Pub. L. 111-358, tit. V, subtit. A, sec. 519 (as amended)
SENSE OF THE CONGRESS REGARDING THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION’S CONTRIBUTIONS TO BASIC RESEARCH AND EDUCATION.
SEC. 519. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS REGARDING THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION’S CONTRIBUTIONS TO BASIC RESEARCH AND EDUCATION.
(a) Findings.—The Congress finds that—
(1) the National Science Foundation is an independent Federal agency created by Congress in 1950 to, among other things, promote the progress of science, to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare, and to secure the national defense;
(2) the Foundation is the funding source for approximately 20 percent of all federally supported basic research conducted by America’s colleges and universities, and is the major source of Federal backing for mathematics, computer science and other sciences;
(3) the America COMPETES Act of 2007 helped rejuvenate our focus on increasing basic research investment in the physical sciences, strengthening educational opportunities in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields and developing a robust innovation infrastructure; and
(4) reauthorization of the America COMPETES Act should continue a robust investment in basic research and education and preserve the essence of the original Act by increasing the investment focus on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics basic research and education as a national priority.
(b) Sense of the Congress.—It is the sense of the Congress that—
(1) the National Science Foundation is the finest scientific foundation in the world, and is a vital agency that must support basic research needed to advance the United States into the 21st century;
(2) the National Science Foundation should focus Federal research and development resources primarily in the areas of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics basic research and education; and
(3) the National Science Foundation should strive to ensure that federally-supported research is of the finest quality, is ground breaking, and answers questions or solves problems that are of utmost importance to society at large.