Senator Reed visited Brown University for a firsthand look at how some of Rhode Island’s leading researchers are using federal funding to develop cutting-edge clean energy technologies. He also warned that if the Trump Administration’s deep budget cuts to science, medical, energy, and technology research are implemented, they could result in the loss of thousands of jobs, stall innovation, and threaten important scientific breakthroughs.
According to President Trump’s fiscal year 2018 budget blueprint, which was released last month, every single science-related agency except the National Nuclear Security Administration would have its budget slashed. Steep cuts to several programs at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS); the National Institutes of Health (NIH); the U.S. Commerce Department and other federal agencies would be implemented to fund a $54 billion increase in the defense budget.
