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What They Are Saying: Cuts to Research Funding Will Hurt Patients, Economy, and America’s Global Leadership
Members of Congress on both sides warn of consequences of irresponsible cuts to research budgets, including handing global leadership over to China
WASHINGTON, D.C. – This week, the Senate Appropriations Committee held a hearing entitled “Biomedical Research: Keeping America’s Edge in Innovation” – the first full-committee hearing of the 119th Congress. Science and Technology Action Committee (STAC) Co-Chair Sudip Parikh, serving as a bipartisan witness, testified to share his grave concern about recent and proposed budget cuts to the biomedical research enterprise. These cuts, Dr. Parikh warned, will have immediate and long-term implications for the patients that depend on this incredible engine of discovery for treatment, for the economic growth that is a direct result of the success of this enterprise, and for America’s ability to win the innovation race in an era of unprecedented competitiveness.
When discussing the dangers of proposed budget cuts, Dr. Parikh said, “If those dollar numbers – anywhere from 20%-45% – are real, I want to be really clear: we are no longer in a race with China on biomedical research. We will have lost that race.”
Republicans and Democrats on the committee shared their concerns as well:
- “For more than 75 years, the United States has been the world leader in scientific research and technological innovation. We earned this position through the hard work of countless researchers, and scientists, and their staff, many whom trusted their careers to the culture of science built by the American people. At the heart of that culture is the strategy coordinating grant-based research at university and private labs funded through the National Science Foundation, the National Institute of Health, the Department of Defense, the Department of Energy, and many other federal agencies.” – Senator Susan Collins (R-ME), Chair of the Senate Committee on Appropriations
- “China is already trying to seize the moment and recruit some of the brightest talent, and the same for Europe.” – Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Committee on Appropriations
- “There is not one American, not one, who doesn’t benefit by the research that takes place in the search for that cure or treatment for disease and affliction… this task of finding the cure for diseases, there is no one who loses, there is no one that has not benefitted, even if they or their families or people they know haven’t experienced the diseases that we’re trying to find the cure for.” – Senator Jerry Moran (R-KS)
- “What’s happening is the wholescale abandonment of billions of dollars of research… all across our country we are devastating the next generation of researchers, we are harming our nation and giving China the opening of a lifetime to recruit the best and brightest from around the world.” – Senator Chris Coons (D-DE)
- “We understand that smart investment and continued research is essential so that we can save lives and change lives moving forward.” – Senator Katie Britt (R-AL)
- “We’re going to pay for this not just in lives and children’s lives right now but we’re going to pay for this for a century. Irreversible damage has already been done, and it’s an outrage. And I hope that this hearing demonstrates that there is bipartisan rejection of these policies here in the United States Senate and I hope that we’ll follow up this hearing with real action.” – Senator Jon Ossoff (D-GA)
America is at a crossroads. Before us is the choice to take radical action to ensure the U.S. continues to lead the world in innovation and problem solving, or to allow our future to be decided for us. If we do not correct course and fortify our science & technology leadership, the U.S. will be permanently relegated to a follower. The Vision for American Science and Technology (VAST), a project of STAC, is a bipartisan-led gameplan to secure our global leadership, allowing everyday Americans to reap the benefits. Learn more at VASTFuture.org.
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About STAC | sciencetechaction.org | [email protected]
The Science & Technology Action Committee (STAC) is a group of non-profit, academic, foundation, and corporate leaders working to dramatically strengthen U.S. science and technology. The Committee is co-chaired by: Bill Novelli, Professor Emeritus and founder of Business for Impact at Georgetown University and former CEO of AARP, Sudip Parikh, CEO, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and Executive Publisher of the Science Family of Journals, Mary Woolley, President & CEO of Research!America, and Keith Yamamoto, Vice Chancellor for Science Policy and Strategy at UCSF and Past President of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).