President Reagan has proposed doubling the National Science Foundation (NSF) basic research budget by 1992. Equally important, he states in his budget message: "The Nation's future position in global markets will depend upon: the allocation of national resources to the generation of new knowledge; and the effective and timely transfer of this new knowledge to specific applications." This noble statement could as easily have been made by countless senators or representatives.
Despite these noble sentiments, there remain grounds for concern over the future of American science. While expressing equally noble views, the 99th Congress managed to cut general science 4.2 percent below the Administration's recommended level—thereby harming "blue sky" basic research like that which led to the revolutions in biotechnology and optics. While cuts in the recommended levels for NSF were taking place, the President was silent. Nor was much progress made by our elected officials on solving infrastructure problems...
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