Rick Nelson

When Republicans and Democrats agree
February 20, 2006

The science threat is real, according to leaders of both major political parties in the US. In the column "R&D Democrats" (Wall Street Journal, February 13, 2006; Page A16), Nancy Pelosi, Minority Leader in the U.S. House of Representatives, agrees with President Bush's State of the Union contention that America's competitiveness depends upon innovation. Their only disagreement lies in the amount of spending required to address the threat. The president's budget, Pelosi writes, "would double basic R&D in the physical sciences at some of our federal agencies in 10 years. Democrats pledge to double that funding across all agencies--within five years." And, she continues, "The president has proposed no new federal investment in broadband access, but Democrats believe that high-speed, always-on broadband will create millions of good jobs. Our agenda guarantees that every American will have affordable access to broadband--within five years."

The cynic, of course, would contend that the science threat must indeed be nonexistent (scroll down to previous entry), or at least grossly overstated, if politicians across the political spectrum agree that it's real.

Posted by Rick Nelson on February 20, 2006 | Comments (0)