Grassley and the NSF probe

Senator Grassley was interviewed on FOX News on Wednesday about the National Science Foundation probe that has come about from a report to Congress that mentioned an NSF official who was “found to have spent as much as 20 percent of his working hours over a two-year span “viewing sexually explicit images and engaging in sexually explicit on line ‘chats’ with various women,” Politico said.”

I checked out the website of the NSF and found these words to welcome me: “National Science Foundation – Where Discoveries Begin”. Hmmm. More information on the site says: The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent federal agency created by Congress in 1950 “to promote the progress of science; to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare; to secure the national defense… With an annual budget of about $6.06 billion, we are the funding source for approximately 20 percent of all federally supported basic research conducted by America’s colleges and universities. In many fields such as mathematics, computer science and the social sciences, NSF is the major source of federal backing.”

So, while the Democrats are pushing their version of stimulating the economy our tax dollars are going towards other kinds of, well, stimulation. Very expensive stimulation I would say!

There is discussion and some rather unkind words being said about Grassley and his attempt to holding the NSF accountable for their funding. I am pleased that there is a watch dog to pay attention when reports of such abuse are “tucked in to” a report. A version of hide and seek seems to be going on with how our money is being spent.

I agree with Grassley: “The semiannual report raises real questions about how the National Science Foundation manages its resources, and Congress ought to demand a full accounting before it gives the agency another $3 billion in the stimulus bill,” Grassley said.