The U.S. Administration's budget request for federal R&D in Fiscal Year 2003 proposes an increase of $8.9 billion compared with FY 2002--but, the funds would be distributed only to two agencies--the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
The request leaves all other R&D funding agencies combined with barely the same amount as in FY 2002, said Leshner, chief executive officer of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), publisher of the journal, Science.
Overall, the total federal R&D request for FY 2003 would hit a record $112 billion. The $8.9 billion increase over FY 2002 would give $5.2 billion to the DOD, and $3.7 billion to NIH.
Nondefense-related R&D would increase by 7.2 percent for FY 2003. Yet, when increases to the NIH are excluded, nondefense R&D would actually fall by 0.2 percent, according to AAAS analysis. (See http://www.aaas.org/spp/dspp/rd/rdwwwpg.htm.)
Proposed increases would provide the final installment of a plan to double the NIH budget in five years, allowing the agency to support 56 percent of all federal R&D support for FY 2003.
Which fields of research are gaining the most support? AAAS studies of trends in federal research by discipline from 1970 to 2001 show that federal funding for the life sciences has quadrupled over the past three decades. By contrast, funding for engineering, physical sciences, environmental sciences, mathematics, computer sciences, social sciences, and psychology (which receive their funding from several different agencies) are relatively flat, or at most, show modest growth. Funding for the life sciences, meanwhile, has skyrocketed in parallel with the NIH budget.
Science magazine's predictions for 2002 show that balanced R&D spending could support an array of advances. Specifically, significant advances are expected in:
* astronomy with the proposed launch of a second large telescope in Chile;
* more precise global positioning systems through the use of optical clocks that rely on visible light waves; and
* greater clarity of visualization systems through improved imaging technology; and
* faster computers that will allow us to examine biological molecules and watch cell signaling as it occurs."
"Our continued national security and improving quality of life depend on a uniformly healthy and rapidly growing science and technology enterprise," Leshner said. His testimony, before the U.S. Senate Science, Technology and Space Subcommittee, "reflects our belief that balanced and strong support across the entire science and technology enterprise is critical to the nation's future," he said.
For a complete copy of Dr. Leshner's testimony, contact the AAAS Office of Public Programs at (202) 326-6440, or send e-mail to scipak@aaas.org