Computing Research Policy Blog

Administration statement on R&D

Received the attached "R&D Fact Sheet" from Connie Correll Partoyan, Counselor & Senior Advisor to the Under Secretary of Technology, Department of Commerce.

R&D Fact Sheet

Federal R&D Budget Facts

• With the completion of the FY 2004 budget process this week, total
federal R&D investment over the last three years has increased by 38%, to
$126 billion in 2004, compared to $91 billion in 2001. That's the
equivalent of increases of 11.3% each year.

• Last February, President Bush's 2004 budget request committed 13.7
percent of total discretionary outlays to R&D - the highest level in 36
years. Not since 1968 and the Apollo program have we seen an investment in
science of this magnitude.

• Of this, the Bush budget committed 6% of total discretionary outlays
to non-defense R&D. This is the highest level in 31 years (since 1973).

• Funding for basic research, the fuel for future technology
development, is at an all-time high of $26.7 billion in 2004, compared to
$21.3 billion just three years ago. That's a 25% increase or the
equivalent of increases of 7.7% each year. 95 percent of this basic
research spending occurs outside the Defense Department.

• Funding for NIH has increased 37% over the previous Administration to
almost $28 billion.

• Funding for NSF has increased 26% over the previous Administration to
$5.6 billion.

• Since 2001, nanotechnology R&D is up 86% percent, to $864 million,
and information technology R&D is up 14%, to $2.0 billion.

• And hydrogen energy research, now embodied in the President's 2003
Hydrogen Fuel Initiative, is more than double what it was in 2001 at $160
million.