If America wants to maintain our innovative edge, create meaningful jobs, and realize economic growth, then we must make funding for fundamental scientific research a national priority. It is essential that Congress work toward a long-term plan to make wise and impactful investments, such as federally-funded research, that hold the key to our future.
Why Science Matters
Stimulate The Economy
Stimulate The Economy
While research accounts for a tiny percentage of the overall federal budget today, science-driven innovation has fueled as much as half of all U.S. economic growth since World War II. American leadership in innovation supports U.S. manufacturing, trade, economic prosperity, and national security.
Research universities are also often at the center of the local economy serving as the area’s major employer and the source of high-tech spin off companies. The presence of a highly educated workforce and a strong innovation sector attracts other business, further contributing to a robust local economy.
Spur Innovation
Spur Innovation
Through fundamental research, discoveries are made with profound implications for our health, safety, and quality of life. Life-saving vaccines, the laser, MRI, touchscreens, GPS, and the Internet are just of few of the products created from past federal investment in research.
Drive American Competitiveness
Drive American Competitiveness
America maintains its global economic competitiveness. While the United States still leads the world in global research and development (R&D) expenditures from all sources, other countries have seen our success and are investing aggressively in R&D to enhance their own innovation capabilities. They have upped their investments while U.S. spending as a share of GDP has been essentially flat.
Life-Saving Discoveries
Life-Saving Discoveries
Americans benefit from discoveries made here. While we don’t know what the next 20 years of discoveries will bring, we do know that without strong and consistent federal funding for science these discoveries – and all the benefits that come with them – won’t be made in the United States.
Create Jobs
American Leadership
American Leadership
Fundamental research is an essential building block for American industry, keeping it competitive globally. While industry invests heavily in research and development (R&D), it relies on the fundamental scientific research performed at America’s research universities and national labs and funded by the government for its innovation pipeline.
TakeAction
Spread the Word About Why Science Matters
Communicate with your friends, neighbors, local media, and elected officials and tell them why it is essential that the United States invests strongly and consistently in fundamental scientific research. Urge them to make funding for scientific research a national priority before it is too late.
To learn more ways you can take action, contact TSC@sciencecoalition.org.
Click below to see how you can take action.
