Sam Brownback: “ours is a remarkable Nation. America is the home to 90 of the top 100 universities. Americans work an average of 300…”

“ours is a remarkable Nation. America is the home to 90 of the top 100 universities. Americans work an average of 300 hours more per year than our friends in Europe. More patents are applied for in this Nation each year than in all of the EU member states combined. We lead the world in research and development. Perhaps the area in which our labor and investment will have the most profound impact, is in field of the life sciences. This year our Nation met a remarkable goal. In the span of the last 5 years we have doubled our financial commitment to basic health research funding. Those funds will go toward saving and extending the lives of, and improving the quality of life for, people around the world. Our history has proven that when this Nation is resolute and determined, we can achieve remarkable things. In 1939, the United States was producing 800 military airplanes per year. At the onset of World War II, President Roosevelt challenged the Nation to increase manufacturing to 4,000 planes per month. By the end of 1943, in perhaps the greatest industrial feat in history, the United States was producing 8,000 military aircraft per month. On May 5, 1961, the United States launched Mercury 3 and Alan Shepard became the first American in space, spending a total of 15 minutes and 28 seconds in sub-orbit. Twenty days later President Kennedy addressed a joint session of Congress and proposed that our Nation land a man on the moon before the end of the decade.”