Congress Split on How to Apportion Research Funding

September 24, 2021

As Congress debates the National Science Foundation’s Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research program, the Senate wants to direct significantly more funding to states that have historically been overlooked, while the House does not. Legislators might find guidance in Issues, where Michael Wallner and colleagues report on the commercialization outcomes of projects supported by two other federal programs aimed at helping small businesses innovate. Businesses in lower-funded states “consistently outperformed” those in higher-award states, they write, concluding that “efforts to assist firms in underserved states are a sound investment and contribute to improved geographic distribution of economically valuable innovative activities.”