Dive Brief:

• A House of Representatives subcommittee has approved a bill that would cut the National Science Foundation’s budget for social and behavioral science research by 22%.
• Overall spending for the foundation for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1 would increase 1.5% to $7.28 billion.
• The bill also sets funding targets for each directorate in the agency—a move opposed by many researchers who use foundation grants.

Dive Insight:

The battle lines are drawn. The Consortium of Social Science Association and the Association of American Universities, among others, say that the Republican-backed bill is an unwanted attempt to micromanage and inject political views into science research. The bill would require researchers to justify how their work is of national interest, and it would embargo public access to the results of scientific discoveries for up to three years. Next up: a vote on the bill by the full House science committee. The Senate has yet to take up proposed legislation for the science foundation.