Sen. Jerry Moran, Republican of Kansas, proposed sending $9\u00a0billion to the National Science Foundation.<\/p>\n
Andrew Harnik\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
Signs that Congress intends to push back on the Trump administration\u2019s wholesale slashing of federal budgets<\/a> emerged during a Senate meeting Thursday that kicked off the annual appropriations process.<\/p>\n Since January, the Trump administration has sought to significantly downsize the federal government via mass layoffs<\/a> and spending cuts<\/a>. Additionally, the administration has canceled grants<\/a> and withheld funding<\/a> despite laws that require agencies to spend money as directed by Congress.<\/p>\n However, on Thursday a subcommittee that oversees the budgets for the Justice and Commerce Departments as well as related science agencies proposed only a small cut to the National Science Foundation budget next fiscal year\u2014a far cry from the $5\u00a0billion reduction that President Donald Trump wants to see.<\/p>\n Instead, NSF will get just over $9\u00a0billion, a $16\u00a0million cut, said Sen. Jerry Moran, the Kansas Republican who chairs the subcommittee. The bill also sends about $10\u00a0million more to the National Weather Service and boosts funding for National Aeronautics and Space Administration. <\/p>\n Although the science funding received bipartisan support, a fight over funding<\/a> for the new Federal Bureau of Investigations headquarters could tank the legislation. Sen. Chris Van Hollen, a Maryland Democrat and vice chair of the subcommittee, objected to the Trump administration\u2019s decision to move the headquarters to another building in Washington, D.C., rather than moving forward with a plan approved during the Biden administration to build a facility in Maryland. (Congress previously appropriated money for a new headquarters and set the criteria for the site selection.)<\/p>\n After the Senate appropriations committee approved an amendment on Thursday from Van Hollen related to the headquarters, some Republicans on the committee changed their vote on the legislation and the panel recessed instead of making a final decision on whether to advance it.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s sad that one issue is sinking a bill that was bipartisan,\u201d said Sen. Susan Collins, a Maine Republican and chair of the full appropriations committee. <\/p>\n Still, Van Hollen said earlier in the meeting that there was \u201ca lot of good news\u201d in the legislation.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were able to make smart and targeted investments to help keep our community safe, keep our country safe, to advance U.S. leadership in science and innovation and to support growth and prosperity of the American economy. We were able to protect agencies and programs like NASA science and STEM, [the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and] NSF.\u201d<\/p>\n