Testimony

By

Dr. Allan Schell
IEEE-USA R&D Policy Committee

On Behalf of the

American Association of Engineering Societies

before the

House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense

28 March 2001

I would like to thank the Committee for allowing me to speak to you today about the importance of the Defense Science and Technology program to America’s military.

My name is Dr. Allan Schell with the Research and Development Policy Committee at the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers – USA and I am testifying on behalf of the American Association of Engineering Societies (AAES). AAES is a federation of engineering societies dedicated to advancing the knowledge, understanding, and practice of engineering.  Its member societies represent more than one million U.S. engineers in industry, government, and academia. AAES comes before you this morning to request that as you consider the DoD budget for Fiscal Year 2002 you provide DoD S&T, specifically the 6.1, 6.2, and 6.3 accounts, no less than $10 Billion.

Promoting and maintaining technological superiority in the battlefield is vital to accommodating the United States military’s increasing mandate to do more with less. As even the developing countries of the world move further into the electronic age, the United States must continuously research, develop and advance new technologies to maintain a qualitative military edge.

With this in mind we would like to say that we are pleased that the President acknowledged the importance of DoD science and technology when he committed to increasing Defense R&D by $20 Billion over the next five years. Further, we were pleased to note that the President’s recently released "Blueprint for New Beginnings" provided for a $2.6 Billion increase in R&D in FY02. This infusion of funding will go a long way to reinvigorating research at the Department of Defense. The risk of losing technological momentum is a real one, and one that is recognized by Congressional and Administration leaders. For these reasons, we strongly endorse the President's pledge to fund the technology base at increased levels.

We thank this committee for its foresight and effort in adequately funding the cutting-edge high risk research supported in the 6.1 – 6.3 accounts (or S&T accounts, as they are commonly referred.) In the last decade, defense research funding has declined precipitously. In inflation adjusted dollars, DoD S&T funding reached its peak in FY93 at slightly above $10.0 Billion. In the interim, the budget has declined both in current dollars and especially when adjusted for inflation. We appreciate that, in large measure, without the support of this committee and its members the number might be much lower. Today we recommend to the committee a modest 10% increase. This increase will bring the FY01 appropriated level of $9.1 Billion back to its post-cold war high.

Throughout this century, some of our most significant military achievements have derived from the transforming discoveries of science and the development of new technological capabilities enabled by science and engineering. Past S&T accounts have played a large part in developing the US technological superiority that helped force the end of the Cold War. Now with new kinds of emerging threats from diverse and unpredictable sources around the globe, we believe that further increases in Defense spending generally and S&T spending specifically are warranted to adequately prepare for these inevitable exigencies. From an R&D standpoint, DoD must maintain focus on the near-future readiness and modernization needs of the department while also keeping in mind the long-term future needs of the military, be they ten or twenty years out into the future. Our future military capabilities will rest on our commitment to making significant investments in science and technology.

To assure the ability of our defense to rapidly deploy technologies in times of need, it is essential that we invest in advanced manufacturing technologies and processes that will enable the timely integration and deployment of new technologies. We must also maintain a viable national manufacturing base, along with the attendant expertise, that is responsive to defense needs, i.e., capable of providing a significant quantity of military assets within a specified lead-time. DoD should leverage its investment in R&D by targeting the development of multiple-use technologies, i.e., technologies which have defense and commercial applications (commonly called dual use), as well as contribute to America’s quality of life (such as environmental quality, efficient and affordable transportation, communications, health delivery, and education).

Finally, we would like to highlight one of the facets of Defense research and development that does not receive adequate attention, the impact DoD has on America’s intellectual infrastructure. DoD is one of the largest supporters of university research in the federal government. Specifically DoD provides 65% of university research for electrical engineering and 66% of the federal university research for mechanical engineering.

DoD investment in university research not only leads the way to new technologies and defense applications, but also preserves a critical cadre of S&T expertise and research facilities essential to maintaining long-term technological superiority. Engineering degrees have declined from their peak of 78,178 Bachelors Degrees in 1986 to 63,635 in 2000 (see figure 1).

This is alarming at a time when the American military and its contractors (and the civilian economy as well) are increasingly dependent on highly skilled technically trained workers.

Mr. Chairman, the long-term security of the United States will depend on the ability of its citizens to meet the technological challenges of the 21^st Century. I am concerned that these early indicators may be showing that we might not be up to meeting that challenge. It is unclear where, if not from America’s universities, America’s defense contractors are going to find the engineers to meet the growing demand. Only by reinvigorating the research programs at America’s universities and enhancing K-12 education, will we be able to attract and retain more young people in engineering programs. Only by increasing the pool of engineers will we be able to meet the increasing national security technology challenges.

In summary, the ability of tomorrow’s soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines to meet the challenges of an increasingly sophisticated battlespace will depend in large measure on the vision of Congress and the Administration. To address those challenges, we must be prepared to invest in science and technology today. America’s engineers welcome the opportunity to help the nation meet its defense needs.

I thank you for the opportunity to testify and welcome any questions.

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Last Update: 28 March 2001
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