Congress finalized a $790 billion economic recovery bill (HR 1) on  February 12, and President Obama signed the bill into law on February 17. AAAS estimates the final stimulus bill contains $21.5 billion in federal research and development (R&D) funding, more than the $17.8 billion in the Senate or $13.2 billion in the House versions of the bill. The AAAS analysis of the final stimulus bill is now available

Obama's Inaugural Day promise to restore science to its rightful place is reflected in key provisions of the bill, which targets about $60 billion for initiatives to spur research and development or encourage widespread adoption of existing health-care, energy or

The bill contains $21.5 billion in federal research and development funding, according to estimates by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. That will reverse a decline in federal R&D spending that began in 2003.

Experts talking to a couple hundred people at the annual American Association for the Advancement of Science, or AAAS, conference said scientists face several hurdles and policy makers must answer tough questions. The answers will determine whether the boost to science lives past the memory of campaign promises and the spending of the stimulus bill passed by Congress Friday and expected to receive President Barack Obama's signature this weekend.

The $790 billion stimulus bill allocates $21.5 billion for federal research and development, well beyond the $13 billion proposed by the House and $18 billion by the Senate.

That is a lot more than I would have expected, said Kei Koizumi, AAAS director of budget and policy. The outlook is great for sustainable growth for research funding, especially for competitiveness.

Koizumi served on Obama's transition team and moves to the White House Tuesday as part of the OSTP staff. He said the stimulus package, which had competitiveness-related basic research as one of four main priorities, puts the National Science Foundation, Department of Energy, and the DOE Office of Science on track to double their budgets over the next seven to 10 years, as promised in the 2007 America Competes Act.

The bill also targets billions of dollars at infrastructure improvement at universities and national laboratories.

Potentially, the stimulus bill also could have favorable impacts on budgets for basic and applied research, which have been declining since 2004.

But with research mainly comprised of multi-year projects, the money can't stop once the economy gets back on track.

There are some big questions, Koizumi said.

How funding will be sustained is a key question. Other concerns include: what role will the National Science and Technology Council play in the administration and how will it coordinate across groups, will the administration view universities as government contractors or a key vehicle to carry out federal research, and how will science be used to shape policy.

The complete series of AAAS R&D Funding Updates on FY 2009 congressional appropriations is available on the AAAS R&D web site on the "FY 2009 R&D" page. These updates supplement AAAS Report XXXIII: Research and Development FY 2009, a comprehensive analysis of R&D in the proposed federal budget for FY 2009 that was published in April. Also available is a continually updated table on the status of FY 2009 appropriations. Since 1976, the R&D Budget and Policy Program has been providing timely, comprehensive, and independent analyses of R&D funding trends in the federal budget as a service to the science, engineering and policymaking communities.

Through its Web site and email list, the Program makes available continually updated coverage of R&D funding trends, ongoing budget debates in Congress and the Executive Branch, and potential impacts of budget legislation. The Web site also offers a guide to R&D funding data as well as downloadable copies of its printed reports.

Every spring, the Program hosts the annual AAAS Forum on Science and Technology Policy (formerly the AAAS Colloquium), the nation's premier conference devoted to S&T policy. The next Forum will be held April 30 - May 1, 2009, in Washington, DC.