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December 10, 2024
Dear President-elect Trump:
Congratulations on your election as the 47th president of the United States. The Task Force on American Innovation (TFAI) is a coalition of businesses, trade groups, scientific and engineering societies, and university organizations, which supports federally-funded scientific research. We look forward to working with you again.
As you make plans to take office on January 20, now is the time to consider policies that could strengthen your legacy. In your remarks on Election Day, you promised to work for a “golden age of America.” We join you in wanting to build a better, more prosperous future for our country. One of the best ways to do that is through innovation.
We urge you to prioritize federal support for the U.S. scientific research enterprise, an essential component of our global competitiveness and prosperity. For decades, federal investments in fundamental research have fueled economic expansion, enabling paradigm-shifting discoveries in our laboratories which, in turn, spawn new, innovative technologies in the marketplace. Research in the physical sciences also directly contributes to advances in America’s healthcare and national security, and provides a training ground for the scientists and entrepreneurs that will drive future industry.
For decades, America has been the undisputed global leader in science, technology and innovation. But as you know, the global landscape is increasingly competitive. While U.S. federal investments in fundamental research have been relatively flat, our international counterparts have increased their investments in R&D, in many cases dramatically. China is at the top of the list: in recent decades, their rate of investment in R&D has been triple that of the U.S., and they now challenge our scientific superiority.
There is no better way to protect American interests and stand up to China than to support federal funding of scientific research. Specifically, we believe new and renewed investments should be made to support often neglected areas of basic research. Innovation in America is built on the complex relationship between basic research in these disciplines and advanced industrial technology development.
TFAI strongly urges you to prioritize robust investments in such research, particularly through the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science, the Department of Defense (DOD) Basic Research Organizations, NASA, and the Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). These investments in research would benefit the U.S. academic, scientific, and industrial base, empower innovators and entrepreneurs, and spur economic growth across the country. We also would encourage your administration to make investments in research infrastructure programs to ensure scientists have the tools that keep America at the leading edge of discovery.
The Task Force on American Innovation will look forward to working with your administration on these critical issues in the next four years.
Sincerely,
The Task Force on American Innovation