BHEF Signs Letter Urging Senate to Prioritize, Fund R&D and STEM Education Programs

Washington, DC (March 10, 2011) — The Business-Higher Education Forum (BHEF) has signed on to a letter by the Tapping America’s Potential (TAP) coalition that calls on Senate leaders to prioritize and support strong funding of basic scientific research and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education programs in this resource constrained environment, underscoring that such programs are essential to U.S. innovation, which in turn produces the economic growth needed to restore long-term fiscal strength and national prosperity.

Specifically, as the Senate completes Fiscal Year 2011 appropriations, BHEF and TAP are asking the Senate to put a priority on funding for the key agencies that support basic scientific research in the physical sciences and engineering, including the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology, as well as STEM education programs contained in the law.

“The private sector is doing its part to ensure that the U.S. remains the world’s scientific and technological leader. Even in the midst of recessions, when revenues are in decline, U.S. businesses invest in research and development (R&D) because those activities support future sales and market leadership. American business largely preserved its R&D intensity throughout the deep economic downturn of 2008-2009,” according to the coalition.

“The private sector cannot replace, however, the federal support for basic science and engineering research and math and science education that undergirds America’s national economic competitiveness. Because these investments are the key to future productivity growth, they must remain a top national priority, even while deficit spending is reduced.”

BHEF and numerous other business organizations formed TAP to increase the annual number of STEM bachelor’s-level graduates to 400,000 by 2015.