Biden Administration’s R&D Budget Priorities

Abstract

The article revealed that J. Biden's program, with which he approached the 2020 elections, was distinguished by increased attention to issues of innovative development. The President of the United States emphasized the focus on a significant increase in federal investments in R&D and advanced manufacturing. J. Biden plans to focus on supporting socially oriented science and technology policy that aims to revive economically disadvantaged regions and provide economic opportunities to socially vulnerable segments of the population, including racial minorities. It has been established that, unlike D. Trump, for whom the priority was increasing defense R&D funding, J. Biden prefers federal funding for nondefense R&D and applied research. This is confirmed by the data presented in the White House budget request for FY 2022. Among the priorities of science and technology policy, J. Biden identifies advanced manufacturing programs, climate research, quantum and advanced communication technology, energy and biotechnology, and health research projects. President Biden’s American Jobs Plan would roughly double the current annual level of federal spending on research infrastructure, including for rural development. It can provide a tangible boost to the development of science and technology and strengthen the growth trend in R&D intensity, which in 2019 for the first time in U.S. history exceeded 3% of GDP. There is a strong possibility that Congress will approve this massive project in terms of investment in science with bipartisan support. But the question of the extent to which this plan will be implemented against the background of budget restrictions and projected budget revenues remains open.