[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 105 (Monday, July 29, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7500-S7502]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. KENNEDY (for himself, Mr. Hollings, Mr. Bond, and Ms. 
        Mikulski):
  S. 2817. A bill to authorize appropriations for fiscal years 2003, 
2004, 2005, 2006, and 2007 for the National Science Foundation, and for 
other purposes; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 
Pensions.
  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I am pleased to introduce today the 
National Science Foundation Doubling Act. This important legislation 
has been crafted with the extensive cooperation of Senator Hollings, 
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
Transportation, Senator Mikulski and Senator Bond, the respective Chair 
and Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Appropriations 
Subcommittee on Veterans Affairs, Housing and Urban Development, and 
Independent Agencies. I commend each of them for their leadership in 
federal support for the sciences .
  The National Science Foundation, NSF, has two key missions, and it 
carries both of them out well. It supports basic research and 
development in math, science, engineering, and technology, and it 
promotes math and science learning at every level, from K-12 through 
post-graduate education.
  NSF has funded basic research leading to the creation of speech 
recognition software, MRI machines, and even World Wide Web browsers 
such as Netscape and Microsoft's Internet Explorer. In education, NSF 
initiatives of the late 1980s were the forerunners of the standards-
based school reform movement embraced throughout the Nation today.
  We can and should build on NSF's distinguished record in improving 
the lives of millions of Americans. The 20th Century was the era of the 
industrial age, and the 21st Century will be the era of information 
technology and the life sciences. With the leadership of Senator Harkin 
and others, we have doubled the budget of the National Institutes of 
Health over the last five years. We should do the same for NSF. We 
should double our support for research and development in theoretical 
mathematics and the physical sciences, because they support advances in 
the health sciences and because they are also valuable in their own 
right.
  As former Senator Glenn has pointed out so frequently, we need to do 
much more to interest young minds in math and science and recruit 
tomorrow's scientists and engineers. Over the next 10 years, the number 
of jobs requiring technical skills will grow by 50 percent. 
Unfortunately, high school student performance on math and science 
exams is alarmingly low. The number of American students studying the 
sciences at the post-secondary level is flat. Too many women and 
minorities continue to shy away from the sciences.
  The bill we are introducing today authorizes a doubling of the NSF 
budget over the next five years. It makes sense to match the growth of 
NIH. As we enhance research and development in the life sciences, we 
should also be strengthening research and development in the physical 
sciences.
  This legislation also builds on NSF's Systemic Initiatives by 
supporting a Secondary School Systemic Initiative to develop models to 
improve high school student math and science performance and 
preparation for college-level or technical work.
  The bill supports model Math and Science Partnerships between 
institutions of higher education and local school districts to improve 
the knowledge and teaching techniques of current math and science 
teachers.
  The bill supports institutions of higher education in increasing the

[[Page S7501]]

number of students, particularly women and minorities, who study toward 
and obtain degrees in science, math, engineering, and technology.
  Finally, the bill reforms NSF's program on major research and 
facilities equipment, to help prioritize projects and guard against 
cost overruns and non-merit reviewed proposals.
  Scientific discovery and development continues to set America apart 
from other Nations and is one of our enduring legacies. The National 
Science Foundation Doubling Act is a solid piece of legislation 
building on our Nation's history in the sciences and promoting a better 
future. It deserves to be considered quickly, and I believe favorably, 
by the United States Senate.
  Mr. HOLLINGS. Mr. President, I join my colleagues, Senator Kennedy, 
and Senator Mikulski and Senator Bond, in introducing this bill to 
authorize the National Science Foundation through FY 2007. My friends 
and I represent three Committees with a strong interest in NSF, and we 
chose a straightforward title for the name of this bill, the NSF 
Doubling Act, because our intentions our simple and straightforward. 
Congress's intent is to double NSF's budget by fiscal year 2007. NSF is 
the Nation's premier federal science agency that invests in basic 
research across all disciplines that is on the frontiers of science. In 
1945, Vannevar Bush's report for President Roosevelt led to the 
establishment of the National Science Foundation. Since then, this 
nation has been on a path of solid investment in the scientific 
research that underlies our future economic health and well being. It's 
no mistake that Alan Greenspan and other important economists have 
noted that more than one-half of our Nation's economic growth since 
World War I has stemmed from technology driven by science.
  By next year, we in Congress will have succeeded in our goal to 
double the budget of the National Institutes of Health. I applaud that 
effort. But as scientific disciplines have become fundamentally 
interdependent, advances in the health sciences necessarily depend on 
advances in math, computer science, and engineering. NSF is the only 
Federal agency specifically charged with ensuring a broad and deep base 
of fundamental knowledge across disciplines. This mission is critical 
to technological innovation, our economy, and our general health and 
welfare as a Nation.
  I have said that our intentions are simple and straightforward. So 
let me set out three simple reasons why this doubling is vital to our 
future:
  The first concerns our security. Not only does NSF fund areas, such 
as cyber security, that are critical to protecting our nation, but NSF 
is the agency that takes the lead in ensuring that this country has 
sufficient human capital to ensure our continued world leadership in 
science and technology. The Hart-Rudman Commission on National Security 
warned that our failure to invest in science and to reform math and 
science education was the second biggest threat to our national 
security, only the threat of a weapon of mass destruction in an 
American city was a greater danger. NSF invests in math and science 
education from kindergarten all the way through to the post-doctoral 
level and beyond. This bill allows the Foundation to increase that 
investment, while reaffirming our commitment to women, minorities, and 
people with disabilities. These underrepresented groups, together, make 
up more than half of our Nation's work force and are only increasing. 
Letting these groups fall by the wayside would not only threaten our 
economic competitiveness, but also our national security.
  Second pertains to our economy. I have already talked about science 
and technology driving our economic growth. Let me give just one 
example of how NSF's investments can spur our economy. NSF is the 
leading agency in the National Nanotechnology Initiative. 
Nanotechnology, which is the science of manipulating matter at the 
atomic and molecular level, will cut across every scientific 
discipline, including materials and manufacturing, healthcare and 
medicine, energy and the environment, agriculture, biotechnology, 
information technology, and national security. Worldwide, the market 
for nanotechnology is expected to be $1 trillion annually within 10 to 
15 years. NSF's cross-disciplinary approach, which includes 
groundbreaking research into the way society and this new technology 
will interact, will help this nation take advantage of Nanotechnology 
sooner, better, and with greater confidence.
  The third involves basic research. NSF is responsible for the overall 
health and well-being of the research enterprise in this country. One 
way NSF does this is through continued support for the EPSCoR program. 
EPSCoR supports the development of the science and technology resources 
of individual States like South Carolina, through partnerships that 
involve the State's universities, industry, government, and the Federal 
research and development enterprise. For example, NSF supports an 
Engineering Research Center focused on advanced fibers and films at 
Clemson University that, through partnerships and continued investment 
over the next 10 years, will make Clemson the national leader in 
advanced fibers and films technologies.
  I think these arguments are solid, simple, and straightforward. We 
can talk about NSF's past outstanding contributions to science. We can 
talk about the future and the importance of science and technology to 
our economy. But, where the rubber meets the road, we have to stop 
talking and invest, with real money, in the science and engineering 
enterprise that will guaranty the health, economic viability, and 
security of our future. I, for one, appreciate the hard work that NSF 
has done over the past 52 years promoting the progress of science, and 
I urge my Senate colleagues to support me in providing this agency the 
resources needed to conquer tomorrow.
  Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I rise today to express my strong support 
for the National Science Foundation Doubling Act of 2002. As an 
original co-sponsor, I am pleased to join my colleagues, Senators 
Kennedy, Hollings, and Mikulski in introducing this important 
legislation that will strengthen the long-term economic competitiveness 
and health of our Nation. As an appropriator and as an authorizer of 
NSF, I have a special interest in NSF and the basic science research it 
supports. I believe this bill underscores the critical role NSF plays 
in the economic and intellectual growth and well-being of this Nation.
  As many of my colleagues know, Senator Mikulski and I have led a 
bipartisan, bi-cameral effort to double NSF's budget and this 
reauthorization bill further supports our doubling effort over a five-
year period. NSF is funding innovative and cutting-edge research in 
nanotechnology, plant biotechnology, and information technology. 
Doubling NSF's funding is not only important for these research 
programs but also in the area of education. NSF plays a valuable role 
in supporting math and science education and developing the Nation's 
supply of scientists and engineers in this country.
  Unfortunately, despite our efforts on the appropriations committee, 
the Federal Government has not provided adequate support to NSF and the 
physical sciences in general. I believe the lack of adequate support 
for the physical sciences puts our Nation's capabilities for scientific 
innnovation at risk and, equally important, at risk of falling behind 
other industrial nations.
  Further, doctors throughout Missouri and the country have told me 
that despite the tremendous support we have provided for the life 
sciences, their research in the biomedical field will stagnate without 
adequate government support of the physical sciences that NSF supports. 
Many medical technologies such as magnetic resonance imaging, 
ultrasound, digital mammography and genomic mapping could not have 
occurred, and cannot improve to the next level of proficiency, without 
NSF-supported work in biology, physics, chemistry, mathematics, 
engineering, and computer sciences. Simply put: supporting NSF supports 
NIH.
  The high-tech industry also in concerned about NSF funding because 
they are struggling to find qualified homegrown engineers and 
scientists and becoming more reliant on foreign nationals to fill their 
positions. Many notable researchers in the high-tech industry have told 
me that the significant shortages of trained American engineers and 
scientists have limited the growth potential of the electronics and 
software industries and allowed foreign

[[Page S7502]]

competitors to catch up to U.S. industry capabilities.

  To address the development of tech talent in this country, NSF 
provides a wide array of support to preK-12, undergraduate, and 
graduate level schools. One new important tool is the Math and Science 
partnership program--a new joint program between NSF and the Department 
of Education. This program encourages partnerships among local school 
systems, higher education entities, and other organizations to improve 
student outcomes in math and science for all students.
  Another important tool that I support is the tech talent program. 
This program was initiated at the urging of me and my Senate 
colleagues--Senators Lieberman, Frist, Mikulski, and Domenici. Last 
year, we introduced S. 1549, the Tech Talent Act to improve 
undergraduate education in math, science, engineering, and technology. 
We provided $5 million in the Fiscal Year 2002 VA-HUD and Independent 
Agencies Appropriations Act to jumpstart this important initiative and 
another $20 million was added in the fiscal year 2003 bill that passed 
the Appropriations Committee last week. NSF has already received 177 
applications requesting an aggregate sum of almost $60 million.
  Lastly, I am very supportive of efforts to improve the accountability 
of NSF's programs and activities--especially those projects funded 
through the major research equipment and facilities construction 
account. The bill includes a number of provisions to ensure that 
funding decisions on large research facilities are done in a rationale 
and understandable manner.
  Before the bill reaches the floor, I hope to work with my colleagues 
on addressing other issues related to the National Science Board. As 
the budget for NSF grows, it is important that the Board has the tools 
it needs to fulfill its statutory responsibilities. Specifically, we 
need to provide the chairman of the Board the authority to hire its own 
staff to support the Board's oversight and policy-making 
responsibilities and to ensure that it can provide the Congress and the 
President with independent science policy advice. These tools will also 
ensure that the Board is not a ``rubber stamp'' for the Director of 
NSF.
  I urge my colleagues to support this bill. I understand that some of 
my colleagues have concerns about the bill, but I believe that overall, 
this is a good bill. I look forward to working with my colleagues in 
the Senate and the House in moving a strong bipartisan NSF 
reauthorization bill and in advancing our effort to double NSF's 
budget.
  I thank the Chair.

                          ____________________