Science foundation could get US$600m in pandemic relief

The National Science Foundation (NSF) in the United States is set to receive an additional US$600 million as part of the massive coronavirus pandemic relief bill moving through Congress, writes Jeffrey Mervis for Science.

The money is not mentioned in the US$1.9 trillion plan being taken up on 22 February by the budget committee in the US House of Representatives. But ScienceInsider learned that was expected to be added to the legislation before the full House votes on the package. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) would get a one-time budget increase of US$150 million. The money comes from a US$750 million allocation made available to the House science committee, led by Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson, for programmes under its jurisdiction.

Under the terms of the overall relief package, the two agencies would be required to use the one-time bonanza to help the nation recover from the devastating impact of the pandemic, including damage to its science and technology enterprise. At NSF, whose current budget is US$8.2 billion, the new money is likely to be spent on more research on pandemic-related topics, as well as more support for educating the next generation of scientists and engineers. The funds for NIST, which now has a budget of US$1 billion, are expected to bolster its network of manufacturing research institutes.
Full report on the Science site