41 



nancing. An important aspect of debt financing is the sharing of 

 risk between the Federal Government, State government, and uni- 

 versities. 



To conclude, adequate facilities require sustained contributions 

 from all sectors. No single or simple solution will meet all the 

 needs. The needs will probably only be met by a change in facility 

 financing practices within all sectors. Given financial constraints 

 and other priorities, however, within the Federal system, it is unre- 

 alistic to think of a major Federal initiative meeting most of the 

 needs for construction and renovation. 



Under the assumption that little new Federal money can be ex- 

 pected for the science and engineering enterprise in the near term, 

 it is clear that if more Federal funding goes into facilities, by what- 

 ever mechanism, less will be available for research projects and 

 programs. 



If one assumes that this zero sum scenario will hold, admission 

 that facility needs are real and serious entails recognition that Fed- 

 eral priorities must shift to provide more emphasis on investments 

 in capital and less on labor. Acceptance of the need for this shift 

 in priorities is required before consensus can be reached on 

 changes in Federal support for research facilities. 



Thank you. 



[The prepared statement of Mr. Phillips appears at the conclu- 

 sion of the hearing.] 



Mr. Stenholm. Thank you very much. 



Dr. Hess. 



STATEMENT OF CHARLES E. HESS, PROFESSOR, COLLEGE OF 

 AGRICULTURAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES, AND DI- 

 RECTOR, INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMS, UNIVERSITY OF 

 CALIFORNIA-DAVIS 



Mr. Hess. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 



I am pleased to be here again as a member of the faculty of the 

 University of California and also to return after serving as Assist- 

 ant Secretary for Science and Education in the U.S. Department of 

 Agriculture from May of 1989 to October of 1991. 



Funding to construct new research facilities or to renovate exist- 

 ing ones has always been a challenge. It is exacerbated now by 

 what is happening at the State level in terms of State support. 



In addition, at least until very recently, the scientific community 

 has been growing and the nature of our research has become more 

 sophisticated as we have gotten into biotechnology, molecular biol- 

 ogy, and related areas. They require better facilities than what we 

 have had. Don Phillips has already referred to the annual National 

 Science Foundation studies and pointed out, as well as Dr. Carlson, 

 that in the 1992 report the fractions of the research space assessed 

 as requiring repair or renovation were greatest in the agricultural 

 sciences. 



This is all taking place at a time when agriculture faces a mul- 

 titude of challenges. It must produce efficiently to compete with 

 other nations which have lower costs of production, it has to 

 produce food and fiber in a way that protects our natural resources 

 so that future generations will enjoy their benefits, but we also 



