Big things are happening for the scientific and research community thanks to the Biden Administration’s new budget requests. Here is a look at the budget for funding programs in 2022.
The National Institutes of Health is receiving a 3% funding increase in the fiscal year 2021, bringing its total budget to just under $43 billion. This is the sixth year in a row the agency has received a boost of over $1 billion. This means an opportunity to fund more medical research.
In a recent press release, President Biden proposed a budget increase for science-related spending. The $6 trillion budget request calls for sweeping investments in infrastructure and social welfare programs in the 2022 fiscal year that begins 1 October. It also includes a 9% increase, or $13.5 billion, in total federal spending on R&D, bringing the total to $171 billion. Spending on basic research would rise by 10%, or $4.4 billion, to $47.4 billion, whereas applied research would get a 14% bump ($6.3 billion) to $51.1 billion. The budget “proposes historic increases in funding for foundational R&D across a range of scientific agencies,” Biden said in a statement, including what he asserts is “the biggest increase in non-defense research and development spending on record.”
Here is what is anticipated for the 2022 fiscal year if the budget passes
The request proposes increases for the earth and planetary science and represents the largest budget request for NASA science in history. The earth science portfolio will increase by 12%, by $250 million. The proposal expects NASA to spend nearly $700 million annually on the observatory satellites by 2026, with the first launch in 2027. Science first reported the Biden administration’s acceleration of this program earlier this month. NASA also proposed beginning a new class of competitive missions, the Earth System Explorers, which would allow scientists to propose medium-size satellite missions in one of seven thematic areas of earth science: atmospheric winds; greenhouse gases; ice elevation; ocean surface winds and currents; ozone and trace gases; snow depth and snow water equivalent; and terrestrial ecosystem structure.
A 21% increase to National Institutes of Health (NIH) for a total of $52 billion, to include a new $6.5 billion Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) research and development. NIH’s budget will include a $672 million increase for research on opioid addiction, $110 million for research on the health effects of climate change. Health disparities research would gain $330 million. Research on preventing firearms violence would double to $25 million.
The Office of Science would get a 5.3%, $374 million increase to $7.4 billion. Among its six research programs including the Department of Energy, biological and environmental research is the biggest beneficiary, getting a 10%, $75 million increase to $828 million. A $78 million budget will help launch the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Climate (ARPA-C), which aims to accelerate the development of climate-friendly technologies. DOE’s existing ARPA-Energy would get a 17% increase of $73 million. The budget request also calls for DOE to establish a new Office of Clean Energy Demonstration that would get $400 million to begin testing solutions to industry challenges, starting with developing better technologies for storing energy.
NSF’s overall budget will increase 20% to nearly $10.2 billion. The new Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships (TIP) directorate would start with an $865 million budget, including the transfer of some $350 million in existing programs. NSF’s education and workforce training programs will grow by 16% including increasing the number of new prestigious graduate research fellowships from 2000 to 2500. If NSF gets the additional dollars, the agency projects it would make 20% more awards to individual scientists, with average grant size rising by nearly 15% and success rates climbing to 29%.
The CDC will receive a 22% increase of $1.7 billion. This includes $400 million for building public health infrastructure in the United States and $100 million for attendant data modernization. It increases funding for global public health including infrastructure, infectious diseases, new pandemics, and COVID-19 to $303 million, a $100 million increase. Biden aims to double research spending on preventing firearm injuries and deaths to $25 million, continuing a movement toward restoring U.S. support for such research after a nearly 30-year drought. The Biden Administration is investing more than $3 billion to accelerate the discovery, development, and manufacturing of antiviral medicines as part of the Biden Administration’s whole-of-government strategy to develop the next generation of COVID-19 treatments via the American Rescue Plan. Through collaboration within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), including the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and its National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), part of the HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR), this plan – called the Antiviral Program for Pandemics – will respond to the urgent need for antivirals to treat COVID-19 by spurring the availability of medicines to prevent serious illness and save lives. It also will build sustainable platforms for the discovery and development of antivirals for other viruses with pandemic potential, helping better prepare the nation to face future viral threats.
Through collaboration within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), including the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and its National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), part of the HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR), this plan – called the Antiviral Program for Pandemics – will respond to the urgent need for antivirals to treat COVID-19 by spurring the availability of medicines to prevent serious illness and save lives. It also will build sustainable platforms for the discovery and development of antivirals for other viruses with pandemic potential, helping better prepare the nation to face future viral threats.
EPA will see its science and technology (S&T) budget increase by 14%. The $101 million raise features a $60 million injection for climate change research, more than doubling EPA’s existing efforts. New programs in environmental justice would skyrocket from $13 million to $300 million, with about half of the increase going to community grants. About 171 new positions would be created at the agency as 30% of EPA staff are eligible for retirement now or within 1 year. To keep the scientific ranks filled, the administration is asking to expand the agency’s authority to recruit top scientists for term appointments that typically last a few years.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)will experience a 24% or $358 million increase to $1.85 billion. Climate science would get $92 million of this while competitive grants will see a 60% rise to $700 million with a focus on clean energy and smart farming.
We work with high-growth startups and organizations that support the startup and innovation ecosystem. We build highly specific non-dilutive funding menus, provide proposal preparation services, and measure outcomes of funding through evaluation. Schedule a consult call with us HERE.