Joe Biden’s second presidential budget request came out on Monday, 28 March 2022. The president’s budget request officially starts the appropriations process – the process by which Congress decides how to fund most of the federal government, including most federal science funding. The president’s budget request is truly a request because Congress under their power of the purse has the final say on federal spending.

 

$ in Millions	FY21	FY22 PBR	FY22 House	FY22 Senate	FY22 Omnibus	FY23 PBR	% Change from FY22
NASA	$23,271.28	$24,700.00	$25,038.40	$24,837.34	$24,041.30	$25,973.80	8.04%
NASA Science	$7,301.00	$7,931.40	$7,969.50	$7,901.40	$7,614.40	$7,988.30	4.91%
Earth	$2,000.00	$2,250.00	$2,250.00	$2,230.00	$2,064.70	$2,411.50	16.80%
Planetary	$2,700.00	$3,200.00	$3,234.80	$3,161.00	$3,120.40	$3,160.20	1.28%
Heliophysics	$751.00	$796.70	$773.00	$825.70	$777.90	$760.20	-2.28%
STEM Engagement	$127	$147	$147	$147	$137	$150.1	9.56%
NOAA	$5,430.61	$6,983.33	$6,458.14	$6,276.20	$5,877.35	$6,900	17.4%
NSF	$8,486.76	$10,169.30	$9,634.04	$9,486.76	$8,838.00	$10,492.08	18.72%
USGS	$1,315.53	$1,642.44	$1,642.44	$1,493.84	$1,394.36	$1,711.00	22.71%
EPA S&T	$729.33	$829.97	$807.26	$803.17	$750.17	$863.16	15.06%
DOE Office of Science	$7,026.00	$7,440.00	$7,320.00	$7,490.00	$7,475.00	$7,799.21	4.35%
ARPA-E	$427.00	$500.00	$600.00	$500.00	$450.00	$700.15	55.56%
NIEHS w/SRP	$896.18	$1,020.65	$1,025.34	$1,020.81	$924.71	$1,015.1	9.77%
Superfund (SRP)	$81.50	$83.54	$83.54	$84.54	$82.54	$83.04	0.61%

 

Although the President’s funding request levels will mostly be disregarded by Congress, the president’s policy priorities and new initiatives or ideas in the request will receive more Congressional consideration.

 

Here are some cross-cutting highlights from the President’s budget request:

 

• Unlike his first budget request, President’s Biden’s second budget request provided an almost equal increase in funding for both defense and non-defense funding, acknowledging the concerns raised by conflict in Ukraine.
• At the start of his presidency, Biden announced four major priorities which continue to be reflected in the President’s budget including: climate change, economic strength, COVID-19 recovery, and anti-racism.
• Additional cross-cutting themes included addressing environmental inequities in communities; emphasizing made in America; diversity, equity, and inclusion in STEM; and investing in better understanding of climate change.

 

Here are some highlights from the President’s request for federal science agencies:

 

• Within NASA, some highlights include funding for sustainable aviation, strong focus on Earth science, especially climate science as well as funding for ameliorating orbital debris.
• The request for NOAA focuses on expanded climate competitive research grants, robust funding for the next generation of weather satellites, $376 million for strengthening climate resilience, and predicting NOAA’s ability to predict extreme weather associated with climate change.
• Within NSF, the budget request provides additional details about the new NSF Directorate Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships (TIP) as well as $880 million for the new directorate; there’s also an emphasis on U.S. leadership in emerging technologies as well as almost $400 million for racial equity in science and engineering.
• The President’s budget request provides $700 million for $700 million for the Advanced Research and Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E) and proposes expanded authority for ARPA-E to address innovation gaps more fully around adaptation, mitigation, and resilience to the impacts of climate change. There’s also a strong emphasis on clean energy innovation and jobs.
• Within the U.S. Geological Survey, the budget also supports the development of a federal climate data portal that would provide the public with accessible information on historical and projected climate impacts, inform decision-making, and strengthen community climate resilience.

 

With the release of the President’s budget, it’s now Congress’ turn to review the budget request, develop their own priorities, and then begin to draft and eventually pass their appropriations bills.