Congress passes half of FY24 bills ahead of March 22 deadline
On March 8, Congress passed a comprehensive FY24 spending package encompassing six bills: Agriculture-FDA, Energy-Water, Military Construction-VA, Transportation-HUD, Interior-Environment, and Commerce-Justice-Science. President Biden signed the spending package into law on March 9. This action marks completion of six out of the total twelve spending bills.
Compared to FY23 levels, many programs and agencies will receive flat funding or funding cuts for FY24. The National Science Foundation will receive a 5% cut and NASA will receive a 2% funding cut, while funding levels for the National Endowments for the Arts and Humanities remain the same. The Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities released an analysis with links to each bill’s funding levels. The Office of Federal Affairs has updated its FY24-Appropriations-Tracker which outlines the funding for key agencies and programs.
Funding for the remaining six bills has been extended until March 22.
President Biden unveils FY25 budget request
On March 11, President Biden unveiled his FY25 budget proposal. Each federal agency posts detailed FY25 budget justifications on its website (see National Institutes of Health FY25 budget, National Science Foundation FY25 budget). Congressional appropriators are likely to regard President Biden’s proposal as a recommendation, rendering it essentially dead on arrival in the U.S. House. The release of the President’s FY25 budget proposal officially initiates the annual appropriations process.