Generally Lackluster R&D Funding

Various outlets are lamenting the cuts and paltry increases to Federal science funding in the omnibus spending package passed by Congress and headed for the President’s desk. Among chief concerns is that the funding increase for several agencies—including the NIH, which receives the lion’s share of R&D dollars—will not keep pace with the predicted rate of inflation. AAAS calculates that over all, “Federal funding for basic and applied research would decline in real terms for the fourth year in a row.”

The most notable increase is for DOE energy R&D focused on carbon sequestration, biomass, and solar energy, as this graph, adapted from the AAAS demonstrates:

SOURCE: AAAS R&D Budget and Policy Program

While this does demonstrate federal support for an energy policy that leads to a lower-carbon economy, experts have called for more substantial support, including doubling the R&D budget for energy research.

The omnibus package retains language mandating that NIH-funded research be made publicly available for free within 12 months of publication.

But as we have mentioned previously, the perennial focus within science policy discussions on “how much” monetary support science receives from the Federal government cannot preclude questions of “what for.” There are legitimate values questions associated with how the government allocates funding for scientific research and who the potential beneficiaries of that research are. An equitable distribution of science funding will ultimately support both curiosity-driven discovery and innovation that lead to a more equitable and dynamic economy and a safer, healthier country.

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