Letter to Senators Specter and SantorumMarch 17, 2004
Dear Senator Specter/Santorum I am writing to you today to urge you to sign Senator Lamar Alexander's and Senator Jeff Bingaman's letter of March 23 to the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman regarding the funding levels of the Department of Energy's Office of Science. It urges an increase in funding for the Office of Science by ten percent over the request level. The following two paragraphs are quotes from the letter. We write to bring to your attention our bipartisan support for the Office of Science (the 'Office') in the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The Office is our nation's leading source of support for the physical sciences (including physics, chemistry, advanced computing, and geology) and energy-related biosciences. Despite the importance of these research areas to our energy, technology, and economic future, the Office's budget in real dollars is the same as it was in 1990. The proposed budget for the Office of Science in FY 2005 is \$3.43 billion, essentially the same as was appropriated in FY 2004. The nation must have a balanced investment to maintain the overall health of science and technology research. Recent funding increases for the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation cannot compensate for the need to invest in the physical sciences upon which all other science is based. We urge you to increase the funding for the Office of Science by ten percent over the request level. The Office of Science directly supports me and colleagues in nuclear physics with research that is carried out at Carnegie Mellon University. Our support from the Office of Science allows us to carry out leading roles in research projects around the world, develop and build leading-edge technology at Carnegie Mellon University, and expose and train students at all levels to all aspects of fundamental research. Our former undergraduate and Ph.D. students as well as post-docs can be found working in National Labs, academia and industry. Several of whom are involved in exciting activities in Pennsylvania. Not only are we able to improve our understanding of one of the most fundamental areas of science, but we have an excellent record that is internationally recognized within the science community. Again, I urge you to sign the letter in support of increased support for the Department of Energy's Office of Science. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions. My phone is (412) 268-2745 and my email is cmeyer@ernest.phys.cmu.edu.
Sincerely yours, |