News Release

Business, scientific, higher education groups laud President Obama's commitment to science

Business Announcement

American Physical Society

WASHINGTON, D.C. - In a letter recently sent to President Obama, more than 200 organizations, representing the nation's business, scientific and higher education communities, lauded the President for his outstanding leadership in advancing scientific research, innovation, and science and math education. Read the letter below.

Dear Mr. President:

On behalf of the nation's business, scientific, and higher education communities, we wish to commend you and your Administration for the extraordinary leadership you have shown in advancing the nation's investment in basic research, particularly research in the physical sciences and engineering. Working with a Congress that shares this priority, you have taken critical steps that will build long-term economic growth, address the nation's most significant challenges, and maintain our nation's global edge in technology and innovation.

We are especially pleased with the attention to research, as well as science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education, in the two appropriations measures you have already signed into law - the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and the Omnibus Appropriations Act for FY09. The Recovery Act makes significant one-time investments in the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), as well as other vital research agencies, that will create jobs over the next two years, assist our efforts to address our energy and climate challenges, and lay the foundation for our nation's long-term innovation, global competitiveness, and economic growth. The FY09 bill also includes significant resources for these and other agencies, an important step toward our mutual goal of significant, sustainable, and predictable annual increases for basic research funding.

While we await the details of your FY10 budget, we are pleased that the outline you announced last month signals a strong continuing investment in NSF and in DOE basic science. We anticipate that you will also propose in your complete budget to continue to strengthen the nation's investment in NIST as well as basic research at the Department of Defense.

Mr. President, we recognize the challenges our nation faces are more serious than those faced by any new President in recent history. We are confident that investments in science will result in new discoveries and innovations that can address many of these challenges. And we stand ready to work with you and the Congress to keep our nation on this path.

Sincerely,

Craig Barrett
Chairman, Intel

Lee Todd, Jr.
President, University of Kentucky and Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) Chair

Richard K. Templeton
President, Chairman and CEO
Texas Instruments

Alan I. Leshner
CEO, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

Shirley Tilghman
President, Princeton University and Association of American Universities (AAU) Chair

Jeffrey Wadsworth
President and CEO, Battelle

Norman R. Augustine
Retired Chairman and CEO
Lockheed Martin Corporation

Samuel Aronson
President, Brookhaven Science Associates and
Chair, National Laboratory Directors Council

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Read the letter in its entirety: http://www.aps.org/policy/upload/Innovation-Task-Force-letter-to-President-Obama-FINAL.pdf

The Task Force on the Future of American Innovation (http://www.futureofinnovation.org), a coalition of businesses and business organizations, scientific societies, and higher education associations, was founded in 2004 to advocate greater federal investments for basic research in the physical sciences and engineering.


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