1. sheril
  2. Senate Stimulus Package Update: Part II

Senate Stimulus Package Update: Part II

By sheril on February 8, 2009.

Follow up reposted from ScienceDebate:


Several people have emailed asking about the cuts to the proposed
increases to DOE/Office of Science, and what about NIH, USGS and other
agencies we didn't mention.  Some clarifications are in order.

1. These are NOT agencies' existing budgets - this is about new money in addition to existing funding levels.

2. Science Debate only focused yesterday on the proposed CUTS to the
INCREASES proposed in the original SENATE bill.  So we didn't mention
NIH funding increases, for example, which the amendment left alone. 
Nor did we mention a $330M increase to DOE/Science, which the amendment
left alone.  So DOE/Science DID get new money in this bill.

3. But the plot thickens still.  Nor
did we focus on differences between the Senate bill and the House bill,
of which there are many, because they were not at issue in yesterday's
negotiations.  For example, the House bill provides a $2B increase for
DOE/science, and the Senate bill as amended provides a $330M increase
(after the $100M cut, which was for "Government-wide supercomputers").

4. These differences will have to be
worked out in conference committee as the House and Senate versions of
the bill are brought into conformity.  The reason this was still a
victory for U.S. Science yesterday despite the disappointing
DOE/Science supercomputer cut is because together we helped redeem $3B
that was proposed to be cut.  Had the bill gone in with science whacked
it would have been much more difficult to make significant headway.

5. Anything can still happen.  For
example, DOE/Science could get the $2B in the House bill, the $330M in
the Senate version, or some compromise in between - or even get whacked
in conference, as could any of it.   

The full picture of the House bill, Senate bill, and Amended Senate bill across all agencies are in this spreadsheet:
http://bennelson.senate.gov/documents/Nelson-Collins%20Stimulus%20Final.xls

We encourage you to thank your Senators now, to express continued
concern over DOE/Science, and to continue to monitor the situation and
contact members of the conference committee in the coming week to
express your views.  

Tags
Politics and Science

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