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Opinion: The Lebanon (Ind.) Reporter Hypocrisy over funding scientific research is not limited to President George W. Bush. That said, Bush's latest demonstration of political arrogance and scientific ignorance is audacious. Bush's latest annoyance was yanked from under obfuscation rock by "Science," the magazine of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in its weekly e-mail newsletter, in a story written by Jocelyn Kaiser for ScienceNOW Daily News. The president vetoed a bill that would have expanded stem cell research. He wants, instead, for the National Institutes for Health to push for alternatives - even though, the AAAS noted, the NIH "already encourages such research." Bush wants the NIH to spend less and research more. That's doing two impossible things before breakfast - or successfully matching Bush's rhetoric with his reality. The National Institutes for Health funds research in a wide range of scientific endeavors. It's especially infuriating that Bush would ask the NIH to assume more responsibility when he proposed cutting the NIH 2008 budget by $279 million. Not that Bush stands in splendid isolation when it comes to understanding science. Both the Democratic and Republican species occupying the nation's capitol say one thing while doing the opposite. On June 19, the U.S. Senate passed a $1 billion increase in the NIH budget; that would appear to be a 3.5 percent increase. Through May, the rate of inflation in the U.S. was 5.5 percent, according to the U.S. Labor Department. Funding the NIH at less than the rate of inflation ought to seem senseless, even to Congress. Actually, it's worse: Considering the Senate bill would require the NIH to shift $300 million to the Global AIDS Fund, the NIH increase is effectively 2.8 percent, Kaiser reported. A bill in the House of Representatives employs the same technique of seeming to boost research while shooting it in the kneecaps. Whether submitted by Congress or by the administration, these budget proposals effectively hamstring the NIH, while appearing to advance the cause of scientific inquiry, preserve morality and protect the sanctity of life. There can be only one explanation: We sniff the stench of an election. Editorial: Budget hypocrisy-- science suffers Rayilyn Brown Board Member AZNPF Arizona Chapter National Parkinson's Foundation [log in to unmask] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn