May 23, 2017 – The White House’s 2018 budget plan, if it were to become law, would devastate America’s science and technology enterprise and negatively affect our nation’s economy and public well-being. Slashing funding of critically important federal agencies threatens our nation’s ability to advance cures for disease, develop new energy technologies, improve public health, train the next generation of scientists and engineers, and grow America’s economy.
In comparing White House proposed budgets to levels enacted in the FY 2017 omnibus appropriations, these agencies and programs face severe cuts:
- National Science Foundation, reduced 11%
- National Institutes of Health, reduced 22%
- Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science, reduced 17%
- DOE energy efficiency and renewable energy research, reduced 70%
- Environmental Protection Agency science and technology, reduced 44%
This is the President’s plan, but it is Congress that decides how much funding federal agencies will ultimately receive. We commend Congress for prioritizing federal research and development (R&D) in the FY 2017 appropriations it finalized just a few weeks ago, and encourage representatives to once again act in the nation’s best interest and support funding for R&D in a bipartisan fashion – including both defense and non-defense programs – in FY 2018 and beyond. We stand ready to work with Congress to ensure R&D investment remains a priority.
— Rush Holt, CEO, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
For additional information on the R&D budget, see the AAAS analysis at https://www.aaas.org/program/rd-budget-and-policy-program.