A Feb. 28, 2013, press release from the Science Works For U. S. group that represents the Association of American Universities, the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, and the Science Coalition urged the U. S. Senate, Congress, and President Obama to reach a decision that would avoid sequestration cuts.
The scientists indicate that the drastic reduction in research grants that would be the result of sequestration would result in a $23 billion per year reduction in U. S. gross domestic product (GDP) per year and a loss of 200,000 jobs in the next three years.
The groups represent research interests in the United States and U. S. funded research in Europe, Africa, and Asia.
An inspection of research funding from the Research.gov website indicates that research grants have actually increased in numbers and dollars in 2013 versus 2012.
From Jan. 1, 2012, to Feb. 28, 2012, a total of 1,189 research grants were awarded to universities, colleges, and other research organizations by the NASA and the National Science Foundation.
From Jan. 1, 2013, to Feb. 28, 2013 a total of 1,284 research grants were awarded to universities, colleges, and other research organizations by the NASA and the National Science Foundation.
If sequestration does take effect on Mar. 1, 2013, then the STEM program that has been a predominating factor in research grants will potentially be hardest hit. The STEM program promotes research opportunities for minorities and women in an effort to bring a more representative number of women and minorities into science, technology, engineering, and mathematics research, teaching, and occupations.
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