The following is a statement by University of Illinois System President Tim Killeen on final approval of the Endless Frontier Act by the U.S. Senate. Killeen previously served as the National Science Foundation’s assistant director for geosciences. The U of I System is a leading recipient of grant funding from the foundation.

I applaud the U.S. Senate for recognizing the need for greater investment in the National Science Foundation (NSF). Thanks to funding from NSF and other agencies, the University of Illinois System and other top research universities have played an essential role in boosting America’s competitiveness and innovation through groundbreaking discovery. In recent years, however, funding for NSF has not kept up the needed pace to assure – and take advantage of – scientific and technical leadership in an increasingly competitive global landscape. The Endless Frontier Act lays the groundwork for an essential and overdue increase in federal support for research and development, so that our talented researchers can continue to drive scientific and economic progress. 

As work on this legislation continues, the U of I System encourages Congress to further boost funding for existing NSF programs, and to ensure that NSF continues to focus on its core mission of promoting the progress of science.