Final FY 2021 Appropriations – Top Federal Departments and Agencies

Published: December 29, 2020

Federal Market AnalysisBudgetPolicy and Legislation

The omnibus bill provides $1.4T to fund the federal government through the end of fiscal year (FY) 2021 and an additional $900M in coronavirus aid.

Congress passed and President Trump has signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, finalizing FY 2021 budgets for federal departments and agencies which have been operating under multiple continuing resolutions (CR) since October. All federal departments and agencies are now funded through September 2021, the end of the current fiscal year. Check out this article for an overview of the appropriations levels and additional coronavirus relief funding.

FY 2021 Appropriations – Key Departments

Below, we look at how many of the largest and most influential departments are funded for FY 2021.

Defense

The appropriation provides $627.3B in discretionary funding and $68.7B in Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) funding for a total of $695.9B for the Department of Defense. This is $9.7B below the FY 2020 enacted level and $2.1B less than the President’s FY 2021 budget request.

Funding highlights include:

  • Provides $192.2B ($58.8B in OCO) for Operations and Maintenance (O&M)
  • Contains $107.1B ($3215M in OCO) for Research, Development, Testing, and Evaluation
  • Allocates $136.5B ($6.4B in OCO) for Procurement
  • Provides $149.4B ($4.6B in OCO) for Military Personnel
  • Allots $33.7B ($0 in OCO) for Defense Health programs
  • Supplies $430M for the DOD’s 5G program
  • Includes $2.8B for science and technology activities
  • Provides $100M for defense industrial base (DIB) and supply chain resiliency

Agriculture

The appropriation provides $23.4B in base discretionary funding, a 7.3% increase over the $21.8B requested for FY 2021.

Funding highlights include:

  • Provides full funding for FY 2021 estimated need in nutrition programs, including $6B in discretionary funding for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)
  • Includes $3.3B for agricultural research programs, including a $10M increase to support R&D of new technologies under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative
  • Allocates $3.2B in discretionary funding for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
  • Allots $3.2B for Rural Development (RD), including $1B in grants and loans to promote small business growth in rural areas
  • Supplies $1.2B for the Farm Service Agency (FSA)
  • Provides $1.1B for the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), a $21M increase over FY 2020 enacted dollars

Commerce

The appropriation provides $8.9B in discretionary funding, $6.3B less than FY 2020 enacted levels.

Funding highlights include:

  • Allocates $5.4B for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), a $78M increase over FY 2020 enacted dollars
  • Provides $1B for the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), an increase of $34M over FY 2020 enacted to support R&D in the industries of the future including quantum, AI and advanced communications (5G)
  • Supplies $530M to the International Trade Administration, with increases to emphasize core functions of trade enforcement and promotion
  • Allots $346M to the Economic Development Administration, a $13M increase over FY 2020 enacted to help spur job creation

Education

The appropriation provides $73.5B in base discretionary budget authority for Education, a $785M increase from FY 2020 enacted levels. 

Funding highlights include:

  • Prioritizes formula grants to provide the most flexibility for states and school districts regarding how to best use resources to meet the educational needs, including a $227M increase for Title I grants and a $181M increase for IDEA grants to states.
  • Allocates $1.3B for career and technical education state grants, a $52M increase.

Energy

The appropriation provides $39.6B in base discretionary funding, a $4.2B increase over the FY 2021 budget request and $1B above FY 2020 enacted levels.

Funding highlights include:

  • Contains $19.7B for nuclear security programs, a $3B increase above FY 2020 enacted levels
  • Includes $7.6B for environmental management activities, including $6.4B for remediation of sites contaminated by nuclear weapons production
  • Provides $7B for the Office of Science, a $26M increase over FY 2020 enacted dollars
  • Allocates $2.7B for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
  • Allots $1.5B for nuclear energy research, development and demonstration activities
  • Continues support for the Advanced Research Projects Agency- Energy (ARPA-E) with $427M
  • Initiates the Uranium Reserve Program with $75M

Health and Human Services

The appropriation provides $96.5B in base discretionary budget authority for HHS, a 0.1% increase from the FY 2021 budget request and a 2.1% increase from FY 2020 enacted levels. 

Funding highlights include:

  • Provides $42.9B to NIH, an increase of $1.25B over the FY 2020 enacted level. Funding includes a $300M increase for targeted Alzheimer’s research and a $37.5M increase for cancer research investigative grants.
  • Allocates $443M, a $132M increase, to end the HIV epidemic. Funding will support high priority HIV efforts to reduce the number of new HIV infections by 90% in 10 years.
  • Allots $4B for mental health initiatives, a $188M increase.
  • Provides $4B to fight opioid and stimulant abuse, an $85M increase. Funds are targeted toward improving treatment and prevention efforts; finding alternative pain medications; providing for health workforce needs; and supporting behavioral health.
  • Funds early childhood care and education with $10.7B for the Head Start program and $5.9B for Child Care and Development Block Grants (CCDBG).
  • Provides $4.1B for public health preparedness, a $58M increase, to invest in programs that help U.S. communities and hospitals prepare for, respond to, and recover from public health and medical disasters and emergencies.

Homeland Security

The appropriation provides $51.9B in discretionary funding, $1.4B above the FY 2020 enacted level. Additionally, the appropriation provides $17.8B in major disaster funding.

Funding highlights include:

  • Provides $15.0B for Customers and Border Protection (CBP), including $1.375B for 56 miles of border wall systems
  • Allocates $8.0B to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), including $4.1 billion for immigration enforcement activities, personnel, 34,000 average daily detention beds, and associated transportation costs
  • Supplies $21.7B for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), including $17.1B in disaster relief funding
  • Allots nearly $8.0B for the Transportation Security Agency (TSA), including $100M for computed tomography (CT) units and credential authentication technology (CAT) machines.
  • Appropriates $12.8B for the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), supporting ongoing vessel acquisitions and aircraft recapitalization, shore infrastructure, cybersecurity, and IT enhancements
  • Provides $2.0B for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), including $1.2B for the protection of civilian federal networks and $716M for the National Cybersecurity Protection System and Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation program
  • Apportions $402M for the Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office (CWMD), which seeks to detect and prevent chemical, biological, and nuclear attacks against the U.S.
  • Allocates $128M for the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), of which $118M is for E-Verify operations and enhancements
  • Provides $765M for the Science and Technology Directorate (S&T)

Housing and Urban Development

The appropriation provides $49.6B in base discretionary budget authority for HUD, a 3.5% increase from the FY 2021 budget request. 

Funding highlights include:

  • Provides $25.8B for tenant-based rental assistance and $13.5B for project-based rental assistance.
  • Allots $7.8B for public housing, $3.5B for Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) and $1.4B for the HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME).
  • Allocates $825M for Native American programs, to remain available until September 30, 2025, and $3B for homeless assistance grants, to remain available until September 30, 2023.

Interior

The appropriation provides $15.4B in discretionary funding, a $2.7B increase over the FY 2021 budget request.

Funding highlights include:

  • Allocates $3.1B for the National Park Service, with increased funding to prevent future backlog in park operation and maintenance programs
  • Provides $1.7B for the Bureau of Reclamation, an $11M increase over FY 2020 enacted levels
  • Allots $1.6B for the Fish and Wildlife Service
  • Includes $1.3B for the Bureau of Land Management

Justice

The appropriation provides $33.8B in discretionary funding, $2.1B over the FY 2021 budget request and $1.2B over FY 2020 enacted dollars.

Funding highlights include:

  • Provides $17.7B for DOJ law enforcement agencies including:
    • $9.7B for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
    • $2.3B for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)
    • $1.5B for the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS)
    • $1.5B for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF)
  • Includes $3.4B for grant programs such as the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) program, Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grants (Byrne-JAG), and the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Hiring Program.
  • Allots $734M for the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), a $61M increase over FY 2020 enacted levels

Labor

The appropriation provides $12.5B in base discretionary budget authority for Labor, a 12.6% increase from the FY 2021 budget request and a 0.8% increase from FY 2020 enacted levels. 

Funding highlights include:

  • Funds apprenticeships at $185M, a $10M increase over the prior year. Financial support for apprenticeships has increased 105% since funding began in FY 2016.
  • Allocates $316M for veterans’ employment and training services, a $5M increase to expand employment opportunities for veterans and transitioning service members.

NASA

The appropriation provides $23.3B in base discretionary funding, an 8.1% decrease from the FY 2021 budget request, yet a 3% increase over FY 2020 enacted levels.

Funding highlights include:

  • Allots $7.3B towards ongoing science missions, including the Roman telescope and robotic missions to the Moon and Mars
  • Includes $2.6B for the Space Launch System (SLS), $1.4B for Orion, and $590M for associated ground systems for Artemis
  • Allocates $829M for the Aeronautics program
  • Provides a $538M increase over the FY 2020 enacted level for human exploration activities
  • Restores NASA’s STEM education program with $127M

State Department

The appropriation provides $55.5B in discretionary funding, including $8B for Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO). The total appropriation is $820M above the FY 2020 enacted level.

Funding highlights include:

  • Provides $12.5B for State and USAID operations, including $6.1B to strengthen embassy security and ensure the safety of U.S. diplomats and development specialists
  • Includes $300M in emergency appropriations to partially offset shortfalls due to decreases in passport and visa fee revenue due to COVID-19 disruptions
  • Supplies an additional $4B for The GAVI Alliance for COVID vaccine procurement and delivery
  • Allots $9.0B for international security assistance, including $1.4B in international narcotics control and law enforcement to sustain efforts to combat human trafficking and counter wildlife trafficking and poaching

Transportation

The appropriation provides $25.3B in discretionary funding, a $3.7B increase over the FY 2020 budget request and $500M above FY 2020 enacted dollars.

Funding highlights include:

  • Supplies $48.4B for the Federal Highway Administration, including $1.1B for bridges
  • Includes $18B for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
  • Allocates $13B to the Federal Transit Administration
  • Allots $1.2B for the Maritime Administration

Treasury

The appropriation provides $13.5B in base discretionary budget authority for Treasury, a 14% decrease from the FY 2021 budget request and a 3.3% increase from FY 2020 enacted levels. 

Funding highlights include:

  • Provides $11.9B for the IRS, which is $409M above the FY 2020 enacted level, including $2.6B for taxpayer services, $5.2B for tax enforcement efforts, and $223M for Business Systems Modernization (BSM). The legislation also directs the IRS to make the elimination of improper payments an “utmost priority.”
  • Funds the Treasury’s Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence at $175M for combatting terrorism financing and administering economic and trade sanctions through its Office of Foreign Assets Control.  
  • Provides $346M for the Bureau of the Fiscal Service and requires it to report on the feasibility of transferring the responsibility of the collection of death data from SSA to Treasury.

Veterans Affairs

The appropriation provides $104.4B in base discretionary budget authority for VA, a 0.6% decrease from the FY 2021 budget request, but a 13.6% increase from FY 2020 enacted levels. Also provides $94.2B in FY2022 advance discretionary funding for veterans health care.

Funding highlights include:

  • Funds VA medical care at $90B, which includes $10.3B in mental healthcare services, $1.3B for telehealth services, $1.2B for the Caregivers Program, $504M for opioid misuse prevention and treatment, $815M for medical and prosthetic research, $661M for health care specifically for women veterans, and $300M for rural health initiatives.
  • Contains $4.9B for information technology systems, an increase of $540M over FY 2020 enacted levels, to support the development, operations, and maintenance of systems.
  • Provides $2.6B for VA Electronic Health Record Modernization (EHRM).
  • Allocates $138.7B for mandatory veterans’ benefits, including veteran disability compensation programs, education benefits, and vocational rehabilitation and employment training. The bill also provides $145.3B in FY 2022 advance mandatory funding for veterans benefits.

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GovWin Federal Market Analysis (FMA) team members Christine Fritsch and Angie Petty contributed to this article.