On September 23, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) issued the annual memorandum to executive departments and agencies, outlining the administration’s research and development (R&D) budget priorities for fiscal year 2027 (FY27). Prior administrations have regularly shared this memo in August each year as federal agencies—when the government is not shut down—are typically preparing their budget proposals for the following fiscal year.
The memo identifies five budgetary priorities for R&D, including several of particular relevance to FABBS researchers: international leadership in critical and emerging technologies and strengthening American health—highlighting opportunities for investment in disease prevention and public health preparedness. The memo calls for advancing research that integrates lifestyle factors, genetics, and the environment to inform precision prevention and treatment strategies for America’s most pressing health challenges, including chronic diseases, obesity, Alzheimer’s, and other neurodegenerative diseases.
Five crosscutting actions direct agencies to support high-value and “gold standard” science (see FABBS article), build the science and technology (S&T) workforce, strengthen the S&T ecosystem, and expand and increase accessibility of the research infrastructure.
Similar to other communications from this administration, the document appears to have been written in an alternative reality, by ‘visionaries’ and ‘policymakers’ oblivious to their own actions to aggressively dismantle programs, decimate the workforce, and threaten funding for the very institutions and organizations that exist to advance these priorities and actions. Notably, the document does recognize the role of academia and nonprofit research institutions/universities in America’s innovation ecosystem. While the stated goals are laudable and build on decades of work for America to become the ‘unrivaled’ international leader, FABBS continues to educate this administration on the damage that it is inflicting on the very scientific ecosystem needed to achieve their stated priorities.
