New data indicate that federal budget authority for research and development and R&D plant together totaled an estimated $149.0 billion (current dollars, preliminary data) in FY 2016, an increase of $10.5 billion (7.5%) over the FY 2015 level (table 1). This follows a $2.4 billion increase (1.8%) in FY 2015 and a $3.7 billion increase (2.8%) in FY 2014. Data are from the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, National Science Foundation. (All amounts and calculations are in current dollars, unless otherwise noted.)
