Political Quotes

“Mr. Chairman, I want to commend my good friend from Illinois for his strong commitment to advocating for scientific research. I share many of his concerns about the underlying bill, and I will be voting against this bill. However, I must also oppose this amendment. I agree with Mr. Foster and I disagree with the chairman on some of the attacks on some past grants that have been granted by the NSF. I think section 106 helps to avoid that. The first incarnation of what is now section 106 was the High Quality Research Act, which was unveiled nearly 2 years ago. I strongly opposed that, as did the vast majority of the research community, and we set about getting that changed. Through a series of discussions, the current language--vastly different and vastly improved from the original--was reached with a broad definition of national interest that does not do anything to undermine the gold-standard NSF peer review system. I invite all to read the section and decide for themselves, or to simply listen to the NSF and to the NSB, which oversees the NSF. As the chairman said, NSF Director France Cordova stated her support for section 106 at a committee hearing in February, saying it is ``very compatible with the NSF internal guidelines and with the mission statement of NSF.'' I applaud NSF for these new guidelines which explain to the public why each proposal is being funded and how it is in the national interest.…”