Under a bill released yesterday by the US House of Representatives Appropriations Committee, the National Science Foundation would receive a $50 million increase for fiscal year 2016 as compared to its FY2015 funding level.
However, ScienceInsider notes that this is $329 million less than what US President Barack Obama has requested for the agency and $200 million below what has been authorized by the America COMPETES Act, which is itself coming up for a vote in the House next week.
ScienceInsider adds that certain programs at NSF may feel the burn more than others, and says that NSF supporters are watching to see whether the appropriations committee follows the lead of the science committee to cut funding for research in the geosciences and in the social and behavioral sciences.
The bill also includes a slight increase in funding for NASA, but a $7 million cut to its science program, as well as a $9 million cut to the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
The panel is to vote on the bill today.