The economic stimulus package now working its way through the US Congress looks to be a bonanza for scientists. The $819-billion version written by Democrats in the House of Representatives, in concert with the administration of President Barack Obama, includes morethan$13 billion in research- and-development spending. Although that figure will probably be smaller in the final bill, after negotiations with the Senate, scientists are likely to benefit immediately from the new political alignment in Washington. The dollars slated for science are especially remarkable because they include funding for ongoing research programmes that are not usually seen as part of a stimulus effort. Indeed, science and university groups generally had lobbied only to include money to renovate laboratories because they didn't think research dollars would fit the stimulus criteria. Research grants give money to faculty members, who by definition already have a job, and to their graduate assistants, who may not even be US citizens. Research money can no doubt help the US economy now and in the longer term, but it hardly provides the same immediate boost as, say, hiring workers to build a bridge - or a laboratory, for that matter. Not only that, the science numbers in the House bill are apparently higher even than the figures suggested privately by the new administration. This is presumably a bargaining strategy to ensure that spending does not sink too far in later compromises with the Senate. So science advocates are right to be gleeful at this turn of events, but they should also be cautious. A stimulus bill is not the ideal vehicle for research spending, and, if scientists and their proponents aren't careful, the bill is a boon that could backfire.
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