The Biden-Harris Administration FY 2023 Budget Makes Historic Investments in Science and Technology | OSTP

The Biden-Harris Administration Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 Budget makes historic investments in science and technology – American priorities that have drawn bipartisan support over the years and which the President identifies as part of a unity agenda for the nation.

The Budget has spending levels for basic and applied research that top $100 billion for the first time in history, and spending for total Federal research and development (R&D) spending that tops $200 billion for the first time in history.

“President Biden’s budget reflects what he sees as the essence of America: possibilities,” said Dr. Alondra Nelson, head of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. “This budget makes historic investments in pandemic preparedness, climate solutions, ending cancer as we know it, and eminence in science and technology research and innovation, while infusing the work of government with greater equity for the people it serves. Much of this historic blueprint for science and technology will be bipartisan and unifying, helping ensure American leadership in discovery, cures, and solutions for decades to come.”

The President’s Budget proposes spending for basic and applied research of $111 billion, an increase of $25 billion (29%) over FY 2021 spending levels, and over $100 billion for the first time – and total spending for R&D of $205 billion, an increase of $45 billion over FY 2021 (28%), and over $200 billion for the first time.

“The President thinks big on science that can improve human health and wellbeing – and he challenges us to do the same,” said Dr. Francis Collins, the President’s Acting Science Advisor. “This budget sizes the investment to the ambition to drive progress on a host of discoveries that are within reach. There is bipartisan support in Congress for this vision where the U.S. leads the world on biomedical discovery for another generation.”

Below are the major investments the FY 2023 Budget proposes for health discovery, pandemic preparedness, greater equity, climate solutions, national security, and economic resilience that will define America’s next generation of leadership in innovation.

Driving Breakthroughs

To support additional transformative and high-risk research approaches to tackling societal challenges, the Budget once again proposes funding for breakthroughs based on the successful model of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).

$5 billion for the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H), within the $49 billion requested for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), to drive health and biomedical breakthroughs that enhance health, lengthen life, reduce illness and disability, and spur new biotechnology products and innovation.
$700 million for the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), in the Department of Energy (DOE), which will expand its activities into adaptation and resilience.
$3.2 million for the planning and development of the new Advanced Research Projects Agency-Infrastructure (ARPA-I) in the Department of Transportation to accelerate the transformative transportation goals of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
$4.1 billion for DARPA.

The Cancer Moonshot

The Budget supports the President’s reignited Cancer Moonshot initiative—with the ambitious goal to reduce the death rate from cancer by at least 50 percent over the next 25 years, to improve the experience of people and their families living with and surviving cancer, and to end cancer as we know it.

In February, the President and First Lady laid out priorities for the Cancer Moonshot, including a focus on cancer screening, to make progress on the more than 10 million missed screenings in the United States during the pandemic and to improve equitable access to screenings for more Americans. This budget makes an additional $80 million investment in cancer prevention and early detection programs at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and $6.7 billion for the National Cancer Institute, an increase of $174 million over FY 2021 spending levels. This also includes an additional $20 million at the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Oncology Center of Excellence, created as part of the Cancer Moonshot in 2016.

President Biden called for a whole-of-government approach to the goals of the Cancer Moonshot. This budget reflects initial steps on that approach across agencies, including:

Department of Veterans Affairs: $81 million within research programs, and $167 million within the medical care program for precision oncology to provide access to the best possible cancer care for veterans.

Department of Defense (DOD): $36 million for the Murtha Cancer Center of Excellence to expand the Applied Proteogenomics OrganizationaL Learning and Outcomes (APOLLO) clinical trial networks to all DOD hospitals, and increases funding for the epidemiology division and expansion of serum repository projects.

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA): $10 million within the National Institute of Food and Agriculture to support research on nutrition to reduce chronic disease, production of healthy foods that prevent or reduce the risk of cancer, creation of bio-based agricultural products as anticancer supplements and treatment agents.

Innovation Investments for Equity

The Budget prioritizes R&D investments in programs with strong potential to advance equity for all, including people of color and others who have been historically disadvantaged, marginalized, and adversely affected by persistent poverty and inequality. As part of this focus, the Budget supports programs, including community-level capacity building and training, that expand equitable inclusion in Federal science and technology programs and the use of scientific and technological innovation to advance equitable outcomes.

$393 million for National Science Foundation (NSF) programs that aim to broaden participation of historically underrepresented groups in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).
- Including $50 million for a new initiative at NSF—Growing Research Access for Nationally Transformative Equity and Diversity (GRANTED)—that will build capacity at emerging research institutions to help them more effectively compete for research funding.
$260 million for DOE initiatives to build science and technology capacity in underserved institutions and train the next generation workforce.
$315 million through the U.S. Department of Agriculture in agriculture research, education and extension grants to build capacity in underserved institutions.
$400 million to expand health disparities research at NIH, including for infrastructure at the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities to support clinical research in ambulatory settings within the Research Centers in Minority Institutions program.

Pandemic Preparedness and Prevention

The Budget includes proposes mandatory funding proposals—totaling $88.2 billion available over five years—at HHS, the Department of State, and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to address the Nation’s preparedness for both the current COVID-19 pandemic and future threats. These proposals bolster pandemic preparedness across HHS public health agencies, and include several key investments in R&D.

$40 billion for the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR), including investments in advanced development and manufacturing of vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics for high priority viral families.
$28 billion for CDC, including support for domestic and global threat surveillance and public health laboratory capacity.
$12.1 billion for NIH, including funding for research and development of vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics for high priority viral families, biosafety and biosecurity, and expansions of laboratory capacity and clinical trial infrastructure.
$1.6 billion for FDA, including investments to expand and modernize regulatory capacity, and laboratory infrastructure to support the evaluation of medical countermeasures.
$6.5 billion for the Department of State and USAID, including $4.5 billion to establish capacity to detect disease threats early, respond rapidly and effectively, and produce and distribute countermeasures effectively through a new financial intermediary fund at the World Bank and $500 million to the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness (CEPI) to support vaccine research and development and to develop and deploy tools to build resilience for future epidemics and pandemics.

The Budget also provides $1.3 billion in R&D funding for DOD Chemical and Biological Defense Program biodefense and pandemic preparedness priorities.

Tackling Climate Change

The Budget provides $44.9 billion for climate change expenditures (including $16.9 billion for climate innovation), an increase of $16.7 billion from FY 2021.

The Budget provides $5.0 billion for climate science activities, primarily coordinated through the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP), including:

$913 million for NSF, which includes investments to understand the role of human actions in climate change.
$383 million for climate-related research in the DOE Office of Science.
$2.0 billion for climate science research and related observations at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), including over $200 million for development of the Earth System Observatory, a new set of Earth-observing missions that will provide information related to climate change and natural hazards.
$300 million for USDA climate science, including $43 million for the U.S. Forest Service’s Forest and Rangeland Research program.

The Budget invests more than $11.9 billion in clean energy research, development, and demonstration, an increase of more than 32 percent over 2021 funding.

$200 million to launch a new Solar Manufacturing Accelerator focused on research, development and demonstration that will help create a robust domestic manufacturing sector capable of meeting the Administration’s solar deployment goals without relying on imported goods manufactured using unacceptable labor practices.
$500 million for clean energy technologies research at NSF.
$204 million to build on DOE’s Energy Earthshots with critical fundamental research in the Office of Science.
$723 million for the Office of Science Fusion Energy Sciences research in enabling technologies, advanced computing and simulation, materials, and new partnerships with private fusion efforts.

Emerging Technologies

The Budget promotes world-leading research and innovation boosting American industries and quality American jobs in emerging technologies.

$10.5 billion for the National Science Foundation (NSF), an increase of $2 billion from the 2021 funding level, including:
- $880 million for the recently launched Directorate for Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships, to accelerate the transformation of research into new technologies and solutions to societal and economic challenges.

$7.8 billion for the Department of Energy’s Office of Science, an increase of 11% from the 2021 level, including $169 million for artificial intelligence (AI) research and $293 million for quantum information sciences (QIS) R&D.

$975 million for scientific and technical research and services at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), an increase of $187 million above 2021 funding, with a focus on artificial intelligence, quantum science, and cybersecurity.
$1.4 billion for NASA’s Space Technology R&D portfolio, an increase of $338 million above 2021 funding, to spur U.S. leadership in space technology.

National Security and Economic Resilience

The Budget supports the research, development, and application of technologies that protect American security and strengthen our economic resilience. Investments in security prioritize the reduction of catastrophic biological, nuclear, and cyber risks.

The Budget provides over $83 billion for DOD R&D programs, with increases for hypersonics R&D, QIS R&D, and AI research, including security and safety.

$950 million to enable access to measurably secure state-of-the-art defense microelectronics.
To strengthen and safeguard the domestic bio-economy, this budget also provides $357 million to grow biomanufacturing capacity to support a more resilient defense manufacturing supply chain.
$132 million for DOD’s National Defense Education Program (NDEP), to train the STEM-capable workforce needed for national security.

The Budget provides $6.6 billion for the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration’s R&D programs, including investments in inertial confinement fusion and advanced computing as well as modernization of aging infrastructure and facilities.

The Budget provides $592 million for the Department of Homeland Security’s Research, Development, Technology & Evaluation activities, including an increase of $81 million to refurbish and modernize DHS’s laboratories to better support first responders and transportation security, and more effectively defend the Nation against biological threats.

STEM Education and Engagement

The Biden-Harris Administration is committed to fostering the engagement and motivation of our country’s students in STEM, the instructional and institutional environments for STEM learning, and the training and talent development for our future STEM workforce. The Budget provides significant STEM investments across a broad array of agencies, including:

$1.38 billion for NSF’s renamed Directorate for STEM Education, an increase of $409 million above FY21 funding, and including $393 million to broaden STEM opportunities for historically underrepresented groups.
$260 million for DOE initiatives to build science and technology capacity in underserved institutions, and train the next generation workforce.
$150 million for NASA’s Office of STEM Engagement to attract diverse groups of students to STEM through learning opportunities that provide connections to NASA’s mission and work.
$106 million for USDA’s STEM programs, including doubling support for the Women and Minorities in STEM program compared to the FY 21 funding level.
$450 million at the Department of Education for a new grant program to build R&D infrastructure capacity at 4-year Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities, and Minority-Serving Institutions.
$514 million for the Education Innovation and Research program, from which the Department of Education would direct $350 million toward identifying and scaling models that improve recruitment and retention of staff in education, in particular STEM education, career and technical education, special education, and multilingual education.

# # #

Stay Connected