Clemson President Urges Congress to Close "Innovation Deficit"

Clemson University President James F. Barker and 164 other university presidents and chancellors called on leaders in Washington to increase investment in research and education and close the “innovation deficit.”

In an open letter to President Barack Obama and Congress, the presidents and chancellors wrote that closing the widening gap between needed and actual investments in research and education — the innovation deficit — is a national imperative. Investments in research and education lead to innovation and new technologies that power the nation’s economy, create jobs, and reduce the budget deficit while ensuring the U.S. maintains its role as global leader, they said.

“Throughout our history, this nation has kept the promise of a better tomorrow to each generation,” the letter stated. “Failing to deal with the innovation deficit will pass to future generations the burdens of lost leadership in innovation, economic decline, and limited job opportunities. We call upon you to reject unsound budget cuts and recommit to strong and sustained investments in research and education.”

Economists agree that more than half of U.S. economic growth since World War II is a consequence of technological innovation, much of which results from federally funded scientific research conducted at U.S. universities. Such groundbreaking research, the university leaders noted, has led to lifesaving vaccines, lasers, MRI, touchscreens, GPS, the Internet and many other advances that have improved lives and generated entire new sectors of the economy.

China, Singapore and South Korea have dramatically increased their investments in research and higher education over the past two decades after observing how those kinds of investments have benefited the U.S. economy, the letter stated. They have had two to four times the U.S. rate of growth in research and development investment during that period. 

Following Congress’ failure to reach a larger budget deal to replace the Budget and Control Act of 2011, the federal government has plans to enact $85 billion in automatic spending reductions. These spending cuts are expected to continue over the next 10 years, totaling approximately $1.2 trillion in cuts in federal expenditures, which would have a dramatic impact on Clemson University and the economic development of South Carolina.

“I recognize the importance of shared sacrifice, but it’s time for a strategic rather than an automatic approach to spending cuts,” Barker said. “Understanding that future cuts are coming and that Clemson needs to continue to find funding in a severely constrained budget, I urge our congressional leaders to pursue a larger budget deal to replace these cuts and ensure long-term solutions to our nation’s federal deficit concerns, including tax and entitlement reform.”

The 165 universities represented in the letter are members of the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities and/or the Association of American Universities. Clemson is a member of the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities.

The open letter, including a list of all of its signers, as well as additional information can be found at www.innovationdeficit.org.