The new US tax bill will affect the country's ability to invest in science and research, writes Representative Ed Perlmutter (D-CO) at Scientific American.
President Donald Trump signed the tax bill into law last week, and as the New York Times reports, it includes changes to the standard deduction and child tax credits, among other provisions.
According to Perlmutter, who is on the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, the bill is estimated to cost $1.5 trillion over the next 10 years. That, he says will be money added to the national debt, rather than invested in infrastructure and scientific research. He argues that $1.5 trillion could fund seven there-and-back trips to Mars or fund the National Renewable Energy Lab in his district for 3,275 years.
"A successful country must invest early and often in scientific research," Perlmutter writes at Scientific American. "[W]e are hamstringing our ability to invest in the programs, researchers, and ideas to keep our country innovative and competitive in the future."