The US Congress passed legislation in early January temporarily delaying automatic federal budget cuts until March 1. It is estimated that the fiscal 2013 cuts would have eliminated 2,500 NIH grants and 1,500 NSF grants. However, research funding remains vulnerable. The new agreement only lowers the required cuts for fiscal 2013 from $361 billion to $359 billion. In addition, it requires discretionary spending be reduced by $4 billion in fiscal 2013 and by a total of $12 billion by fiscal 2014, with cuts split between civilian and defense budgets. The latest proposed cuts will take effect unless other spending cuts for the same amount can be agreed upon.

Source: Science Insider