Analysis of the FY 2024 House Appropriations Bills for Federal Science Agencies

In late October, details of the U.S. House of Representatives’ fiscal year (FY) 2024 appropriations bills were made public. Before leaving town for the Thanksgiving break, the House—under the leadership of newly-elected House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA)—took initial steps toward passing the bills. However, despite two days of debate, the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education (LHHS) appropriations bill—the measure that funds the National Institutes of Health, Department of Education, and several other agencies of interest to the science community—did not receive a final vote and consideration was punted until after the holiday. The other bill of interest—the Commerce, Justice, Science (CJS) appropriations bill, which funds the National Science Foundation, Department of Justice, and Census Bureau, among other agencies—did not manage to make it to the floor as House leadership had hoped prior to the break.

Up against another potential government shutdown on November 17, lawmakers managed to pass a second continuing resolution (CR) before leaving town. The stop-gap measure, orchestrated by Speaker Johnson, includes “tiered deadlines” for the unpassed spending bills. The deadline for the first tranche of bills (the Military Construction-VA, Agriculture, Energy-Water and Transportation-HUD bills) has been extended to January 19, 2024. The remaining bills (including LHHS and CJS) now have a deadline of February 2.

COSSA recently published a full analysis providing details of the House’s FY 2024 LHHS and CJS appropriations bills as introduced. Since neither bill has yet to be voted on by the full House, the numbers included below are subject to change through amendment.

Snapshot of the House Proposals for Federal Science Agencies, FY 2024

While averting a government shutdown over the holiday season is a positive development, pundits agree that the FY 2024 appropriations process will be in roughly the same spot come January, with hardline Republicans in the House seeking cuts beyond those already on the table (see table) and Senate Democrats looking to abide by the bipartisan budget deal struck earlier this year. Lawmakers do not appear any closer to an agreement on top-line spending levels, despite the fact that fiscal year 2024 officially began on October 1. Complicating things further, the President is scheduled to release his budget request for fiscal year 2025 as early as February, which typically would kick off the FY 2025 appropriations process in Congress; however, that could be delayed as a result of the Congress’s inaction on FY 2024.

Stay tuned to COSSA’s coverage for the latest developments. 

Read on to review details on the House appropriations bill for FY 2024 for federal agencies and programs important to the social and behavioral science research community.