Described is the federal government's budgeting process for allocating resources to research and development (R&D). The report includes: an overview of R&D in context of the total budget, a review of R&D budget data, identification of recurring issues and issues concerning the analysis of R&D budgets, an analysis of the FY 1977 budget, and a discussion of the review of federal R&D budgets by organizations outside the government. (SL)