AAAS: Sequestration Hurting Science Research Funding

Sequestration will force the government to cut $9.3 billion in funding for research and development projects in 2013, according to the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)  (opens in a new tab).

The a 6.5 percent drop will slice $6.4 billion from Department of Defense funding  (opens in a new tab), $1.5 billion from the National Institutes of Health  (opens in a new tab), and $749 million from NASA. The move is expected to drop research and development spending to 0.8 percent of the gross domestic product—the lowest level in 40 years, according to AAAS.

“Most agency budgets are going to be set back at least a few years,” Matthew Hourihan, director of the Research and Development Budget and Policy Program at AAAS, said in a statement. “Many of them are going to be set back a decade or more under sequestration.”

The NIH announced it is expecting to fund 703 fewer research grants  (opens in a new tab). According to a news report, the National Cancer Institute’s budget is being cut 5.8 percent, and the budget of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences will be trimmed by  5 percent.

“You will start seeing project cancellations or reduced awards or number of awards over the course of the next month,” Hourihan told The Huffington Post  (opens in a new tab). “One impact that we have seen is on the university community itself. Either universities are stemming back the financial aid made available to students, or some schools have reduced enrollment and acceptance.”

(Creatas/Thinkstock)