federal budget

Yesterday, the U.S. House Appropriations Committee approved a Commerce, Justice and Science appropriations bill that includes $11 million in funding for the Regional Innovation Program.  This action marks the first time the House bill has included funding for the program. The Regional Innovation Program is SSTI’s top legislative priority. SSTI thanks all who have expressed support for the program. The Digest will report more when the full House acts and the Senate proposal is released.

On Monday, President Obama released his $4 trillion budget request for FY16. His proposal is again unlikely to find support in Congress, but serves as a useful guide to the administration’s priorities and a source of new ideas.

President Obama’s proposed FY16 budget would provide $25 million for the EDA’s Regional Innovation program, a key legislative initiative for the technology-based economic development community. The Regional Innovation Program was authorized under the American COMPETES Act and is designed to provide funding to support regional innovation activities. The program received its first funding of $10 million in FY14 after extensive work on the Hill by SSTI, its members and others.

This week, President Obama signed off on the continuing resolution omnibus spending package that will keep the federal government open for another nine months (see last week’s analysis).The spending bill provides stable funding for R&D and most research agencies, according to analysis by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

Included in the continuing resolution/omnibus spending bill for FY15 is $10 million for the Regional Innovation program. The Regional Innovation Program was authorized under the American COMPETES Act and is designed to provide funding to support regional innovation activities. The program received its first funding of $10 million in FY14 after extensive work on the Hill by SSTI, its members and others.

Australian Minster Tony Abbott announced a $400 million AUD (approximately $352M USD) national Industry Innovation and Competitiveness Agenda focused on building the country’s innovation economy, supporting apprenticeship and workforce programs that address the needs of industry, and promoting science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education.  The centerpiece of the agenda is a $188 million AUD (approximately $165.5M USD) initiative to create industry growth cente

Recent memoranda issued by the Office of Management and Budget and the Office of Science and Technology policy include the support of lab-to-market technology commercialization as a key pillar of cross-agency spending for the upcoming fiscal year.  The White House instructs agencies to explain how resources are being redirected from low priority efforts to multi-agency collaborations in specific fields, including advanced manufacturing, clean energy, earth observation, global climate change, information technology, life sciences, homeland security and research policy-making.

A progress report from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) provides a useful overview of the Obama administration’s ongoing STEM efforts and the roster of STEM initiatives included in the president’s FY15 budget request. Under the proposed budget, federal spending on STEM education would reach $2.9 billion in FY15, a 3.7 percent increase over FY14 funding as enacted.