APPROPRIATIONS BILL T he first major science spending bill for 1998 to start moving through Congress contains good news for researchers. But federal officials and lobbyists are cautioning that funding levels approved last week by a House subcommittee for NASA, the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and other agencies could be reduced as the bill grinds its way through the congressional mill. “It's wonderful, but we'll see if it lasts,” says Howard Silver, chair of the Coalition for NSF Funding, an advocacy group. “I think there are probably a lot of people taking credit for this mark.” The appropriations bill, for the fiscal year that begins on 1 October, would increase NSF's overall budget by 6.6%, to $3.49 billion. That's $120 million more than the president's request, and close to a 7% target set by a coalition of scientific societies ( Science , 21 February, [p. 1055][1]). The lion's share of that added boost is a $90 million allocation to build a new South Pole research station that would replace a deteriorating 20-year-old facility. The research account would rise by 4.3%, to $2.54 billion; education activities would go up by 2%, to $633 million; and two new facilities—a millimeter array and a polar-cap observatory—would move ahead as planned. For NASA, the subcommittee provided $148 million more than the $13.5 billion presidential request, although the figure falls short of the agency's current budget. Two-thirds of the added funds would go to cover unanticipated increases in space station costs caused by Russian delays in building station hardware. The panel also said NASA could move another $150 million from other agency accounts into the space station budget if necessary. The remaining $48 million of the increase above the request would be spread out among a host of science, aeronautics, and technology programs, including NASA's new Space Biomedical Institute in Houston and the National Space Grant Colleges and Fellowships program. The science and technology account at EPA also fared well, receiving $656 million—$41 million above the president's request. That includes $35 million for research on the health effects of particulate matter—which will more than double what EPA now spends—and $5 million more for ozone research, both to support new air-quality standards. For all three agencies, the tougher fight will be in the Senate, where legislators will have almost half a billion dollars less to spend on the same bill, which also funds politically popular housing and veterans' programs. The appropriators “are making us temporarily cheerful, but in the long run, we may have more to cry about,” says Representative George Brown (D—CA), the ranking minority member of the House Science Committee. The House Appropriations Committee is scheduled to take up the bill next week, with the Senate panel expected to swing into action later this month. With additional reporting by Jocelyn Kaiser. [1]: /lookup/doi/10.1126/science.275.5303.1055e