Statement by the NSF Director on the President’s Fiscal Year 2025 Budget

The U.S. National Science Foundation's Fiscal Year 2025 budget request of $10.183 billion, an increase of $644 million or 8.9% above FY 2023, proposes a robust plan for investments in fundamental research and education across all fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. These investments will continue to create new discoveries, foster economic growth, and keep the nation in the vanguard of innovation. NSF is critical to the U.S. research and development enterprise, training the STEM workforce and cultivating access to scientific learning and resources for all. 

The Biden-Harris Administration today released the President’s Budget for Fiscal Year 2025. Following historic progress made since the President took office—with nearly 15 million jobs created and inflation down two-thirds—the Budget protects and builds on this progress by lowering costs for working families, protecting and strengthening Social Security and Medicare, investing in America and the American people, and reducing the deficit by cracking down on fraud, cutting wasteful spending, and making the wealthy and corporations pay their fair share. 

"For almost 75 years, NSF has advanced the frontiers of the full spectrum of science and engineering research and innovation. The Fiscal Year 2025 budget will build on prior investments and enable NSF to continue to invest in advancing fundamental discoveries and emerging technologies, promoting access to STEM instruction and workforce training in every corner of our country, pioneering climate research and development, unleashing regional innovation across the nation, and bolstering research infrastructure. NSF will continue to deliver on priorities articulated in the 'CHIPS and Science Act' such as developing the labor and technical skills needed to meet national industry requirements and expand efforts in research security that are vital to U.S. interests worldwide," said NSF Director Sethuraman Panchanathan.  

NSF's vision rests on three pillars that support transformational science and technology investments made in recent years, including those enabled by the "CHIPS and Science Act and by the FY 2023 Omnibus and the Disaster Relief Supplemental appropriations. These pillars are: 

• Strengthening established NSF. NSF investments have been expanding the frontiers of knowledge and technology for over 70 years. Accelerating discovery and enhancing state-of-the-art research capabilities are and will continue to be the agency's central focus. 
• Inspiring the "missing millions." The National Science Board in its Vision 2030 report states, "Faster progress in increasing diversity is needed to reduce a significant talent gap," and they name that talent gap the missing millions. Every demographic and socioeconomic group in every geographic region of the country has talented people who can contribute to the innovation enterprise. In this effort to bring the missing millions into the STEM workforce, NSF will continue to scale up existing pathways and create new tracks in STEM fields. This commitment to finding talent will result in a well-paid workforce that supports a vibrant U.S. economy.  
• Accelerating technology and innovation. Global competition in science, engineering and technology is fierce, pushing the nation to accelerate NSF's efforts. For the U.S. to hold its competitive advantage, both tomorrow and in the decades ahead, support for advancing breakthrough technologies, translating research results to the market and society, and nurturing and attracting diverse talent is key. To enable these investments, NSF will continue to seek out and expand partnerships with other agencies, private industry, philanthropy and like-minded countries to foster environments that leverage resources and deliver results.  

The Budget builds on the President's record to date while achieving meaningful deficit reduction through measures that cut wasteful spending and ask the wealthy to pay their fair share. 

For more information on the President's FY 2025 Budget, please visit: https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/.