ASBMB statement on President Joe Biden’s Fiscal 2023 Budget Request

April 1, 2022

The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology commends the Biden administration for prioritizing scientific research and development in in the presidential budget request for fiscal year 2023. President Joe Biden proposed $49 billion for the National Institutes of Health, $10.5 billion for the National Science Foundation and $7.8 billion for the Department of Energy Office of Science. The amounts proposed in the president’s budget are necessary to ensure that scientific research has reliable, predictable funding.  
 
The $49 billion request for the NIH includes $5 billion specifically for the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health, which would be focused on research cutting edge therapies for high burden diseases. However, only a marginal increase was given to the NIH for its core functions. The ASBMB remains a strong advocate for robust and sustainable funding for all NIH research, and is concerned the current proposed budget for core NIH functions will leave basic scientific research behind, which is critical for discovery and innovation.
 
Notably, $410 million of the amount requested for NIH is specifically directed towards the Institutional Development Awards program. This program is vital to support faculty development and institutional research infrastructure enhancements in states that have historically received low levels of NIH funding. The ASBMB strongly supports this effort; it’s vital that the U.S. strengthens research capacity throughout the entire country, and this program has been very successful at doing so. 
 
Biden’s proposed $10.5 billion for the NSF, a 24% increase over 2021, which would significantly strengthen U.S. leadership in emerging technologies and would advance racial equity in science and engineering. We especially applaud Biden’s focus on recruiting and retaining people from underrepresented communities in science and on developing mentorship programs, fellowships and research capacity at historically Black colleges and universities and other minority-serving institutions.  
 
Biden’s science priorities are instrumental to strengthening the American research enterprise, and we look forward to working with the president and Congress to support science.