Specials

US Budget Crisis

The United States has been gripped by budget turmoil. Researchers face an uncertain future while politicians debate the country's budget for 2011, and the threat of major cuts looms large. Meanwhile, President Barack Obama's 2012 budget request, which includes strong support for science, looks increasingly unrealistic. Nature brings you the latest budget news, and analysis of what it all means for science.

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What does the US budget stalemate mean for research?

The threat of substantial budget cuts for science agencies looms large after congressional committee's failure to reach a deal.

( 23 November 2011 )
US science agencies dodge deep cuts

Partial 2012 budget mostly spares research, but deficit-reduction measures still pose a looming threat.

( 21 November 2011 )
Research cuts hit the DNA business

Makers of sequencing machines hope for profits in the clinic.

( 1 November 2011 )
US bill targets grantee salaries

Cost-saving measure would reduce maximum amount paid to biomedical researchers funded by federal agencies.

( 26 October 2011 )
Lobbyists confront US budget crunch

Money for advocacy is tight as federal cuts loom.

( 18 October 2011 )
Debt deal sets day of reckoning

US science agencies avoid immediate pain but could be devastated by automatic cuts in 2013.

( 9 August 2011 )
What does the US debt ceiling debate mean for science?

Across-the-board budget cut would hit science agencies hard.

( 28 July 2011 )
NASA telescopes face budget abyss

Flagship missions at risk as astrophysics funding shrinks.

( 19 July 2011 )
US research facilities anticipate budget gloom

Interdisciplinary centres are at the sharp end of proposed cuts.

( 7 June 2011 )
US budget a taste of battles to come

Deal leaves science agencies with less but avoids deep cuts.

( 19 April 2011 )
US budget deal - A (science) first look

Get out your pencils and pocket calculators, the US House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations has posted the text of the 2011 budget bill that reveals - in part - the implications for scientists of a deal struck late on 8 April between the Republican-led House, the Democrat-led Senate and the Obama White House.

( 12 April 2011 )
Budget deal dumps wolf from endangered list

One side story prowling in the background of last week's US federal budget showdown concerns a policy initiative or 'rider' tagged on to the fiscal debate that would summarily remove the North American gray wolf from the endangered species list.

( 11 April 2011 )
US government shutdown averted in 11th hour deal

Forget the cherry blossoms and the monuments. Today the most remarkable sight in Washington DC is simply that of a government operating normally.

( 9 April 2011 )
US shutdown: a scientist's guide

Time is running out for US congressional leaders trying to agree on spending legislation before a crucial budget deadline expires.

( 8 April 2011 )
US science agencies brace for shutdown

As a budget deadline looms, researchers fear setbacks and lost opportunities.

( 7 April 2011 )
Science funding limbo continues as House bids for more time

In a bid to buy more time for heated budget negotiations, lawmakers in the US House of Representatives have releasedyet another temporary funding measure or continuing resolution (CR), that would support the US government for an additional week after the current one expires April 8.

( 5 April 2011 )
NASA human space-flight programme lost in transition

US space agency is wrestling with competing visions and uncertainty of budget deadlock.

( 5 April 2011 )
US physics feels the squeeze

Obama's pro-science 2012 budget hides some bitter pills for physical scientists.

( 15 March 2011 )
Risky energy research faces uncertain future

ARPA-E's aggressive approach to managing research wins support - but perhaps not federal dollars.

( 9 March 2011 )
US scientists in budget limbo

Researchers face anxious wait as negotiations continue in Congress over 2011 budget.

( 8 March 2011 )
US Mars mission takes pole position

Sample-return trip to go ahead, but only if costs can be cut.

( 8 March 2011 )
Budget woes sink marine archive

Oceanographic library could be a casualty of California's $25-billion deficit.

( 1 March 2011 )
Obama resists research cuts

Increases for science and technology in the 2012 US budget prioritize innovation over reductions in the national deficit.

( 15 February 2011 )
US science agencies targeted for cuts

Energy research and environmental regulation among areas hardest hit in proposed budget plan.

( 10 February 2011 )
US science faces big chill

Spending cuts and political battles loom on the horizon.

( 4 January 2011 )
US Congress passes strategic science bill

Crucial vote will boost funding for an array of federal science agencies.

( 22 December 2010 )
US science faces a squeeze

Power shift in Congress paves way for Republicans to constrict government spending.

( 9 November 2010 )
Funding crisis hits US ageing research

Shortfalls hamper scientists' efforts to address a predicted epidemic of age-related diseases.

( 9 November 2010 )
US midterm elections: Deficit poses threat to science

Research programmes in the United States seem to be heading for a cliff, no matter who wins in Congress.

( 13 October 2010 )
'Gathering Storm' back on the radar

An update of a landmark report repeats a stirring call for US investment in science, technology and education.

( 23 September 2010 )

Comment and Editorials

Debt crisis: Crunch time for US science

Researchers must make a stronger case for funding in the face of a perfect storm of budget cuts and eroding political support, says Jay Gulledge.

Nature 477 , 155-156 ( 7 September 2011 )
Science agencies must bite innovation bullet

Before research can rebuild the US economy it must learn from the prosperous heyday of the military-industrial complex, says Daniel Sarewitz.

Nature 471 , 137 ( 9 March 2011 )
Impossible arithmetic

As Congress tries to tackle the $1.3-trillion US deficit by cutting the $660-billion discretionary budget, scientists must unite with non-traditional allies to ensure that research doesn't suffer.

Nature 470 , 305 ( 17 February 2011 )
Save university arts from the bean counters

Scientists must reach across the divide and speak up for campus colleagues in arts and humanities departments, says Gregory Petsko.

Nature 468 , 1003 ( 22 December 2010 )
What do the 2010 election results mean for federal science budgets?

An article from Scientific American.

Nature 468 , 1003 ( 10 November 2010 )
Double trouble? To throw cash at science is a mistake

Politicians who seek economic recovery should look beyond the budget of the National Science Foundation, argues Daniel Sarewitz.

Nature 468 , 135 ( 10 November 2010 )

US Budget Crisis

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