118th Congress underway after eventful start
This week, House Republicans passed their rules package that outlines legislative procedures, committee rules and makeup, and other provisions. A section-by-section analysis is available. Newly elected House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) reportedly made agreements with Republicans outside of the rules package to secure the votes needed for his leadership role.
Also this week, the House GOP Steering Committee made its final selections for the remaining committee chairs, including naming Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) to serve as chair of the Education and the Workforce Committee. Subcommittee leadership positions and member committee assignments for the House and Senate are expected to be announced in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, the Senate is in recess and will return on January 23.
Congress passes FY23 spending package
President Biden signed the FY23 omnibus spending bill into law on December 29, 2022, following House and Senate passage on December 22 and 23, respectively. The $1.7 trillion legislation encompasses all 12 appropriations bills and will fund federal agencies and programs through September 30, 2023. The text of the bill as well as a section-by-section summary, courtesy of the House Committee on Appropriations, are available. UNC’s Office of Federal Affairs has prepared a FY23 funding levels chart.
Below are some of the highlights for research programs and agencies. Please contact UNC Federal Affairs for questions about specific programs not listed.
- Department of Health and Human Services:
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: $9.2 billion, an increase of $760 million from FY22
- National Institutes of Health (NIH): $47.5 billion, an increase of $2.5 billion from FY22
- Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H): $1.5 billion to ARPA-H separate from NIH to “focus on time-limited projects with quantifiable goals, benchmarks, and accountability to revolutionize how we prevent, treat, or cure a range of diseases, including cancer, infectious diseases, Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, and others.” The bill also provides a full authorization for the agency.
- National Science Foundation (NSF): $9.87 billion, an 8% increase from FY22. This includes $1.036 billion in supplementary funding for NSF base programing ($700 million) and CHIPS and Science implementation ($335 million). NSF can spend the supplementary funding over the next two years. With the supplementary funding, the $9.87 billion represents a 12% increase over the FY22 enacted level.
- Department of Energy:
- Office of Science: $8.1 billion, an 8% increase from FY22
- Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E): $470 million, a 4.4% increase from FY22
- $135 million for Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning capabilities across the Office of Science Programs and not less than $245 million for the Office of Science’s coordinated and focused research program in quantum information science (including not less than $120 million for research and $125 million for the five National Quantum Information Science Research Centers)
- National Endowment for the Arts (NEA): $207 million, a $27 million increase from FY22
- National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH): $207 million, a 15% increase from FY22
Congress passes National Defense Authorization Act
On December 23, President Biden signed into law the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for FY22, which authorizes funding levels for the U.S. military and defense priorities, including defense-related research. This NDAA authorizes a 6.7% increase in defense-wide basic research, applied research, and advanced technology development. A summary of the NDAA is available.