions of dollars)
FY2016
FY2017
FY2018
FY2018
FY2018
FY2018
Account
Actual
Enacted
Request
House
Senate
Enacted
Research and Related Activities
$5,998.1
$6,033.6
$5,361.6



(RRA)
R&D, RRA Total
5,375.8
n/s
4,839.0



Conduct of R&D
5,184.6
n/s
4,602.3



R&D Facilities and Major Equipment
191.2
n/s
236.7



Education and Human Resources
884.1
880.0
760.6



(EHR)
R&D, EHR Total
405.0
n/s
348.2



Conduct of R&D
404.8
n/s
348.0



R&D Facilities and Major Equipment
0.2
n/s
0.2



Major Research Equipment and
241.5
209.0
182.8



Facilities Construction (MREFC)
R&D, MREFC Total
241.5
n/s
182.8



Conduct of R&D

n/s




R&D Facilities and Major Equipment
241.5
n/s
182.8



Agency Operations and Award
351.1
330.0
328.5



Management (AOAM)a
National Science Board (NSB)a
4.3
4.4
4.4



Office of the Inspector General
14.8
15.2
15.0



(OIG)a
NSF, Total
$7,493.9
$7,472.2
$6,652.9



R&D, NSF Total
6,022.3
n/s
5,369.9



Total, Conduct of R&D
5,589.4
n/s
4,950.3



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FY2016
FY2017
FY2018
FY2018
FY2018
FY2018
Account
Actual
Enacted
Request
House
Senate
Enacted
Total, R&D Facilities & Major
432.8
n/s
419.6



Equipment
Source: Data in the columns titled, “FY2016 Actual” and “FY2018 Request” are from the FY2018 NSF Budget
Request to Congress
. Data in the column headed “FY2017 Enacted” are from the Consolidated Appropriations
Act, 2017 (P.L. 115-31) and the accompanying Division B Explanatory Statement. Figures for the columns headed
“FY2018 House,” “FY2018 Senate,” and “FY2018 Enacted” will be added, if available, as congressional action is
completed.
Notes: Appropriations accounts are in bold. NSF total may differ from the sum of the accounts due to rounding.
Non-bold R&D funding amounts are a subset of funding for the specified accounts. The term “n/s” means “not
specified.”
a. The AOAM, NSB, and OIG accounts have no reported R&D funding.
Department of Agriculture59
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) was created in 1862 in part to support agricultural
research in an expanding, agriculturally dependent country. USDA conducts intramural research
at federal facilities with government-employed scientists, and supports external research at
universities and other facilities through competitive grants and formula-based funding. The
breadth of contemporary USDA research spans traditional agricultural production techniques,
organic and sustainable agriculture, bioenergy, nutrition needs and composition, food safety,
animal and plant health, pest and disease management, economic decision making, and other
social sciences affecting consumers, farmers, and rural communities.
Four agencies carry out USDA’s research and education activities, grouped together into the
Research, Education, and Economics (REE) mission area. The agencies involved are the
Agricultural Research Service (ARS), National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA),
National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), and Economic Research Service (ERS).
The Administration’s budget request for FY2018 would provide $2.508 billion for USDA’s four
research agencies, a reduction of $382 million (-13.2%) from the enacted FY2017 appropriation
(P.L. 115-31). About three-fourths of this reduction is in salaries and expenses to conduct the
research programs, and one-quarter is the elimination of buildings and facilities funding. (See
Table 10.)
In addition to discretionary appropriations, agricultural research is also funded by state matching
contributions and private donations or grants, as well as mandatory funding from the farm bill.60
USDA’s discretionary appropriations are profiled below.
Agricultural Research Service
The Agricultural Research Service is USDA’s in-house basic and applied research agency. It
operates approximately 90 laboratories nationwide with about 6,600 employees. ARS also

59 This section was written by (name redacted), Specialist in Agricultural Policy, CRS Resources, Science, and Indus
try
Division.
60 For background on agricultural research, see CRS Report R40819, Agricultural Research: Background and Issues,
by (name redacted)
. For background on agricultural appropriations, see CRS Insight IN10710, The President’s FY2018
Budget Request for Agriculture Appropriations and the Farm Bill, by (name redacted)
, and CRS Report R44588,
Agriculture and Related Agencies: FY2017 Appropriations, coordinated by (name redacted)
.
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operates the National Agricultural Library, one of the department’s primary information
repositories for food, agriculture, and natural resource sciences. ARS laboratories focus on
efficient food and fiber production, development of new products and uses for agricultural
commodities, development of effective controls for pest management, and support of USDA
regulatory and technical assistance programs.
For FY2018, the Administration requests $993 million for ARS salaries and expenses, a reduction
of $177 million (-15.1%) from the enacted FY2017 appropriation (Table 10). It also proposes
that ARS staffing levels would decrease by 10% in FY2018.
To achieve this reduction, ARS proposes budgetary decreases across all its programmatic areas,
and specifically reducing or eliminating several dozen prioritized research projects. The
programmatic reduction is coupled with closing 5 laboratories at ongoing locations, and closing
12 laboratory locations entirely. Previous years’ budgets and administrations have proposed
laboratory closures and realignments that were expressly rejected in enacted appropriations.
For the ARS buildings and facilities account, the FY2018 budget requests no appropriation. This
follows three years of buildings and facilities appropriations, including $99.6 million in FY2017
and $212 million in FY2016. In addition to the elimination of new funding, the FY2018 budget
proposes a rescission of $212 million of “unobligated balances that are no longer needed.”61 Past
appropriations are funding priorities identified in the 2012 “USDA ARS Capital Investment
Strategy.”62
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
The National Institute of Food and Agriculture provides federal funding for research, education,
and extension projects conducted in partnership with the State Agricultural Experiment Stations,
the State Cooperative Extension System, land grant universities, colleges, and other research and
education institutions, as well as individual researchers. These partnerships include the 1862 land-
grant institutions, 1890 historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs), 1994 tribal land-
grant colleges, and Hispanic-serving institutions.63 Federal funds enhance capacity at universities
and institutions by statutory formula funding, competitive awards, and grants.
For FY2018, the Administration requests $1.253 billion for NIFA, a decrease of $110 million
from the enacted FY2017 appropriation (-8.1%; Table 10).
The Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI)—USDA’s flagship competitive grants
program with 25% of NIFA’s total budget—would return to FY2016 levels ($350 million) after
having received a $25 million increase in FY2017. The Administration also proposes to eliminate

61 Personal communication with ARS (June 16, 2017) suggests that this proposed rescission may refer to the temporary
repetition in the Budget of the $212 million from FY2016 during the FY2017 continuing resolution, at the time the
budget was compiled, rather than a rescission of the original FY2016 appropriation.
62 USDA-ARS, The USDA Agricultural Research Service Capital Investment Strategy, April 2012, http://www.ars.
usda.gov/sp2UserFiles/Subsite/ARSLegisAffrs/USDA_ARS_Capital_Investment_Strategy_FINAL_eeo.pdf. In
FY2016, funding went to construction of a biocontainment laboratory at the ARS poultry research facility in Athens,
GA ($145 million); a foreign disease-weed science facility in Frederick, MD ($70 million); and an animal science,
human nutrition, and bee research center in Beltsville, MD ($33 million). The priorities funded in FY2017 include
completion of the Foreign Disease and Weed Science Research Unit in Fort Detrick, MD ($30.2 million) and Phase I of
the Agricultural Research Technology Center in Salinas, CA ($64.3 million).
63 The numbers 1862, 1890, and 1994 in this context refer to the years that laws were enacted creating these
classifications of colleges and universities, not to the number of institutions.
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or reduce funding for several specific organic, pest management, and crop-specific research
programs.
Most formula-funded programs in both research and extension are held essentially constant under
the FY2018 request. However, the Administration proposes a 15% reduction to McIntire Stennis
cooperative forestry research funding.
The President’s request proposes to eliminate funding for several programs, including several
federal science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education programs at USDA (Higher
Education Challenge Grants, Graduate and Post-graduate Fellowship Grants, the Higher
Education Multicultural Scholars Program, the Women and Minorities in STEM Program,
Agriculture in the Classroom, and Secondary/Postsecondary Challenge Grants). Previous years’
budget requests have proposed moving these programs away from USDA and consolidating
STEM programming across the government, but enacted appropriations have continued to
maintain the programs at USDA.
The FY2017 appropriation continues to direct that at least 15% of NIFA’s competitive grant
funding be available for research enhancement awards such as USDA-EPSCoR. The
Administration’s FY2018 request does not address this allocation.
National Agricultural Statistics Service
The National Agricultural Statistics Service conducts the Census of Agriculture and provides
official statistics on agricultural production and indicators of the economic and environmental
status of the farm sector.
For FY2018, the Administration requests $186 million, a net increase of $14 million (+8.4%)
over the enacted FY2017 appropriation. This change would include an increase of $22 million for
extra expenses to conduct the 2017 Census of Agriculture, and a decrease of $7.3 million for the
core NASS Agricultural Estimates program. The Administration proposes to achieve at least some
of this reduction by reducing the sample size of 12 specific surveys and producing fewer
estimates (including by reducing the number of published states by commodity).64
Economic Research Service
The Economic Research Service supports economic and social science analysis about agriculture,
rural development, food, commodity markets, and the environment. It collects and disseminates
data concerning USDA programs and policies.
For FY2018, the Administration requests $77 million, a decrease of $10 million (-11.6%) from
the enacted FY2017 appropriation. The budget proposes to reduce activities in many areas of
research, including drought resilience, international agriculture, bioenergy, and consumer food
purchases.




64 USDA, Office of Budget and Program Analysis, FY2018 Congressional Budget Justification for the National
Agricultural Statistics Service
, p. 8.
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Table 10. U.S. Department of Agriculture R&D
(budget authority, in millions of dollars)
FY2017
FY2018
FY2018
FY2018
FY2018
Agency or Major Program
Enacted
Request
House
Senate
Enacted
Agricultural Research Service (ARS)
1,170.2
993.1


Buildings and Facilities
99.6
0.0


Subtotal, ARS
1,269.8
993.1


National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA)




Research and Education




AFRI (competitive grants)
375.0
349.3


Hatch Act (1862 institutions)
243.7
243.2


Evans-Allen (1890 institutions)
54.2
54.1


McIntire-Stennis (forestry)
34.0
28.9


Other
142.7
94.1


Subtotal
849.5
769.6


Extension




Smith-Lever (b) and (c)
300.0
299.4


Smith-Lever (d)
85.5
79.2


Other
91.9
84.3


Subtotal
477.4
462.9


Integrated Activities
36.0
20.3


Subtotal, NIFA
1,362.9
1,252.8


National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS)
171.2
185.7


Economic Research Service (ERS)
86.8
76.7


Total, USDA Research Mission Area
2,890.7
2,508.3


Source: CRS, compiled P.L. 115-31 (including tables in the joint explanatory statement) and Office of
Management and Budget, President’s Budget for FY2018: Appendix – Department of Agriculture.
Notes: Components may not add to subtotals or total due to rounding. Figures for the columns headed
“FY2018 House,” “FY2018 Senate,” and “FY2018 Enacted” will be added, if available, as each action is completed.
Department of Commerce
Two agencies of the Department of Commerce have major R&D programs: the National Institute
of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA).
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National Institute of Standards and Technology65
The mission of the National Institute of Standards and Technology is “to promote U.S. innovation
and industrial competitiveness by advancing measurement science, standards, and technology in
ways that enhance economic security and improve our quality of life.”66 NIST research provides
measurement, calibration, and quality assurance methods and techniques that support U.S.
commerce, technological progress, product reliability, manufacturing processes, and public safety.
NIST’s responsibilities include the development, maintenance, and custodial retention of the
national standards of measurement; providing the means and methods for making measurements
consistent with those standards; and ensuring the compatibility of U.S. national measurement
standards with those of other nations.67
The President is requesting $725.0 billion in funding for NIST in FY2018, a decrease of $229.0
million (24.0%) from the FY2017 enacted appropriation of $954.0 million. (See Table 11.) NIST
discretionary funding is provided through three accounts: Scientific and Technical Research and
Services (STRS), Industrial Technology Services (ITS), and Construction of Research Facilities
(CRF).
The President’s FY2018 request includes $600.0 million for R&D, standards coordination, and
related services in the STRS account, a decrease of $90.0 million (13.0%) from the FY2017
level.68
The President is requesting $21.0 million for the ITS account for FY2018, down $134.0 million
(86.5%) from the FY2017 enacted level. The ITS request includes $6.0 million “for the orderly
wind down” of the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) program, and $15.0 million for
the National Network for Manufacturing Innovation (NNMI), a $10.0 million (40.0%) reduction
from the FY2017 enacted level.69 The $15.0 million provided for the NNMI includes $10.0
million for continued support of the NIST-sponsored National Institute for Innovation in
Manufacturing Biopharmaceuticals and $5.0 million to support NIST’s role in coordination of the
network.
The President is requesting $104.0 million for FY2018 for the NIST CRF account, down $5.0
million (4.6%) from the FY2017 enacted level.70

65 This section was written by (name redacted), Specialist in Science and Technology Policy, CRS Resources,
Science, and Industry Division.
66 NIST website, “General Information,” http://nist.gov/public_affairs/general_information.cfm.
67 15 U.S.C. 272.
68 U.S. Department of Commerce, Department of Commerce, Budget in Brief, Fiscal Year 2018,
http://www.osec.doc.gov/bmi/budget/FY18BIB/All508.pdf.
69 Ibid. For additional information on the MEP program, see CRS Report R44308, The Manufacturing Extension
Partnership Program
, by (name redacted)

70 U.S. Department of Commerce, Department of Commerce, Budget in Brief, Fiscal Year 2018.
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Table 11. National Institute of Standards and Technology Funding
(budget authority, in millions of dollars)
FY2017
FY2018
FY2018 FY2018
FY2018
Budget Account
Enacted
Request
House
Senate
Enacted
Scientific and Technical Research and
Services
$690.0
$600.0



Industrial Technology Services
155.0
21.0



Manufacturing Extension Partnership
130.0
6.0



Network for Manufacturing Innovation
25.0
15.0



Construction of Research Facilities
109.0
104.0



NIST, Totala
$954.0
$725.0



Source: P.L. 115-31; explanatory statement accompanying P.L. 115-31, as published in the Congressional Record,
May 3, 2017, Book II, H3365; U.S. Department of Commerce, National Institute of Standards and
Technology/National Technical Information Service Fiscal Year 2018 Budget Submission to Congress
, NIST-4.
Notes: Figures for the columns headed “FY2018 House,” “FY2018 Senate” and “FY2018 Enacted” will be added,
if available, as Congress completes each action.
a. In FY2017, NIST will continue to execute mandatory resources (not include in the table figures) provided in
FY2017 through the NIST Public Safety Communications Research Fund to help develop wireless
technologies for public safety users, as part of the National Wireless Initiative included in the Middle Class
Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 (P.L. 112-96). This act provides mandatory funds for NIST from
spectrum auction proceeds to help industry and public safety organizations conduct research and develop
new standards, technologies and applications to advance public safety communications in support of the
initiative’s efforts to build an interoperable nationwide broadband network for first responders. The act
provided NIST a total of $300 million, though rescissions have reduced this amount to $285 million.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration71
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration conducts scientific research in areas such
as ecosystems, climate, global climate change, weather, and oceans; collects and provides data on
the oceans and atmosphere; and manages coastal and marine organisms and environments.
NOAA was created in 1970 by Reorganization Plan No. 4.72 The reorganization was intended to
unify elements of the nation’s environmental programs and to provide a systematic approach for
monitoring, analyzing, and protecting the environment. One of the agency’s main challenges
relates to its diverse mission of science, service, and stewardship. A review of research
undertaken by NOAA found, “The major challenge for NOAA is connecting the pieces of its
research program and ensuring research is linked to the broader science needs of the agency.”73
NOAA’s Research Council74 developed a five-year plan (2013-2017) to guide the agency’s R&D
efforts.75 R&D efforts support the long-term goals and enterprise objectives of NOAA’s Next

71 This section was written by (name redacted), Analyst in Natural Resources, CRS Resources, Science, and Industry
Division.
72 “Reorganization Plan No. 4 of 1970,” 35 Federal Register 15627-15630, October 6, 1970; see also
http://www.lib.noaa.gov/noaainfo/heritage/ReorganizationPlan4.html.
73 Dr. Kathryn Sullivan, Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and NOAA Administrator, NOAA
Response to the NOAA Science Advisory Board’s Portfolio Review Task Force Report
, NOAA, April 15, 2014,
http://www.sab.noaa.gov/Reports/2014/NOAA.Response.to.PRTF.Report_2014.04.15.pdf.
74 According to NOAA, “The NOAA Research Council is an internal body composed of senior scientific personnel
from every line office in the agency who provide corporate oversight to ensure NOAA’s research and development
(continued...)
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Generation Strategic Plan.76 The strategic plan is organized into four categories of long-term
goals including (1) climate adaptation and mitigation, (2) a weather-ready nation,77 (3) healthy
oceans, and (4) resilient coastal communities and economies; and three groups of enterprise
objectives including (1) stakeholder engagement, (2) data and observations, and (3) integrated
environmental modeling. To achieve the strategic plan’s goals and objectives, NOAA has
identified gaps in knowledge and capabilities. NOAA’s R&D plan attempts to address these gaps
by asking key questions. Key questions are used in the plan to frame and organize R&D
objectives and to identify tasks associated with achieving these objectives.
One of the main challenges identified in the NOAA R&D plan is the need to integrate the diverse
perspectives and professional expertise required by the agency’s mission. The plan states that
“holistically understanding the earth system is not only understanding its individual components,
but understanding and interpreting the way each of the components interact and behave as an
integrated composite that is more than the sum of its parts.”
For FY2018, President Trump requested $671.6 million in R&D funding for NOAA, a decrease
of $176.4 million (20.8%) below the FY2017 enacted level of $848.0 million. R&D funding for
FY2017 consists of $497.8 million for research (58.7% of total R&D funding), $86.9 million for
development (10.3%), and $263.3 million for R&D equipment (31.0 %).78 In FY2017, R&D is
14.9% of NOAA’s total discretionary budget of $5,675.4 million. The FY2018 request for R&D
funding includes $365.8 million for research (54.4% of total R&D funding), $64.2 million for
development (9.6%), and $241.6 million for R&D equipment (36.0%). The President’s request
for R&D is 14.1% of NOAA’s total discretionary budget request of $4,773.7 million.
NOAA’s administrative structure is organized by five line offices that reflect its diverse mission:
the National Ocean Service (NOS); National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS); National
Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS); National Weather Service
(NWS); and Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR). In addition to NOAA’s five
line offices, two major funding categories include Mission Support (formerly Program Support)
and the Office of Marine and Aviation Operations (OMAO). Mission support is a cross-cutting
budget activity, which provides administrative functions related to planning, information
technology, human resources, and infrastructure. OMAO is responsible for the agency’s ships and
aircraft that collect data in support of NOAA’s environmental and scientific missions.79
Table 11 provides FY2017 enacted R&D funding and the administration’s FY2018 request for
each NOAA office.80 Most of NOAA’s R&D activities are conducted by OAR and in most years

(...continued)
activities are of the highest quality, meet near- to long-term mission requirements and societal needs, take advantage of
emerging scientific and technological opportunities, shape a forward-looking research agenda, and are accomplished in
an efficient and cost-effective manner.” Source: NOAA website, “NOAA Research Council,” http://nrc.noaa.gov.
75 NOAA, Research and Development at NOAA, Five-Year Research and Development Plan 2013-2017, Washington,
DC, 2014, http://nrc.noaa.gov/CouncilProducts/ResearchPlans/5YearRDPlan/NOAA5YRPHome/Preface/
Purpose.aspx.
76 NOAA, NOAA’s Next-Generation Strategic Plan, Silver Spring, MD, December 2010, http://www.ppi.noaa.gov/wp-
content/uploads/NOAA_NGSP.pdf.
77 According to NOAA, a weather-ready nation is envisioned as a society that is prepared for and responds to weather-
related events.
78 NOAA Budget Office, email to CRS, June 14, 2017.
79 Most of NOAA’s discretionary funding for the five offices, OMAO, and Mission Support is from the Operations,
Research and Facilities and the Procurement, Acquisition, and Construction accounts.
80 Ibid.
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OAR accounts for over half of NOAA’s R&D funding. The FY2018 request would provide OAR
with $350.0 million for R&D, a decrease of $130.1 million (27.1%) below the FY2017 enacted
funding level of $480.1 million.81
OAR conducts research in three major areas: weather and air chemistry; climate; and oceans,
coasts, and the Great Lakes. A significant portion of these efforts is implemented through
partnerships between NOAA and cooperative research institutes. NOAA supports 16 cooperative
research institutes that work with seven NOAA laboratories in all three of the main OAR research
areas. The President’s FY2018 request would fund the cooperative institutes with a total of
$150.5 million, $21.5 million (12.5%) less than the FY2017 enacted funding level of $172.0
million.
The President’s FY2018 request would reduce funding in two areas of congressional interest: the
National Sea Grant College Program and climate change. The National Sea Grant College
Program is composed of 33 university-based state programs. Sea Grant programs support
scientific research and engage constituents to identify and solve problems faced by coastal
communities. The President’s FY2018 request would terminate federal support of the National
Sea Grant College Program and Sea Grant’s Marine Aquaculture Program. In FY2017, the
National Sea Grant College Program was funded at $63.0 million and the Sea Grant Marine
Aquaculture Program was funded at $9.5 million.
Climate research includes funding for laboratories and cooperative institutes, regional climate
data and information, and competitive research. The President’s FY2018 request would provide
climate research with $128.0 million, $30.0 million (19.0%) less than the FY2017 enacted
funding level of $158.0 million.82
Table 12. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration R&D
(budget authority in millions of dollars)
FY2017
FY2018
FY2018 FY2018
FY2018

Enacted
Request
House
Senate
Enacted
National Ocean Service (NOS)
75.2
59.2



National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)
70.9
55.5



National Weather Service (NWS)
23.1
13.2



National Environmental Satellite, Data, and
31.0
29.4



Information Service (NESDIS)
Office of Marine and Aviation Operations (OMAO)a
163.1
164.3



Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR)
480.1
350.0



Mission Support
4.6
0



Total R&D
848.0
671.6



OAR, Total R&D and Non-R&Db
514.1
350.0



NOAA, Total R&D and Non-R&Db
5,675.4
4,773.7



Source: NOAA Budget Office, email to CRS concerning NOAA R&D, June 14, 2017.

81 Ibid.
82 Approximately one-third of climate research funding is provided for laboratories and cooperative institutes (e.g.
$60.0 million in FY2017).
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Notes: Figures for the columns headed “FY2018 House,” “FY2018 Senate” and “FY2018 Enacted” will be added,
if available, as Congress completes each action.
a. All Office of Marine Aviation Operations funding is for equipment related to R&D.
b. OAR and NOAA funding totals are provided for context.
Department of Veterans Affairs83
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) operates and maintains a national health care delivery
system to provide eligible veterans with medical care, benefits, and social support. As part of the
agency’s mission, it seeks to advance medical R&D in areas most relevant to the diseases and
conditions that affect the health care needs of veterans.
The President is proposing $1.184 billion for VA R&D in FY2018, a decrease of $61.7 million
(5.2%) from the FY2017 enacted level. (See Table 13.) VA R&D represents 1.4% of the agency’s
overall FY2018 budget request and is funded through two accounts—the Medical and Prosthetic
Research account and the Medical Care Support account. The Medical Care Support account also
includes non-R&D funding. How much of the funding provided in appropriations legislation will
be allocated to R&D is unclear unless funding is provided at the precise level of the request. In
general, R&D funding levels from the Medical Care Support account are only known after the VA
allocates its appropriations to specific activities and reports those figures. The FY2018 request
includes $640 million for VA’s Medical and Prosthetic Research account, a decrease of $33.4
million (5.2%), and $544 million in funding for research supported by the agency’s Medical Care
Support account, a decrease of $28.4 million (5.2%).
According to the President’s request, VA R&D priorities for FY2018 include efforts to treat
veterans at risk of suicide; research to address pain management, opioid addiction, and Gulf War
Veterans Illness; and the use of the Million Veteran Program—a genomic research program that is
collecting genetic samples and detailed health information from one million veterans—to advance
precision medicine.84
The Medical and Prosthetics R&D program is an intramural program managed by the Veteran
Health Administration’s Office of Research and Development (ORD) and conducted at VA
Medical Centers and VA-approved sites nationwide. The mission of VA R&D is “to improve
Veterans’ health and well-being via basic, translational, clinical, health services, and rehabilitative
research and to apply scientific knowledge to develop effective individualized care solutions for
Veterans.”85 ORD consists of four main research services each headed by a director:
 Biomedical Laboratory R&D conducts preclinical and clinical research to
understand life processes at the molecular, genomic, and physiological levels.
 Clinical Science R&D supports research, including human subjects research, to
determine the feasibility and effectiveness of new treatments such as drugs,
therapies, or devices.

83 This section was written by (name redacted), Analyst in Science and Technology Policy, CRS Resources, Science,
and Industry Division.
84 Department of Veterans Affairs, Volume II: Medical Programs and Information Technology Programs,
Congressional Submission, FY 2018 Funding and FY 2019 Advance Appropriations
, pp. VHA-419-459,
https://www.va.gov/budget/docs/summary/fy2018VAbudgetVolumeIImedicalProgramsAndInformationTechnology.pd
f.
85 https://www.research.va.gov/about/default.cfm.
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 Health Services R&D conducts studies to identify and promote effective and
efficient strategies to improve the quality and accessibility of the VA health
system and patient outcomes, and to minimize health care costs.
 Rehabilitation R&D develops novel approaches to improving the quality of life
of impaired and disabled veterans suffering from traumatic amputation, central
nervous system injuries, loss of sight or hearing, or other physical and cognitive
impairments.
In addition to intramural support, VA researchers are eligible to obtain funding for their research
from extramural sources, including other federal agencies, private foundations and health
organizations, and commercial entities. However, unlike federal agencies such as the National
Institutes of Health or the Department of Defense, VA does not have the authority to support
extramural R&D by providing research grants to colleges, universities, or other non-VA entities.
Table 13 summarizes R&D program funding for VA in the Medical and Prosthetic Research and
the Medical Care Support accounts. Table 14 details amounts to be spent in Designated Research
Areas (DRAs) which VA describes as “areas of particular importance to our veteran patient
population.”86 Funding for research projects that span multiple areas may be included in several
DRAs; thus, the amounts in Table 14 total to more than the appropriation or request for the VA
Medical and Prosthetic Research account.
Table 13. Department of Veterans Affairs R&D
(budget authority, in millions of dollars)
FY2017
FY2018
FY2018
FY2018
FY2018

Enacted
Request
House
Senate
Enacted
Medical and Prosthetic Research
673.4
640.0



Medical Care Support
572.4
544.0



Veterans Affairs, Totala
$1,245.7
$1,184.0



Source: Department of Veterans Affairs, Volume II: Medical Programs and Information Technology Programs,
Congressional Submission, FY 2018 Funding and FY 2019 Advance Appropriations
, p. VHA-422,
https://www.va.gov/budget/docs/summary/fy2018VAbudgetVolumeIImedicalProgramsAndInformationTechnology.
pdf.
Notes: Figures for the columns headed “FY2018 House,” “FY2018 Senate” and “FY2018 Enacted” will be added,
if available, as Congress completes each action.
a. VA researchers also receive grants from other federal and non-federal resources including, the National
Institutes of Health, the Department of Defense, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
According to VA, these resources are estimated at $595 million in FY2017 and $570 million in FY2018
increasing the total amount of R&D performed at VA to $1.84 billion in FY2017 and $1.75 billion in FY2018.

86 Department of Veterans Affairs, Volume II: Medical Programs and Information Technology Programs,
Congressional Submission, FY 2018 Funding and FY 2019 Advance Appropriations
, p. VHA-454,
https://www.va.gov/budget/docs/summary/fy2018VAbudgetVolumeIImedicalProgramsAndInformationTechnology.pd
f.
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Table 14. Department of Veterans Affairs Amounts by Designated Research Areas
(in millions of dollars)
FY2017
FY2018
Designated Research Area
Estimate
Request
Acute and Traumatic Injury
25.3
25.1
Aging
150.3
148.7
Autoimmune, Allergic, and Hematopoietic Disorders
28.4
28.0
Cancer
59.5
59.0
Central Nervous System Injury and Associated
105.4
104.3
Disorders
Degenerative Diseases of Bones and Joints
36.6
36.0
Dementia and Neuronal Degeneration
31.2
30.7
Diabetes and Major Complications
35.8
35.3
Digestive Diseases
21.2
20.8
Emerging Pathogens/Bio-Terrorism
1.0
1.0
Gulf War Veterans Illness
12.2
12.2
Health Systems
70.8
69.9
Heart Disease/Cardiovascular Health
70.5
69.9
Infectious Disease
33.8
33.4
Kidney Disorders
21.4
21.2
Lung Disorders
27.6
27.2
Mental Illness
115.8
115.8
Military Occupations and Environmental Exposures
16.2
15.6
Other Chronic Diseases
5.0
4.7
Prosthetics
15.4
15.2
Sensory Loss
17.5
17.3
Special Populations
24.4
24.1
Substance Abuse
30.1
30.1
Source: Department of Veterans Affairs, Volume II: Medical Programs and Information Technology Programs,
Congressional Submission, FY 2018 Funding and FY 2019 Advance Appropriations
, p. VHA-455,
https://www.va.gov/budget/docs/summary/fy2018VAbudgetVolumeIImedicalProgramsAndInformationTechnology.
pdf.
Notes: Projects that span multiple areas may be included in several Designated Research Areas (DRAs);
therefore, the amounts depicted in this table total to more than the FY2017 enacted amount and the FY2018
request for Medical and Prosthetic Research. Columns for “FY2018 House, ”FY2018 Senate,” and “FY2018
Enacted” are not included in this table as these figures will only be available after Congress completes the
appropriations process and VA determines how much of the appropriated funds will be allocated to each DRA.
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Department of the Interior87
The Department of the Interior (DOI) was created to protect and manage the nation’s natural
resources and cultural heritage and to provide scientific and other information about those
resources. DOI has a wide range of responsibilities including, among other things, mapping,
geological, hydrological, and biological science; migratory bird, wildlife, and endangered species
conservation; surface-mined lands protection and restoration; and historic preservation.88
The Administration is requesting $11.7 billion for DOI in FY2018.89 Of that amount, $816.4
million is requested for R&D funding, $176.0 million (17.7%) below its FY2017 enacted level of
$992.4 million.90 Of the President’s FY2018 DOI R&D funding request, 5.3% is for basic
research, 77.5% is for applied research, and 17.1% is for development. The U.S. Geological
Survey (USGS) is the only DOI component that conducts basic research.91
Funding for DOI R&D is generally included in appropriations line items that also include non-
R&D activities. How much of the funding provided in appropriations legislation is allocated to
R&D specifically is unclear unless funding is provided at the precise level of the request. In
general, R&D funding levels are known only after DOI components allocate their appropriations
to specific activities and report those figures.
U.S. Geological Survey
The USGS accounts for more than two-thirds of all DOI R&D funding. A single appropriations
account, Surveys, Investigations, and Research (SIR), provides all USGS funding. USGS R&D is
conducted under seven SIR activity/program areas: Ecosystems; Climate and Land Use Change;
Energy, Minerals, and Environmental Health; Natural Hazards; Water Resources; Core Science
Systems; and Science Support.
The President’s total FY2018 budget request for USGS is $922.2 million. Of this amount, $560.9
million would be for R&D, a decrease of $126.6 million (18.4%) over the FY2017 enacted level
of $687.6 million. This total includes $132.1 million for Ecosystems, down $27.6 million
(17.3%); $72.5 million for Climate and Land Use Change, down $31.3 million (30.2%); $91.5
million for Energy, Minerals, and Environmental Health, down $2.8 million (3.0%); $98.2 million
for Natural Hazards, down $19.8 million (16.8%); $94.5 million for Water Resources, down
$28.3 million (23.0%); $71.7 million for Core Science Systems, down $16.8 million (19.0%); and
$0.4 million for Science Support, down $73,000 (15.4%).92
The FY2018 budget request would eliminate funding for biological carbon sequestration research,
the Geomagnetism Program, and the Water Resources Research Act grant program. DOI states
that these are programs “more appropriately funded by USGS partners and those that have

87 This section was written by Laurie Harris, Analyst in Science and Technology Policy, CRS Resources, Science, and
Industry Division.
88 Department of the Interior, Strategic Plan for Fiscal Years 2014-2018, https://www.doi.gov/pmb/ppp/upload/DOI-
Strategic-Plan-for-FY-2014-2018-POSTED-ON-WEBSITE-4.pdf.
89 Department of the Interior, Fiscal Year 2018: The Interior Budget in Brief, May 2017, p. DH-5. DOI also proposes
transfering $124 million from the Department of Defense “for commitments to the Republic of Palau, which would
increase DOI’s total FY2018 budget request to $11.9 billion in current budget authority.”
90 Email correspondence between the DOI and CRS on July 5, 2017.
91 Email correspondence between the DOI and CRS on July 5, 2017.
92 Ibid.
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reached milestones allowing research to continue without further USGS support.”93 Funding
would be maintained for the development of the Landsat 9 satellite and includes a $22.4 million
increase to continue development of ground systems in preparation for a launch date in FY2021.94
Other DOI Components
The President’s FY2018 request also includes R&D funding for the following DOI components:95
 Bureau of Reclamation (BOR): $79.8 million in applied research and
development funding for FY2018, down $27.0 million (25.3%) from FY2017.
 Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM): $77.8 million in applied
research and development funding for FY2018, up $5.8 million (8.0%) from
FY2017.
 Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS): $15.5 million in applied research for FY2018,
down $17.0 million (52.4%) from FY2017.
 Bureau of Land Management (BLM): $24.3 million in applied research and
development for FY2018, unchanged from the FY2017 level.
 National Park Service (NPS): $25.5 million in applied research and development
for FY2018, down $1.5 million (5.4%) from FY2017.
 Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE): $24.5 million in
applied research for FY2018, down $2.2 million (8.1%) from FY2017.
 Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA): $5.0 million in applied research for FY2018,
down $4.5 million (47.4%) from FY2017.
 Wildland Fire Management (WFM): $3.0 million in applied research for
FY2018, down $3.0 million (50.0%) from FY2017.
 Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE): $5.0 million
in applied research was requested in FY2017, though no funding was enacted;
the office has not requested any R&D funding in FY2018.
Table 15 summarizes FY2017 enacted R&D funding and the President’s FY2018 R&D funding
request for DOI components.

93 Department of the Interior, Fiscal Year 2018: The Interior Budget in Brief, May 2017, p. BH-50.
94 Department of the Interior, Fiscal Year 2018: The Interior Budget in Brief, May 2017, p. BH-51.
95 Ibid.
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Table 15. Department of the Interior R&D
(budget authority in millions of dollars)
FY2017
FY2018
FY2018
FY2018
FY2018

Enacted
Request
House
Senate
Enacted
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)
687.6
560.9



Bureau of Reclamation (BOR)
106.8
79.8



Bureau of Ocean Energy
Management (BOEM)
72.0
77.8



Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS)
32.5
15.5



Bureau of Land Management
(BLM)
24.3
24.3



National Park Service (NPS)
27.0
25.5



Bureau of Safety and
Environmental Enforcement
(BSEE)
26.7
24.5



Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA)
9.5
5.0



Wildland Fire Management
(WFM)
6.0
3.0



Office of Surface Mining
Reclamation and Enforcement
(OSMRE)





Department of the Interior,
Total

992.4
816.4



Source: Email correspondence between the DOI and CRS on July 5, 2017.
Notes: Totals may differ from the sum of the components due to rounding. Figures for the columns headed
“FY2018 House,” “FY2018 Senate,” and “FY2018 Enacted” will be added, if available, as each action is completed.
Department of Transportation96
The primary purposes of the research and development activities of the Department of
Transportation (DOT) as defined by section 6019 of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation
Act (P.L. 114-94) are improving mobility of people and goods; reducing congestion; promoting
safety; improving the durability and extending the life of transportation infrastructure; preserving
the environment; and preserving the existing transportation system.
Funding for DOT R&D is generally included in appropriations line items that also include non-
R&D activities. How much of the funding provided by appropriations legislation is allocated to
R&D is unclear unless funding is provided at the precise level of the request. In general, R&D
funding levels are known only after DOT agencies allocate their final appropriations to specific
activities and report those figures.
The Administration is requesting $898.8 million for DOT R&D activities and facilities in
FY2018, a decrease of $10.5 million (1.2%) from the FY2017 enacted level. (See Table 16.)
Three DOT agencies—the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the Federal Highway

96 This section was written by (name redacted), Analyst in Science and Technology Policy, CRS Resources, Science,
and Industry Division.
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Administration (FHWA), and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)—
would account for 87% of DOT R&D under the FY2018 request.
Federal Aviation Administration
FAA’s R&D activities focus on improving the capacity and safety of the national airspace systems
and reducing environmental impacts.
The President’s FY2018 request of $361.5 million for R&D activities and facilities at FAA would
be a decrease of $25 million (6.9%) from the FY2017 level. The request includes $150 million for
the agency’s Research, Engineering, and Development (RE&D) account, a reduction of $26.5
million (17.7%) from the FY2017 level. Funding within the RE&D account seeks to improve
aircraft safety through research in fields such as fire safety, advanced materials, propulsion
systems, aircraft icing, and continued airworthiness. The FY2018 request for RE&D would also
include funds for research on the safe integration of unmanned aircraft systems and commercial
space operations into the national airspace system.
Federal Highway Administration
According to DOT, the primary goal of the R&D programs at FHWA is “to sustain a research
agenda for federal policymakers and highway stakeholders that focuses on critical knowledge
gaps, collaboration methods, and accelerated innovation to meet current and future highway
transportation needs.”97
The President’s request of $333 million for R&D activities and facilities at FHWA would be an
increase of $15.3 million (4.6%) from the FY2017 enacted level. The request includes $85
million for FHWA’s Highway Research and Development program which seeks to improve
safety, enhance the transportation infrastructure, and reduce congestion. The program supports
highway research in such areas as innovative materials, new construction techniques, durability
and resilience, and the factors that contribute to death and injury related to roadway design,
construction, and maintenance. The request also includes $79 million for research to facilitate the
development of a connected, integrated, and automated transportation system under the agency’s
Intelligent Transportation Systems program.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
The President is requesting $85.6 million in R&D and R&D facilities funding in FY2018 for
NHTSA, $4.5 million (5.2%) below the FY2017 enacted level. NHTSA R&D focuses on
automation, advanced vehicle safety technology, ways of improving vehicle crashworthiness and
crash avoidance, reducing unsafe driving behaviors, and alternative fuels vehicle safety.
Other DOT Components
R&D activities are also supported by several other DOT components or agencies. (See Table 16.)
The President’s FY2018 request includes DOT R&D and R&D facilities funding for

97 U.S. Department of Transportation, Research, Development, and Technology Strategic Plan FY2017-2021, January
2017, p. 23, https://www.transportation.gov/administrations/assistant-secretary-research-and-technology/dot-five-year-
rdt-strategic-plan.
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 the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), totaling $43.6 million, $900,000
(2%) below the FY2017 enacted level of $44.5 million;
 the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), totaling $28 million, the same amount
as the FY2017 enacted level;
 the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), totaling
$21.4 million, slightly below the FY2017 enacted level of $21.5 million;
 the Office of the Secretary (OST), totaling $16.6 million, $4.6 million (27.5%)
above the FY2017 enacted level of $12 million; and
 the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), totaling $9.1 million,
the same amount as the FY2017 enacted level.
Table 16. Department of Transportation R&D Activities and Facilities
(budget authority, in millions of dollars)
FY2017
FY2018
FY2018
FY2018
FY2018

Enacted
Request
House
Senate
Enacted
Federal Aviation Administration
386.5
361.5



Research, Engineering, and Development
176.5
150.0



Federal Highway Administration
321.4
333.0



Highway Research and Development
78.9
85.0



Intelligent Transportation Systems
73.3
79.0



National Highway Traffic Safety
90.0
85.6



Administration
Federal Railroad Administration
44.5
43.6



Federal Transit Administration
28.0
28.0



Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety
21.5
21.4



Administration
Office of the Secretary
12.0
16.6



Federal Motor Carrier Safety
9.1
9.1



Administration
DOT, R&D Total
$909.3
$898.8



Sources: U.S. Department of Transportation, Fiscal Year 2018 Budget Estimates,
https://www.transportation.gov/mission/budget/fy-2018-budget-estimates; email communication between CRS
and Department of Transportation, June 20, 2017.
Notes: Amounts include R&D and R&D facilities. Components may not add to total due to rounding. Lines in
italics are components of the agency lines above them and are not counted separately in the total. Figures for the
columns headed “FY2018 House,” “FY2018 Senate” and “FY2018 Enacted” will be added, if available, as
Congress completes each action.
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Department of Homeland Security98
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has identified five core missions: to prevent
terrorism and enhance security, to secure and manage the borders, to enforce and administer
immigration laws, to safeguard and secure cyberspace, and to ensure resilience to disasters. New
technology resulting from research and development can contribute to achieving all these goals.
The Directorate of Science and Technology (S&T) has primary responsibility for establishing,
administering, and coordinating DHS R&D activities. The Domestic Nuclear Detection Office
(DNDO) is responsible for R&D relating to nuclear and radiological threats. Other components,
such as the U.S. Coast Guard and the Transportation Security Administration, conduct R&D
relating to their specific missions.
The President’s FY2018 budget request for DHS includes $570 million for activities identified as
R&D. This would be a reduction of 16.0% from $678 million in FY2017. The total includes $373
million for the S&T Directorate, $144 million for DNDO, and smaller amounts for five other
DHS components. See Table 17.
Directorate of Science and Technology (S&T)
The S&T Directorate is the primary DHS R&D organization. Led by a Senate-confirmed Under
Secretary for Science and Technology, it performs R&D in several laboratories of its own and
funds R&D performed by the Department of Energy national laboratories, industry, universities,
and others. It also conducts testing and other technology-related activities in support of
acquisitions by other DHS components.
The Administration’s FY2018 request of $373 million for the S&T Directorate R&D account is a
decrease of 20.8% from $471 million in FY2017. All six thrust areas within Research,
Development, and Innovation would decrease, by amounts ranging from 8.6% (Chemical,
Biological, and Explosive Defense) to 32.9% (Apex program). Funding for University Programs,
which primarily funds the S&T Directorate’s university centers of excellence, would decrease by
26.6%.
Domestic Nuclear Detection Office (DNDO)
DNDO is the DHS organization responsible for nuclear detection research, development, testing,
evaluation, acquisition, and operational support. It is led by a presidentially appointed Director. In
addition to its responsibilities within DHS, it is charged with coordinating federal nuclear
forensics programs and the U.S. portion of the global nuclear detection architecture. The Obama
Administration’s FY2017 budget proposed to incorporate DNDO and certain other activities into
a new Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Explosives (CBRNE) Office. The
FY2018 budget does not repeat this proposal.
The Administration’s FY2018 request for DNDO includes $144 million for the R&D account, a
decrease of 7.0% from $155 million in FY2017.

98 This section was written by (name redacted), Specialist in Science and Technology Policy, CRS Resources, Science,
and Industry Division.
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Table 17. Department of Homeland Security R&D Accounts
(budget authority, in millions of dollars)
FY2017
FY2018
FY2018
FY2018
FY2018

Enacted
Request
House
Senate
Enacted
Science and Technology Directorate
$471
$373



Research, Development, and Innovation
430
343



Apex
79a
53



Border Security
57a
48



Chemical, Biological, and Explosive Defense
58a
53



Counter Terrorist
100a
81



Cyber Security/Information Analytics
66a
46



First Responder/Disaster Resilience
73a
61



University Programs
41
30



Domestic Nuclear Detection Office
155
144



Architecture Planning and Analysis
15
16



Transformational R&D
62
61



Detection Capability Development
20
15



Detection Capability Assessments
39
34



Nuclear Forensics
19
18



Transportation Security Administration
5
20



U.S. Coast Guard
36
19



National Protection and Programs Directorate
6
11



Office of the Under Secretary for Management
3
3



U.S. Secret Service
3
<1



Total
678
570



Sources: P.L. 115-31 and explanatory statement, Congressional Record, May 3, 2017; and FY2018 DHS
congressional budget justification.
Notes: Table includes accounts titled “Research and Development” in each DHS component (“Research,
Development, Test, and Evaluation” in the case of the U.S. Coast Guard). Some other accounts may also fund
R&D-related activities. Some totals may not add because of rounding. Figures for the columns headed “FY2018
House,” “FY2018 Senate” and “FY2018 Enacted” will be added, if available, as Congress completes each action.
a. FY2017 amounts for thrust areas within Research, Development, and Innovation are not specified in P.L.
115-31 or the explanatory statement. The “FY2017 Enacted” column for these amounts is based on DHS
plans under the FY2017 continuing resolution, as shown in the FY2018 budget justification.




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Federal Research and Development Funding: FY2018

Environmental Protection Agency99
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the federal regulatory agency responsible for
administering a number of environmental pollution control laws, funds a broad range of R&D
activities to provide scientific tools and knowledge that support decisions relating to preventing,
regulating, and abating environmental pollution. Since FY2006, Congress has funded EPA
through the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies appropriations act.
Appropriations for EPA R&D are generally included in line-items that also include non-R&D
activities. Annual appropriations bills and the accompanying committee reports do not identify
precisely how much funding provided in appropriations bills is allocated to EPA R&D alone. EPA
determines its R&D funding levels in operation through allocating its appropriations to specific
activities and reporting those amounts. The agency’s Science and Technology (S&T) account
funds much of EPA’s scientific research activities. These activities include R&D conducted by the
agency at its own laboratories and facilities, and R&D and other related scientific research
conducted by universities, foundations, and other non-federal entities that receive EPA grants.
The S&T account receives a base appropriation and a transfer from the Hazardous Substance
Superfund (Superfund) account.100 The transferred funds are authorized for research on more
effective methods to clean up contaminated sites.
The EPA’s Office of Research and Development (ORD) is the primary manager of R&D at EPA
headquarters and laboratories around the country, as well as external R&D. A large portion of the
S&T account funds EPA R&D activities managed by ORD, including the agency’s research
laboratories and research grants. Many of the programs implemented by other offices within EPA
have a research component, but the research component is not necessarily the primary focus of
the program.
The President’s budget request proposes reductions and eliminations of funding for FY2018
across a number of EPA programs and activities. The President’s FY2018 request includes a total
of $5.66 billion for EPA, $2.40 billion (29.8%) less than the FY2017 enacted appropriations
(including rescissions) of $8.06 billion. The reductions proposed in the FY2018 request are
distributed across EPA operational functions and activities as well as grants for states, tribes and
local governments. The FY2018 request proposes to reduce funding below FY2017 enacted
levels for all nine EPA appropriations accounts, including the S&T account, although funding for
some program areas within the accounts would increase or remain constant.101 Some Members
expressed particular concerns regarding proposed reductions and eliminations of funding for EPA
scientific research programs during the House Committee on Appropriations hearing regarding
the agency’s FY2018 budget request.102

99 This section was written by (name redacted), Specialist in E nvironmental Policy, CRS Resources, Science, and
Industry Division.
100 The EPA S&T account incorporates elements of the former EPA Research and Development account, as well as
portions of the former Salaries and Expenses and Program Operations accounts, which were in place until FY1996.
Since 1996, EPA’s annual appropriations have been requested, considered, and enacted according to eight statutory
appropriations accounts established by Congress. A ninth account, Hazardous Waste Electronic Manifest System Fund,
was added during the FY2014 budget process. Because of the differences in the scope of the activities included in these
accounts, comparisons before and after FY1996 are not readily available.
101 For an overview of the President’s FY2018 budget request for EPA see CRS In Focus IF10665, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA): FY2018 President’s Budget Request
, by (name redacted) and (name redacted)
.
102 House Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies, FY 2018
Budget Hearing: Environmental Protection Agency
, June 15, 2017, https://appropriations.house.gov/calendar/
(continued...)
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The President’s FY2018 budget requests $463.2 million for EPA’s S&T account, including
transfers from the Superfund account ($12.4 million).103 The FY2018 total request for the S&T
account including transfers represents 8.0% of the $5.66 billion FY2018 request for EPA overall.
The total request for the S&T account is $258.8 million (35.8%) less than the $722.0 million
appropriated for FY2017 (P.L. 115-31; including the Superfund transfer and an account
rescission).104
The FY2018 requested total base amount (prior to transfers) for the S&T account is $450.8
million, $255.7 million (36.2%) less than the FY2017 enacted base level of $706.5 million
(including the FY2017 account rescission). The FY2018 requested transfer of $12.4 million from
the Superfund account is less than the $15.5 million transferred in FY2017.
Table 18 at the end of this section includes the President’s FY2018 request for program areas and
activities within EPA’s S&T account as presented in EPA’s FY2018 Congressional Budget
Justification
105 compared to the FY2017 enacted106 appropriations as reported in the FY2017
Consolidated Appropriations Explanatory Statement.107
Information is not readily available from the FY2017 enacted appropriations that allow for direct
comparisons for all S&T program areas and activities as requested for FY2018. Certain program
areas as presented in the President’s request are broken down differently than the congressional
presentations for the FY2017 enacted appropriations. While funding comparisons can be made
for most of the broader program areas, comparisons for many program activities below the
program area are not available and are denoted on the table as “NR.” Consistent with recent
House and Senate Appropriations Committee reports, the Explanatory Statement in the May 3,
2017, Congressional Record, did not specify funding for all sub-program areas and activities as
they were reported in EPA’s justification. Additionally, the FY2018 request has modified the titles
for some of the program areas relative to previous Administrations’ requests and Congressional
committee reports as noted in Table 18.
As shown in Table 18, with few exceptions the requested FY2018 base amount for the S&T
account for individual EPA program area and activity line items would be less than the FY2017
enacted appropriations. Exceptions include the requested funding of $3.7 million for Water:
Human Health Protection (Drinking Water Programs) that would be greater than the $3.5 million
FY2017 enacted level, and requested funding of $79.3 million for Operations and Administration
that would be an $11.0 million (16.1%) increase. The requested $11.0 million increase for
FY2018 would support a new activity, “Workforce Reshaping,” described in the EPA’s FY2018

(...continued)
eventsingle.aspx?EventID=394902.
103 U.S. EPA, Fiscal Year 2018 Justification of Appropriations Estimates for the Committee on Appropriations: Science
and Technology
, May 2017, pp. 3-5, 29-108, and Table pp. 1093-1094, https://www.epa.gov/planandbudget/fy-2018-
justification-appropriation-estimates-committee-appropriations.
104 Title II of Division G of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2017 (P.L. 115-31) provides $721.9 million for the
EPA S&T account for FY2017 including a $7.4 million rescission within the S&T account. See also “Explanatory
Statement” submitted by the Chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations in the Congressional Record, vol.
163, no. 76-Book II (May 3, 2017), p. H3883, https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CREC-2017-05-03/pdf/CREC-2017-05-
03-bk2.pdf.
105 See footnote 103.
106 Note that the FY2018 President’s budget request was prepared prior to the enactment of P.L. 115-31; thus, funding
comparisons in the request and supporting documents are based on estimated FY2017 “annualized” levels associated
with the continuing resolutions in effect at the time. These annualized estimates are not presented in this CRS report.
107 See footnote 104.
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Congressional Justification108 as agency-wide organizational restructuring, “reprioritization of
agency activities” and reallocation of resources. According to the EPA justification, the funding
for this program area would include support for: voluntary early-out retirement authority,
voluntary separation incentive pay, and costs for relocation of staff associated with realignment
of work assignments.
For those program areas presented in Table 18 for which requested FY2018 funding would be
reduced but not eliminated, the proposed $80.1 million (59.7%) reduction in funding for
“Research: Sustainable Communities” for FY2018 represents the largest dollar amount
decrease109 ($54.2 million requested compared to the FY2017 enacted amount of $134.3 million).
As indicated in the EPA FY2018 budget justification,110 the reductions for this program area are
primarily associated with the proposed elimination of funding for the Science to Achieve Results
(STAR) program111 and the streamlining of research activities related to: Ecotox database; EPA’s
Report on the Environment (ROE); EnviroAtlas; life cycle of materials in commerce; People,
Prosperity and the Planet (P3) program; the Health Impact Assessment (HIA) approach for
assessing the impact of major planned infrastructure development (e.g. highway construction);
research into the mechanisms of chemical exposures and effects on human health outcomes and
well-being, especially research into cumulative effects; research into the uptake and distribution
of contaminates (e.g., lead, arsenic) within vulnerable populations; and research into the
environmental component of children’s asthma.
The proposed $61.3 million (66.7%) decrease in the FY2018 request for the “Research: Air and
Energy112” program area (formerly labeled “Research: Air, Climate and Energy”) would be the
largest reduction in terms of percentage ($30.6 million requested compared to $91.9 million
FY2017 enacted). As noted in the EPA’s FY2018 budget justification, a significant portion of the
requested FY2018 reduction for this program area is primarily attributed to reduced funding for
air quality research, and the elimination of funding for climate change research and the STAR
program.113
With the exception of “Research: National priorities”114 the FY2018 request does not propose to
completely eliminate funding for the broader program areas presented in Table 18. However,

108 See footnote 103, pp.70-71
109 For a description of the activities included under this program area within EPA’s S&T account in EPA’s FY2018
budget justification see footnote 103, pp. 91-94.
110 See discussion under the heading FY 2018 Change from FY 2017 Annualized Continuing Resolution (Dollars in
Thousands)
within this program area in EPA’s FY2018 budget justification, footnote 103, p. 94.
111 Funding for these competitive grants and graduate fellowships has historically been allocated from enacted
appropriations within multiple program areas within the S&T account. Specific funding levels for STAR have not been
requested or appropriated recently in the annual fiscal year appropriations. For discussion of the STAR program in the
EPA FY2018 budget justification see footnote 103, pp. 83-85, 90, 94, 98, 690, and 732.
112 For a description of the activities included under this program area within EPA’s S&T account see footnote 103, pp.
82-85.
113 See discussion under the heading FY 2018 Change from FY 2017 Annualized Continuing Resolution (Dollars in
Thousands)
within this program area in EPA’s FY2018 budget justification, footnote 103, p. 85.
114 Referred to as “Congressional Priorities” in the FY2018 Budget Justification; not requesting funding for this
program is consistent with previous Administrations fiscal year budget requests, see footnote 103, pp. 107-108. For
FY2017 the $4.1 million (the same as FY2016) appropriated for these national priorities for FY2017 was for
competitively awarded extramural research grants to fund “high-priority water quality and availability research by not-
for-profit organizations; the grants were to be independent of the STAR grant program and subject to a 25% matching
funds requirement as specified in the Explanatory Statement for the FY2017 Consolidated Appropriations, see footnote
104.
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eliminations ($0.0) are proposed for a number of line-items below the program areas as indicated
in the table. Dependent on the specific activities, comparisons of the FY2018 proposed
eliminations included in the request with FY2017 enacted appropriations below the program area
are not generally readily available as funding for these sub-program activities were not reported
in the Explanatory Statement for the FY2017 enacted appropriations.
Table 18. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Science and Technology (S&T)
Account
(budget authority, in millions of dollars)
FY2017
FY2018
FY2018
FY2018
FY2018
S&T Program Areas/Activities
Enacted
Request
House
Senate
Enacted






Clean Air [and Climate]a
116.5
85.7



Clean Air Allowance Trading Program
NR
5.7



GHG (greenhouse gas) Reporting Program
8.0
0.0



[Climate Protection Program]a
Federal Support for Air Quality Management
NR
4.0



Federal Vehicle and Fuel Standards and
Certification

NR
76.0



Enforcement
13.7
10.4



Homeland Security
33.1
23.1



Critical Infrastructure
NR
0.0



Preparedness, Response, & Recovery
NR
22.6



Protection of EPA Personnel & Infrastructure
NR
0.5



Indoor Air and Radiation
6.0
3.3



Indoor Air: Radon Program
NR
0.0



Radiation: Protection
NR
0.0



Radiation: Response Preparedness
NR
3.3



Reduce Risks from Indoor Air
NR
0.0



Information Technology/Data
Management/Security
3.1
2.7



Operations and Administration
68.3
79.3



Facilities Infrastructure and Operations
NR
68.3



Workforce Reshapingb
NR
11.0



Pesticide Licensing
6.0
5.0



Research: Air [Climate] and Energya
91.9
30.6



Research: Chemical Safety and Sustainability
126.9
84.2



Human Health Risk Assessment
NR
22.5



Research: Computational Toxicology
21.4
17.2



Research: Endocrine Disruptor
16.3
10.1



Research: Other Activities
NR
34.4



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FY2017
FY2018
FY2018
FY2018
FY2018
S&T Program Areas/Activities
Enacted
Request
House
Senate
Enacted
Research: Safe and Sustainable Water Resources
106.3
68.5



Research: Sustainable and Healthy Communities
134.3
54.2



Water: Human Health Protection (Drinking
Water Programs)
3.5
3.7



Research: National [Congressional] Priorities
(Water Quality and Support Grants)c
4.1
0.0



Subtotal Base Appropriations
713.8
450.8



S&T Account Specific Rescission
(7.3)d
--



Total Base Appropriations
706.5
450.8



Transfer in from Hazardous Substance
Superfund Account

15.5
12.4



Total (Net Appropriations)
722.0
463.2



Source: Prepared by CRS. For FY2017 enacted appropriations see the “Explanatory Statement” submitted by
the Chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations in the Congressional Record, vol. 163, no. 76-Book II
(May 3, 2017), https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CREC-2017-05-03/pdf/CREC-2017-05-03-bk2.pdf. Under Division
G, see discussion under “Title II—Environmental Protection Agency,” p. H3883; and in the funding table, pp.
H3920-H3928. FY2018 requested amounts are as reported in EPA’s Fiscal Year 2018 Justification of Appropriations
Estimates for the Committee on Appropriations: Science and Technology
, May 2017, pp. 3-5, 87-200, and Table pp.
1093-1094, https://www.epa.gov/planandbudget/fy-2018-justification-appropriation-estimates-committee-
appropriations.
Figures for the columns headed “FY2018 House,” “FY2018 Senate” and “FY2018 Enacted” will
be added, if available, as Congress completes each action.
Notes: NR (not reported) indicates those instances where the May 3, 2017, Congressional Record, did not specify
funding amounts for these sub-program area activities.
a. Brackets [ ] denotes title language as presented in previous Administrations EPA budget justifications and
congressional reports/explanatory statements.
b. This program activity is included in multiple EPA accounts in the FY2018 budget request and has not been
included in previous EPA budget justifications.
c. Referred to as “Congressional Priorities” in the FY2018 and previous Administrations budget justifications.
d. P.L. 115-31 stipulated that the rescission of unobligated balances of prior fiscal years appropriations within
the S&T account was to be applied to program project areas to “...reflect changes to funding projections
due to routine attrition...” during FY2017. In the Explanatory Statement, the House Committee on
Appropriations noted that EPA’s current workforce was below FY2016 levels and therefore included
separate rescissions within the S&T and the Environmental Programs and Management (EPM) accounts to
“...capture expected savings” as a result of the changes. It was further stipulated that this rescission is not to
be applied to “Research: National Priorities” within the S&T account.
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Appendix A. Acronyms and Abbreviations
Glossary
ACF
Administration for Children and Families

AFRI
Agriculture and Food Research Initiative
AHRQ
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
AMP
Advanced Manufacturing Partnership – or – Accelerating Medicines Partnership
AOAM
Agency Operations and Award Management
ARPA-E
Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy
ARS
Agricultural Research Service
ASCR
Advanced Scientific Computing Research
B&F
Buildings and Facilities
BER
Biological and Environmental Research
BES
Basic Energy Sciences
BIA
Bureau of Indian Affairs
BLM
Bureau of Land Management
BOEM
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
BRAIN
Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies
BSEE
Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement
CBRNE
Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Explosives
CDC
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
CEBAF
Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility
CEMMSS
Cyber-enabled Materials, Manufacturing, and Smart Systems
CLARREO
Climate Absolute Radiance and Refractivity Observatory
CMS
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
CRF
Construction of Research Facilities
DARPA
Defense Advanced Projects Research Agency
DHP
Defense Health Program
DHS
Department of Homeland Security
DNDO
Domestic Nuclear Detection Office
DOC
Department of Commerce
DOD
Department of Defense
DOE
Department of Energy
DOI
Department of the Interior
DOT
Department of Transportation
DSCOVR
Deep Space Climate Observatory
EHR
Education and Human Resources
EPA
Environmental Protection Agency
EPM
Environmental Programs and Management
EPSCoR
Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research –or–
Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research
ERS
Economic Research Service
FAA
Federal Aviation Administration
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Federal Research and Development Funding: FY2018

FDA
Food and Drug Administration
FHWA
Federal Highway Administration
FIC
Fogarty International Center
FMCSA
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
FRA
Federal Railroad Administration
FTA
Federal Transit Administration
FWS
Fish and Wildlife Service
GDP
Gross Domestic Product
GRF
Graduate Research Fellowship
GWOT
Global War on Terror
HBCU
Historically Black Colleges and Universities
HHS
Department of Health and Human Services
HRSA
Health Resources and Services Administration
HIA
Health Impact Assessment
ICs
Institutes and Centers
I-Corps
Innovation Corps
IFF
Iraqi Freedom Fund
INCLUDES
Inclusion across the Nation of Communities of Learners of Underrepresented Discoverers
in Engineering and Science
ISS
International Space Station
ITER
International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor
ITS
Industrial Technology Services
JIDF
Joint Improvised-Threat Defeat Fund
JIDO
The Joint Improvised-Threat Defeat Organization
LBNF/DUNE
Long Baseline Neutrino Facility/Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment
LHHS
Labor, HHS, and Education appropriations act
MEP
Manufacturing Extension Partnership
MGI
Materials Genome Initiative
MPS
Mathematical and Physical Sciences
MREFC
Major Research Equipment and Facilities Construction
Mu2E
Muon to Electron Conversion Experiment
NASA
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
NASS
National Agricultural Statistics Service
NCATS
National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences
NCCIH
National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health
NCI
National Cancer Institute
NEI
National Eye Institute
NEON
National Ecological Observatory Network
NESDIS
National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service
NHGRI
National Human Genome Research Institute
NHLBI
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
NHTSA
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
NIA
National Institute on Aging
NIAAA
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
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Federal Research and Development Funding: FY2018

NIAID
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
NIAMS
National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases
NIBIB
National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering
NICHD
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
NIDA
National Institute on Drug Abuse
NIDCD
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders
NIDCR
National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research
NIDDK
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
NIEHS
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
NIFA
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
NIGMS
National Institute of General Medical Sciences
NIH
National Institutes of Health
NIMH
National Institute of Mental Health
NIMHD
National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities
NINDS
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
NINR
National Institute of Nursing Research
NIRSQ
National Institute for Research on Safety and Quality
NIST
National Institute of Standards and Technology
NITRD
Networking and Information Technology Research and Development
NLM
National Library of Medicine
NMFS
National Marine Fisheries Service
NMI
Network for Manufacturing Innovation
NNI
National Nanotechnology Initiative
NNMI
National Network for Manufacturing Innovation
NOAA
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
NOS
National Ocean Service
NPS
National Park Service
NRI
National Robotics Initiative
NRT
NSF Research Traineeships
NSB
National Science Board
NSET
Nanoscale Science, Engineering, and Technology (NSTC Subcommittee)
NSF
National Science Foundation
NSTC
National Science and Technology Council
NWS
National Weather Service
OAR
Oceanic and Atmospheric Research
OCO
Overseas Contingency Operations
OD
NIH Office of the Director
OIG
Office of the Inspector General
OMAO
Office of Marine and Aviation Operations
OMB
Office of Management and Budget
ONC
Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology
ORD
Office of Research and Development
OSMRE
Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement
OST
Office of the Secretary of Transportation
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Federal Research and Development Funding: FY2018

OSTP
Office of Science and Technology Policy
PE
Program Element
PHMSA
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
PHS
Public Health Service
PMI
Precision Medicine Initiative
P3
People, Prosperity and the Planet
R&D
Research and Development
RAMI Act
Revitalize American Manufacturing and Innovation Act of 2014
RBI
Radiation Budget Instrument
RCDC
Research, Condition, and Disease Categories
RCRV
Regional Class Research Vessels
RDT&E
Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation
RE&D
Research, Engineering, and Development
REE
Research, Education, and Economics
RHIC
Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider
ROE
Report on the Environment
RPG
Research Project Grant
RRA
Research and Related Activities
S&T
Science and Technology
SaTC
Secure and Trustworthy Cyberspace
SCAP
Single Cell Analysis Program
SEES
Science, Engineering, and Education for Sustainability
SIR
Surveys, Investigations, and Research
SLS
Space Launch System
SSW
Safe and Sustainable Water
STAG
State and Tribal Assistance Grants
STAR
Science to Achieve Results
STEM
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics
STEP
Supercritical Transformational Electric Power
STRS
Scientific and Technical Research and Services
USARC
U.S. Arctic Research Commission
USDA
Department of Agriculture
USGCRP
U.S. Global Change Research Program
USGS
U.S. Geological Survey
USPSTF
U.S. Preventive Services Task Force
UtB
Understanding the Brain
VA
Department of Veterans Affairs

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Federal Research and Development Funding: FY2018

Appendix B. CRS Contacts for Agency R&D
The following list provides contact information for the primary CRS expert on R&D funding for
the agencies covered in this report:
Agency
CRS Contact
Department of Agriculture
(name redacted)

Specialist in Agricultural Policy
[redacted]@crs.loc.gov,
- 7
....
Department of Commerce

National Institute of Standards and Technology
(name redacted), Coordinator
Specialist in Science and Technology Policy
[redacted]@crs.loc.gov, -7
....
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(name redacted)
Analyst in Natural Resources Policy
[redacted]@crs.loc.gov-, 7
....
Department of Defense
(name redacted), Coordinator
Specialist in Science and Technology Policy
[redacted]@crs.loc.gov, -7
....
Department of Energy
(name redacted)

Specialist in Science and Technology Policy
[redacted]@crs.loc.gov, 7
-....
Department of Health and Human Services
(name redacted)
National Institutes of Health
Specialist in Biomedical Policy
[redacted]@crs.loc.gov, 7-....
Department of Homeland Security
(name redacted)

Specialist in Science and Technology Policy
[redacted]@crs.loc.gov, 7
-....
Department of the Interior
(name redacted)
Analyst in Science and Technology Policy
[redacted]@crs.loc.gov
- , 7
....
Department of Transportation
(name redacted)

Analyst in Science and Technology Policy
[redacted]@crs.loc.gov
- , 7
....
Department of Veterans Affairs
(name redacted)

Analyst in Science and Technology Policy
[redacted]@crs.loc.gov
- , 7
....
Environmental Protection Agency
(name redacted)
Specialist in Environmental Policy
[redacted]@crs.loc.gov, 7-....
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
(name redacted)

Specialist in Science and Technology Policy
[redacted]@crs.loc.gov, 7
-....
National Science Foundation
(name redacted)
Analyst in Science and Technology Policy
[redacted]@crs.loc.gov
- , 7
....


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Federal Research and Development Funding: FY2018

Author Contact Information

(name redacted), Coordinator

(name redacted)
Specialist in Science and Technology Policy
Specialist in Biomedical Policy
[redacted]@crs.loc.gov
, 7-....

[redacted]@crs.loc.gov, 7-....

(name redacted)
(name redacted)

Specialist in Environmental Policy
Specialist in Agricultural Policy
[redacted]@crs.loc.gov, 7-....

[redacted]@crs.loc.gov
, 7-....

(name redacted)
(name redacted)
Analyst in Science and Technology Policy
Specialist in Science and Technology Policy
[redacted]@crs.loc.gov
, 7-....

[redacted]@crs.loc.gov
, 7-....

(name redacted)
(name redacted)
Analyst in Science and Technology Policy
Analyst in Natural Resources Policy
[redacted]@crs.loc.gov
, 7-....

[redacted]@crs.loc.gov
, 7-. ...

Congressional Research Service
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