This clearly indicates that the Senate regards science as a priority investment. Sen. Domenici, chair of the Budget Committee, specifically stated that science will be a priority in his Committee's upcoming deliberations. A statement similar to this bill has been endorsed by the presidents of 110 professional societies, estimated to represent more than 3.5 million scientists, engineers and mathematicians. Today, increased productivity, driven by technological innovation, receives much of the credit for sustaining the current expansion, which is characterized by low inflation and low unemployment. Briefly, federal investment in research increases economic growth and keeps the nation within a balanced budget.
Science is the underpinning of technological progress.
Indeed, basic research, according to economists such as Stanford's Michael Boskin and the Pennsylvania's Edwin Mansfield, provide extraordinary social returns on the federal investment.