Innovation Lightbulb: Visualizing Proposed Cuts to Federal R&D Funding

Innovation Lightbulb: Visualizing Proposed Cuts to Federal R&D Funding

Photo: Gorodenkoff/Adobe Stock

What's more, increasing overall defense spending while cutting funding to science agencies misses the fundamental connectionbetween R&D and national security. The NSF, for instance, has been a quiet engine of U.S. power for decades, catalyzing discoveriesand inventionsthat have definedthe modern world, from wireless communications to radar, explosive detection systems, and supercomputers. NIH supportsR&D for medical countermeasures against threats from infectious diseases, radiation exposure, and chemical weapons, while the DOE supports research on nuclear weapons, nonproliferation, and energy security. Without steady funding to these "non-defense" agencies, U.S. civilians and soldiers will be less secure.

The U.S. federal R&D enterprise certainly has roomfor reform, particularly as emerging fields like quantum computing and artificial intelligence promise to make research more productive. But deep and broad-based reductions risk slowing progress, weakening talent pipelines, and shrinking the pool of breakthrough discoveries that fuel long-term economic growth and national security. Indeed, while FY2026 remains months away, federal grant distribution rates have already dropped, leaving promising research unfunded. Meanwhile, global competitors are workingto attract U.S.-trained scientists to build up their own innovation ecosystems.

Despite the President's request, the responsibility for these funding decisions lies with Congress. Some Congressional committees are proposingcuts, albeit at less severe levels. Yet others have signaledthat they will push backon cuts altogether, recognizing that the U.S. R&D enterprise has long been a strategic advantage. Especially as other nations increasetheir R&D funding, the United States cannot afford to give that advantage away.

Data visualizations by Fabio Murgia

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