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News Release 13-006

Federal Budget Authority for R&D Declined in Fiscal Years 2011-12

Modest R&D increase proposed for fiscal year 2013

Illustration showing a pile of dollar bills and a red line going down

Investment in non-defense mission areas like health and energy would increase slightly in FY 2013.


January 18, 2013

This material is available primarily for archival purposes. Telephone numbers or other contact information may be out of date; please see current contact information at media contacts.

Federal budget authority for research and development (R&D) and R&D Plant (R&D facilities and fixed equipment), declined in fiscal years 2011 and 2012, mostly due to a drop in defense-related R&D, according to a recent report from the National Science Foundation.

Under the fiscal year 2013 budget authority for R&D activities proposed by the president last year, total investment in this area would rise somewhat, although a further decrease would be seen in defense-related R&D. Investment in non-defense mission areas, such as space, energy, health and commerce, would increase slightly in fiscal year 2013.

The drop in the federal budget authority for fiscal years 2011 and 2012 follows increases each year over fiscal years 2006-10. When adjusted for inflation, the yearly rate of growth over this period averaged 0.4 percent, somewhat ahead of the U.S. economy's general pace of price increases.

For more information on this report, please contact Mark Boroush.

Please visit the NSF's National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics for more reports and other products.

-NSF-

Media Contacts
Deborah Wing, NSF, (703) 292-5344, email: dwing@nsf.gov

Program Contacts
Mark Boroush, NSF, (703) 292-8726, email: mboroush@nsf.gov

The U.S. National Science Foundation propels the nation forward by advancing fundamental research in all fields of science and engineering. NSF supports research and people by providing facilities, instruments and funding to support their ingenuity and sustain the U.S. as a global leader in research and innovation. With a fiscal year 2023 budget of $9.5 billion, NSF funds reach all 50 states through grants to nearly 2,000 colleges, universities and institutions. Each year, NSF receives more than 40,000 competitive proposals and makes about 11,000 new awards. Those awards include support for cooperative research with industry, Arctic and Antarctic research and operations, and U.S. participation in international scientific efforts.

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