Dear Senator Reid and Senator McConnell:
As the 110th Congress draws to a close, America’s leading businesses, scientific organizations, and universities urge you to fully fund the America COMPETES Act in FY 2009. This includes adjusting funding levels in any Continuing Resolution (CR) to bolster U.S. competitiveness by increasing funding for basic research at the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
We appreciate that Members on both sides of the aisle and leaders at both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue agree on the need for additional investments in basic research. If approved, these investments would strengthen our economy, help us meet our long-term energy needs, and enhance our defense capabilities while helping to train our next generation of scientists, mathematicians, and engineers.
Congress and the Administration made substantial progress last year with the enactment of the America COMPETES Act. This year, the Administration assigned a high priority to our global economic competitiveness in its FY 2009 budget request by including funding for the American Competitiveness Initiative. The House and Senate Appropriations Committees marked up FY2009 bills with robust funding for the NSF, DOE Office of Science, and NIST. Additionally, Congress recognized the importance of basic research by approving FY 2008 supplemental funding for the NSF and the DOE Office of Science -- additional funding we greatly appreciate. However, there is a long way to go toward full funding of the America COMPETES Act, and we are very concerned about the possibility of a long-term CR that freezes funding for these agencies at FY08 levels.
Another delay in funding the America COMPETES Act would further erode our scientific leadership and talent base. Failing to build upon the additional funding provided for science in the FY08 emergency supplemental bill would represent a step backwards, again threatening our national laboratories and sending yet another negative signal to young scientists and students at our universities.
Congress, working with the White House, is once again faced with the challenge of making investments that can strengthen our nation’s ability to innovate and compete globally. We urge you to fully fund the America COMPETES Act.
Sincerely,
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD)
AeA (American Electronics Association)
American Chemical Society
American Geological Institute
American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering
American Mathematical Society
American Physical Society
American Society of Agronomy
American Statistical Society
American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)
Association of American Universities
ASTRA, The Alliance for Science & Technology Research in America
Battelle
Business Roundtable
Computing Research Association
Computing Technology Industry Association
Crop Science Society of America
Duke University
Energy Sciences Coalition
Fairchild Semiconductor
The Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology
Freescale Semiconductor
Georgia Institute of Technology
General Atomics
IBM Corporation
IEEE-USA
Intel Corporation
LSI Corporation
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Materials Research Society
Micron Technology
NASULGC, A Public University Association
National Semiconductor Corporation
National User Facility Organization
New York University
Northrop Grumman Corporation
ON Semiconductor Corporation
Optical Society of America
Penn State University
Princeton University
The Procter & Gamble Company
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
The Science Coalition
Semiconductor Industry Association
Semiconductor Research Corporation
Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics
Soil Science Society of America
Southeastern Universities Research Association
SPIE, The International Society for Optical Engineering
Stanford University
Sun Microsystems
Technology CEO Council
Texas Instruments
University of California, Davis
University of Illinois
University of Iowa
University of Michigan
University of Minnesota
University of Pittsburgh
University of Virginia
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Universities Research Association, Inc.
Vanderbilt University
Washington University in St. Louis
Xilinx Corporation
Yale
cc: The Honorable Robert C. Byrd, Chair, Senate Appropriations Committee
The Honorable Thad Cochran, Ranking Member, Senate Appropriations Committee
The Honorable Barbara A. Mikulski, Chair, Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Subcommittee
The Honorable Richard C. Shelby, Ranking Member, Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Subcommittee
The Honorable Byron L. Dorgan, Energy and Water Development Subcommittee
The Honorable Pete V. Domenici, Energy and Water Development Subcommittee
Joshua B. Bolten, Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff
James Nussle, Director, Office of Management and Budget
John H. Marburger, III, Director, Office of Science and Technology Policy