The American Physical Society (APS) is thrilled that President Obama’s Fiscal Year 2011 budget proposal increases the U.S. investment in transformational research that will keep the nation on a path of scientific advancement, technological innovation and economic growth.
Specifically, APS lauds the support of research programs at the Department of Energy’s Office of Science (DOE), the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The President has proposed hiking the DOE budget by $226 million to $5.1 billion. NSF is slated to have its budget increase by $550 million to $7.4 billion. NIST would receive a boost of $67 million to $587 million.
Scientists, who receive funding from these agencies, are engaged in research that will generate solutions to the country’s most pressing challenges, including developing technologies that create clean, affordable energy for all Americans. APS is also pleased that the President’s budget is consistent with a promise to double the scientific agencies’ budgets over a 10-year period.
President Obama’s FY 2011 budget includes investments in:
• Nuclear energy research to generate technologies for the creation of safe, clean, nuclear power plants – a goal the President outlined in his State of the Union Address.
• Nuclear security to achieve the President’s goal of reversing the spread of nuclear weapons and keeping the current stockpile safe and secure.
• Energy efficiency to develop more efficient batteries for electric cars, helping to reduce the nation’s carbon footprint.
• The Graduate Research Fellowship program and the Faculty Career Development program to foster the nation’s next generation of scientists and engineers.
• Climate Change Education to develop future scientists and engineers.
“At a time when the nation is striving for an economic recovery, federal investments in science and technology are more critical to America’s future than ever,” said Michael S. Lubell, APS director of public affairs. “APS encourages Congress to support the President’s budget in its upcoming appropriations process.” In spite of uncertainties in the NASA budget, APS is pleased that the agency’s budget includes strong support for scientific programs.
2 Comments
Hmm. I understand your point, but I would hardly call the giant deficits we will be running an incentive to economic growth. Don’t forget that we’ll all be paying that back, with interest, and government borrowing also displaces private sector borrowing that could be used for, yes, R&D research that would lead to scientific advancements and technological innovation.
Which is just to say that every dollar government spends is a dollar someone else can’t. And when it’s a borrowed dollar, it actually comes to more than a dollar that someone else can’t.
But I’ll stop now because this is a physics blog, not an economics blog.
David,
Since World War II, 50 percent of economic growth has been attributable to science and technology. Furthermore, every dollar invested in basic research translates into $40 in domestic growth, according to a study by the Council for Chemical Research. Finally, industry has made it clear that Wall Street dynamics and tax codes make it impossible for the private sector to make long-term investments.
Best,
Tawanda