Today, the Task Force on American Innovation sent the following letter to the Energy and Water Subcommittees of the Senate and House Appropriations Committees:

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The full text of the letter is below:

Dear Chairman Alexander, Ranking Member Feinstein, Chairman Simpson and Ranking Member Kaptur:

The Task Force on American Innovation (TFAI)—an alliance of industry, scientific societies, and university organizations—commends you and your colleagues for the successful completion of the fiscal year 2019 (FY19) Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act. TFAI is encouraged by the strong funding levels for the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science and the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E). On behalf of American industry and American higher education, we are grateful for your leadership on this key issue.

TFAI strongly supports the funding level of $6.585 billion for DOE Office of Science, a 5 percent increase from FY18. We also applaud the funding level of $366 million for ARPA-E, a 4 percent increase. Your commitment to increased research and development (R&D) investments supports U.S. leadership in innovation, improves U.S. global competitiveness and strengthens the U.S. economy and workforce.

Thank you for your bipartisan work on this important investment. We look forward to continuing to work with you in the future, and we sincerely appreciate your strong leadership.

Sincerely,
Task Force on American Innovation