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Nature 421, 565 (6 February 2003) | doi:10.1038/421565a

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Science feels the pinch as Bush budget targets defence

Erika Check

American science is set to be squeezed next year, after President George Bush proposed a budget aimed at holding down total spending while shifting emphasis to military and homeland-security needs.Bush's proposal for the 2004 fiscal year, which begins on 1 October, would see the federal government spend a record $123 billion on research and development (R&D) — with more than half of the money going to the Department of Defense (see chart, right).