Biden proposes boost in Research and Development funding

President Biden is asking Congress to jumpstart budgets for R&D programs across non-defense agencies in the fiscal year 2022, with a focus on those connected to climate science, clean energy innovation, biomedical research, and emerging technologies.

In this proposed budget, the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) budget would grow roughly 20% to $51 billion. Of the increase, $6.5 billion would go toward establishing an Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA–H) to “drive transformational innovation in health research and speed application and implementation of health breakthroughs,” with an initial focus on cancer, diabetes, and Alzheimer’s, among other diseases.

In addition, the administration seeks $110 million for NIH’s Climate Change and Human Health program, a $100 million increase, and proposes a similar boost for the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Climate and Health program. It also seeks to create a new Office of Climate Change and Health Equity within the Department of Health and Human Services, NIH’s parent department.

Read more in Nature