FY 2023 Appropriations Process Kicks Off with House Markups


June 2022

In the last two weeks of June, the House Appropriations Committee held markup hearings on bills to fund federal agencies for the 2023 fiscal year, which begins on October 1. On June 28, the House Appropriations Committee advanced the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS) bill, which includes funding for the National Science Foundation (NSF), on a 31-24 vote. On June 30, the House Appropriations Committee advanced the FY 2023 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (Labor-H) bill by a 32-24 vote. The Labor-H bill provides funding for the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Institute of Education Sciences

The House FY 2023 Labor-H bill includes $844 million for IES, an increase of 14.5 percent, or $120 million, over the FY 2022 amount of $737.47 million. The FY 2023 administration budget included funding at frozen levels for IES and did not account for the addition of the program administration line. Department of Education staff indicated in March that they support the final FY 2022 numbers and considered the numbers in the request artificial cuts. The following table includes details for specific line items within IES.

Institute of Education Sciences (in millions)

 

FY 2022 Omnibus

FY 2023 Budget Request

FY 2023 Request v. FY 2022 (%)

FY 2023 Request v. FY 2022 ($)

FY 2023 House

FY 2022 House v. FY 2021 Final ($)

FY 2022 House v. FY 2021 Final (%)

Institute of Education Sciences

$737.0

$662.5

-$74.5

-10.1%

$844.1

$107.03

14.5%

Research, Development, and Dissemination

$204.9

$197.9

-$7.0

-3.4%

$289.9

$85.01

41.5%

Regional Educational Laboratories

$58.7

$57.0

-$1.7

-2.9%

$63.7

$5.00

8.5%

Statistics

$111.5

$111.5

$0.0

0.0%

$111.5

$0.00

0.0%

Assessment

$187.8

$192.8

$5.1

2.7%

$192.8

$5.05

2.7%

Statewide Data Systems

$33.5

$33.5

$0.0

0.0%

$35.5

$2.00

6.0%

Special Education Studies and Evaluations

$13.3

$11.3

-$2.0

-15.2%

$13.3

$0.00

0.0%

Research in Special Education

$60.3

$58.5

-$1.8

-2.9%

$64.3

$4.00

6.6%

Total - Program Admin =

$669.9

$662.5

-$7.4

-1.1%

$771.0

$101.03

15.1%

Program Administration (starting FY 2022)

$67.1

$0.0

-$67.1

-100.0%

$73.1

$6.00

8.9%

*Excludes $28 million in supplemental funding from FY 21 omnibus for NAEP and $100 million for IES in American Rescue
**$75 million of RD&D funding would be directed to establishing a National Center for Advanced Development in Education

The report language notes support for the School Pulse Panel that is being run by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) to gather monthly data on schools in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The subcommittee report language includes within the Research, Development, and Dissemination (RD&D) account that would direct funding toward a newly established National Center for Advanced Development in Education (NCADE) that would be modeled on the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. As indicated in the report, NCADE “will invest in breakthrough technologies; new pedagogical approaches; innovative learning models; and more efficient, reliable, and valid forms of measurement of student learning, experiences, and opportunities. vest in high-reward, scalable solutions to address longstanding deficits and inequities in the education system.”

“We are very thankful to Chair DeLauro for the generous top-level funding for IES included in the FY 2023 Labor-H bill,” said AERA Executive Director Felice J. Levine. “In light of the news that IES does not intend to run its core, field-initiated Education Research Grants competition in FY 2023, we appreciate the attention to providing needed investment for Research, Development, and Dissemination.

“We urge, though, that a final FY 2023 bill include sufficient funding to support core IES programs, such as the Education Research Grants program, that develop evidence-based practices for learning and instruction, support knowledge mobilization, and build the capacity of the field, as well as ensure that Program Administration funds are used for hiring much-needed staff within the National Center for Education Statistics.”

National Science Foundation

The House FY 2023 CJS bill includes $9.63 billion for NSF, a 9 percent increase over the FY 2022 appropriated amount of $8.84 billion. The following table includes details for specific NSF programs.

National Science Foundation (in millions)

 

FY 2022 Omnibus

FY 2023 Budget Request

FY 2022 v. FY 2023 $

FY 2022 v. FY 2023 %

FY 2023 House

FY 2023 House v. FY 2022 Final (S)

FY 2023 House v. FY 2022 Final (%)

National Science Foundation

$8,838.0

$10,492.1

$1,654.1

18.72%

$9,631.2

$793.2

9.0%

Education and Human Resources

$1,006.0

$1,377.2

$371.2

36.90%

$1,250.0

$244.0

24.3%

Research and Related Activities

$7,159.4

$8,453.0

$1,293.6

18.07%

$7,705.5

$546.1

7.6%

*Accounts for name change for the Education and Human Resources Directorate to the STEM Education Directorate beginning in FY 2023

Within NSF, the bill would provide $1.25 billion for the Education and Human Resources (EHR) Directorate, representing an increase of 24.3 percent above the FY 2022 level. The report language endorses the proposed shift in the president’s budget request to consolidate the Graduate Research Fellowship Program in EHR, accounting for some of the additional funding. In addition, the report language includes an encouragement for NSF to partner with the Department of Education on transformational education innovation and translation.

The CJS bill includes nearly $8.5 billion for the Research and Related Agencies (R&RA) account, a boost of 7.6 percent over FY 2021. The report also includes support for social, behavioral, and economic (SBE) sciences at NSF and the application of findings from SBE in addressing national issues. In addition, the report language includes a directive to the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics to “to undertake a study to identify, compile, and analyze existing nationwide data, and conduct survey research as necessary, to better understand the national cyber workforce.” The report also includes a statement of support from the committee for NCSES to add staff.

National Institutes of Health

The House FY 2023 Labor-H bill includes $47.5 billion for NIH, an increase of $2.5 billion over FY 2022. The following table provides details on specific funding within NIH.

National Institutes of Health (in billions)

 

FY 2022 Omnibus

FY 2023 Budget Request

FY 2022 v. FY 2023 $

FY 2022 v. FY 2023 %

FY 2023 House

FY 2023 House v. FY 2022 Final (S)

FY 2023 House v. FY 2022 Final (%)

National Institutes of Health

$44.96

$62.50

$17.54

39.02%

$47.50

$2.54

5.6%

National Institute of Child Health and Human Development

$1.68

$1.67

-$0.01

-0.53%

$1.76

$0.07

4.3%

 

The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) would receive $1.76 billion in the House bill, an increase of nearly $73.6 million compared with FY 2022, though below the amount included in the president’s budget request. The report language notes the role that NICHD has in supporting Learning Disabilities Research Centers, particularly in light of potential effects on academic achievement and socioemotional development due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and urges continued investment.

Unlike the proposal in the FY 2023 budget request, the Advanced Research Projects Agency–Health (ARPA-H) would be funded at $2.75 billion within the broader Department of health and Human Services, and not under NIH. As stated in the report language, “The Committee believes that given its focus on supporting high-risk, high-reward projects and distinct approach to selecting and managing research projects, establishing ARPA-H as a separate entity within HHS will maximize the likelihood of the agency’s success.”

The House is expected to take action on the bills in July. Meanwhile, in the Senate, the Appropriations Committee chairman, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) announced that Democrats would be releasing their own bills with markup hearings in July in the absence of a bipartisan agreement with Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL) on allocations for each of the 12 bills.

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