Federal basic research funding vital, says Commerce

Sustained levels of federal funding for basic research are vital to US economic well-being, the Commerce Department concluded in a report on the country’s competitiveness and innovative capacity released 6 January.

The report, drafted in consultation with the National Economic Council, found that federal funding for basic research had been increasing in the US, but at a slower pace than economic growth. To improve the trajectory of American innovation, it recommended extending a tax credit for private sector research and development to give companies appropriate and well‐designed incentives to boost innovation above the baseline level that would have been reached without incentives.