Denver, CO - Kicking off a week focused on his plan to make the American economy stronger at home through scientific discovery, technology and innovation, Democratic Presidential candidate John Kerry today pledged to lift up families and create new jobs by once again making America the world leader in science. While the Bush administration has politicized science, Kerry will put America back on the path of scientific excellence with a commitment to scientific research based on fact – not ideology.

Kerry was also endorsed in a letter Monday by 48 Nobel Prize winning scientists. The scientists issued a letter calling Kerry a “clear choice for America’s next President” who will “restore science to its appropriate place in government and bring it back into the White House”.

With American families struggling in an economy that has failed to lift them up, scientific discovery has the potential to make us stronger at home by lowering health care costs, developing new technologies that will create good paying jobs and curing disease. However, to realize this potential and strengthen our country, Kerry stressed today that we need a President committed to science and encouraging innovation.

“The American people deserve a President who understands that when America invests in science and technology and higher education, we can build a new and stronger economy for the 21st century,” Kerry said.

For three years, the Bush administration has squandered America’s leadership in the world, putting politics before science and doing nothing to create jobs while our workers fall further behind. The administration has proposed cuts for scientific research and grossly distorted and politicized science on issues from mercury pollution to stem cell research. This approach not only limits the research that our scientists are doing today, it undermines important discoveries of tomorrow and threatens America’s critical edge in innovation.

Kerry’s plan will reverse this course by restoring America’s scientific leadership, helping find new cures, cutting health care costs, and developing new technologies that will create good jobs.

The Kerry plan begins by embracing America’s tradition of looking forward. It is important to keep America’s edge on science and technology to assure America is economically competitive. Kerry will invest in our nation’s scientific research with the aim of making new discoveries to help cure diseases and keep America’s economy on the cutting edge.

“We need a president who will once again embrace our tradition of looking toward the future and new discoveries with hope based on scientific facts, not fear,” Kerry said.

Second, Kerry will embrace empirical science based on facts, not ideology. He will turn to our nation’s scientific leaders and make decisions based on expert advice.

As president, Kerry will also overturn the ban on federal funding of research on new stem cell lines, and he will allow doctors and scientists to explore their full potential with the appropriate ethical oversight.

“If we pursue the limitless potential of our science – and trust that we can use it wisely – we will save millions of lives and earn the gratitude of future generations,” Kerry said. “We have the potential to do so much good while at the same time meeting some very practical challenges—lowering health care costs and creating new jobs. It’s about investing in the future of our country. I won’t let ideology and fear stand in our way.”

In the coming days, Kerry will continue to lay out his plan to make us stronger at home through science, technology and innovation, including investing in new technologies and preparing our workforce for the jobs of the future.

Part 2: An Open Letter to the American People ~

48 Nobel Prize Winning Scientists Endorse John Kerry for President

June 21, 2004

Presidential elections present us with choices about our nation's future. We support John Kerry for President and urge you to join us. The prosperity, health, environment, and security of Americans depend on Presidential leadership to sustain our vibrant science and technology; to encourage education at home and attract talented scientists and engineers from abroad; and to nurture a business environment that transforms new knowledge into new opportunities for creating quality jobs and reaching shared goals.

President Bush and his administration are compromising our future on each of these counts. By reducing funding for scientific research, they are undermining the foundation of America's future. By setting unwarranted restrictions on stem cell research, they are impeding medical advances. By employing inappropriate immigration practices, they are turning critical scientific talent away from our shores. And by ignoring scientific consensus on critical issues such as global warming, they are threatening the earth's future.

Unlike previous administrations, Republican and Democratic alike, the Bush administration has ignored unbiased scientific advice in the policy-making that is so important to our collective welfare.

John Kerry will change all this. He will support strong investments in science and technology as he restores fiscal responsibility. He will stimulate the development and deployment of technologies to meet our economic, energy, environmental, health, and security needs. He will recreate an America that provides opportunity to all at home or abroad who can help us make progress together.

John Kerry will restore science to its appropriate place in government and bring it back into the White House. He is the clear choice for America's next President.

Signed,

Peter Agre (Chemistry 2003); David H. Hubel (Medicine 1981);

Sidney Altman (Chemistry 1989); Louis Ignarro (Medicine 1998);

Philip W. Anderson (Physics 1977); Eric R. Kandel (Medicine 2000);

David Baltimore (Medicine 1975); Walter Kohn (Chemistry 1998);

Baruj Benacerraf (Medicine 1980); Arthur Kornberg (Medicine 1959);

Paul Berg (Chemistry 1980); Leon M. Lederman (Physics 1988);

Hans A. Bethe (Physics 1967); Tsung-Dao Lee (Physics 1957);

Michael Bishop (Medicine 1989); David M. Lee (Physics 1996);

Günter Blobel (Medicine 1999); William N. Lipscomb (Chemistry 1976);

N. Bloembergen (Physics 1981); Roderick MacKinnon (Chemistry 2003);

James W. Cronin (Physics 1980); Mario J. Molina (Chemistry 1995);

Johann Deisenhofer (Chemistry 1988); Joseph E. Murray (Medicine 1990);

John B. Fenn (Chemistry 2002); Douglas D. Osheroff (Physics 1996);

Val Fitch (Physics 1980); George Palade (Medicine 1974);

Jerome I. Friedman (Physics 1990); Arno Penzias (Physics 1978);

Walter Gilbert (Chemistry 1980); Martin L. Perl (Physics 1995);

Alfred G. Gilman (Medicine 1994); Norman F. Ramsey (Physics 1989);

Donald A. Glaser (Physics 1960); Burton Richter (Physics 1976);

Sheldon L. Glashow (Physics 1979); Joseph H. Taylor Jr. (Physics 1993);

Joseph Goldstein (Medicine 1985); E. Donnall Thomas (Medicine 1990);

Roger Guillemin (Medicine 1977); Charles H. Townes (Physics 1964);

Dudley Herschbach (Chemistry 1986); Harold Varmus (Medicine 1989);

Roald Hoffmann (Chemistry 1981); Eric Wieschaus (Medicine 1995);

H. Robert Horvitz (Medicine 2002); Robert W. Wilson (Physics 1978);

The views of expressed in this letter represent those of the signers acting as individual citizens. They do not necessarily represent the views of the institutions with which they are affiliated. The Medicine award is for "Physiology or Medicine."

Above: more presidential campaign photos - at left with daughter Alex and John Edwards
Part 3: John Kerry's Strategy To Support Sound Science and Reinvigorate American Innovation:
Turning Back George W. Bush’s Policy of Putting Politics Over Science ~

George W. Bush has led one of the most anti-science administrations in our nation’s history. He has politicized science, putting his conservative, ideological agenda before sound science and crucial research. His approach not only limits the research that our scientists are doing today, it undermines important discoveries of tomorrow and threatens America’s critical edge in innovation. John Kerry has a three-point strategy to restore America’s leadership in science and research, reinvigorating American ingenuity. Kerry will embrace America’s tradition of looking forward to the next great discovery, invest in scientific research and end the ban on stem cell research. His commitment to scientific research based on fact – not ideology – will put America back on the path of scientific excellence.

John Kerry's Strategy to Restore America's Scientific Leadership ~

Embrace America’s Tradition of Looking Forward:
John Kerry remembers a time when American Presidents led the nation in looking forward to see what comes next. Kerry knows that the scientific discoveries of the future will drive the economy of our future just like the discoveries of electricity, the combustion engine and the internet drove our economies in the past. It is important to keep America’s edge on science and technology to assure America is economically competitive. John Kerry will invest in our nation’s scientific research with the aim of making new discoveries to help cure diseases and keep America’s economy on the cutting edge.

Assure That Science, Not Politics, Dictates Government Policy:
Again and again the Bush Administration has put politics over science to please their right wing constituency. They have ignored bipartisan consensus on issues like stem cell to please their right wing base and have frequently edited the real facts out of scientific reports. Kerry will embrace empirical science based on facts, not ideology. He will turn to our nation’s scientific leaders and listen to their advice to make decisions based on expert advice.

Lift the Ban on Stem Cell Research:
Given the enormous promise of stem cells to the development of new treatments for the most devastating diseases, John Kerry believes our medical researchers should be permitted and encouraged to simultaneously pursue embryonic stem cell research. As president, he will overturn the ban on federal funding of research on new stem cell lines, and he will allow doctors and scientists to explore their full potential with the appropriate ethical oversight. Patients and their families should no longer be denied the hope that this new research brings.