Biden Administration’s New Budget Request Impacts Computational Science and Applied Mathematics Research

By Andrew Herrin

On March 28, President Biden released his second budget proposal to Congress. This proposal highlights new and continued priorities for federal agencies that advocate for applied mathematics and computational science. Over the last few months, the SIAM Committee on Science Policy (CSP) has championed federal support for these research areas.

From April 4-6, the CSP and SIAM Science Policy Fellowship recipients gathered in Washington, D.C., to discuss legislative and policy issues that can potentially impact applied math and computational science (in either a real or perceived manner). Over the course of two days, members of these groups interacted with speakers from Congress and federal agencies to address federal funding and policy initiatives. CSP members and Science Policy Fellowship recipients conducted both in-person and virtual meetings with congressional offices to advocate for robust funding to support applied mathematics and computational science research at the National Science Foundation (NSF), Department of Energy (DOE), Department of Defense (DOD), and National Institutes of Health (NIH). SIAM representatives also conversed with key federal agency leaders, including the following:

• David Manderscheid, Division Director of NSF’s Division of Mathematical Sciences (DMS)
• Junping Wang, Deputy Division Director of DMS 
• Barbara Helland, Associate Director of the Advanced Scientific Computing Research (ASCR) program at DOE’s Office of Science 
• Cetin Kiris, Chief of the Computational Aerosciences Branch at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Ames Research Center 
• Nikunj Oza, Leader of the Data Sciences Group at NASA’s Ames Research Center 
• Carrie Wolinetz, Deputy Director for Health and Life Sciences at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. 

The resulting discussions addressed agency budget plans for applied mathematics and computational science, and explored ways in which the SIAM community can engage with emerging initiatives.

Similar to last year, the Biden administration’s fiscal year (FY) 2023 budget request [1] proposed increases to non-defense discretionary spending at most science agencies, though these increases were more modest than in the FY 2022 request. While the 2023 proposal does increase funding for fundamental research, it focuses primarily on use-inspired research, translation, and technology development and deployment. The current budget request recommends a nearly six percent boost in discretionary spending from the FY 2022 enacted level, for a total of roughly $1.6 trillion. Consistent with the previous year, President Biden’s top FY 2023 budget priorities are public health, climate and clean energy, manufacturing, innovation, and education.

While the request proposes increases across most federal agencies, the notable exception is a $2.4 billion cut to basic research, applied research, and advanced technology development accounts for the DOD’s science and technology (S&T) programs. This reduction is consistent with a greater emphasis on the prototyping, deployment, and commercialization of technologies, rather than early-stage research and development. In addition, some non-defense research and development programs that fall outside of the administration’s priority areas are slated for much less growth than in the FY 2022 request.

The Biden administration again proposes major increases across NSF for FY 2023 in both research and education priority areas as well as core NSF programs. Overall, Research and Related Activities would grow by 18 percent from the FY 2022 estimated level, and the Directorate for Education and Human Resources (EHR) would grow by 39 percent (though this figure becomes 20 percent if one accounts for the consolidation of all Graduate Research Fellowship Program funding to EHR in FY 2022). The 2023 budget request recommends nearly $1.7 billion for the Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS) and $259 million for DMS. Given the late process of finalizing FY 2022 appropriations, NSF has not yet released its final FY 2022 allocations; instead, it measures the proposed amounts against the FY 2021 levels that Congress enacted. Compared to FY 2021 levels, the 2023 request would provide an increase of $153 million (or 9.6 percent) for MPS and an increase of 16 million (or 6.5 percent) for DMS. If the request is enacted by Congress, the Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure in the Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering would see an increase of $22 million — 9.5 percent from FY 2021 levels.

The FY 2023 request proposes funding to fully establish the new Directorate for Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships (TIP), which aims to advance science and engineering research and innovation, accelerate the translation of basic research, solve national and societal problems, and support educational pathways. Along with the existing NSF directorates, TIP would fund activities in priority areas such as climate and energy, advanced wireless research, biotechnology, microelectronics and semiconductors, advanced manufacturing, artificial intelligence (AI), and quantum computing. The request’s emphasis on TIP, climate, clean energy, and equity aligns with congressional priorities and interest in boosting NSF’s competitiveness. However, it remains to be seen whether appropriators will have the resources to deliver such major increases to NSF’s budget. If not, tough choices may again be necessary to strike a balance between growing TIP and other priority areas versus protecting core programs.

The Biden administration’s FY 2023 budget request would provide the DOE’s ASCR program office with $1.07 billion — a $34 million (or 3 percent) increase from the FY 2022 enacted level. As the Exascale Computing Project (ECP) moves towards completion, the appeal for ASCR re-emphasizes foundational research that will advance AI, quantum information science, and strategic computing initiatives while bolstering the competitive advantage of U.S. industry in terms of new high-performance computing capabilities. The budget request also includes a continued focus on climate change and the development of a clean energy future. The proposal designates $379 million for mathematical, computational, and computer science research programs within ASCR, which represents an increase of $93 million (or 32 percent) above the FY 2022 enacted level. Applied mathematics research programs would be funded at $72 million — an increase of $21 million (or 41 percent) from the previous level.

The request also recommends $98 million (a 23.2 percent increase) for ASCR’s computational partnerships, which primarily support the Scientific Discovery through Advanced Computing (SciDAC) program. In FY 2023, these funds would finance the transition of mission-critical ECP applications into SciDAC and further develop partnerships with DOE’s applied energy offices and data-intensive applications. Furthermore, the administration recommends sustained increases for the Computational Science Graduate Fellowship program so that it can fund additional fellows in AI and quantum computing and expand participation from members of underrepresented groups.

President Biden’s FY 2023 budget request for DOD’s S&T accounts proposes cuts to basic research, applied research, and advanced technology development in favor of more deliverable capabilities. The S&T accounts would be funded at $16.5 billion — a $2.4 billion decrease from FY 2022 enacted levels. Basic research would be funded at $2.4 billion (a 14 percent decrease), applied research at $5.8 billion (a 16 percent decrease), and advanced technology development at $8.3 billion (a 10 percent decrease). The Army and Navy basic research accounts would respectively decrease by $143 million (23.4 percent) and $109 million (15.6 percent), while the Air Force account would increase by $5.8 million — roughly 1 percent when compared to FY 2022 enacted levels. The budget request would also reduce the National Defense Education Program by 8.9 percent and basic research initiatives by 18.8 percent; in addition, it would transfer $816 million from Air Force to Space Force for weather services research. However, given Congress’ continued support for DOD basic research, it is unlikely that many of the proposed cuts will remain in a final appropriations package.

The budget request would provide $49 billion in FY 2023 discretionary funding for the NIH base budget — an increase of $4 billion (9.1 percent) above the FY 2022 enacted level. Of this $49 billion, $5 billion ($4 billion in new funding) is intended for the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H): a new agency that will “support transformative high-risk, high-reward research to drive biomedical and health breakthroughs—ranging from molecular to societal—that would provide transformative solutions for all patients” [2]. In addition to the discretionary funding, the budget seeks $12.1 billion in mandatory funds for pandemic preparedness activities. Congress will likely not accept the administration’s FY 2023 proposal due to its longstanding support of basic research, meaning that appropriators will then face the difficult task of balancing investment in NIH’s base budget with funding for ARPA-H.

The FY 2023 budget request formally initiated the congressional appropriations process. However, the timing of final FY 2023 appropriations remains uncertain. Furthermore, the process’ late start increases the likelihood of a stop-gap funding measure—known as a continuing resolution—to avoid a government shutdown and maintain funding for federal agencies beyond the end of FY 2022 on September 30. SIAM has submitted testimony that highlights funding priorities for NSF and DOE to both the House and Senate Committee on Appropriations as they work to finalize an FY 2023 spending package. In the meantime, the Society will stay abreast of the FY 2023 appropriations cycle and its impact, advocate for strong funding for applied mathematics and computational science programs at relevant agencies, and keep members informed.

Andrew Herrin is an associate at Lewis-Burke Associates LLC—SIAM’s governmental relations partner—and a SIAM liaison in Washington, D.C.