WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman G. K. Butterfield (NC-01) was joined by 94 of his democratic colleagues in authoring a letter to the Chairman and Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Committee supporting full funding of the National Science Foundation (NSF) at $7.626 billion for FY 2014. In the letter, the Members stressed the importance of the NSF as the only federal agency responsible for supporting education and research across science and engineering fields—a mission that is essential to developing a workforce qualified to meet global demand.
Butterfield said, “Science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) occupations are vital to the prosperity and innovation of the American workforce. STEM professionals complete the research and unlock the mysteries that allow us to live longer and more prosperous lives. As technological advances continue, STEM professions will remain in demand. However, sadly, Americans are not well-positioned to take advantage of these opportunities. This is a problem that we must address, and fully funding the NSF is the way to do it.”
The complete letter follows.
The Honorable Frank Wolf
Chairman
Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies
233 Cannon House Office Building
Washington D.C. 20515
The Honorable Chaka Fattah
Ranking Member
Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies
2301 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
Dear Chairman Wolf and Ranking Member Fattah:
We write to urge you to include $7.626 billion in funding for the National Science Foundation (NSF) in the FY2014 Commerce, Justice, and Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill.
The United States faces a daunting challenge if we are to continue to compete globally in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) related industries. More than 20 countries are currently outperforming American students on international science assessments and graduating a higher percentage of students in science and engineering fields. Funding from the NSF is one of our country’s most important workforce development initiatives. According to Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce, STEM jobs in the U.S. are predicted to increase to 8.55 million in 2018, or 17 percent greater than in 2008. To meet these demands we must produce approximately one million more STEM professionals over the next ten years. The NSF is the only federal agency specifically responsible for supporting essential education and research across all science and engineering fields—a role that is vital to cultivating a workforce capable of keeping pace with global demand.
Funding from the NSF supports one fifth of all federally funded basic research at colleges and universities throughout the United States. The NSF awards the majority of its budget on a competitive basis to small groups of researchers at public and private institutions of higher learning through approximately 11,000 new grant awards per year.
Awards from the NSF helps enable faculty and students to access the resources they need and support the necessary infrastructure and tools to address some of our society’s most pressing concerns. In many cases, the basic research facilitated by the NSF is expanded upon and applied commercially by U.S. companies. The applications of NSF research have helped many businesses create jobs by developing new products from advanced radar systems and next generation high definition videoconferencing to more efficient and affordable solar energy materials and genetically engineered tissues for medical procedures.
We must remain committed to strengthening our workforce and competing with countries that are investing their resources in STEM education and innovation. We urge you to fund the NSF at the requested $7.626 billion funding level to ensure that we continue to develop a reliable pipeline of STEM talent so that the United States remains globally competitive.
Thank you very much.
Very truly yours,
Rep. G. K. Butterfield
Rep. Rob Andrews
Rep. Joyce Beatty
Rep. Ami Bera
Rep. Sanford Bishop
Rep. Earl Blumenauer
Rep. Suzanne Bonamici
Rep. Bruce Braley
Rep. Lois Capps
Rep. Tony Cárdenas
Rep. Andre Carson
Rep. Joaquin Castro
Rep. Donna Christensen
Rep. Judy Chu
Rep. David Cicilline
Rep. Yvette Clarke
Rep. Wm. Lacy Clay
Rep. Emmanuel Cleaver
Rep. Steve Cohen
Rep. John Conyers
Rep. Jim Costa
Rep. Elijah Cummings
Rep. Danny Davis
Rep. Peter DeFazio
Rep. Rosa DeLauro
Rep. Suzan DelBene
Rep. John Dingell
Rep. Mike Doyle
Rep. Donna Edwards
Rep. Keith Ellison
Rep. Elliot Engel
Rep. Bill Enyart
Rep. Anna Eshoo
Rep. Bill Foster
Rep. Marcia Fudge
Rep. Peter Gallego
Rep. John Garamendi
Rep. Al Green
Rep. Janice Hahn
Rep. Alcee Hastings
Rep. Denny Heck
Rep. Rubén Hinojosa
Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton
Rep. Rush Holt
Rep. Jared Huffman
Rep. Shelia Jackson Lee
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries
Rep. Bill Keating
Rep. Derek Kilmer
Rep. Ron Kind
Rep. Ann Kuster
Rep. Jim Langevin
Rep. Sandy Levin
Rep. John Lewis
Rep. Daniel Lipinski
Rep. Dave Loeback
Rep. Zoe Lofgren
Rep. Ben Lujan
Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham
Rep. Stephen Lynch
Rep. Ed Markey
Rep. Jim McDermott
Rep. Jim McGovern
Rep. Mike McIntyre
Rep. Gregory Meeks
Rep. Gwen Moore
Rep. Jim Moran
Rep. Patrick Murphy
Rep. Jerrold Nadler
Rep. Rick Nolan
Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr.
Rep. Donald Payne, Jr.
Rep. Scott Peters
Rep. Mark Pocan
Rep. Jared Polis
Rep. David Price
Rep. Charles Rangel
Rep. Cedric Richmond
Rep. Bobby Rush
Rep. Jan Schakowsky
Rep. Bobby Scott
Rep. Terri Sewell
Rep. Carol Shea-Porter
Rep. Kyrsten Sinema
Rep. Louise Slaughter
Rep. Jackie Speier
Rep. Mark Takano
Rep. Bennie Thompson
Rep. John Tierney
Rep. Paul Tonko
Rep. Chris Van Hollen
Rep. Mel Watt
Rep. Henry Waxman
Rep. Pete Welch
Rep. Frederica Wilson