The document provides an analysis of U.S. federal research and development (R&D) funding trends during and after the Obama administration, emphasizing the transition to the Trump administration as of the FY 2018 budget cycle. It reviews budgetary changes across key science and technology agencies, illustrating variable funding trajectories between 2008 and 2016, with agencies such as the NIH, NSF, NASA, and DOE experiencing both increases and declines depending on fiscal policy and legislative priorities. Despite Presidential budget requests often not being fully honored by Congress, appropriators made efforts to sustain R&D funding—particularly when local and national competitiveness, health, and security interests aligned—though contentious issues like climate science and applied technology programs remained points of disagreement.
The document also assesses the impact of sequestration, discretionary caps, and legislation such as the Budget Control Act on both defense and nondefense R&D funding, with nondefense research facing greater constraints in later years. The proposed FY 2018 budget under the Trump administration indicated a significant decrease in overall R&D funding, especially in nondefense areas and basic and applied research, while defense R&D received a notable increase. The magnitude of these proposed reductions surpassed cuts from previous administrations, drawing substantial bipartisan criticism. The analysis underscores the uncertainty inherent in the budget process, with ultimate outcomes dependent on congressional negotiations over spending caps and the allocation between basic and applied research in future appropriations.
