Clinton Tenure Nears Date: December 7, 1992
Science policy watchers in some cases are using terms such as "disastrous" and "devastating" to characterize cuts imposed by Congress on the Bush administration's budget request for the 1993 fiscal year.
As the dust settles after months of budget wrangling on Capitol Hill, 1993 figures that have emerged from the fray appear to spell serious belt-tightening for the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, and other major civilian research funding agencies.
In interviews with The Scientist, officials of several associations, the administration, and government agencies say they are worried about whether the situation with Congress is just a temporary setback--reflecting overall budget stringency, the continuing recession, and election-year political pressures. They fear that it could portend a longer-term trend toward substantial retrenchment on support for basic research.
"It's going to be a very tough year," says Robert Park, public affairs director ...
