President Trump’s FY 2021 Budget invests $142.2 billion
in Federal Research and Development (R&D), a 6 percent
increase over his FY 2020 budget.
The President’s Budget prioritizes the Industries of the
Future and commits to double R&D spending in nondefense
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Quantum Information Science
(QIS) by 2022.
President Trump is the first President in American history to
include AI and QIS as Administration R&D priorities. Since
his inauguration, the Trump Administration has supported
historic investments in R&D, bold national strategies, a
pro-growth regulatory agenda, and a commitment to the
American workforce.
Beyond R&D, the FY 2021 Budget includes investments in
education and job training that will help create a diverse and
highly skilled American workforce to support the Industries of
the Future.
At the National Science Foundation, an additional $50 million
will go toward AI and QIS workforce development, with a
focus on community colleges, Historically Black Colleges and
Universities, and Minority Serving Institutions.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
The President’s FY 2021 Budget includes a significant increase
in nondefense AI R&D compared to the FY 2020 Budget and is
on a path to double nondefense AI R&D by 2022.
This increase brings spending for AI R&D and
interdisciplinary research institutes at the National Science
Foundation to more than $830 million, which represents a
more than 70 percent increase over the FY 2020 budget.
The Department of Energy’s Office of Science will invest $125
million in AI research, a $54 million increase over FY 2020.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture will provide $100 million
for the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative competitive
grants program to enhance application of advanced
technology, including AI, in agricultural systems.
The National Institutes of Health will invest $50 million for
new research on chronic diseases using AI and related
approaches.
In regards to Defense AI R&D, DARPA is investing $459 million
in AI R&D, an increase of $50 million from FY 2020, and the
Department of Defense’s Joint AI Center is increasing its
budget from $242 million in FY 2020 to $290 million in FY 2021.
BACKGROUND
President Trump launched the American AI Initiative, the United
States national strategy for AI leadership, in February 2019.
The American AI Initiative directed Federal agencies
to prioritize artificial intelligence in their annual budget
requests. The FY 2021 budget delivers on this request.
The Initiative also called for the development of the first ever
agency-by-agency report of nondefense AI R&D spending.
This report identified $1 billion in nondefense R&D for FY
2020, establishing a benchmark for measuring nondefense
AI R&D budgets in the future.
QUANTUM INFORMATION SCIENCE
President Trump’s FY 2021 Budget greatly bolsters Federal
QIS R&D funding with aggregate investment across key
agencies increasing by more than 50 percent relative to
the FY 2020 Budget, putting QIS R&D on the path to double
by 2022.
National Science Foundation investment in QIS research
will double to $230 million, an additional $120 million over
FY 2020.
The Department of Energy Office of Science spending on
QIS research will increase to $237 million, which will boost
QIS efforts at the national laboratories and in academia and
industry. This represents a nearly $70 million increase over
FY 2020.
The President’s Budget includes $25 million for the
Department of Energy Office of Science to support early
stage research for a quantum internet.
The development of a network of quantum computers
and quantum devices holds promise for creating new
technologies, improving the security of our communications,
and allowing dramatic advances in computing.
The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy’s
National Quantum Coordination Office issued a Strategic
Vision for America’s Quantum Networks, which provides the
QIS research community with specific recommendations to
focus quantum internet R&D activities.
BACKGROUND
In December 2018, President Trump signed into
law the bipartisan National Quantum Initiative Act,
which greatly accelerated QIS R&D investment
and coordination.
The FY 2020 Budget jumpstarted the R&D spending
called for by the legislation with at least half a billion
dollars for QIS R&D across the Federal Government.
As directed by the legislation, the White House
established the National Quantum Coordination Office
to harmonize QIS efforts across the Federal agencies.
The TRUMP RALLY Publication 89