Press Releases :: February 10, 2011

Ranking Member Johnson Reacts To Proposed Cuts To Job-Creating R&D; Programs

Washington, D.C., February 10, 2011--Yesterday, the Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee released a partial list of proposed spending cuts in the FY 2011 continuing resolution (CR) that is intended to fund the federal government through the remainder of the fiscal year.  Many of the nation’s core research and development (R&D) programs within the jurisdiction of the Science, Space, and Technology Committee are slated for deep cuts if those proposals are adopted.  For example, the Department of Energy’s Office of Science and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) would both be cut by more than 20 percent.  The Appropriations Committee has not released further details on cuts to specific programs and projects, and there are indications that even deeper cuts are being contemplated.

 Ranking Member Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) made the following statement in response to the proposed cuts:

 “In this difficult economic environment, all of us – Members of Congress and our constituents alike – must think carefully about priorities.  The cuts being proposed in this CR – such as the nearly one-third cut to energy R&D and cuts that appear to cripple NIST’s ability to help U.S. manufacturers compete better in the global economy – do almost nothing to balance our budget. In fact, the cuts seriously undermine our ability to continue to innovate, grow our economy, and create new jobs both now and far into the future.  Unfortunately, the impacts of these cuts are not limited to turning the lights off on groundbreaking research projects, shuttering world-class research facilities, and stopping emerging industries in their tracks.  We also risk losing many of our best and brightest scientists and innovators from the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) pipeline for good. “