FY25 Congressional Funding Recommendations – What Research Universities Need to Know

Congress is in recess through the Labor Day holiday. Neither chamber has passed all 12 of its annual appropriations titles which will be required to move into conference to resolve differences between them. This is unlikely to happen before the start of the fiscal year on October 1st and Congress will need to pass a continuing resolution to extend federal funding through the first quarter of FY25. As in previous cycles, the resolution of final funding levels for FY25 is unlikely to be resolved before December. 

Agency (Department) FY24 Enacted FY25 House Recommendation FY25 Senate Recommendation
NSF
$9.06B
$9.26B
$9.55B
NIH*
$47.08B
$48.08B
$48.85B
DOE Office of Science
$8.24B
$8.39B
$8.60B
*not including ARPA-H funding 

Both House and Senate appropriators are recommending topline funding increases for the National Science Foundation (NSF), National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the DOE Office of Science. 

Additionally, both the House and the Senate recommend that the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) at the Department of Commerce (DOC) consider creating a new Manufacturing USA Institute in space manufacturing. 

The Senate recommendation would also provide $100 million for the Regional Tech Hubs program for 2 to 5 additional implementation awards. The Department of Commerce announced the 31 Tech Hub designees in October of 2023 and the initial 12 implementation awards in July 2024. 

Differences Between the House and Senate Topline Funding Recommendations for Federal R&D Agencies: 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (DOC): The House is recommending a $680 million cut to the agency’s topline budget from FY24. In comparison, the Senate is recommending a $380 million increase. 

Economic Development Administration (DOC): The House is recommending another funding cut (-$143.5M) to EDA’s economic development assistance programs from FY24. The Senate is proposing a modest increase. 

Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (DOE): As in the previous cycle, the House is again recommending a steep cut to the DOE’s EERE office (a $1.5B cut, or 43%) while the Senate is recommending a 9% increase over FY24. 

For more information about McAllister & Quinn’s strategic intelligence service, and if you’d like regular updates and information on legislative activity affecting the federal R&D budget, Contact Us Here. 

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