Press Statement - July 27, 1999

PS 99-13
Media contact:	Bill Noxon	(703) 292-8070	wnoxon@nsf.gov

Statement by Dr. Rita R. Colwell
Director
National Science Foundation

On Mark-up of NSF FY2000 Budget by House Appropriations Subcommittee on VA, HUD and Independent Agencies

We're able and ready to do 21st century science and engineering -- but we can't do it on a 20th century budget. While I appreciate the very severe constraints the Congress has to work within, we need to re-double our efforts to show why investing in science, engineering and technology should receive priority attention. I look forward to continuing to work with the Congress to make that case as the FY 2000 budget process moves forward.

Over the past two decades, we have seen science, engineering and technology drive growth in employment and in the creation of new jobs. Our economy is the envy of the world. Its continuing growth is fueled primarily by expansions in the service sector and in the information technology (IT) industry; virtually every sector and every industry in the United States now relies on IT.

Since 1980, employment in science and engineering has more than doubled and continues to increase -- and "high-tech" products have doubled as a share of total U.S. trade. Yet during the same timeframe, we have let the Federal investment in R&D fall by over one-third as a share of our economy.

It's important for us to keep in mind that the investment we make today in research and education will determine our future economic productivity, our ongoing environmental quality, our cutting-edge medical treatment, and our overall quality of life. That is why providing increased support for science and engineering is a matter of strategic national importance. We must be cautious about today's decisions, because they determine tomorrow's reality.