Final U.S. spending bills offer gloomy outlook for science

Scientists, prepare to tighten your belts. This week, the U.S. Congress is expected to approve six 2024 spending bills that call for sizable cuts or essentially flat budgets at a number of major federal research agencies. The National Science Foundation (NSF) is the biggest loser, with lawmakers imposing an 8.3% cut to $9.06 billion, some $820 million below 2023. NASA’s science programs will fall by 5.9% to $7.3 billion. Congress also reduced research-related spending at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) research spending remained flat. The Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Science was one of the few research programs to fare better, getting a 1.7%, $140 million increase to $8.24 billion. But that boost won’t allow DOE’s spending to keep pace with inflation, observers note. “We knew it was going to be difficult given the spending limits [agreed to by President Joe Biden and Congress], but it’s still very disappointing,” says Matt Hourihan, a science policy specialist at the Federation of American Scientists. “Cuts … to agencies like NSF and NIST are frankly unconscionable in an era when we should be enhancing support for U.S. scientists and engineers.” The half-dozen bills, which lawmakers must pass by 8 March to avoid a partial government shutdown, mark major progress...
Source: ScienceNOW - Category: Science Source Type: news