[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 31 (Thursday, March 11, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2700-S2701]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

  Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, this Nation has always been driven 
forward by a passion for discovery and a sense of adventure. From our 
earliest days as a nation, these deeply rooted American qualities have 
spurred our determination to explore new scientific frontiers and 
sparked our entrepreneurial spirit of technological innovation. We know 
in our very fiber that America's strength, prosperity, and global 
preeminence depend directly on scientific research and technological 
innovation.
  This is not conjecture. The scientific and economic record of the 
past half-century constitutes overwhelming proof. Yet, today, our 
scientific progress, and the high-tech, high-wage jobs it creates, are 
at risk because the Bush administration is failing to sustain America's 
commitment to basic research.
  The Federal Government has seen its research and development, R&D, 
investments steadily decline as a share of

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the U.S. economy, bringing the federal investment down to levels not 
seen since the midsixties. Federal R&D has declined in dollar terms 
over many years, and even in years when the investment has increased, 
it has declined sharply relative to our economic growth rate, barely 
keeping pace with inflation. Physical sciences, math, and engineering 
have been particularly affected.
  Unfortunately, the administration's R&D budgets only worsen this 
trend. Although Federal funding is set to increase 4.7 percent, nearly 
all of that increase would go to only two Departments--the Departments 
of Defense and Homeland Security--for the development of weapons 
systems and counterterrorism technology. These are necessary 
investments that will make our Nation safer. But the remaining Federal 
R&D investments, which generate new knowledge, improve healthcare, and 
protect the environment, will actually shrink.
  This failure to adequately invest in America's research portfolio is 
taking a toll on the work of America's scientists, and it will affect 
the lives of all Americans. In my home State of South Dakota, the Earth 
Research Observation System does work that helps us become more 
responsible stewards of the environment, while increasing the yields of 
farmers all over the world. But this research is being endangered 
because of the administration's severe budget cuts.
  You don't need to be a rocket scientist to figure out why funding is 
being cut for nearly all nondefense basic-science and technology 
programs. These vital investments in America's future are being cut to 
provide enormous tax breaks for large corporations and the wealthy 
elite. This is short-sighted, and it is dangerous. The President's own 
science advisors warn that Federal support for physical sciences and 
engineering is dropping, while U.S. student enrollment in those 
disciplines also continues to fall. Reversing these trends is crucial 
to our Nation's future.
  We are on the verge of a new industrial world order. Already, almost 
any service that can be delivered in bits and bytes and does not 
require face-to-face interaction with customers is up for grabs. The 
big winners in the intense global struggle for economic predominance 
will not be those who simply produce products cheaper and faster than 
their competition. The big winners will be those countries that nurture 
the talent, discover the techniques, and invent the tools so advanced 
there is no competition.
  Unfortunately, measured in terms of the number of scientific 
publications, science is growing faster in the European Union than in 
the U.S., according to 15 key indicators related to human resources, 
investment, and scientific productivity. This ought to raise red flags 
for all of us. Economic growth follows scientific discovery, and if 
America falls behind in science, the fallout will ripple throughout our 
economy, dragging down productivity and slowing job creation.
  The administration's disregard for science extends beyond budgetary 
choices. Just last month, the Union of Concerned Scientists released a 
report charging that the White House has systematically undermined the 
spirit of objective science. The report states that the Bush 
administration ``has suppressed or distorted the scientific analyses of 
federal agencies to bring these results in line with administration 
policy.''
  Time and again, the administration is choosing politics over rational 
science.
  South Dakotans know what this is like. The Missouri River is part of 
the cultural and economic heart of our State. In recent years, a broad 
scientific consensus has developed that mismanagement by the Army Corps 
of Engineers is harming the Missouri River, and that the flow of the 
river should be restored to a more natural state to protect the ecology 
and habitat of endangered species. Just last year, an analysis by the 
top scientists at the administration's Fish and Wildlife Service 
confirmed this consensus. And yet the administration set aside the 
scientists' report, replaced the scientists with another panel more to 
its liking, and today continues to fight court orders requiring more 
responsible stewardship.
  The St. Louis Post-Dispatch recently ran an editorial saying, ``As 
purges go, this one has Stalinesque subtlety.'' And that is from a 
leading newspaper in the area that supposedly would benefit 
economically from the Corps' decision.
  The White House's 2001 report on global warming is another troubling 
case study in the politicization of science. When the science pointed 
to the fact that fossil fuel production and consumption contributes to 
global warming, the White House deleted that finding from the report. 
In its place, they inserted a reference to an opposing study that was 
financed by the American Petroleum Institute. Whenever the 
administration has had the opportunity, it has stacked the deck by 
staffing research boards and advisory councils with researchers who 
have shown allegiance to the White House's political goals.
  Just last week, the President dismissed two advisers from his Council 
on Bioethics because of their positions on stem cell research. And last 
month, HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson admitted that his agency had made a 
mistake in altering the conclusions of scientists who found significant 
and pervasive racial disparities in health care in the United States. I 
am pleased that this ``mistake'' has been rectified, but concerned that 
it only happened after an investigation uncovered that the Department 
had altered scientific conclusions in order to downplay the problem of 
unequal health care for minorities.
  This is not real science. This is ``vending machine science.'' The 
administration thinks it can pull a lever and get the results it wants. 
For the sake of short-term political gain, the administration is basing 
its decisions on weak science. As a result, it is putting at risk 
America's economic strength, our future prosperity, and our health and 
safety.
  That is why increasing numbers of leaders in government, industry, 
and academia--all concerned about sustaining U.S. leadership across the 
frontiers of scientific knowledge--are beginning to question whether 
the United States is starting to lose its edge in basic scientific 
research. They worry that the Bush administration, by undercutting 
scientific research in key areas, has lost sight of the importance of 
long-term investments that help create the necessary conditions for 
prosperity. They worry that this failure of intellectual leadership 
will erode the high standing American science has achieved in the past 
half-century.
  Their apprehension is well justified.
  The pace of scientific discovery is quickening. Research is more 
important to the day-to-day lives of Americans than ever before. 
Cutting back on research at the dawn of this new century would be like 
cutting our defense budget at the height of World War II. Leadership 
across the frontiers of scientific knowledge is not merely a cultural 
tradition of our Nation; today, it is an economic and security 
imperative.
  We must ensure that America remains at the epicenter of the ongoing 
revolution in scientific research and technological innovation that 
generates new knowledge, creates new jobs, and builds new industries. 
By sustaining our investments in fundamental research, we can ensure 
that America remains at the forefront of scientific capability, thereby 
enhancing our ability to shape and improve our Nation's future and the 
world's future.

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