Testimony and Statements

Document Number: NSB-95-26
Documentation Type: Board Statement
Meeting Number Dates: 02/02/95 to 02/03/95

STATEMENT ON FEDERAL R&D BUDGET REALIGNMENT
AS ADOPTED BY THE NATIONAL SCIENCE BOARD
AT ITS 326TH MEETING, FEBRUARY 2-3, 1995.

The United States is experiencing significant restructuring within industry, government and universities, accompanied by reallocation of the resources that support research and education in the sciences and engineering within all sectors. The National Science Board recognizes that in this time of constrained budgets and changing priorities no Federal program in science, mathematics, and engineering should be beyond careful scrutiny and possible reduction.

However, our nation has come to rely upon a pluralistic approach to support research and development involving an intricate mesh of Federal agencies as well as other sectors of the economy--industry, academia, and nonprofit organizations. The linkages between these constituent parts of our nation's research and technology infrastructure themselves can amplify the benefits from even minor advances in knowledge.

In the process of funding realignment, the abrupt termination of large fractions of the support from any one agency without careful regard for its impact on the health of research in the U.S. can jeopardize the overall government-university partnership for carrying out fundamental research directed to national needs and training the next generation of scientists and engineers.

As one or another Federal agency adjusts its research investment in response to legislated revisions of its mission, it is important that the impact on key national capabilities be considered in a broader context. It is the subtle interplay of Federal support for science and technology that deserves our most thoughtful consideration in this period of budget restructuring, with the goal of protecting our investments and retaining the necessary balance within our national system for financing research.

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