US stimulus final makes investments in science, computing

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From a press release issued by CRA

Members of the computing research community today praised Congress for passing an economic stimulus package that includes substantial investments in the nation’s science and engineering enterprise. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 includes just over $7 billion in supplemental funding for several key federal science agencies, including the National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy’s Office of Science, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

Speaker Pelosi issued a fact sheet on Wednesday outlining the bullet points for science and IT infrastructure that made it out of conference (the CRA has a copy online, too, but I can’t find an “official” copy from the speaker yet)

  • Investing in Scientific Research (More than $15 Billion) Provides $3 billion for the National Science Foundation, for basic research in fundamental science and engineering – which spurs discovery and innovation.
  • Provides $1.6 billion for the Department of Energy’s Office of Science, which funds research in such areas as climate science, biofuels, high-energy physics, nuclear physics and fusion energy sciences – areas crucial to our energy future.
  • Provides $400 million for the Advanced Research Project Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) to support highrisk, high-payoff research into energy sources and energy efficiency in collaboration with industry.
  • Provides $580 million for the National Institute of Standards and Technology, including the Technology Innovation Program and the Manufacturing Extension Partnership.
  • Provides $8.5 billion for NIH, including expanding good jobs in biomedical research to study diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, cancer, and heart disease.
  • Provides $1 billion for NASA, including $400 million to put more scientists to work doing climate change research.
  • Provides $1.5 billion for NIH to renovate university research facilities and help them compete for biomedical research grants.

Plus $7B for providing broadband to “underserved communities across the country.”

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