U.S. Government Spending $147.6 Billion For R&D Next YearU.S. Government Spending $147.6 Billion For R&D Next Year

The federal government proposes to spend $147.6 billion on research and development in 2010, not including $21.5 billion in funding in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

That $147.6 billion is a $555 million, 0.4% increase over 2009 funding, and includes key priorities such as funding in basic sciences, clean energy, biomedical and health research, and safety and security.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology is slated to receive $846.1 million in R&D funding in the administration's 2010 budget, including renovations at NIST research facilities, $124.7 million in grants to manufacturing companies looking to update their technology infrastructure, and $69.9 million in grants to small companies to develop high-risk, high-reward technologies.

The Department of Homeland Security's Science and Technology Directorate, which includes the Homeland Security Advanced Research Projects Agency, would receive $968.4 million under Obama's planned budget, a 3.8% increase over this year. Included in that funding would be support for first-responder technology and an increase of $6.6 million for cybersecurity research.

Among the other IT-related research, the Federal Aviation Administration would receive $180 million for next-generation projects such as upgraded air traffic control systems, while the Department of Transportation would receive $103 million "for intelligent transportation systems."

"These investments in science and technology will pay dividends for the nation," Rep. Bart Gordon, D-Tenn., chairman of the House Committee on Science and Technology, said in a statement in support of the R&D budget last week. "Roughly half of the growth in GDP over the past 50 years came from development and adoption of new technologies. Innovation -- especially new energy technologies -- is the path to reinvigorating our economy and ensuring our competitiveness over the next 50 years." On Thursday, the committee is holding a hearing to examine the proposed R&D budget.

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