The Republicans Made Peace With Science

"In research published last fall in Science with our colleagues Nic Fishman and Leah Rosenstiel, we analyzed a comprehensive database of federal science appropriations, collected from presidents' budget requests, from House and Senate committee bills, and from final, enacted annual appropriations from 1980 to 2020. The data include 171 budget accounts across 27 agencies, such as National Institutes of Health, NASA, National Science Foundation, and CDC, as well as Pentagon R&D programs."

"When Republicans controlled the House or the presidency, science funding was substantially higher-on average, about $150 million more per budget account under a Republican House than a Democratic one, and $100 million more under a Republican president than a Democratic one. These differences held up across dozens of statistical tests and weren't explained by the overall size of the budget or economic conditions."

"For the past year, we have wondered if our paper had documented something purely historical-a pattern from a Republican Party that no longer exists. The Trump administration proposed slashing NIH by about 40 percent. It attempted to cap indirect-cost recovery-the portion of federal grants that reimburses universities for expenses such as facilities, compliance, security, and equipment-at 15 percent, threatening billions in research infrastructure. It stalled grants; cleared out agency leadership; imposed political approval requirements on funding decisions,"

Comprehensive analysis of federal science appropriations from 1980 to 2020 covers 171 budget accounts across 27 agencies including NIH, NASA, NSF, CDC, and Pentagon R&D programs. When Republicans controlled the House or presidency, appropriations averaged about $150 million more per account under a Republican House and $100 million more under a Republican president. These partisan differences persisted across numerous statistical tests and were not explained by total budget size or economic conditions. Specific increases appeared for NIH under Republican control and for CDC under Republican presidents, with marginally higher support for NASA and NSF. The Trump administration proposed deep NIH cuts and imposed politically driven constraints on grants and agency operations.

Read at The Atlantic