This month, the US Congress passed the appropriation bills for fiscal 2010 (October 1, 2009 to September 30, 2010) for several US government agencies including the National Science Foundation (NSF), Department of Commerce and the Department of Justice (DOJ). The bills now await President Obama’s signature.

NSF

Excluding American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding, the 2010 fiscal year budget for the NSF increased 6.7% to $6.9 billion. Due to the one-time $3 billion in stimulus funds given to the NSF in fiscal 2009 to be used over a five-year period, the total fiscal 2009 NSF budget was boosted to $9.5 billion.

The US government’s attempt to double the NSF’s budget over the next 10 years has led Congress to recommend fiscal 2011 funding levels for the NSF. Congress calls for a minimum 7% increase in the 2011 fiscal budget to continue the government’s doubling effort.

NSF funding of Research and Related Activities (R&RA), which includes funding for its Biological Sciences, Engineering and Geosciences directorates, increased 8.4% to $5.6 billion. Interdisciplinary funding mechanisms, which provide funding across all R&RA directorates, received notable increases this year. Funding for the interdisciplinary Graduate Research Fellowship program jumped more than 30.0% to over $125.0 million as specified by a new presidential initiative to triple the number of new Graduate Research Fellowships to be awarded annually by fiscal 2013. In addition, funding for the interdisciplinary Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) program increased 10.6% to $147.1 million. The majority of EPSCoR funds are allocated through competitive research grants and research-infrastructure grants to improve R&D competitiveness. The R&RA “High-Risk, High-Reward Basic Research” program was allocated $92.0 million. This funding is designed to support transformative research across all R&RA departments through solicitations, collaborations and competitive grants.

Other NSF departments also welcomed budget increases. NSF funding for Education and Human Resources (EHR) increased 3.2% to $872.8 million. EHR provides funding that focuses on increasing the number of researchers in the US, and includes support for research education and infrastructure as well as the graduate fellowships program. NSF funding for Agency Operations and Awards Management increased 2.0% to $300.0 million.

NIST

The budget for the National Institute of Standards and Technology, part of the Department of Commerce, increased 4.5% to $856.6 million for fiscal 2010. A majority of the NIST’s funding is split between the Scientific and Technical Research Services (STRS), Industrial Technology Services (ITS) and the Construction of Research Facilities Program (CRF). STRS funding increased 9.1% to $515 million. This year’s budget allows for $9 million of STRS funding to be transferred to the Working Capital Fund, which is used to purchase equipment for NIST laboratories. Within the STRS, NIST laboratories and technical programs received $446.8 million for fiscal 2010.

The NIST’s ITS contains the Technology Innovation Program (TIP), which received $69.0 million, a 6.0% increase. The TIP competitively funds collaborations between universities and businesses in research areas including research infrastructure support. This fiscal year, the TIP will fund areas of Critical National Need, which include advanced manufacturing, energy, “complex systems” and green chemistry. The NIST’s CRF received $147 million, of which $20 million will be used for the CRF’s Competitive Construction Grant program and $80 million for “high priority construction and capacity, maintenance, and major repair projects” at NIST laboratories. A specific project of note is the $30 million Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Teaching and Research Corridor at the University of Alabama. At the Corridor, construction of the Departments of Biological Sciences, Chemical and Biological Engineering and Chemistry and Computer Science has begun. The NIST’s Office of Law Enforcement Standards will receive $1.5 million from the Department of Justice for research, testing and technology evaluation programs.

DOJ

For fiscal 2010, the DOJ received $161.0 million for funding DNA and forensic programs. Of this funding, $151.0 million will be used for the DOJ’s DNA Capacity Enhancement program. Funding for the program can be used to purchase equipment and renovate laboratories, and will be based on a competitive grant system.

Significant US Fiscal 2010NSF Budget Figures

FY10 ($M) % Chg.

NSF 6,926 6.7

Research and Related Activities 5,617 8.4

Education and Human Resources 872.8 3.2

Agency Operations and Award Management 300.0 2.0

Significant US Fiscal 2010NIST Budget Figures

FY10 ($M) % Chg.

NIST 856.6 4.5

Scientific and Technical Researchand Services 515.0 9.1

Industrial Technology Services 69.9 6.0

Construction of Research Facilities 147.0 -14.5