Federal Research and Development Funding: FY2014

John F. Sargent Jr., Coordinator
Specialist in Science and Technology Policy

Congress has received President Obama’s budget request for FY2014, which includes $142.773 billion for research and development (R&D), a $1.861 billion (1.3%) increase from the FY2012 actual funding level of $140.912 billion. The request represents the President’s R&D priorities; Congress may opt to agree with part or all of the request, or may express different priorities through the appropriations process. In particular, Congress will play a central role in determining the extent to which the federal R&D investment can grow in the context of increased pressure on discretionary spending and how available funding will be prioritized and allocated. Low or negative growth in the overall R&D investment may require movement of resources across disciplines, programs, or agencies to address priorities.

Funding for R&D is highly concentrated in a few departments. Under President Obama’s FY2014 budget request, seven federal agencies would receive 95.3% of total federal R&D funding, with the Department of Defense (47.8%) and the Department of Health and Human Services (22.4%, primarily for the National Institutes of Health) accounting for more than 70% of all federal R&D funding.

Among the largest changes proposed in the President’s request, the R&D budget of the Department of Defense would fall by $4.625 billion (6.3%), while R&D funding for the Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) would increase by $1.428 billion. The NIST growth is fueled by increases in funding for its core research laboratories and by the establishment of the National Network for Manufacturing Innovation with $1 billion in mandatory funding. The NNMI seeks to promote the development of manufacturing technologies with broad applications.

President Obama has requested increases in the R&D budgets of NIST, the National Science Foundation, and the Department of Energy’s Office of Science that were targeted for doubling over 7 years, from their FY2006 levels, by the America COMPETES Act, and over 10 years by the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010. The FY2014 request breaks with President Obama’s earlier budgets which explicitly stated the goal of doubling funding for these accounts over their FY2006 aggregate level. Instead the Office of Science and Technology Policy asserts that the FY2014 request “maintains the President’s commitment to increase funding for research at these three science agencies.” The Presidents FY2014 request sets a pace that would result in doubling of the FY2006 level over a period of more than 17 years, much longer than authorized by either act.

The President’s FY2014 request continues support for three multi-agency R&D initiatives in FY2014, proposing $1.704 billion for the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI), a reduction of $159 million (8.6%) over FY2012, due primarily to reductions in NNI funding at DOD and NSF; $3.968 billion for the Networking and Information Technology Research and Development (NITRD) program, an increase of $159 million (4.2%) over FY2012; and $2.652 billion for the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP), an increase of $151 million (6.0%) over FY2012.

In recent years, Congress has used a variety of mechanisms to complete the annual appropriations process after the start of the fiscal year. This may affect agencies’ execution of their R&D budgets, including delaying or canceling some planned R&D and equipment acquisition.


Date of Report: July 10, 2013
Number of Pages: 57
Order Number: R43086
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Science and Technology Issues in the 113th Congress

Frank Gottron, Coordinator
Specialist in Science and Technology Policy

Science and technology have a pervasive influence over a wide range of issues confronting the nation. Public and private research and development spurs scientific and technological advancement. Such advances can drive economic growth, help address national priorities, and improve health and quality of life. The constantly changing nature and ubiquity of science and technology frequently creates public policy issues of congressional interest.

The federal government supports scientific and technological advancement by directly funding research and development and indirectly by creating and maintaining policies that encourage private sector efforts. Additionally, the federal government establishes and enforces regulatory frameworks governing many aspects of S&T activities.

This report briefly outlines an array of science and technology policy issues that may come before the 113th Congress. Given the ubiquity of science and technology and its constantly evolving nature, some science and technology related-issues not discussed in this report may come before the 113th Congress. The selected issues are grouped into 11 categories:

• Overarching S&T issues,

• Workforce and Education,

• Agriculture,

• Biomedical Research and Development,

• Defense,

• Space,

• Nanotechnology,

• Environment,

• Energy,

• Homeland Security, and

• Information Technology.

Each of these categories includes concise analysis of multiple policy issues. The information and analysis presented in this report should be viewed as introductory rather than comprehensive. Each section identifies available CRS reports and the appropriate CRS expert for further information and analysis. .


Date of Report: June 20, 2013
Number of Pages: 42
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The Obama Administration’s Proposal to Establish a National Network for Manufacturing Innovation

John F. Sargent Jr.
Specialist in Science and Technology Policy

Manufacturing plays an important role in the nation’s economy, employment, and national defense. Accordingly, Congress has maintained a strong interest in the health of the U.S. manufacturing sector. Some analysts have expressed concerns about a decades-long decline in manufacturing employment punctuated by a steep drop from 2001 to 2010, as well as about the offshore outsourcing of production and related functions, such as research and development, by U.S. manufacturers. Others see the U.S. manufacturing sector as vibrant and healthy as evidenced by growth in output and productivity.

The Obama Administration has undertaken a number of initiatives intended to support U.S. manufacturing, including establishment of the Advanced Manufacturing Partnership, Advanced Manufacturing National Program Office (AMNPO), Advanced Manufacturing Technology Consortia program, National Robotics Initiative, and Materials Genome Initiative.

In his FY2013 budget, President Obama proposed the creation of a National Network for Manufacturing Innovation (NNMI) to help accelerate innovation by investing in industrially relevant manufacturing technologies with broad applications, and to support manufacturing technology commercialization by bridging the gap between the laboratory and the market. Congress did not act on the President’s proposal for FY2013. Nevertheless, the Administration used the Department of Defense’s existing authorities and FY2012 regular appropriations to compete and award a pilot institute, the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute, referring to it as “a proof-of-concept for the potential subsequent institutes.”

In addition, the Administration sought nationwide input from key stakeholder groups to help guide the design of the NNMI. The AMNPO held four regional workshops and published a Request for Information (RFI) in the Federal Register inviting public comment on the proposed NNMI program. A total of 875 people attended the workshops and the RFI drew 78 responses representing the viewpoints of nearly more than 100 separate entities. The input gathered from the workshops and the RFI was used by the AMNPO to prepare a National Science and Technology Committee report, National Network for Manufacturing Innovation: A Preliminary Design, published in January 2013, articulating the Administration’s view of principles and characteristics for the NNMI program.

In his 2014 budget request, President Obama again included the NNMI proposal. He also announced his intention to establish three additional manufacturing institutes in FY2013 using existing authorities and appropriations, two by the Department of Defense (DOD) and one by the Department of Energy (DOE). As in his FY2013 budget, the President’s NNMI proposal calls for the establishment of up to 15 Institutes for Manufacturing Innovation (IMI) funded through a onetime infusion of $1 billion in mandatory funding to the Department of Commerce’s National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) and to be spent over multiple years. Each IMI would be comprised of stakeholders from industry (including large companies and small- and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises), academia, federal agencies, and state government entities. According to the proposal, each IMI is to be competitively selected, serve as a regional hub for manufacturing innovation (as well as part of the national network), and have a unique focus area (e.g., an advanced material, manufacturing process, enabling technology, or industry sector). The NNMI would be managed collaboratively by NIST, DOD, DOE, the National Science Foundation, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and other agencies.


Date of Report: June 18, 2013
Number of Pages: 24
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Cybersecurity: Authoritative Reports and Resources

Rita Tehan
Information Research Specialist

Cybersecurity vulnerabilities challenge governments, businesses, and individuals worldwide. Attacks have been initiated by individuals, as well as countries. Targets have included government networks, military defenses, companies, or political organizations, depending upon whether the attacker was seeking military intelligence, conducting diplomatic or industrial espionage, or intimidating political activists. In addition, national borders mean little or nothing to cyberattackers, and attributing an attack to a specific location can be difficult, which also makes a response problematic.

Congress has been actively involved in cybersecurity issues, holding hearings every year since 2001. There is no shortage of data on this topic: government agencies, academic institutions, think tanks, security consultants, and trade associations have issued hundreds of reports, studies, analyses, and statistics.

This report provides links to selected authoritative resources related to cybersecurity issues. This report includes information on

• “Legislation” 
• “Executive Orders and Presidential Directives” 
• “Data and Statistics” 
• “Cybersecurity Glossaries” 
• “Reports by Topic” 
• Government Accountability Office (GAO) reports 
• White House/Office of Management and Budget reports 
• Military/DOD 
• Cloud Computing 
• Critical Infrastructure 
• National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace (NSTIC) 
• Cybercrime/Cyberwar 
• International 
• Education/Training/Workforce 
• Research and Development (R&D) 
• “Related Resources: Other Websites” 

The report will be updated as needed. .


Date of Report: June 19, 2013
Number of Pages: 101
Order Number: R42507
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Federal Laws Relating to Cybersecurity: Overview and Discussion of Proposed Revisions

Eric A. Fischer
Senior Specialist in Science and Technology

For more than a decade, various experts have expressed increasing concerns about cybersecurity, in light of the growing frequency, impact, and sophistication of attacks on information systems in the United States and abroad. Consensus has also been building that the current legislative framework for cybersecurity might need to be revised.

The complex federal role in cybersecurity involves both securing federal systems and assisting in protecting nonfederal systems. Under current law, all federal agencies have cybersecurity responsibilities relating to their own systems, and many have sector-specific responsibilities for critical infrastructure.

More than 50 statutes address various aspects of cybersecurity either directly or indirectly, but there is no overarching framework legislation in place. While revisions to most of those laws have been proposed over the past few years, no major cybersecurity legislation has been enacted since 2002.

Recent legislative proposals, including many bills introduced in recent Congresses, have focused largely on issues in 10 broad areas (see “Selected Issues Addressed in Proposed Legislation” for an overview of how current legislative proposals would address issues in several of those areas):

• national strategy and the role of government, 
• reform of the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA), 
• protection of critical infrastructure (including the electricity grid and the chemical industry), 
• information sharing and cross-sector coordination, 
• breaches resulting in theft or exposure of personal data such as financial information, 
• cybercrime, 
• privacy in the context of electronic commerce, 
• international efforts, 
• research and development, and 
• the cybersecurity workforce. 

For most of those topics, at least some of the bills addressing them have proposed changes to current laws. Several of the bills specifically focused on cybersecurity received committee or floor action in the 112th and 113th Congresses, but none has become law. In the absence of enactment of cybersecurity legislation, the White House issued Executive Order 1336, with provisions on protection of critical infrastructure, including information sharing and standards development.

Comprehensive legislative proposals on cybersecurity that received considerable attention in 2012 are The Cybersecurity Act of 2012 (CSA 2012, S. 2105, reintroduced in revised form as S. 3414), recommendations from a House Republican task force, and a proposal by the Obama Administration. They differed in approach, with S. 2105 proposing the most extensive regulatory
framework and organizational changes, and the task force recommendations focusing more on incentives for improving private-sector cybersecurity. An alternative to S. 2105 and S. 3414, S. 3342 (a refinement of S. 2151), did not include enhanced regulatory authority or new federal entities, but did include cybercrime provisions. S. 3414 was debated in the Senate but failed two cloture votes.

Several narrower House bills would address some of the issues raised and recommendations made by the House task force. Four passed the House in 2012 but were not considered by the Senate. They were reintroduced in passed the House again, with some amendments, in April 2013:

• Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (H.R. 624), which focuses on information sharing and coordination, including sharing of classified information; 
• Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2013 (H.R. 756), which addresses federal cybersecurity R&D and the development of technical standards; 
• Advancing America’s Networking and Information Technology Research and Development Act of 2013 (H.R. 967), which addresses R&D in networking and information technology, including but not limited to security; and 
• Federal Information Security Amendments Act of 2012 (H.R. 1163), which addresses FISMA reform. 

One bill from the 112th Congress was ordered reported out of the full committee but did not come to the floor:

• Promoting and Enhancing Cybersecurity and Information Sharing Effectiveness Act of 2011 or PRECISE Act of 2011 (H.R. 3674), which addressed the role of the Department of Homeland Security in cybersecurity, including protection of federal systems, personnel, R&D, information sharing, and public/private sector collaboration in protecting critical infrastructure. 

Together, those House and Senate bills have addressed most of the issues listed above, although in different ways. All include proposed revisions to some existing laws covered in this report.

Date of Report: June 20, 2013
Number of Pages: 67
Order Number: R42114
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