Biden Administration’s R&D Budget Priorities

The article revealed that J. Biden's program, with which he approached the 2020 elections, was distinguished by increased attention to issues of innovative development. The President of the United States emphasized the focus on a significant increase in federal investments in R&D and advanced manufacturing. J. Biden plans to focus on supporting socially oriented science and technology policy that aims to revive economically disadvantaged regions and provide economic opportunities to socially vulnerable segments of the population, including racial minorities. It has been established that, unlike D. Trump, for whom the priority was increasing defense R&D funding, J. Biden prefers federal funding for nondefense R&D and applied research. This is confirmed by the data presented in the White House budget request for FY 2022. Among the priorities of science and technology policy, J. Biden identifies advanced manufacturing programs, climate research, quantum and advanced communication technology, energy and biotechnology, and health research projects. President Biden’s American Jobs Plan would roughly double the current annual level of federal spending on research infrastructure, including for rural development. It can provide a tangible boost to the development of science and technology and strengthen the growth trend in R&D intensity, which in 2019 for the first time in U.S. history exceeded 3% of GDP. There is a strong possibility that Congress will approve this massive project in terms of investment in science with bipartisan support. But the question of the extent to which this plan will be implemented against the background of budget restrictions and projected budget revenues remains open.

Tussles loom over reforming the US Postal Service

Significance The administration’s 2021 fiscal year (October 1-September 30) budget request dismisses the preferred solution of the postmaster general and Congress Democrats, for taxpayers to fund USPS retiree healthcare obligations. Impacts Ending universal service would disproportionately hit rural areas and small towns, which rely on USPS. USPS will come under pressure to be more transparent about the discounts and terms it offers to bulk customers. The Postal Regulatory Commission’s review of how postal rates are set is likely to expand the criteria for justifying increases. Congress will appropriate more money for USPS to keep it going, but that will not necessarily drive reform.

Assessing the Likely Impacts of Proposed Food Boxes on SNAP Recipients

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as the Food Stamp Program, is the largest of the federal food and nutrition assistance programs. Studies show that SNAP is vital in increasing recipients’ food budgets, as reflected in recipients’ food spending before and after the 2009 Stimulus Package. SNAP has also been shown to reduce food insecurity for U.S. households. Proposed changes to SNAP by the Trump administration in its initial 2019 budget request could have major impacts on households that depend on the program to lessen the setbacks caused by poverty. Based on economic theory and results from previous studies examining expenditure responses to changes in SNAP, this article explores possible impacts of allocating half of SNAP benefits in the form of food boxes. It argues that these changes would have a negative impact on low-income households—especially children. These changes could create further food insecurity among some of the most vulnerable, while also increasing costs to the government.