The US House of Representatives passed a bill that approves $84 billion in federal funding for scientific and technological research, reports the Associated Press. If passed by the Senate, the bill would give the National Science Foundation $40 billion over five years. "If we are to reverse the trend of the last 20 years, where our country's technology edge in the world has diminished, we must make the investments necessary today," says Bart Gordon (D-TN), who is the chair of the Science and Technology Committee.