US Congress set to reject Trump's sweeping science budget cuts
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US Congress set to reject Trump's sweeping science budget cuts
"Under the latest deal, announced on 20 January, the US National Institutes of Health would see its budget increase by around 1% percent this year - in sharp contrast to the 37% cut proposed by the White House. Lawmakers have until 30 January to finalize the NIH deal and other spending legislation to avoid a partial government shutdown, which would be the second closure in less than three months."
"The NIH agreement follows separate legislation approved by Congress on 15 January that would minimize cuts to most of the other main science agencies. Overall, spending on research and development that is not related to national defence is projected to decline by 3-7%, far less than the 33% cut sought by Trump, according to the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Washington DC. Total investments in basic research would actually increase by more than 2%."
""This is good news in comparison to last year", when the Trump administration put forward its spending plan, says Alessandra Zimmermann, who tracks science budgets and policy at AAAS. Prior to that, however, "these numbers would have felt catastrophic," Zimmermann says, and it's still an open question whether the administration will actually spend the money as directed by Congress. The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy did not immediately respond to questions about its spending plans."
Congress is set to approve legislation that blocks the administration's proposed large cuts to science funding. The National Institutes of Health budget would rise modestly by about 1%, preserving its 27 institutes and centres. Overall non-defence research-and-development spending is projected to fall by 3–7%, far less than the 33% reduction originally proposed, while basic research investments would increase by over 2%. Lawmakers face a 30 January deadline to finalize spending bills to avoid a partial government shutdown. Uncertainty remains about whether the administration will allocate funds as directed by Congress.
Read at Nature
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