Legislating for Science '09

This is an ambitious attempt to track important science policy relevant legislation as it moves through congress.  Govtrack is a great resource which I (Ashwin Ravikumar) will be using extensively to stay on top of what is happening in Congress.

Commentary will focus on the politicization of science, with frequent inclusion of analyses of congressmen and women's votes for and against bills.  In particular, it will be interesting to watch how legislation that is on the floor right now is shaping the new administration's relationship with science policy; what are the most salient considerations that shape governmental priorities for allocating funding and support?   

While the scope of science policy is very large, and I haven't selected any particular area to focus on yet, there is a very good chance that as this session of congress progresses, certain areas of policy will be more contenious, more important, and indeed more interesting than others.

Also, due to the way parliamentary procedure works, this blog may not track legislation in a way that follows any particular chronology.