TMS Public and Governmental Affairs Resource Center

FROM THE FEDERATION OF MATERIALS SOCIETIES: "To keep America competitive into the future, we must trust in the skill of our scientists and engineers and empower them to pursue the breakthroughs of tomorrow," said U.S. President George W. Bush in his State of the Union address. "Last year, Congress passed legislation supporting the American Competiveness Initiative, but never followed through with the funding. So I ask Congress to double federal support for critical basic research in the physical sciences and ensure America remains the most dynamic nation on earth."

With that challenge, Bush laid the groundwork for his fiscal year (FY) 2009 budget proposal. Overall, the administration is requesting $147 billion for federal R&D—as Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) Director John Marburger points out, "one out of every seven dollars requested by the president in the discretionary budget." The problem is that the discretionary budget cannot increase without cutting popular programs including nutrition and health care grants, weatherization assistance, low-income heating assistance, state and local law enforcement grants, job training grants, and other health, education, and labor programs. Further complicating the picture is the nearly year-long campaign leading to the 2008 presidential election. Already, rumors are circulating that democrats on Capitol Hill want to shovel appropriations into a continuing resolution at the end of the year in hopes that a new (democratic) administration will find a way to fund all discretionary programs.

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