Thomas Daschle: “this Nation has always been driven forward by a passion for discovery and a sense of adventure. From our earliest days…”

“this Nation has always been driven forward by a passion for discovery and a sense of adventure. From our earliest days as a nation, these deeply rooted American qualities have spurred our determination to explore new scientific frontiers and sparked our entrepreneurial spirit of technological innovation. We know in our very fiber that America's strength, prosperity, and global preeminence depend directly on scientific research and technological innovation. This is not conjecture. The scientific and economic record of the past half-century constitutes overwhelming proof. Yet, today, our scientific progress, and the high-tech, high-wage jobs it creates, are at risk because the Bush administration is failing to sustain America's commitment to basic research. The Federal Government has seen its research and development, R&D, investments steadily decline as a share of the U.S. economy, bringing the federal investment down to levels not seen since the midsixties. Federal R&D has declined in dollar terms over many years, and even in years when the investment has increased, it has declined sharply relative to our economic growth rate, barely keeping pace with inflation. Physical sciences, math, and engineering have been particularly affected. Unfortunately, the administration's R&D budgets only worsen this trend.”