A deal was recently reached by Democrats and Republicans over the federal budget for fiscal year 2011, which began in October 2010. After a lot of wrangling and a near-shutdown of the federal government, the lawmakers agreed to preserve the maximum Pell Grant, but cut a lot of research and education programs, says The Chronicle of Higher Education's Kelly Field. Overall, the bill would shrink the federal budget by about $40 billion, cutting $260 million from NIH and $53 million from NSF.