The following is an editorial from the Boston Globe:

As the 2014 congressional elections approach, federal funding for scientific research should be a hot topic. Republican-led cuts, followed by flat funding of programs that used to be points of bipartisan pride, have jeopardized the country’s dominant position in global science. If that status were to be lost completely, there would be enormous consequences: No longer would the United States attract the world’s leading scientists and thereby gain cutting-edge industries that employ millions of people. And it’s not that the federal budget can’t afford an increase: In just one year, the projected deficit has been chopped in half because of a combination of fiscal discipline and the expiration of the Bush tax cuts for high earners. That allows for more budgetary flexibility, especially in vital areas like science.