Breaking the Beaker

President Bush has never been a particular friend of science. His administration has been accused of ignoring scientific data about everything from climate change to contraceptives. But with his Fiscal Year (FY) 2006 budget, he has gone too far. If Congress approves the President’s budget, increases in federal funding for scientific research will come nowhere near to keeping up with inflation. In fact, the budgets of some federal agencies crucial in supporting research on the frontiers of science will be critically slashed.

According to the American Association for the Advancement of Science, total government research funding would increase by a mere 0.6 percent, well short of the two percent increase needed to keep up with inflation, while basic research funding would decrease by one percent. Other departments’ budgets have been devastated. The Department of Energy’s Office of Science, responsible for funding research into cleaner, more efficient energy, will see its funding reduced by almost 4 percent below the level appropriated by Congress in FY 2005.

Still, in the context of Bush’s plan to reduce the entire federal budget by 1 percent, these numbers might not seem all that bad. At least, not until one considers exactly what programs will be cut to accommodate this financial strait jacket. To cite just a few, the Nuclear Research Initiative, a program designed to promote research on safe civilian nuclear power, and the Biomass Research Development Program, which is intended to finance research on green power, will both either be terminated or have their funding significantly reduced.

Defenders of the Bush plan cite the budget of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), which will get a boost in the coming year. They fail to mention, though, that most of NASA’s budget increase will go to the space shuttle, the International space station, and Bush’s plan to explore the Moon and Mars. Near-term scientific projects, even those with proven promise, will largely be scrapped. One undeserving casualty is the Hubble Space Telescope. Bush plans to terminate the Hubble Space Telescope Robotic Servicing Mission, which would extend the life of an instrument that has made possible countless groundbreaking astronomical breakthroughs.

Undoubtedly, the government is facing severe budgetary constraints, with expensive overseas wars and costly tax cuts. But, as a group of Nobel Laureates who endorsed John Kerry in the recent Presidential election said, “By reducing funding for scientific research [Bush and his administration] are undermining the foundation of America’s future.”

Even Bush’s own science advisor, John H. Marburger III, seems to be having trouble with Bush’s disregard for the future of scientific research in America. He is certain that Bush “really believes that science is important,” but the best he could come up with to defend the science budget was the assertion that although the budget is “austere, we are not going backward.” Sadly, we are not going forward either.