President Obama Releases FY2017 Federal Budget

On February 9, 2016, President Obama released his FY2017 budget request. The President’s budget lays out the administration’s spending priorities but much can – and will – change.

This is the first step in the lengthy process that will also require action from both Houses of Congress. As the budget process plays out over the coming months, SfN members play a critical role by weighing in with Congressional representatives about the importance of investments in neuroscience research. Check out SfN.org/Advocacy for more information.

For FY2017, the president is requesting a total of $33.1 billion for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). However, $1.8 billion would be part of new “mandatory” funding proposals, which would require separate legislation. Currently, only about 0.5 percent of the NIH budget is considered “mandatory". The proposed mandatory funds include an additional $45 million for the Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) initiative, which would bring the funding level up to $195 million.

The proposed budget for the National Science Foundation (NSF) is $7.96 billion, a 6.7 percent increase from FY2016 levels, with $400 million coming from mandatory funds. The NSF portion of the proposal includes $142 million “to enable scientific understanding of the full complexity of the brain.” This includes NSF’s $74 million contribution to the Understanding the Brain project, which includes the BRAIN Initiative.

The president’s budget indicates the administration’s priorities and serves as a starting point for the budget process. In the coming weeks and months Congress will take up individual spending bills that set the funding levels for agencies such as NIH and NSF.