S. Con. Res. 14, the Concurrent Resolution on the Budget for Fiscal Year 2022, instructed some committees of the House of Representatives to recommend legislative changes which would increase deficits up to a specified amount over the 2022‑2031 period. As part of this reconciliation process, the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology approved legislation on September 9, 2021, with provisions that would increase deficits.
The legislation would appropriate nearly $46 billion in 2022 to improve infrastructure, facilities, equipment, and oversight and expand research and development activities within various federal agencies that study basic science, energy, weather, and climate change. Based on historical outlay rates for similar activities, CBO estimates that a portion of that appropriation for some programs would not be spent and for other programs would be spent after 2031. Thus, enacting the legislation would increase the deficit by nearly $45 billion over the 2022-2031 period.
