Federal Research and Development (R&D) Funding: FY2019

Contents

• Introduction
• The President's FY2019 Budget Request
• Federal R&D Funding Perspectives
• Federal R&D by Agency
• Federal R&D by Character of Work, Facilities, and Equipment
• Federal Role in U.S. R&D by Character of Work
• Federal R&D by Agency and Character of Work Combined
• Multiagency R&D Initiatives
• Networking and Information Technology Research and Development Program (NITRD)
• U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP)
• National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI)
• Other Initiatives
• FY2019 Appropriations Status
• Department of Defense
• Department of Health and Human Services
• National Institutes of Health
• Department of Energy
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration
• National Science Foundation
• Department of Agriculture
• Agricultural Research Service
• National Institute of Food and Agriculture
• National Agricultural Statistics Service
• Economic Research Service
• Department of Commerce
• National Institute of Standards and Technology
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
• Department of the Interior
• U.S. Geological Survey
• Other DOI Components
• Department of Veterans Affairs
• Department of Transportation
• Federal Aviation Administration
• Federal Highway Administration
• National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
• Other DOT Components
• Department of Homeland Security
• Environmental Protection Agency

Summary

President Trump's budget request for FY2019 includes approximately $131.0 billion for research and development (R&D), of which $118.056 billion is included in the President's budget and an estimated additional $12.9 billion in nondefense discretionary R&D is requested as part of an addendum to the President's budget. The additional funding requested in the addendum followed enactment of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (P.L. 115-123), which raised defense and nondefense discretionary spending caps for FY2018 and FY2019. The budget documents released by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) did not specify how the additional funding was to be allocated by agency, but agencies appear to have included this proposed funding in their budget justifications, and this funding is included in the agency analyses in this report.

Final FY2018 funding had not been enacted at the time the President's FY2019 budget was prepared; therefore, the budget included the FY2017 actual funding levels, 2018 annualized continuing resolution (CR) levels, and the FY2019 request levels. Subsequent to the release of the President's budget, Congress enacted the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018 (P.L. 115-141), appropriating full-year funding for FY2018, rendering the CR levels identified in the budget no longer relevant. Therefore, this report compares the President's request for FY2019 to the FY2017 level. Total federal FY2018 R&D funding amounts will not be known until agencies report that information to OMB. As agencies publish their FY2018 R&D levels, the agency sections of this report will be updated to reflect that information and to make comparisons to the President's FY2019 request. This report will also be updated to reflect House and Senate appropriations actions on the President's FY2019 request.

In FY2018, OMB adopted a change to the definition of development, applying a more narrow treatment it describes as "experimental development." This approach was intended to better harmonize the reporting of U.S. R&D funding data with the approach used by other nations. The new definition is used in this report. Under the new definition of R&D (applied to both FY2017 and FY2019 figures), and including the estimated $12.9 billion included in the budget addendum, President Trump is requesting approximately $131.0 billion for R&D for FY2019, an increase of $5.7 billion (4.5%) above the FY2017 level. OMB notes that under the previous definition, total federal R&D would be $38.7 billion higher, or approximately $170 billion. Adjusted for inflation, the President's FY2019 R&D request represents a constant-dollar increase of 1.2% above the FY2017 actual level.

Funding for R&D is largely concentrated among a few departments and agencies. In FY2017, eight federal agencies received 96.3% of total federal R&D funding, with the Department of Defense (39.3%) and the Department of Health and Human Services (27.3%) combined accounting for more than two-thirds of all federal R&D funding.

President's Trump's FY2019 budget is largely silent on funding levels for a number of multiagency R&D initiatives. However, some activities supporting these initiatives are discussed in agency budget justifications and are reported in the agency analyses in this report.

The request represents the President's R&D priorities; Congress may opt to agree with none, part, or all of the request, and it may express different priorities through the appropriations process.

In recent years, Congress has completed the annual appropriations process after the start of the fiscal year. 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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Federal Research and Development (R&D) Funding: FY2019

Introduction

The 115^th 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. In recent years, widespread concerns about the federal debt, recent and projected federal budget deficits, and federal budget caps have driven 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. While these factors continue to exist, increases in the budget caps for FY2018 and FY2019 may reduce some of the pressure affecting these decisions.

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 these agencies. There is no single, centralized source of R&D funds. Agency R&D budgets are developed internally as part of each agency's overall budget development process. R&D funding may be included either in accounts that are entirely devoted to R&D or in accounts that include funding for non-R&D activities. Agency 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 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 FY2019 appropriations process, it faces two overarching issues: the amount of the federal budget to be spent on federal R&D and the prioritization and allocation of the available funding.

This report begins with a discussion of the overall level of President Trump's FY2019 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 remainder of the report then provides discussion and analysis of the R&D budget requests of selected federal departments and agencies that, collectively, account for approximately 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.

The President's FY2019 Budget Request

On February 12, 2018, President Trump released his proposed FY2019 budget. In addition, on the same day, OMB issued an addendum that includes a request for an additional $12.9 billion in nondiscretionary R&D funding.³ According to OMB, the request for these additional funds was made possible by changes to spending caps in the Budget Control Act (BCA; P.L. 112-25) that were enacted on February 9, 2018, in the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (P.L. 115-123).

In FY2018, the Trump Administration began using a new definition for development in its R&D calculations ("experimental development"). The new definition excludes some development activities, primarily at the Department of Defense (DOD) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), that had been characterized as development in previous budgets. The new definition (experimental development) is used throughout this report for FY2017 and FY2019, except in the section "Department of Defense." According to OMB, the funds no longer included in the definition of development are, nevertheless, "requested in the FY 2019 budget request and support the development efforts to upgrade systems that have been fielded or have received approval for full rate production and anticipate production funding in the current or subsequent fiscal year."⁴ (See box below entitled "Caveats with Respect to Analysis of the FY2019 Budget Request" for additional information.)

Subsequent to the release of the President's budget, Congress enacted the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018 (P.L. 115-141), appropriating full-year funding for FY2018, rendering the CR levels identified in the budget no longer relevant. Therefore, this report compares the President's request for FY2019 to the FY2017 level.

Under the new definition of R&D, and including the $12.9 billion proposed in the addendum, President Trump is proposing approximately $131.0 billion for R&D for FY2019, an increase of $5.7 billion above the FY2017 level (4.5%). Adjusted for inflation, the President's FY2019 R&D request represents a constant-dollar increase of 0.4% from the FY2017 actual level.⁵

The President's R&D request includes continued funding for existing single-agency and multiagency programs and activities, as well as new initiatives. This report provides government-wide, multiagency, and individual agency analyses of the President's FY2019 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.

Federal R&D Funding Perspectives

Federal R&D funding can be analyzed from a variety of perspectives that provide different insights. The following sections examine the data by agency, by the character of the work supported, and by a combination of these two perspectives.

Federal R&D by Agency

Congress makes decisions about R&D funding through the authorization and appropriations processes primarily from the perspective of individual agencies and programs. Table 1 provides data on R&D funding by agency for FY2017 (actual) and FY2019 (request).⁶ Funding data for FY2018 were not included in the Trump Administration's FY2019 budget because the FY2018 budget had not been completed at the time the FY2019 budget request was released.

Under President Trump's FY2019 budget request, eight federal agencies would receive more than 96% of total federal R&D funding: the Department of Defense, 48.4%; Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), primarily the National Institutes of Health (NIH), 20.9%; Department of Energy (DOE), 10.7%; National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 9.0%; National Science Foundation (NSF), 3.5%; Department of Agriculture (USDA), 1.6%; Department of Commerce (DOC), 1.2%; and Veterans Affairs (VA), 1.1%. 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).

Excluding the $12.9 billion in R&D funding requested in the addendum, nearly every federal agency would see its R&D funding decrease under the President's FY2019 request compared to their FY2017 levels. The only agencies with increased R&D funding in FY2019 would be DOD (up $7.959 billion, 16.2%), the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute,⁷ (up $159 million, 34.3%), and the Smithsonian Institution (up $20 million, 8.0%).

The largest declines (as measured in dollars) would occur in the budgets of HHS (down $9.480 billion, 27.7%), DOE (down $2.211 billion, 14.8%), NSF (down $1.761 billion, 29.7%), USDA (down $671 million, 26.0%), and the DOC (down $433 million, 24.1%).

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 FY2019 request includes $27.341 billion for basic research, down $6.986 billion (20.4%) from FY2017; $31.648 billion for applied research, down $6.500 billion (17.0%); $56.696 billion for development, up $6.333 billion (12.6%); and $2.371 billion for facilities and equipment, down $80 million (3.3%).

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 achieving 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 44% of U.S. basic research in 2016. Business funded 27% of U.S. basic research in 2016, with state governments, universities, and other nonprofit organizations funding the remaining 29%. For U.S. applied research, business is the primary funder, accounting for an estimated 53% in 2016, while the federal government accounted for an estimated 35%. State governments, universities, and other nonprofit organizations funded the remaining 12%. Business also provides the vast majority of U.S. funding for development. Business accounted for 82% of development funding in 2016, while the federal government provided 16%. State governments, universities, and other nonprofit organizations funded the remaining 2% (see Figure 1).⁸

Figure 1. Composition of U.S. Basic Research, Applied Research, and Development by Funding Sector, 2016

Source: CRS analysis of unpublished preliminary data from the National Science Foundation, National Patterns of R&D Resources. Notes: Components may not add to total due to rounding.

Federal R&D by Agency and Character of Work Combined

Federal R&D funding can also be viewed from the combined perspective of each agency's contribution to basic research, applied research, development, and facilities and equipment. (Table 3 lists the three agencies with the most funding for each character of work classification.) 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 FY2019 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 39.0% of all federally funded applied research in the President's FY2019 budget request. DOD would be the primary federal funder of development, accounting for 87.4% of total federal development funding in the President's FY2019 budget request.⁹

Multiagency R&D Initiatives

For many years, presidential budgets have reported on multiagency R&D initiatives and have often provided details of agency funding for these initiatives. Some of these efforts have a statutory basis—for example, the Networking and Information Technology Research and Development (NITRD) program, the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI), and the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP). These programs generally produce annual budget supplements identifying objectives, activities, funding levels, and other information, usually 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 FY2019 budget is largely silent on funding levels for these efforts and whether any or all of the nonstatutory initiatives will continue. Some activities related to these initiatives are discussed in agency budget justifications and may be addressed in the agency analyses later in this report. This section provides available multiagency information on these initiatives and will be updated as additional information becomes available.

Networking and Information Technology Research and Development Program (NITRD)¹⁰

Established by the High-Performance Computing Act of 1991 (P.L. 102-194), the Networking and Information Technology Research and Development 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 FY2018, 21 agencies are NITRD members; non-member agencies also participate in NITRD activities. NITRD efforts are coordinated by the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC)¹¹ Subcommittee on Networking and Information Technology Research and Development. Additional NITRD information can be obtained at https://www.nitrd.gov. The President's FY2019 budget request for the NITRD Program has not yet been released. The President's FY2018 budget request for the NITRD Program was $4.459 billion, a decrease of $0.33 billion compared to the $4.789 billion (enacted) in FY2017. The overall decrease was due to decreases of $234.7 million at NIH, $121.3 million at NSF, and smaller increases and decreases at other agencies. FY2018 appropriated amounts are not yet available.

U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP)¹²

The U.S. Global Change Research Program 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."¹³ In FY2018, 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. The Global Change Research Act of 1990 (P.L. 101-606) requires annual reporting to Congress on federal budget and spending by agency on global change research.¹⁴ In almost each of the past 17 years, language in appropriations laws has required the President to submit a comprehensive report to the appropriations committees "describing in detail all Federal agency funding, domestic and international, for climate change programs, projects, and activities … including an accounting of funding by agency…."¹⁵ The most recent report was submitted in December 2016 for FY2017. This section will be updated when the USGCRP updates its budget information.

National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI)¹⁶

Launched in FY2001, the National Nanotechnology Initiative 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.¹⁷ In 2003, Congress enacted the 21^st Century Nanotechnology Research and Development Act (P.L. 108-153), providing a legislative foundation for some of the activities of the NNI. In FY2018, the NNI included 16 federal departments and independent agencies and commissions with budgets dedicated to nanotechnology R&D, as well as 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). In FY2017, NNI funding was an estimated $1.470 billion.¹⁸ FY2018 appropriated amounts are not yet available. The FY2019 request level for the NNI was not included in the FY2019 budget. Additional NNI information can be obtained at http://www.nano.gov. This section will be updated when the NSET subcommittee updates its published 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 or FY2019 budgets, include: the Advanced Manufacturing Partnership (AMP, including the National Robotics Initiative [NRI] and the National Network for Manufacturing Innovation [NNMI]), ¹⁹ the Cancer Moonshot, the BRAIN Initiative, the Precision Medicine Initiative (PMI), 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 later in this report.

FY2019 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 FY2019 R&D budget requests, with the largest presented first. Agency analyses compare FY2019 request levels to FY2017 actual levels.

Annual appropriations for these agencies are provided through 9 of the 12 regular appropriations bills. For each agency covered in this report, Table 7 shows the corresponding regular appropriations bill that provides primary funding for the agency, including its R&D activities.

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.

This report will be updated as Congress takes actions to complete the FY2019 appropriations process.

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.

Department of Defense²⁰

The mission of the Department of Defense is "to provide the military forces needed to deter war and to protect the security of our country."²¹ Congress supports research and development activities at DOD primarily through the department's Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation (RDT&E) funding. These funds support the development of the nation's future military hardware and software and the science and technology base upon which those products rely.

Nearly all of what DOD spends on RDT&E is appropriated in Title IV of the annual defense appropriations bill. (See Table 8.) 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, the 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 Defense-wide 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 Defense-wide 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.

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 and Trump Administration have 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 FY2019 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. In the past, these have included 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 such fund and 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.

Because final FY2018 funding was not available at the time the FY2019 budget was prepared, requested funding is compared to the FY2017 actual funding.

For FY2019, the Trump Administration is requesting $92.365 billion for DOD's Title IV RDT&E PEs (base plus OCO/GWOT), $17.547 billion (23.5%) above the enacted FY2017 level. In addition, the request includes $710.6 million in RDT&E through the Defense Health Program (DHP; down $1.391 billion, 66.2% from FY2017), $886.7 million in RDT&E through the Chemical Agents and Munitions Destruction program (up $371.1 million, 72.0% from FY2017), and $1.6 million for the Inspector General for RDT&E-related activities, down $3.0 million from FY2017 (65.3%). The FY2019 budget included no RDT&E funding via the National Defense Sealift Fund, which received $7.2 million in FY2017.

The military departments each request and receive their own RDT&E funding. So do various DOD agencies (e.g., the Missile Defense Agency and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency), through the Defense-wide account. The Director, Operational Test and Evaluation, receives a separate appropriation. RDT&E funding can also 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) constitute what is called DOD's Science and Technology (S&T) program. Budget activities 6.4 and 6.5 focus on the development of specific weapon systems or components for which an operational need has been determined and an acquisition program established. Budget activity 6.6 provides management support, including support for test and evaluation facilities. Budget activity 6.7 supports the development of system improvements in existing operational systems.²²

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 FY2019 request for Title IV S&T funding (base plus OCO/GWOT) is $13.700 billion, $305.2 million (2.3%) above the FY2017 level.

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 is among the largest sources of funds for university research in some areas of science and technology, such as electrical engineering and materials science.²³ The Trump Administration is requesting $2.269 billion for DOD basic research for FY2019. This is $71.1 million (3.2%) above than the FY2017 level.

Department of Health and Human Services

The mission of the Department of Health and Human Services is "to enhance and protect the health and well-being of all Americans ... by providing for effective health and human services and fostering advances in medicine, public health, and social services."²⁴ This section focuses on HHS research and development funded through the National Institutes of Health, an HHS agency that accounts for more than 95% of total HHS R&D funding.²⁵ 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).²⁶

National Institutes of Health²⁷

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."²⁸ 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 9, 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, MD. 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 nonfederal scientists and technical personnel who work at more than 2,500 universities, hospitals, medical schools, and other research institutions.²⁹

Funding for NIH comes primarily from the annual Labor, HHS, and Education (LHHS) appropriations act, with an additional amount for Superfund-related activities from the Interior/Environment appropriations act. Those two appropriations acts provide NIH's discretionary budget authority. In addition, NIH has received 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.

Because final FY2018 funding was not available at the time the FY2019 budget was prepared, requested funding is compared to the FY2017 actual funding.

President Trump's FY2019 budget requests an NIH program level total of $34.767 billion, an increase of $538 million (1.6%) from the FY2017 enacted level. The increase in FY2019 would be concentrated in the OD and three ICs: the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, the National Institute of Mental Health, and the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Much of this funding increase is intended to address the opioid epidemic (see Table 9).³⁰ Buildings and Facilities would also receive a 55% increase in funding for FY2019 compared to FY2017. Under President Trump's FY2019 budget request, all other ICs would receive a decrease compared to FY2017.

The FY2019 NIH budget request proposes the consolidation of other existing HHS research programs with NIH, establishing three new NIH Institutes.³¹ The creation of three new NIH Institutes would require an amendment to the Public Health Service Act, considering that a provision in the NIH Reform Act of 2006 (P.L. 109-482; PHS Act §401[d]) states that the number of NIH ICs "may not exceed a total of 27."

As in the FY2018 proposal, the Trump budget again proposes the consolidation of the AHRQ with NIH, forming a new Institute called the National Institute for Research on Safety and Quality (NIRSQ). The FY2019 budget proposal includes $380 million in budget authority for NIRSQ "to coordinate and ensure a continued focus on research to improve health care quality and patient safety."³² Of this, $256 million would be used "to continue selected unique, systemically-important activities formerly funded by AHRQ that have demonstrated effectiveness in improving healthcare quality."³³ NIRSQ would provide administrative support for the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF). In the FY2019 budget proposal, NIRSQ would provide $7 million in administrative support to USPSTF—a reduction of $4 million (-36%) below AHRQ's FY2017 level.³⁴ Additionally, the President's FY2019 budget proposal states that NIRSQ is projected to receive $124 million in mandatory resources from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Trust Fund "to disseminate findings from comparative clinical effectiveness studies and train researchers on how to conduct high-quality studies in this area of research."³⁵

Under the President's FY2019 budget proposal, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), currently housed within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, would be consolidated into the NIH. NIOSH targets "research needed to prevent the societal cost of work-related fatalities, injuries, and illnesses in the United States."³⁶ The FY2019 budget includes $200 million for this line of research, a reduction of $134 million (-40%) compared with the $334 million enacted for FY2017.³⁷ An additional $55 million in mandatory funding is also provided for the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act. Through this program NIOSH conducts activities to assist claimants and "provides compensation and medical benefits to employees who worked at certain Department of Energy facilities."³⁸ The Department of Labor manages claims filed under the act.

The National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR), currently housed under the Administration for Community Living in HHS, would also be folded into NIH under the President's FY2019 budget. The mission of NIDILRR is "to generate new knowledge and promote its effective use to improve the abilities of people with disabilities to perform activities of their choice in the community, and to expand society's capacity to provide full opportunities and accommodations for its citizens with disabilities."³⁹ Under this arrangement, NIDILRR activities are designed to complement existing NIH research addressing disabilities and aging. The President's budget would provide $95 million for NIDILRR for FY2019, a $9 million reduction (-9%) from the $104 million enacted for FY2017.⁴⁰

The main funding mechanism NIH uses to support extramural research is research project grants (RPGs), which are competitive, peer-reviewed, and largely investigator-initiated. Historically, over 50% of the NIH budget is used to support RPGs, which include salaries for investigators and research staff. The President's FY2019 budget proposal includes two initiatives designed to "stretch available grant dollars" by placing limits on salaries for investigators.⁴¹ The FY2019 budget proposes to cap the percentage of an investigator's salary that can be paid with grant funds to 90%. It also proposes to cap investigator salaries at $152,000, a 19% reduction from the current $187,000 limit.

The FY2019 program level request for NIH includes $54 million for Superfund-related health research.⁴² The FY2019 Trump budget proposes shifting the $150 million in mandatory funding for research on type 1 diabetes authorized under the PHS Act §330B to discretionary funding within the budget of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK).⁴³ The FY2019 program level request proposes $741 million in funding transferred to NIH by the PHS Program Evaluation Set-Aside, also called the evaluation tap. Discretionary funding programs at NIH and other HHS agencies that are authorized under the PHS Act are subject to an assessment under 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, annual LHHS appropriations acts have specified a higher amount (2.5% in FY2017) and have also typically directed specific amounts of funding from the tap for transfer to a number of HHS programs. The assessment 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.⁴⁴ Provisions in recent LHHS appropriations acts have directed specific tap transfers to NIH, making NIH a net recipient of tap funds.

With the exception of the mandatory type 1 diabetes funding provided in previous years, Congress has not usually specified amounts for particular diseases or research areas. Generally specific amounts are appropriated to each IC; NIH and its scientific advisory panels allocate the funding to various research areas. This allows maximum flexibility for NIH to pursue scientific opportunities that are important to public health.⁴⁵ 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 in FY2016 with Alzheimer's disease research⁴⁶ and in FY2017 with the NIH Innovation account established by the 21^st Century Cures Act (P.L. 114-255, see text box below).

The FY2019 total NIH budget request includes $711 million in resources made available through the 21^st Century Cures Act. This includes support for the Precision Medicine Initiative's All of Us Research Program established by the Cures Act in 2015. This research initiative includes a national resource of clinical, environmental, lifestyle, and genetic data from one million or more participants who will contribute health information over many years. National roll-out of this program begins in 2018 with the first stages of enrollment scheduled to begin in spring 2018.

The President's FY2019 budget identifies several research priorities for NIH in the coming year. The overview below outlines these priority themes in the budget request.

1. Tackling Complex Challenges by Leveraging Partnerships. NIH partners with other government agencies and private entities to collaborate on research. The President's budget proposal states that "public-private partnerships can create efficiencies of scale and facilitate development of innovative technologies or treatments, thereby increasing the pace of biomedical research."⁴⁷ For example, the Accelerating Medicines Partnership is a public-private partnership between NIH, FDA, and several biopharmaceutical companies and nonprofit organizations. With the goal of increasing the number of new diagnostics and therapies for patients, the Partnership aims to jointly identify promising biological targets for therapeutics.

Since 2014, the Partnership has been addressing Alzheimer's disease, type 2 diabetes, and two autoimmune disorders (rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus); a new Parkinson's disease initiative was also recently inaugurated. NIH will also enhance existing research efforts using a similar public-partnership model to address the opioid crisis. The goal of this endeavor is to develop new formulations of medications to treat opioid misuse and accelerate the development of non-addictive pain therapies. The FY2019 budget proposal would provide NIH $350 million from the new $10 billion investment requested for opioids, serious mental illness, and pain related research at NIH.⁴⁸

2. Supporting Basic Research to Drive New Understanding of Health and Disease in Living Systems. NIH is the largest funder of basic biomedical research in the United States. As mentioned previously, each year more than half of the NIH budget goes toward basic research, which provides "a critical research foundation for both the public and private sectors to build upon."⁴⁹ NIH funds a broad spectrum of basic science research. For example, addressing the opioid crisis requires understanding how pain is sensed and perceived, and how changes in neural circuits create a state of dependency. Basic research on neural pathways in the brain related to pain and substance use may provide an avenue for better treatments for pain, without the potential for addiction.

3. Investing in Translational and Clinical Research to Improve Health. NIH builds on the foundation of basic research by supporting translational and clinical research that seeks to convert this basic science knowledge into interventions. Translational research aims to "translate" findings from basic science into medical practice to produce meaningful health outcomes.⁵⁰ Likewise, clinical research, which uses human subjects, helps professionals find new and better ways to understand, detect, control, and treat illness. NIH is investing in large population studies to learn more about the similarities and differences among individuals and facilitate integrated understanding of health and disease at all levels, from the molecular to the social. For example, as previously mentioned, NIH would continue to establish a group of 1 million or more volunteers through the Precision Medicine Initiative's All of Us Research Program. This research project involves the collection of health, genetic, environmental, and other data from participants for use in research studies designed to identify novel therapeutics and prevention strategies.

In addition to the above three priorities, the President's budget also identifies the following as goals for FY2019:

• Updating the infrastructure of NIH facilities. An independent review is currently being conducted of the capital needs of the 281 facilities located on NIH's main campus, including its research hospital, laboratories, and offices.
• Fostering a diverse and talented research workforce. The FY2019 budget proposal includes $100 million in dedicated funding to the OD for the Next Generation Research Initiative to "address longstanding challenges faced by researchers trying to embark upon and sustain independent research careers."⁵¹
• Advancing data science. The FY2019 budget would continue to support the Big Data to Knowledge (BD2K) initiative established in 2012. The FY2019 budget includes $30 million for NIH to build on the progress of the BD2K as this initiative enters its final stages.
• Encouraging innovation through prize competitions. The FY2019 budget proposal would allocate $50 million for prize competitions to improve health outcomes, particularly for research for which there is potential for significant return on investment.

Department of Energy⁵²

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.

Because final FY2018 funding was not available at the time the FY2019 budget was prepared, requested funding is compared to the FY2017 actual funding.

The Administration's FY2019 budget request for DOE includes about $11.720 billion for R&D and related activities, including programs in three broad categories: science, national security, and energy. This request is 10.8% less than the enacted FY2017 amount of $13.140 billion. (See Table 10 for details.)

The request for the DOE Office of Science is $5.391 billion, almost the same as the FY2017 appropriation of $5.392 billion. Within that total, however, some of the office's six major research programs would receive substantial increases or decreases. Funding for Advanced Scientific Computing Research would increase by $252 million (39.0%), largely to support the DOE-wide Exascale Computing Initiative. Funding for Biological and Environmental Research would decrease by $112 million (18.3%), with the reductions concentrated in the Earth and Environmental Systems Sciences subprogram (down $124 million, 40.5%), as the Biological Systems Science subprogram would receive an increase (up $12 million, 3.8%). Funding for Fusion Energy Sciences would decrease by $40 million (10.5%), despite an increase to $75 million (from $50 million in FY2017) for the U.S. contribution to construction of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), a fusion energy demonstration and research facility in France.

The request for DOE national security R&D is $4.268 billion, an increase of 13.5% from $3.760 billion in FY2017. The bulk of the increase would be in the Naval Reactors program (up $368 million, 25.9%). In the Weapons Activities account (up $153 million, 8.3%) requested increases for most programs would be partially offset by a decrease of $104 million (19.9%) for Inertial Confinement Fusion. Within Inertial Confinement Fusion, more than half of the proposed decrease would be in the Ignition subprogram (down $55 million, 71.2%), and support for the Laboratory for Laser Energetics ($68 million in FY2017, $45 million in the FY2019 request) would be phased out over three years.

The request for DOE energy R&D is $2.061 billion, a decrease of 48.3% from $3.988 billion in FY2017. Funding for energy efficiency and renewable energy R&D would decrease by 61.6%, with reductions in all major research areas and a shift in emphasis toward early-stage R&D rather than later-stage development and deployment. Funding for fossil energy R&D would decrease by 24.8%, with reductions focused particularly on coal carbon capture and storage ($40 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 25.5%, 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 $60 million for fuel cycle R&D (down from $208 million in FY2017). The Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy (ARPA-E), which is intended to advance high-impact energy technologies that have too much technical and financial uncertainty to attract near-term private-sector investment, would be terminated.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration⁵³

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 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.

Because final FY2018 funding was not available at the time the FY2019 budget was prepared, requested funding is compared to the FY2017 actual funding.

The Administration is requesting about $16.474 billion for NASA R&D in FY2019. This is 1.6% less than the FY2017 level of about $16.743 billion. For a breakdown of these amounts, see Table 11. NASA R&D funding comes through five accounts: Science; Aeronautics; Exploration Research and Technology (formerly Space Technology); Deep Space Exploration Systems (formerly Exploration); and the ISS, Commercial Crew, and Commercial Low Earth Orbit (LEO) Development portions of LEO and Spaceflight Operations (formerly Space Operations).

The FY2019 request for Science is $5.895 billion, an increase of 2.3% relative to FY2017. Within this total, funding for Earth Science would decrease by $124 million (6.5%); funding for Planetary Science would increase by $407 million (22.3%); and funding for Astrophysics would decrease by $167 million (12.3%). The request for Earth Science assumes the termination of three items in the Earth Systematic Missions program: the Pre-Aerosol, Clouds, and Ocean Ecosystem (PACE) mission; the Climate Absolute Radiance and Refractivity Observatory (CLARREO) Pathfinder mission; and the NASA-provided instruments on the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) mission. These were also proposed for termination in the FY2018 budget; Congress funded them for FY2018 in legislation enacted after the release of the FY2019 budget. The proposed increase for Planetary Science includes $90 million in new funding for the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART), a mission to demonstrate the redirection of an asteroid for the purpose of planetary defense; and an increase of $199 million to fund a new Lunar Discovery and Exploration program, including public-private partnerships for research using commercial lunar landers. In Astrophysics, a proposed decrease of $265 million for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST, previously a separate budget item) is consistent with that mission's previous plans; a proposed decrease of $100 million for Exoplanet Exploration reflects the proposed cancellation of the Wide Field Infrared Space Telescope (WFIRST).

The FY2019 request for Aeronautics is $634 million, a decrease of 3.4% relative to FY2017. The request includes $88 million (up from $19 million in FY2017) for the Low Boom Flight Demonstrator, intended to demonstrate quiet supersonic flight. This increase would be offset by a decrease of $50 million for the Airspace Operations and Safety program and a $44 million decrease for the Advanced Air Vehicles program.

The FY2019 request for Exploration Research and Technology is $1.003 billion, an increase of 21.3% relative to FY2017. This account supports the Space Technology Mission Directorate, the Human Research Program, and certain activities previously in the Advanced Exploration Systems program. Funding for Technology Maturation would increase by $82 million. Funding for Technology Demonstration would increase by $70 million, but within Technology Demonstration, funding for the Restore-L mission and other in-space robotic satellite servicing activities would decrease by $85 million. Funding for the Human Research Program would be the same as in FY2017.

The FY2019 request for Deep Space Exploration Systems is $4.559 billion, an increase of 9.0% relative to FY2017. This account 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 first test flight of SLS carrying Orion but no crew (known as EM-1) is now expected no earlier than December 2019. The first flight of Orion and the SLS with a crew on board (known as EM-2) is now expected in late 2022 or early 2023. Funding for Orion, the SLS, and related ground systems (collectively known as Exploration Systems Development) would decrease by $259 million relative to FY2017. The account also funds Advanced Exploration Systems, which would increase by $791 million relative to FY2017. That increase would include $504 million in new funding for a platform in lunar orbit (known as the Gateway) to serve as a test bed for deep space human exploration capabilities.

In the LEO and Spaceflight Operations account, the request for Commercial Crew is $173 million, a decrease of 85.4% relative to FY2017; the request for the ISS is $1.462 billion, an increase of 0.8%; and the request for Commercial LEO Development, a new program, is $150 million. The reduction in Commercial Crew funding reflects the expected transition of commercial crew activities from development to operations. Boeing and SpaceX are both expected to begin postcertification crewed flights to the ISS in the first half of 2019. The Commercial LEO Development program is intended to stimulate a commercial space economy in low Earth orbit, including the commercial provision of NASA's requirements for research and technology demonstration after the proposed end of direct ISS funding in 2025.

National Science Foundation⁵⁴

The National Science Foundation 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."⁵⁵ 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.⁵⁶

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.

Because final FY2018 funding was not available at the time the FY2019 budget request was prepared, requested funding is compared to the FY2017 actual funding.

Funding for R&D is included in the RRA, EHR, and MREFC accounts. (The RRA and EHR accounts 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.⁵⁷ The budget request specifies R&D funding for the conduct of research, including basic and applied research, and for physical assets, including R&D facilities and major equipment. Funding amounts for FY2017 actual and FY2019 requested levels are reported by account, including amounts for R&D conduct and physical assets where applicable, in Table 12.

Overall. The Administration is requesting $7.47 billion for the NSF in FY2019, equal to the FY2017 enacted amount. The requested amount reflects an additional $2.20 billion provided for NSF in the Addendum to the President's FY19 Budget to Account for the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018.⁵⁸ The request would decrease budget authority in two accounts relative to the FY2017 enacted level: MREFC by $128.1 million (57.5%) and AOAM by $48.4 million (12.7%). The request would provide slight increases to the RRA (2.4%, $144.1 million), OIG (1.6%, $0.25 million), and NSB (1.2%, $0.05 million) accounts, and no change for the EHR account. Overall, NSF estimates that, under the FY2019 request, agency-wide funding rates (i.e., the percentage of submitted proposals that are successfully awarded funding) would decrease slightly from 23% to 22%, resulting in 300 fewer grants awarded, compared to FY2017.

As a proportion of NSF's total funding, R&D activities account for approximately 82%. For FY2019, $6.12 billion is requested for R&D activities, a 3% increase from FY2017 actual funding for R&D of $5.95 billion. The total request includes $5.68 billion (93%) for the conduct of R&D, and $441 million (7%) for R&D facilities and major equipment. Of funding requested for the conduct of R&D, 87% is requested for basic research, and 13% for applied research. Overall funding for R&D facilities and major equipment supports not only the construction and acquisition phases, funded through MREFC ($94.7 million requested), but also the planning, design, and post-construction operations and maintenance, funded through RRA ($346.3 million requested).

Research. The Administration seeks a $144.2 million (2.4%) increase in funding for RRA in FY2019 compared to FY2017 actual funding, for a total of $6.15 billion. Compared to the FY2017 actual levels, the FY2019 request includes decreases for 7 of the 10 RRA subaccounts. The largest percentage increase would go to Integrative Activities (27%, $116 million increase). The largest percentage decrease would go to Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences (SBE, 9.1%, $24.7 million decrease) The FY2019 request also includes $160 million for the RRA Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) program, equal to the $160 million directed in the explanatory statement for FY2017 enacted funding.

Within the RRA account, the FY2019 request includes $5.617 billion for R&D, an increase of $162.5 million (3.2%) compared to the FY2017 actual amount. Of this amount, the majority ($5.270 billion, 94%) is requested for the conduct of research, including $4.79 billion for basic research and $483 million for applied research.

Education. The FY2019 request is equal to the FY2017 actual level of $873.37 million. By program division, the Division of Human Resource Development would receive an increase of $37.7 million (25.5%) over the FY2017 actual level. The divisions of research on learning in formal and informal settings, graduate education, and undergraduate education would receive decreases of 8.8% ($203.0 million requested), 5.0% ($187.2 million requested), and 2.0% ($224.6 million requested), respectively.

EHR programs of particular interest to congressional policymakers include the Graduate Research Fellowship (GRF) and National Research Traineeship (NRT) programs. The FY2019 request for GRF is $270.7 million, a reduction of $48.8 million (15.3%) from the FY2017 actual level. The FY2019 request for NRT is $52.1 million, a $0.7 million (1.4%) decrease from FY2017.

Within EHR, requested funding for R&D is $410 million, which is nearly equal to the FY2017 actual funding amount and accounts for approximately 6.7% of the agency's total R&D request. All of the requested funding would support the conduct of R&D, including $131 million for basic research and $279 million for applied research.

Construction. The MREFC account supports large construction projects and scientific instruments, with all of the funding supporting R&D facilities. The Administration is seeking $94.6 million for MREFC in FY2019, $128.1 million (57.5%) less than the FY2017 enacted amount.

Requested MREFC funding would support three main projects, including continued construction of the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST, $48.8 million requested, 18.9% decrease from FY2017) and the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope (DKIST, $16.1 million requested, 19.4% decrease from FY2017). The request includes $28.7 million for the Regional Class Research Vessels (RCRV) program to build ships to support science in U.S. coastal waters, a decrease of $93.2 million (76.4%) from FY2017, about which NSF notes the following:

In FY 2017, P.L. 115-31 appropriated $121.88 million in funding to facilitate the planning and construction of three vessels. In the context of the President's overall fiscal goals intended to maintain spending restraint, this Budget Request supports construction of two vessels.⁵⁹

Other initiatives. The FY2019 NSF budget request includes funding for three multiagency initiatives. This funding is included in multiple NSF appropriations accounts and R&D amounts are not separately provided. The National Nanotechnology Initiative would receive $385 million, $78 million (17%) less than in FY2017. The Networking and Information Technology Research and Development program would receive $1.152 billion, a decrease of $85.7 million (6.9%). The U.S. Global Change Research Program would receive $238 million, $4.6 million (1.9%) less than in FY2017.⁶⁰

Department of Agriculture⁶¹

The U.S. Department of Agriculture was created in 1862, in part to support agricultural research in an expanding, agriculturally-dependent country. Today, USDA conducts intramural research at federal facilities with 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 decisionmaking, 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).

Because final FY2018 funding was not available at the time the FY2019 budget was prepared, requested funding is compared to the FY2017 actual funding.

For FY2019, the Administration is requesting $2.5 billion in discretionary funding for the four research agencies, a reduction of $404.2 million (-14.0%) from the enacted FY2017 appropriation (P.L. 115-31) (see Table 13).

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.⁶² The FY2019 budget would include $34 million in mandatory spending that is already authorized by the 2014 farm bill. USDA's discretionary appropriations for the four research agencies 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 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. ARS also operates the National Agricultural Library, one of the department's primary information repositories for food, agriculture, and natural resource sciences. In FY2019, ARS will also assume ownership of the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility from the Department of Homeland Security.

For FY2019, the Administration requests $1,018.9 million for ARS salaries and expenses, and nothing for buildings and facilities ($99.6 million was appropriated for FY2017). The budget request does propose $20 million for repair and maintenance of ARS facilities, the same as FY2017. The requested FY2019 budget for salaries and expenses is $250.9 million less (-19.7%) than enacted for FY2017 (Table 13).

The Administration request proposes budgetary decreases across all ARS programmatic areas, specifically reducing or eliminating ongoing research projects by $191.0 million. These programmatic reductions are coupled with proposals to close 20 ARS laboratories, locations, and worksites.

The FY2019 budget request also includes $52.6 million and 24 staff years for research and operation of the new National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF) in Manhattan, KS. NBAF is envisioned as a replacement and enhancement of the Plum Island Animal Disease Center capability. NBAF will provide the first U.S. large animal biosafety level-4 facility for the study of foreign, emerging, and zoonotic animal diseases that pose a threat to U.S. animal agriculture and public health.⁶³ The Administration envisions that USDA, rather than the Department of Homeland Security, will ultimately own and operate NBAF.

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), established by the Morrill Acts, the 1994 tribal land-grant colleges, and Hispanic-serving institutions.⁶⁴ Federal funds enhance capacity at universities and institutions through statutory formula funding, competitive awards, and grants.⁶⁵

For FY2019, the Administration is requesting $1.26 billion in discretionary funding for NIFA, a decrease of $105.3 million (-7.7%) from the FY2017 level. (Table 13.)

The Administration proposes $375 million for the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI)—USDA's flagship competitive grants program—the same as enacted for FY2017.This budget line currently represents nearly 30% of the NIFA discretionary budget.

The Administration proposes to eliminate or reduce funding for several other organic, pest management, and crop-specific research programs. The Administration also requests a 15% reduction to McIntire-Stennis cooperative forestry research funding for FY2019 ($28.9 million, down from $34.0 million in FY2017).

The Administration request proposes to eliminate funding for several programs, including several federal science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) 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 proposed FY2019 NIFA budget would also zero out funding for Capacity-Building Grants for Non-Land Grant Colleges of Agriculture, the Sun Grant Program, and the Alfalfa Forage and Research Program.

National Agricultural Statistics Service

The National Agricultural Statistics Service conducts the quinquennial (five-year) Census of Agriculture and provides official statistics on agricultural production and indicators of the economic and environmental status of the farm sector.

For FY2019, the Administration is requesting $165 million for NASS, a $6.2 million decrease (-3.6%) over the FY2017 appropriation of $171.2 million. The FY2019 request includes $45.3 million to support the Census of Agriculture, an increase of $3.0 million over the FY2017 level. FY2017 was the final planning year before beginning data collection for the 2017 Census. The Administration is also requesting $5 million for NASS to take responsibility from the Department of Labor for the Farm Labor Survey.

For the core Agricultural Estimates program, the Administration is requesting $120 million, an $8.5 million reduction (-6.6%) from FY2017. 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). NASS also proposed eliminating the fruit chemical use survey and reducing some of the forecasts for the fruit and vegetable reports.

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 FY2019, the Administration requests $45.0 million in economic research for the agency, a decrease of $41.2 million (-48.1%) and 181 staff years from FY2017. The majority of the reduction is achieved through decreases for research on agricultural markets and trade, farms, conservation, agricultural research and development, food assistance and nutrition, and food safety.

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).

National Institute of Standards and Technology⁶⁶

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."⁶⁷ 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.⁶⁸

Because final FY2018 funding was not available at the time the FY2019 budget was prepared, requested funding is compared to the FY2017 actual funding.

The President is requesting $629.1 billion in funding for NIST in FY2019, a decrease of $324.9 million (34.1%) from the FY2017 enacted appropriation of $954.0 million. (See Table 14.) NIST discretionary funding is provided through three accounts: Scientific and Technical Research and Services (STRS), Industrial Technology Services (ITS), and Construction of Research Facilities (CRF).

The President's FY2019 request includes $573.4 million for R&D, standards coordination, and related services in the STRS account, a decrease of $116.6 million (16.9%) from the FY2017 level.⁶⁹

The FY2019 request would provide $15.1 million for the Industrial Technology Services (ITS) account, down $139.9 million (90.3%) from FY2017. Within the ITS account, the request would provide no funding for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) program, a reduction of $130.0 million from FY2017; MEP centers in each state would be required to become entirely self-supporting. The request provides $15.1 million provided for Manufacturing USA (also referred to as the National Network for Manufacturing Innovation or NNMI), down $9.9 million (-59.6%) from FY2017. Of these funds, $10.0 million would be for continued support of the NIST-sponsored National Institute for Innovation in Manufacturing Biopharmaceuticals (NIIMBL) manufacturing institute, with the balance ($5.1 million) to be used for coordination of the Manufacturing USA network.⁷⁰

The President is requesting $40.5 million for FY2019 for the NIST CRF account, down $68.5 million (62.8%) from the FY2017 enacted level.⁷¹

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration⁷²

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. 4.⁷³ 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.

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 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."⁷⁸

Because final FY2018 funding was not available at the time the FY2019 budget was prepared, requested funding is compared to the FY2017 actual funding.

For FY2019, President Trump requested $623.6 million in R&D funding for NOAA, a decrease of $188.3 million (23.2%) below the FY2017 enacted level of $811.9 million. R&D funding for FY2017 consisted of $547.4 million for research (67.4% of total R&D funding), $120.8 million for development (14.9%), and $143.7 million for R&D equipment (17.7%).⁷⁹ In FY2017, R&D was 14.3% of NOAA's total discretionary budget of $5.675 billion. The FY2019 request for R&D funding includes $367.1 million for research (58.9% of total R&D funding), $83.2 million for development (13.3%), and $173.3 million for R&D equipment (27.8%). The President's request for R&D is 13.7% of NOAA's total discretionary budget request of $4.563 billion.

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.⁸⁰

Table 15 provides R&D funding levels for FY2017 enacted and the Administration's FY2019 request for each NOAA office.⁸¹ Most of NOAA's R&D activities are conducted by OAR, and in most years OAR accounts for over half of NOAA's R&D funding. The FY2019 request would provide OAR with $321.7 million for R&D, a decrease of $178.8 million (35.7%) below the FY2017 enacted funding level of $500.5 million.⁸²

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 FY2019 request would fund the cooperative institutes at $167.4 million, $2.6 million (1.5%) less than the FY2017 enacted funding level of $170.0 million.

The President's FY2019 request would also reduce OAR R&D funding for the National Sea Grant Program and Climate Research. 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 FY2019 request would terminate federal support of the National Sea Grant College Program and Sea Grant Marine Aquaculture Research. In FY2017, the National Sea Grant College Program was funded at $62.8 million and marine aquaculture research 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 FY2019 request would provide climate research with $98.6 million, $58.6 million (37.3%) less than the FY2017 enacted funding level of $157.2 million.⁸³

Department of the Interior⁸⁴

The Department of the Interior 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.⁸⁵

Because final FY2018 funding was not available at the time the FY2019 budget was prepared, requested funding is compared to the FY2017 actual funding.

The Administration is requesting $11.7 billion in net discretionary funding for DOI in FY2019.⁸⁶ Of that amount, $758.9 million is requested for R&D funding, $235.5 million below (23.7%) the FY2017 enacted level of $994.3 million.⁸⁷ Of the President's FY2019 DOI R&D funding request, 5.3% is for basic research, 76.4% is for applied research, and 18.3% is for development. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is the only DOI component that conducts basic research.⁸⁸

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 FY2019 budget request for USGS is $859.7 million. Of this amount, $502.6 million would be for R&D, a decrease of $184.9 million (26.9%) over the FY2017 enacted level of $687.6 million.⁸⁹

Other DOI Components

The President's FY2019 request also includes R&D funding for the following DOI components:⁹⁰

• Bureau of Reclamation (BOR): $82.5 million in applied research and development funding for FY2019, down $24.5 million (22.9%) from FY2017.
• Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM): $84.6 million in applied research and development funding for FY2019, up $12.6 million (17.4%) from FY2017.
• Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS): $15.4 million in applied research for FY2019, down $17.0 million (52.5%) from FY2017.
• Bureau of Land Management (BLM): $24.2 million in applied research and development for FY2019, down $2.0 million (7.5%) from FY2017.
• National Park Service (NPS): $24.0 million in applied research and development for FY2019, down $3.0 million (11.0%) from FY2017.
• Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE): $20.5 million in applied research for FY2019, down $6.2 million (23.1%) from FY2017.
• Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA): $5.0 million in applied research for FY2019, down $4.5 million (47.4%) from FY2017.
• Wildland Fire Management (WFM): No funding requested for R&D for FY2019, down $6.0 million (100.0%) from FY2017.⁹¹
• 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 FY2019.⁹²

Table 16 summarizes FY2017 enacted R&D funding and the President's FY2019 R&D funding request for DOI components.

Department of Veterans Affairs⁹³

The Department of Veterans Affairs 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.

Because final FY2018 funding was not available at the time the FY2019 budget was prepared, requested funding is compared to the FY2017 actual funding.

The President is proposing $1.346 billion for VA R&D in FY2019, an increase of $137.1 million (11.3%) from FY2017. (See Table 17.) VA R&D represents 0.68% of the agency's overall FY2019 budget request and is funded through two accounts—the Medical and Prosthetic Research account and the Medical Care Support account. As the Medical Care Support account also includes non-R&D funding, the amount of funding that will be allocated to R&D through appropriations legislation 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 FY2019 request includes $727.4 million for VA's Medical and Prosthetic Research account, an increase of $54 million (8.0%), and $618.3 million in funding for research supported by the agency's Medical Care Support account, an increase of $83.1 million (15.5%).

According to the President's request, VA R&D priorities for FY2019 include efforts to treat veterans at risk of suicide; research to address pain management, opioid addiction, and Gulf War Veterans Illness; an expansion of efforts focused on women veterans' health issues; 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.

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. According to ORD, 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." ⁹⁴ 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.
• 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. According to the President's FY2019 budget request, these additional R&D resources are estimated at $570 million in FY2019. However, unlike federal agencies, such as the National Institutes of Health and 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 17 summarizes R&D program funding for VA in the Medical and Prosthetic Research and the Medical Care Support accounts. Table 18 details amounts to be spent in Designated Research Areas (DRAs) which VA describes as "areas of particular importance to our veteran patient population." Funding for research projects that span multiple areas may be included in several DRAs; thus, the amounts in Table 18 total to more than the appropriation or request for VA R&D.

Department of Transportation⁹⁵

The primary purposes of the R&D activities of the Department of Transportation 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.

Because final FY2018 funding was not available at the time the FY2019 budget was prepared, requested funding is compared to the FY2017 actual funding.

The Administration is requesting $836.2 million for DOT R&D activities and facilities in FY2019, a decrease of $103.3 million (11.0%) from FY2017. (See Table 19.) Three DOT agencies—the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)—would account for nearly 90% of total DOT R&D under the FY2019 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 FY2019 request of $350.9 million for R&D activities and facilities at FAA would be a decrease of $82 million (18.9%) from FY2017. The request includes $74.4 million for the agency's Research, Engineering, and Development (RE&D) account, a reduction of $102.1 million (57.8%) from FY2017. 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.

Federal Highway Administration

According to the President's budget request,

Innovations developed and/or advanced through FHWA's R&T [research and technology] program enable and supports achievement and management of a safer and more reliable transportation system that is cost-effective and sustainable, thus improving overall economic competitiveness and quality of life.⁹⁶

The President's request of $336.5 million for R&D activities and facilities at FHWA would be an increase of $18.8 million (5.9%) from FY2017. 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 $63.7 million in R&D and R&D facilities funding in FY2019 for NHTSA, $5.2 million (7.6%) below FY2017. 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 19.) The President's FY2019 request includes DOT R&D and R&D facilities funding for

• the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), totaling $23.4 million, $20.5 million (46.7%) below the FY2017 level of $43.9 million;
• the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), totaling $28 million, the same amount as FY2017;
• the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), totaling $11.7 million, $9.8 million (45.5%) below the FY2017 level of $21.5 million;
• the Office of the Secretary (OST), totaling $12.9 million, $4.5 million (25.8%) below the FY2017 level of $17.4 million; and
• the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), totaling $9.1 million, slightly below the FY2017 level of $9.2 million.

Department of Homeland Security⁹⁷

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. Other components, such as the Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the Transportation Security Administration, conduct R&D relating to their specific missions.

Because final FY2018 funding was not available at the time the FY2019 budget was prepared, requested funding is compared to the FY2017 actual funding.

The President's FY2019 budget request for DHS includes $485 million for activities identified as R&D. This would be a reduction of 28.6% from $678 million in FY2017. The total includes $311 million for the S&T Directorate and smaller amounts for six other DHS components. See Table 20.

The S&T Directorate performs R&D in several laboratories of its own and funds R&D performed by the DOE 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 FY2019 request of $311 million for the S&T Directorate R&D account is a decrease of 33.8% from $471 million in FY2017. About half of the $140 million (32.6%) reduction for Research, Development, and Innovation would result from transferring the Cyber Security/Information Analysis thrust area to the National Protection and Programs Directorate. The other thrust areas within Research, Development, and Innovation would all receive decreased funding except Counter Terrorist, which would receive a 3% increase including first-time funding for detection of opioids and fentanyl at ports of entry and mail-handling facilities. Funding for University Programs, which primarily funds the S&T Directorate's university centers of excellence, would decrease by 46.3% as the number of supported centers would drop from seven to five.

In addition to its R&D account, the S&T Directorate receives funding for laboratory facilities and other R&D-related expenses through its Operations and Support account (not shown in the table). The FY2019 request for S&T Directorate Operations and Support is $272 million, down 12.6% from $311.1 million in FY2017. Within this account, Laboratory Facilities would receive $111 million, down 17.5% from $134 million in FY2017. The Laboratory Facilities request includes no funding for the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF), as DHS is proposing to transfer operational responsibility for NBAF to the USDA. The request also includes reduced funding for the National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center (NBACC), as the Federal Bureau of Investigation has agreed to assume 40% of NBACC's operational costs.

The request for R&D in the recently established Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office is $80 million. Most if not all of this amount would support programs previously funded in the former Domestic Nuclear Detection Office ($155 million for R&D in FY2017).

The request for the R&D account of the National Protection and Programs Directorate is $48 million, up from $6 million in FY2017. This increase reflects the transfer of cybersecurity R&D activities from the S&T Directorate. While the $42 million increase is large in percentage terms, it is less than the $71 million that cybersecurity R&D programs in the S&T Directorate received in FY2017.

Environmental Protection Agency⁹⁸

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 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.⁹⁹ 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 nonfederal entities that receive EPA grants. The S&T account receives a base appropriation and a transfer from the Hazardous Substance Superfund (Superfund) appropriations account. 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.

As noted earlier in this report, FY2018 appropriations for all federal departments and agencies including EPA were not enacted prior to the start of FY2018. Funding comparisons presented in the President's FY2019 request and supporting documents for EPA were based on estimated FY2018 "annualized" levels associated with the continuing resolution in effect at the time the request was being finalized. Subsequent to the release of the President's budget, Congress enacted the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018 (P.L. 115-141), appropriating full-year funding for FY2018, rendering the CR levels identified in the budget no longer relevant. Therefore, these annualized estimates are not presented in this section of the CRS report; instead the FY2019 requested amounts are compared with FY2017enacted levels.

As with the President's FY2018 budget request,¹⁰⁰ the FY2019 request proposes reductions and eliminations of funding for FY2019 across a number of EPA programs and activities. The President's FY2019 request includes a total of $6.15 billion for EPA,¹⁰¹ $1.91 billion (23.7%) less than the FY2017 enacted appropriations of $8.06 billion (including rescissions). The FY2019 request is an 8.7% increase compared to the FY2018 request of $5.66 billion, which was 29.8% less than the FY2017 enacted level. The reductions proposed in the FY2019 request are distributed across EPA operational functions and activities as well as grants for states, tribes, and local governments. The FY2019 request would reduce funding below FY2017 enacted levels for 8 of the 10 EPA appropriations accounts, including the S&T account, although funding for some program areas and activities within the accounts would increase or remain constant. Some Members of Congress expressed concerns regarding similar reductions and eliminations of funding for EPA scientific research programs proposed during hearings on the President's FY2018 budget request.¹⁰²

Prior to transfers and account specific rescissions, the FY2019 requested total base amount for the EPA S&T account is $449.0 million, ¹⁰³ $264.9 million (37.1%) less than the FY2017 enacted base level of $713.8 million (prior to transfers and account specific rescissions), and is also a decrease compared to the $450.8 million FY2018 requested base amount. The President's FY2019 request would increase the S&T base appropriations by $17.4 million transferred from the Superfund account, compared to $12.4 million requested for FY2018 and $15.5 million transferred in the FY2017 enacted appropriations.¹⁰⁴

The President's FY2019 request proposes a rescission of prior year funds totaling $220.5 million¹⁰⁵ but does not specify an amount within the S&T or other appropriations accounts. For FY2017, P.L. 115-31 rescinded $90.3 million of prior-year funds specifying proportional allocations from EPA's S&T account¹⁰⁶ (see end of Table 21) as well as the Environmental Programs and Management (EPM) and the State and Tribal Assistance Grants (STAG) account. This accounting difference does not allow for direct comparison including transfers and specific rescissions.

The President's FY2019 budget request including transfers prior to rescissions would provide $466.4 million for EPA's S&T account.¹⁰⁷ The FY2019 total request for the S&T account including transfers represents 7.6% of the $6.15 billion FY2018 request for EPA overall. The total request for the S&T account is $262.9 million (36.1%) less than the $729.3 million appropriated for FY2017 (P.L. 115-31) and slightly more than the $463.2 million FY2018 request including transfers (but not specific rescissions).

Table 21 at the end of this section includes the President's FY2019 request for program areas and activities within EPA's S&T account as presented in EPA's FY2019 Congressional Budget Justification compared to the FY2017 enacted¹⁰⁸ appropriations as reported in the House and the Senate Appropriations Committee reports and explanatory statements accompanying action on the FY2018 Department of Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies appropriations.¹⁰⁹

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 FY2019. 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 FY2019 request has modified the titles for some of the program areas relative to previous Administrations' requests and Congressional committee reports as noted in Table 21.

As shown in the table, with few exceptions the requested FY2019 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 FY2019 funding of $3.6 million for Water: Human Health Protection (Drinking Water Programs) that would be slightly more than the $3.5 million FY2017 enacted level. The FY2019 requested funding of $74.8 million for Operations and Administration that would be a $6.5 million (9.5%) increase above the FY2017 enacted level. Much of the requested $6.5 million increase for FY2019, $6.0 million, would support a new activity, "Workforce Reshaping," introduced in the FY2018 request described 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.

In addition to the workforce reshaping and reprioritization efforts described above, EPA's summary under the heading for its "Reform Plan" in the FY2019 Congressional Budget Justification¹¹⁰ includes a discussion under a sub-heading "Improving Management of EPA Laboratories." As presented in the FY2019 Justification, "EPA's reform plan represents a series of projects that EPA will complete to implement the goals of Executive Order 13781: Comprehensive Plan for Reorganizing the Executive Branch." With respect to EPA laboratories, the FY2019 Budget Justification proposes an initial effort to identify and implement "... an enterprise-wide framework to manage laboratory capabilities and capacity to meet the scientific demands associated with achieving the Agency's mission."¹¹¹

With the exception of "Research: National priorities"¹¹² the FY2019 request does not propose to completely eliminate funding for the broader program areas presented in Table 21. However, eliminations ($0.0) are proposed for line-item activities below the program areas as indicated in the table, including the Atmospheric Protection Program [formerly GHG (greenhouse gas) Reporting Program; and Climate Protection Program]; and the Indoor Air Radon Program and Indoor Air Reduce Risks of Indoor Air. The FY2017 enacted appropriations for the then-titled GHG (greenhouse gas) Reporting Program was $8.0 million. Comparisons of the proposed eliminations for the Indoor Air programs included in the FY2019 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.

For those program areas and activities presented in Table 21 for which requested FY2019 funding would be reduced but not eliminated, the proposed $81.8 million (60.9%) reduction in funding for "Research: Sustainable & Healthy Communities" for FY2019 represents the largest dollar amount decrease¹¹³ ($52.5 million FY2019 requested compared to the FY2017 enacted amount of $134.3 million). As indicated in the EPA FY2019 budget justification,¹¹⁴ the reductions for this program area are primarily associated with the proposed elimination of funding for the Science to Achieve Results (STAR) program¹¹⁵ and the streamlining and reorganization 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 66.6% ($61.2 million) decrease in the FY2019 request for the "Research: Air and Energy¹¹⁶" program area (formerly labeled "Research: Air, Climate and Energy") would be the largest reduction in terms of percentage ($30.7 million FY2019 requested compared to $91.9 million FY2017 enacted). As noted in the EPA's FY2019 budget justification, a significant portion of the requested FY2019 reduction for this program area is primarily attributed to a reduction in funding for air quality research, and the elimination of funding for climate change research and the STAR program.¹¹⁷

Appendix A. Acronyms and Abbreviations

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: