Academic Funding

Senate Appropriators OK 3 Percent Increase in NSF Budget

September 24, 2019 1924

UPDATE: On Thursday the full Senate Appropriations Committee approved the 2019 Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, which among other things funds the National Science Foundation.

The bill’s next step is a vote by the full Senate. A date for that has not been set, and the resulting bill must still be reconciled with the House of Representatives version. The federal government is currently operating under a continuing resolution which only funds it until November 21.

The U.S. Senate subcommittee that oversees funding for the National Science Foundation, and with that most of the federal money spent on basic social and behavioral science research, today approved a 2020 budget that increases NSF spending by $242 million compared to the current fiscal year. Of great interest to researchers, an additional $249 million — the total increase plus $7 million –is dedicated specifically to research grants.

All told, the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act allocates $8.317 billion to NSF. And while that is above the current year allocation, it also less than the $8.64 billion provided for NSF in the House of Representatives’ version of the 2020 bill. Both versions ignore the request from the Trump administration, which requested $7.066 billion for NSF, a 10 percent cut for the agency compared to this year’s spending.

While the proposed increase of 3 percent exceeds the rate inflation, it falls behind increases recommended for other science or statistical agencies. NASA, for instance, is up for a 5.8 percent hike, while the National Institute for Standards and Technology would get 5.4 percent.

Even before the competing House and Senate bills are reconciled, the Senate bill will see two more votes, one by the entire Senate Appropriations Committee and then one by the entire Senate. The bill is scheduled to be considered Thursday by the full committee. Historically the bill emerging from the Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies, or CJS, rarely sees substantive changes on its path to the Senate floor.

That said, the full $70.833 billion funding bill to support law enforcement, economic initiatives, scientific research, space exploration, and other disparate programs contains many portals for tinkering. That amount is $6.715 billion above the FY2019 enacted level.

One area outside of NSF that many social scientists have scrutinized is funding for the 2020 decennial census. The bill provides $7.558 billion for the Bureau of the Census ($3.7 billion above this year’s enacted level), with $6.696 billion of that earmarked for the decennial census itself. A recent bipartisan agreement on the whole federal budget called for $2.5 billion additional to be spent on the census. 

The Consortium of Social Science Associations has analyzed the bill (see PDF here) and included information on the National Institute of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, and Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Federal budget process

Related Articles

New Fellowship for Community-Led Development Research of Latin America and the Caribbean Now Open
Academic Funding
May 14, 2024

New Fellowship for Community-Led Development Research of Latin America and the Caribbean Now Open

Read Now
Social, Behavioral Scientists Eligible to Apply for NSF S-STEM Grants
Investment
December 3, 2021

Social, Behavioral Scientists Eligible to Apply for NSF S-STEM Grants

Read Now
With COVID and Climate Change Showing Social Science’s Value, Why Cut it Now?
Impact
September 3, 2021

With COVID and Climate Change Showing Social Science’s Value, Why Cut it Now?

Read Now
Testing-the-Waters Policy With Hypothetical Investment: Evidence From Equity Crowdfunding
News
September 9, 2020

Testing-the-Waters Policy With Hypothetical Investment: Evidence From Equity Crowdfunding

Read Now
Compendium of Research Funders’ Impact Requirements

Compendium of Research Funders’ Impact Requirements

Editor’s Note: This resource will evolve over time. If you’ve seen impact-related language on a grant application and would like to share, […]

Read Now
Congress Seeks Immediate Research Ideas for Stimulus Legislation

Congress Seeks Immediate Research Ideas for Stimulus Legislation

mmittee of the U.S. House of Representatives wants to make sure that all sciences continue to play a role in fighting the coronavirus, and asks for ideas on how the next economic stimulus package in the United States can support research.

Read Now
Ken Prewitt Wants to Retrofit The Social Sciences

Ken Prewitt Wants to Retrofit The Social Sciences

“In a world facing many complex, formidable problems,” Kenneth Prewitt asks, “how can the social sciences become a decisive force for human […]

Read Now
0 0 votes
Article Rating
Subscribe
Notify of
guest

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

0 Comments
Newest
Oldest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments