The Bush Administration requested $142.7 billion in federal R&D funding for FY2008. Total R&D funding for FY2008 is approximately $142.7 billion, a 1.2% increase over the enacted FY2007 total of $141.1 billion. Funding for FY2008 is provided for in the Defense Appropriations Act, 2008 ( P.L. 110-116 ), signed into law by President Bush on November 13, 2007, and the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2008 ( P.L. 110-161 provides funding covered in the eleven appropriations acts on which action had not been completed. The President's FY2008 proposed R&D increase over the FY2007 funding level was due primarily to requested increases for NASA's space vehicles development program, the Department of Defense, and continuation of the American Competitiveness Initiative (ACI). The President's proposed FY2008 increase for DOD RDT&E funding resulted almost entirely from its request for $3.9 billion for RDT&E in support of its Global War on Terror (GWOT) initiative. 110-116 or P.L. 110-161 , and has not completed action on separate legislation. Congress established authorization levels for FY2008-2010 that would put funding for R&D at these agencies on track to double in approximately seven years. However, FY2008 R&D funding provided in P.L. Total FY2008 funding for NSF was increased by 2.5%, though NSF's research and related activities increased by only 1.1%. The DOE Office of Science received a 5.8% increase for FY2008. NIST's FY2008 core laboratory R&D increased by 1.4%. Over 10 years, the ACI would double R&D funding for the Office of Science and two other agencies. Department of Defense (DOD)

Congress supports research and development in the Department of Defense (DOD) through its Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation (RDT&E) appropriation. Congress provided $1.1 billion. 110-116 ) on November 13, 2007. This request was a 7.3% increase over FY2007, in a total NASA budget that was to increase by 6.4%. The final appropriation was $12.8 billion ( P.L. National Science Foundation (NSF)

The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2008 ( P.L. Department of Agriculture (USDA)

On December 26, 2007, the President signed into law the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2008 ( P.L. P.L. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is a laboratory of the Department of Commerce with a mandate to increase the competitiveness of U.S. companies through appropriate support for industrial development of precompetitive, generic technologies and the diffusion of government-developed technological advances to users in all segments of the American economy. P.L. 110-161 , the FY2008 Consolidated Appropriations Act, as passed by Congress, provides NIST with $755.8 million, an increase of 11.7% over FY2007 and almost 18.0% over the Administration's request. Funding for Geological Resources R&D in FY2008 increases by 2.5% to $219 million. 110-161 ), provided $785.8 million for the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Science and Technology account, which reflects most of the Agency's R&D funding. P.L.
The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2008 (P.L. 110-161) was the measure used by Congress and the President to wrap up action on the regular appropriations acts in late 2007. On December 19, 2007, Congress completed action on the act, and it was signed into law by President Bush on December 26, 2007. Previously, action had been completed on only one of the regular appropriations acts, the Defense Appropriations Act, FY2008 (P.L. 110-116) which was signed into law by President Bush on November 13, 2007. The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2008 provides appropriations covered in the eleven outstanding appropriations acts. To ensure continuity of government operations, Congress had passed four continuing resolutions (P.L. 110-92, P.L. 110-116 Division B, P.L. 110-137, and P.L. 110-149) that provided funding for all agencies that had not received appropriations from the beginning of FY2008 through passage of the Consolidated Appropriations Act.
The Bush Administration requested $142.7 billion in federal research and development (R&D) funding for FY2008. Total federal R&D funding for FY2008 provided in P.L. 110-161 and P.L. 110-116 is estimated to be $142.7 billion, a 1.2% increase over FY2007.
FY2008 funding for the American Competitive Initiative (ACI) fell short of the President's ten-year doubling target for innovation-related research at the National Science Foundation (NSF), Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Science, and National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) core laboratory programs. It also falls short of the authorization levels set by Congress that put R&D funding for these agencies on a seven-year doubling pace. Funding for DOE's Office of Science increased by 5.8% in FY2008 to $4.0 billion. NIST's core laboratory programs increased 1.4% in FY2008 to $441 million. Total FY2008 funding for NSF was increased by 2.5%. NSF's research and related activities increased by only 1.1%, joining other R&D agencies (notably the Environmental Protection Agency (-2.4%) and National Institutes of Health (0.5%)) whose R&D budgets decreased or received increases below the rate of inflation.
In total, DOE received $9.9 billion for R&D in FY2008, a 7.7% increase over FY2007, led by a 24.0% increase in its energy programs. Total funding for NIST increased by 11.7% in FY2008 to $755.8 million due in large measure to increases in its construction budget. NASA's FY2008 R&D budget increased to $12.8 billion, a 7.5% increase over FY2007, due primarily to increases in two initiatives: the international space station and the crew launch vehicle/crew exploration vehicle combination. FY2008 research, development, test, and evaluation (RDT&E) funding for the Department of Defense increased by 1.1%. DOD's science and technology research programs received $12.8 billion for FY2008, though DOD had requested $10.8 billion. DOD's request for a $3.9 billion RDT&E increase under its Global War on Terror initiative was not included in P.L. 110-116 or P.L. 110-161.