The United States university sector's research enterprise is highly competitive and highly innovative in ordinary times, and during the past year plagued by coronavirus it pivoted quickly to conduct urgently needed research on a new threat. At the high level, the pandemic may seem not to have done lasting damage but this view, while accurate, may mask a set of concerns that deserves greater scrutiny and perhaps eventual mitigation. This paper examines some of the budgetary issues facing the scientific research enterprise. It provides a summary of the disruptions of 2020 and their implications on the research support and enablement functions going forward. The goal of the paper is to provide an overview of the key issues facing university budgets and research enablement and support services they fund, to determine whether there are risks emerging for the research enterprise that deserve possible mitigation. [Funding for this report was provided by Springer Nature.]