Yeah, it was basically shot in the leg, multiple times, then they complain about how bad it is, and use that as justification to kill it off entirely, or better yet keep it around while taking a large fraction of its funding away and giving it to corporations.

As was done also for weather forecasting, and so many other things - we really have the worst of all forms of government, socializing losses coupled with privatized gains, and most of us see it but bc of how the Electoral College works, we’re fucked to do anything about it (not that Dems would do anything even if they got elected, ofc).

We are being eaten alive, and there seems no way to reverse course on that.