Tracking R&D Funding :: March 16, 2007
A line from the movie adaption of Tom Wolfe's The Right Stuff, it is a reminder that scientific progress and the resulting benefits to the U.S. economy and society depend critically on adequate and steady funding support for science and technology. Each year, the Committee evaluates the President's budget proposals for the major science agencies and programs of the federal government. They provide advice to the Committee on the Budget as it prepares the Budget Resolution. They work with the Committee on Appropriations to assure that funds are allocated to support the Nation's priorities in research and development.
During the past decade, the Committee has sought consistently to make Congress and the public aware of the critical importance of science and technology. With the release of the President's budget proposal each year, the Committee has evaluated the plans for research and development spending to determine whether the nation will continue to benefit from the improvements in economic productivity made possible by scientific and technological progress. Committee Members recognize that the global economy will put a premium on innovation and skilled workers in decades to come. Our priorities must reflect these new realities.
Each year, as required by the Congressional Budget Act, the Committee on the Budget prepares a Concurrent Resolution on the budget, which sets the guidelines for all Congressional action on spending, taxing and other money measures during a particular year. The Budget Act requires other Committees to provide advice to the Budget Committee, through so-called "Views and Estimates," that discuss the likely impacts from the President's budget proposal or other actions the Committee may take. The Committee has communicated concerns to the Budget Committee many times about the prospects for the American science and technology enterprise; it is interesting to note that recent years have seen these concerns presented in bipartisan terms and echoed from a broader spectrum of interests.
While it is the responsibility of the Committee on Science & Technology to authorize agencies such as NASA or NSF to perform research and development, the decisions on how available funds will be distributed among the Nation's priorities is vested with the Committee on Appropriations. Members of the Committee will continue to pay close attention to the progress of the annual appropriation bills.
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