The Democrats have decided to punt on the budget, which the outgoing Republican Congress left unfinished in a childish fit of pique. Instead of completing the usual budget process, the incoming Congress plans to pass a "continuing resolution," to fund 2007 operations of Federal agencies at the same level as 2006.
See, people, this is what happens when you put the grown-ups back in charge-- the first thing they do is cancel Christmas.
Inside Higher Ed gives a run-down of the implications for academia, which I know is what you were all dying to hear about. The bottom line isn't particularly good-- a number of funding increases set for research agencies will be left out of the continuing resolution, which puts a bit of a squeeze on places like NIST and the DoE labs. A long-awaited increase in the Pell Grant program also looks like it's not going to happen this year.
The other high-profile development is the elimination of "earmarks" in the continuing resolution, which will knock out a billion dollars or so of funds that were targeted for specific programs at institutions in the districts of influential members of Congress. This potentially ends up being a wash, because the former earmark money could possibly be redirected to fund the normal operations of scientific agencies, which are a bit strapped for cash.
Anyway, not much fun for my friends and colleagues in government labs. I was at NIST the last time they ran on continuing resolutions for a long time, and during the Great Government Shutdown of the Clinton years, and it pretty much sucked. On the bright side, though, this is most likely a temporary blip, as control of the legislature has returned to the hands of people who are comfortable with the Enlightenment.
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See, people, this is what happens when you put the grown-ups back in charge-- the first thing they do is cancel Christmas.
Republicans are stupid and vicious. Democrats are stupid. Pelosi's apotheosis will be force-feeding the Officially Sad from your pantry. Look how diverse Social Security has become (why does it exist at all)? Pray for two years of total legislative/executive paralysis.
control of the legislature has returned to the hands of people who are comfortable with the Enlightenment.
... but not with capitalism. "Do not bind the mouths of the kine that tread the grain." Chad, if you won a Nobel Prize what fraction would the IRS confiscate and who would get it? Income redistribution ratcheted one more notch - Baby Boomer retirement - will implode the Welfare State.
A good friend of mine summarized the two parties thusly: the Republicans want to make sure that there is no ceiling to your personal economic achievement; the Democrats want to make sure that there is a floor.
Chad, as far as you can tell, does this imply that all the neato stuff from the "Competitiveness Initiative" (e.g. doubling the NSF budget over the next few years) is dead, or at least on hold? I think that was all strongly coupled with the DOE BES increases as well, but they are overseen by different committees.
Could someone get a mop and clean up all the froth Uncle Al left on the floor?
First of all, the Democrats didn't decide to punt on anything. They have no power until January. It's the GOP who failed to pass the budget and enacted the CR. So blame them for now; you can start blaming the Dems in January. (Not that the Dems should or will accept the current GOP-crafted budget.)
Secondly, it's not like a CR is unusual. I have no notion of how to gather the data, but I suspect most if not nearly all years start off with a CR.
Thirdly, in the long run eliminating earmarks (if the Dems carry through on that) will be a good thing, even if there is some short-term pain.
So sad when political squabbles over the budget could have an implication for my tenure case....
-Rob "at the mercy of the NSF" Knop
eliminating earmarks (if the Dems carry through on that) will be a good thing
Speaking as a more-or-less republican (although at one point I had voted for 3 different parties in 3 consecutive presidential elections), I whole-heartedly agree that eliminating earmarks would be a good thing for our country.
However, does anybody really think the democrats are more likely to do this than the republicans? Really?
I guess it doesn't hurt to keep hoping.
--sdc
You priefly touched upon earmarks. I thought you may be interested in some discussion on the topic. With the Democrats' promise to pause earmarks, there's a lot to consider. When it comes to the public's understanding of the nation's finances, the American people are surprisingly tuned in, willing to make sacrifices and extremely understanding of fiscal challenges. But when it comes to government spending, there are some trust issues.
http://www.publicagenda.org/research/research_reports_details.cfm?list=…