In a reversal of the appropriations language passed last March, the recently passed omnibus appropriations bill does not include the restriction on NSF that effectively disallowed funding of political science research.
While the rushed pace of finalizing the recent appropriations bill may have been a factor in excluding similar restrictions in the current legislation, lobbying by organizations such as the American Political Science Association (APSA) and a substantial list of universities probably also had impact. A broad array of organizations, including the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) spoke out loudly and strongly against those restrictions. Michael Stratford provides a good summary of the landscape in this article.
