President Trump's recent budget request to Congress for FY 2021 kicked off the annual appropriations process on Capitol Hill. The administration recommended significant reductions to research and student financial aid line-items in the budget.
Proposed cuts would impact students directly with the elimination of programs like the Supplemental education Opportunity Grants and the halving of the Federal Work Study budget. These cuts are part of a proposed 7.8 percent reduction to the Department of Education. Additionally, proposed cuts to agencies like the NIH and NSF would stifle R&D at a time when global competitors are increasing investments.
Over the next few weeks, House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittees will hold hearings with agency officials and other stakeholders. The panels will then put forward their own funding allocations. If recent history is a guide, Congress will likely oppose the proposed cuts in the president's request. FSU Federal Relations will join with counterparts from across the country to advocate for increases to relevant agencies and programs.
Presidential Budget Request for FY 2021
| Agency/Office/Program Dollars in thousands, except Pell Grant maximum award | FY20 Final | FY20 Final % Change (from FY19) | FY21 Pres. Request |
FY21 Pres. Request % Change (from FY20) |
FY21 House | FY21 Senate | FY21 Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Department of Defense*, RDT&E | 104,431,232 | 10.0 | |||||
| DOD, 6.1 Basic Research | 2,603,345 | -0.6 | 3,319,000 | -10.91 | |||
| DOD, 6.2 Applied Research | 6,069,765 | 0.0 | |||||
| DOD, 6.3 Advanced Technology Development | 7,400,767 | 0.5 | |||||
| DOD, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency | 3,458,321 | 0.8 | 3,566,000 | +3.12 | |||
| Department of Education, Pell Grant | 22,475,372 | 0.0 | 22,475,000 | 0.0 | |||
| DOEd., Pell Grant Maximum | 6,345 | 2.4 | 6,345 | 0.0 | |||
| DOEd., Work Study | 1,180,000 | 4.4 | 500,000 | -57.63 | |||
| DOEd., Supplemental Education Opportunity Grants | 865,000 | 3.0 | 0 | X | |||
| DOEd., Institute of Education Science (IES) | 623,462 | 1.3 | 565,400 | -9.32 | |||
| DOEd., IES Regional Educational Laboratories | 56,022 | 1.1 | |||||
| Department of Energy, Office of Science | 7,000,000 | 6.3 | 5,800,000 | -17.14 | |||
| DOE, Advanced Research Projects Agency Energy | 425,000 | 16.1 | 22,200 | -94.78 | |||
| Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Science | 716,449 | 1.4 | 484,700 | -32.3 | |||
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Science | 7,138,900 | 3.4 | 6,306,000 | -11.67 | |||
| National Endowment for the Humanities | 162,250 | 4.7 | 33,400 | -79.42 | |||
| National Institutes of Health | 41,684,000 | 6.7 | 37,905,000 | -9.1 | |||
| National Institute of Standards and Technology | 1,034,000 | 4.9 | |||||
| NIST Industrial Technology Services, Manufacturing Extension Partnership and Manufacturing USA | 162,000 | 4.5 | 5,000 Funds to end program | -96.58 | |||
| National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Oceanic and Atmospheric Research | 548,384 | 4.4 | 327,000 | -40.33 | |||
| National Science Foundation | 8,278,330 | 2.5 | 7,700,000 | -7.0 |
