Status of FY 2013 Federal Budget

On February 12, President Obama sent his budget request to Congress for the fiscal year that begins October 1, 2012. The House and Senate Appropriations subcommittees and full committees have been considering appropriation bills throughout the summer. With the elections rapidly approaching, though, that work has come to a halt.  Instead, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) announced in July that they have reached an agreement on a continuing resolution to fund the government through March 2013, avoiding a shutdown or budget argument prior to the election. The agreement will reportedly fund the federal government at FY 2012 level plus an additional $4 billion. The resolution itself will be drafted and voted on after the August Congressional recess.

 The President’s request, House and Senate numbers, and how far each biophysics relevant bill made it in the process is below.

FY 2013 Appropriations for Science Agencies (in billions)

	FY 2012	FY 2013 Request	House Appropriation	Senate Appropriation	Status
NIH	$30.046	$30.051	$30.048	$30.156	Approved by House subcommittee 7/17 and approved by Senate full committee on 6/14
NSF	$5.61	$5.87	$5.84	$5.78	Approved by House on 5/10 and Senate full committee on 4/19
DOE Office of Science	$4.46	$4.57	$4.39	$4.49	Approved by House on 6/6 and Senate full committee on 4/26
NASA (science)	$5.09	$4.91	$5.10	$5.02	Approved by House subcommittee on 6/29 and Senate full committee on 7/22
NIST*	$0.555	$0.655	$0.631	$0..634	Approved by House on 5/10 and Senate full committee on 4/19

 * Excludes $1.2 billion in mandatory spending for public safety and manufacturing R&D.