Big R&D spending increases slated for defense, homeland security

Issues in Science and Technology, Fall 2003

Congress appears poised to substantially increase overall R&D spending for fiscal year (FY) 2004. However, virtually all of the increases would go for defense, homeland security, and health spending.

As of the August congressional recess, the House had approved 11 of the 13 appropriations bills; the Senate, only four. In the House plan, the federal R&D portfolio would increase by $8.4 billion, or 7.2 percent, to $125.9 billion, which is $3.6 billion more than the Bush administration's request. About 99 percent of the increase would go to the Department of Defense (DOD), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Spending would be flat overall for all other R&D agencies, with modest increases for some offset by cuts in others.

The House would boost DOD R&D by $7.2 billion, or 12.3 percent, to $66 billion, with weapons systems development accounting for $6.1 billion of the increase. DOD's science and technology (S&T) account would be increased by 9.7 percent to $12.3 billion. DHS would see its R&D portfolio surge by $385 million, or 57.5 percent, to $1.1 billion, as the new department ramps up its S&T capabilities.

After five years of annual 15 percent increases, NIH budget growth would slow considerably in FY 2004. The House would match the president's request with a 2.7 percent increase in R&D spending-a $702 million addition.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) R&D budget would increase by 6.2 percent to $5.6 billion under the House plan. But that would be about $1 billion less than is needed to fulfill the House's pledge to double NSF's R&D budget between FY 2002 and 2007.

The Department of Energy's (DOE's) Office of Science would receive a 4.3 percent boost to $3.2 billion, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's R&D portfolio would edge up 0.9 percent to $11.1 billion. There would be steep cuts in R&D spending in the U.S. Department of Agriculture (9.8 percent), the Department of Transportation (15 percent), and the Department of Commerce (21.5 percent).

The House's focus on defense and homeland security means that after several years of near-parity between defense and nondefense R&D spending, the defense share of federal R&D spending would rise to 56 percent.

In the limited numbers of agencies on which the Senate has taken action, its proposed funding levels differ only modestly from those of the House. The Senate would provide a 3.8 percent increase for NIH, a 4.7 percent increase for DOD S&T, and a 1.2 percent increase for DOE's Office of Science.