A ballooning defense budget is lifting research spending, too. Congress last week approved a $355 billion military spending bill that includes $11.4 billion for science and technology programs in the 2003 fiscal year, which began 1 October. Basic research gets a 7.8% boost to $1.5 billion, and applied studies receive a 12.5% increase to $4.6 billion. Both totals exceed the Bush Administration's request.
CREDIT: J. D. MOSSMAN/U.S. AIR FORCE
The Coalition for National Security Research, a group of universities and science societies, pronounced itself "pleased" by the outcome, which keeps research spending at about 3% of the Pentagon's overall budget. That's a goal backed by numerous government advisers and think tanks. The Pentagon is one of the biggest backers of math, engineering, and computer science research at U.S. universities, but its spending in those areas has lagged over the last decade.
The bill is just the second of 13 annual appropriations measures to clear Congress. The rest of the government is operating on temporary budget measures that freeze spending at current levels.
