In the middle of 2022, GDP would show a temporary and shallow decline and then grow at an annual rate of about 1.5 percent, coming close to the path projected just before the pandemic (see figure 1). We project that if the Biden package were enacted, GDP would reach the Congressional Budget Office’s (CBO) pre-pandemic GDP projection after the third quarter of 2021, exceeding it by 1 percent in the fourth quarter. We estimate that the package would boost economic activity, as measured by the level of real gross domestic product (GDP), by about 4 percent at the end of 2021 and 2 percent at the end of 2022, relative to a projection that assumes no additional fiscal support. Members of Congress are still working out final details of the bill, but are pushing to approve it and send it to President Donald Trump for his signature by the end of the week.The Biden Administration recently proposed an additional $1.9 trillion in federal spending to address the ongoing pandemic. "But we're still trying to figure it out." The language in the stimulus bill "seems to give institutions some flexibility," says one university lobbyist. That amount was meant to address the costs of shutting down and then ramping up research operations, they said, as well as myriad other expenses that range from providing online instruction to students who have been sent home to the loss of revenue from students no longer paying rent for living in university-owned housing. Several higher education organizations last week asked Congress to include $13 billion to cover disruptions in research stemming from the pandemic. But the rest can be spent "to support institutions as they cope with the immediate effects of coronavirus and school closures." At least half of the money, which would come from the Department of Education, is earmarked for students. The big wild card in the stimulus package is a $14.25 billion allocation to support higher education. NASA would receive $60 million for the costs of rescheduling scientific missions, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration would get $20 million to supplement "life and property related services" within its National Weather Service, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology would receive $6 million to support "research and measurement science" aimed at developing better diagnostics and testing of the coronavirus. In addition, three research agencies would receive a total of $86 million "to support continuity of operations" affected by COVID-19. Forest Service would get $3 million to "reestablish experiments impacted by travel restrictions" stemming from the pandemic, including an ongoing forest inventory. The Department of Energy's Office of Science would get $99.5 million to cover the additional costs of operating user facilities at its national laboratories, including support for equipment and staff.The National Science Foundation would receive $76 million to supplement an ongoing program that allows scientists to jump into the field for pilot studies on all manner of natural disasters.
The National Institutes of Health would receive $945 million for "vaccine, therapeutic, and diagnostic research" on COVID-19 as well as on "the underlying risks to cardiovascular and pulmonary conditions.".But a 22-page summary released by the Senate Appropriations Committee this morning contains these highlights:
In addition, it extends a financial hand to universities that have shut down because of the pandemic, some of which could go to support research that has been disrupted.ĭetails of the legislation have yet to emerge after Republican and Democratic leaders in Congress worked out their differences in negotiations that ran into the early morning. But it also includes at least $1.25 billion for federal research agencies to support scientists trying to better understand coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
Senate is working to approve today is aimed at helping the country cope with the massive impact of the coronavirus pandemic. The $2 trillion stimulus package that the U.S.