In our ongoing series looking at the Fiscal Year 2025 budget, we turn to the Senate Appropriations Committee and their Commerce, Justice, Science legislation. This bill is of most concern to the computing research community, as it contains the budgets for the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and NASA. The Senate numbers are generally better than what the House appropriators recommended in July, while not as good as what the Biden Administration requested in their funding request. This was accomplished by expanding the allocation of funds that are available for this bill, a departure from the House approach, and prioritizing funding for implementing the Chips and Science Act activities around AI and semiconductor development.

Getting into the numbers, under the Senate’s plan NSF would receive a 5.4 percent increase, going from $9.06 billion in FY24, to $9.55 billion in FY25, an increase of $490 million. While this is a good number, it is still below the levels set in the Fiscal Year 2023 budget, and what the Biden Administration requested in March.

The increase to NSF is evenly distributed throughout the agency. The Research and Related Activities (R&RA) account, which houses the agency’s research portfolio, would receive $7.53 billion for FY25, which is an increase of 4.9 percent or a plus up of $350 million. The Directorate for STEM Education (EDU) would receive $1.23 billion, which is an increase of $60 million from FY24, or +5.1 percent. These numbers are generally better than what the House appropriators recommend under their funding legislation, with the exception of RRA, which the House prioritized and provided slightly more funds.

The policy provisions contained in the committee’s report had several topics related to computing issues in the section devoted to RRA. Artificial intelligence features prominently, and the Senate appropriators provide “not less than” the FY24 funding levels for AI research. Additionally, the committee, “encourages NSF to fund meritorious research and develop technical methods and techniques to improve the transparency, interpretability, and explainability of AI to better understand why and how models arrive at their decisions, recommendations, and other outputs.” Also, the National AI Research Resource (NAIRR) was provided with $30 million in funding. With regard to quantum research, the committee fully funds the President’s requested budget and, “encourages NSF to partner with institutions of higher education, industry, and other Federal agencies in order to develop the next generation of quantum computing workforce,” using grants and interdisciplinary research initiatives geared toward workforce development. The committee continues to support the TIP Directorate and reminded NSF that the success of the directorate, “will be enhanced through investing in the necessary foundational basic research provided by scientific disciplines across the research spectrum.” Within that, the Senate provides $200 million for the NSF Engines program and directs the agency to award at least 20 percent of the program’s funds in EPSCoR states. In a related area, the Senate appropriators directed NSF, “to the maximum extent practicable, 16.5 percent of NSF research funding and 20 percent of scholarship funding” should go to EPSCoR States; this is in line with the policy set out in the Chips and Science Act. Finally, the committee voiced its support for NSF’s research security efforts and encourages the agency to continue to work with the community on implementation.

With regard to provisions for the STEM Education Directorate, the Senate appropriators are setting up a clash with their House counterparts on several topics. For example, the Senate Committee “maintains its strong support for NSF’s informal science education program,” and provides $70 million; the House appropriators zeroed out the budget for this program under their plan. The Senate appropriators also make a point of voicing its support for NSF’s broadening participation efforts.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) would continue to have a complicated budget under the Senate’s FY25 funding plan. At the topline NIST would receive $1.53 billion for FY25, a 4.8 percent increase, or $70 million more than it received in FY24 ($1.46 billion). However, the Science and Technical Research and Services (STRS), would receive $1.06 billion, a decrease of $20 million, or -1.9 percent, compared to FY24. STRS contains the majority of the agency’s research portfolio. Both of those numbers are better than what the Administration requested in March and the House approved in July.

Regular readers will recall that NIST’s budget situation has become complicated over the last several years due to the large number of earmarks Congress has approved in its budget. The Senate’s proposed funding plan is no different. This makes any apples-to-apples comparison of NIST’s budget difficult. When the earmarks are removed, STRS would receive an increase of over 13 percent compared to FY24 levels (these numbers are tracked by AIP FYI).

In terms of policy provisions, the committee provides up to the requested levels to, “advance AI research, standards, testing, and the U.S. AI Safety Institute [USAISI],” at the agency. The Senate appropriators were also highly complementary of the creation of the USAISI, and that NIST sought public input from the community on several topics and directs the agency to continue these efforts. With regard to quantum information sciences research, the committee provides not less than the FY24 levels for these efforts. And the committee’s report contains several other computing related topics such as cybersecurity, digital twin technology, and firmware resiliency.

Finally, NASA receives a slight increase under the Senate’s plans. At the topline, NASA would receive $25.4 billion for FY25, an increase of $550 million from FY24 levels (+2.0 percent). The agency’s Science account would receive a slight better increase than the topline, receiving $7.57 billion, an increase of 3.3 percent, or +$240 million, over FY24 ($7.33 billion).

The Senate Appropriations Committee passed the CJS bill with bipartisan support on July 25th; it is unclear when or if it will be considered by the full Senate chamber. With the House CJS legislation passed in July, technically negotiations to finalize these budgets can begin between the two chambers. However, no one in Washington believes that FY25 will be completed until after the November general election. And the outcome of that election will heavily influence how things are handled; if one party or the other comes out with a clear advantage, final consideration of the budget will likely to be punted into the 2025 calendar year. We still have a long way until Fiscal Year 2025 is completed. CRA is continuing to monitor the situation for any developments, so please check back for updates.