Federal Funds For 2014 Finalized

Last month, Congress did something it hadn’t done in several years: It passed a fully appropriated budget. In a massive omnibus measure, funding levels for fiscal 2014, which started on Oct. 1, 2013, were set, and guidance was given for all federal programs and activities.

The legislation provides funding increases for many R&D efforts and sends a clear signal about which programs Congress values. For instance, lawmakers provide a funding increase for the Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy. They give funds to move forward construction of the National Bio & Agro-Defense Facility in Kansas. They also direct the White House Office of Science & Technology Policy to provide progress reports on federal agencies’ open access plans and to rethink a proposed reorganization of science education. Such information has been lacking in recent years, as Congress defaulted to using continuing funding resolutions for many agencies that simply carry funding levels over from year to year.

Most of the 2014 funding levels rise above 2013 appropriations less the across-the-board cuts known as sequestration. The 2014 levels also meet budget caps set by Congress, which means another round of sequestration may not be necessary for most agencies. Following is a summary of how science-related agencies and programs fared. Levels set by the 2014 omnibus law are compared with 2013 postsequester levels, when available.