[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 64 (Thursday, May 10, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E770]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      HONORING NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION FOR 50 YEARS OF SERVICE

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                           HON. RUSH D. HOLT

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                          Tuesday, May 8, 2001

  Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the National Science 
Foundation on the 50th anniversary of this excellent and important 
agency. The NSF has been the central advocate for basic and applied 
scientific research in five decades of service to this country.
  Before NSF came into existence in 1950, government-sponsored research 
system for the sciences was disjointed. Different government agencies 
had made advances in areas as far-reaching as medical research and 
atomic energy. Under President Truman, the NSF was directed, among 
other things, to forge a national policy for the promotion of basic 
research and science and math education. The success of the Soviet 
Union's space program, exhibited through the successful launch of 
Sputnik, focused new attention on the need to promote science research 
and education at all levels. This was done through a strengthened 
relationship among the government, universities and researchers, with 
the Foundation in the lead.
  NSF built a project grant system that President Eisenhower found so 
effective he promoted it as a government-wide model. Proposals were 
widely solicited from all geographic areas and from all branches of 
science, including the social sciences. Scientific merit was the main 
criterion for award. The prestige of American scientists was encouraged 
through NSF's support of international travel by its project teams and 
by sponsoring scientific symposia and conferences.
  In its early support for science education, NSF increased the number 
and quality of scientists nationwide that could be used as its research 
base. Many of today's leading scientists owe their training to the NSF. 
This was accomplished through a fellowship program for graduate 
students and post-doctoral scientists.
  NSF took the lead in performing ``big science,'' which eventually 
became a sizable percentage of their budget. The Foundation was able to 
conduct programs that required facilities and instrumentation so costly 
that only the government could afford them. These facilities were open 
to all researchers and led to major developments in atmospheric 
research and radio and optical astronomy. Big-science projects at NSF 
also led to major breakthroughs in the theories of the shape of the 
universe, continental drift, and sea floor spreading.
  NSF's role has been essential in producing science that could enhance 
America's competitiveness. In an effort to improve science and math 
education, NSF received a big boost in its budget in the mid-1950s for 
teacher institutes, other educational projects and new curricula in 
physics, biology, chemistry, and mathematics. Although Congressional 
support for education at the NSF has wavered over the years, based on 
each Administration's commitment to science, the need continues to 
increase as we find ourselves in an increasingly technological society.
  The environmental movement provided a context for the growing 
interest in applied science, and new legislation authorized the 
Foundation to support applied, as well as basic, research. As President 
Kennedy stated on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the National 
Academy of Sciences, ``scientists alone can establish the objectives of 
their research, but society, in extending support to science, must take 
account of their own needs.'' The science-government relationship is an 
essential one, both for the betterment of our society and for the 
advancement of mankind. NSF has been a leader in this area, and I am 
sure that we will be celebrating a full century of their contributions 
fifty years from now.

                          ____________________