Funding Science in America: Congress, Universities, and the Politics of the Academic Pork Barrel

Since the 1950s, the federal government has relied on the peer review system for funding academic science. Peer review, however, is under attack for being a biased system that helps rich research universities get richer. As a remedy for these biases, university presidents and members of Congress have turned to the earmarking of science projects and facilities in the federal budget. Funding Science in America explores both the pros and the cons of the academic earmarking issue and explains why this issue has caused a rift within the nation’s science community.