On May 7 New York Congressman Sherwood Boehlert (R-Utica), chairman of the House Science Committee, introduced legislation to authorize increases in funding for the National Science Foundation (NSF) on the order of 15 percent per year over each of the next three federal fiscal years, as part of an effort to double the funding for the federal basic research and science agency. Titled The National Science Foundation Authorization Act of 2002, H.R. 4664, the bill has secured bipartisan support and the endorsement of numerous scientific societies and basic research advocacy organizations.
Boehlert, upon announcing the introduction of the legislation, said: "The thinking behind this bill is simple -- but not simple-minded: NSF fund
s research that is of critical importance to the future of the nation's economy -- including such areas as information technology and nanotechnology." He added: "In moving toward doubling, we are returning to the vision that Vannevar Bush laid out in the 1940s when he proposed a science agency that would be the preeminent funder of science for the federal government, with responsibilities across many areas of inquiry and application. Fifty-two years later, NSF is honorably attempting to fulfill that vision. We need to ensure that it succeeds."
Congressional support for the NSF has been growing in recent years and members of both parties, in both the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives, have called for an augmentation to the NSF budget to complement the successful effort to double funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) over five years.
"Scientific research at NSF has greatly enhanced our lives and has advanced science and technology," said Congressman Lamar Smith (R-Tex.), a co-sponsor of the bill. "Consider the benefits of better weather forecasting, the saved lives that result from MRIs and the promise of fiber optic telecommunications and nanotechnology that will drive our scientific efforts in the new century.
"This legislation recognizes the priority of research and development. We must continue to invest in the sciences or risk losing the ability to lead the world in scientific research," Smith said.
Cornell is, annually, a top recipient of NSF funding, and in 2001, the NSF awarded Cornell faculty, researchers and staff more than $76 million in grants, awards and contracts. One recent NSF award at Cornell provides $11.6 million over five years for a Center for Nanoscale Systems in Information Technologies to study the development of nanoscale electronics, photonics and magnetics. Researchers in the College of Human Ecology last year received $2.45 million over five years from the NSF to establish the multidisciplinary Cornell Institute for Research on Children.
The bill and bill summary can be found at the House Science Committee web site at www.house.gov/science.
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