The FY 2000 budget continues the important R&D trends established by this Administration. It boosts funding for basic research to $18.2 billion, an increase of 4.2% ($727 million) over FY 1999. The budget also strengthens university-based research, which increases by $353 million, and reflects an effort to reestablish an optimum balance between health care research and other scientific disciplines.

21^st Century Research Fund

The 21^st Century Research Fund continues to be the centerpiece of the President's R&D investment strategy. This year the Research Fund includes DOD basic and applied research programs, further evidence of the Administration's commitment to effective integration of the Nation's university-based research portfolio. The $38 billion Research Fund grows by 3% in FY 2000 and provides for overall stability and for growth in the highest priority research programs.

Highlights of the R&D Budget

The proposed R&D investments will enable the S&T agencies to achieve the President's goals for science and technology: promote long-term economic growth that creates high-wage jobs; sustain a healthy, educated citizenry; harness information technology; improve environmental quality; enhance national security and global stability; and maintain world leadership in science, engineering, and mathematics. For example:

• National Institutes of Health (NIH). Keeping pace with the Administration's ambitious goal last year for progress in biomedical research, the budget includes a 2% ($320 million) increase. These investments will allow continued progress on diabetes, brain disorders, cancer, genetic medicine, disease prevention strategies, and development of an AIDS vaccine.

• National Science Foundation (NSF). The budget provides $3.92 billion (a 7% increase) for NSF's broad base of support to all fields of scientific study. The budget provides $146 million for NSF to lead the Administration's Information Technology in the 21^st Century (IT5 ) initiative and also increases funding for biocomplexity research on biological, physical, chemical, and social interactions in Earth's ecosystems.

• Department of Energy (DOE). The budget provides $2.84 billion (a 6% increase) for basic science programs at DOE. The budget includes resources for basic research as well as continued support for construction and operation of large scientific user facilities, including the Spallation Neutron Source. DOE's participation in IT5 ($70M in FY 2000) will help to accelerate scientific discovery and research.

• Department of Defense (DOD). The budget provides $1.1 billion in basic research, $3 billion in applied research, and $3.3 billion in advanced technology development. Research on counter-terrorism and on improvements in the safety and security of the Nation's physical infrastructure and information and communications systems receives a targeted increase.

• National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The budget provides $2.48 billion for the International Space Station (an 8% increase). NASA's budget also includes $2.2 billion for Space Science (a 4% increase over FY 1999); and $1.46 billion for Earth Science (a 3% increase).

• Department of Agriculture (USDA). The budget provides a 6% increase, $837 million, for the Agricultural Research Service. The Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service National Research Initiative -- which provides competitive grants in areas of national concern such as food safety, the environment, plant and animal research, and human nutrition -- receives a 68% increase to a total of $200 million. Funding for the Forest Service increases 19% to $235 million in support of ecosystem and global change research.

• Department of Commerce (DOC). The budget includes $918 million in the 21^st Century Research Fund at DOC. It provides $239 million (an 18% increase) for NIST's Advanced Technology Program to promote unique, rigorously competitive, cost-shared R&D partnerships. It also provides $283 million to NOAA for research to support decisionmaking on climate change, air quality, and ozone depletion.

• Department of the Interior (DOI). The budget provides $838 million (a 5% increase) to USGS for science that supports national resource and environmental decisionmaking. The budget also supports research and technical assistance on the scientific needs of land managers and local land use planners.

The budget increases investment in national priorities requiring multi-agency investments. For example:

• High Performance Computing and Communications (HPCC) and the Information Technology Initiative (IT²). The budget provides a total of $1.8 billion for these programs. IT², which responds to the recommendations of the President's Information Technology Advisory Committee to increase funding for fundamental, long-term research, advanced applications, and research on the economic and social implications of information technology, is funded at $366 million (a 28% increase) in FY 2000.

• Climate Change Technology Initiative. The budget provides a 34% increase for this initiative, which includes $1.4 billion in R&D on energy efficiency, renewable energy, carbon sequestration, and improvements in nuclear and fossil technologies. The initiative also provides $400 million in tax credits to stimulate adoption of energy efficiency technologies.

• U.S. Global Change Research Program. The budget provides $1.8 billion (a 6% increase) to observe, understand, predict, and assess the state of the Earth and how it changes in response to natural and human-induced forces.

• Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles (PNGV). The budget provides $264 million (a 10% increase) for this cost-shared, industry partnership. PNGV aims to develop affordable cars that achieve up to three times the fuel economy of comparable vehicles and meet all applicable emission and safety standards.

• Education Research Initiative. The budget provides $50 million ($25 million at NSF and $25 million at ED) to support large-scale, interdisciplinary research in three key areas: school readiness for learning reading and mathematics; K-3 learning in reading and mathematics; and education of PreK-12 teachers in mathematics, reading, and science.

The budget provides $2.4 billion to extend the Research and Experimentation (R&E) tax credit until June 30, 2000. The R&E credit helps stimulate additional private sector investment in research and development which encourages technological advancement, leading to higher productivity, and helping to generate new American jobs.