In a flurry of last minute legislating, the US Senate has passed a version of a bill that would reauthorize the America COMPETES Act. The bill would keep on track a series of budget increases for key science funding agencies including the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the US Department of Energy Office of Science.

The bill has its origins in the landmark 2005 report “Rising Above the Gathering Storm”, recently revised, which raises concerns that US competitiveness is on the decline in a rapidly globalizing marketplace. The report calls for substantial reinvestments in basic research and science education.

The original America COMPETES Act, (an acronym for the rather wordy “America Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote Excellence in Technology, Education and Science”) was passed in 2007 with strong bi-partisan support and signed into law by then US president George W. Bush. The 2010 version of the Act has had a bumpier ride. After some political twists and turns it was passed by the House of Representatives on 28 May. However, it languished in the Senate through the summer and fall as the climate on Capitol Hill became increasingly partisan in the run up to the 2010 midterm elections.

With the elections out of the way advocates of the bill had hoped it might re-emerge on the Senate’s agenda during the current ‘lame duck’ session – and so it has. On 17 December, senators ‘hotlined’ the bill, allowing it to pass unanimously without a recorded vote. However, the journey is far from over. Because the Senate passed an amended version of the bill it must now return to the House for approval (or not). It is not entirely clear that there will be time to deal with the bill in the closing days of the current Congress. The earliest day when it might appear before the House is 21 December.

Congressman Bart Gordon (pictured), the outgoing Democratic chairman of the House Science and Technology Committee, told Nature he would dearly like to see the reauthorization bill pass. Even if signed into law by President Barack Obama, funds will still need to be found in the 2011 budget to support the bill. While it will be a challenge to persuade Congress to increase funding for basic science during a time of budget austerity Gordon says, “it’s a challenge we have to take on.”