A correction to this blog appears below.
A bill that would include billions of dollars in spending cuts to science-related and regulatory agencies was approved by the US House of Representatives in a pre-dawn vote on 19 February. The final version of the bill includes most of the spending measures introduced by House Republicans last week. In some cases, amendments to the bill impose even harsher and more politically loaded reductions. For example, an amendment to funding for the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) is specifically aimed at thwarting the agency from enforcing any rules or regulations pertaining to greenhouse gas emissions.
“This bill is a monumental accomplishment for each and every American who believes that their government is spending too much," said House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers in the committee’s Saturday morning news release.
After four days working through over 580 amendments, members mainly divided along party lines for the 235-189 vote to pass the bill, with all but three Republicans voting yea, and all Democrats voting nay.
The bill contains significant cuts to virtually all science agencies relative to the amounts requested by President Obama for FY2011. In addition to the EPA, it targets the Department of Energy’s Office of Science for budget cuts of over a billion dollars. Cuts to the National Science Foundation and the National Institute of Standards and Technology also remain in place in the final version of the House bill.
“It is truly, truly frightening,” said Sally Yozell, director of policy at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, while attending the American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting in Washington DC on Saturday.
A summary of the amendments that relate to science agencies can be found here (amendments in red were approved and included in the final bill). It includes a nearly $300 million additional cut for NASA and over $500 million in additional cuts for science and technology under the Department of Homeland Security.
The bill now heads for the Senate, where Democrats hold a slim majority and where a fierce battle over the cuts is expected. In the absence of an enacted 2011 budget, the US government is currently operating under a continuing resolution that maintains spending at 2010 levels. The resolution expires on 4 March, but with the Senate in recess until 28 February an extension of the resolution may be needed while the House and Senate hammer out some form of compromise bill that Obama would be willing to sign. If no compromise can be reached — a realistic scenario in the current political climate — there remains the possibility that the US government will be shut down for some period, an outcome which would have a far reaching impact on many areas of the research community.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this blog incorrectly stated that an amendment to the bill introduced by representative Alcee Hastings of Florida eliminated the spending cuts proposed for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The proposed spending cuts to those agencies have not been eliminated from the bill.
The amendment – which was passed – reallocates $14 million each from NIH, CDC and the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to the AIDS Drug Assistance Program, which helps cover the cost of drugs and services for people living with HIV/AIDS.