Researchers can now breathe a sigh of relief; even though the 2018 Federal spending plan took six additional months to pass, there are some encouraging budget figures for Research & Development (R&D).  Over the past 12 months, the US R&D community has expressed considerable fears about the future of funding.

The new Federal budget for “federal R&D spending will reach its highest point ever in inflation-adjusted dollars,” according to the American Association for Advancement of Science (AAAS) article “AAAS Celebrates Federal Spending Increases for Scientific Research” (3/23/18).

Science published an article on Friday, March 23rd as well, “Trump, Congress approves largest U.S. spending increase in a decade,” highlighting some of the key science agencies benefiting from the spending plan:

• NIH receives an 8.3% increase
• NSF receives a 3.9% increase
• Department of Energy (DOE) receives almost a 15% increase
• NASA receives a 7.9% increase

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture also received funding increases, although not in the amazing proportions as those mentioned above.  Unfortunately, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) did not receive any budgetary increase; they received a partial win,  narrowly escaping the proposed deep cuts that lawmakers ultimately rejected.

The Science article estimated that “R&D spending in 2018 will reach $176.8 billion.”