How much aeronautics/airworthiness/safety R/D is actually conducted by the FAA? My understanding is that they used to do a lot more cutting edge research, the kind that would attract engineering talent.

Looking at the 2022 FAA budget[1], they asked for $159M for "Engineering, Development, Test and Evaluation" out of a total budget ask of $18B+. That's less than 1% of the total budget.

1. https://www.transportation.gov/sites/dot.gov/files/2021-05/F...