President's budget request includes cuts to science
President Donald Trump today released his administration’s budget request for fiscal year 2021. In it, he proposes cutting domestic nondefense spending, including investments in the National Institutes of Health and National Science Foundation, in favor of increasing federal defense spending.
More on Trump's spending priorities
- Read the 偷拍偷窥 and 偷拍偷窥 Biology’s official response to President Donald Trump’s budget request for fiscal 2021.
- In his State of the Union address, the president misrepresented his administration’s support for medical research. In fact, he has repeatedly sought to reduce funding.
Trump’s budget would reduce nondefense discretionary spending by $40 billion and increase defense spending by $2 billion. This comes despite a bipartisan agreement made in Congress last year to lock in spending levels for fiscal years 2020 and 2021, which Trump signed into law.
Among the cuts the president’s budget proposes are:
- a 7% cut to the National Science Foundation budget,
- a 5% cut to the National Institutes of Health budget, and
- an 8% cut to the Department of Education budget.
While these proposed cuts, and the priorities they reflect, are disheartening, the president’s budget is only a request. Congress ultimately makes spending decisions, and it has consistently balked at the president’s attempts to reduce funding for science.
Enjoy reading ASBMB Today?
Become a member to receive the print edition four times a year and the digital edition weekly.
Learn moreGet the latest from ASBMB Today
Enter your email address, and we鈥檒l send you a weekly email with recent articles, interviews and more.
Latest in Policy
Policy highlights or most popular articles
Applied research won鈥檛 flourish without basic science
Three senior figures at the US National Institutes of Health explain why the agency remains committed to supporting basic science and research.
ASBMB weighs in on NIH reform proposal
The agency must continue to prioritize investigator-initiated, curiosity-driven basic research, society says.
ASBMB seeks feedback on NIH postdoc training questions
The National Institutes of Health takes steps toward addressing concerns about support caps, a funding mechanism and professional development.
5 growing threats to academic freedom
From educational gag orders to the decline of tenure-track positions, academic freedom in the United States has been worsening in recent years.
Will Congress revive the China Initiative?
The 2018 program to counter economic espionage raised fears about anti-Asian discrimination and discouraged researchers.
The sweeping impact of the Supreme Court鈥檚 Chevron reversal
Repealing the 40-year-old doctrine throws laws on climate, conservation, health, technology and more into doubt.