Testimony on the Sequestration's Impact on Research and Students

Hunter Rawlings, president of the Association of American Universities, testified this morning at the Senate Budget Committee hearing on "The Impact of Federal Investments on People, Communities, and Long-Term Economic Growth." In her opening comments, Chairman Patty Murray (D-WA) pointed out that, despite the need to face the challenge of the nation's current debt and deficit, it is still critical to make those investments that make our country stronger, including the "need to ensure our students receive an education that offers them the opportunities they deserve, and ensures our nation has a skilled workforce for the 21^st century."

Dr. Rawling's comments echoed these sentiments: “Cutting these investments in our future is not the way to solve our nation’s deficit problem. Such cuts would undermine economic growth that is essential to deficit reduction. Yet that is exactly what the sequester will do. To put it kindly, this is an irrational approach to deficit reduction. To put it not so kindly, it is just plain stupid.” The comments focused on two "critical areas of federal spending that generate enormous returns on investment – university research and student financial aid, both of which will suffer significantly under sequestration with consequences not only for scientists, engineers, and students, but also for our nation’s innovation enterprise and economy."

Comments from Dr. Rawlings and the other witnesses, as well as the full text of Senator Murray's opening statement, can be found on the hearing website.