Holt discusses Congress’s dueling visions for science

Science : In an editorial for Science, Representative Rush Holt (D-NJ) spells out the dichotomy that exists between those who insist that the federal government should scale back science funding because it’s ineffective and wasteful and those who believe that government funding of science can drive the economy forward. Holt sides with the latter; he emphasizes that science has proven to be a smart investment, albeit one whose benefits may not be tangible for a long time. In a recent interview on NPR, Holt delves further into what he calls “a kind of pessimism” that has set in in America today, where people have given up on the idea that the next generation will be better off than the current one and are instead lowering their sights and tightening their belts. He laments that “all the talk in Washington has been about cutting.” Although Holt acknowledges that science research will probably suffer its share of cuts in the next budget, he maintains that “investment in research makes good economic sense in the short term but even more in the long term, in what it brings to our quality of life and our economy.”