Congress has approved legislation which will fund the government through September 30, the end of the 2017 fiscal year. The legislation, which the President has signed into law, has received bipartisan support and in many cases contains welcome increases in funding for federal programs – including research, student aid, health care, and the arts and humanities – that are important to the University.
“I am deeply grateful to our Congressional delegation for supporting these important investments in research and higher education and their recognition of the important role that research institutions play in improving lives and strengthening our economy,” said Joel Seligman, president and CEO of the University of Rochester.
Among the highlights of the FY17 legislation, the University’s Laboratory for Laser Energetics received $68 million which is the same as last year, but a $4.17 million increase over the President’s FY17 Budget.
Funding levels for other agencies and programs of importance to the University are as follows:
- The National Institutes of Health received $34 billion, an increase of $2 billion, or 6.2 percent, above the FY16 enacted level.
- The Pell Grant maximum award is increased by $105 and the year-round Pell Grant program is reinstated. Other student aid programs such as Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant and Federal Work-Study were level funded. Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need received $28.047 million, a $1.2 million decrease from FY16.
- The Department of Energy Office of Science received $5.39 billion, an increase of $42 million, or 0.7 percent, above the FY16 enacted level.
- The Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy received $306 million, an increase of $15 million, or 5.1 percent, above the FY 2016 enacted level.
- The National Science Foundation received $7.472 billion, an increase of $9 million, or 0.1 percent, above the FY 2016 enacted level.
- NASA received $19.7 billion, an increase of $368 million, or 1.9 percent, above the FY 2016 enacted level, including an increase of $176 million for science programs.
- While Department of Defense basic research received $2.3 billion, a 1.4 percent decrease over last year, applied research and advanced technology development increased by 5.4 percent and 8.4 percent, respectively.
- The National Endowment of the Humanities and the Arts each received $149.8 million, a $2 million or 1.4 percent increase.
- The Health Resources and Services Administration’s (HRSA) Title VII Health Professions programs received $309.223 million, a $3.2 million, or 1 percent decrease from the FY16 enacted level.
- HRSA’s Title VIII Nursing Workforce Development programs received $229.472 million the same level of funding provided in FY16.
- The Agency for Health Research and Quality received $324 million a $10 million, or 3 percent decrease from the FY16 enacted level.
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention received $7.255 billion, an increase of $22 million, or 3 percent above FY16. This level of funding Includes $112 million to expand efforts to combat prescription drug abuse, $42 million above FY16.
- The Food and Drug Administration received $4.655 billion, a $26 million, or 0.6 decrease from the FY16 enacted level.
While these funding levels demonstrate broad backing for these programs on Capitol Hill, particularly support for federally-funded science, the University will continue to closely monitor deliberations as Congress takes up the budget for FY18 in the coming months. Last month the President submitted a preliminary budget proposal to Congress that called for deep cuts in the agencies that support research.
