Pete Sessions: “The original intent also of a piece of legislation that we have goes back to 1950. The legislation that created the…”

“The original intent also of a piece of legislation that we have goes back to 1950. The legislation that created the National Science Foundation was there at the time to support science that was in the national interest. Unfortunately, the NSF has funded too many wasteful projects under the ideas that have been presented to us by the Science, Space, and Technology Committee, the purposes of which were probably nebulous at best, which would be the argument that Chairman Lamar Smith made with us, and which were, clearly, not necessarily in the national interest. We heard testimony that every single project that the National Science Foundation handled was in the American people's best interest. We think that our discussion with Members of Congress today will show them that we need to change the wording to where the national interest is obligatory to a proposal before a proposal is given. You have to prove it is in the Nation's best interest to spend money. Examples of such projects include $700,000 to create a climate change-themed musical, $38,000 to study prehistoric rabbit hunting on the Iberian Peninsula, and--perhaps my favorite of all--$605,000 to study why people around the world cheat on their taxes. Mr. Speaker, this is hard-earned money that was spent that I do not believe was in the national interest.…”