FY25 Technology and Science Priorities in Commerce, Justice, and Science Bill

On July 9, the House Appropriations Committee (HAC) voted (31-26) to approve the FY25 Commerce-Justice-Science (CJS) appropriations bill (H.R. 9026) that includes funding for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA); the latter two are part of the Department of Commerce. A Senate Appropriations Committee (SAC) markup of the bill has not been formally scheduled but is expected the week of July 22. The House bill is expected to be on the floor in July. Account detail, tables, explanatory information and Congressional direction are included in the accompanying Report.

CJS FUNDING LEVEL

The HAC-approved bill totals $81.2 billion. While the SAC-approved allocation of $69.235 billion appears lower, that total does not include side deals or emergency spending that either offset new spending or move it outside of the Fiscal Responsibility Act caps. With those additions the total could be at least $84 billion. As she did in FY24, Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Murray (D- WA) announced on July 12 that the Senate allocations will get a boost from emergency spending. But it is not yet clear how much will go to each subcommittee; any level of emergency spending would be opposed by the House majority.

The House CJS bill was considered by HAC on July 10 and was passed by a Republican-only vote of 31-26. Chart I compares FY24 enacted levels with the FY25 Biden request and the FY25 HAC-reported funding levels.

H.R. 9026 cuts the Department of Commerce by $980 million, or 9% from the FY24 funding level. The largest agency in Commerce, NOAA, is cut by $680 million, or 11%. NIST fares better, with a $40 million (3%) cut from FY24 levels. NASA receives a 1% increase from FY24, or $304 million, and NSF a 2% increase, or $199 million over FY24. The Department of Justice, with particular focus on the FBI and ATF, is cut overall by $990 million, or 3%. Democrats unanimously voted against the bill. They objected to the prohibition of funding for climate change research and zero funding for both NIST’s Center of Excellence in Climate Change and the NSF Clean Energy Technology program.

Bill research, development, and technology Highlights are below.

Chart I. Source: House Rpt. 118-582, Comparative Statement of New Budget Authority table, FBIQ. Note: Totals may not add due to rounding.

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION (NASA)

The HAC bill provides $25.2 billion for NASA, an increase of about $304 million from current levels, and $204 million below the Biden budget request. The House prioritizes the Space Launch System, the Orion crew vehicle, and the Exploration Ground Systems; funding for critical science missions; aeronautics research; and Space Operations.

This bill addresses China and its aggressive overreach by making considerable investments in American science agencies. This bill makes strong investments in NASA, providing an increase of $303 million above the fiscal year 2024 level.  As China continues to advance their ambitions to the Moon and beyond, it is more vital than ever that the United States maintain its leadership in space exploration, scientific research, and technology advancement.

House CJS Subcommittee Chair Rogers (R-KY),
July 10

Other priorities include $85 million for the Commercial SmallSat Data Acquisition (CSDA) program focused on acquiring data from commercial sources to support NASA’s earth science research; $50 million for wildfire early detection from a space-based thermal/infrared (IR) sensor; and up to $11.8 million for an information sharing demonstration to support airspace management for Aeronautics, especially for wildfire operations.

The HAC bill also endorses the Artemis (return to the moon) program. The recommendation includes “no less than” $235.8 million and up to $600 million for Block 1B development for “Exploration Upper Stage engine development and associated stage adapter work” from within the Space Launch System appropriation.

Within the NASA STEM program, the House includes $60 million for the Space Grant Program for State consortia competitively awarded grants in support of local, regional, and national STEM needs. Lastly, NASA funding includes $57.8 million for 34 Community Directed Funding projects in the Safety, Security and Mission Services program area.

NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION (NOAA)

The HAC bill includes $5.6 billion for NOAA’s coastal, fisheries, marine, weather, satellite, and other programs, which is $676 million under the FY24 level, and $900 million below the Biden FY25 request. Of the total, $4.2 billion is for NOAA Operations and Research ($338 million below FY24), and $1.4 billion is for procurement, acquisition and construction ($342 million below FY24 funding level). Community Project Funding for 62 projects, totaling $67.5 million, is included within the total for Coastal Zone Management.

HAC priorities include $8 million for Geospatial Modeling Grants to outside entities and $20 million for fire protection forecasting, detection and research, of which $15 million is for a “Fire Weather Testbed” and $5 million for improved fire forecasting and detection.

The Committee recognizes the high-performance computing needs of NOAA research and the expanded computational resources necessary to maintain this critical mission to the overall research needs of the Agency. The recommendation includes $15,000,000 to continue to develop a dedicated high performance computing facility consistent with prior year direction.

House Rpt. 118-582

Further HAC priorities include $46 million for mapping and support for NOAA’s Ocean Exploration and Research which allows use of open-source data by researchers and educators. The bill provides $375 million for National Environmental Satellite, Data and Information Service and $6 million for the Regional Climate Centers in the National Centers for Environmental Information.

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY (NIST)

NIST is funded at $1.4 billion to support programs that bolster U.S. innovation and manufacturing. This funding level is $45 million below the fiscal year 2024 enacted level and $83.5 million under the Biden request. Industrial Technology Services is sustained at the FY24 level of $212 million which matches the Biden request. With that funding split between two priorities: $175 million for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership and $37 million for Manufacturing USA.

The HAC-approved bill includes $1.0 billion for Scientific and Technical Research and Services (STRS), which is $77 million below FY24 and $28 million above the Biden request. Within STRS, the bill includes $246 million for 151 Community Directed Funding Congressional projects.

HAC supports NIST’s innovative work on the convergence of AI and biotechnology and research on AI detection technologies, and provides the requested funding level for Quantum Information Science. The Committee directs NIST to identify and develop practical quantum and quantum-hybrid applications that focus on public sector use cases.

Other House priorities include $7.6 million for developing Wildland-Urban Interface risk exposure metrics and tools to better assess and mitigate the fire vulnerability of structures to protect at-risk communities; maintaining the National Vulnerabilities Database to identify and fix vulnerabilities in software systems, improving security of our Nation’s digital infrastructure; and supporting innovative ‘‘early alert systems’’ using uncrewed vehicles, data centers to allow for the integration of the various data streams, and interactive visualization tools.

NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION (NSF)

The bill provides $9.3 billion for NSF, an increase of $199 million over FY24, and $924 below the Biden request, in support for advancements in technology development and safeguarding American research from Chinese theft.

The House includes $250 million for the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) to spur innovation, support research capabilities at institutions that have historically received less Federal funding, and strengthen the STEM workforce. It also includes $205 million for the Regional Innovation Engines program.

Other priorities include supply chain resiliency work such as development of supply chain mapping and monitoring tools and focus on collaboration with private sector and interagency Stakeholders; support for information technology modernization; and artificial intelligence leadership and workforce development.

COMMUNITY DIRECTED FUNDING

The House bill contains $1.0 billion in Community Directed Funding (CDF), intended for research institutions, universities, nonprofits and community organizations. There are 895 CDF projects included in the bill, which were requested by 315 members of the House. Five programs are slated to receive funding within NIST, NOAA, NASA and two programs in the Department of Justice. Chart II summarizes the projects by program, based on funding amount.

Chart II. Source: HAC CJS Bill and Report, FBIQ.

OUTLOOK

In July, the SAC will mark up its FY25 CJS bill and the House will take the bill up on the floor. Expect the SAC bill to include more research funding than the House, especially DOE climate-related research, and undo HAC-approved cuts to NOAA, NIST, FBI, and other agencies and programs. As FY24 ends on September 30, expect a Continuing Resolution through at least mid-December.

Final spending bills may be determined between December 2024 and April 2025. The possible scenarios are numerous, but with $1 billion or more in Congressionally-directed spending, Congress will be motivated to eventually fund science and technology priorities important to their districts and states, and support American competitiveness and scientific advancement.