Congress left town this week after belatedly finishing its work on the 2005 federal budget. The $388 billion bill, which covers most of the government's domestic discretionary spending, is a turkey for most U.S. scientists. Details were still being worked out as Science went to press, however. Unless noted otherwise, the numbers below don't include an across-the-board cut of nearly 1% imposed to make the package more palatable to fiscal conservatives.
National Institutes of Health: In the second year of a sharp slowdown after a 5-year budget doubling, NIH received a 2% increase to $28.1 billion, according to figures in flux at press time. The roughly $586 million raise--which would reflect the across-the-board cut--falls short of the president's request of $729 million more. Funds available for programs will be even lower because of a 2.3% to 2.5% "tap" to fund other Public Health Service programs and an up to $150 million set-aside for the Global Aids Fund. Biomedical research watchers anticipate severe trims to grant success rates in 2005. The good news: The final bill drops House language barring funds for two psychology research grants opposed by conservatives.
National Science Foundation: For the first time in nearly 20 years, NSF's research account will fail to grow. Freezing the $4.25 billion account is part of a deal that shrinks the agency's total budget by nearly 2%, to $5.5 billion. That drop of more than $100 million compares with the president's request for a $167 million increase.
NSF's plans for building major research facilities will be reined in. The bill also accepts the president's request to slash the math-science partnerships program linking university scientists with local school districts. Overall, the budget "is not good news," says one senior NSF official.
NASA: The space agency appears to have scored a victory with a $15.9 billion budget that's $344 million shy of the president's request but far more than either the House or a Senate panel had recommended. But agency officials say NASA could still find itself more than $800 million in the hole. One reason is nearly $400 million in earmarks. Another is the loss of at least $120 million from the across-the-board cut. Then there is the rising price of returning the space shuttle to flight and the urgent need to begin funding a repair mission to the Hubble Space Telescope. "Most grim" is how one agency official put the news.
