[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 57 (Tuesday, April 8, 2014)]
[House]
[Pages H2996-H2997]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              DISASTROUS EFFECTS OF RYAN REPUBLICAN BUDGET

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
Texas (Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, as the ranking 
member of the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, I feel 
compelled to talk to you today about the disastrous effects the Ryan 
budget would have on our country's research and development enterprise 
and, consequently, the disastrous effect this budget would have on 
America's future competitiveness.
  As others have pointed out, the Republican budget cuts nondefense 
discretionary spending by $1.3 trillion below the baseline 2014 
spending level, adjusted for inflation. These are massive cuts on top 
of a budget that has already had large reductions in recent years.
  The effects on research and development would be dramatic. The 
American Association for the Advancement of

[[Page H2997]]

Science estimates that the Ryan budget would cut civilian research and 
development by $92 billion from the current baseline and $112 billion 
below the President's budget request.
  These are striking reductions. Please keep in mind that the National 
Science Foundation's total annual budget is just over $7 billion. The 
Republican budget cuts more research and development funding every year 
than the entire annual budget of the National Science Foundation.
  This is insanity. My colleagues on the other side of the aisle have 
truly divorced themselves from reality if they think these cuts to 
research and development won't cripple our country for decades to come.
  Let's talk about what the Republicans want to cut.
  It is estimated that technological innovation has led to the majority 
of America's economic growth since World War II. Much of this 
innovation has been funded by the Federal Government.
  Think back to the first grants that NASA gave Robert Noyce's upstart 
company in the 1960s. Of course, he went on to be the founder of Intel, 
the largest computer chip maker in the world. Or think of the NSF 
research grant that led to the creation of Google. The very Internet 
itself was initially funded as a research project by the Department of 
Defense and rolled out by the National Science Foundation.
  You can look at virtually every aspect of our high-tech industry and 
the economy and find a connection to Federal research and development 
funding. To make dramatic and drastic cuts to R&D funding in the name 
of deficit reduction is truly shortsighted.
  My friend and former CEO of Lockheed Martin, Norm Augustine, 
frequently gives the following analogy. When an airplane is overloaded 
and too heavy to fly, you don't cut weight by chopping off the engines. 
I think that is a great analogy, because that is exactly what this 
budget does. It cuts off the engine of American innovation.
  It would be bad enough if these deep cuts only affected research and 
development, but the Ryan budget will also painfully cut education 
funding. Indexed for inflation, that budget would cut hundreds of 
billions of dollars from precollege and college education programs.
  Let's put these education cuts in context.
  In the last international student assessment, U.S. students ranked 
26th in mathematics and 21st in science. We are falling behind our 
economic competitors in STEM education. The Republican solution to this 
problem is to throw in the towel. These educational cuts sell our 
children out, plain and simple.
  Taken together, the cuts to research and education in this Ryan 
budget paint a dark picture of America's future. It is a picture where 
America no longer leads the world in innovation. It is a picture where 
our children are not prepared for the rigors of a competitive 21st 
century global marketplace. It is a picture of America in decline.
  I reject this future. I call upon my colleagues on both sides of the 
aisle to reject the Ryan Republican budget that sells America short 
and, instead, show support for robust education and research funding 
and a strong American future.

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