Book excerpt: In 1995, the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, Institute of Medicine, and National Research Council issued a report entitled Allocating Federal Funds for Science and Technology, which recommended tracking of federal investments in the creation of new knowledge and technologiesâ€"what the report referred to as the federal science and technology (FS&T) budget. Observations on the President's Fiscal Year 2001 Federal Science and Technology Budget, the third annual report, identifies potential impacts of the President's proposed FS&T budget. This report does not make recommendations about specific spending levels, but rather identifies aspects of the proposed budget as they affect the health of the nation's research enterprise.