At least eight scientific associations are banding together to oppose the Government Spending Accountability (GSA) Act—which aims to limit government funding of conferences and meetings—over concern that it could stifle scientific collaboration.
If enacted, the act—which passed in the House this month (September 11) and is expected to go before the Senate this fall—will cap federal agency spending on conferences at $500,000, require that each agency file quarterly reports on conference-related expenditures, and slash travel budgets by approximately 30 percent. The act aims to cut down on frivolous government spending, but many scientists worry that such cost-cutting measures will severely reduce the number of National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Science Foundation (NSF), and Department of Energy (DOE) researchers that attend scientific conferences—stunting the open exchange of knowledge and have an overall chilling effect on research progress.
Judith S. Bond, president of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology ...
