WASHINGTON – The Science Coalition (TSC) today issued the following statement after the House Committee on Appropriations reported a fiscal year (FY) 2022 defense appropriations bill that contains significant spending cuts for science and technology at the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD):
“TSC is disappointed by the defense basic research funding numbers in the House Appropriations Committee’s FY 2022 defense appropriations bill. While we appreciate the bill provides some funding for key defense research programs above the president’s drastically low budget request, the reality is that the bill cuts funding from congressionally enacted levels in FY 2021. These shortsighted funding cuts for fundamental research at DOD, including at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), threaten to hinder the development of next-generation technologies we need to secure our nation,” said TSC President John Latini. “Robust and predictable investment in research programs – such as DARPA’s Pandemic Prevention Platform that played a key role in the rapid identification of COVID-19 antibodies – is essential to ensuring we have the scientific resources to quickly address issues of national security. The defense appropriations bill – as it currently stands – would weaken our research enterprise, stifle economic growth, and threaten our ability to compete on the global stage, and it does not adequately support our university and college researchers who are working tirelessly to solve today’s problems and prepare to meet tomorrow’s challenges.”
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About the Science Coalition
Established in 1994, The Science Coalition is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization of more than 50 of the nation’s leading public and private research universities. It is dedicated to sustaining the federal government’s investment in basic scientific research as a means to stimulate the economy, spur innovation, and drive America’s global competitiveness.