Biden’s science budget for 2022 pleases US research community

President Joe Biden’s first budget proposal, released in a preliminary form on 9 April, was well-received by the nation’s research community and science advocates. The new president’s request for fiscal year 2022, which begins on 1 October, includes a funding increase of more than $10 billion (£7.3 billion), or 20%, for the National Science Foundation (NSF), with $500 million of that going to climate and clean energy research. It would also create a new technology and innovation directorate at the fundamental science and engineering agency to help expedite technology development.