The National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health made the cut, but the Department of Energy didn't. The die has not yet been firmly cast, but the projections for science reflect several political realities. They can be understood with little sophistication. Usually, out year budgets attract as much attention in Washington as reports of a new pothole on Pennsylvania Avenue. After all, federal budgets are annual agreements, with no individual Congress considering itself bound by the fiscal plans laid out by any of its predecessors.
Budgets are also political documents that reflect the current mood of the country.
When the mood changes, as it often does from one year to the next, budget priorities are quickly readjusted to meet voters' altered views and expectations. But the severely constrained out year budgets released this year are likely to stick, at least for a while and at least in the aggregate, if not in detail. Balancing the budget by 2002 has become the mantra of both political parties. And with public trust in government still falling, woe unto any politician who even hints at breaking this fiscal covenant, at least anytime soon. Barring any other action, it must trimmed by almost one third, if a balanced budget is to be reached.