SCIENCE PRIORITIES: An Opportunities-Based Science Budget

Newt Gingrich introduces the concept of an "opportunities-based budget", as an approach to federal research and development funding. Policy-makers should not frame the debate on science funding in terms of percentage of increase. Rather, a systematic analysis of the promise of opportunities should be conducted and the funds allotted accordingly. This article is a call to rethink how lawmakers are funding the discoveries upon which future generations will rely.