FY 2024 President’s Budget Request – GovWin FMA’s First Take

On Friday, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) began to release the Biden Administration’s highly anticipated fiscal year (FY) 2024 Budget Request. Today, the White House and the Department of Defense (DOD) continued to release additional information that provides detailed funding and program information for most Civilian departments and agencies as well as the DOD and military departments.

The GovWin Federal Market Analysis (FMA) team has reviewed the available budget details to provide our first impressions of what we found noteworthy for the largest departments and agencies, especially concentrating on spending priorities that may lead to potential contractor opportunities or impacts in the FY 2024 budget request.

We reviewed the largest federal departments’ budgets to get a sense of direction and priorities for FY 2024, which will begin October 1, 2023. Below is a summary graphic followed by key funding details and initiatives arranged by department.

Air Force

The president’s budget request provides $259.2B in total discretionary funding for the Department of the Air Force (USAF), a 5.0% increase over the FY 2023 enacted level. This includes $30.1B 24.5B for the U.S. Space Force (USSF) for FY 2024.

Funding highlights include:

• Includes Operations and Maintenance funding of $62.8B for the USAF and $5.0B for USSF, $1.7B and $929M more than enacted in FY 2023, respectively.
• Provides $60.0B for Procurement at the USAF and $4.7B for the USSF. The USAF sees a $3.8B increase and USSF sees a $253M increase from enacted FY 2023 levels.
• Allocates $46.6B and $19.2B for Research, Development, Test and Evaluation at the USAF and USSF respectively, representing $1.4B and $2.6B increases respectively from the enacted FY 2023 levels.

Navy

The president’s budget requests $255.8B for the Department of the Navy, an increase of $12.8B (5.3%) from the FY 2023 enacted level.    

Funding highlights include:

• Includes $82.5B for Operations and Maintenance, 3.8% more than the enacted FY 2023 level.
• Provides $87.4B for Procurement, 9.2% above the FY 2023 enacted level.
• Allocates $26.9B for Research, Development, Test and Evaluation, 3.4% more than the FY 2023 enacted level.

Army

The president’s budget requests $185.3B in discretionary funding for the Department of the Army, 0.21% more than enacted for Fiscal Year 2023.

Funding highlights include:

• Includes $59.6B for Operations and Maintenance, 4.6% less than enacted in FY 2023.
• Provides $23.8B for Procurement, 8.1% less than the level enacted in FY 2023.
• Allocates $15.8B for Research, Development, Test and Evaluation, 8.1% less than enacted in FY 2023.

Defense Agencies

The president’s budget requests $141.7B in discretionary funding for Defense Agencies, 0.28% more than enacted for Fiscal Year 2023.

Funding highlights include:

• Includes $69.7B for Operations and Maintenance, 31.8% less than enacted in FY 2023.
• Provides $6.0B for Procurement, a reduction of 15.3% from the level enacted in FY 2023.
• Allocates $36.2B for Research, Development, Test and Evaluation, 6.0% less than the level enacted in FY 2023.

Health and Human Services

The president’s budget request provides $144.3B in discretionary budget authority for HHS, which is a 13.6% increase from the FY 2023 enacted level.

Funding highlights include:

• Includes $20B in mandatory funding for HHS public health agencies to advance science, technology, and core capabilities to prevent and prepare for future biological threats. Also includes $10.5B in discretionary funding to build public health capacity at the CDC and at the state and local levels for surveillance, laboratory, and public health workforce capacities.
• Invests in the treatment and prevention of infectious diseases such as Hepatitis C, HIV, and vaccine-preventable diseases, including an $850M investment in the Ending the HIV Epidemic Initiative.
• Provides $8.1B in discretionary resources for the Indian Health Service (IHS) and proposes reclassifying the entire IHS budget as mandatory in FY 2025.
• Proposes $7.8B for the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to drive progress on ways to prevent, detect, and treat cancer.
• Requests $1B dedicated to Cancer Moonshot activities across CDC, IHS, HRSA and FDA to reduce the cancer death rate by at least 50 percent over the next 25 years and improve the experience of people who are living with or have survived cancer.
• Requests $10B in IT funding including $947M for cybersecurity.

Veterans Affairs

The president’s budget request provides $137.9B in discretionary base budget authority for VA, a 2.2% increase over the FY 2023 enacted level. Total discretionary amounts to $142.8B with inclusion of $4.9B for medical collections. The budget request also provides $20.3B in mandatory budget authority for the Cost of War Toxic Exposures Fund (TEF) in FY 2024 which supports the PACT Act.

Funding highlights include:

• Includes the following mandatory funding from the TEF: $17.1B for medical care; $1.8B for disability benefits claims processing and automation; and $1.2B for information technology support.
• Provides $121B in discretionary medical care funding, a 1.9% increase over the FY 2023 enacted level. The budget request fully funds inpatient, outpatient, mental health, and long-term care services, as well as $5B for maintenance to improve medical facility infrastructure.
• Proposes $1.6B in discretionary funding and $1.9B in mandatory funding for construction and expansion of critical infrastructure and facilities.
• Supports veterans’ homelessness programs with $3.1B to ensure veterans have permanent, sustainable housing with access to healthcare and other support services.
• Includes $6.4B for VA information technology and upgrades to IT systems. The budget additionally provides $1.9B to continue modernizing VA’s Electronic Health Record.

Education

The president’s budget request provides $90B in discretionary budget authority for Education, which is a 13.6% increase from the FY 2023 enacted level.

Funding highlights include:

• Provides $20.5B for Title I, which helps schools provide learning opportunities to students in low-income communities. This represents a 12% increase over FY 2023 enacted levels.
• Allocates $16.8B for Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) grants to states to support special education and related services for students in grades Pre-K through 12.
• Includes $1.2B for the English Language Acquisition program to help students learning English attain English proficiency and achieve academic success.
• Contains $2.7B for the Office of Federal Student Aid to provide better support to student loan borrowers through improvements to student loan servicing, continued digital infrastructure modernization, and simplified and streamlined processes for students and borrowers.
• Requests $1.7B for IT including $313M for cybersecurity.

Housing and Urban Development

The president’s request provides $73.3B in discretionary funding for the Department of Housing and Urban Development, an increase of 1.6% over the level enacted in FY 2023.

Funding highlights include:

• Includes $32.7B for the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) Program, accommodating more than 200,000 new vouchers.
• Allocates $3.7B to prevent homelessness via the award of Homeless Assistance Grants.
• Provides $1.8B for the HOME Investment Partnerships Program to construct and rehabilitate affordable rental housing and provide homeownership opportunities.
• Proposes $3.2B for public housing modernization and $300M to improve the energy efficiency, climate resilience, and physical condition of the public housing stock.

State and USAID

The president’s budget provides $63.1B for the Department of State and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), a $5B (+9%) increase from the 2023 enacted level when accounting for $2.1B in base funding that was shifted to the emergency funding category in 2023.

Funding highlights include:

• Provides $10.9B for global health programs, a $370M increase above the 2023 enacted level. This includes more than $1.2B for infectious disease outbreak prepare, prevent, detect, and respond activities, of which $500M is for the Pandemic Fund to improve global health security and pandemic preparedness.
• Request more than $3B for the President’s Emergency Plan for Adaptation and Resilience (PREPARE) program, which would include a $1.6B contribution to the Green Climate Fund and a $1.2B loan to the Clean Technology Fund.
• Proposes more than $395M for U.S. global cyber and digital development initiatives, including State’s Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy, USAID’s Digital Strategy, Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGII) digital connectivity efforts, and regional initiatives such as Digital Transformation with Africa.
• Supports through PGII more than $50B in direct foreign assistance, development and export finance, and private sector funding to advance climate and energy security, health and health security, digital connectivity, gender equity and equality, and related transportation infrastructure, creating opportunities for American businesses.
• Allocates $753M for Ukraine to continue to counter Russian malign influence and to meet emerging needs related to security, energy, cybersecurity, disinformation, macroeconomic stabilization, and civil society resilience.
• Supplies over $3.4B to advance democratic governance, respect for human rights, and democratic renewal through efforts to strengthen free and independent media, fight corruption, bolster democratic institutions, advance technology for democracy, promote gender equality and women’s civic and political participation, and defend free and fair elections and political processes.

Homeland Security

The president’s budget requests $60.4B in total discretionary budget authority, a $600M (-1%) decrease from the FY 2023 enacted level. The budget proposes an additional $4.7B above this amount for a Southwest Border Contingency Fund to respond to migration surges along the Southwest border.

Funding highlights include:

• Allocates $3.1B for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), an additional $145M increase over the FY 2023 enacted level, including $98M to implement the Cyber Incident Reporting for Critical Infrastructure Act and $425M to improve CISA’s internal cybersecurity and analytical capabilities.
• Provides $425M for the new Cyber Analytics and Data System (CADS) to provide a robust and scalable analytic environment with visualization tools and advanced analytic capabilities for CISA.
• Supplies $535M for U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) border security technology at and between ports of entry and $40M to combat fentanyl trafficking and disrupt transnational criminal organizations.
• Includes $123M for DHS to support market-shaping investments into Zero-Emission Vehicles and $264M for DHS to consolidate its physical footprint across the National Capital Region.
• Allots $70M for Transportation Security Administration’s Checkpoint Property Screening System (CPSS) program to address capability gaps and to reliably and efficiently detect new and evolving threats.

Energy

The president’s budget request provides $52.0B in base discretionary funding for DOE, a $6.2B increase over FY 2023.

Funding highlights include:

• Funds the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) with $23.8B, with increases in funding to address new threats in nuclear nonproliferation and counterterrorism.
• Commits $8.8B to the Office of Science, a 9% increase above FY 2023, and includes $1.0B for the Fusion Energy Science Program.
• Provides the DOE Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response with $245M to address physical and cyber threats to U.S. energy infrastructure.
• Proposes the creation of an 18th national lab at an HBCU or MSI with a $35M request at the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.

Justice

The president’s budget request includes $37.5B in base discretionary budget authority for DOJ, a $2.2B increase over FY 2023.

Funding highlights include:

• Dedicates $17.8B to DOJ law enforcement components, a $1.2B increase over FY 2023, including additional funds for the technology modernizations and body worn camera programs at FBI, DEA, ATF and USMS.
• Bolsters the Executive Office of Immigration Review (EOIR) with $1.5B, an increase of $595M above FY 2023, to reduce pending immigration cases.
• Expands DOJ cybersecurity efforts with $180M in enhancements across the department, including over $80M t FBI to bolster the agency’s cyber investigative capabilities and adopt elements of the cyber executive order such as zero trust architecture.
• Supports the acquisition and construction of a new FBI headquarters campus with $3.5B in the Federal Capital Revolving Fund.

Agriculture

The president’s request provides $30.1B in discretionary funding for the Department of Agriculture, 17.85% more than the total enacted in FY 2023.

Funding highlights include:

• Requests $10.7B for the U.S. Forest Service, $72M of which supports investment in vehicle electrification goals and charging stations mandated by Executive Order 14057.
• Contains $7.1B for the Food and Nutrition Service, including $6.3B for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program (WIC). FNS intends to investment in robotic process automation to strengthen program delivery, Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) modernization, and support EBT benefit fraud prevention.
• Allocates $2.0B for the Agriculture Research Service, including $13M for operational support at the National Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF).
• Includes $125M for IT, of which $77.4M is to support departmental cybersecurity through the acquisition of new tools and services.

Transportation

The president’s request provides $27.85B in discretionary funding for the Department of Transportation, 3.0% less than the total enacted in FY 2023.

Funding highlights include:

• Requests $70.2B (inc. mandatory spending) for the Federal Highway Administration, $3.1B of which is for the Highway Safety Improvement Program to develop new safety approaches nationwide.
• Contains $12.7B for the Federal Aviation Administration, including $75M to sustain the National Airspace System and $115M to accelerate the modernization of that system.
• Allocates $2.85B for the Federal Transit Administration to renew public transportation systems and develop public transit infrastructure.
• Includes $49M for investment in DOT cybersecurity capabilities, to expand cybersecurity and privacy risk management capabilities, and to integrate DOT’s zero trust architecture.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration      

The president’s budget request provides $27.2B in base discretionary budget authority for NASA, a $1.8B increase over FY 2023.

Funding highlights include:

• Dedicates $8.8B to the NASA’s Science fund, including $3.4B for Planetary Science, $2.5B for Earth Science, and $1.6B for Astrophysics.
• Prioritizes $8.1B for the Artemis program, a $500M increase above FY 2023, and includes $2.5B for the Space Launch System, $1.2B for the Orion program, and $794M for Exploration Ground Systems.
• Provides $3.4B to the Safety, Security, and Missions fund to support agency-wide business capabilities and operations, oversight, and infrastructure maintenance.
  • Includes $682M for Information Technology, prioritizing cybersecurity, business services and collaboration capabilities throughout the agency.
• Increases NASA’s Space Technology fund to $1.4B, a $190M increase above FY 2023, specifically supporting the research and development of new technologies in space exploration missions.

The president’s budget request provides $15.9B in base discretionary budget authority for NASA, a $3.4B increase over FY 2021.

Funding highlights include:

• Provides $8.0B for NASA’s Science mission, including $3.1B for Planetary Science; $2.4B for Earth Science; $1.6B for Astrophysics; $760M for Heliophysics; and $100M for Biological and Physical Sciences.
• Prioritizes climate change research and Earth-observing satellites with $2.4B.
• Funds NASA’s IT program at $667M to expand cyber risk management and IT modernization activities.
• Includes $2.2B in the FY 2023 IT budget request, a decrease of 4.2% from $2.3B in FY 2021.

Treasury

The president’s budget request provides $16.3B in discretionary budget authority for Treasury, a 15% increase from the FY 2023 enacted level.

Funding highlights include:

• Provides $14.1B for the IRS, a 15% increase over FY 2023, including $642M to improve the taxpayer experience and expand customer service outreach, and $290M for IRS Business Systems Modernization.
• Funds the Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence at $244M to expand financial intelligence and conduct sanctions-related economic analysis.
• Supports the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) with $229M which will support the launch of the Beneficial Ownership Secure System.
• Allots $215M for department-wide cybersecurity efforts including implementation of a zero trust architecture.
• Requests $7.1B for IT including $1B for cybersecurity.

Labor

The president’s budget request provides $15.1B in discretionary budget authority for Labor, which is an 11% increase from the FY 2023 enacted level.

Funding highlights include:

• Invests $2.3B billion in the department’s worker protection agencies to ensure workers are treated with dignity and respect in the workplace.
• Includes $200M for a new Sectoral Employment through Career Training for Occupational Readiness (SECTOR) program, which would support public-private partnerships among employers, education and training providers, and community-based groups to deliver high-quality training focused on growing industries.
• Provides $335M to expand access to registered apprenticeships in high-demand industries such as construction, clean energy, semiconductor, transportation and logistics, and education.
• Requests $1B for IT including $124M for cybersecurity.

Commerce

The president’s budget request provides $16.5B in base discretionary budget authority for DOC, a $1.2B increase over FY 2023.

Funding highlights include:

• Funds NOAA at $6.8B, a $451M increase above FY 2023, and includes $2.1B for U.S. weather and climate satellites and $231M for NOAA’s climate research programs.
• Includes $1.6B for the Census Bureau, with $408M towards 2030 Census preparation.
• Supports NIST with $1.6B, including $375M for NIST Industry Technology Services, $262M for maintenance and renovations at NIST research campuses, $98M on Climate Change and Environmental Stability activities, and $98M for Manufacturing USA.
• Provides $804M to the Economic Development Administration (EDA), including $50M for EDA’s Regional Technology and Regional Technology and Innovation Hub program.

Federal Civilian Information Technology (IT) Budget

The FY 2024 IT budget for Civilian departments and agencies provided by OMB lists total investments at $74.4B. Among the largest Civilian departments listed below. As of this publishing, OMB has yet to post the detailed IT Portfolio to the IT Dashboard.

Additional Analysis Coming Soon

The budget highlights listed above provide our initial observations from the available budget releases from OMB, DOD and other departments and agencies. In the coming days, the GovWin Federal Market Analysis team will be publishing more in-depth analysis of the FY 2024 budget, where we will delve into the key initiatives, IT investments and contractor implications that will shape the federal IT marketplace and present contracting opportunities as we look toward FY 2024.