Federal Research and Development (R&D) Funding: FY2022
R46869
https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R46869
Updated November 17, 2021
President Biden’s budget request for FY2022 includes approximately $171.3 billion for research and development (R&D), $13.5 billion (8.5%) above the FY2021 estimated level of $157.8 billion. In constant FY2022 dollars, the FY2022 R&D request represents an increase of $10.6 billion (6.6%) above the FY2021 estimated level.
Funding for R&D is concentrated in a few federal departments and agencies. In FY2021, five agencies received 93.0% of total federal R&D funding, with the Department of Defense (DOD, 40.1%) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS, 27.6%) combined accounting for more than two -thirds of all federal R&D funding. In the FY2022 request, the top five R&D agencies would account for 92.4%, with DOD accounting for 36.7% and HHS for 29.9%.
Under the President’s FY2022 budget request, nearly all federal agencies would see their R&D funding increase relative to FY2021. The only exception is DOD, which would decrease by $550 million (0.9%) in FY2022 to $62.8 billion. The largest dollar increases in R&D funding would be made to HHS (up $7.7 billion, 17.8%), the Department of Energy (up $2.1 billion, 11.1%), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (up $1.3 billion, 10.1%). The largest percentage increases in R&D funding would be at the Department of the Interior (up 30.8%), the Department of Commerce (up 29.3%), and the Department of Agriculture (up 21.7%).
The President’s FY2022 budget request would increase funding for basic research by $4.4 billion (10.2%), applied research by $6.3 billion (14.0%), development by $2.4 billion (3.6%), and R&D facilities and equipment by $380 million (9.0%).
In President Biden’s FY2022 budget request, the Department of Health and Human Services, primarily NIH, would account for more than half (50.7%) of all federal funding for basic research. HHS would also be the largest federal funder of applied research, accounting for about 52.5% of all federally funded applied research in the President’s FY2022 budget request. DOD would be the primary federal funder of experimental development, accounting for 80.5% of total federal development funding in the President’s FY2022 budget request. DOE would be the primary federal funder of R&D facilities and equipment, accounting for 58.2% of total federal R&D facilities and equipment funding in the President’s FY2022 budget request.
