Press Statement - February 2, 1998

PS 98-4 (NSB 98-22)
Media contact:	Mary Hanson	(703) 306-1070

Statement by Dr. Richard Zare
Chairman, National Science Board

On President's Proposed NSF Budget for Fiscal Year 1999

In the face of brutally tight constraints on federal discretionary spending, President Clinton has stepped forward to champion a 10 percent increase in NSF's 1999 budget. This boldness -- which I hope will be shared by Congress -- would enable NSF to help maintain U.S. world leadership in all aspects of science, mathematics and engineering.

There is so much we don't know, and need to explore and discover. Greater knowledge about how we learn and remember, or how we think and communicate, could advance computers and communication technology beyond the current astonishing state. Unidentified new life forms found thriving in the earth's most extreme environments -- like Yellowstone's hot springs, the sea ice of Antarctica, or the ocean depths -- could revolutionize medicine, produce new materials for use in everyday life and further our understanding of the origins of life itself. The possibilities are awesome.

This proposed NSF budget would help keep America at the cutting edge of science. It would enable new discovery and educate the world's best scientists and engineers -- setting the stage for the next millennium. It's good for the country, good for science and good for economic growth. But most importantly, it's also good for people.

See also: Statement by Dr. Neal Lane, Director, National Science Foundation, and Fact Sheet.