In last Friday’s Chronicle of Higher Education is a story with the following headline, “Kerry Says That, as President, He Would Increase Spending on Scientific Research”.

The article states: “The president has also come under fire for what some academic scientists see as his lackluster spending on research” and “To pay for his plan, Mr. Kerry said he would raise some $30-billion through auctions of parts of the broadcast spectrum, which would be freed up by a proposal to accelerate the transition to digital television.”

A check with data on actual science funding suggests that there are some real misunderstandings here by both the Chronicle and John Kerry.  I wonder if Kerry’s advisors on science policy will help him out here, or set him up for future problems by allowing him to make claims that don’t square with the facts and promises that can’t be met?

Here is an analysis of science budgets from last week.