Cuts in NASA Funding Short-sighted

The Electronic Industries Alliance (EIA) and the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) today commended Congressional leaders for agreeing to boost funding for basic research for physical sciences and innovation, but lamented steep reductions in the U.S. space exploration budget.

The Joint Funding Resolution, approved by the House of Representatives on Wednesday, will finance the federal government for the rest of the 2007 fiscal year (FY) and includes:

• $335 million more for research activities at the National Science Foundation (NSF);
• $200 million in new funds for the Department of Energy's Office of Science;
• $50 million more for National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST) physical science, nanotechnology and neutron research. NIST will also retain $128 million budgeted in FY06 for use on specific FY07 program priorities; and
• An additional $166 million for aeronautics research at the National Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA) but slices an alarming $550 million from the president's FY07 NASA budget request, which included full funding for the National Vision for U.S. Space Exploration.

"Congress has wisely chosen to invest in the research and technology that will make America a more competitive, prosperous nation," said Charlie Robinson, EIA's interim president and CEO. "While the continuing resolution's numbers do not quite meet those supported during the last Congress, this commitment in another year of tight budgets and level funding sends a clear and welcome signal about this Congress' priorities. Hopefully, this is just the first step toward a productive year on the innovation agenda."

"While we applaud the priority placed on aeronautics research in NASA's funding, we are deeply disappointed by the overall budget for the agency," Robinson added. "These short-sighted cuts jeopardize NASA's long-term mission."

"The U.S. is the world leader in technology because of our country's commitment to research," said Grant Seiffert, TIA president. "Congressional leaders get it, and I'm thrilled to see they have increased research and development funding, which will help ensure that U.S. companies will continue to compete without sacrificing their commitment to innovate."

EIA joined 36 corporations and trade associations in a Jan. 18 letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., calling for the funding increases passed by the House and by the Senate Appropriations Committees last year. The letter was a product of the Task Force on the Future of American Innovation, of which EIA and TIA are members. "These research investments are an essential element of the nation's efforts to strengthen its economic competitiveness, national security, and quality of life in the 21st century," they wrote. "Over time our investments in basic research result in innovations, create new industries and improve existing ones, produce jobs, and strengthen productivity."

EIA and TIA have long championed the need for greater funding of basic research in the physical sciences, a key plank of EIA's competitiveness agenda outlined in its 2004 policy playbook, The Technology Industry at an Innovation Crossroads.