Ranking Member Johnson Reacts to Recent YouCut Announcement
(Washington, DC) –Majority Leader Eric Cantor recently launched the second phase of his YouCut project which asks people to visit his website weekly and vote on a selection of line items in the budget to cut. Rep. Joe Walsh announced last week’s “winner”, the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Polar Arctic Research Grant Program. The YouCut website also states that Mr. Walsh will be introducing legislation to cut this program.
Ranking Member Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) made the following statement in response:
“We have yet to see a bill from Mr. Walsh; however, should he choose to introduce one, as Ranking Member of the Committee of jurisdiction, I look forward to participating in legislative hearings and markups on the bill. I am certain that such hearings would highlight the importance of the research that NSF’s grants help fund. This research provides insights into ice sheets, the atmosphere, oceans, and solid earth, without which the behavior of, and changes in the global system cannot be understood. Also, due to rising temperatures and melting Arctic ice, the Arctic has recently become a geopolitical hotspot with countries such as Russia trying to stake a claim for the abundance of natural resources underneath the ice and the new fisheries and sea routes that will emerge. Maintaining a research presence there helps ensure that the United States maintains accessibility to the Arctic and its many economically important resources.”
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