Good news! It looks like a lot of the science stimulus funding will stay in the economic package!
| NASA | |
| Science | $300,000,000 |
| Aeronautics | $250,000,000 |
| Shuttle Replacement | $500,000,000 |
| Cross-Agency Support (Construction) | $250,000,000 |
| Office of the Inspector General | $2,000,000 |
| Total = $1,302,000,000 | |
| National Science Foundation | |
| Research and related activities | $1,000,000,000 |
| Major equipment and facilities construction | $150,000,000 |
| Education and human resources | $50,000,000 |
| Office of the Inspector General | $2,000,000 |
| Total = $1,202,000,000 | |
So the package means NASA and the NSF each get over a billion dollars in additional funding, though apparently the Department of Energy office of science did not get any additional funding, which is a bummer (DOE did get $1B for energy efficiency research). NASA gets $500M for Shuttle replacement work, which is very badly needed, and $300M to go toward science (yay!). NSF gets a cool billion for research, which means lots and lots of scientists will be able to further our knowledge and make the world a better place.
This bill will go up for vote on Monday. It may still get voted down, though I doubt it; lots of compromises were made (too many, perhaps), so IMO a filibuster is unlikely. With people hurting as much as they are right now, and a clear mandate for change that’s swept the nation, anyone who looks obstructionist at this point is risking political suicide.
We’ll see how this plays out on Monday.
Tip o’ the majority whip to ScienceDebate2008.
