Highlights from the FY22 Enacted Budget

On Monday, November 15, 2021, President Biden signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (H.R.3684) into law. The U.S. House of Representatives passed the bill on November 5, 2021, by a vote of 228 to 205 and the Senate passed the bill in August by a vote of 69 to 30.
Highlights from the FY22 Enacted Budget
Research Universities April 11, 2022

The spending bill that is now funding the government for fiscal year 2022 (FY22) became law on March 15, 2022, when President Biden signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022. The legislation included larger than requested increases in the Defense budget and notable boosts to Department of Energy programs. Congress also provided further direction to the National Science Foundation on establishing a new directorate, although the House and Senate will need to come to an agreement in other legislation about the new directorate’s focus.  

Key highlights from the legislation include:  

National Science Foundation 

  • The law expressed support for the creation of the new Technology, Innovation and Partnership (TIP) Directorate within the NSF. 
  • Programs to strengthen research capacity at HBCUs, MSIs, and Tribal Serving Institutions; stimulate competitive research (EPSCoR); and expand and improve STEM education programs all received modest funding boosts. 

National Institutes of Health 

  • All institutes and centers within NIH received at least a 3.4% funding boost from FY21 levels with a particular focus on cancer research, the BRAIN Initiative, and the All of Us initiative. 
  • $1 billion was provided for the establishment of the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H).

Department of Defense 

  • Military R&D spending increased 11% over FY21 levels, with $18.9 billion appropriated for the Science & Technology program within the Research, Development, Test and Evaluation (RDT&E) budget. 
  • STEM program expansion and civil society partnership efforts received a combined $29 million, and the Navy received $25 million to boost its academic partnerships for submarine and undersea vehicle research.  

 Department of Energy 

  • DOE received funding boosts across the board, both within the Office of Science and its applied energy programs including: Energy Storage, Critical Minerals, Industrial Decarbonization, Grid Modernization, and Hydrogen Energy. 
  • The Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations, established under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, received $20 million in funding. 

Department of Commerce 

  • The Economic Development Administration received $45 million for Regional Innovation Program (RIP) grants, with 40% of grants earmarked to support rural communities. 
  • The National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST) received funding boosts for programs in Artificial Intelligence and Cybersecurity. 

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