AAAS Commends Pelosi and House Leaders for S&T Funding in Economic Stimulus Bill

AAAS, the world's largest multidisciplinary science society, applauded the inclusion of S&T funding in the final version of an economic stimulus bill approaching a vote by the full U.S. House of Representatives this week.

In letters to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California), Appropriations Chair David Obey (D-Wisconsin), and other key committee chairs, AAAS CEO Alan I. Leshner commended the House leaders for their "recognition of the importance of investing in science and technology" as part of the American Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

The U.S. Science and Technology sector would get an estimated $13.3 billion infusion for research and development under the sweeping economic stimulus bill proposed last week in the U.S. House of Representatives, according to an analysis last week by the AAAS R&D Budget and Policy Program.

The bill's broad support for S&T, spread across several scientific disciplines and government agencies, is particularly welcome since "all the sciences are profoundly interdependent, and it is impossible to predict where the next, critically important advances will occur," said Leshner, who is also the executive publisher of the journal Science.

The letter also was sent to Representative Bart Gordon (D-Tennessee), who chairs the House Committee on Science and Technology, and Representative George Miller (D-California), chair of the Committee on Education and Labor.

Becky Ham

28 January 2009