Gore Comments on H.R. 3322, the Omnibus Civilian Science Authorization Act

On 28 May 1996, The White House released the following statement by Vice President Gore regarding H.R. 3322, the Omnibus Civilian Science Authorization Act:
“Today the House of Representatives is considering legislation that would abandon a 50-year partnership among American industry, universities, and the federal government to support research, science, and technology. This partnership has been supported by each Congress and every President since World War II. That is why the Secretary of Commerce, the Administrator of NASA, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Director of the National Science Foundation, the President’s Science Advisor, the Director of the Office of Management and I recommend that the President veto H.R. 3322, the Omnibus Civilian Science Authorization Act. The act is bad for the economy, bad for the environment, and bad for the quality of life of the American people.
Americans understand that in a global economy, the only way to maintain America’s competitive edge is to lead the world in innovation and new technologies. Investments in science and technology mean better jobs, higher wages, and a growing economy –not to mention new cures for diseases, new products that enrich our lives, and a better understanding of our global environment. Yet this bill would eliminate programs such as the Commerce Department’s Advanced Technology Program, which works in partnership with American industries and universities to lay the groundwork for America’s leadership in the new high technology industries of the future, and the Manufacturing Extension Partnership, the goal of which is to help our nation’s more than 381,000 smaller manufacturers compete in the global high technology economy.
As bad as this bill is for the economy, it is worse for the environment. H.R. 3322 singles out environmental research programs throughout the government for deep cuts or elimination. The bill goes so far as to ban outright some areas of environmental research, such as indoor air pollution. There should be no mistake about it. This bill is nothing less than another extremist Republican attack on the environment.
This bill plays fast and loose with our economic and environmental future. And the Republicans cannot hide this attack behind their rhetoric about balancing the budget. President Clinton’s balanced budget plan shows that you can balance the budget by 2002 while still investing in education, environment, and research — areas critical to our future economic growth, environmental protection, and quality of life. H.R. 3322 is extreme legislation that would make unnecessary and unwise cuts in our country’s science and technology programs, cuts that would abandon our country’s historical leadership and place America’s future at risk.”