federal budget

Editor’s note (April 4, 2024): This article has been updated to reflect relevant programs included in the second of two FY 2024 omnibus appropriations bills.

The White House published its FY 2025 budget this week. As Congress will ultimately produce its preferred budget, the president’s release like those of previous Administrations serves as more of a messaging document outlining a vision and priorities. For tech-based economic development (TBED), the message is that Congress has provided ample tools but needs to continue to fund them.

More than five months into fiscal year 2024, Congress has approved an agreement covering six of the twelve annual appropriations bills. Many tech-based economic development (TBED) programs received funding equal to the FY 2023 base appropriation—a strong sign of support for a year in which Congress agreed to return to FY 2022 overall spending levels and many programs across the federal government, therefore, saw cuts. However, because Congress has not agreed to provide again the supplemental funding that fueled robust spending last year, the FY 2024 budget actually provides hundreds of millions of dollars less in total TBED spending than was appropriated in FY 2023.

The White House released the President’s Budget for FY 2024 today, and the administration is making a strong statement of support for science, technology, innovation and entrepreneurship. Highlights from the request include more than $4 billion for the Economic Development Administration (EDA) Regional Technology and Innovation Hubs, $300 million for the National Science Foundation (NSF) Regional Innovation Engines, $277 million for the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Manufacturing Extension Partnership, and a total of $30 million for the three primary Small Business Administration (SBA) innovation programs. Congress is not likely to adopt the president’s budget as-is, but the proposal may factor into the negotiations throughout the appropriations process. More information on the president’s budget is available below.

Federal innovation and entrepreneurship initiatives would receive substantial new funding under the text of the omnibus spending bill shared on the morning of Dec. 20 by the Senate Committee on Appropriations. The legislation, which totals $1.7 trillion and covers both regular FY 2023 appropriations and supplement funding, provides a total of $1.8 billion for programs authorized by this year’s CHIPS and Science Act and increases funding for multiple long-standing efforts — including each of the SSTI Innovation Advocacy Council’s priority programs. The legislation is expected to pass Congress this week, before the current funding agreement expires on Dec. 23.

With the fiscal year coming to a close and the U.S. Senate having yet to advance any appropriations bills for the next year, the Senate Democrats have released their proposals for FY 2023 funding levels. Due to the potential for substantial changes when the final FY 2023 budget is passed, this article only covers specific funding levels that are a high priority for the tech-based economic development (TBED) field. Funding levels from the House Committee on Appropriations for FY 2023 and FY 2022 enacted amounts also are provided in parentheses for comparison purposes.

With the end of the current fiscal year just three months away, the House Committee on Appropriations is set to finish marking up all of its FY 2023 funding bills by the end of this week. Similar to last year. the committee’s actions come before Congress has agreed to an overall spending level. Due to the potential for substantial changes when the final FY 2023 budget is passed, this article only covers specific funding levels that are a high priority for the tech-based economic development (TBED) field.

The White House has released its proposed budget for FY 2023. While funding levels will ultimately be determined by Congress (see SSTI’s previous commentary putting the proposal in context), the president’s budget identifies administration priorities that can indicate future agency actions — for example, last year’s proposal for the National Science Foundation (NSF) included the Technology, Innovation and Partnerships (TIP) Directorate, and the agency moved forward with the directorate despite receiving no formal authorization or funding level. The FY 2023 budget proposal contains many helpful priorities for regional innovation economies.

More than five months into the fiscal year, Congress has finally proposed a full budget for FY 2022. While the legislation has not passed both chambers as of this writing, the discretionary spending provisions are expected to remain unchanged. Few programs received as much funding as the House proposed in its appropriations bills last summer, but science and innovation initiatives generally received at least some additional funding. Highlights include: an additional $10.5 million for the SSTI Innovation Advocacy Council’s three priority programs; approval for the National Science Foundation to implement a technology directorate and new Regional Innovation Accelerator program; and, the creation of a new Advanced Research Projects Agency-Health.

With the regular budget process stalled for the time being, Senate Democrats released their draft bills for the remaining three-quarters of the FY 2022 federal budget. Included in these proposals are substantial increases for Build to Scale and the Small Business Administration’s innovation programs, as well as funding for a new Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships (TIP) at the National Science Foundation. The draft bills are another positive indicator for how Congress may invest in science, technology, innovation and entrepreneurship in the near future, but the path forward remains uncertain.