The Chronicle of Higher Education has reported that in 2007 Congress allocated a record amount of money for research – $2.3 billion. The report was alarming to many in higher education because earmarks do not undergo the normal peer review required to receive research funding. Typically, research proposals submitted to government entities like the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation are selected after intensive reviews by scientific panels and are based on broad national priorities. Such is not the case with earmarks, and many are concerned that the inside dealings of Congress will be detrimental to the healthy competition that exists among institutions competing for grants.

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