Peters, Gardner Call For Increase in U.S. Science Funding

Press Release

U.S. Senators Gary Peters (D-MI) and Cory Gardner (R-CO), members of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, sent a letter today to the Senate Appropriations Committee urging the Committee to support a substantial increase in federal funding for science, research, and development at the National Science Foundation (NSF) and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

"Ongoing federal initiatives in research and development are already responsible for billions of dollars in economic output and tens of thousands of jobs in our home states of Colorado and Michigan," wrote the Senators.

"The United States is facing fierce international competition: China invests more than $335 billion annually on research and development initiatives, making them the second largest investor in the world and putting them on track to eclipse U.S. investments soon," continued the Senators. "Without a substantial increase in research and development appropriations, the United States risks losing its role as the global leader in innovation."

Last Congress, Peters and Gardner offered an amendment at the Senate Commerce Committee to increase authorizations of appropriations for NSF and NIST by 4% over existing funding levels, and the amendment passed by voice vote. This letter builds on that effort and the pair's longstanding work to bolster the U.S. scientific community and U.S. research and development enterprise, including their introduction of the American Innovation and Competitiveness Act that President Obama signed into law in January 2017.

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