AAPM, AAS, AGU, AIP, APS, and OSA Issue Statement on Scientific Research

In an unprecedented effort to increase federal research funding, 23 organizations spanning the scientific and engineering community have issued a Joint Statement on Scientific Research calling for an increase in federal research budgets in the range of 7 percent for FY 1998. At a well-attended press conference this afternoon in Washington, D.C., American Physical Society President D. Allan Bromley and American Astronomical Society President Andrea Dupree joined with the presidents of the American Chemical Society and American Mathematical Society in calling on Congress and the Clinton Administration “to renew the nation’s historical commitment to scientific research and education.”

This effort is notable because the 23 organizations represent a cross section of scientific and engineering disciplines, representing 108 different societies, associations, and organizations with well over 1,000,000 members. The text of the Joint Statement on Scientific Research follows:

“As the federal government develops its spending plans for Fiscal Year 1998, we call upon the President and Members of Congress to renew the nation’s historical commitment to scientific research and education by providing the requisite funding for the federal agencies charged with these responsibilities. Our call is based upon two fundamental principles that are well accepted by policy makers in both political parties.

- The federal investment in scientific research is vital to four national goals: our economic competitiveness, our medical health, our national security and our quality of life.

- Scientific disciplines are interdependent; therefore, a comprehensive approach to science funding provides the greatest opportunity for reaching these goals.

We strongly believe that for our nation to meet the challenges of the next century, agencies charged with carrying out scientific research and education require increases in their respective research budgets of 7 percent for Fiscal Year 1998. These agencies include, among others, the NSF, NIH, DOE, DOD, and NASA. The increases we call for strike a balance between the current fiscal pressures and the need to invest in activities that enable long-term economic growth and productivity. Such increases would only partially restore the inflationary losses that most of these agencies suffered during the last few years.

Prudent planning argues for strengthening the respective activities of major research agencies, as already recognized in pending legislation. To constrain still further federal spending on their scientific programs would jeopardize the future well-being of our nation.”

This statement was endorsed by the Presidents (or the equivalent officer) of:

American Association of Physicists in Medicine
American Astronomical Society
American Chemical Society
American Geological Institute
American Geophysical Union
American Institute of Biological Sciences
American Institute of Physics
The American Institute of Professional Geologists
American Mathematical Society
The American Physical Society
American Society of Engineering Education
Association for Women in Mathematics
Association for Women in Science
Astronomical Society of the Pacific
Council on Undergraduate Research
Engineering Deans Council
Federation of Materials Societies
Geological Society of America
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.
Materials Research Society
Mathematical Association of America
Optical Society of America
Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics