Science funding falling short in the US

[Laura Bies]

In 2022, the U.S. Congress passed the CHIPS and Science Act, intended to increase funding for science and innovation. It pledged increases in U.S. science funding totaling $280 billion over five years. But, according to a recent report by the Federation of American Scientists, recent funding for the agencies targeted by the Act is falling short of meeting the Act's ambitious funding goals, with science funding still hovering near a 25-year low.

The CHIPS and Science Act authorized the National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy’s Office of Science, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology, to receive a total of $26.8 billion in the FY 2024. Although the federal fiscal year 2024 has begun, appropriations have not yet been finalized by Congress. Funding in appropriations bills pending would provide these agencies just over $19 billion next year, about 28% less than the amount authorized by the CHIPS and Science Act, according to the Federation of American Scientists.

Total government investment in science has declined from around 2% of GDP during the 1960s to about 0.7% of GDP today, according to the AAAS.

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