Quick Takes on Science and Tech in the President’s Budget
A quick glance at a couple early takes on R&D funding in President Obama’s budget request outline for FY2010:
Science Insider: NIH details are sketchy, but include increases; NSF would see 8.5 percent bump; more for scientific facilities though DOE’s Office of Science; earth science research funding and Orion money for NASA; 37.5 percent increase for EPA.
The Intersection and Yale e360: spending initiatives assume passage of cap and trade legislation, a significant political maneuver.
The Washington Post has a useful comparison graphic (article) showing the 2007-2008 budget and the 2009-2010 with stimulus funds side-by-side for several agencies and departments.
Also notable: the budget outline includes $1.3 billion for NOAA “weather satellites and climate sensors”; $50 million to support creation of regional innovation clusters; and says that the Patent and Trademark Office will be granted full access to its fee collections, a problem because Congress has previously dipped into the funds, which are the source of operating funds for the overburdened office.
As the Science Insider reporters point out, the format of the release as a pdf is “decidedly old-school style for the digitally minded Obama Administration.” Let’s be honest: this information needs to be available in a fully machine-readable format. They could take some cues from the NYT’s unveiling this week of its API.
Image: flickr.com/afagen
Comments on this article
By clicking and submitting a comment I acknowledge the Science Progress Privacy Policy and agree to the Science Progress Terms of Use. I understand that my comments are also being governed by Facebook's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
