TMS Public and Governmental Affairs Resource Center

The Senate Armed Services Committee has completed its markup of the FY 2009 defense authorization bill. Under “Science and Technology Funding,” the Committee approved language that:

Increases the department’s investments in innovative science and technology programs by nearly $400 million to over $11.8 billion.

Supports fully the Secretary of Defense’s initiative to increase university defense basic research funding and increase the level by nearly $50 million over the president’s request.

Manufacturing enhancements for Defense Industrial Base: Adds over $50 million in next generation manufacturing research and technologies, including nanomanufacturing and rapid prototyping systems, to support the defense industrial base and its ability to meet urgent defense production requirements.

Meanwhile, the Coalition for National Security Research, to which the Federation of Materials Societies belongs, has released a statement urging that “the renewed focus on basic research be approved in conjunction with achieving the Pentagon’s stated goal of three percent of the Department’s budget be spent for the Defense S&T program.” The statement notes that “the 6.1 basic research accounts support the long-term scientific discovery that provides the foundational knowledge for the next technological advances. The 6.2 applied research accounts refine discoveries by exploring and determining the operational parameters and practicality of the technology to military needs. The 6.3 advanced technology accounts support the creation of larger-scale hardware and technology to be tested in realistic environments. The components of the Defense S&T enterprise are inextricably intertwined and should not be viewed as separate. Rather, they represent complementary segments of a single R&D continuum. Defense S&T programs also provide education and training opportunities for the next generation of scientists and engineers. . . . Sustained research and technological advances are made possible not only by supporting the best and brightest scientists, but also simultaneously cultivating the next generation of intellectual talent.”

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