By Meghan McCabe

On April 29, the Senate Appropriators held their first full Committee hearing of the year, entitled “Driving Innovation through Federal Investment.” Overall, the tone of the hearing was very positive. Chairwoman Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) acknowledged the historical bipartisan support for research and innovation, stating “…discovery is in our DNA,” and Ranking Member Richard Shelby (R-AL) spoke of his long-standing support for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), while lamenting how mandatory spending crowds out important discretionary programs like research and development. Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL) pointed out that everyone agrees that increased funding for research is beneficial; they just need to agree on how to do it.

Witnesses at the hearing included NIH Director Francis Collins, MD, PhD, National Science Foundation Director France Anne Cordova, PhD, Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz, PhD, Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy John Holdren, PhD, and Director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency Arati Prabhakar, PhD. During their opening statements, each witness highlighted past successes of their agencies and stressed the importance of predictable, stable funding trajectories.

The question and answer period focused on broad drivers of innovation, technology to market transfer, and the international competiveness of the U.S. science and engineering enterprise. Several members also expressed concern about the scientific workforce and the effects of boom and bust funding on young investigators.

One-hundred-and-thirty-eight outside organizations submitted testimony to the hearing, including the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB). FASEB noted that “failure to adequately invest in research will wreak enormous damage on an enterprise that has been so critical in assuring the security, prosperity, and health of the U.S.”

A webcast of the hearing is also available.