S. 1602 would authorize the appropriation of $10 million annually over the 2026-2030 period for the National Science Foundation (NSF) to award grants to nonprofit organizations and institutions of higher education to develop approaches for teaching mathematical modeling, and to report to the Congress on those grants. The authority to award grants would expire on September 30, 2029. The bill also would authorize the appropriation of $1 million annually over the 2026-2030 period for the NSF to enter into an agreement with the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine to study factors enhancing or impeding mathematical modeling education.
The estimated budgetary effects of the legislation are shown in Table 1. The costs of the legislation fall within budget function 250 (general science, space, and technology).
For this estimate, CBO assumes that the legislation will be enacted in fiscal year 2026 and that the authorized amounts will be appropriated each year. On that basis, and using historical spending patterns for similar programs, CBO estimates that implementing S. 1602 would cost $44 million over the 2026-2031 period and $2 million after 2031. That estimate incorporates the prohibition on awarding grants in fiscal year 2030; thus, estimated outlays are $9 million lower than they would be without that prohibition.
Table 1.
Estimated Budgetary Effects of S. 1602
By Fiscal Year, Millions of Dollars
2026
2027
2028
2029
2030
2031
2026-2031
Increases in Spending Subject to Appropriation
Authorization
11
11
11
11
11
0
55
Estimated Outlays
*
8
11
11
9
5
44
* = between zero and $500,000.
The bill would authorize appropriations for 2030 but would prohibit the agency from awarding grants in that year. CBO’s estimated outlays reflect that prohibition.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Katherine Chou. The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Director of Budget Analysis.
