February 2012

On February 13, President Obama sent his budget plan to Congress. In the days following, each federal agency held briefings with interested members of the public, primarily representatives of associations, to explain and justify the requests.

In his budget request for FY2013, the president once again affirmed his commitment to investments in education and research. Despite poor economic conditions and mounting concerns about the national debt, his budget calls for increased spending on education research in both the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) and the National Science Foundation (NSF). The magnitude of Obama’s education priorities is evident in comparison with the $2 billion maximum increase permitted by the Budget Control Act for all programs in health, education, and labor: The president’s plan would favor education alone with $1.7 billion of that amount. See the table below for the appropriations requested for education research in IES and two NSF directorates.

The president’s budget proposal is the first step in a process that in recent years has become lengthy and conflict ridden. Many expect that negotiations will continue into the lame-duck session after the national elections. The complete national and departmental budgets can be downloaded from the White House website.

Appropriations History and Requests for FY2013
(Millions of U.S. Dollars) 

Agency	2011	2012	2013
Institute of Education Sciences
Research, Development, and Dissemination	199.8	189.8	202.3
Statistics	108.3	108.7	114.7
Regional Educational Laboratories	57.5	57.4	57.4
Assessment	138.6	138.3	132.3
Research in Special Education	51.0	49.9	49.9
Statewide Data Systems	42.2	38.1	53.1
Special Education Studies and Evaluations Studies	11.4	11.4	11.4
National Science Foundation: Directorate for Education & Human Resources
Research  on Learning	322.5	290.4	309.5
Undergraduate Education	217.3	235.7	246.7
Human Resource Development	144.7	129.6	134.6
Graduate Education	176.6	173.3	184.8
National Science Foundation: Directorate for Social, Behavioral, & Economic Sciences
Social and Economic Sciences	95.7	97.2	100.3
Behavioral  and Cognitive Sciences	91.1	92.7	95.4
Multidisciplinary Activities	25.1	28.2	29.1
Center for Science and Engineering Statistics	35.4	36.2	34.8

Note. The Obama administration is seeking $621.2 million for IES activities, an increase of $27.5 million over the 2012 appropriation. For the NSF Directorate for Education & Human Resources, the administration is seeking $875.6 million, an increase of $46.6 million over the 2012 appropriation. For the NSF Directorate for Social, Behavioral, & Economic Sciences, the administration is seeking $259.6 million, an increase of $5.3 million over the 2012 appropriation.