CONGRESS Budget agreement passes both chambers, but work remains to set fiscal 2014 funding

Abstract

A rare bipartisan budget deal has passed the Senate and House of Representatives, a move that has the science community hopeful for more cooperation going forward. The compromise plan sets the overall budget levels through fiscal 2015 and eases the across-the-board budget cuts, called sequestration, during that period (see page 26). The next big test for congressional cooperation will come as lawmakers quickly begin to work out how that money will be divided among programs and agencies for fiscal 2014, which began on Oct. 1. And they have only until Jan. 15, 2014, when the current stopgap funding measure expires, or a government shutdown could happen. “There are hurdles to clear when Congress returns in January, but this is a good sign and we look forward to this being the tone of 2014,” says Shawn Osborne, president of the high-tech trade group TechAmerica Foundation. As it has done often in ...