After a one-year moratorium for most earmarks, Congress resumed directing noncompetitive grants for scientific research to favored constituents, including universities, this year, a new analysis says.
Spending for nondefense research fell by about one-third in the 2008 fiscal year, compared with 2006, but the earmarked money nevertheless ate into sums available for traditional, merit-reviewed grants, the analysis by the American Association for the Advancement of Science found.
In all, Congress earmarked $4.5-billion for 2,526 research projects in appropriations bills for 2008, according to the AAAS. Legislators approved the measures in November and December, and President Bush signed them.
More important, lawmakers increased spending for earmarks in federal research-and-development programs by a greater amount than they added to the programs for all purposes, the AAAS reported. That will result in a net decrease in money available for nonearmarked research grants, which federal agencies typically distributed based on merit and competition.
