WASHINGTON, DC – In an effort to help create jobs and advance scientific research and discovery, U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) today called for strong, sustained federal funding to provide states with opportunities to strengthen their research capabilities and advance technological innovation.  At a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing today with top officials from the National Institutes of Health (NIH); the National Science Foundation (NSF); the U.S. Department of Energy; the Office of Science and Technology Policy; and the Pentagon’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Reed highlighted the importance of closing the American “innovation deficit” and spurring economic growth.

“Federally-funded research helps Rhode Island’s economy and can jumpstart job growth,” said Reed, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee.  “Making smart national investments in research and development today can lead to the breakthroughs of tomorrow and help Americans compete for the jobs of tomorrow.  It can help create new products, cures, jobs, and industries that can improve countless lives here in Rhode Island and beyond our shores.”

During the hearing, Reed cited the need for federal research investments to drive innovation and economic growth and discussed the importance of the National Science Foundation’s Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) and the NIH’s Institutional Development Award (IDeA) program, both of which have been vital in supporting scientific research in Rhode Island and other states.  Reed has long worked with Senators Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) and Tom Harkin (D-IA) to preserve the EPSCoR and IDeA programs, respectively, and today pressed Dr. Francis Collins, Director of NIH and Dr. France Cordova, Director of the NSF, to continue supporting these initiatives which help states like Rhode Island compete for federal research dollars.

Reed is a cosponsor of the American Cures Act (S. 2115), which would increase annual federal funding for NIH, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the Department of Defense Health Program (DHP), and the Veterans Medical & Prosthetics Research Program at a rate of GDP-indexed inflation plus 5 percent, allowing these agencies doing life-saving research to make long-term plans and better manage their research priorities.

“The United States has a long history of leadership in scientific research and development, but investment in these critical areas has lagged over the past decade at a time when the challenges we face from disease and chronic conditions are enormous,” said Reed. “Government investment in scientific research has produced some of history’s greatest discoveries, and we must continue to invest in the hard work of innovation. Like a business or a school district, research facilities cannot efficiently budget their work or staff without a reliable funding stream.  Unfortunately, instead of increasing investments in our research agencies, Congress has in recent years subjected them to sequestration, government shutdowns and other budgetary constraints. We must work to avoid those types of unnecessary barriers to discovery.”

Even as foreign governments around the world have increased their investment in scientific research, the U.S. has pulled back.  According to the American Association for the Advancement of Science, federal spending on research and development (R&D) declined by 16.3% from 2010 - 2013, the fastest drop in a three-year period since the end of the space race in the 1970s. Taken as a percentage of the total federal budget, the federal government spends two-thirds less on R&D today than it did in 1965.  To make matters worse, when adjusted for inflation the value of grants from the NIH has declined by nearly 30% over the last eight years.  According to the nonpartisan group United for Medical Research, cuts in NIH funding from sequestration have cost scientists in Rhode Island alone a projected $7.49 million in federal grants.

The Rhode Island Science and Technology Council estimates more than 20,000 people are employed in R&D-related positions in Rhode Island, with 118 companies that are directly engaged in R&D, as well as dozens of academic and healthcare institutions. In addition, scientific discoveries leading to cures or relief from chronic diseases have the potential to save billions of dollars in hospital bills and Medicare expenses nationwide.

Rhode Island has been successful in leveraging the federal dollars it receives.  Since 2010, seed grants totaling $8.5 million awarded through the Rhode Island Science and Technology Advisory Council, as part of the state’s EPSCoR cost share, have been leveraged to yield a return of $36 million back to the state in the form of grants for continued research, new federal programs, infrastructure improvements, commercialization of new products, and venture funding for new companies.

“Properly funded scientific research offers a great return-on-investment, and initiatives like EPSCoR, IDeA, and the American Cures Act will put us back on track to lead the world in scientific innovation,” added Reed. “Scientific research and discovery is inextricably linked to our economic prosperity, national security, quality of life, and public health.  It’s time for Congress to come together and restore U.S. competitiveness in the global race for cures.”

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