Latest attacks on scientific research

Revised list of cuts would bite deeper into US research - February 11, 2011

The US House Appropriations Committee ramped up its attack on government spending this evening, releasing the text of a bill that it says represents the biggest round of spending cuts in US history.

This time it's the turn of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) to feel the committee's scalpel with a proposed 5% cut for each, relative to 2010 spending levels. The cuts amount to $1.629 billion from the 2010 NIH budget and $359.5 million from NSF. A previous list of proposed cuts, released on 9 February, had left NIH at level funding and NSF with an increase relative to 2010.

A quick perusal of the new numbers reveals the following reductions:

- $893.2 million (-18%) for the Department of Energy’s Office of Science
- $159.5 million (-18%) for the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) 
- $1397.4 million (-22%) for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- $303 million (-2%) for NASA

Daniel Inouye (Democrat, Hawaii), the chairman of the Senate Appropriations committee, slammed the proposals in a statement. “The priorities identified in this proposal for some of the largest cuts - environmental protection, healthcare, energy, science and law enforcement - are essential to the current and future well-being of our economy and communities across the country,” he said. 

Inouye added he was disturbed that some Republicans seemed willing to risk a shutdown of the government. “The consequences of a shutdown would be immediate and dire, including… significant damage to our nation’s economy and job creation”

Pete

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