The effects of a US budget crunch could drive young scientists into other jobs, warns Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). At a Washington DC panel on 15 March, Collins noted that NIH grant success rates have slid from 25–30% to 20% and below in the past 4 years, owing to cuts. “Are these people going to keep banging their heads against the wall? Or are they going to find some other way to make a living?” said Collins at the talk, which was presented by Research!America, an advocacy group in Alexandria, Virginia. Few legislators understand the importance of investing in research, said panelist and former US representative Mike Castle. “Agencies need to get their story out,” he said.