| Science Policy Testimony on America’s Competitiveness
Norman Augustine, retired Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Lockheed Martin Corporation, provided testimony in January before the Democratic Steering and Policy Committee in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Augustine painted a grim picture concerning the ability of America to effectively compete in the new world economy. His remarks drew heavily upon the unanimous findings of the study known as the “Gathering Storm” report, commissioned on a bipartisan basis by Congress and conducted by the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine, institutions that count 195 Nobel Laureates among their current membership. The twenty-member “Gathering Storm” Committee included university presidents, chief executive officers from industry, former presidential appointees, Nobel Laureates, and experts in K-12 education.
Augustine’s call to action highlighted the deterioration of America’s ability to compete for jobs in the evolving global marketplace. A variety of studies concluded that between 50 and 85 percent of the growth in America’s Gross Domestic Product over the past half-century had its root in advancements in science and engineering. It has also been estimated that two-thirds of the increase in productivity in America in recent decades is also attributable to advancements in science and engineering.
Read the full transcript of Augustine’s remarks.
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