Senate Panel Backs Flat Funding for Science Foundation

A U.S. Senate appropriations subcommittee approved legislation Wednesday that would keep funding for the National Science Foundation in the 2016 fiscal year at its 2015 level. The measure, backed by the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice and Science, would provide $7.3 billion for the NSF, less than the $7.7 billion President Obama requested and $50 million less than the bill approved last month by the House Appropriations Committee. The Senate bill would provide $5.93 billion for NSF research and research facilities, and $866 million for the foundation's education programs.