Advertisement
Advertise Here
-
August 5, 2011 - Volume 89, Number 32
[an error occurred while processing this directive]
Forensic Chemistry: A new method could increase the number of explosives detected by airport screeners.
Trade: U.S. companies complain of market dumping by China.
Layoffs follow similar moves by Amgen, AstraZeneca.
Environment: Ban to halt export of hazardous waste to developing world.
Penrose (Parney) Albright will direct DOE national lab.
Toxic Exposure: Mercury isotopes in human hair illuminate dietary and industrial sources.
Cancer Biochemistry: Mass spectrometry follows the metabolism of very long fatty acids in cancer cells.
Legislation signed by President Barack Obama this week to raise the debt ceiling and avoid a default on government loans presents a mixed bag for science. The deal includes more than $900 billion in cuts over the next decade to federal discretionary funds—money that includes support for science agencies.
In terms of an immediate impact, the Budget Control Act of 2011 sets the discretionary spending limit for fiscal 2012 at $1.04 trillion. This is the amount of money Congress can dole out to agencies for the next fiscal year. It is actually $24 million above the amount the House of Representatives set for its 2012 spending limit.
Having this essentially flat cap on spending in place provides agencies with some certainty that there will not be huge across-the-board cuts in 2012, a White House official says. As a result, agencies can begin making preliminary spending decisions for 2012.
Business leaders also appreciate the certainty the measure provides. Thomas J. Donohue, president and chief executive of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the nation’s largest business lobby, says the agreement, “while far from perfect, ... begins the process of getting America’s fiscal house in order and was necessary to avoid a default that would have resulted in an economic catastrophe.”
But all federal agencies will face cuts over the long term. Congress will need to make tough spending decisions to comply with the legislation. The impact on science funding remains unclear.
“Everything is subject to being cut,” noted Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.) at a press briefing last week. A bipartisan, bicameral “supercommittee,” said Whitfield, chairman of a House Energy & Commerce subcommittee, will closely scrutinize all federal spending.
As Congress irons out the details, the science community will be watching closely. “Budgets for fiscal 2012 and future years will be impacted by mandated reductions in the debt-ceiling deal,” notes Glenn S. Ruskin, director of the Office of Public Affairs at the American Chemical Society. “But how those reductions will be spread out over the agencies is not at all clear right now. ACS will continue to advocate on behalf of predictable and sustained funding for key R&D agencies.”
ACS is the leading employment source for recruiting scientific professionals. ACS Careers and C&EN Classifieds provide employers direct access to scientific talent both in print and online. Jobseekers | Employers
Join more than 161,000 professionals in the chemical sciences world-wide, as a member of the American Chemical Society.
» Join Now!