Latest survey of federal workplaces is here. My former employer, the NIH, took a nasty dive this time. NSF went up and NASA is at the top of the heap.
I remember my years at the NIH as terrific, but that was long before 9/11 and construction of the big security fence around campus.
Money quote from ScienceInsider:
factors include a continued pay freeze, a 30% cut in travel budgets, and the elimination of a pot of money for year-end bonuses for exceptional service
I’d say the transformation of NIH from an open campus (really similar to a large university) to secured compound is also part of the problem.
Discoverers and Discoveries 