Jerry Brown: “I think some of you may be asking why I am standing up here so frequently to defend a budget, an appropriation bill…”

“I think some of you may be asking why I am standing up here so frequently to defend a budget, an appropriation bill which cuts rather severely into some of my favorite programs, and I think all of you know my concern about research and development programs. The outlook for national research and development over the next 6 years, until 2002, is for a 25-percent cut. In my view, this will be catastrophic for the future of America. It is going to deprive us of the investments necessary for economic success and world competitiveness. This bill is making a small effort to prevent the faster erosion of this capability, and I commend the chairman for what he is doing to protect some of the key areas of research and development. Now, some of the areas that the gentleman is protecting are under attack from others who attack them not because they are not good research but because they do not like the fact that it is a partnership arrangement between a mature industry and the Federal Government.”