Budget cuts are a setback for American science

White House budgets, generally speaking, aren't serious governing documents. Even so, they’re a declaration of national priorities — and by that measure, the latest blueprint is deeply troubling.

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What sort of administration aspires to shrink its budget for scientific discovery by 40%?

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recently testified before a House committee to defend cuts at the National Institutes of Health, the world’s biggest funder of biomedical and behavioral research, according to the Tribune News Service.

The agency going forward “will focus on essential research at a more practical cost,” the secretary said. His plan would end taxpayer support for “wasteful” academic areas, including certain gender-related topics.

It's fair for the administration to set its own research priorities. But one would expect such cuts to free up (if not increase) funding for other urgent concerns, including chronic disease. Confoundingly, Kennedy appears intent on shrinking the entire research enterprise, thereby jeopardizing the White House's stated goals of improving public health, maintaining global leadership in science and staying ahead of China, which is set on closing the gap.