This appears to be a surprisingly level-headed government initiative. The amount is enough to do something but not so much as to be a colossal boondoggle. It's the sort of fundamental research which private industry tends to under-produce because it's hard for any given company to recoup the full value of the R&D, but the target area is something with potential downstream practical implications.

> bipartisan

Also by coincidence (?) the first time I've seen that word used recently in a context that wasn't preceded by the words lack of or similar.