The US Congress reached a deal yesterday on a $1 trillion spending package, the New York Times reports. The bill would fund the government, with the exception of the Department of Homeland Security, through September 2015.
Overall, the Times says the proposed bill will keep domestic funding levels flat. Some science agencies, ScienceInsider adds, will see increases while others will keep their 2014 funding levels.
Under this bill, the National Institutes of Health would receive $30 billion, some $150 million more than in fiscal year 2014. This slight increase, ScienceInsider notes, won't enable the agency to keep pace with inflation.
Meanwhile, the National Science Foundation would see a boost to $7.344 billion, more than President Barack Obama had requested, but less than the House had approved back in May. And the Office of Science at the Department of Energy would keep its 2014 budget of $5.1 billion.
Additionally, some $5.2 billion in emergency spending, which ScienceInsider notes isn't included as part of the regular budget, would be allocated to efforts to fight Ebola.
The Times adds that the House of Representatives is to vote on the deal before sending it to the Senate on Thursday, the same day that the current funding expires. A shorter-term spending measure is also in the works to avoid a government shutdown in case Congress doesn't meet the deadline.