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AAU Criticizes Deep Cuts in House FY17 Budget

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 15, 2016
CONTACT: Barry Toiv, 202-408-7500, [email protected] 

Following is a statement by Association of American Universities President Hunter Rawlings on the FY17 budget proposed today by House Budget Committee Chairman Tom Price (R-GA).
 


The good news about the FY17 budget resolution to be considered by the House Budget Committee is that it adheres to last year’s budget agreement. Unfortunately, the good news is outweighed by the bad news – years of deep cuts to nondefense discretionary spending, beginning in FY18, that could devastate the nation’s investments in research and higher education.

These cuts would make an American innovation deficit all but inevitable in the years to come, as other countries continue to invest heavily in the people, ideas, and discoveries essential to innovation, economic growth, health, and national security. Cuts to discretionary spending might appear to be easy, but future generations will pay for them as other countries assume global innovation and economic leadership.

The nation faces long-term fiscal issues, and the solution is not to reduce our investments but to reform entitlement programs and taxes in ways that control spending, raise revenues, and protect the most vulnerable in our society. These steps are more difficult than cutting discretionary spending, but they are the right ones for our nation’s future.

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The Association of American Universities (AAU) is an association of 60 U.S. and two Canadian public and private research universities . It focuses on issues such as funding for research, research policy issues, and graduate and undergraduate education. AAU member universities are on the leading edge of innovation, scholarship, and solutions that contribute to the nation's economy, security, and wellbeing. AAU’s 60 U.S. universities award nearly one-half of all U.S. doctoral degrees and 55 percent of those in STEM fields.