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Science Policy Alerts
Click on Special Initiatives when you designate your gift, and select Capitol Cause. Administration Releases FY11 Science Budget
2 February 2010
ASLA 10-03
“The 2011 Budget calls for strategic R&D investments to create quality jobs in 21st century industries.”
Office of Science and Technology Policy press release, 1 February 2010
John Holdren, Assistant to the President for Science and Technology and Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, stated that the Administration's FY11 budget was created to deal with the current budget situation while preserving and expanding important science research and development (R&D). While overall non-defense discretionary spending for FY11 was capped, reprioritization of funding allowed for science, STEM education, energy independence, and climate change and environmental programs to see budget increases. Non-defense R&D increased by $3.7 billion (+5.9%) above FY10 levels. See a short overview here and a longer version here. For agency funding numbers, see the table at the end of this ASLA.
On 1 February the Administration released its budget for FY11, including initiatives that reach across multiple federal agencies to bolster science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education. A total of $3.7 billion is being spent on STEM initiatives across agencies, which is a total increase of $32 million or 0.9% over last year's enacted budget. NSF will receive $158 million (+16% over FY10) for its Graduate Research Fellowship program. More information on FY11 STEM education funding can be found here.
Other priorities included climate change science led by the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP), which will spread a total of $2.6 billion, an increase of $439 million (+21%) over FY10, among federal agencies including NSF, NASA, EPA, NOAA, DOE, and others. For more information on USGCRP funding is available here.
Along with plans to bolster STEM education and climate science, the Administration sustains the commitment made by congress through the America COMPETES Act to double the agency budgets for NSF, DOE Office of Science (DOE SC), and NIST by 2017. For specific agency increases see the tables below. More information on the budget doubling is available here.