Building Careers and Shaping Public Policy

8 July 2005

The Honorable Ted Stevens
Chair, Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense
522 Hart Senate Office Building
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Mr. Chairman:

I am writing on behalf of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers-United States of America (IEEE-USA) to strongly urge Senate appropriators not to accept the deep cuts called for in the President’s Budget Request for the Department of Defense (DOD) Science and Technology (S&T) budget, which includes Basic and Applied Research (6.1-6.2), and Advanced Technology Development (6.3) programs. We urge you to at least match the funding levels approved by the House of Representatives in the 2006 Department of Defense Appropriations Bill (H.R. 2863).

The President’s Budget Request contains a 22 percent reduction in fiscal year 2006 for DOD S&T from $13.6 billion down to $10.7 billion. The House of Representatives approved a budget that keeps funding roughly even with last year’s level. The DOD’s S&T program supports research in the nation’s universities that is the bridge between fundamental science discoveries and future military applications. These activities make essential contributions to national defense by fueling innovation and training the scientists and engineers of tomorrow. The S&T program also funds research in the DOD laboratories and private sector industries that focus on technologies to support future defense systems. This focus on the long-term revolutionary changes in military technology will keep U.S. forces ahead of future adversaries and enable a quick response to emerging threats such as chemical and biological agents. Continuing cuts in long-term research cannot be imposed without jeopardizing the nation's future security. DoD S&T funding is still far short of the 3.0 percent of total defense outlay endorsed by the Quadrennial Defense Review.

IEEE-USA is an organizational unit of The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc., created in 1973 to advance the public good, while promoting the careers and public-policy interests of the more than 225,000 technical professionals who are U.S. members of the IEEE. For more information, go to http://www.ieeeusa.org. If we can be of any assistance, please contact Bill Williams at IEEE-USA, (202) 785-0017.

Sincerely,
 

Gerard A. Alphonse
President, IEEE-USA
 

Also sent to Members of the Senate Appropriations Committee