Roscoe Bartlett: “the cost of basic and applied research is priceless. Most Federal Government R&D is by the military with a current goal…”

“the cost of basic and applied research is priceless. Most Federal Government R&D is by the military with a current goal for basic research of 3 percent of the DOD budget. The National Science Foundation supports nearly 50 percent of the nonmedical basic research at our colleges and universities, including the University of Maryland, which comprises only 4 percent of Federal R&D spending. Federal Government military R&D spending peaked in 1962 and declined beginning in 1965 until President Reagan's first term, during which R&D rose and surpassed 1962 levels and peaked in 1987. It then declined in 1993. Beginning in fiscal year 1996, bipartisan support in the Congress supported increases in R&D above administration requests. Beginning in 2000 the downward trend was reversed. President Bush's increases have been increased further with bipartisan support. The United States spends a smaller percentage of our GDP on R&D than any other major industrial power. That is the exact equivalent of a farmer eating his seed corn. Tomorrow's innovations come from today's R&D. America will remain the world's premiere military and economic leader only if we increase our spending on R&D.”