When Sen. Arlen Specter last week switched his party affiliation from Republican to Democrat, it triggered a pundit overload. But, for scientists, it also means more optimism for sustained increases in the US National Institutes of Health budget.

Specter has a history of supporting NIH, including, most recently, sponsoring an amendment President Barak Obama’s economic stimulus package that adds $6.5 billion to the US National Institutes of Healt
h budget. On Sunday’s Meet the Press a US pundit television show that features interviews with both journalists and politicians, Specter specifically mentioned bolstering the NIH as a key goal. His switch to the party of the president signals that further support for the agency may materialize long term. That potentially means more money—and jobs for US-based life scientists.