Update (March 15): The budget has now been signed into law by US president Joe Biden, according to CBS News, averting a partial government shutdown.
A spending bill passed yesterday by the US House of Representatives will, if enacted, increase the federal research budget and help launch a new health agency, among other initiatives. The plans, described in a 2,741-page document, would end a spending freeze that had prevented agencies from expanding their programs since last fall, Science reports, although some of the increases fall short of scientists’ hopes.
The National Science Foundation (NSF) is slated to receive $8.8 billion in 2022, a 4 percent increase on its previous budget. President Joe Biden’s administration had requested a 20 percent increase, according to Science.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) will see an overall increase of around 5 percent, to a total budget of $45 billion, Science reports. The bill also ...
