In response to the President’s announcement, the Science and Technology Action Committee released the following statement.
Science and technology are critical to our nation’s future, but America invests just 0.7 percent of GDP in R&D today versus 1.9 percent in 1964. The U.S. has fallen to 14th globally in public investment in science and technology as a percentage of GDP. There is, however, a growing recognition that existential societal challenges, as well as maintaining global competitiveness, demand that we dramatically elevate U.S. investment in science and technology.
The American Jobs Plan includes an important $180 billion down payment on the need to expand our science and technology enterprise. This investment would help upgrade America’s research infrastructure, deliver resources essential to meet challenges in areas such as health, climate, energy and food and water, expand broadband access, and diversify and strengthen our STEM workforce. This down payment will help the U.S. to meet today’s challenges, and to compete and lead in the technologies of tomorrow, including AI, quantum computing and biotechnology. We look forward to working with President Biden and Congress to ensure this and other critical science and technology investments come to fruition.