Research and innovation essential to economic recovery

Science coalition supports call to include research in economic stimulus & recovery efforts

The Science Coalition (TSC) today urged Congress and the incoming Obama Administration to include funding for research in legislation currently being developed to aid in economic stimulus and recovery.

"Many members of the incoming Administration and Congress, including President-elect Obama and Speaker Pelosi, recognize the vital importance of scientific research in helping to address the issues our country faces. We support their efforts to include funding for research in legislative efforts aimed at stimulating and reviving the economy," said incoming Science Coalition President Bill Andresen.

"Providing money for research grants and science infrastructure is a "twofer" for American taxpayers," Andresen said. "Funding for targeted federal research programs would have the immediate impact of creating jobs and stimulating economic activity in communities across the country. It also would provide long-term benefits through the scientific advancements and innovations that come from investing in research," he said.

Innovation fueled by basic research, much of it conducted at universities across the country, has been a cornerstone of the U.S. economy for more than the last half-century. It has led to the creation of countless companies, technologies and products. Among these are companies such as Broadcom, Cisco, Google, Genentech and Orbital Sciences, and technologies and products such as the CAT Scan, the MRI, the iPod, Gatorade and Allegra.

Examples of targeted, economic stimulus and recovery funding opportunities include:

• Providing $1.2 billion for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which would immediately fund some 3,000 research grants. These are highly promising research grants that already have been vetted and approved, but are unfunded because NIH does not currently have the money to initiate them. These grants are spread across the country and support individual university researchers, their labs and staff, contributing to an economic ripple effect.
• Providing $750 million for academic research facilities modernization and instrumentation programs at the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Institutes of Standards and Technology (NIST), and NIH. This would increase jobs within 90 days. Further, modernizing and developing research infrastructure and capacity will promote longer-term economic recovery through discovery and innovation.
• Providing an additional $150 million for the Department of Energy's (DOE) new Energy Frontier Research Centers program, which would add jobs, talent and technology advances to address the nation's critically important energy issues. DOE already has received 260 applications from universities totaling nearly $1 billion. Providing additional money would enable DOE to quickly fund more high-quality R&D proposals that will help address long-term energy needs.
• Providing $50 million for DOE use-inspired research grants. Due to budget shortfalls, DOE did not fund any of the 700 proposals it received for use-inspired research grants from highly-skilled researchers in FY08.
• Providing $1.8 billion to boost programs at NSF and NIH that support young scientists/researchers/engineers. Providing additional funding to the NSF Career Award program and the NIH Pathway to Independence Award program will have the double benefit of creating jobs for early career researchers and ensuring that the U.S. has the human resources to drive future innovation and economic growth.

The Science Coalition is a non-profit, nonpartisan organization representing 50 of the nation's leading public and private research universities. It is dedicated to sustaining the federal government's commitment to U.S. leadership in basic science.