Federal spending on fundamental scientific research is pivotal to America’s long-term economic competitiveness and growth. But less than two years after agreeing the U.S. needed to invest tens of billions of dollars more in basic research than it had been, Congress is already seriously scaling back its plans. A package of funding bills recently passed by Congress and signed by President Joe Biden on March 9, 2024. That puts the NSF’s current allocation US$6.6 billion below targets Congress set in 2022.