U.S. House Throws Science a Lifeline

Tomorrow, the U.S. House of Representatives is expected to pass a belated 2007 spending bill that treats research much more favorably than science advocates had dared hoped--and avoids budget cuts that many had feared. While freezing spending across most of the federal government, the legislation gives a shot in the arm to research at the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Department of Energy (DOE), and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The National Institutes of Health (NIH) gets a small increase rather than a cut, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA's) budget holds steady in the face of a threatened reduction. The legislation may even offer some relief to NASA's beleaguered space science budget. And while science advocates say it's premature to declare "mission accomplished"--the bill next goes to the Senate--they are extremely gratified that legislators have embraced their arguments about the importance of basic research to the nation's economy.

"I think it's a very good sign that they will be supportive of competitiveness and innovation," says Pier Oddone, director of DOE's Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab) in Batavia, Illinois, which may have dodged a budget-induced work slowdown. "I understand that they can't do everything we would like to do [this year], but I am appreciative of the support they have shown so far."