Senator Gramm on Federal Support of Research

The following are selections from the remarks of Senator Phil Gramm R-Texas) accompanying the introduction of S. 1305, the National Research Investment Act of 1998. See FYI #135 for the remarks of Senators Joseph Lieberman (D-Connecticut) and Jeff Bingaman (D-New Mexico.)

SENATOR GRAMM:

“President Clinton has talked a lot about building a bridge to the 21st century and, our philosophical differences aside, I want to help him build that bridge -- with Bucky Balls.

“‘Bucky Ball’ is the nickname for Buckminsterfullerene, a molecular form of carbon that was discovered by Professors Robert F. Curl and Richard E. Smalley of Rice University in Houston. They won the 1996 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for this discovery.”

"...their discovery was a breakthrough that will have scientific and practical applications across a wide variety of fields, from electrical conduction to the delivery of medicine into the human body.”

"...because we encourage the kind of thinking that leads to discoveries like Bucky Balls, the United States stands as the economic, military, and intellectual leader of the world. We achieved this not by accident, but by a common, unswerving conviction that America’s future was something to plan for, invest in, and celebrate. Using the products of imagination and hard work, from Winchester rifles and steam engines to space shuttles, Americans built a nation. We’re still building, but for what we need in the next century, we’re going to have to turn to people like Curl and Smalley to give us materials like Bucky Balls, and the Government has a role to play.

“Unfortunately, over the past 30 years, the American Government has set different priorities. In 1965, 5.7 percent of the Federal budget was spent on nondefense research and development. Thirty-two years later in 1997, that figure has dropped by two-thirds. We spend a lot more money than we did in 1965, but we spend it on social programs, not science. We invest in the next elections, not the next generation.

“The United States is underinvesting in basic research. That’s right. The author of the landmark deficit reduction legislation known today as Gramm-Rudman supports the idea of the Government spending more money on something.”

“If we, as a country, do not restore the high priority once afforded science and technology in the Federal budget and increase Federal investment in research, it will be impossible to maintain the U.S. position as the technological leader of the world. Since 1970, Japan and Germany have spent a larger share of their national income on research and development than we have. We can no longer afford to fall behind. Expanding the Nation’s commitment to research in basic science and medicine is a critically important investment in the future of our Nation. It means saying no to many programs with strong political support, but by expanding research we are saying yes to jobs and prosperity in the future.

“I believe that if we want the 21st century to be a place worth building a bridge to, and if we want to maintain the U.S. position as the leader of the free world, then we need to restore the prominence that research and technology once had in the Federal budget. Our parent’s generation fought two World Wars, overcame some of the worst economic conditions in the history of our Nation, and yet still managed to invest in America’s future. We have an obligation to do at least an equal amount for our children and grandchildren.

“Over the past 30 years, we have not lived up to this obligation, but it isn’t too late to change our minds. The discovery of Bucky Balls is a testament to the resilience of the American scientific community. I believe that if we once again give scientists and researchers the support that they deserve, if we make the same commitment to our children’s future that our parents made to ours, then the 21st century promises to be one of unlimited potential.

“America is a great and powerful country for two reasons. First, we have had more freedom and opportunity than any other people who have ever lived and with that freedom and opportunity people like us have been able to achieve extraordinary things. Second, we have invested more in science than any people in history. Science has given us the tools and freedom has allowed us to put them to work. If we preserve freedom and invest in science, there is no limit on the future of the American people. I urge my colleagues to cosponsor this important legislation.”