Science: On Friday the US Senate released its working draft of the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2014. Among its provisions, the bill recommends increasing the funding of NSF over the next five years, supports NSF’s continued management of its research grants, and emphasizes the importance of the social, behavioral, and economic sciences. In contrast, the House bill would only fund NSF over the next year and would cut funding for the social sciences. Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) believes the Senate bill is better because it relies on scientists, rather than politicians, to allocate science funding. The process of reconciling the two bills is expected to be a lengthy one and may well extend into next year.
