Federal R&D Budget: Recent History and State of PlayMatt HourihanDecember 2, 2014for the MRS Science Policy Forum

AAAS R&D Budget and Policy Programhttp://www.aaas.org/program/rd-budget-and-policy-program

BCA takes effect: first year of caps

Sequestration kicks in (delayed and reduced by the American Taxpayer Relief Act)

Budget warfare resolved by Bipartisan Budget Act (restores some funding in FY14, FY15)

The Fiscal Context for FY 2015 Congress keeps (partially) restoring funding

FY15: 21% reduction in cuts

Discretionary spending cap is only 0.2% above FY14 before inflation Very little room for any sort of program growth… …reflected in the President’s budget

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

110%

120%

Dept. ofDefense S&T

Commerce,Justice,Science

Energy &Water

Agriculture Interior andEnvironment

Labor, HHS,Education*

FY 2015 R&D Appropriations by Select Spending BillEstimated funding as a percent of FY 2012, in constant dollars

2012 2013 2014 2015 Request 2015 House 2015 Senate

*Not yet introduced in House. Source: AAAS analyses of agency budget documents and appropriations bills and reports. FY 2014 figures are current estimates. R&D includes conduct of R&D and R&D facilities. © 2014 AAAS

Looking ahead… Omnibus negotiations underway

Beyond FY 2015: back to sequester levels? Discretionary spending heading to

post-WW II lows as a share of GDP

Deficits have fallen, but big-picture fiscal challenges remain largely unchanged Debt limit, entitlement growth

Size and composition of the discretionary budget? Can R&D stay ahead of the curve?

For more info…

mhouriha@aaas.org

202-326-6607http

://www.aaas.org/program/rd-budget-and-policy-program