And Science?
While in his State of the Union address Tuesday night, President Donald Trump highlighted past accomplishments of US science and engineering — he touted the upcoming 50th anniversary of the moon landing — Chemical & Engineering News writes the speech largely disappointed science advocates.
It notes that President Trump announced a push to eliminate HIV and AIDS in the next decade as well as pledged $500 million toward the development of new childhood cancer treatments. The administration, C&EN says, is expected to provide greater details about these plans in its 2020 budget proposal, expected in early to mid March.
However, President Trump made scare mention of other science funding plans,C&EN notes.
“The president and Congress must do more than acknowledge the vast return on research: they must fuel it,” Mary Woolley, president and CEO of Research!America, says in a statement.
In its budget proposal last year, the Trump administration called for an overall 21 percent cut to basic research, though provided an addendum that restored much of those cuts. That addendum sought a $33 billion budget for the National Institutes of Health; the agency was funded at $39.1 billion in the fall.
However, some science agencies are funded under an agreement that’s due to run out next week.