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For many states facing a challenging budget year, level funding for science and technology is welcome news to the tech-based economic development (TBED) community. With the passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act earlier this year, governors are seeking solutions to stimulate their respective states' economies through new and expanded programs within specific priority areas.

Last week, the U.S. Department of Treasury released the details of its plan to award $100 million in grants to community-based financial institutions. These funds, along with an additional $3 billion in tax credit authority, were allocated to Treasury programs by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) last month.

Utah's 2009 legislative session ended earlier this month with a significant boost in funding to the Utah Science Technology and Research Initiative (USTAR) for recruiting science and technology researchers at the University of Utah and Utah State University.

TechConnect West Virginia (TechConnectWV) released a new plan on Monday to build a larger and more robust technology economy. The report, West Virginia Blueprint for Technology-Based Economic Development, proposes a four-part, general strategy for TBED and targets several key industries for development.

The National Science Foundation has made available the FY 2007 version of its Academic Research and Development Expenditures statistical tables. The release contains detailed information on research expenditures at individual academic institutions.

According to the National Science Foundation, the number of science and engineering PhDs awarded in the U.S. has been increasing every year since 2002. To further examine trends of the PhDs awarded in each state, SSTI has prepared a table showing the number of S&E PhDs per 100,000 residents and each state's relative rank from 2002 to 2006, as well as the percent change in PhDs awarded per capita over these five years and the rank of that change.

This week, Congress passed H.R. 1541, a continuing resolution that extends the SBIR program in its current state until July 31, 2009. The extension provides another four-month window for the two chambers to develop a compromise toward full reauthorization. 

Many agencies may see Congress passing their annual appropriations bill six months into the fiscal year as worth the wait, given the increases most science, technology and economic development supporting programs experienced. While some budget bump ups are modest, accommodating little more than inflation and Congressional earmarks, others should result in more grants flowing to researchers, universities, small businsses, and TBED organizations.

The enacted budget funds the Department of Agriculture (USDA) at $106 billion for FY09, with increases over FY08 funding for several programs related to TBED. Most of the USDA appropriation, $86.6 billion, is reserved for mandatory spending programs such as food and nutrition assistance and farm commodity programs.

The FY09 enacted budget provides $9.3 billion for the Department of Commerce, up $1.6 billion over FY08. Much of this additional funding will support the 2010 U.S. Census and not TBED-related and research activities.

The FY09 enacted budget provides $9.3 billion for the Department of Commerce, up $1.6 billion over FY08. Much of this additional funding will support the 2010 U.S. Census and not TBED-related and research activities.

The enacted FY09 Appropriations bill authorizes $512 billion for the Department of Defense (DoD) base as well as $66 billion for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Defense Advance Research Projects Agency (DARPA) received $3.1 billion, an increase from the 2008 appropriation of $2.95 billion.

The Department of Education's FY09 total budget appropriation is $66.5 billion.

The FY09 education budget includes specialized funding toward a few K-12 math and science programs:

The FY09 budget provides $27 billion for the Department of Energy (DOE), a nine percent increase over the FY08 enactment.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was one of three federal agencies whose budget was enacted in September 2008. Since the department's funding was finalized last year, only minimal funding is provided in the current bill.

The FY09 enacted budget includes $38.6 billion for the Department of Housing and Urban Development, a $3 billion increase over the 2008 appropriation. The Office of Policy Development and Research (PD&R) received $18.1 million for personnel compensation and benefits.

The FY09 omnibus awards $15.3 billion to the Department of Labor, a 4.1 percent increase over the previous fiscal year.

The FY 2009 Department of Transportation's (DOT) total budgetary resources are $67.2 billion. Funding for the NextGen technology is more than doubled, providing $688 million for the transformation from radar-based to satellite-based air traffic systems to help meet the nation's rapidly growing demand for air travel.

The FY09 enacted budget provides $1.16 billion for the Treasury Department, not including the IRS. Though the overall appropriation for the department dropped, TBED-related funding increased.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), received $7.6 billion in FY09, $174 million above the 2008 appropriation. Science and Technology activities, including research and development activities, are funded at $790 million in FY09, $30 million above the FY08 appropriation.

NASA received $17.8 billion in FY09, a 2.2 percent increase from the previous fiscal year's amount of $17.2 billion. It is distributed as follows:

In FY09, the National Science Foundation received $6.49 billion, a 5.9 percent increase of $363 million over FY08. More than three-fourths of the total supports non-defense research and related activities, 13 percent will be for education and human resources, and 2.3 percent of the total is for major research equipment and facilities construction.