Not quite. In the U.S. the primary concern of anti-trust review for mergers and acquisitions is if it benefits or harms the consumer. In the EU, the primary concern is if the merger adversely impacts competition in the market. The failed acquisition of Honeywell by GE was blocked by the EU after being approved by the U.S. The U.S. review stated that bundling of avionics and engines, with some oversight of aircraft leasing by GE would reduce costs for aircraft and, as such, would not harm the consumer. The EU ruled that the merger would provide GE an unfair advantage against European jet engine manufacturers and blocked it.

The beating that NSF, NIST, and DOE Office of Science took in the FY08 budget should be evidence enough that we need to make a better case about the value of science. Despite the rhetoric and the America COMPETES act, science is not a budget priority. Washington listens to voters, and if the voters seem indifferent to science funding then congress is indifferent to science funding.