US Senate approves bill to boost federal science funding after White House sought cuts

The U.S. Senate voted to approve a spending bill that restores billions for federal science agencies, allocating NSF $8.75 billion and largely rejecting the White House's proposed cuts to NASA.

The U.S. Senate voted on Jan. 15 to approve a spending bill that adds billions for federal science agencies. The measure provides funding above amounts the White House had proposed and rejects deep cuts sought by the administration. It increases support for NASA, the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Lawmakers described the vote as bipartisan. Key points: - The bill allocates $8.75 billion to the National Science Foundation for research including quantum information science and artificial intelligence. - The White House had proposed cutting the NSF budget by about 57%, a reduction the Senate did not accept. - The Senate appropriated $24.44 billion for NASA, limiting a $6 billion cut the president had sought from a $24.9 billion budget. - The legislation provides $1.6 billion for Astrophysics, including $300 million to complete a telescope to study dark energy and $500 million for the Dragonfly mission to Saturn's largest moon. - Senators expressed differing views: Sen. Maria Cantwell called the vote a vote for science, while Sen. Rand Paul criticized the NSF funding as lacking oversight. Summary: The Senate's approval restores substantial funding for federal science agencies and supports several large research and space projects. Undetermined at this time.