Obama's 2014 budget would increase National Science Foundation funding WASHINGTON, April 10 (UPI) -- President Obama says increased funding for the National Science Foundation in his proposed 2014 budget is a commitment to America's key basic research agencies. His proposed $7.6 billion budget, an increase of $593 million over 2012 levels, will "expand the frontiers of knowledge, lay the foundation of economic growth and job creation, and educate a globally competitive workforce," the White House said Wednesday in its release of the budget. The proposed amount is an 8.4 percent increase for the key federal agency responsible for doling out grants for science and engineering research in the United States. The proposed funding would build an "innovation economy," the administration said, through investments in foundational research and strategic areas such as cyberinfrastructure, clean energy and advanced manufacturing. The budget allocation would empower the National Science Foundation to take the lead in improving undergraduate and graduate education programs in science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields, the White House said.