Dive Brief:
- President Donald Trump's proposed budget would include big cuts for agencies like the National Institutes of Health, which could have major impacts on the budgets of many colleges and universities that have come to rely on government funding.
- The budget reduction would hit smaller schools harder than stalwart institutions that can make adjustments over the next several years, according to Moody’s Investors Service, reported in the Washington Post.
- Proposed elimination of arts funding, including for the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities, could impact school budgets to a lesser degree, but create lasting ripple effects for years to come.
Dive Insight:
The proposed federal budget also includes reductions for the U.S. Department of Education, calling for almost $3 billion in cuts. Although cuts to essential programs are not expected to take hold, the budget does include slashing funding to college prep programs and those for disadvantaged students.
The cuts also impact agencies such as NASA, where funded research would be less focused on climate change. That tracks with a Pew survey that found while many Americans support federally-funded research, many also distrust science, especially involving climate change. Federal funding for research is already in decline, and has been for years, leading to stresses on faculty and in-process research projects, which could be put in flux. While detractors of government-backed research say they fail to see the lasting impact made by such funding, advocates point to applied research as being a stepping stone to commercially-viable developments for industry, which positively impacts the economy.