Scientists may face funding cuts

Science issues, traditionally seen as above the realm of politics, became more partisan than ever before during the 2004 presidential election season.

Some commentators believe that President Bush's reelection will have a profound impact on scientific research in the next four years, both here at Princeton and across the nation.

Yet Diane Jones, the University's leading lobbyist in Washington, largely disagrees. "I'm not sure the election results will affect things [substantially]," said Jones, explaining that science research funding is influenced far more by the state of the economy — and especially the federal budget — than it is by politics.

Jones said that during the last four years there have actually been no significant cuts in science research funding except in this year's National Science Foundation (NSF) budget. The main problem is that funding increases have been below rates of inflation — especially biomedical inflation — and research costs have been rising because of government regulations, she said.

Some particular areas of concern Jones mentioned were stem cell and climate change research. While, as Jones noted, Bush was the first president ever to fund any stem cell research, there will be major limits on the field's progress in the next four years.

Michael Oppenheimer, a professor in the Wilson School and the Department of Geosciences and an expert on climate change policy, said the last four years have actually been a fruitful time for climate change research and that there has been government aid for research in the field, despite the Bush administration's failure to actively recognize the necessity of global warming concerns.

Oppenheimer said he "could only speculate" about the next four years. One possibility, he said, was that the administration would increase funding for research as a substitute for policy changes focusing on alternative energy and emissions decreases.

But as of now, this option seems unlikely. Oppenheimer called the NSF budget cut an "ominous sign."

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There will, however, be some clear benefits from Bush's reelection for the University. Jones said Princeton officials have a strong rapport with many of the key players in Washington who determine research policy and funding. The administration is expected to continue its strong support of the Princeton Plasma Physics Lab's research on nuclear fusion.

Jones added, "I'm not sure we would have seen significant changes under Kerry."

She added that "for most areas in science there are not [significant] policy differences [between Democrats and Republicans]."

Jones also explained that the politicization of science is a dangerous trend for America and a "strategic error" on the part of a large portion of the scientific community.